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1->Visit the main page [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants here]].
2-->For tropes A to C see [[SpongeBobSquarePants/TropesAToC here]].
3-->For tropes D to I see [[SpongeBobSquarePants/TropesDToI here]].
4-->For tropes J to P see [[SpongeBobSquarePants/TropesJToP here]].
5----
6
7!!Tropes with their own pages
8[[index]]
9* [[ShaggyDogStory/SpongeBobSquarePants Shaggy Dog Story]]
10* [[ShoutOut/SpongeBobSquarePants Shout-Out]]
11* [[StuffBlowingUp/SpongeBobSquarePants Stuff Blowing Up]]
12[[/index]]
13
14!!Other Tropes
15[[foldercontrol]]
16
17[[folder:Q-R]]
18* QualityOverQuantity: In "Neptune's Spatula", King Neptune challenges [=SpongeBob=] to a fry-cooking competition where whoever cooks the most Krabby Patties wins, but he concedes to [=SpongeBob=] when he finds out that his mass-produced patties are terrible while [=SpongeBob=]'s singular patty made with love is superior.
19* QuietingTheUnquietDead: In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E11 "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost"]], Squidward pretends to be a ghost to scare [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick into doing his bidding. When he gets angry at them for their bungling, the two decide that he needs to be put to rest and proceed to give him a proper funeral. Squidward confesses to pretending to be a ghost, but even then [=SpongeBob=] thinks he's just in denial and decides to send him to the Great Beyond with a giant bubble that takes him to the surface, surrounded by hungry seagulls. "He's in a better place now."
20* QuiveringLip: In "The Inmates of Summer", [=SpongeBob=] is about to go to summer camp and Patrick is sad to see him leave. They briefly have wobbling lips right before they hug each other, bawling OcularGushers.
21* RampageFromANail:
22** "The Smoking Peanut" has a giant clam behaving this way. Everyone thinks it was because a peanut had been thrown at it; turns out Mr. Krabs stole its egg.
23** There is also "Once Bitten" in which Gary is unruly and goes around biting people. Turns out it was because he had a splinter from a piece of Squidward's makeshift security fence, almost making this example a parody, as the splinter was the size of a ''tree''.
24* RapidFireComedy: The main genre of the show, focusing primarily on jokes over story.
25* RapidHairGrowth:
26** In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie'', Mindy tries to convince [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick that they are men by giving them fake mustaches. Later, they run into tough guy Dennis, who laughs at their pathetic mustaches and show them what a real mustache looks like, by instantly growing one.
27** In the actual show, Patrick also has this ability, but with more hairstyles.
28* RashomonStyle: In "Friend or Foe?" Mr. Krabs claimed the moment his friendship with Plankton ended was when Plankton went mad with power. ("I'm ruling their stomachs, and soon I'll be ruling their minds!") However, Plankton appears and claimed their friendship actually ended when Mr. Krabs went mad with greed. ("First, I'll rule their stomachs, and then...their money!") But then Karen (who was just starting out as a security system at the time Mr. Krabs and Plankton started their own restaurant) shows up and revealed they didn't attract any customers at all. In fact, the only customer they did have got poisoned by the burger. Krabs and Plankton then blame each other and fought over who gets to fix the recipe, leading them to [[StartMyOwn start their own separate restaurants]]. Notably, all three versions of the tale involved the two tearing their original recipe in half.
29* RattlingOffLegal: During one of Plankton's many failed attempts at discovering the Krabby Patty secret formula (episode entitled "Imitation Krabs"), he poses as a sweepstakes sponsor, and the following dialogue occurs:
30--> '''Plankton:''' Are you [=SpongeBob=] [=SquarePants=]?\
31'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Why yes... yes, I am!\
32'''Plankton:''' Then you've just won ONE MILLION DOLLARS! You just have to answer ONE question! What is the Krabby Patty secret formula?\
33'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' ''[takes breath as if he's about to answer]''\
34'''Plankton:''' ''[excitedly]'' Yes?\
35'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' ''[takes breath]''\
36'''Plankton:''' Yes?!\
37'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' ''[[[RuleOfThree takes a third breath]]]''\
38'''Plankton:''' YES?!\
39'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' [[MotorMouth The Krabby Patty formula is the sole property of the Krusty Krab and is only to be discussed, in part or in whole, with its creator, Mr. Krabs. Duplication of this formula is punishable by law. Restrictions apply, results may vary.]] ''[smiles jubilantly]''\
40'''Plankton:''' ''[[[StunnedSilence stunned silence]]]'' Grrrr... THAT'S IT?!! You'd better cough up that secret formula or else!
41* RawEggsMakeYouStronger:
42** In the episode "The Great Snail Race", [=SpongeBob=] puts Gary through [[TrainingfromHell Training from Hell]] to win the titular race. At one point, he mixes Gary an "energy drink" which includes raw eggs, simply "because they're cliché!"
