Meanings
- humorousidiomaticoftenUsed to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation.
BAYES. Lo' you now, there he's off again. JOHNS. Admirably done i'faith. BAYES. Ay, now the Plot thickens very much upon us.
1672 George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, The Rehearsal, Act III Scene ii2 more examples
Y. Book. Well said, Lad—and as Mr. Bays says, now the Plot thickens upon us, we'll spend our time as gaily as the best of 'em—and all of it in Love …
1703–4 Richard Steele The Lying Lover: Or, the Ladies Friendship Act II Scene i"His statement is wholly false," was our hero’s reply. "It was his miserable villainy that deprived me of my liberty, and kept me away from my work." Mr. Goldwin looked puzzled. "The plot thickens," said he. "Give me your story."
1888, Frank Munsey, chapter XX, in The Boy Broker; Among the Kings of Wall Street, page 143
Origin
From the satirical play The Rehearsal. First attested in 1671.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تتشربك الْمُؤَامَرَة
- تتشربك الْمُؤَامَرَةused to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation
Finnish juoni tiivistyy
- juoni tiivistyyused to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation
French le mystère s'épaissit
- le mystère s'épaissitused to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation
Portuguese a coisa se complica
- a coisa se complicaused to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation
Russian сюже́т закру́чивается
- сюже́т закру́чивается (sjužét zakrúčivajetsja)used to describe an increasingly complex or mysterious situation
Cite this entry
the plot thickens. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20plot%20thickens
“the plot thickens.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20plot%20thickens. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the plot thickens,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20plot%20thickens.
Source: the plot thickens on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.