suspense


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Related to suspense: suspense account

keep (one) in suspense

To cause one to remain in a state of anxious apprehension. Well, don't keep me in suspense—tell me what happened next! The TV show kept audiences in suspense with a big cliffhanger at the end of the season finale.
See also: keep, suspense
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

keep someone in (a state of) suspense

to make someone wait anxiously for something. Tell us what happened. Don't keep us in a state of suspense. Don't keep me in suspense!
See also: keep, suspense
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

the suspense is killing me

I can’t wait to learn the outcome. This hyperbole of impatience is a twentieth-century expression of an age-old idea. “Suspense in news is torture, speak them out,” wrote John Milton (Samson Agonistes, 1671). Jonathan Swift claimed, “It is a miserable thing to live in suspense; it is the life of a spider” (Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1714), and F. E. Smedley wrote, “Suspense, that toothache of the mind” (Frank Fairlegh, 1850).
See also: killing, suspense
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive ?
Using Genette's three-level division of narratives--story, narrating, narrative--the author explains that Chapter 2 focuses on the narrative as a finished product, whereas Chapter 3 is "concerned with the issue of narrating in the narrative" and aims to reveal how suspense is created in crime fiction through the study of language (139), complex and multilevel narrative situations.
Reshmi Dutta-Flanders. The Language of Suspense in Crime Fiction
His novels were characterised by a blend of mystery, adventure, suspense, violence, romance and comedy, achieving massive popularity across a broad readership in South Asia.
Tribute paid to suspense writer Ibn-i-Safi
Horror movies do not generate surprise; at most they create suspense and fright.
My 2 cents: suspense and surprise in movies and TV shows are now also controlled by MBAs, since it has been found that those two creative elements are a function of information economics and, therefore are, mathematical problems
Meanwhile, the fact that the killer's identity is revealed about half-an-hour in does very little to ramp up the suspense.
The Calling108mins
Full of suspense, enthralling and strong from start to finish, this is a must-read for fans of Sophie Mckenzie and Ali Sparkes.
Blaxill, Gina: Saving Silence
, "Running over just 2 hours Thegidi doesn't exactly race along, but from the pre-interval scenes Ramesh piles up the suspense well enough to have you glued to your seats and keep you guessing the 'whos' and 'whys' of the case, which turn out to be driven by an interesting new motive."
'Thegidi' Review Roundup: Gripping Thriller with Twists and Turns
This situation--a man pimping his lover or her being pimped by her lover to an evil and dangerous man--is intensely dramatic for several reasons, and the suspense proceeds on two levels.
Notorious
Seriously speaking, contradictory views voiced over India,Pakistan relations have only added to a veneer of suspense over their diplomatic ties.
Give diplomacy a chance
The first mention of "shako," a tall and cylindrical hat, occurs in Suspense (first published in 1925).
Gene M. Moore, ed. Suspense by Joseph Conrad
Nuyorican Poets Cafe Short Story Slam winner Sierra Kay's new suspense novel From Behind The Curtain is to be released this month, it was reported on Tuesday.
From Behind The Curtain to be released in August by Sierra Kay
A CATWALK king and a queen of suspense received honorary degrees in Newcastle.
CREATIVE KING AND QUEEN HONOURED
The suspense needed a more solid cast to leave an impact.
FLAWED THRILLER
A suspense account is a temporary account in the nominal ledger that is used in two main situations.
Fundamentals of Financial Accounting: as with many topics, you would be well advised to practise a methodical approach to answering questions about suspense accounts, which are highly likely to appear in the CO2 exam
TELECOMWORLDWIRE-June 11, 2012--WWE Studios buys Rodin suspense thriller(C)1994-2012 M2 COMMUNICATIONS http://www.m2.com
-WWE Studios buys Rodin suspense thriller
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