trick ending

American  

noun

1. an ending of a story or play, etc., that employs a surprise element or character to resolve the plot.

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Example Sentences

Puzzles from the Magic Puzzle Company culminate in a trick ending, with new pieces that allow you to rearrange the image.

From New York Times

If the pandemic had a musical score, that trick ending might be a caesura, shown by two parallel diagonal lines: railroad tracks, only we ran out of rail.

From The Guardian

Yet, for all its high spirits and rowdy humor, it packs a trick ending that slams home the filmmakers’ sombre political point—and then another that turns it comedic again.

From The New Yorker

That sobering prediction did the trick, ending the alliance’s six-month hiatus.

From Salon

Poor Charlie always falls for the trick, ending up on his backside.

From MSNBC