What is a Spoiler Alert?
Answer:
Most people do not enjoy being told the ending of a movie
or TV series before they have had the chance to watch it themselves.  When any of the crucial plot points are revealed, whether in a novel, movie, or TV show, it is called a spoiler.  A spoiler alert is a warning that a spoiler is imminent.

The term spoiler obviously comes from the fact that being told what is going to happen spoils the ending of the story.  The Internet was the first place that the term was used – often on sites that summarize movie plots.  Basic courtesy required that anyone posting a spoiler issue a spoiler alert – often in all capital letters: SPOILERS!  This gave people who did not want to find out what happened the ability to avoid that part of the site.

Although spoiler alert as a term was originally confined to the Internet, many people today use it in casual speech.  This may be when discussing a movie, as in: “Spoiler alert, the hero dies in the end.”  It is also used sarcastically to end an argument, as in: “Spoiler alert, I’m bigger than you so I'll win.”

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