43** Also, in "[=MuscleBob BuffPants=]", [=SpongeBob=] mentions that he "starts off with twenty raw eggs everyday".
44* ReachingBetweenTheLines: Taken about as far as possible in an episode where [=SpongeBob=] and Sandy attempt to one-up each other at karate. First [=SpongeBob=] calls Sandy to attempt to chop her, at which point she turns the attack back on him by twisting his arm and pushing it back through the speaker.
45* ReadTheFinePrint: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in the episode "Pickles". Usually, if a customer actually does read fine print, it's an addendum that would be to the customer's disadvantage. However, in this case, a large fish named Bubble Bass demands a refund for his Krabby Patty on the grounds that [=SpongeBob=] forgot to put pickles on it. He cites a ludicrously microscopic disclaimer on the restaurant's overhead menu that reads "Money-back guarantee". Mr. Krabs does all he can to avoid the refund and keep his two dollars, then tells [=SpongeBob=] that he's taking it out of his paycheck.
46* ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud: Patrick.
47-->'''Sandy:''' Here Patrick, have a Krabby Patty. ''[whispering]'' Psst! There he is, Patrick! Say your line!\
48'''Patrick:''' ''[whimpering]'' Why, thank you, Sandy. I would love one. "[TAKE PATTY.]" ''[takes patty]'' Too bad [=SpongeBob=] isn't here. These are his favorites. I sure wish he'd come home. "[TAKE...BITE...]" ''[slowly puts the Krabby Patty to his mouth, but bursts into tears before he can bring himself to eat it]''
49* RealAfterAll:
50** The hydrodynamic spatula in the first episode.
51** The Sea Bear in "The Camping Episode."
52** Santa in "Christmas Who?"
53* RealFakeWedding: The pastor in "Truth or Square" thought it was a real wedding instead of a play. A deleted line has [=SpongeBob=] saying [[ShipTease "It doesn't have to be"]], only to get [[ShipSinking slapped]] by Sandy.
54* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
55** "Reef Blower" was completely pantomime because of a faulty sound system.
56** Tom Kenny mentioned in an interview in "Magazine/NickelodeonMagazine" that he ''was'' actually very sick when he recorded [=SpongeBob=]'s congested-sounding dialogue in "Suds." For the most part, the sniffles and sneezes were genuine. Which only makes [=SpongeBob=] more [[TheWoobie pitiable]] in the episode.
57* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
58** Mr. Fitz becomes this in "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired", showing how much [=SpongeBob=] cares about his standing and Mrs. Puff has let him down.
59** Mr. Krabs is oddly this in "A Pal for Gary", seeing how [=SpongeBob=] needs to cater to Gary despite all the work he has to do, and is happily willing to hire Gary to work alongside him in the end.
60** Mr. Krabs becomes this again in "Yours, Mine and Mine" as he punishes [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick for fighting over the toy and quickly resolves their argument.
61* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
62** Patrick gives one to [=SpongeBob=] near the end of "Dumped", just before TheReveal Gary only wanted the cookie in his pocket:
63--->'''Patrick:''' I'm sorry, [=SpongeBob=], but Gary's with me now. You had your chance and you failed. You have to stop living in the past. Face it [=SpongeBob=], you're only hurting yourself. It's what Gary wants, and what Gary wants is me! Right, Gary? ...Gary?
64** Plankton gives one to Squidward in "Plankton!"
65--->'''Plankton:''' Shut your mouth, you mediocre clarinet player.
66--->'''Squidward:''' ''[sheepishly]'' ... mediocre?
67--->'''Plankton:''' You ''pretentious'', little insignificant artist! Your sniveling creations are worth less than a protozoan's ''waste''!
68--->'''Squidward:''' ''[turns pale and faints]''
69** Mr. Krabs gives one to [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick in "Yours, Mine and Mine"
70--->'''Mr. Krabs:''' Whoa, whoa, whoa there, now! Settle down! All this brawling is over a toy?! You two shouldn't let a little trinket get between youse! You should be ashamed of yourselves. If I gave each of ya ''another'' toy, would ''that'' make you happy?
71* RebusBubble: In "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve": "Sponge... + Starfish = ...Scallop?"
72* RedHerring: So what did [=SpongeBob=] see what's inside Patrick's secret box? A simple string! (Or a ''secret'' string!) But [=SpongeBob=] didn't ''pull'' the string, which opens a secret compartment containing...an embarrassing snapshot of him from a Christmas party!
73* RedOniBlueOni: [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward.
74* RemovableShell: Gary has sometimes, depending on the episode. Sometimes the shell lifts up to show something hidden inside; sometimes the shell is BiggerOnTheInside and [=SpongeBob=] is able to crawl into it; and sometimes cracking the shell exposes Gary's veiny, throbbing innards.
