1. Home
2. Idioms
3. deus

deus

---

---

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.

See also: deus, ex, machina

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.

See also: deus, ex, machina