History Main / MultipleReferencePun

* The post-game aftermath of the 2013 World Series had David Ortiz being awarded the MVP trophy and a new car. He exclaimed in response, "This is our BEEP city!", not only being a censored version of his famous speech in response to the capturing of one of the terrorists responsible for the Boston Marathon Bombing that had occurred earlier that year, but was also imitating a car honking sound effect.

* DSS Angleton of ''Literature/TheLaundrySeries'' by Creator/CharlesStross is a [[spoiler: [[CosmicHorror Many-Angled One]] reinvented as an Englishman.]]

* A staple of the [[{{Superhero}} superhero]] [[{{WebSerialNovel}} web serial novel]] ''[[{{Literature/GamerGirl2016}} Gamer Girl]]''. Kazé/Fangirl is a superhero ''fangirl'' who uses an ''electric fan gun'', the Canine is a literal ''canine'' covered in ''canine teeth'', and Body Woman is a US-style body woman with the superpower to manipulate people's ''bodies''. Ba dum tsss!

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' has a character named Viral, who fits with the DNA ThemeNaming of many antagonists (Lord ''Genome'', the Four Generals named after the Nucleobases, etc.); however, his name (following the Japanese rules of pronunciation) can be also spelt "Bilal", as in French comic book artist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki_Bilal Enki Bilal]]. That's why Viral's mecha is named ''Enki''du and the song associated with him on the soundtrack is called "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nikopol_Trilogy Nikopol]]".

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has the achievement "[=Cr0wned=]", earned by killing a Witch with a headshot. Another term for the head is the crown; "0wned" is typical LeetLingo for scoring against an opponent; and if you pronounce "cr0wn" as if you were using that second meaning, it sounds like "crone", as in an old person or a ''witch''.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has the achievement "Cr0wned", earned by killing a Witch with a headshot. Another term for the head if the crown; "0wned" is typical LeetLingo for scoring against an opponent; and if you pronounce "cr0wn" as if you were using that second meaning, it sounds like "crone", as in an old person or a ''witch''.

* One {{Deathworld}} in the TabletopGame/Warhammer40K universe is called Phyrr. On one hand, it is an obvious pun on ''fear''. On the other, the {{Trope Namer|s}} for Deathworlds is Creator/HarryHarrison's Deathworld trilogy, where the planet in question is called... Pyrr.

* A staple of the [[{{Superhero}} superhero]] [[{{WebSerialNovel}} web serial novel]] ''[[{{GamerGirl2016}} Gamer Girl]]''. Kazé/Fangirl is a superhero ''fangirl'' who uses an ''electric fan gun'', the Canine is a literal ''canine'' covered in ''canine teeth'', and Body Woman is a US-style body woman with the superpower to manipulate people's ''bodies''. Ba dum tsss!

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Vanitas: It means "emptiness" (and can even be defined by the appropriate kanji), and sounds similar to vanity and Ventus, his rival. To make it even better, the kanji for "emptiness" can also be used for [[spoiler: "sky"]], hinting at their shared connection to [[spoiler: Sora]].

** ''Manga/OsomatsuKun'': A oneshot character making '''Paper''' counterfeit money tells Hatabou to call him ''Kami-sama'', which causes everyone who hears to think he's '''God'''..

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' has a character named Viral, who fits with the DNA ThemeNaming of many antagonists (Lord ''Genome'', the Four Generals named after the Nucleobases, etc.); however, his name (following the Japanese rules of pronounciation) can be also spelt "Bilal", as in French comic book artist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki_Bilal Enki Bilal]]. That's why Viral's mecha is named ''Enki''du and the song associated with him on the soundtrack is called "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nikopol_Trilogy Nikopol]]".

* John Sheridan's nickname in ''Series/BabylonFive'', ''Starkiller''. This is both a, in-universe reference to him destroying a ship named the ''Black Star'', but it could also foreshadow him later destroying [[spoiler: another ship called the ''White Star'']], and a writer's reference to StarWars.

* Seen in Wrestling/{{WSU}}, Rayna Fire is a pun meaning on queen, rain and reign and fire, on the fact she is a [[FieryRedhead redhead.]][[/folder]]

* One {{Deathworld}} in the TabletopGame/Warhammer40K universe is called Phyrr. On one hand, it is an obvious pun on ''fear''. On the other, the TropeNamer for Deathworlds is Creator/HarryHarrison's Deathworld trilogy, where the planet in question is called... Pyrr.

* In ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'', Mr. Mighty has been known to exclaim "Great Siegel's Ghost!" This is based on the phrase "Great Caesar's Ghost", commonly used by ''Daily Planet'' editor Perry White in ''[[Radio/TheAdventuresOfSuperman The Adventures]]'' ''[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman of Superman]]''... which starred a character created by Jerry Siegel.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in "Smug Alert", probably has one. The Smugs all drive Hybrid cars. (As in combined gas/electric engine.) The obvious pun is with "hybris" (or "hubris", the usual spelling). The stealth pun is that in biology, a hybrid is a [[TheyKilledKenny bastard]]. There is another pun in the the brand of car they drive, the Pious, which referenced that they are pious in attitude and Toyota's hybrid car, the Prius.

{{Anime}} and other Japanese media often has this in the form of a BilingualBonus.

** The Japanese language in general lends itself well to this kind of wordplay thanks to its plentiful homophones, numerous pronunciations for each kanji, and the liberty of writing in alphabet, syllabary, or kanji.