75* ReminderOfImpossibility: In "House Sittin' For Sandy," [=SpongeBob=] spends the first half of the episode walking around the treedome without the water helmet. Then when Patrick comes in wearing his water helmet and reminds [=SpongeBob=] that they cannot breathe air, [=SpongeBob=] promptly dries up and becomes unable to breathe.
76* RepeatWhatYouJustSaid: In "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost":
77--> '''Patrick''': [Squidward] really needs to get up to the great beyond.
78--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': Patrick? Say that again!
79--> '''Patrick''': That again.
80--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': No, the other thing.
81--> '''Patrick''': No, the other thing.
82--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': No, what you said before when--
83--> '''Patrick''': No, what you said before when--
84--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': Never mind! I've got an idea!
85--> '''Patrick''': Never mind, I've got an idea!
86--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': ''[stares into the distance with an annoyed look on his face]''
87* RepetitiveName: Dr. Gill Gilliam.
88* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The DVD versions of a few episodes have some of the incidental music replaced due to licensing issues (as while most of the show's soundtrack is stock music, not all of it is public domain). One notable example is in the episode "Employee of the Month", when [=SpongeBob=] is spying on Squidward, "Agent Woodrow" by The Woodies is replaced with "Hercule Poirot" by Gerhard Trede. Oddly, the episodes in question are not edited on the iTunes versions. Incidentally, the pilot episode "Help Wanted" managed to keep the 1968 Music/TinyTim cover of "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight" when it was finally released on home media as a bonus feature on the 2005 season 3 DVD set (it was excluded from the 2003 season 1 DVD set due to Nickelodeon being unwilling to re-license the song at the time) and the season 2 episode "Band Geeks" was able to retain David Glen Eisley's "Sweet Victory" in all home media releases, largely because the scenes where each song plays was animated around the music and it would've been too impractical to try and come up with effective replacement songs.
89* {{Retraux}}: "Truth or Square" had a brief throwback to [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation old black & white rubberhose cartoons.]]
90* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder:
91** In "Sailor Mouth", after [=SpongeBob=] curses:
92---> '''Fish''': Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?\
93'''[=SpongeBob=]''': Well, sometimes, but not... recently.
94** Again in "Can You Spare a Dime?"
95---> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': What could be better than serving up smiles?(makes goofy face)
96---> '''Squidward''': Being dead, or anything else.
97* RhymingEpisode: "[=SpongeBob=] vs. the Patty Gadget" is told entirely in rhyme.
98* RhymingList: In the episode "Born Again Krabs", [=SpongeBob=] finds an old, dried-out patty (just the meat patty itself) underneath the grill. He throws it away, at which point an alarm sounds and Mr. Krabs bursts into the room, panicking that "Someone tried to throw away a patty!" as he picks it out of the garbage. He and [=SpongeBob=] then have the following dialogue:
99-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Mr. Krabs, I found that under the grill.
100-->'''Krabs:''' And tomorrow, a customer will find it under his bun.
101-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' But... it's old... and cold... and so very full of mold...
102-->'''Krabs:''' You're not to make another patty until that one is ''sold!''
103* RhymingTitle:
104** "No Hat for Pat"
105** "Night Light"
106** "No Nose Knows"
107** "Bubble Troubles"
108** "The Hot Shot"
109** "The Main Drain"
110** "Mall Girl Pearl"
111** "Goons on the Moon"
112** "The Goofy Newbie"
113** "Who R Zoo?"
114** "Fungus Among Us"
115* RichBoredom: In "Selling Out," Mr. Krabs sells the Krusty Krab for a lot of loot. It's not long before he runs out of things to do in his retirement, goes on a rampage that destroys the Krusty Krab, buys the destroyed restaurant back, and it's all fixed up the next time we see it (in the next episode).
116* RiddleForTheAges: The secret formula of the Krabby Patty. Stephen Hillenberg said he knew what it was, but that he was never going to tell anybody. Assuming he wasn't joking, he took the secret to his grave.
117* RightNowMontage: Often seen as the citizens of Bikini Bottom react to Spongebob's latest antics (like broadcasting Patrick's GiftedlyBad song over the airwaves).
118* RoadTripEpisode: "Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation" has Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and [=SpongeBob=] on one, while "A [=SquarePants=] Family Vacation" has the whole [=SquarePants=] family and Patrick going on a road trip.
119* RockersSmashGuitars: After singing a campfire song.
120* RogerRabbitEffect: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick with Creator/DavidHasselhoff.
121* RomanticCandlelitDinner: In one episode Mr. Crabs falls in love with Mrs. Puff, and ends up asking her out for a date at a fancy restaurant - the romantic atmosphere brings them closer as a couple, but the bill was expensive and the worry of spending more money sets off the plot of the episode.
122* RoundHippieShades: The character only known as "Didgeridoo Player" is dressed in hippie garb, included rounded sunglasses. He's part of the marching band, but rather than march like the others, he just sits on the ground playing his instrument.
