Mexican standoff

Definition of Mexican standoffnext
as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in in the battle over bedtime the parents and their son are at a Mexican standoff

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Mexican standoff The top echelon of Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has dissolved into a circle of mutual recrimination and enmity worthy of a Mexican standoff from a Quentin Tarantino film. — The Editors, National Review, 28 Apr. 2025 Ahmet Şık, a former journalist and an opposition MP, likened the situation to a Mexican standoff, a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. — Guney Yildiz, Forbes, 24 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mexican standoff
halt
Noun
  • Things came to a sudden halt on July 7, when Murphy died at the age of 32 in what authorities have ruled an apparent drowning.
    — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
  • In the years since the COVID-19 lockdown brought the subway system to a halt — and clipped many a commute by moving work out of the office — 2019 subway ridership has been treated as a benchmark of the city’s revival.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mexican standoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mexican%20standoff. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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