Deuce Ex Macina????????

Question

This is going to sound really strange, but I woke up in the middle of the night repeating 'deuce ex macina' over and over. I have no idea what it means or if it means anything at all. Does anyone know if this is said in any movie or something I might have heard it. I think it might be a spell fromm harry potter but I really have no idea.

Answer 1

If you've ever read the Lemony Snicket series, it's written on the inside cover of all the books.

The other answerers are right about the definition. A deux ex machina is generally a sign of not so good writing ;)

Answer 2

"Deus ex machina" means "God from the machine." It refers to  a contrived occurrence in a story that is completely removed from the rest of the plot and solves an unsolvable problem. E.g. The "hand of God" at the end of Stephen King's The Stand.

Answer 3

Deus ex machina literally means "god from a machine." It's a Greek term that referred to the appearance of a god to solve an unsolvable problem. It is also a plot device in literature where something unexpected saves the character from the main conflict. Often it is undesirable as a literary device because it seems like cheating.

As for why you woke up saying it... The nineteenth episode of Lost season 1 was titled "Deus Ex Machina" but they never said that phrase in the episode. it's the one where Lock sees the light coming from the hatch.

The 1st, 2nd, & 4th Harry Potter books do end with this literary device. But it's not a spell...

As for other pop culture references, check out this website.

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/LX/DeusExM...

It could have been the Simpsons??

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I think that your spelling is a bit off; I believe it is "deux ex machina".  It was a literary device used in a lot of old stories, plays (Shakespeare liked it) where a god-like figure appears out of nowhere to solve the problem of the story.

Its weird how strange phrases like this just pop into your head, isn't it??