| 1 | Usually, the {{Trope Namer|s}} for a trope provides the [[TropeCodifier one codifying example]] to define them all. Sometimes, however, a trope is named after something that isn't itself a good example of the trope -- or isn't an instance of the trope at all. Sometimes the quote sounds nice but it is in the wrong context. Oftentimes the trope is a variation on ''another'' trope and receives a name based on it. |
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| 3 | Be particularly careful when linking to such trope pages, because they might not be [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant what they sound like]] at first glance. (Obviously, any [[YMMV.HomePage YMMV]] entry with a specific Trope Namer could be an example in the eyes of some viewers but not others; and some have actually been renamed because of it.) |
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| 5 | Not to be confused with JustForFun/PunnyTropeNames or {{Snowclone}} titles, although this is often caused by snowcloning the name of another trope. Also not to be confused with works that seem like the Trope Namer, but aren't really (FurAndLoathing was not named after the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode, nor was {{Determinator}} named from one of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForceColonMovieFilmForTheaters''[='=] Fake.com Endings). |
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| 7 | Then there are the tropes [[BeamMeUpScotty named after lines of dialogue that the Trope Namer never actually said]]. |
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| 9 | Contrast SelfDemonstratingArticle and ThisTropeNameReferencesItself. Compare DefiedTrope and NonIndicativeName. Also see ThisImageIsNotAnExample. Is similar to DeadUnicornTrope in the sense that both are about believing a certain trope is more prevalent than it really is, but is distinct in that these tropes have ''one specific moment'' that does not follow. |
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| 11 | Oh, and don't bother listing this page itself, [[MindScrew as then it would no longer belong]] (due to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox Russell's paradox]]). |
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| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | !!Tropes: |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[folder:Actual non-example trope namers]] |
| 19 | [[index]] |
| 20 | * AboveTheInfluence -- A character refuses to accept the advances of another character who is not fit to consent, such as a state of intoxication. The American campaign of the same name is instead encouraging the viewers to stay off drugs. |
| 21 | * AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder -- A character moves on after being separated from their spouse. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'', in which the protagonist King Graham's family is kidnapped and he's ''not'' moving on -- "going yonder" for him means setting out to rescue them. |
| 22 | * AcquittedTooLate -- A character is executed and then found to be not guilty after the fact. The Trope Namer is Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'', in which the phrase "acquitted too late" refers not to a character who was executed, but rather [[SuspectExistenceFailure one who was murdered]] -- one of the TenLittleMurderVictims must be the killer, so being a victim is an "acquittal" of sorts. And even then, the killer [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] to deflect suspicion, hence why "and then there were none". |
| 23 | * AliensOfLondon -- Aliens who [[AliensSpeakingEnglish speak English]] do so with a distinctive accent for no good reason. The Trope Namer is the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon Aliens of London]]", where the aliens in question do have a good reason for speaking in distinctive British accents-- they're in HumanDisguise as British government officials. Interestingly, [[TheNthDoctor this incarnation]] of the Doctor (as portrayed by Creator/ChristopherEccleston) fits the trope himself with his distinctive [[OopNorth non-London accent]]. |
| 24 | * AndSomeOtherStuff -- A work describes how to make something dangerous, but avoids listing a key ingredient to prevent impressionable viewers from making it themselves. The Trope Namer is ''Series/BurnNotice'', which typically ''did'' include full recipes for its dangerous things -- in this case, the character is withholding ingredients from another character, and the show did it because there ''are'' no ingredients that one could add to create an explosion as big as we saw. |
| 25 | * AnotherSideAnotherStory -- Playing the game from the perspective of the other side, and getting a different story. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', but it's a secret movie that plays after beating the game with certain criteria fulfilled, so it's not strictly "another story" so much as a SequelHook. |
| 26 | * ArtAttacker -- Using art as a weapon. The Trope Namer is ''Series/ArtAttack'', which was a British children's art show in which nobody ''weaponized'' the art; the trope was just a {{Pun}} on the show's name. |
| 27 | * BabyDontGotBack -- A character with a small rear end. The name comes from Music/SirMixALot's smash hit "Baby Got Back", which is about a character with a ''large'' rear end -- as he famously sang, he likes big butts and he cannot lie. |
| 28 | * BatOutOfHell -- The Trope Namer is the Music/MeatLoaf album of the same name, which uses the term metaphorically (although it does feature a big bat on the cover). The trope itself uses the term literally to refer to giant demonic bats. |
| 29 | * BayonetYa -- The trope is about literal bayonets -- a blade attached to the end of a firearm so that you can use it even if you run out to ammunition. The trope's name is a pun on ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', whose protagonist has a wide range of weapons but not any actual bayonets. |
| 30 | * BearsAreBadNews -- The trope is about dangerous bears. The name is a pun on ''Film/TheBadNewsBears'', who are not literal bears but a little league baseball team trying to evoke that imagery. |
| 31 | * BitsOfMeKeepPassingOut -- Body parts fall asleep. The Trope Namer is ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'', whose protagonist uses the phrase to describe his general sense of feeling like crap after his first space travel experience rather than any specific body part falling asleep (although the use of the Infinite Improbability Drive shortly thereafter does make some of them temporarily disappear or change size). |
| 32 | * BlackDudeDiesFirst -- The trope is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The Trope Namer is ''Film/Evolution2001'', in which a black character says this line as a GenreSavvy excuse not to do something dangerous -- and this is why [[DefiedTrope he survives]]. |
| 33 | * BlackMetal -- An extreme subgenre of HeavyMetal, named after a song by Music/{{Venom}} which certainly was influential on the genre but in itself is much closer to ThrashMetal. |
| 34 | * BlindedByTheLight -- The Trope Namer is a song by Music/BruceSpringsteen, which uses the term metaphorically. The trope itself uses the term literally to refer to blinding an opponent with bright lights for a combative advantage. |
| 35 | * BlitheSpirit -- An inspiring force upset the stuffy old status quo for the better. The name comes from a line in Creator/PercyByssheShelley's poem "To a Skylark", which later supplied its name to [[Theatre/BlitheSpirit a play]] by Creator/NoelCoward, neither of which are really about the trope. |
| 36 | * BlowYouAway -- The trope is about wind-based ElementalPowers, but it draws its name from a common figure of speech referring to being very impressed by something. |
| 37 | * BreakawayPopHit -- A song that's hugely popular coming from a movie no one remembers. The Trope Namer is the musical episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', in which Anya notes that her song {{averted|Trope}} the trope. |
| 38 | * BrilliantButLazy -- The trope is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin about what it says]]. The Trope Namer is ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', whose protagonist is described as such by those who note his intelligence and his poor school performance -- except his poor grades are not from laziness, but rather from devoting more time to being a superhero than to studying. The exact phrasing comes from the movie ''Film/SpiderMan2'', and in ''that'' case it's the villain Doc Ock seeing Spider-Man unmask himself and giving a wry IronicEcho of his earlier assessment of Peter. |
| 39 | * BrooklynRage -- A violent New Yorker, often from the outer boroughs like Brooklyn. The Trope Namer is ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', which is making fun of the English dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' giving Joey a random Brooklyn accent; while the Abridged version of Joey does exhibit occasional violent tendencies, he's explicitly ''not'' from New York and just has an UnexplainedAccent for RuleOfFunny. (In context, "Brooklyn rage!" is really a ForcedMeme based on said accent.) |
| 40 | * CannotTellALie -- A character is physically incapable of lying. The Trope Namer is Mason Locke Weems' (likely apocryphal) story about a young UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, who was perfectly capable of telling a lie but [[WillNotTellALie honorably chose not to]] when confronted about his misbehavior. |
| 41 | * CarryABigStick -- A large, blunt objects used as a weapon. The Trope Namer is a quotation from UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt which was used as a metaphor for GunboatDiplomacy: "Speak softly, and carry a big stick; you will go far." |
| 42 | * CatapultToGlory -- A character launches from a siege weapon for a surprise attack. The Trope Namer is the Website/DarwinAwards, which is actually describing someone who died in an ill-conceived TreeBuchet attempt. |
| 43 | * CatConcerto -- Cats singing (or rather yowling) on the back fence. The Trope Namer is the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon "WesternAnimation/TheCatConcerto", in which the cat isn't singing at all but rather playing a piano. Which makes sense; in ClassicalMusic, that's what a concerto is -- not a sung piece, but an instrumental solo with orchestral accompaniment. |
| 44 | * CaughtUpInTheRapture -- The trope is about Christian eschatology, in which TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is imminent but the good believers are beamed up to Heaven beforehand. The Trope Namer is a song by Music/AnitaBaker, which uses the Christian imagery as a metaphor but is otherwise a traditional love song. |
| 45 | * ChainedHeat -- Diametrically opposed characters are shackled together. The Trope Namer is a film of the same name which is actually just a LesYay-filled ExploitationFilm about [[GirlsBehindBars a women's prison]]. |
| 46 | * AChildShallLeadThem -- A minor is in a position of great authority. The Trope Namer is the [[Literature/TheBible Bible verse]] [[Literature/BookOfIsaiah Isaiah 11:6]], which uses a small child as a metaphor -- it's describing a world so peaceful that it wouldn't fall apart even if led by a small child. |
| 47 | * ChurchMilitant -- A church engages in active warfare, with lots of weapons. It's named after a common phrase used in Catholicism, which is actually about ''spiritual'' warfare. |
| 48 | * ClothesMakeTheSuperman -- A superhero derives his powers from his clothes. The Trope Namer is ComicBook/{{Superman}}, who ''doesn't'' draw his powers this way; "Superman" is just a great poetic shorthand for "superhero", and fits into the old saying "clothes make the man". |
| 49 | * {{Cloudcuckooland}} -- An odd place, where you might find a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. The Trope Namer is Creator/{{Aristophanes}}'s play ''Theatre/TheBirds''; it's a translation of the term "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_cuckoo_land Nephelokokkygia]]", and it's not an odd place, but rather a fictional {{Utopia}}. |
| 50 | * CompleteMonster -- A trope with a strict definition, which its Trope Namer doesn't meet. The term was coined by Creator/StephenKing in his 1981 [[BooksOnTrope Book on Trope]] ''Literature/DanseMacabre'' to describe Herbie Satten, a conceited baseball player from the Creator/ECComics strip "Foul Play!", who poisons an opponent to win a game. However, he fails the strict definition for two reasons: first, this act, while heinous, is a single act, whereas a Complete Monster displays a pattern of such acts (all Herbie does is cross the MoralEventHorizon); and second, his next opponents [[PayEvilUntoEvil murder him]] in a VigilanteExecution and [[SeveredHeadSports use his body parts for a grotesque ball game]], whereas a Complete Monster must be clearly more heinous than every other character. Herbie's not a Complete Monster; he's just a HateSink. |
| 51 | * CrocodileTears -- Feigned crying for the purpose of emotional manipulation. The name is a common idiom that derives from the idea that crocodiles don't cry because they're sad -- which is true, but not because they're being emotionally manipulative; that's just the only way they can clean their eyes. |
| 52 | * CryingARiver -- Characters cry so hard that they cause flooding. The name is a common idiom for excessive crying which doesn't happen literally. |
| 53 | * CueTheSun -- A symbolically positive sunrise. The Trope Namer is ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', in which it's meant literally -- as part of the TrumanShowPlot, the directors literally must cue the sun to start the day in the artificial town. |
| 54 | * DaydreamBeliever -- A character believes fictional stories are true. The Trope Namer is a song of that name by Music/TheMonkees, which is about a singer trying to cheer up a teenaged girl who once idolized him but now doesn't. |
| 55 | * DayOfTheJackboot -- A totalitarian regime takes over. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'', which is about an {{assassination attempt}} against French President UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle in revenge for ending the Algerian War -- political and anti-democratic, but not necessarily with the aim of installing a totalitarian regime. It's a pun on the work combined with the slang term "jackbooted thugs" coined by RightWingMilitiaFanatic[=s=] to describe government agents whom they ''think'' are trying to install a totalitarian regime. |
| 56 | * DaysOfFuturePast -- A future with historical elements. The Trope Namer is the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comic [[ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast of the same name]] (and its subsequent [[Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast film adaptation]]), which is actually about travelling to the past to prevent a BadFuture. |
| 57 | * TheDayTheMusicLied -- When the background music suggests that something cool is about to happen, but then the cool thing doesn't happen. The trope namer is the accident in which several musicians (e.g. Buddy Holly) died in a plane crash, which was known as "The Day the Music Died" after the song "American Pie". However, neither the accident nor the song involved music falsely suggesting something cool would happen. |
| 58 | * DeathOfAThousandCuts -- A weapon or strategy defeats an opponent with a large number of [[ScratchDamage weak attacks]]. The term comes from a translation of the Chinese term ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingchi lingchi]]'', an ancient execution method in which the victim's body is slowly ''dismembered'' over a long period of time. |
| 59 | * DeliverUsFromEvil -- A HeelFaceTurn caused by having a baby. The name comes from a line in [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Lord's Prayer]], which is just about being rescued from evil without the pun on "delivering" a baby. |
| 60 | * DemBones -- The trope is about animate skeletons. The Trope Namer is a folk song of the same name about the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones in the Biblical Literature/BookOfEzekiel, in which the skeletons in question are immediately given flesh and souls once they're reanimated. |
| 61 | * DiedInYourArmsTonight -- A character dies in another character's arms. The Trope Namer is a song by Cutting Crew which is about something completely different -- in this case, "died" is an UnusualEuphemism for [[IntercourseWithYou having an orgasm]] (although there is a cover version that ''does'' use the term in the sense of the trope). |
