Mexican standoff

A Mexican standoff is a slang term for a situation where two or more opponents have weapons aimed directly at each other, so that neither can attack the other without being attacked themselves. This situation might cause the participants to consider diplomacy, or plain-out surrender. One of the best examples is the climax of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which involves the three main characters (played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach) participating in a complex fast-draw duel.

Related Topics:
Slang - Weapon - Attack - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Clint Eastwood - Lee Van Cleef - Eli Wallach

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The origin of this expression is uncertain but may relate to the difficult and paradoxical social and economic conditions of 19th century Mexico; it is intentionally derogatory according to some, but its widespread slang use in a non-derogatory sense probably indicates that it is currently generally not meant to be derogatory despite the likelihood of offending a small percentage of people.

Related Topics:
19th century - Mexico - Derogatory

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Mexican standoffs are often made more complicated and suspenseful by adding more participants and thus increasing the suspense (since in the event of a violent resolution nearly all of them will die in a ). The Mexican standoff is now considered a movie cliché through its overuse in spaghetti Westerns and other B-movies. It has been revived as a device by directors such as Quentin Tarantino and John Woo.

Related Topics:
Cliché - Spaghetti Western - B-movie - Quentin Tarantino - John Woo

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