123* RoundaboutShot:
124** In "Christmas Who?", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick have one of these during "The Very First Christmas".
125** [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick get another in "Wormy" as they are dancing around Wormy during "That's What Friends Do".
126** [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick have another along with Squidward in "Enchanted Tiki Dreams".
127** In "To Love a Patty", [=SpongeBob=]'s FallingInLoveMontage with the patty begins with him dancing with the patty under a disco ball followed by close-ups of the latter and former, in that order.
128** In "Yours, Mine and Mine" after Mr. Krabs gives [=SpongeBob=] the Patty Pal toy, [=SpongeBob=] has one of these with the toy as he dances with it.
129* RousingSpeech: In "Band Geeks":
130-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' What kind of monsters are we? That poor creature came to us in his hour of need, and we failed him. Squidward's always been there for us when it was convenient for him. Evelyn, when your little Jimmy was trapped in a fire, who rescued him? \
131'''Evelyn:''' A fireman.\
132'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' And Larry, when your heart gave out from all those tanning pills, who revived you?\
133'''Larry:''' Some guy in an ambulance.\
134'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Right. So, if we can all just pretend that Squidward was a fireman, or a guy in an ambulance, then I'm sure that we can all pull together and discover what it truly means: to be in a marching band.\
135'''Harold (in Australian accent):''' Yeah, for the fireman!\
136'''All:''' Hooray!
137* RewatchBonus: watch once bitten again. You will indeed notice that with the exception of Patrick who is…..well…..Patrick no one freaks out about showing symptoms of “Mad Snail Disease “ until they see someone else doing so! Mass hysteria indeed! Good diagnosis Dr. Gilliam!
138* RubberForeheadAliens: Man Ray.
139* RubberMan: [=SpongeBob=] is rather stretchy and as such he is a frequent target of AmusingInjuries that are shapeshifting-related. A few episodes show that he can also [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change himself]] into pretty much whatever he wants.
140* RuleOfFunny: One of the reasons why there's little continuity for the show, for example, as a sponge, [=SpongeBob=] himself can either be completely boneless or injure himself DependingOnTheWriter.
141* RuleOfThree: In the first season episode "Jellyfishing", Patrick helping an injured Squidward hold a jellyfish net.
142--> '''Patrick:''' Firmly grasp it in your hand. ''(Patrick places the pole end on Squidward's bandaged hand, but it falls off because he can't grab it. Patrick picks it up)'' '''''Firmly''''' grasp it. ''(He does the same thing again and the results are exactly like before. Patrick gets angry) '' '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis FIRMLY GRASP IT!]]''' ''(Patrick jams the net through Squidward's bandaged hand. He groans in pain)'' That oughta do it.
143* RunningGag:
144** Whenever there is wide shot of an incident that involves someone being injured or in physical distress, you can expect to hear someone shout, "My leg!"
145** A few running gags occurred in early seasons only, such as Patrick waking up in the morning as his rock lifts off the ground, at which point he falls to the ground, and Patrick walking into the Krusty Krab, greeting the employees with "Good morning, Krusty Krew!"
146** Another early one was Mr. Krabs apparently sweating a lot; this was even referenced in some of the video games.
147** A rather odd one with Season 9 and 10: Squidward being spat out of something and ending up in a [[Anime/DragonBallZ Yamcha]]-esque TroubledFetalPosition with a bone and a can on the ground. Initially started on "[[https://66.media.tumblr.com/d335ddac8d579b746a004e53d0b17435/tumblr_oyakduwjEK1rvyrsao1_1280.png Mutiny on the Krusty]]", the gag was later reused in "[[https://66.media.tumblr.com/334ae4503c57fc1ca70699d0d4878443/tumblr_oyakduwjEK1rvyrsao2_1280.png Out of the Picture]]" and "[[https://66.media.tumblr.com/d333f9bf9ad57bc587049d4f916d376e/tumblr_oyakduwjEK1rvyrsao3_1280.png Feral Friends]]".
148** Barnacle Boy calls Mermaid man an “old coot” in pretty much every episode they appear in.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:S]]
152* SafetyWorst: In "I Had an Accident", after getting a "broken butt" after a sandboarding wipeout, [=SpongeBob=] takes a doctor's orders to be more careful too far and becomes a shut-in.
153* SamusIsAGirl: In the "Pressure" episode, there is a scene where Sandy Cheeks takes her suit off, and it leaves her wearing nothing except for her bikini and her thin skirt. Patrick is shocked ("Sandy's a girl?!"), despite seeing her outside of her suit before, and referring to Sandy as "She" just minutes prior.
154* SapientAllAlong: For most of the episode "My Pretty Seahorse", Mystery seems to be an animal. Then near the end of the episode, [=SpongeBob=] claims she understands ''everything'' he says!
155** Bubble Buddy is also this.
156* SapientCetaceans: Pearl is a talking whale who she lives the life of a human teenager.
157** Also, a dolphin king seen in "Sponge-Cano!" is a sentient dolphin that warns Bikini Bottom about the threat of volcanoes.
158* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud:
159** Plankton makes a habit out of this:
160---> '''Plankton:''' I see you! '''''ZAP!''''' Oh, look, it's the Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty! '''''CRUSH!''''' ''[Crushes the restaurant, picks up its sign and starts to lick it like a lollipop]'' Lick, lick!
161** From the episode "Plankton!":
162---> ''[produces a golden spatula from his "[[{{Hammerspace}} secret compartment]]"] ''SHING! Sparkle, sparkle.
163** Squidward, when [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs "rebuild" Karen 2.0, which actually means simply attaching her computer monitor to Squidward's head:
164---> '''Squidward:''' ''[deadpan]'' Welcome to the Krusty Krab. May I take your order? Beep, beep.
165** [[ItMakesSenseInContext While attempting to get [=SpongeBob=] to reveal the secret Krabby Patty formula]]:
166---> '''Plankton:''' ''[disguised as Mr. Krabs]'' Yum yum. This spaghetti sure is good. Belch.
167* ScareChord:
168** The OminousMusicBoxTune that is heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ8IpWuJTFE during]] Patrick's BreakTheCutie moment in the episode "Nature Pants": "If I can't have you as a friend, I'm gonna make you a ''trophy''!"
169** The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=482CpyWqH6U "Ghost Child"]] from "Scaredy Pants".
170** The music that plays in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X5ApsYq5fQ#t=8m40s this]] video. It's the 'generic' [=SpongeBob=] creepy music.
171*** It also plays during the sequence in "Squid's Day Off" where we see Squidward going insane and blocking off his door to his house to prevent him from going back to the Krusty Krab to check up on [=SpongeBob=].
172** The "I DON'T NEED IT" scene in "Tea at the Treedome". [=SpongeBob=]'s dried up face is zoomed in on in terrifying detail, complete with an unnerving heartbeat sound.
173** The ironically named "Lovely Scenery A" ends with this. It's the part that is most used.
174* ScaryScienceWords: In the episode "Funny Pants", Sandy explains to [=SpongeBob=] the biology of how laughter works, using technical words. He says it sounds painful and she replies that "science makes everything sound painful".
175* SceneryCensor: Mermaid Man in one episode, with Gary blocking his crotch until he can get a towel on; spoofed with [=SpongeBob=] in the episode "Nature Pants", as he has nothing to hide and in fact spent some...er, most shots without his crotch obscured.
176* SchmuckBait: In "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," the new instructor orders no eating in class, then asks, "Would anyone care for a bon bon?" Most of the students ([[NobodysThatDumb [=SpongeBob=] included]]) resist, but one kid accepts and is thrown out of the classroom.
177* ScissorsCutsRock: In "A Flea in Her Dome", Sandy attempts to keep the fleas at bay with a flea collar, but after fighting [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick over it she just wraps the collar around the three of them so the fleas can't get any of them. However, the fleas had already started to multiply enough that they had enough offspring to blitz through the three of them and ''eat'' the collar.
178* ScreamDiscretionShot: In "Clams", [=SpongeBob=] and (an unhappy) Squidward join Mr. Krabs on a clam-fishing trip. [=SpongeBob=] repeatedly attempts to cast off, and hooks various objects on the boat with his backswings, and throws them out into the lagoon when he swings the rod forward. First is a book that Squidward is reading, then the chair he's sitting in, then his shirt... finally, the hook on [=SpongeBob=]'s rod catches Squidward's nose. There's a {{beat}}, and the camera pans extremely far out, and all the viewer sees is the boat. Squidward screams bloody murder as a loud rip is heard, and the next shot shows Squidward missing his nose.
179* ScreamingAtSquick: A frequent running gag in the series is that almost any GrossUpCloseUp is often accompanied by the sound of a woman screaming in terror offscreen.
180* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
181** In "Sleepy Time", when [=SpongeBob=] invades Patrick's dream.
182---> '''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I mean anything! Watch. I can turn into a skyscraper. ''[transforms into the shape of a skyscraper] Going up! Eh? [sees that Patrick is unresponsive; looks dull]'' I can make... a million of me! ''[changes back to his normal shape and size, this time with a million copies of himself]'' Eh? Eh? ''[the clones disappear]'' Ah, tartar sauce. I'm going to a different dream.
183** Stanley S. [=SquarePants=] is [[TheJinx the very unlucky cousin]] to the titular character. He ruins everything he touches and drives every character he meets insane. Except Squidward; he only took one look at him, exclaimed "There's ''two'' of them?!" and immediately moved out of his house screaming in terror.
184* TheScrooge: Mr. Krabs is very greedy and cheap.
185* SeadogPegLeg:
186** Patchy the Pirate has one.
187** On the episode "Arrgh!", Mr. Krabs gives [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick some pirate gear to put on when they go treasure hunting. [=SpongeBob=] puts on two peg legs and calls himself Peggy the Pirate.
