Have you ever come across a Latin phrase in a story, but you don’t know the meaning? Literary agent Steve Laube has posted “21 Latin Phrases Every Writer Should Know” on his blog along with their meanings.

Here is one:

Deus Ex Machina
“God from the Machine.” In a novel it basically means the author has written something too convenient to explain events, a plot device to solve the unsolvable problem.

Click here to learn about

• Persona Non Grata
• Habeas Corpus
• Cogito Ergo Sum
• E Pluribus Unum
• Carpe Diem
• Quid Pro Quo
• Non Sequitur
• Ad Hominem
• Alter Ego
• Soli Deo Gloria
• Caveat Emptor
• Pro Bono
• Memento Mori
• Caveat Lector
• Sui Generis
• Alma Mater
• Veni, vidi, vici
• Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
• Mea Culpa
• Per Diem