A Mexican standoff is a confrontation where no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory.[1][2] Anyone initiating aggression might trigger their own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extract themselves from the situation without either negotiating a truce or suffering a loss, maintaining strategic tension until one of those three potential organic outcomes occurs or some outside force intervenes.
Three men portraying a Mexican standoff
The term Mexican standoff was originally used in the context of using firearms and it still commonly implies a situation in which the parties face some form of threat from one-another; the standoffs can span from someone holding a phone threatening to call the police being held in check by a blackmailer, to global confrontations.
The Mexican standoff as an armed stalemate is a recurring cinematic trope.
Sources claim the reference is to the Mexican–American War or post-war Mexican bandits in the 19th century.[3]
The earliest known use of the phrase in print was on 19 March 1876, in a short story about Mexico, featuring the line:[4]
"Go-!" said he sternly then. "We will call it a stand-off, a Mexican stand-off, you lose your money, but you save your life!"
— F. Harvey Smith, Sunday Mercury, New York, 1876[5]
Popular cultureedit
In popular culture, the term Mexican standoff references confrontations in which neither opponent appears to have a measurable advantage. Historically, commentators have used the term to reference the Soviet Union – United States nuclear confrontation during the Cold War, specifically the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The key element that makes such situations Mexican standoffs is the perceived equality of power exercised amongst the involved parties.[3][unreliable source?] The inability of any particular party to advance its position safely is a condition common amongst all standoffs; in a "Mexican standoff", however, there is an additional disadvantage: no party has a safe way to withdraw from its position, thus making the standoff effectively permanent.
Director John Woo, considered a major influence on the action film genre, is known for his use of Mexican standoffs.[8] Director Quentin Tarantino (who has cited Woo as an influence) has featured Mexican standoff scenes in films including Inglourious Basterds (the tavern scene features multiple Mexican standoffs including meta-discussion) and Reservoir Dogs, which depicts a standoff among four characters in the climactic scene.[9]
^Buytendijk, Frank (2010). Dealing with Dilemmas: Where Business Analytics Fall Short. Wiley. p. 20. ISBN978-0-470-76848-8.
^V&S Editorial Board (2015). Concise Dictionary of English Combined (idioms, Phrases, Proverbs, Similes). V&S Publishers. p. 94. ISBN9789352150502.
^ ab"Mexican standoff", The Word Detective, retrieved 2013-03-21
^"Mexican, n. and adj.". OED Online. March 2018. Oxford University Press.
^Helgesen, Stephan (January 16, 2019). "Our nation is stuck in a standoff". Albuquerque Journal. p. A15.
^Jew, Anson (2013). Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb. Taylor & Francis. p. 83. ISBN978-1-136-12677-2.
^Buckmaster, Luke. "The lasting legacy of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", BBC.com, Wednesday 10 February 2016. Retrieved October 26,2018
^Pierce, Nev (24 September 2014). "Calling The Shots: John Woo". BBC.
^Bailey, Jason (2013). Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece. Voyageur Press. p. 45. ISBN978-0-7603-4479-8.
External linksedit
The dictionary definition of Mexican standoff at Wiktionary
January 01, 1970
mexican, standoff, confrontation, where, strategy, exists, that, allows, party, achieve, victory, anyone, initiating, aggression, might, trigger, their, demise, same, time, parties, unable, extract, themselves, from, situation, without, either, negotiating, tr. A Mexican standoff is a confrontation where no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory 1 2 Anyone initiating aggression might trigger their own demise At the same time the parties are unable to extract themselves from the situation without either negotiating a truce or suffering a loss maintaining strategic tension until one of those three potential organic outcomes occurs or some outside force intervenes Three men portraying a Mexican standoff The term Mexican standoff was originally used in the context of using firearms and it still commonly implies a situation in which the parties face some form of threat from one another the standoffs can span from someone holding a phone threatening to call the police being held in check by a blackmailer to global confrontations The Mexican standoff as an armed stalemate is a recurring cinematic trope Contents 1 Etymology 2 Popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEtymology editSources claim the reference is to the Mexican American War or post war Mexican bandits in the 19th century 3 The earliest known use of the phrase in print was on 19 March 1876 in a short story about Mexico featuring the line 4 Go said he sternly then We will call it a stand off a Mexican stand off you lose your money but you save your life F Harvey Smith Sunday Mercury New York 1876 5 Popular culture editIn popular culture the term Mexican standoff references confrontations in which neither opponent appears to have a measurable advantage Historically commentators have used the term to reference the Soviet Union United States nuclear confrontation during the Cold War specifically the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 The key element that makes such situations Mexican standoffs is the perceived equality of power exercised amongst the involved parties 3 unreliable source The inability of any particular party to advance its position safely is a condition common amongst all standoffs in a Mexican standoff however there is an additional disadvantage no party has a safe way to withdraw from its position thus making the standoff effectively permanent The cliche of a Mexican standoff where each party is threatening another with a gun is now considered a movie trope stemming from its frequent use as a plot device in cinema A notable example is in Sergio Leone s 1966 Western The Good the Bad and the Ugly where the characters representing each played by Clint Eastwood Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach face each other in a showdown 6 7 Director John Woo considered a major influence on the action film genre is known for his use of Mexican standoffs 8 Director Quentin Tarantino who has cited Woo as an influence has featured Mexican standoff scenes in films including Inglourious Basterds the tavern scene features multiple Mexican standoffs including meta discussion and Reservoir Dogs which depicts a standoff among four characters in the climactic scene 9 See also editCatch 22 logic Deadlock Mutual assured destruction Pareto efficiency Pareto optimality Polish parliament expression Prisoner s dilemma Russian roulette Stalemate Truel ZugzwangReferences edit Buytendijk Frank 2010 Dealing with Dilemmas Where Business Analytics Fall Short Wiley p 20 ISBN 978 0 470 76848 8 V amp S Editorial Board 2015 Concise Dictionary of English Combined idioms Phrases Proverbs Similes V amp S Publishers p 94 ISBN 9789352150502 a b Mexican standoff The Word Detective retrieved 2013 03 21 Mexican n and adj OED Online March 2018 Oxford University Press Helgesen Stephan January 16 2019 Our nation is stuck in a standoff Albuquerque Journal p A15 Jew Anson 2013 Professional Storyboarding Rules of Thumb Taylor amp Francis p 83 ISBN 978 1 136 12677 2 Buckmaster Luke The lasting legacy of The Good the Bad and the Ugly BBC com Wednesday 10 February 2016 Retrieved October 26 2018 Pierce Nev 24 September 2014 Calling The Shots John Woo BBC Bailey Jason 2013 Pulp Fiction The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino s Masterpiece Voyageur Press p 45 ISBN 978 0 7603 4479 8 External links edit nbsp The dictionary definition of Mexican standoff at Wiktionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mexican standoff amp oldid 1210435810, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
