nuke the fridge

English

Etymology

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

Verb

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

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

See also

• jump the shark