(noun) conclusive encounter or contest. From poker, where at the termination of betting the hands of the players who are still in the game are laid on the table and compared to determine the winner. Also used metaphorically. Sometimes "throwdown" is used with this meaning.
"After several weeks of random threats and skirmishes, the twogangs met in the parking lot of Kresge's for a showdown."
A phenomenon in film/television series, most notably streaming series, where the main premise is drawn out to such a point that it takes an entire season or more to get the parts of the series the audience is actually interested in seeing.
For example, if a series is titled "Surf Dracula," a majority of viewers would tune in expecting to see Dracula surfing by the first or second episode. However, the entire first season would instead be tedious padding and backstory before finally ending with Dracula surfing in the last five minutes of the season finale.
I watched "Smallville" on Netflix the other day. Dude, it was ten seasons of filler before he finally flew! Major Surf Dracula Syndrome!
Finding your way back to the truth by fixing on one verified fact and working out from there, the way you navigate by the North Star when everything around you is spinning.
Rumours were flyingeverywhere, so she went northstarring — one checked fact at a time.