cliffhang

English

Alternative forms

• cliff-hang

Etymology

Back-formation from cliffhanger.

Verb

cliffhang (third-person singular simple present cliffhangs, present participle cliffhanging, simple past and past participle cliffhung)

1. (intransitive) To be in suspense.
   • 2009 February 1, Clare Clark, “An Appetite for Venice”:

     With furtive references to Gnostic gospels and a cast of characters that includes a beautiful blond novice (with whom Luciano fancies himself in love), a corrupt council of cardinals, a syphilitic doge and the brutal Cappe Nere, or secret police, all abroad in Venice’s sinister maze of watery alleyways, the scene looks set for a cliffhanging ­thriller in the style of “The Da Vinci Code.”