188* SeahorseSteed: [=SpongeBob=] befriends a sea horse he calls Mystery.
189* SecondPersonAttack: In "Pizza Delivery", when the fish ordering the Krusty Krab pizza refused to pay for the pizza because [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward forgot to bring him his soda, Squidward comes back at his door and shoves the pizza in the customer's face, saying "Well, this one's on the house!"
190* SecretCompartment: In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E15TheSecretBoxBandGeeks The Secret Box]]", Spongebob is convinced that a box that [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsPatrickStar Patrick Star]] is carrying around has a picture of him doing something embarrassing and tries his best to find out. At the end, Patrick ultimately relents and Spongebob is relieved that it was just a string. However, once Spongebob is out of earshot, Patrick reveals that the string opened up a secret compartment in the box, which ''did'' hold the embarrassing photo.
191* SecretIngredient: Plankton's schemes revolve around discovering the secret ingredient of the Krabby Patty at business rival Mr. Krabs's The Krusty Krab. At one point (after overtaking the restaurant with the help of his millions of hillbilly brethren), Plankton finds out that the secret ingredient is actual plankton ([[GoMadFromTheRevelation Plankton and his family do not take the news well]]), but Mr. Krabs reveals that it wasn't the real secret ingredient, [[CrazyPrepared just a fake one used to dupe Plankton]]. Another episode involves the restaurant going into lockdown as the secret ingredient is air-lifted in.
192* SeekingTheIntangible: Zigzagged in an episode. Mr. Krabs, a stingy restaurant owner, makes a wishing well to [[ConMan con people out of their money]], but it was never magic. [=SpongeBob=], however, believes that the well was initially magic but the magic went missing, so he digs deeper to find the magic, eventually finding a [[AppliedPhlebotinum strange glow]] that ends up turning the well into a genuinely magical one.
193* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs. [=SpongeBob=] is highly emotional and cares about cleanliness, while Mr. Krabs is a retired navy member.
194* SentientSands: "Sand Castles in the Sand" has [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick building increasingly militarized {{Palatial Sandcastle}}s to war against each other. [=SpongeBob=] manages to build an entire human-like crew (and a bull) made out of sand which are fully sentient and able to move at will. Unfortunately, they are as easily destroyed as regular sand structures. Also, the sand gargoyles from [=SpongeBob=] last sandcastle fly away at the imminence of said sandcastle's bombing.
195* SequelEpisode: There are some rare episodes that act as follow-ups to previous episodes:
196** "Bubble Buddy Returns" has [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E3BigPinkLoserBubbleBuddy Bubble Buddy]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin return]] to Bikini Bottom, leaving his son in [=SpongeBob=]'s care.
197** "Spot Returns" acts as a sequel to "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS9E8SafeDepositKrabsPlanktonsPet Plankton's Pet]]", featuring Spot giving birth and Plankton using the offspring for another plan.
198** "Man Ray Returns" is a sequel to "Mermaid Pants" one season earlier. Mermaid Pants and Barnacle Star once again team up, this time to stop Man Ray.
199** "A Cabin in the Kelp" is the second episode featuring the Gal Pals, a group that Sandy, Karen, and Mrs. Puff form in "[[GirlsNightOutEpisode Girls' Night Out]]" from the previous season. This time, Pearl joins them as they go to camp at a cabin.
200* SeriousBusiness: Charlton Hawkfish in the episode "The Sewers of Bikini Bottom" has this attitude when it comes to chewing out the stadium owner on cutting corners when building the sewer he designed. Justified in that [[spoiler:flushing all the toilets at the stadium at once nearly causes a flood and also awakens a giant snake.]]
201* SeriousWorkComedicScene:
202** In "Dying for Pie", Squidward believes that [=SpongeBob=] has eaten an exploding pie he gave him, and thus will die at sunset. The scene that counts down to [=SpongeBob=]'s supposed death, which is played seriously, starts with a joke that Squidward has built a brick wall between them to protect himself from the inevitable explosion.
203** "Have You Seen This Snail?" is one of the most serious episodes of the series, dealing with [=SpongeBob=]'s depression after his pet has run away. However, Patrick serves as a comic relief character, having jokes like being excited over [[MundaneObjectAmazement seeing balsa wood]] or accidentally screwing up [=SpongeBob=]'s "Gary Come Home" skywriting into "Lisa Will You Marry Me?", causing a nearby man to be MistakenForCheating.
204* SesameStreetCred: ''Music/{{Pantera}}'' of all bands wrote music specifically for "Prehibernation Week."
205* SevenDeadlySins: [[WordOfGod Confirmed]] by Creator/MrLawrence in the DVDCommentary of "Plankton!" to be the inspiration behind the main characters' personalities.
