cliffhang
verbEtymology Back-formation from cliffhanger.
1
Figuratively To be in suspense.
- 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.”2009 February 1, Clare Clark, “An Appetite for Venice”, in New York Times: