History Main / NotUsingtheZWord

* ''Gloriously'', ''Brilliantly'' [[{{Averted Trope}} averted]] in {{Zombieland}}. Keeping track of how many times the characters say "Zombie" is part of [[http://www.moviecynics.com/zombieland-fun-movie-drinking-games/ the drinking game]].

->'''Ed:''' Are there any zombies out there? \\
'''Shaun:''' Don't say that! \\
'''Ed:''' What? \\
'''Shaun:''' That. \\
'''Ed:''' What? \\
'''Shaun:''' That. The 'Z' word. Don't say it. \\
'''Ed:''' Why not? \\
'''Shaun:''' Because it's ''[[ThisIsReality ridiculous!]]'' \\
'''Ed:''' Alright...Are there any out there, though? \\
->-- ''ShaunOfTheDead''

* Nobody in RequiemForADream ever says the word "heroin". Viewers are expected [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready to realise what it is three of the four main characters are addicted to.]]

* They always call the [[Film/{{Alien}} Aliens]] "serpents" and the {{Predator}}s "hunters" in the ''AlienVsPredator'' movie... OrSoIHeard. In-universe, the Aliens are officially known to humans as Xenomorphs, although the nickname "Bugs" is more common. (A minor character in ''[=Alien3=]'' calls them "dragons".) Likewise, when the Predators are used as viewpoint characters in the ExpandedUniverse books, they refer to themselves as "yautja", though it's unlikely any humans know this (the Predators also refer to the Xenomorph as "kainde amedha" -- "hard meat" -- and humans as "pyode amedha" -- "soft meat". Don't use the H word!)

'''Shaun:''' Don't see any... Maybe it's not as bad as all that. [[NoPeripheralVision Oh! Nope, there they are.]]

!!Examples

* Chiropterans from BloodPlus are a way to lampshade that they are sorta different from... Vampires. To be fair, the only things they have in common are the blood-sucking habit and the bat-like characteristics. ''Chiroptera'' is the scientific word for bats.

* In ''Empowered'', reanimated supers really hate the "z-word."

* No one in ''{{Cloverfield}}'' mentions the words "Godzilla", "King Kong" or even "Monster", which would be the logical words anyone would utter upon seeing the creature.

* Robots in ''GirlGenius'' are called "Clanks," ''never'' "robots." The real world owes the word 'robot' solely to Czech author Karel Capek's play R.U.R. (from Czech 'robota' = 'labor'), and ''Girl Genius'' is set before it was written. (Also, Capek's 'robots' are apparently biological creations rather than mechanical. Constructs, anybody?) Although the characters are all supposed to be speaking in German anyway, so Phil Foglio could "translate" it however he wanted.

* ''{{Ultraviolet}}'' never used the word vampire. Instead, the government called them "Code 5" (that is, V). Also 'leeches' as a slang term.

* In the {{Ravenloft}} novel ''I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin'', Strahd doesn't actually know the word "zombie" until Azalin tells him what it means. Ironic, as both of them are undead and Strahd had been casting ''Animate Dead'' spells for decades before; his native language simply hadn't had a name for the result.

* Robots in ''TopTen'' are usually called "Ferro-Americans" or "Post-organics." Some are okay with "robot", some aren't, but it's never cool to bust out "clicker" on them.
** Although [[NWordPrivileges that doesn't stop]] "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything scrap]]" musicians from using it in their songs...
** Vampires are much the same. One vampire character insists that he's "a Hungarian-American with an inherited medical condition."

*** Didn't they call them 'stenches' most of the time?

\\Film adaptations of the novel ''never'' use the word, preferring vague euphemisms. This may be because they're more often treated as zombies due to the more modern concept of a ZombieApocalypse instead of a Vampire Apocalypse, and the fact that the movie version are less like vampires. The one with Will Smith goes so far as to [[NeverTrustATrailer totally omit the existence of any monsters in the movie from most of its trailers]]. Additionally, the writers felt "vampire" was too corny, so they called them "darkseekers".
** Because "darkseeker" [[SarcasmMode doesn't sound corny at all...]]

** [[WildMassGuessing Perhaps they're two different things in the Harry Potter-verse? ]]
*** Inferi, being an old wizard word, makes more sense in-universe. Using the word zombie to describe such creatures is relatively new and would only be recognized by those familiar with muggle media of the last few decades. The series generally averts the trope and is perfectly willing to call a vampire a vampire.
** Umm... "He Who Must Not Be Named", anyone?
*** With good reason, though, as saying that name is likely to summon him when he is in power.
**** Only in the last book when [[spoiler: he's in control of the Ministry and can place a Taboo on the name.]] Before then it's just mindless paranoia.