| 62 | * DifferentForGirls -- A [[GenderBender gender-bent]] character comes to terms with what's different about being a girl. The Trope Namer is a song of that name by Music/JoeJackson, which is about how dating and love are different for girls and has nothing to do with gender-bending. |
| 63 | * DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent -- A character has multiple conflicting allegiances. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', which uses the term to describe the Spy; but this level of complicated espionage isn't technically possible in the game (where teammates are FriendlyFireproof), and in supplemental material every instance of the Spy is definitely loyal to his own team. |
| 64 | * DrugsAreBad -- A StockAesop in which drugs have no positive use whatsoever. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in which it's an occasional catchphrase and almost always played as a SpoofAesop; if the show has any real Aesop to tell, it's that drug addiction is caused by external factors and can only be fought by identifying and helping people particularly susceptible to addiction. |
| 65 | * ElSpanishO -- English words vaguely changed to make them sound like Spanish. The Trope Namer is the El Producto brand of cigars, which sounds like this trope but is grammatically correct Spanish. |
| 66 | * EnemyWithin -- An internal struggle with an evil entity. The Trope Namer is the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS1E5TheEnemyWithin of the same name]], which is actually about a LiteralSplitPersonality. |
| 67 | * EverybodyMustGetStoned -- Almost all the characters are taking mind-altering substances. The Trope Namer is a lyric from Music/BobDylan's song "Rainy Day Woman #12 and #35", which is not actually about mind-altering substances (despite a huge MisaimedFandom thinking so). |
| 68 | * EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily -- All the villains get along with each other. The Trope Namer is ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where it's spoken sarcastically by a villain who's annoyed at an underling thinking it's true. |
| 69 | * ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter -- The trope is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what it means]]. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', where the Sultan uses the phrase to describe himself -- except his trust in [[ObviouslyEvil Jafar]] would make him appear to be [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter the exact opposite]] (granted, it's implied that Jafar was using magic to manipulate him). |
| 70 | * ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow -- Villains tend to wear obscene amounts of eyeshadow. The Trope Namer is the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', where the eyeshadow is not worn by a villain but rather by a kind-hearted witch who only wears it when she wants to look scary like a typical witch. |
| 71 | * EyeOfNewt -- Unusual ingredients in magical recipes, often involving animal parts. The Trope Namer is ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', where "eye of newt" is indeed one of the ingredients in the witches' brew, which all had names like this -- except these were all folk names for common herbs. "Eye of newt" itself refers to mustard seed. |
| 72 | * FailureIsTheOnlyOption -- All attempts to fulfill the SeriesGoal before the story's end fail because doing so would end the story prematurely. The name is derived from the line "Failure is ''not'' an option!" in ''Film/Apollo13''. In this film, there are no opportunities for the astronauts to get home sooner than they do, and the successful completion of this goal is a ForegoneConclusion. |
| 73 | * FantasticFoxes -- Foxes from mythology. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/FantasticMrFox'', who isn't a mythological fox; just an ordinary FunnyAnimal. |
| 74 | * FearfulSymmetry -- A battle whose participants are doing the exact same thing, so it looks like a mirror image. The Trope Namer is a line from Creator/WilliamBlake's poem "The Tyger", which is much more metaphorical and has nothing to do with the trope. |
| 75 | * FingerPokeOfDoom -- An attack that looks weak but is actually incredibly powerful. The Trope Namer is the FanNickname for an incident on ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' in which [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Hollywood Hogan]] won a match against Wrestling/KevinNash almost entirely by poking him -- while it ''could'' be a straight example within the confines of {{Kayfabe}}, outside of that everyone knew that Nash was basically ThrowingTheFight. |
| 76 | * FlashSideways -- A character has a vision not of the past or the future, but the present in an AlternateUniverse. The Trope Namer is a common description of the last season of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', which is kind of the TropeCodifier but not actually an example because [[spoiler:the "alternate timeline" turned out to be the afterlife]]. |
| 77 | * FlorenceNightingaleEffect -- A nurse falls in love with their patient. The Trope Namer is the famous nurse Florence Nightingale, who never did this to anyone; she was just a byword for a nurse. It's not our fault; the psychologists who named the phenomenon had really SmallReferencePools. |
| 78 | * ForegoneConclusion -- The audience knows from the beginning how a story will end. The Trope Namer is ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', in which Iago uses the term to say YouAreTooLate because something has already happened. |
| 79 | * FreeRangeChildren -- Kids can wander around anywhere with little to no adult supervision. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and specifically the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E6TreehouseOfHorrorV Treehouse Of Horror V]]" segment "Nightmare Cafeteria", in which "free-range" is used in its meat-eating context; the kids were [[ImAHumanitarian for eating later]]. |
| 80 | * FreudianExcuse -- A villain blames their villainy on childhood tragedy. The name comes from psychologist UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud, who made a name for himself on analyzing childhood and its effect on adulthood. But he never went so far as to suggest that an unhappy or abusive childhood would turn someone evil, or that anyone would or should use it as an excuse for their actions. |
| 81 | * FutureImperfect -- People from the future have incorrect ideas about the past. The Trope Namer is the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode of the same name, in which Riker winds up in [[FakedRipVanWinkle an illusory vision of his future life]], which is "imperfect" in the sense that it's not convincing enough to fool him. |
| 82 | * GameOverMan -- A {{Video Game Trope|s}} in which character acknowledges your death on the GameOver screen. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', which uses the line for a character panicking in fear and has nothing to do with video games. |
| 83 | * GirlFriday -- A very competent AlwaysFemale assistant. The Trope Namer is the ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' character Friday, who's actually male. (The exact phrase "Girl Friday" ''is'' the name of a 1994 TV movie and a song by the Beat Crusaders, but neither of those are examples either.) |
| 84 | * GoddamnedBats -- Weak but annoying video game enemies. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'', which discusses Gonzo being attacked by imaginary bats as part of a drug-induced haze and has nothing to do with video games. |
| 85 | * GogglesDoNothing -- Goggles used only as an accessory, not for protecting the eyes. The Trope Namer is a {{memetic|Mutation}} line from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', in which the [[TheAhnold Rainier Wolfcastle]] ''did'' try to use the goggles for eye protection only to find that they weren't quite enough. |
| 86 | * GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand -- A common logo among villains, depicting a hand holding the world. The Trope Namer is the spiritual children's song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", referring to {{God}} and how he keeps the world under control. |
| 87 | * GravityIsAHarshMistress -- Gravity isn't working the way it's supposed to. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'', in which the title character is complaining about gravity working ''exactly'' as it's supposed to -- just not to his advantage. (Good thing he's NighInvulnerable.) |
| 88 | * GreatBallsOfFire -- Hard rock musicians relying heavily on ImpressivePyrotechnics and other theatrics. The Trope Namer is the Music/JerryLeeLewis song of the same name, which is in an [[{{Rockabilly}} entirely different genre]]. Interestingly, the song also lends its name to [[Film/GreatBallsOfFire a biopic about Lewis]] which depicts him ''kind of'' partaking in the trope by setting his piano on fire, but in real life Lewis claimed he never did that. |
| 89 | * {{Grimmification}} -- Taking a {{Bowdlerise}}d story and going way in the other direction to make it DarkerAndEdgier or, as one might say, grimmer. The Trope Namer is Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, who picked up a reputation over the years for grimdark {{Fairy Tale}}s -- except they actually {{Bowdlerise}}d their stories themselves, and the originals were even ''darker'' (and sexier and more violent). |
| 90 | * HalfTheManHeUsedToBe -- The Trope Namer is a lyric from Music/TheBeatles song "Yesterday", which uses the term metaphorically. The trope uses the term literally to refer to people being cut in half. |
| 91 | * HappyHarlequinHat -- The "coxcomb", or the classic "jester hat" with bells on it. The Trope Namer is the character Harlequin from CommediaDellArte, who never actually wore this hat. (Most Tropers are more familiar with ComicBooks than Renaissance theatre, so they probably think the Trope Namer is the ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, who fits the trope perfectly.) |
| 92 | * HavingABlast -- Explosion-based elemental powers. The name is a common idiom that just refers to having a great time. |
| 93 | * HeManWomanHater -- Grown men who dislike women. The Trope Namer is ''Film/TheLittleRascals'', whose protagonists are little kids; while some of them do hold such opinions, that falls instead under GirlsHaveCooties. |
| 94 | * HeadsIWinTailsYouLose -- The Trope Namer is item 35 on Website/TheGrandListOfConsoleRolePlayingGameCliches, referring to a boss [[TheBattleDidntCount who doesn't die even though you beat it]]. The trope itself goes even further; the boss not only doesn't die, but it turns around and defeats the player. Both of these contrast with HopelessBossFight, as losing to the boss in the battle itself still means GameOver. |
| 95 | * HealThyself -- Using a HealingFactor on oneself. The name comes from a [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] quote about how doctors ''can't'' [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes heal themselves]]. |
| 96 | * HorseOfADifferentColor -- Non-horse animals used as horses. The name comes from an idiom meaning "another matter entirely". |
| 97 | * HumanityIsSuperior -- Humanity's [[PlanetOfHats Hat]] is being the best. The Trope Namer is a line from ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', spoken by a character who doesn't really believe it (and has no reason to in the setting); he's just taunting someone from another species. (And he was also crazy at the time.) |
| 98 | * HydePlaysJekyll -- A JekyllAndHyde pairing in which one personality pretends to be the other. The trope is named after ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' but never appeared in the book; JekyllAndHyde are just a longstanding shorthand for this sort of personality split. |
| 99 | * TheHyena -- The trope is not about literal hyenas, but rather a character who laughs at everything. The name comes from a popular conception of a hyena's barking as sounding like laughter, but it's not ''actually'' laughter. |
| 100 | * IAmWhatIAm -- A character learns to accept who they are. The Trope Namer is Literature/TheBible, in which {{God}} utters these words in the context of giving His name (or [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm something like it]]). |
| 101 | * IBelieveICanFly -- The Trope Namer is a song by Music/RKelly of the same name which uses it as a metaphor for how it feels to fall in love. The trope itself uses the term literally to describe settings where every superhero seems to know how to fly. |
| 102 | * TheIgor -- A SycophanticServant to a MadScientist, often short, not technically inclined, and a hunchback, often a sendup of the assistant of Dr. Frankenstein, the putative Trope Namer. However, there is no such character in [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} the original book]], and while such a character does exist in [[Film/Frankenstein1931 the 1931 film adaptation]] (and is pretty much the TropeMaker), his name was "Fritz". The name "Ygor" was used for a assistant (portrayed by Creator/BelaLugosi) from the third sequel ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'', who otherwise didn't fit the trope. |
| 103 | * InTheHood -- Wearing a hood to conceal one's identity. The name comes from a phrase used to describe being in "the 'hood" -- "'hood" being short for "neighborhood" and shorthand for the urban ghettoes that lend the name to the HoodFilm genre. (Although it might be an example if a gangster is using a hoodie like this.) |
| 104 | * InsaneTrollLogic -- An argument uses bizarre and nonsensical reasoning, often done deliberately by a {{Troll}}. The Trope Namer is ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', which used the term to refer to [[AllTrollsAreDifferent actual trolls]], as a means of mocking them and their diminished capacity for logical reasoning. |
| 105 | * IRejectYourReality -- A character dismisses facts they don't agree with. The Trope Namer -- shortened from the line "I reject your reality and substitute my own!" -- is ''Film/TheDungeonmaster'', but in that case it was used legitimately, [[ShutUpHannibal in response to the villain threatening]] to destroy the protagonist "in a future reality". However, the phrase was popularized by the ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}''' Adam Savage, who was definitely using it in the sense of the trope. |
| 106 | * IsntItIronic -- A work uses a song without realizing the implications of it, often because [[LyricalDissonance they weren't paying attention to the lyrics]] (and missed an {{Irony}} therein). The Trope Namer is a song by Music/AlanisMorissette of the same name which is famous for [[NonindicativeName not having any examples of irony]] in it. Since the trope used the name of a song without any consideration to its lyrics, the trope could ''also'' be said to [[ThisTropeNameReferencesItself be an example of itself]]. |
| 107 | * IstanbulNotConstantinople -- An AlternateHistory work renames RealLife places to reflect changes in the timeline. The Trope Namer is a song by the Four Lads of that name ([[CoveredUp made famous]] by Music/TheyMightBeGiants) which isn't about AlternateHistory at all; in our own timeline, the city of Constantinople [[PleaseSelectNewCityName was renamed]] Istanbul in 1930. |
| 108 | * ItsRainingMen -- A large number of people fall from the sky at once, usually paratroopers. The Trope Namer is a song of that name by the Weather Girls, which has a lot more to do with [[AllWomenAreLustful the sudden appearance of a lot of hunky men]] than the fact that they're coming out of the sky. (The music video has all of two men actually floating down from the sky -- [[ParasolParachute on umbrellas]].) |
| 109 | %% Discussed tropes *ARE* examples. * ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure -- Getting rid of a threat by destroying the entire area. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', where Ripley uses this phrase to back up her suggestion to [[NukeEm nuke the colony from orbit]] to ensure the eradication of the Xenomorphs, but it's not an example because it never actually happens; instead, the atmospheric processor on the planet explodes by accident. |
| 110 | * {{Jerkass}} -- A character so unpleasant that it's unrealistic for anyone to want to interact with them. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E13TheJoyOfSect The Joy of Sect]]", where the word is coined by Homer to shout at someone in his car's path. Fans would later use the word to describe Homer himself, coining the term "Jerkass Homer" to refer specifically to his [[TookALevelInJerkass increasingly selfish characterization]] (which, coincidentally enough, started right around that episode). |
| 111 | * JoinOrDie -- A villainous organizations kills anyone who doesn't join them. The Trope Namer is Creator/BenjaminFranklin's political cartoon depicting the individual fledgling United States; in that context, it wasn't that the States would kill those who didn't join, but rather that [[DividedWeFall they would die on their own without joining]]. |
| 112 | * KillItWithFire -- The trope is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin about what the name says]]. The name comes from an [[MemeticMutation Internet meme]] which wasn't about literal fire; it referred to deleting computer files, images, or articles. |
| 113 | * KnightTemplar -- A villain who thinks they're a hero. The Trope Namer is UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar, who were never strictly villains; they just got that reputation thanks to propaganda of the time. Their portrayal in ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', which ''does'' fit the trope, has also played a part in shaping their popular perception. |
| 114 | * KnowNothingKnowItAll -- An idiot who thinks they're smart. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E5LisaTheVegetarian Lisa the Vegetarian]]", where Homer throws the phrase at Lisa as an insult; she's not an example because while she is pretty full of herself, she's genuinely smart, meaning she's an authentic InsufferableGenius. |
| 115 | * LetsFightLikeGentlemen -- Combatants lay down ground rules before fighting. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' character [[CulturedBadass Dudley]], who offers this line but no actual ground rules, and very much does ''not'' [[ThisIndexFightsDirty fight like a gentleman]]. |
| 116 | * LikeASurgeon -- Non-surgery situations treated like surgery for comedic effect. The Trope Namer is Music/WeirdAlYankovic's song of the same name, itself a {{parody}} of Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Like a Virgin" and about a real surgeon (but one who [[ComicallyIneptHealing probably shouldn't have a medical license]]). |
| 117 | * TheLivingDead -- A SpecialEffectFailure reveals that a corpse is being played by a live person. The Trope Namer is the ''Film/LivingDeadSeries'', which uses the term to refer to zombies in general. |
| 118 | * LoliconAndShotacon -- The trope is about paedophilia in fiction, particularly in Japanese works that themselves seek to sexualise minors. There are two Trope Namers: the title character of ''Literature/{{Lolita}}'' for girls, and [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Shotaro Kaneda]] from ''Anime/{{Gigantor}}'' for boys. Neither are strictly speaking examples; Shotaro isn't sexualised at all, while Lolita ''shouldn't'' be sexualised because the book is about the UnreliableNarrator-slash-VillainProtagonist's attraction to her. The fact that enough people thought otherwise to use those characters for their FanSpeak terms shows why the trope is so controversial. (If you're wondering, the "con" bit is a Japanese slang term for "complex".) |
| 119 | * LuckyCharmsTitle -- A work's title uses non-alphanumeric symbols. The Trope Namer is the Lucky Charms cereal brand, whose own name is spelled entirely with letters; it's the cereal's marshmallow shapes that resemble the kind of symbols the trope contemplates. |
| 120 | * LudicrousSpeed -- Speed so fast, it drives you ludicrous. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', which heavily implies that you'd already have to be ludicrous to ''want'' to go that fast, and in which the characters suffer no lasting side effects (aside from some AmusingInjuries). |
| 121 | * MachineEmpathy -- Someone with enough technical knowledge to know a machine's problems by feel. The Trope Namer is ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', which uses the term to refer to supernatural control of machines -- something we call {{Technopath}}y. |
| 122 | * TheMadHatter -- A madman who acknowledges, accepts, and embraces his madness. The Trope Namer is the character of that name from ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', who isn't really an example because while he's plenty mad, he's hardly madder than anyone else in Wonderland. (If the book has an example at all, it's the Cheshire Cat.) |
| 123 | * MagicBus -- A vehicle (often, but not necessarily, a bus) that can do amazing things for [[AWizardDidIt no adequately explained reason]]. The Trope Namer is a song by that name by Music/TheWho, which is about an ordinary bus that's metaphorically magical. |
| 124 | * MagnificentBastard -- A [[TheChessmaster particularly cunning]], [[VisionaryVillain dedicated]], and [[TheCharmer charming]] villain. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Patton}}'', in which U.S. Army General UsefulNotes/GeorgeSPatton uses the term to refer to his German counterpart UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel. It's not an example because while Patton does consider Rommel a WorthyOpponent, Rommel has so little of a role in the movie that there's no indication that he fits the full character archetype. |
| 125 | * ManIFeelLikeAWoman -- The trope is named after a song by Music/ShaniaTwain, which is about female independence. The trope itself uses the phrase literally to refer to a male character [[GenderBender becoming a woman]] and reacting by feeling up their new body. |
| 126 | * MarySue -- The trope has a fiendishly complex definition (the page lists 14 subtropes and just as many alternative definitions), but at its most basic it's a poorly written FanFic character, often a {{self insert|Fic}}, who is the center of the story's universe and makes the story ''much'' worse for it. The Trope Namer is the protagonist of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'', which was a {{parody}} written at a time when fans were long familiar with the phenomenon (particularly the variety we call a MarySueClassic). Mary Sue herself would thus be an example of a ParodySue and not strictly a "Mary Sue". |
| 127 | * TheMasochismTango -- Emotional abuse and dysfunction in an unhappy relationship between people ill-suited to each other. The Trope Namer is a song by Music/TomLehrer which is about a man being physically tortured by his lover -- except they really ''do'' love each other and are doing it consensually, they're just into a [[BloodyHilarious particularly violent]] brand of UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}}. |
| 128 | * MasterOfYourDomain: A character can manipulate their body to a supernatural degree, named for an episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' where the phrase instead referred to abstaining from masturbation. |
| 129 | * MexicanStandoff -- Two or more people are pointing weapons at each other such that if one fires, they all die. The name comes from a term coined by a 19th-century newspaper as a metaphor to describe a political struggle for power in Mexico; it originally said nothing about weapons. |
| 130 | * MissedHimByThatMuch -- Two characters manage to miss meeting each other by an improbably small margin. The Trope Namer is ''Series/GetSmart'', where "Missed it by that much!" was one of the protagonist's {{Catch Phrase}}s; while he used it in a variety of situations, the sense of the trope never happened to him (although if it did, you can bet he'd say the line). |
| 131 | * MisterBig -- A villain who's short but nonetheless in charge. The Trope Namer is the villain of that name from the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' film ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', who was never a particularly small man (and his [[Literature/LiveAndLetDie original novel incarnation]] was straight-up LargeAndInCharge). |
| 132 | * ModernMajorGeneral: Someone who despite their incompetence at their job, has numerous non-job related skills. The MajorGeneralSong from ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' sounds impressive to the uninitiated, but most of the things that the Major General brags about doing are either flat-out impossible or trivially easy. To "know the Kings of England" involves his period's equivalent of a middle school education, and one cannot know "every detail of Caractacus’s uniform" due to him only ever being drawn while nude. |
| 133 | * MoneyForNothing -- Getting money but having nothing to spend it on. The Trope Namer is a song by Music/DireStraits, which is about a working-class man opining on how rock stars earn their income -- not "nothing to spend it on", but "did nothing to earn it". |
| 134 | * DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound -- A [[DarthWiki/ThisExists Darth Wiki]] trope about particularly grating {{Video Game|s}} sounds. The Trope Namer is the film ''Film/DumbAndDumber'', which indeed uses the term to refer to a particularly grating sound -- but since it's Darth Wiki, the trope has a strict definition, and examples can only come from video games or toys. |
| 135 | * MorphicResonance--The trope referse to a person being transformed into another species or object and still resembling an original form. The trope namer is a controversial hypothesis that argues for the existence of a "Morphic Field" that informs the capabilities and specifications of a species, and is imprinted upon by members of the species gaining a new skill or useful mutation, and is thus more an example of LamarckWasRight. |
| 136 | %% Discussed tropes ARE examples. * MostCommonSuperpower -- Female superheroes all seem to have large breasts. The Trope Namer is ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', which never exhibits the trope despite being a comic -- the term was coined from the characters' ConversationalTroping. |
| 137 | * MurderDotCom -- The actual site is just a directory for murder mystery fans, not a live execution feed of any sort. |
| 138 | * MyCountryRightOrWrong -- A character sides with their country regardless of whether they agrees with its actions. The Trope Namer is a quote from U.S. Navy Commander Stephen Decatur -- but [[QuoteMine only part of it]]. The full quote, which pulls itself out of the sense of the trope, is "My country, right or wrong. If right, to be kept right, and if wrong, to be set right, but always, my country!" |
| 139 | * MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning -- A character, usually a villain, sacrifices themself to initiate a plan. The Trope Namer is Pious Augustus from ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', who's not an example because [[spoiler:there's no plan to be had]]. |
| 140 | * MyHeroZero -- "Zero" as a cool name for a person or thing. The Trope Namer is a song from ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock'', which is about the ''mathematical'' coolness of the number itself. |
| 141 | * MyHorseIsAMotorbike -- A modern-day motorcycle is used as a CoolHorse. The Trope Namer is a {{meme|ticMutation}} from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', which actually refers to the [[InvertedTrope opposite phenomenon]] -- Date Masamune has a horse that he outfitted with handlebars and tailpipes to give himself a BadassBiker aesthetic. |
| 142 | * MyOwnGrampa -- The trope is named for a 1947 song by Lonzo and Oscar, which is about [[DoubleInLawMarriage complicated matrimonial relations]] leading to a guy becoming his own step-grandfather. The trope is more literal -- it's about becoming one's own ''biological'' ancestor, usually through TimeTravel. |
| 143 | * MyOwnPrivateIDo -- A wedding with few to no guests, either because the participants rushed to do it or because they want to have the special moment to themselves. The name is a pun on Music/TheB52s song "My Own Private Idaho", which doesn't have anything to do with marriage. Nor does [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho the film]] that takes its name from the song. |
| 144 | * TheNapoleon -- A short person with an [[HotBlooded equally short temper]]. The name comes from the psychological term "Napoleon complex", which refers to aggressiveness derived from insecurity about one's height. The term in turn comes from UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, but he's not an example because he wasn't that short; he was actually slightly ''above''-average by 18th century standards.[[note]] Since human height is partially determined by childhood health and nutrition, average human height has increased significantly since the 18th century due to various medical advances and greater access to food.[[/note]] Perception of him being short comes from UnitConfusion between France and England (and his tendency to surround himself with particularly tall Imperial Guardsmen). |
| 145 | * NextSundayAD -- A story takes place in the future, but so soon that it's practically indistinguishable from the present. The name comes from the ThemeTune of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', which ''was'' set in a future distant enough to find space travel and sentient robots -- it was just a silly way to inexplicitly describe the show's date. |
| 146 | * NiceJobBreakingItHerod -- A villain fails to kill a child who's destined to defeat him. The name is a snowclone of NiceJobBreakingItHero with a pun on the [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] character King Herod, who ''did'' see UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} as a threat to his power and try to kill him as an infant (at least in some accounts), but was not himself defeated by Jesus, dying long before Jesus began his ministry. |
| 147 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed -- An {{Expy}} or CaptainErsatz of a RealLife celebrity, as a sort of PlausibleDeniability in case the celebrity complains about their portrayal. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', which used the phrase in the end credits as a pun on the NoAnimalsWereHarmed disclaimer -- except the show ''did'' happily use celebrities' real names, so it was just a funny way of saying that they were being impersonated. |
| 148 | %% This IS an example -- "like the catch of the day" is a simile, but any form of gutting is still usually taken as hyperbolic. * NotHyperbole -- [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Lien's]] threat to "gut you like the catch of the day" is actually a metaphor not hyperbole (actually, it's a simile, but the comic misidentifies it as a metaphor), and her explanation of it being literal makes it a LiteralMetaphor. |
| 149 | * ANuclearError -- The name comes from Music/TheClash's "London Calling", which uses the phrase as a reference to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident the partial nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island]]. Our use of the name is for ''inaccurate'' depiction of nuclear weapons -- consider it a punnier way of saying "Artistic License -- Nuclear Weapons Policy". |
| 150 | * ObviousJudas -- A character is [[TheReveal revealed]] to be evil, but it was obvious to the audience all along. The name comes from the name "Judas" as a term for a traitor, itself derived from Literature/TheFourGospels, in which Judas Iscariot was the disciple who turned in UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}. Except if you actually ''read'' the Gospels, Judas's betrayal ''is'' played as something of a surprise, with only minimal {{foreshadowing}} in the text. The only reason it seems obvious to us today is two thousand years of ItWasHisSled. |
| 151 | %% Discussed tropes ARE examples * OffWithHisHead -- Lethal decapitation. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', in which the Queen of Hearts shouts the phrase several times at various people out of displeasure at the croquet game, but she never actually follows through on it because [[HenpeckedHusband the King]] pardoned them all behind her back. (Well, at least not until Creator/TimBurton's [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 version]].) |
| 152 | * OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther -- A maze that can only be navigated by observing which door is subtly different from the rest. The name is a snowclone of the ''Series/SesameStreet'' song "One of These Things Is Not Like the Others", which expressed the broad concept but was never applied to mazes or doors. |
| 153 | * OnlyAModel -- A miniature model of a structure that exists (or will exist) elsewhere. The Trope Namer is ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', in which Patsy claims the full-sized Camelot Castle is "only a model" -- but he's just BreakingTheFourthWall. (For added irony, the "model" he's referring to is a real castle; the production couldn't afford to build an actual model.) |
| 154 | * OpenTheIris -- Aggressively dilated irises to convey a character's emotional state, usually seen in animation. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', which was ''not'' animated and used the term to refer to a DilatingDoor. |
| 155 | * OrcusOnHisThrone -- A villain doesn't do anything himself to stop the heroes. The Trope Namer is Orcus, lord of the undead from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', who is described as such in the Third Edition "Manual of the Planes". Except in-story, he's usually a very proactive villain; the manual described him this way as a way of allowing the GameMaster to use the character to set up the story without him having to interact with the {{Player Character}}s. |
| 156 | * PacManFever -- A non-video game depicts video games [[TheThemeParkVersion so shallowly]], it's as if they've never advanced since ''VideoGame/PacMan''. The Trope Namer is the [[Music/PacManFever1982 1982 music album]] by Buckner & Garcia, which was contemporary to the original ''Pac-Man'' and thus depicted video games as they really were at the time. |
| 157 | * PaintItBlack -- The name comes from a song by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} about a man overcome with grief at his lover's death who wants to paint everything black. The trope itself is about a character changing to a black costume when they [[FaceHeelTurn turn evil]], not out of grief. |
| 158 | * ThePenIsMightier -- A pen is used as an ImprovisedWeapon. The name comes from the idiom "the pen is mightier than the sword", which is actually about ThePowerOfLanguage -- words can be more powerful than weapons. |
| 159 | * APirate400YearsTooLate -- Swashbuckling pirates operating in modern times. The Trope Namer is the Music/JimmyBuffett song "A Pirate Looks at 40", which is not about a swashbuckling pirate but a drug dealer who laments that he ''couldn't'' be a swashbuckling pirate because he's "200 years too late" (and now he's forty years old and wasted his life). |
| 160 | * ThePowerOfTheSun -- The trope is about harnessing the literal power of the Sun. The Trope Namer is ''Film/SpiderMan2'', where it doesn't refer to ''the'' Sun, but a controlled nuclear fusion reactor which was ''as if'' one could harness the Sun's power. (And some Tropers instead linked the name to the tagline of the orange juice [[LiteCreme product]] Sunny Delight, which is obviously not an example either.) |
| 161 | * PlayingWithFire -- The name is an idiom for doing something risky. The trope itself uses the term literally to refer to pyrokinesis. |
| 162 | * PretendWereDead -- Named for the song by Music/{{L7}}, the message of which is that ordinary people need to stand up to MoralGuardians and the phrase refers to people not saying anything when censorship happens. The trope is instead about living people blending in with zombies. |
| 163 | * RasputinianDeath -- A character is killed only after several events which should each individually be fatal. The name comes from UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk, who was ''reputed'' to have died like this, but was actually killed with just three gunshots, the third instantly fatal. He picked up this reputation in part out of a desire to paint him as demonic. |
| 164 | * RatedMForManly -- A work advertises itself by emphasizing its masculinity. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', and specifically the ParodyCommercial for ''[[https://youtu.be/HM_jwTqVOjc?t=122 Counter-Strike: Extreme Gore Edition]]'', which is a parody of the trope -- which falls under the different trope TestosteronePoisoning. |
| 165 | * TheRealRemingtonSteele -- A mysterious character's identity is revealed to be a disguise, leading the audience to think there is no such person with that identity -- except the work then reveals that [[RealAfterAll there is]]. The Trope Namer is ''Series/RemingtonSteele'', in which the protagonist -- a woman in charge of a detective agency -- creates a fictitious male character to be the boss (to manage her customers' chauvanistic expectations), only for a ConMan to install himself as the boss. Except it's not an example because the "boss" was never a real person; there were just two competing impostors. |
| 166 | * RedRightHand -- An odd physical trait indicates that a character is evil. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', which used the phrase metaphorically for {{God}} and His divine punishments (which [[GodIsGood aren't actually evil]]). |
| 167 | * RestoredMyFaithInHumanity -- A character re-learns about humanity's inherent goodness. The Trope Namer is Akara from ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'', who isn't referring to humanity's goodness so much as its chance of ''survival'' (what with all those demons running around). |
| 168 | * RevengeOfTheNerd -- A nerdy character grows up to be attractive and win the girl in the end (or at least stick it to the girls who rejected him). The Trope Namer is ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds'', which isn't an example because the protagonists never really stop being super-nerdy (nor are they out for revenge, just surviving against an aggressive jock-laden college fraternity). |
| 169 | * RideTheLightning -- The name comes from the Music/{{Metallica}} album [[Music/RideTheLightning of the same name]], which is about [[HighVoltageDeath execution by electrocution]]. The trope itself takes the name more literally and is about moving with or [[ElementalShapeshifter as]] electricity. |
| 170 | * RingOfFire -- The name comes from a song by Music/JohnnyCash, which uses the phrase as a metaphor (in this case the danger of having an affair). The trope itself uses the term for literal rings of fire. |
| 171 | * RockMeAmadeus -- Using a StandardSnippet of classical music, usually in something not very "classical". The Trope Namer is a song by Music/{{Falco}} which is about classical composer Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart but doesn't actually {{sampl|ing}}e his work. |
| 172 | * {{Scandalgate}} -- Scandals are referred to with the suffix "-gate". The name comes from the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, in turn named after the Watergate Hotel where the minor crime took place that led to [[MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot the proverbial major plot]]. While all examples of the trope are judged in comparison to Watergate, the Watergate scandal in itself is not an example because if it were -- as ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' would tell you -- it would be called "Watergategate". |
| 173 | * TheScourgeOfGod -- A serial killer starts with the guiltiest victims first. The name comes from a nickname attributed to UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun, who wasn't an example because he wasn't a serial killer, but rather an invader who killed pretty much indiscriminately. Indeed, the contemporary term the polytheistic Romans used for him was "the Scourge of All Lands". |
| 174 | * TheScream -- A character responds loudly to a situation. The Trope Namer is Creator/EdvardMunch's famous painting [[Art/TheScreamMunch of the same name]], but the figure it depicts isn't screaming (despite its gaping mouth), but rather ''reacting'' to someone else screaming (note how it covers its ears). And indeed, that "scream" could well be metaphorical; Munch was inspired by a personal experience of hearing an "infinite scream through nature" while walking through Oslo which gave him a strong feeling of anxiety and despair, and the work's title in German is ''The Scream of Nature''. |
| 175 | * TheShadowKnows -- A disguised person's shadow reveals their true self. The name is a pun on the CharacterCatchphrase of the protagonist of ''Radio/TheShadow'', which otherwise has nothing to do with the trope. |
| 176 | * SharpDressedMan -- A character in a well-tailored suit. The Trope Namer is the Music/ZZTop song of the same name, which is about a guy who's dressed far beyond a well-tailored suit, with things like a top hat and gloves. |
| 177 | * ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules -- A character with morals so strong, they can't be bribed. The Trope Namer is ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', spoken by the character who named the opposite trope ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney -- the latter is his CharacterCatchphrase, he very much fits the latter trope rather than the former, and he only said the former phrase by [[{{Spoonerism}} screwing up the order]]. |
| 178 | * ShockAndAwe -- The name comes from a common idiom for destroying an enemy's will to fight with massive, overwhelming force. The trope itself uses the term literally to refer to electrical ElementalPowers. |
| 179 | * SoHappyTogether -- A last happy moment between a couple before a relationship's tragic end. The name comes from the song "Happy Together" by Music/TheTurtles, which has nothing to do with a relationship ending badly; indeed, while you might hear a snippet of it when the trope is being used, it's probably being done ironically. |
| 180 | * SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear -- A video game character leaves the party and takes with them all the gear you equipped them with. The name is a pun on the book ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', which has nothing to do with video games; the phrase itself is the dolphins' last message to humanity before leaving Earth. |
| 181 | * TheStoic -- A character who rarely, if ever, shows emotion. The name comes the Ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism, which wasn't about not showing emotions at all but just having control over them. The trope closest to the philosophy is TheSpock (the Trope Namer of which ''is'' an example). |
| 182 | * StopHavingFunGuys -- Competitive video game players who insult other players who don't play competitively. The Trope Namer is an ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' strip where the phrase is directed against a group playing ''VideoGame/RockBand'', except there the criticism wasn't that they weren't playing competitively, but rather that they weren't playing [[RhythmGame real instruments]]. |
| 183 | * StrongFleshWeakSteel -- A gaming trope in which squishy organic beings are somehow harder to kill than armored equipment, usually because said squishy organic is a boss of some kind. The Trope Namer is ''Film/{{Conan the Barbarian|1982}}'', where the phrase had nothing to do with video games; it was a metaphor the villain used for his subjects' devotion. |
| 184 | * SufferTheSlings -- The name comes from the famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy from ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''; it's about the metaphorical "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". The trope itself refers to literal slings. |
| 185 | * SweetHomeAlabama -- A more positive portrayal than usual of the American DeepSouth. The Trope Namer is the song of that name by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd, which doesn't portray Alabama very positively (whether [[ValuesDissonance intentionally or not]]).[[note]]Among other things: the narrator expresses support for Alabama's notoriously pro-segregation governor George Wallace; he mentions being unfazed by UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's actions during the Watergate scandal; and he openly {{diss|Track}}es Music/NeilYoung for writing a {{protest song}} condemning the segregationist Jim Crow laws.[[/note]] |
| 186 | * SympathyForTheDevil -- A hero has sympathy for a villain. The Trope Namer is the song of that name by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, in which {{Satan}} is completely unsympathetic and [[VillainSong sings sarcastically about how evil he is]]. |
| 187 | * TasteTheRainbow -- A work is designed with such variety that there's something for everyone, playing on the idea of the rainbow encompassing the entire visible spectrum of colors. The name itself comes from [[Advertising/{{Skittles}} an advertising tagline for Skittles candy]], so concocted because they're multi-colored. |
| 188 | * ThinkingUpPortals -- A character has the power to make usable portals spontaneously appear. The name comes from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and its {{memetic|Mutation}} tagline "Thinking with Portals", but the game itself is not an example because portal creation is not an innate ability; it requires technological assistance. |
| 189 | * ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs -- Describing a work as something familiar on some kind of drug. The Trope Namer is an infamous 1987 anti-drug PublicServiceAnnouncement in which the line was "this is your brain on drugs" -- and it wasn't weird, it was just a fried egg. |
| 190 | * ThrowTheBookAtThem -- The name comes from an idiom from legal proceedings, referring to prosecuting someone to the fullest possible extent. The trope itself uses the phrase literally to refer to attacking someone with a book. |
| 191 | * TomSwifty -- Tagging dialogue with an adverb that's a pun on what was said. The Trope Namer is the ''Literature/TomSwift'' series of books, which rarely did this and was a lot more famous for the SaidBookism -- the phrase was inspired by parodies that took the SaidBookism to a more bizarre extent. |
| 192 | * TrampledUnderfoot -- A character or object is crushed underfoot by a much larger character. The Trope Namer is the song of that name by Music/LedZeppelin, which is actually a series of automotive metaphors for sex. |
| 193 | * UncleTomfoolery -- A comically portrayed African American. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/UncleTomsCabin'', in which the protagonist is ''not'' comically portrayed. The name comes from "Uncle Tom" having entered the American lexicon as a general shorthand for a stereotypically portrayed African American; the trope is one strain, whereas the "passive figure who cooperates with the racists" is the strain that fits the Uncle Tom character more closely. (They may have been mixed up by [[CommonKnowledge people who haven't read the book]]). |
| 194 | * UnderTheSea -- An underwater VideoGame level. The Trope Namer is the song of that name from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'', which has nothing to do with video games (it's really more CulturalPosturing by sea creatures than anything else). |
| 195 | * UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn -- The tendency for twins born in the media to be fraternal and different sexes. The name comes from Literature/TheBible talking about {{UsefulNotes/Jesus}}, where the line is "unto us a child is born, to us a son is given", and there are no twins to be found. |
| 196 | * VengeanceFeelsEmpty -- The trope is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what it means]]. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', about Niko killing [[spoiler:Darko]]. But it's not really an example because it's not the act of vengeance itself that feels empty; rather, Niko feels he took the wrong ''kind'' of vengeance because the victim was a DeathSeeker and he would have [[CruelMercy suffered more by being allowed to live]]. |
| 197 | * VoiceOfTheLegion -- An evil character with a [[EvilSoundsDeep deep]], [[PowerEchoes reverberating]] voice, as if there were multiple people talking in unison. The name comes from the trope IAmLegion, which in turn comes from Literature/TheBible; a man possessed by multiple demons says the phrase to Jesus (before Jesus expels them all). However, there's no indication in the text that the man sounded as if all the demons were talking in unison. |
| 198 | * TheWallsAreClosingIn -- The name comes from the lyrics to the Music/LinkinPark song "Crawling", a metaphor for the narrator's nervous breakdown. The trope itself uses the phrase literally for a kind of DeathTrap. |
