dei ex machina

Noun

deus ex machina (plural dei ex machina or dei ex machinis or deus ex machinas)

1. Any resolution to a story that does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and that is so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, and presumably allows the author, director, or developer to end the story in the way that they desired.
   • Near-synonym: (vulgar, slang) ass-pull

   Synonyms:

   ass-pull

2. (broadly) A contrived solution to a problem, relying on an agent external to the situation.
   • The belief that a cure for cancer is being withheld by vested interests is a long-standing one. It is often used as a universal deus ex machina for those pushing an alternative alleged cure […]2016 January 26, David Robert Grimes, “On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs”, in PLOS One, volume 11, number 1, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2025, page 3
3. (historical, literary) A deity in Greek and Roman drama who was brought in by stage machinery to intervene in a difficult situation (i.e., to resolve a crisis, or untangle issues surrounding it, a character logically expected to do so).
   • I was going to wait for Monsieur Hyppolyte and, like a craven, hand the whole thing over to him. Let the deus ex machina fly in out of the clouds...1959, Mary Stewart, chapter XVII, in Nine Coaches Waiting, M. S. Mill Company, page 268
4. (historical) A machine used to bring an actor playing a god onto the stage, either up through a trapdoor or (e.g. by crane) from above.