deus ex machina

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The Word of the Day for April 18 is: 

deus ex machina   \DAY-us-eks-MAH-kih-nuh\   noun
     : a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced 
suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently 
insoluble difficulty 

Example sentence: 
     Only a deus ex machina could resolve the novel's thorny crisis.  

Did you know?
     The New Latin term "deus ex machina" is a translation of a Greek phrase 
and means literally "a god from a machine." "Machine," in this case, refers to 
the crane that held a god over the stage in ancient Greek and Roman drama. The 
practice of introducing a god at the end of a play to unravel and resolve the 
plot dates from at least the 5th century B.C.; Euripides (circa 484-406 B.C.) 
was one playwright who made frequent use of the device. Since the late 1600s, 
"deus ex machina" has been applied in English to unlikely saviors and 
improbable events that bring order out of chaos in sudden and surprising ways.  






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