| 199 | * WarpWhistle -- A {{Video Game|s}} item that can instantly take you to one of several fixed points on the game world. The TropeCodifier is the "magic whistle" from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', but the Trope Namer is the "warp whistle" from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', which was a reference to the ''Zelda'' whistle but operated much more like a WarpZone. |
| 200 | * WeDidntStartTheFuhrer: It puns on the name of a song, titled "We Didn't Start the Fire". While the song ''is'' about how current-day people are not to blame for historical disasters, it never states that the people ''at the time'' of the disasters weren't to blame, much less that Hitler was otherworldly. |
| 201 | * WeHardlyKnewYe -- A character is killed off or otherwise removed from the work before the audience can get to know them properly. The Trope Namer is the old Irish folk song "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_I_Hardly_Knew_Ye Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye]]", which is about a soldier who returns home alive but so disfigured as to be virtually unrecognisable. |
| 202 | * WhaleEgg -- An animal that does not lay eggs in RealLife does in the work. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', in which the "whale egg" wasn't an egg at all but was misidentified as such by resident [[TheDitz Ditz]] Ralph Wiggum. (That said, the show ''did'' use the trope in another episode, but with a rhino.) |
| 203 | * WhereWereYouLastNight -- The Ankie Bagger song is about not knowing how to find an ex-lover with whom you want to reconcile. The trope is about someone who was gone for a night reappearing and garnering suspicion. |
| 204 | * WhoNamesTheirKidDude -- A character has a weird legal name, like "Dude". The Trope Namer is ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', in which the LemonyNarrator does muse about how weird the name is, but also knows it's not the character's ''legal'' name, which is the non-weird "Jeffrey Lebowski"; he just ''prefers'' to be called "the Dude", meaning he's OnlyKnownByTheirNickname. |
| 205 | * WhoWantsToLiveForever -- When an {{immortal|ity}} character doesn't like being immortal. The Trope Namer is ''Film/FlashGordon1980'', in which Prince Vultan says the line before going into a suicidal battle, but he's not immortal; he just figures it wouldn't be great. |
| 206 | * WithThisHerring -- A hero is expected to succeed at an adventure while ''badly'' under-equipped. The Trope Namer is ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', in which the Knights Who Say "Ni!" challenge King Arthur to cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with a herring, but there's no expectation he will succeed; that falls under ImpossibleTask. |
| 207 | * {{Xenafication}} -- A female character becomes an ActionGirl. The Trope Namer is ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', whose title character isn't an example because she was ''always'' an ActionGirl; she's just the standard by which the others are judged. |
| 208 | * XMakesAnythingCool -- Using the letter "X" on a name that normally doesn't have it will make that thing cooler. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', but it's referring to the "X" making the word "extortion" cool, when that always has an "X" in it. (That exchange is also the Trope Namer for BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord.) |
| 209 | * YouBastard -- A character admonishes the audience for enjoying something they shouldn't. The Trope Namer is ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', where Kyle says it [[TheyKilledKennyAgain every time Kenny dies]]; except he's not directing it at the audience, but rather the writers, for causing Kenny's death over and over again. |
| 210 | * YouCantGoHomeAgain -- The name comes from a proverb about how home can change while you're gone; you can come back, it [[StrangerInAFamiliarLand just doesn't feel like home anymore]]. The trope itself means the phrase literally to refer to situations where a character can't return home at all for physical, [[PersonaNonGrata legal]], or other reasons. |
| 211 | * YouHaveToBurnTheWeb -- Starting a big fire with a spider web. The name is a pun on ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'', which doesn't have any spider webs in it. |
| 212 | * YowiesAndBunyipsAndDropBearsOhMy -- Australian cryptids. A reference to the chant "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', but that movie was not set in Australia, nor did it feature any cryptids. |
| 213 | * ZettaiRyouiki -- an MediaNotes/AnimeFanspeak term for a short skirt worn with thigh-high socks, leaving a short patch of visible skin. The Trope Namer is ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', where the term -- which literally translates to "absolute territory" -- was used to refer to the [[DeflectorShields AT fields]]. It was only among {{otaku}} culture that the phrase was repurposed to refer to the trope. ''Evangelion'' itself doesn't have any examples of the trope ([[https://asuka-shinji.tumblr.com/post/29026915918/asuka-sohryu-langley-evangelion-anima at least, not in the main canon]]). |
| 214 | [[/index]] |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Snowclones]] |
| 218 | [[index]] |
| 219 | * BoomStick -- A staff that shoots stuff. It's based on the trope ThisIsMyBoomstick, which is about a character who demonstrates future tech to primitive people in a threatening way. The latter's Trope Namer is ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', in which the "boomstick" was an ordinary shotgun, so not a "Boom Stick" as we defined it (but it might be to MedievalMorons). |
| 220 | * EspeciallyZoidberg -- From MyFriendsAndZoidberg, a reference to Dr. Zoidberg from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. While ''Futurama'' does use this stock dialogue exchange ("Even ______?" "''Especially'' ______!") in several episodes, none of those exchanges actually involve Zoidberg. |
| 221 | * FisherKingdom -- From FisherKing, and its opposite -- FisherKing (after the fisher-kingdom in Myth/ArthurianLegend) is where a kingdom takes after its ruler's aesthetic, whereas FisherKingdom is where the residents take after the kingdom's aesthetic. |
| 222 | * ForgotFlandersCouldDoThat -- From {{Flanderization}}, a reference to Ned Flanders from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. The trope is where a Flanderized character shows traces of their old self; Ned Flanders was so Flanderized that in season after season, he never did. |
| 223 | * IAmNotLeonardNimoy -- The inverse of IAmNotSpock. The Trope Namer is Creator/LeonardNimoy, who played Spock in ''Franchise/StarTrek''. He was an example of IAmNotSpock, in which he was overshadowed by the character he played; He was not an example of IAmNotLeonardNimoy, which would mean his character was overshadowed by his public image. |
| 224 | * KnightOfCerebus -- From CerebusSyndrome. The trope refers to a character whose introduction marks the start of a series becoming more dramatic. But the Trope Namer ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'' doesn't feature a character who fulfills that role; its transition from comedy to drama happened more gradually, and wasn't facilitated via the introduction of a character. |
| 225 | * LukeIAmYourFather comes from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', which is very much an example, but it's not an example of: |
| 226 | ** LukeIMightBeYourFather -- Darth Vader is indisputably Luke' father. |
| 227 | ** LukeYouAreMyFather -- Vader was the one to reveal his relation to Luke, not the other way around, and Luke never met any children he didn't know about. |
| 228 | * MarySue -- From ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'', which as listed above is already not an example because the original Mary Sue is actually a ParodySue. Mary Sue also doesn't fit any of these snowcloned subtropes: |
| 229 | ** AntiSue -- She wasn't designed with traits atypical of a Mary Sue (indeed, that would have defeated the purpose). |
| 230 | ** CanonSue -- She never appeared in an actual ''Franchise/StarTrek'' episode. |
| 231 | ** DreamSue -- ''A Trekkie's Tale'' didn't take place in her dreams. |
| 232 | ** EinsteinSue -- She doesn't display particular genius. Nor is UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein an example, because for as brilliant as he was, he ''was'' a scientist and should be expected to know a lot of things. |
| 233 | ** HerCodeNameWasMarySue -- She wasn't a normal person who fantasised about doing great things. |
| 234 | ** MartyStu -- She wasn't a man. |
| 235 | ** PossessionSue -- She was an OriginalCharacter, not a canon character [[OutOfCharacter behaving like a Mary Sue]]. |
| 236 | * {{Muggles}} -- Ordinary, non-powered people. The Trope Namer ''Literature/HarryPotter'', whose Muggles are indeed examples, but not of the variant tropes: |
| 237 | ** MugglePower -- Muggles unite against the non-Muggles. Doesn't happen in the ''Harry Potter'' books; thanks to the {{Masquerade}}, they don't know the non-Muggles even exist. Technically, in the SpinOff film ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'', the [[TheFundamentalist Second Salemers]] are examples, but they live in America where they're not called "Muggles", but "No-Majes". |
| 238 | ** MugglesDoItBetter -- Muggles don't ''need'' powers to beat the wizards. Not the case in ''Harry Potter'', where magic always wins (although sometimes that leads to FridgeLogic). |
| 239 | * NoodleIncident -- From ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', which was an example, but not of the variant tropes: |
| 240 | ** NoodleImplements -- Something is described with a series of unrelated objects, whose purpose and relation to each other are never explained. The original Noodle Incident didn't involve anything like this. |
| 241 | ** ResolvedNoodleIncident -- ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The original Noodle Incident was quite famously and intentionally never resolved. |
| 242 | * NotHisSled -- The inverse of ItWasHisSled, from ''Film/CitizenKane''. Instead of everyone knowing the famous twist, the work is remade or adapted ''without'' the famous twist (or with a key change) to make it a twist again. ''Citizen Kane'' is not an example because it was never remade or adapted. |
| 243 | * TheOriginalDarrin -- From TheOtherDarrin, after the character from ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', it's where the Other Darrin is himself replaced by the actor who played the character first. ''Bewitched'' is not an example, because the first Darrin, Creator/DickYork, never reprised his role. |
| 244 | * RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts -- From RubeGoldbergDevice, except this one is deadly. The Trope Namer Rube Goldberg never made a deadly one (nor was he the type to hate your guts). |
| 245 | * ShutUpHannibal -- From HannibalLecture, a pun on the eponymous ''Franchise/HannibalLecter'', it's where a hero defies a villain's attempt to BreakThemByTalking. This never happened to Hannibal Lecter, mostly because in his words, "discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me" -- one presumes that if anyone tried to tell Dr. Lecter to shut up, he'd probably [[ImAHumanitarian get eaten]]. |
| 246 | * SixthRangerTraitor -- After SixthRanger, from ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. ''Power Rangers'' is not an example, as none of its incarnations' Sixth Rangers were traitors or moles. |
| 247 | * TheScrappy -- After Scrappy Doo from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', who's only ''barely'' an example himself because he's really more of a BaseBreakingCharacter with a ''very'' vocal {{Hatedom}} (at least these days). He's even less of an example of most of the ScrappyIndex: |
| 248 | ** AlasPoorScrappy -- He's never been killed off in any incarnation of ''Scooby-Doo''. Even in the [[Film/ScoobyDoo 2002 live-action film]], where [[spoiler:he was the villain]], he lives. |
| 249 | ** DamselScrappy -- He's not female, and he usually wasn't a DistressedDude either. |
| 250 | ** EthnicScrappy -- He's not based on any ethnic group. |
| 251 | ** HighTierScrappy -- He's not hated for being overpowered, and he doesn't appear in any tier-related games. |
| 252 | ** RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap -- He was never ''really'' redeemed in the fanbase's eyes. He never really got the opportunity, having been mostly absent from the franchise after its initial cancellation. His appearance in the [[Film/ScoobyDoo 2002 live-action film]] almost leans into his Scrappy status, [[spoiler:especially because he's the villain]]. |
| 253 | ** ScrappyMechanic -- He's a character, not a video game mechanic. |
| 254 | ** ScrappyWeapon -- He's a character, not a weapon. |
| 255 | ** TemporaryScrappy -- He stuck around for the whole show, and he wasn't intended to be hated by the audience. |
| 256 | * StarfishLanguage -- From StarfishAliens, after how starfish have what humans would consider ''weird'' anatomy. They're not an example of Starfish Language because they don't have any observable communication at all. |
| 257 | * WorfHadTheFlu -- For TheWorfEffect, after the character Worf from ''Franchise/StarTrek'', who had a reputation as a strong warrior yet regularly lost battles ''badly'' to make the VillainOfTheWeek look stronger by comparison. This trope is about giving the character an excuse for their poor performance; Worf was never given that luxury. |
| 258 | [[/index]] |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Renamed off the list]] |
| 262 | Tropes that were Administrivia/{{renamed|Tropes}} off this list: |
| 263 | * AngerBornOfWorry -- Originally "Fear Leads to Anger", a character fears so hard for another's safety that they present anger at their return. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', where the phrase referred to losing control of one's fears and feeling angry at the source of the fear. |
| 264 | * AuthorityInNameOnly -- Originally "The King of Town", about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin what it means]]. The former Trope Namer was the King of Town from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', who's established on several occasions to have legal authority. |
| 265 | * BadassDecay -- Originally "Spikeification", a character becomes less badass over the course of the show. The former Trope Namer was Spike from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', who wasn't an example because he was ''never'' really badass, at least on screen -- and his badass degradation had an in-story reason thanks to [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood behavior modification treatment]]. |
| 266 | * BiggerIsBetterInBed -- Originally "Biggus Dickus", a character has a large penis and knows how to use it. The former Trope Namer was the character of that name from ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'', who wasn't an example because there's no indication of his anatomy; he just had a PunnyName (and a RealJokeName as it turned out). |
| 267 | * BreakupBreakout -- Originally "The Jannetty", an ensemble breaks up and only one (or a few) former members break out. The former Trope Namer was Wrestling/MartyJannetty, tag team partner to Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, who wasn't an example because he never actually broke out after splitting from Michaels; it was ''Michaels'' who was the one who broke out. Jannetty was more of a LesserStar. |
| 268 | * BystanderSyndrome -- Originally "Someone Else's Problem", people ignore a problem because it doesn't concern them. The Former Trope namer was ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', where it actually referred to a CoolShip's WeirdnessCensor. |
| 269 | * CoincidentalDodge -- Originally "Gardener Contract", a character dodges a deadly attack they're unaware of by sheer coincidence. The former Trope Namer was Chance the Gardener from ''Film/BeingThere'', himself the former Trope Namer for SeeminglyProfoundFool. He was never subject to an assassination attempt in the film; he was just the type of character to whom this might happen. |
| 270 | * CreatorsApathy -- Originally "They Just Didn't Care", an artist admits they don't care about their work. The former Trope Namer was the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' riff of ''Film/TheEyeCreatures'' -- it wasn't the work's creators [[WordOfGod explicitly admitting]] that they didn't care, it was the audience ''accusing'' them of not caring. |
| 271 | * CreatorsCultureCarryover -- Used to be "We All Live in America", a work portrays a country as a lot more like the author's home than as itself. The former Trope Namer was the Music/{{Rammstein}} song "Amerika", which was not an example because Rammstein is a German band, so it would only be an example if a non-German country looked more like Germany than itself, and the song is about how even when a country ''does'' look like itself, EaglelandOsmosis means it looks more like America all the time. |
| 272 | * DownToTheLastPlay -- Originally "The Casey Effect", the heroes win a sports game with a dramatic play at the last possible moment. The former Trope Namer was the poem ''Literature/CaseyAtTheBat'', which was a pointed {{subver|tedTrope}}sion in that the protagonists muster up a ''chance'' for their star Casey to win the game with a home run in the final inning, but [[DownerEnding he strikes out]]. |
| 273 | * DramaticHighPerching -- Originally "I Have the High Ground", a character [[RuleOfCool looks cool]] by standing on a tall structure. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', which used the phrase to refer to [[GeoEffects a strategic advantage in a fight from being positioned higher]] (even metaphorically, it's a metaphor for [[EvilWillFail good triumphing over evil]] by having the ''moral'' high ground). |
| 274 | * FailedFutureForecast -- Originally "Dewey Defeats Truman", a work set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture makes assumptions about real-world events that turn out to be false. The former name came from a famous newspaper headline which came from an early edition of a newspaper trying to predict who won a presidential election hours later and getting it wrong, which is more AssumedWin (and indeed provides the page image for that trope). |
| 275 | * FormulaBreakingEpisode -- Originally "Something Completely Different". The former Trope Namer was a recurring line from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', which used it as a transition between sketches, not to announce an episode departing from the show's formula. |
| 276 | * ImpersonatingTheEvilTwin -- Originally "I Am He as You Are He", after the opening lyrics of Music/TheBeatles' "I Am the Walrus"; insofar as [[WordSaladLyrics anyone could understand the lyrics]], they weren't about impersonating anybody. |
| 277 | * InformedEquipment -- Originally "Fight in the Nude", {{Video Game|s}} equipment is not rendered on the character because of cheap graphics. The former Trope namer was ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'', which used the term for a SelfImposedChallenge of fighting without armor; the equipment wasn't rendered because it wasn't ''there''. |
| 278 | * IntentionalEngrishForFunny -- Originally "Zero Wingrish", after the {{memetic|Mutation}} intro to ''VideoGame/ZeroWing'', whose garbled script was the result of a BlindIdiotTranslation and not intentional. |
| 279 | * LesserStar -- Originally "The Garfunkel", an ensemble member who's superfluous and contributes little of value. The former Trope Namer was Art Garfunkel one half of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel, who very much wasn't an example because he was an integral part of the duo's harmonies and sang some of their most iconic melodies. It's just that the other half, Music/PaulSimon, had [[BreakupBreakout a more successful solo career]] after they broke up. |
| 280 | * MightyWhiteyAndMellowYellow -- Originally "Me Love You Long Time", a stereotypical romantic pairing of a tough white man and a passive Asian woman. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', where the line is said by a prostitute propositioning a soldier in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar; hardly a long-term relationship, and she's not interested in the soldiers for their ethnicity in any event. |
| 281 | * NoDelaysForTheWicked -- Originally "The Trains Run on Time" (which itself now redirects to RepressiveButEfficient), a villain is not affected by logistical issues. The former name came from a common saying about UsefulNotes/{{fascist Ital|y}}ian dictator UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, who it was said got the people on his side because he made the trains run on time. That doesn't imply he was an example, though; he had to ''cut through'' the bureaucracy. And in any event, he never ''really'' made the trains run on time. |
| 282 | * OrderedToCheat -- Originally "Sweep the Leg". The former Trope Namer was ''Film/TheKarateKid'', in which "sweeping the leg" wasn't cheating, just cheap; in context, it was an order to AttackTheInjury. The ''film'' is still an example, though, because Daniel's injury was caused by ordering the ''previous'' opponent to [[CripplingTheCompetition injure him]], in spite of said opponent's protestations that he would be disqualified -- and he was right. |
| 283 | * PlayingATree -- Originally "You Are a Tree, Charlie Brown", after a common naming convention for the ''Franchise/{{Peanuts}}'' TV specials. This never happened to Charlie Brown in any incarnation; it was just a gratuitous Trope Namer. (Maybe the association with trees came from how a ''Peanuts'' special named AluminumChristmasTrees, but Charlie Brown never had to ''play'' one.) |
| 284 | * PersonAsVerb -- Originally "I Pulled a 'Weird Al'", but Music/WeirdAlYankovic never used the trope in his music, nor did any character in any other work use his name as a verb. |
| 285 | * ResignationsNotAccepted -- Originally "You Can Never Leave", after a lyric from Music/TheEagles' "Hotel California". That lyric wasn't about refusing resignations, but meant more literally about physically being unable to leave the eponymous hotel. |
| 286 | * SkywardScream -- Originally "The Khan", a character looks to the sky and screams while the camera films them from above. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', in which Kirk screams Khan's name loudly but doesn't do so using that precise presentation. It's just TheScream (and perhaps SayMyName). |
| 287 | * SlowLaser -- Originally "Frickin' Laser Beams", a laser weapon that's slow enough for the audience to see it, when it ''should'' travel at light speed. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/AustinPowers'', which wasn't making a point about how the laser is slow enough to be seen. In fact, the line comes from Dr. Evil wanting [[ThreateningShark sharks]] with "frickin' laser beams [[WeaponizedAnimal attached to their heads]]". |
| 288 | * StatusQuoGameShow -- Originally "You Can't Win", a character participates in a game show but can't win because StatusQuoIsGod. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/StayTuned'', where it was the name of a ShowWithinAShow -- except the characters are TrappedInTVLand and wound up winning anyway (or at least surviving when it wasn't expected). |
| 289 | * SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat -- Originally "I Know Kung Fu", a character suddenly uses an advanced skill that they've apparently always known but never mentioned because YouDidntAsk. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/TheMatrix'', which wasn't an example because Neo ''didn't'' know Kung Fu before he said the line; he became an InstantExpert thanks to an UpgradeArtifact. |
| 290 | * ThreeMonthOldNewborn -- Originally "Dawson Babies", from DawsonCasting, named for ''Series/DawsonsCreek''. Dawson Casting is where adults are cast as teenagers; "Dawson Babies" was where month-olds are cast as day-olds, which didn't happen on ''Dawson's Creek''. |
| 291 | * TranslationTrainWreck -- Originally "Do Not Want", a translation so bad as to be unintelligible. The former Trope Namer was ''WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest'', a BlindIdiotTranslation of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''; while much of the film is an example, the line "Do not want" in particular was not, because it was a translation of a BigNo and at least ''vaguely'' intelligible. (That's also not what the phrase means as a {{meme|ticMutation}}, where it's used as a synonym for {{Squick}}.) |
| 292 | * UnexplainedRecovery -- Originally "I Got Better", a chracter is injured or even killed but recovers offscreen for no reason. The former Trope Namer was ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', in which a peasant accuses a witch of turning him into a newt but sheepishly admits he "got better". It's not an example because more likely than not, the peasant was lying about having been transformed to begin with. |
| 293 | * UnseenEvil -- Originally "Ultimate Evil", an evil which is not shown because NothingIsScarier. The former Trope Namer was ''VideoGame/StarControlII'', except the "Ultimate Evil" the Spathis fear is unseen because it doesn't actually exist. |
| 294 | * UrbanLegendOfZelda -- Originally "Schala Lives", false rumors of {{Easter Egg}}s and other hidden things in VideoGames. The former Trope Namer was ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', which wasn't an example because "Schala Lives" turned out to be true. |
| 295 | * VerbalTic -- Originally "Spoon Speaker", after the odd battlecry of ''ComicBook/TheTick'', which wasn't an example because he didn't randomly insert the phrase outside of a battecry context. |
| 296 | * WeddingSmashers -- Originally "Wedding Crashers", someone shows up to a wedding and smashes it up. The former Trope Namer was the film ''Film/WeddingCrashers'', but that movie's title characters weren't violent; they just wandered into weddings they weren't invited to. |
| 297 | [[/folder]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | [[folder:Partial credit]] |
| 300 | Partial Credit (including cases where the trope happens, but not the way the name implies): |
| 301 | * AmericanKirbyIsHardcore -- The tendency for a Japanese work's cover or box art to be changed to be "grittier", with "angrier" characters, for release in North America. The Trope Namer is the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' franchise, which did this with its ''advertising'' throughout UsefulNotes/TheNineties but only engaged in this with some games' box art (not starting until ''[[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land]]'' and phasing it out after ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand''). |
| 302 | * AndIMustScream -- A character is immobilized in a FateWorseThanDeath -- where death is impossible. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'', where the narrator uses the phrase to describe his fate, which fits ''almost'' every aspect of the trope -- he's immortal, blind, voiceless, trapped in a giant computer, and [[ICannotSelfTerminate unable to commit suicide]], but capable of limited movement. |
| 303 | * BewareTheSuperman -- A character's superpowers make the world worse. The Trope Namer is ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'',[[note]]In a sense -- it's also a pun on Creator/FriedrichNietzsche's line "Behold the superman", but that's a reference to the {{Ubermensch}}.[[/note]] who has long been a benevolent character -- but way back in the 1930s, in his very first appearance, he ''was'' evil (or at least very morally ambiguous). |
| 304 | * BiggerThanJesus -- A famous character, often a musician, compares their popularity favorably to a religion or religious figure. The Trope Namer is Music/JohnLennon, who ''kind of'' did this, but with two twists relative to the trope. First, he [[BeammeUpScotty actually said]] that Music/TheBeatles were "more popular" than Jesus. And second, it wasn't a BlasphemousBoast, but rather a lament at the zealous nature of the Beatles' massive fandom, which was on the level of a religious fervor. |
| 305 | * BigLippedAlligatorMoment -- A bizarre and {{Non Sequitur}}ial scene in an otherwise ordinary work that has no bearing on the rest of the work. The Trope Namer is ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', which coined the phrase to describe the trope after a particular moment from ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'' in which a singing alligator shows up out of nowhere to perform a musical number. It's a ''marginal'' example, as while the scene is out of place and unexpected, it's not ''that'' outlandish for the film, which is an animated musical about {{Funny Animal}}s set in UsefulNotes/NewOrleans; and it gets the ''barest'' of references later, when the alligator shows up again and sings a single line from the song. |
| 306 | * BigOlEyebrows -- A character has big eyebrows that make them look tougher, stupider, or (in the words of the Trope Namer) "110% lady-proof". The Trope Namer is the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "Haircut", which ''does'' show Strong Sad wearing said eyebrows for a second (as one of several possible hypothetical "new looks"), but doesn't otherwise have any characters with eyebrows that big. |
| 307 | * BrawnHilda -- A large, strong, manly, and generally not very attractive woman. The Trope Namer is Brünnhilde from ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung'', who's written to actually be attractive -- it's just that the ending song is so demanding on the lungs that for the most part, only large women could physically perform it, leading to that becoming the archetype for the character. |
| 308 | * BroughtToYouByTheLetterS -- A superhero costume with letters on it. The Trope Namer is the "Letter of the Day" segment from ''Series/SesameStreet'', which was not nearly so restrictive and found letters in all sorts of things -- but it did occasionally point them out on superhero costumes, most notably Super Grover's prominent "G". |
| 309 | * TheCakeIsALie -- A reward is promised but not given, nor [[ILied ever intended to be given]]. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/{{Portal|1}}'', in which the cake is promised, not given, and never intended to be given -- but unlike the vast majority of examples, it ''exists'', just not for the player character's benefit. |
| 310 | * ChameleonCamouflage -- A character can seamlessly blend in with the environment as to become invisible. It's named for the popular conception of chameleons' ability to do this, and for the most part they can -- but only one species actually does this as a disguise, with the rest using it for communication. (Octopi are actually much better at using "chameleon camouflage"). |
| 311 | * ContinuitySnarl -- A SharedUniverse becomes so convoluted that it's impossible to keep it internally consistent. The Trope Namer is ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', which actually used the trope InUniverse -- the Gods' conflicting attempts to create the laws of the universe resulted in the creation of an EldritchAbomination called "the Snarl". The comic itself has a single author and a well-ordered continuity. |
| 312 | * DoABarrelRoll -- A certain [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_roll aerial maneuver]], made popular by ''VideoGame/StarFox64''. Except what the game calls a "barrel roll" is actually an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileron_roll aileron roll]]. |
| 313 | * DoNotCallMePaul -- A character hates being called by their given name, usually preferring their own cooler appellation. The Trope Namers are professional wrestlers Wrestling/PaulWight (better known as "Big Show" and "The Giant") and Paul Levesque (better known as "Wrestling/TripleH"), who are both ''mostly'' examples. Paul Wight went as Paul intermittently early in his career, and after a long while switched back to his real name in the ring in 2021. Paul Levesque is stricter, but he did have a very brief (and not well remembered) stint in [[Wrestling/WorldChampionshipWrestling WCW]] when he went by ''Jean''-Paul. |
| 314 | * DrFeelgood -- A doctor hands out prescription drugs like a drug dealer. The phrase had occasionally been used as a colloquialism for real doctors who did this. However, the Trope Namer (insofar as it's the first work to borrow the term) is the eponymous character of Music/MotleyCrue's song "Dr. Feelgood", who's actually the opposite -- he's a drug dealer who styles himself as a doctor. |
| 315 | * DroppedABridgeOnHim -- An important character is abruptly killed off in a way that strikes the audience as inappropriately anticlimactic or unceremonious. The Trope Namer is ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', in which [[spoiler:Captain James T. Kirk]] dies after a bridge collapses under him. But in that instance, it was only the ''manner'' of [[spoiler:Captain Kirk]]'s death that struck most ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fans as an unfitting end for the character; most of them agree that the ''circumstances'' of his death were still appropriately poignant, as he at least got to go out in a HeroicSacrifice against the BigBad in the climax of the movie. The film as a whole was also largely framed and marketed as a final sendoff for the character, so his death wasn't exactly abrupt or unceremonious. |
| 316 | * EveryCarIsAPinto -- A car with a tendency to explode at the slightest provocation. The Trope Namer is the Ford Pinto, which had a reputation as [[TheAllegedCar an Alleged Car]] which did this. The ''first'' model of the Pinto did explode in collisions, but later models fixed the issue. |
| 317 | * FaceStealer -- A [[{{Shapeshifting}} shapeshifter]] who can steal others' identities and use them as a disguise. The Trope Namer is Koh the Face Stealer from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', who indeed had the power to steal faces this way but couldn't actually use them as a disguise because they didn't conceal his [[BeastWithAHumanFace enormous, monstrous body]] -- he only kept them as {{Creepy Souvenir}}s. |
| 318 | * FromTheMouthsOfBabes -- The Trope Namer is [[Literature/BookOfPsalms Psalm 8:2]], in which even children speak of the glory of God. The trope is generally about children saying something you wouldn't expect, but the vast majority of examples are sexual or violent in nature. |
| 319 | * GeneralRipper -- A military leader with a burning hatred for a single enemy, which makes him a liability. The Trope Namer is General Jack D. Ripper from ''Film/DrStrangelove'', who indeed hates the DirtyCommunists so much that he tries to NukeEm without the President's knowledge. But he doesn't have most of the other hallmarks of the trope; while most examples are loud, brash, jingoistic firebrands who will [[WeHaveReserves throw as many troops as he can at his enemy]], General Ripper hides behind a MaskOfSanity (standing in contrast to the eminently reasonable but hilariously frantic General Buck Turgidson) and spends most of the movie keeping his troops safely fortified in a military base. |
| 320 | * AGlassOfChianti -- A villain [[WickedCultured shows his class]] with [[WineIsClassy a fine wine]]. The Trope Namer is Hannibal Lecter from ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', who's never seen actually drinking a glass of wine. But he does relate an anecdote in which he ''did'' have "a nice Chianti" with fava beans and [[ImAHumanitarian a guy's liver]]. |
| 321 | * GoldenSnitch -- A single event or target in a competition is worth more than everything else combined, rendering it useless. The Trope Namer is the Quidditch ball from ''Franchise/HarryPotter'', which in theory is not an example because it is possible to catch the Snitch and still lose the game, and Creator/JKRowling says this happens far more often in professional Quidditch than in the simplified version we see at Hogwarts. But we've yet to see a situation in the series where such a scenario is ''plausible'' -- the one time it happens, in the final of the Quidditch World Cup, the team who lost needed only to score one more goal to force a tie by catching the Snitch, and a professional team who didn't fight to get that goal instead of catching the Snitch ought to be derided as so dumb as to be uncoachable. |
| 322 | * HartmanHips -- A mature female animated character is drawn with slender shoulders and waist, but wide hips. The Trope Namer is cartoonist Creator/ButchHartman, who did draw many characters in this style, but the TropeCodifier is character designer Stephen Silver. |
| 323 | * IAmNotShazam -- A character is mistakenly believed to have the same name as the work's title, but it's actually different. The Trope Namer is the Creator/DCComics series ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'', whose protagonist is not named "Shazam" but rather "Captain Marvel" -- "Shazam" is his [[ByThePowerOfGreyskull transformation phrase]]. (Indeed, the book ''couldn't'' be titled "Captain Marvel" because of a trademark dispute with Creator/MarvelComics.) One line of continuity is not actually an example, though -- in the 2011 ''ComicBook/New52'' ContinuityReboot, and the movies that followed, his name actually ''is'' "Shazam". |
| 324 | * IJustShotMarvinInTheFace -- Serious harm, perhaps even deadly harm, as a result of RecklessGunUsage. Most portrayals are PlayedForDrama. The Trope Namer, ''Film/PulpFiction'', is strictly speaking an example, but it's clearly PlayedForLaughs, making it a better example of JugglingLoadedGuns. |
| 325 | * JustHereForGodzilla -- The fans are into a work for a single element, at the expense of all the rest of the work. The Trope Namer is the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' series, which often has movies where the audience is just there to see [[{{Kaiju}} Godzilla]] wreak havoc and doesn't care about anything else. But there are a few installments where the primary draw is something other than Godzilla; for instance, ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'' features Franchise/KingKong in the starring role[[note]] Godzilla was still the villain at that point in the series; and since he had only starred in two previous films (and hadn't appeared in a film in 7 years), he hadn't quite become a pop culture icon yet[[/note]]; ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' has [[SerialEscalation nine other monsters]] teaming up with Godzilla; and ''Film/GodzillaVsMegalon'' is most notable for [[UltramanCopy Jet Jaguar]]. |
| 326 | * KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: As explained on the trope page, Klingons who aren't warriors are usually treated with respect by fellow Klingons. Other alien races in Franchise/StarTrek do play the trope straight and occasionally the Klingons also play it straight DependingOnTheWriter. |
| 327 | * LeeroyJenkins -- TheTeam's plans are ruined when one of its members recklessly charges into the fray. The Trope Namer is the ''WebVideo/LeeroyJenkinsVideo'', in which Leeroy did indeed rush in without listening to his team's plans, but that plan was so inherently flawed that it wouldn't have worked even if he followed it. |
| 328 | * LongPants -- A character is animated such that there is no distinction between their pants and shoes. The Trope Namer is ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', whose title character is certainly drawn that way and insists that he wears long pants, but other characters like Strong Bad dispute whether he's actually wearing pants at all (and the truth is obscured because RuleOfFunny). |
| 329 | * MalcolmXerox -- A militant, hardline, aggressive black SoapboxSadie, modeled after UsefulNotes/MalcolmX. Malcolm himself was an example only early in his political activism; his actual political views were much more nuanced and evolved significantly over his lifetime, culminating in an eventual rejection of all racism late in his life. The trope is really TheThemeParkVersion of his views more than anything else. |
| 330 | * MarthDebutedInSmashBros -- A character's first appearance outside their home country is a sequel or a spin-off. The Trope Namer is Marth from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon'', who did indeed appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' in North America before any ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' game made it to the West.[[note]]Indeed, his appearance in ''Smash Bros.'' helped pique Western interest in the series, which was originally thought to be outside of Western tastes -- hence why he was exported in a PlatformFighter very different from his home series.[[/note]] Except that wasn't his ''first'' appearance -- that honor goes to a different spin-off, the dubbed ''Anime/FireEmblem'' OVA. |
| 331 | * {{Mordor}} -- The homeland of evil, a dark and desolate wasteland. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', where the plateau of Gorgoroth, which Frodo and Sam cross, fits the description well -- but the ''rest'' of Mordor is quite a fertile country, with a large lake and volcanic soil that make the southern parts of the land good for farming. |
| 332 | * MyFutureSelfAndMe -- A character meets their future self thanks to TimeTravel. The Trope Namer is an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', which at first glance is not an example because Stan does ''not'' meet his future self -- it's an actor his parents hired to keep him off drugs. But at the end of the episode, this ''does'' happen to Cartman (who doesn't believe it). |
| 333 | * TheNeidermeyer -- A cruel and abusive military officer who's despised by their soldiers. The Trope Namer is Doug Neidermeyer from ''Film/AnimalHouse'', largely due to the film's WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue humorously claiming that he was eventually killed in the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar by his own troops. But during the events of the film proper, Neidermeyer isn't actually a military officer: he's just the leader of Faber College's local ROTC chapter, making him a ''cadet''. While he's certainly cruel and abusive, his {{Jerkass}} behavior is mostly limited to screaming at his fellow cadets and forcing them to do chores. And since ROTC cadets don't serve in combat, he doesn't [[WeHaveReserves treat his men like disposable cannon fodder]] (which is otherwise one of the classic hallmarks of the trope). |
| 334 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero -- The hero unwittingly makes things worse. The Trope Namer is a line from ''VideoGame/{{Portal|1}}'', which has plenty of examples in the form of StupidityIsTheOnlyOption. But when [=GLaDOS=] says the actual line, it's not an example because she's trying to guilt you during the final boss battle by claiming that one of the parts of her you destroyed was [[BlatantLies a machine that made shoes for orphans]]. |
| 335 | * NoRespectGuy -- The OnlySaneMan who doesn't get a break or their peers' respect. The Trope Namer is the catchphrase of Creator/RodneyDangerfield, except most of the characters he played are not the OnlySaneMan but are bumbling, abrasive, and generally don't deserve much respect. |
| 336 | * OneWingedAngel -- The villain undergoes a dramatic PowerMakeover when he starts ''really'' trying to win the fight. The Trope Namer is Sephiroth from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', who does indeed undergo such a transformation during the final boss fight. But said form doesn't have one wing, but ''seven''. The term "One-Winged Angel" actually comes from his BattleThemeMusic, which is not a reference to this transformation. |
| 337 | * PronounTrouble -- A work wants to disguise a character's gender but runs into problems when using personal pronouns. The Trope Namer is the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "WesternAnimation/RabbitSeasoning", in which WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck ''does'' encounter "pronoun trouble" -- but his trouble was with person, not gender. |
| 338 | * TheRedStapler -- A work features a product and affects demand for it in RealLife. The Trope Namer is ''Film/OfficeSpace'', which indeed did this when it featured a red Swingline stapler. Except the product didn't even exist when the film was made (they just took a black stapler and painted it red), and the company only started making them as a result of this demand, so it's really a better example of {{Defictionalization}}.[[note]]If you want to be pedantic, the company did make red ''mini''-staplers at the time the movie was released to cinemas in early 1999, but that's not the same product -- people wanted the full-sized version.[[/note]] |
| 339 | * RightManInTheWrongPlace -- A normal person becomes the protagonist because he's the only one around who can fill the role, and he actually does a pretty good job at it. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', in which the G-Man uses the term to refer to protagonist Gordon Freeman. And while Gordon is very much an example in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' (and the G-Man recognizes it), he isn't really an example in ''Half-Life 2'' because the G-Man deliberately dropped him into a specific time and place to achieve his own mysterious goals. |
| 340 | * RookieRedRanger -- A team's most powerful member is its NaiveNewcomer. The Trope Namer is the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' franchise, which has quite a few examples of rookie Red Rangers who are the most powerful on the team, but none of them are the ''leaders'' -- and it's explicitly because they lack the experience to do so, so they're not really the protagonist like most examples. |
| 341 | * TheScrappy -- A character, despite the work's intentions, is consistently hated by the audience for narrative reasons. The Trope Namer is Scrappy-Doo from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', who's widely seen as an example but doesn't meet the strict definition. He was introduced to [[KidAppealCharacter appeal to kids]] and save the show from cancellation, and he achieved both quite well -- but the existing fans hated him so vehemently that even after the show was cancelled, renewed, spun off, and everything in between, they became a very loud VocalMinority who vaulted the character into popular consciousness as "universally hated". If anything, Scrappy is more of a BaseBreakingCharacter. |
| 342 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney -- A character uses their wealth to do things they shouldn't be allowed to do. The Trope Namer is Seto Kaiba from ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', who frequently uses his wealth to buy himself out of situations (as he does in the source material ''Anime/YuGiOh''). But when he says his trope-naming line, he's just straight-up cheating; he's not actually spending any money. |
| 343 | * SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll -- The tendency of rock musicians to be TheHedonist. The term originated in UsefulNotes/TheSixties, but as a reference to three distinct characteristics of the entire counterculture, not how sex and drugs overlap with rock and roll specifically. |
| 344 | * SomeCallMeTim -- A character has an {{overly long|Name}} or [[TheUnpronounceable unpronounceable]] name but goes by a short and common nickname. The Trope Namer is Tim the Enchanter from ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', who only fits the "short and common nickname" part. (The rumor that the joke was an ad-lib upon John Cleese forgetting Tim's full name is unsupported.) |
| 345 | * SpringtimeForHitler -- A plot to [[FailureGambit fail at something intentionally in order to make money]] goes awry because [[GoneHorriblyRight the characters don't actually fail]]. The Trope Namer is ''Film/TheProducers'' and the [[ShowWithinAShow play within a film]] ''Springtime for Hitler'', which is a bit more complicated than most examples contemplate. First, in most cases the characters profit directly from the failure; in the Trope Namer, the characters don't profit from the play's failure directly, but rather from their plan to oversell shares in it to gullible investors -- the play's failure is meant to [[KansasCityShuffle bring it beneath the authorities' suspicion and avoid investigation]]. Second, in most cases the "failure at failing" would be a disaster in itself; in the Trope Namer, the characters could have made money from the play's success the traditional way [[CutLexLuthorACheck had they not cheated their investors]]. |
| 346 | * StrawVulcan -- The idea that logic is always better than emotion, expressed through a StrawCharacter. The Trope Namer is the Vulcan race from ''Franchise/StarTrek'', for whom logic technically ''is'' always better than emotion because of the dangers emotions pose to their BizarreAlienBiology. |
| 347 | * TeamRocketWins -- The GoldfishPoopGang who never wins a battle finally [[ThrowTheDogABone gets a win]]. The Trope Namer is Team Rocket from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', who weren't an example at all when the trope was named -- they were just a good byword for the kind of villains the trope contemplates. It was only after the trope was established, over 900 episodes into the series in the ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' adaptation, that they finally won a legitimate fight against the protagonist and became an example. |
