Spoiler is a piece of information about a film, book or electronic game which can spoil the enjoyment1 of someone experiencing it for the first time.
Spoiler指与电影、书本或者游戏内容有关的信息，即大家所说的剧透，这种信息会大大降低初看者知道剧情或者参与游戏的兴致。
This sense of spoiler has been around since the mid-1990s, and initially2 referred to pieces of information which reveal elements of the plot of a film or book. Since proper enjoyment of a plot depends on dramatic tension and suspense3, prematurely4 discovering what is going to happen spoils the experience that the viewer or reader has when watching or reading for the first time. The usage was later applied5 in the gaming world, where it refers to pieces of information which signal the solution to a game or puzzle and therefore deny the user the pleasure of working things out for themselves.
Spoiler用作剧透之意始于上世纪90年代，刚开始指透露电影或书本情节的信息。故事情节的赏析主要有赖于扣人心弦的紧张氛围和悬念，假如提前得知后面的情节进步就会破坏（spoil）初看者赏析故事的体验。后来，spoiler一词也被用于游戏范围，指对游戏通关有提示性用途的信息，有了如此的信息，游戏玩家就完全丧失凭着我们的实力玩通关的乐趣了。