** Wizards of the Coast have since realized that the game is popular enough to ignore such silliness, and demons now appear in almost every set.
*** They're even releasing a duel deck set for "Divine Vs. Demonic"
*** Demons were reintroduced shortly after "Summon" cards were retyped as "Creature" cards. Possibly, Wizards of the Coast thought people would have less problem with "playing a Demon creature" than "summoning a Demon".
* Played striaght and subverted in the ''[=YuGiOh=]'' card game. Zombies are an entire breed of monster, while any card in the "Demon" archetype becomes an "Archfiend" for its US release.

* Played Straight and {{Averted}} in CityOfHeroes, where there are actually three villain groups that could be described as zombies.
** The Vahzilok are corpses animated via cybernetics and stolen organs. They are referred to as zombies in-game.
** The Banished Pantheon are created via [[AWizardDidIt the power of an imprisoned god]], and are called zombies in-game.
** The Ghouls, which only exist in [[MirrorUniverse Praetoria]], appear to be made via scientific means, but are never referred to as zombies.

** And the orcs are called Jägermonstern (Huntermonsters).
*** Then again, they are not a variety of PigMan, but guys ''turned into'' SuperSoldiers.

* Subverted in ''{{Narbonic}}'', when [[spoiler:Dave dies and gets stitched back together and reanimated,]] he makes Zombie references and "Brainnsss" jokes whenever possible. Played straight in that he * never* references Frankenstein's monster, despite that being much closer (down to the bolts in the neck) to what he is.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* From the 2008 April Fools issue of the University at Buffalo school newspaper, Opinion section: "We of the American Society for Necro-Animatory Syndrome Awareness object to the outdated and offensive term 'Zombie.' We prefer the politically correct term Ambulatory Dead." The newspaper proceeds to act in a politically correct manner, though Bush is quoted as having slightly more trouble. The Onion has repeatedly done similar things.

* Obama cabinet member Holder has gone on record refusing to use the term "Islamic Extremist" when talking about TheWarOnTerror or about how events in the headlines in 2010 could be linked to it. In fact, [[DyingLikeAnimals he even refuses to refer to]] the "many possibilities" as being part of a "war."

[[/folder]]

* To certain sects in the AB4D (Alt.Barney.Dinosaur.Die.Die.Die) USENET newsgroup and it's sister website The Jihad To Destroy Barney On The Web, use of [[TheBarney It Of The Ol' One Tooth's]] name is blasphemous and is believed to give him power. Thus many degratory names were invented to label that Purple Pedophile in place of the monster's name.

* The tabletop game Unhallowed Metropolis, set in a nightmarish future London (while, in a twist, keeping the victorian setting from before the outbreak of the plague alive) where the dead do not always rest quietly, uses various terms for them, and Zombies is only one of them. The standart term is "animates", mortus animatus is the scientific name, and the term ambulatory dead is also sometimes used.

* Link in the ''{{Zelda}}'' games is a Hylian by race or Hyrulian by nationality. The term "elf" is never used, even though he belongs to a race of pointy-eared forest dwellers who use bows. Like ''[[TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]]'', this has resulted in some fan debate about whether he is actually an elf. Also used literally, as there is a race of living dead present through many of the games who have the appearance of corpses, no intelligence, and walk in a slow shuffle, yet they are only ever referred to as "[=ReDeads=]". Ocarina of Time even involves [[spoiler: a minor ZombieApocalypse, in which the entire of Hyrule town is infested by zombies, and we only see a small portion of its population evacuating to Kakariko. Nevertheless, all we hear is something along the lines of "Under Ganon, Hyrule became a land of monsters".]]

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is to be commended for being well into its third season with no sign of planning to use the word "mutant". Or for that matter, "superhero" or "supervillain". The FanNickname for people with powers in ''{{Heroes}}'' is "evolved humans", because those are ''nothing'' like "mutants" (of course, granted, [[TheDCU "metahuman" is already taken]]...). And no one in ''{{Heroes}}'' has "powers", going by Heroes Wiki; they have "abilities". And no one has "super strength", they have "enhanced strength", because "super strength"... well that would be just ''silly''.

* Subverted in ''Narbonic'', when [[spoiler:Dave dies and gets stitched back together and reanimated,]] he makes Zombie references and "Brainnsss" jokes whenever possible. Played straight in that he *never* references Frankenstein's monster, despite that being much closer (down to the bolts in the neck) to what he is.

* Lampshaded in [[http://deadmetaphor.comicdish.com Dead Metaphor]], a 'zombie comedy' webcomic. People call the undead 'zombies', but it's considered a politically-incorrect term, on par with calling someone a retard.

* The {{Disney/Aladdin}} series had a character that controlled what were obviously some form of Undead, but the words undead and zombie were never mentioned. Instead, they were always called Mamluks, which rather than being some kind of mythological creature, simply means "slave" in Arabic. While they ''were'' enslaved zombies.

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* Invoked and justified in Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. It's evidently easier to accept that they're dead if they're called "Exes" as in "Ex-living" or "Ex-people".