plot thickens, the

Idioms  

1. Circumstances are becoming very complex or mysterious. Today this term is often used ironically or half-humorously, as in His companion wasn't his wife or his partner—the plot thickens. Originally (1671) it described the plot of a play that was overly intricate, and by the late 1800s it was used for increasingly complex mysteries in detective stories.

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Example Sentences

As the plot thickens, the filmmakers — the movie was written by Ben Power and directed by Christian Schwochow — try to build tension by cutting back and forth between the two lines of action that eventually, predictably converge.

From New York Times

As the mystical plot thickens, the daughter finds letters in those backyard holes that turn out to be written by Grandmother — Ama — long, broken streams of consciousness that fill in the holes in the larger story too.

From Los Angeles Times

"Clearly, the plot thickens; the only thing we can be sure of is that these events will push Lebanon into further political and economic chaos, at a time when the nation is already on the brink of collapse."

From Fox News

In honor of my new crime-fiction column, The Plot Thickens, the fall selection for Moira’s Seattle Times Book Club is a detective novel.

From Seattle Times

In Marseilles, the plot thickens, the danger escalates, and the emotional temperature spikes.

From New York Times