206** Lust: [=SpongeBob=]
207** Sloth: Patrick
208** Wrath: Squidward
209** Greed: Mr. Krabs
210** Pride: Sandy
211** Envy: Plankton
212** Gluttony: Gary
213* ShaggyDogStory:
214** In "Pickles", it turns out [=SpongeBob=] never forgot the pickles after all; Bubble Bass hid them under his tongue the whole time just to mess with him.
215** In "Squid's Day Off", Squidward drives himself completely crazy going back and forth between his house and the Krusty Krab, fretting that [=SpongeBob=] will not know what to do while running the cash register in Squidward's stead and cause some sort of disaster. In the end, [[spoiler:his worries are all for naught; nobody came to the Krusty Krab all day because in all the commotion that started off the day, the Krusty Krew forgot to switch the "Closed" sign to "Open".]]
216** In "Procrastination." [=SpongeBob=] finally [[spoiler:gets his essay done, but when he turns it in the next morning, Mrs. Puff tells him the assignment has been canceled]].
217** In "Can You Spare a Dime?", it is revealed Mr. Krabs had his first dime (actually a giant stone wheel) the whole time -- it was in his pocket all along.
218** In "Dumped", it is revealed in the end the reason Gary kept following Patrick around was because of a leftover cookie in his shorts pocket.
219** In "Gone", the reason why Bikini Bottom was deserted except for [=SpongeBob=] was because everyone left town to get away from his antics and celebrate "National No [=SpongeBob=] Day". Despite the name, it took ''weeks''.
220** In "The Other Patty", Mr. Krabs works with Plankton to steal the formula from a new restaurant, the Flabby Patty, which is stealing Mr. Krabs' business. The "recipe", however, turns out to be one for ''friendship'' -- it is revealed ''[=SpongeBob=]'' started the restaurant to get the two to rekindle.
221** In "Glove World R.I.P.", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick do everything they can to save the Glove World amusement park from being torn down, [[spoiler: only for it to be pointless as the reason for the demolition is that Glove Universe, which is bigger and better, was opening just across from it. Not to mention that by the time they had found out about this they had already chaining themselves to the Glove World gates. That they can't even go see the new amusement park because Patrick threw the key in a swamp]].
222** In "Treats!", [=SpongeBob=] spends the whole episode getting Gary addictive Snail Bites until there are none left in the world, and once all of that is over, [=SpongeBob=] firmly tells him no... and Gary finally stops.
223** In "Squirrel Record", Sandy breaks every record in the record book she finds in the trash, but when the author reads it, [[spoiler: he claims she broke no records at all, as the book is thirty years old and the records were broken years ago.]] Surprisingly, [=SpongeBob=] set his own new record when doing so: [[spoiler: most injuries sustained while helping a friend]].
224** In "Little Yellow Book", Squidward learns from [=SpongeBob=] he only read his ''work'' diary, which was recently published and is now a best seller. He never read his secret personal one...then he proceeds to do so, mortifying him again.
225** In "Lost in Bikini Bottom", [=SpongeBob=] finally arrives at the Krusty Krab after taking an increasingly long shortcut, only to be sent home because he's all covered in filth.
226** In "Best Frenemies," Mr. Krabs and Plankton team up to find out the secret recipe behind the new "Kelpshake" beverage that's running them both out of business. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they didn't need to bother; the Kelpshake restaurants get shut down by the authorities once it's discovered that Kelpshakes cause consumers (including Krabs and Plankton, by the end of the episode) to grown green fur all over their bodies. The good news is that Plankton and Krabs have rekindled their friendship by working together.]]
227* ShamSupernatural:
228** In one episode, Mr. Krabs uses a crudely drawn ghost in an attempt to scare a hat worth a million dollars off of [=SpongeBob=].
229** In the HalloweenEpisode, "Scaredy Pants", [=SpongeBob=] attempts to scare a party of Bikini Bottomites by impersonating the Flying Dutchman, which fails so spectacularly that it even draws the ''real'' Flying Dutchman's ire.
230** In "Pranks a Lot", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick take advantage of a can of invisible spray and scare the entire town. Then they get the idea to "haunt" Mr. Krabs. They end up regretting it after trying to burn a dollar right in front of the greedy crustacean.
231** In "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick mistake Squidward for a ghost after thinking that they'd accidentally killed him (in reality, they'd destroyed his wax sculpture of himself). Rather than correcting them, Squidward leans into it and spends the episode threatening them with his 'ghostly anger' unless they act as his servants.
232* ShapedLikeWhatItSells:
233** Glove World is made of many different buildings shaped like gloves.
234** The Chum Bucket is in the shape of a giant bucket.
235* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Patrick had to go undercover (because he thinks someone is going to kick him out of town), so he dressed up as "Patricia". [=SpongeBob=] had to tell a few folks "she" wasn't his girlfriend.
236* ShipTease:
237** [=SpongeBob=] and Sandy (occasionally).
238** At least a few pre-movie episodes seem to tease [=SpongeBob=] and Pearl.
