nuke the fridge

verb

To suddenly include a strange or illogical event, often leading to radical and often disappointing changes to the narrative of the film.

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Meanings

verbnuke the fridge (third-person singular simple present nukes the fridge, present participle nuking the fridge, simple past and past participle nuked the fridge)

present singular third person nukes the fridge · participle present nuking the fridge · participle past nuked the fridge · past nuked the fridge

  1. idiomaticslangTo suddenly include a strange or illogical event, often leading to radical and often disappointing changes to the narrative of the film.

Origin

From a scene in the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), where the main character survives a nuclear detonation by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nuke the fridge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuke%20the%20fridge

MLA

“nuke the fridge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuke%20the%20fridge. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nuke the fridge,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuke%20the%20fridge.

Source: nuke the fridge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.