Mexican Standoff

A Mexican standoff is a Slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win. In popular culture, the Mexican standoff is usually portrayed as two or more opposing men with guns drawn and ready, creating a very tense situation. Exacerbating the tension is that neither side wants to put down its weapons for fear that its opponents will shoot them. This situation forces the participants to resolve the situation either by Diplomacy , Surrender , or a Pre-emptive strike. Discussions of the Soviet-American nuclear confrontation during the Cold War frequently used the term, specifically in reference to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 .

This expression came into usage during the last decade of the . The term is considered Derogatory by some, but its widespread use in a non-derogatory sense indicates that it is generally not meant to be offensive by most contemporary English speakers.

SOME FILMS/VIDEO GAMES WITH MEXICAN STANDOFFS

Mexican standoffs are often made more complicated and suspenseful by adding more participants and thus increasing the suspense (since, in the event of a violent resolution, nearly all of them will die in a ). The Mexican standoff is now considered a movie Cliché through its overuse in Spaghetti Westerns and other B-movie s. It has been revived as a plot device by directors such as Quentin Tarantino and John Woo .