| 348 | * TheyKilledKennyAgain -- A character dies and [[UnexplainedRecovery inexplicably comes back to life]] as a RunningGag. The Trope Namer is Kenny from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', who was indeed an example for the first five seasons. Then the show started to change it up, [[KilledOffForReal killing him off for real]] in Season 5, resurrecting him ''with'' an explanation in Season 6, {{subvert|edTrope}}ing the gag in subsequent appearances, and generally giving the whole thing a CerebusRetcon. (Well, they wanted to keep the gag fresh.) |
| 349 | * ThouShaltNotKill -- A character follows a strict moral code that prevents killing under any circumstances. The Trope Namer is ''Literature/TheBible'', where "Thou shalt not kill" is one of the Ten Commandments. And while some schools of Christianity do interpret this as a strict prohibition against killing for any reason, it's widely suggested that "kill" isn't the best translation of the original Hebrew, which uses a word that's more akin to "murder", and that the Commandment allows for killing in certain justifiable situations such as soldiers in wartime. |
| 350 | * TimeStandsStill -- Time stops for everyone except a certain character. The Trope Namer is the song "Time Stand Still" by Music/{{Rush|Band}}, which is only marginally an example because it doesn't actually happen to the narrator, but he spends a lot of time ''wishing'' it could. |
| 351 | * TimeyWimeyBall -- TimeTravel is portrayed inconsistently. The Trope Namer is ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose rules of time travel are all over the place -- but in the episode in which the Doctor uses the trope-naming phrase to describe the timeline, it actually resolves as a fairly reasonable StableTimeLoop (albeit one containing a nice TimeParadox). |
| 352 | * TimmyInAWell -- An animal rescues a child from danger. The Trope Namer is ''Series/{{Lassie}}'', and Lassie saved Timmy from all sorts of dangers. But Lassie never saved Timmy from a well; that was just a common joke about the kind of plot the show included which over the years was [[BeamMeUpScotty misunderstood to have been an actual scenario in the show]]. Interestingly, most of the things Lassie had to save Timmy from were ''far'' more dangerous than being stuck in a well. |
| 353 | * TotallyRadical -- Unrealistic teenage slang, as envisioned by someone quite a bit older than a teenager. The trope is named for a phrase that certainly fits the trope nowadays, but was genuine teenage slang in UsefulNotes/TheNineties. It does prove the point well, though; many uses of the trope are writers extrapolating the slang from when they were teenagers to the present day. |
| 354 | * VoodooShark -- A creator's attempt to explain an unanswered question just raises ''more'' questions. The Trope Namer is the novelization of ''Film/JawsTheRevenge'', which provides an explanation for why the film's ThreateningShark is chasing the Brody family -- it's the result of a voodoo curse. But whether that raises more questions than it answers is a matter of debate; for many, it doesn't raise more questions, it's just really stupid. |
| 355 | * WartsAndAll -- A character who's the stuff of legend is discovered to have been imperfect, but still respected as a legend. The Trope Namer is UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell, who used the term to ask for his portrait to contain all his physical imperfections so that future generations would recognize that he was imperfect, his accomplishments notwithstanding. While this generally does show ''symbolically'' that Cromwell wasn't morally perfect, the phrase itself refers specifically to physical imperfections. |
| 356 | * WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong -- A StockPhrase with no specific TropeNamer. The phrase itself is a trope, but its use usually heralds the different trope TemptingFate. |
| 357 | * WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway -- A character has an unusual superpower that's basically useless. The Trope Namer is Ma-Ti from ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'', whose "heart" powers seem quite lame in contrast to his teammates' ElementalPowers. And while he is pretty much useless, it's not because his ''powers'' are useless; he's actually a {{telepath|y}} and an [[TheEmpath empath]] who can [[MindControl control people's minds]], but "heart" also gives him a moral compass so strong that he refuses to use his powers to their full extent. |
| 358 | * WhereDaWhiteWomenAt -- A pairing between a black man and a white woman that society disapproves of. The Trope Namer is ''Film/BlazingSaddles'', in which Bart just says the line as a distraction; he's not in a relationship with a white woman. But he ''is'' playing on the racist whites' perception of black men as being out to "steal their women" (so he can lead them into an ambush), so the attitude is prevalent even if the relationship is not. Bart also has a brief fling with the white Lili von Shtupp, but she seduces ''him'' only for Bart to [[NotDistractedByTheSexy prove himself immune to her charms]], at which point she genuinely falls for him -- but even then, the characters are more angry that she failed to entrap him than that she's actually fallen for a black man. |
| 359 | * YokoOhNo -- An artist's LoveInterest waylays their career. The Trope Namer is Music/YokoOno, Music/JohnLennon's girlfriend and later wife, who's blamed for breaking up Music/TheBeatles. It's not fair to say that she ''broke up'' the Beatles, given that they had been drifting apart for years; in many ways, their breakup was inevitable. Nor is it fair to say that she wrecked John's career; he went on to have a successful solo career long after the breakup. But it ''might'' be fair to say that she influenced John's style in a way some fans didn't like, making it more experimental and "artsy". And it ''might'' be fair to say that she accelerated the Beatles' inevitable breakup, given how John's bandmates didn't like his obsession with her and her sway over him (''e.g.'', how he would bring her to recording sessions). Even fans who don't actually blame Yoko for ''everything'' would consider her a good symbol of what went wrong. (In any event, even if she were a ''complete'' example, she can't be listed on the page anyway because it [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease doesn't permit real-life examples]].) |
| 360 | * YourHeadAsplode -- A character's head explodes. The Trope Namer is the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "video games", in which Strong Bad uses the term "asplode" to describe what happens to the PlayerCharacter in a hypothetical video game -- except in that case, it wasn't his head that "asploded", but his entire body. |
| 361 | * {{Zeerust}} -- Defined in ''Literature/TheMeaningOfLiff'' as "[t]he particular kind of datedness which afflicts things that were originally designed to look futuristic." In turn, the Trope Namer borrowed the name from a town in UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica which otherwise has no relation to the trope. |
| 362 | * ZergRush -- Overwhelming an opponent with a huge number of individually weak units. The Trope Namer is ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', in which the Zerg are very commonly used in this way -- but the exact phrase "Zerg rush" refers to a specific tactic of using a ''small'' number of Zerg units to sneak in and seize enemy resources before they get a chance to set up their defenses. |
| 363 | [[/folder]] |
| 364 | |
| 365 | [[folder:Above lists combined]] |
| 366 | * ActorRoleConfusion -- Originally "Your Secret's Safe With Me, Superman", the inability to differentiate between a character and the actor who plays him. The Trope Namer is a line from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E9MrPlow Mr. Plow]]", which is technically an example as Barney can't tell Superman from the actor who played him -- except in that case, he didn't even get the ''role'' right, because he was meeting Creator/AdamWest, who played ComicBook/{{Batman}} in [[Series/Batman1966 the 1966 TV adaptation]]. |
| 367 | * AdaptationalSelfDefense -- Originally "The Dog Shot First", an edit of a scene in which a character [[ShootTheDog Shoots the Dog]] so that the character is now shown to be acting in self-defense. The Trope Namer is a play on the phrase "Han shot first", a reference to [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion an infamous edit]] to the first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/ANewHope'' in which Han Solo shoots Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina. In the original, Han just shot Greedo (hence "Han shot first"), but the edit has Greedo shoot first (and miss badly and implausibly), giving Han the opportunity to return fire. It was ''kind of'' an example in that it gave Han a ''better'' justification to shoot Greedo, but even in the original Greedo is pointing a gun at Han and clearly threatening to kill him, so Han was justified enough that he wasn't [[ShootTheDog Shooting the Dog]] to begin with. |
| 368 | * CondemnedByHistory -- Originally "Deader than Disco", something that was once popular is now viewed with contempt. {{Disco}} was once an example given its popularity in UsefulNotes/TheSeventies and the [[DiscoSucks very strong backlash against it]] in the following decades, but its condemnation was undone by the PopularityPolynomial and it's no longer hated as much -- especially by younger generations who don't remember the original backlash against it. |
| 369 | * CuteAndPsycho -- Originally "Yangire", a Japanese {{portmanteau}} of the words ''{{yandere}}'' and ''kireru'' (to snap or lose one's temper). It was originally coined by anime fans to describe the unusual behavior of a character from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', but she didn't really meet the strict definition implied by the portmanteau -- "cute and psycho" is a bit broader. |
| 370 | * DamselScrappy -- Originally "The Kimberly", a reference to Jack Bauer's daughter from ''Series/TwentyFour''. The character in question was an example early on, but she subsequently TookALevelInBadass (incidentally, right after the trope was renamed for being incomprehensible to anyone not familiar with the show), got RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap, and stopped being an example. |
| 371 | * DecapitatedArmy -- Originally "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead" after the musical number from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', the trope refers to instances where an army immediately becomes harmless as soon as their leader is defeated. The ''second'' time that song is sung in the film, it fits the trope perfectly: the Wicked Witch of the West's Winkie soldiers sing it after her death, after which they let Dorothy and her friends go in peace. But the first time (the more famous instance), the Munchkins just sing it after the death of the Wicked Witch of the East; rather than soldiers laying down their arms, they're just people [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing rejoicing upon the death of an oppressor]]. |
| 372 | * DrivenByEnvy -- Originally "Salieri Syndrome", after Antonio Salieri in ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'', who is indeed deeply envious of Mozart's talent but never successfully undermines him. While he does claim to have murdered him late in his life, that's just his extremely overactive imagination at work. |
| 373 | * EccentricMentor -- Originally "The Dumbledore", after Professor Albus Dumbledore from ''Literature/HarryPotter''. While Dumbledore fit the trope quite well in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]'', his quirkiness was considerably toned down as the series underwent CerebusSyndrome; by the later installments, he'd transitioned into a mostly solemn and straight-laced ReasonableAuthorityFigure. |
| 374 | * ExaggeratedTrope -- Originally "Up to Eleven", a reference to ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' and how the band uses amplifiers whose dials' top setting is "11" rather than the traditional "10". While Spın̈al Tap is described as the world's loudest band and generally goes above and beyond with its antics, its amps don't actually exceed normal limits; they're just labeled strangely. As the director points out, there's no reason not to just make 10 louder. (UpToEleven still exists, but as a disambiguation that includes ExaggeratedTrope.) |
| 375 | * HeadTurningBeauty -- Originally "Hello Nurse", after a RunningGag from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. While the character was indeed stunningly beautiful and routinely got this reaction from Yakko and Wakko, most other characters didn't share in that reaction. |
| 376 | * HypercompetentSidekick -- Originally "The Radar", after the character from ''Series/{{MASH}}''. He started out this way, but was {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed out of hypercompetence, especially when his commanding officer was changed from Colonel Blake into the much more competent and self-sufficient Colonel Potter. |
| 377 | * InstantWinCondition -- Originally "The Enemy Gate Is Down", after a scenario from ''Literature/EndersGame''. While Ender does identify (and abuse) an instant-win condition in the Battle School simulations, his use of the phrase isn't about that; it's just a trick he used to orient himself in zero-gravity (which he and his team continued to use while eventually abusing the instant-win condition). |
| 378 | * ReplacementFlatCharacter -- Originally "The Niles", after the character from ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. He was an originally an example, as when his brother Frasier got some CharacterDevelopment Niles was established as sort of what Frasier used to be, but over the years Niles got some CharacterDevelopment of his own. |
| 379 | * RomanticPlotTumor -- Originally "George Lucas Love Story", after director Creator/GeorgeLucas and his widely derided portrayal of Anakin and Padme's relationship in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''. While that film was definitely an example, that was an isolated example (really a NeverLiveItDown moment); most of the time, Lucas is capable of writing a romance well enough that it doesn't take over the rest of the film. |
| 380 | * RuthlessModernPirates -- Originally "A Disgrace to Blackbeard" from a line in the WesternAnimation/SouthPark episode "Fatbeard". While the Somali Pirates fit this trope when they're introduced, the plot focuses on Cartman defying this trope in favor of APirate400YearsTooLate. |
| 381 | * SprintShoes -- Originally "Bunny Hood", after the item from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', which does what the trope contemplates: it increases the character's speed. It doesn't do that in every ''Zelda'' game, though, and even in ''Majora's Mask'', the {{speedrun}}ners found that it was faster to roll than to use the Bunny Hood. (The Bunny Hood most effective in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.) |
| 382 | * ThanatosGambit used to be "Xanatos Funeral" named after XanatosGambit. TropeNamer David Xanatos from ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' never had any plans that carried out after his death, due to him not dying in the show. |
| 383 | * UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Originally "Fat Monica", after Monica from ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and her past as an overweight teenager. Due to ValuesDissonance, the jokes at her expense seem more mean spirted, making her more sympathetic in the eyes of the audience. |
| 384 | * UniqueEnemy -- Originally "The Red Snifit", after ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', which had only one Red Snifit. However, other games in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise had more than one red Snifit, and indeed in most of them red ones were more common than any other. |
| 385 | * YouJustToldMe -- Originally "Rumpelstiltskin Ploy", a character is goaded into a ReflexiveResponse and tricked into revealing a secret. The Trope Namer is the fairy tale ''Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}}'', where the title character is indeed defeated by speaking his secret out loud, but that wasn't because he was tricked into it in conversation; he [[IsThisThingStillOn just thought no one was listening]]. |
| 386 | [[/folder]] |
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