Christopher's book seemingly has a nice tidy ending, as he would have wished - horrified as he is of indeterminacy.

Half of Tier, I'm sure, considered the idea of going down with those she loved, a tidy and romantic ending.

History robs "Rough Crossings" of a tidy ending.

The new and selected stories in This Is a Voice From Your Past don't reach for tidy endings or moments of insight.

He can seem just as cruel, readily putting children in mortal danger, but he doesn't share the American master's compulsive need for tidy endings.

Where are the tidy endings with a neat little lesson for the day?

But the tidy ending is beside the point in a story about transitional life changes and the sense of dislocation that goes with them.

"There are times when I so wish that things could be different, that tidy and acceptable endings could find every tale."

Few architectural mysteries have such tidy endings, and Mr. Kahn gave Ms. Gayle the good news.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the state's tidy little ending.