* ''[[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico Kidou Senkan Nadesico]]'' (literally, "Mobile Battleship Nadesico"): "Kidou Senkan" is similar sounding to "[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Kidou Senshi]]" referencing the use of HumongousMecha in the show. "Senkan Nadesico" (or "Nadeshiko") is a double pun that references both Anime/UchuuSenkanYamato, and the Japanese concept of YamatoNadeshiko. This multi-layered, multiple reference pun is likely the reason why ADV Films released it as "Martian Successor Nadesico" in North America.
* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': "Urusei" is a misspelling/mispronounciation of "urusai", which usually means "loud", or "annoying", or "obnoxious" and is also used to tell people to "shut up". "Yatsura" is a pejorative way of referring to a group of people. Also, while most of the name is written in hiragana, the kanji for "star" is used for the "sei" in the title, referring to Lum, an alien being who is one of the main characters. Thus, the title can be translated as "Those Annoying Aliens", or "Those Obnoxious Aliens".

* The title of ''Film/EasyA'' is a pun that uses the common expression to refer to both the protagonist's alleged sluttiness and the [[Literature/TheScarletLetter 'A']] she sews onto her clothing to make a point.
* ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. As well as the ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' reference, it's also about how the protagonist has to go north on Northwest Airlines.

* Most of the {{Double Meaning Title}}s endemic in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. For instance, ''Literature/GravePeril'' features Harry in... well, grave peril, mostly due to [[TheUndead vampires and ghosts]][[note]]DontExplainTheJoke Grave, get it?[[/note]]. ''Summer Knight'' begins with the murder of the Summer Knight, happens on summer nights, and [[AMidsummerNightsDream is about fairies]].
** The only exceptions are ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and ''Literature/DeathMasks'', where the title doesn't have much to do with the story (it was originally going to be called ''Holy Sheet'', which does follow the pattern).
* The title of every book in the ''Literature/GorkyPark'' series refers to at least two important things in the story: [[BookEnds Something from the beginning of the story, and something from the end.]]

* ''Series/TheSopranos'' usually gave its episodes such names. An example is "Rat Pack", which can refer to the famous Rat Pack from the 60s, a picture of which Tony receives as a present, though the same episode also focused on the FBI's multiple informants within the Mafia, making them a "rat pack" too.
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' had a double entendre for the title of almost every episode, not to mention the title of the series itself. (It obviously refers to the mental immaturity of the main cast, but it's also about a real estate developer who gets arrested.)
** The main character Michael lives in a Russian doll made of the series title. His personal life with his son and his love life have screeched to a stop, he lives in a family of greedy, emotionally needy idiots, working in a company whose stock trading is halted by the federal trade commission and trying to jump start a housing project going nowhere. ''Arrested Development indeed.''
* In ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'', "OOO" is pronounced like "oh's", with "oh" being the Japanese word for "king" (early publicity material made reference to a "Multi-King"); it also sounds like "owes", referencing how he steals coin-like Medals from the villains to power his abilities, and pays part of them to the BigGood; "OOO" visually resembles the set of three Medals that he uses to transform; and it also resembles the infinity symbol with an extra loop, which is claimed within the series to mean [[UpToEleven a step beyond infinity]].

* Music/{{Blink182}}'s song "Wrecked Him" is aptly named as far as the lyrics go. But [[ToiletHumour it's Blink-182]], so the title is a pun on the word "rectum."
* Hawkwind's song "Flying Doctor" is about an Australian flying doctor who abuses prescription drugs - in other words, he's "flying" in more ways than one.

* Music/AHawkAndAHacksaw's name is a reference to Smollet's translation of ''Literature/DonQuixote'': "...therefore, let every man lay his hand upon his heart and not pretend to mistake an hawk for a hand-saw..."[[note]]other versions of ''Quixote'' contrast black and white, rather than a hawk and a handsaw[[/note]]; this was itself a reference to ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'': "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw." They replaced "handsaw" with "hacksaw" as a reference to a meter from Balkan and Turkish music, called Aksak.
* The Music/WeirdAlYankovic album ''Even Worse'' is appropriately named, not only because it's spoofing Music/MichaelJackson's ''Bad'' album, but because every other song parodied on the album is [[CoveredUp a then-recent cover of a hit from the 50's or 60's]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' takes advantage of how the long-o prefix denotes something big or great, making the term "great god", as well as the word normally being Japanese for "wolf". As noted in the Anime section, ''kami'' can also mean "paper" or "hair," which suits someone who manifests her powers by painting things with a brush.
** Also, wolf hair is a typical material in calligraphy pens.

* The title of ''Film/EasyA'' is a pun that uses the common expression to refer to both the protagonist's alleged sluttiness and the [[TheScarletLetter 'A']] she sews onto her clothing to make a point.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in "Smug Alert", probably has one. The Smugs all drive Hybrid cars. (As in combined gas/electric engine.) The obvious pun is with "hybris" (or "hubris", the usual spelling). The stealth pun is that in biology, a hybrid is a [[TheyKilledKenny bastard]]...
** There is another pun in the the brand of car they drive, the Pious, which referenced that they are pious in attitude and Toyota's hybrid car, the Prius.

* ''[[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico Kidou Senkan Nadesico]]'' (literally, "Mobile Battleship Nadesico"): "Kidou Senkan" is similar sounding to "[[MobileSuitGundam Kidou Senshi]]" referencing the use of HumongousMecha in the show. "Senkan Nadesico" (or "Nadeshiko") is a double pun that references both Anime/UchuuSenkanYamato, and the Japanese concept of YamatoNadeshiko. This multi-layered, multiple reference pun is likely the reason why ADV Films released it as "Martian Successor Nadesico" in North America.