21 April 2013

denouement

[dey-noo-mahn]

noun
1. the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
2. the place in the plot at which this occurs.
3. the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.
Also, dé·noue·ment.

Origin:
1745–55; < French: literally, an untying, equivalent to dénouer to untie, Old French desnoer ( des- de- + noer to knot < Latin nōdāre, derivative of nōdus knot) + -ment -ment

Synonyms
3. solution, conclusion, end, upshot.

Today’s aphorism

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

– Mark Twain

On this day

21 April 1910 – death of Mark Twain, U.S. novellist, author of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. Born 30 November 1835.