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deus ex machina
1. A god in an ancient Greek or Roman play that suddenly appears in the storyline in order to solve a problem or decide an outcome. The Latin phrase translates to "god from a machine," referring to the machinery that lowered it onto the stage. The ancient Greek play makes use of a deus ex machina in which Apollo arrives on stage to restore order among the other characters.
2. An ending in a performance or story that seems too contrived to be believable to the audience. Modern critics often pan 1980s-era television shows for the typical deus ex machina that writers often used to neatly wrap up episodes.
a deus ex machina
(formal) a way of ending a play or event that seems false and that involves problems being dealt with too easily Shakespeare produces a very unsatisfying deus ex machina in 'The Winter's Tale' when a statue of the queen comes to life.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
AbigÉL | | AW-bee-gayl | Hungarian |
Tito | | TEE-to (Italian, Spanish) | Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
Nikias | | - | Ancient Greek |
Lewi | | - | Biblical Hebrew |
Kamila | | kah-MI-lah (Czech, Slovak), kah-MEE-lah (Polish) | Czech, Slovak, Polish |
JevgeŅIja | | - | Latvian |