Definition: noun (also leitmotiv) a dominant recurring theme

Etymology: German Leitmotiv, from leiten to lead + Motiv motive

Quotation: “Salvatore’s suppressed longings are a sly leitmotif: on Valentine’s Day all across the city the women want to watch television to see Jacqueline Kennedy give a tour of the White House, whereas their men grouse and turn away. Salvatore, on a couch in the apartment of a loving, luscious brunette, is riveted to the screen.”
- from a review of Mad Men in The New York Times

“Dominant recurring theme”…hmmm…I could probably apply that word in just about any conversation about a TV show, movie, or play. “In Lost, we’re constantly discovering new and unsettling details about characters’ pasts…you might say it’s a leitmotif” (no big deal). Yep, this one’s going right in the ole bag of tricks.