239* ShockAndSwitchEnding:
240** In the episode "Sailor Mouth", when everyone seems to have learnt not to swear, it seems as though Mrs. Krabs has sworn. In reality, though, it's just a car horn (since in Bikini Bottom, people swear with sound effects).
241** In "Dying for Pie", [=SpongeBob=] apparently eats an exploding pie and is MistakenForDying, but at the end it's revealed that he didn't. However, he then drops it and the pie explodes anyway... but then Squidward says, "Ouch!", implying that [[NonFatalExplosions they're not dead]].
242* ShockinglyExpensiveBill: Mr. Krabs receives a restaurant bill of $100 after taking Mrs. Puff on a date, and claims it "can't possibly be correct". The waiter apologizes and hands him his real bill of $100,000.
243* ShoddyShindig:
244** Mr. Krabs throws his daughter Pearl the cheapest birthday parties ever, best exemplified in "Whale of a Birthday". When Pearl was little, he made her and all the party guests share one balloon, and the pony ride was a cheap stick pony that easily fell apart. On Pearl's 16th birthday, despite promising Pearl he wouldn't be cheap, he throws her a party that cuts every corner; the banner is recycled from Pearl's baby shower, refreshments include a cake is made out of cardboard and frosting, stale popcorn, and dishwater, a statue of Pearl is made of raw Krabby Patty meat instead of ice, and Squidward substitutes for Pearl's favorite band, Boys Who Cry. Fortunately, [=SpongeBob=] turns things around for Pearl by buying her everything she wants for her birthday with Mr. Krabs' credit card.
245** In "Party Pooper Pants", [=SpongeBob=] decides to throw a party and invites everyone in town. It starts out as a disaster thanks to his strict adherence to schedule and his insistence that everyone uses random cards to base discussions off of. When he locks himself out by mistake, things improve tremendously.
246* ShoehornedAcronym:
247** "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V": A group of supervillains form the E.V.I.L. organization, which is short for "Every Villain Is [[NoodleImplements Lemons]]".
248** "Boat Smarts" has the "[=CoBBUtKSBSPOtRaOoBAT=]": Citizens of Bikini Bottom United to Keep [=SpongeBob SquarePants=] Off the Road and Out of Boats All Together.
249** In "Banned in Bikini Bottom", there's an organization called "The United Organisation of Fish Against Things That are Fun and Delicious", or "[=TUOoFATTaFaD=]".
250* ShooOutTheClowns:
251** [=SpongeBob=] disappears for about 95% of "Plankton's Army" and "New Leaf", due to those episodes focusing more on Mr. Krabs and Plankton. "Growth Spout" and "Komputer Overload" followed suit.
252** [=SpongeBob=] is absent for about 50% of "Enemy in Law", which focuses on Plankton dating Mr. Krabs' mother. Mr. Krabs at one point shoos [=SpongeBob=] away from the table during the scene of Plankton and Mama Krabs' first date.
253** In "I Heart Dancing" when [=SpongeBob=] zonks out due to overwork, he is completely absent for the rest of the episode except the final scene, not even seen waking up and realizing he missed the audition. Likely due to Squidward being the main star of the episode.
254** [=SpongeBob=] is also absent for a big portion of "One Course Meal", likely due to being one of the more serious episodes.
255** Some of the more recent episodes have focused more on secondary characters, and as a result [=SpongeBob=] barely shows up. "Shell Games" and "Swamp Mates" are examples. The former even lampshades such when Patrick calls him "that little yellow guy".
256** "Mall Girl Pearl" and "Whale Watching" are focused on Pearl, and [=SpongeBob=] is limited to three brief cameos and only has one line at the end of the former, wheras he does not speak in the latter aside from his AnnoyingLaugh.
257** [=SpongeBob=] also has one very small cameo in "Lockdown for Love", which focuses on Plankton, and does not speak aside from a single sigh.
258* ShoutOut:
259** Has its [[ShoutOut/SpongeBobSquarePants own page.]]
260** When [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are trying to find their way through the office maze in "Krusty Kleaners", the maze takes the form of the maze from ''VideoGame/PacMan'', complete with dots, power pellets and the Trash Robot acting like a Pac-Man {{expy}}.
261** ''Clams'' episode is a [[AffectionateParody spoof]] of the [[{{Film/Jaws}} ''Jaws'']] movie. The references to the ''Jaws'' film include the title card, the title, the musical score, and three main characters on a boat chasing a larger than normal animal.
262* ShownTheirWork: For a show that largely follows the RuleOfFunny, every now and then they'll give an accurate fact about marine biology (Stephen Hillenburg actually ''is'' a marine biologist, after all).
263** In "I Had an Accident", [=SpongeBob=] correctly mentions that his species is sedentary, and that they get nutrients by filter-feeding.
264** In the episode "Pressure", he brags to Sandy that he can reproduce by budding.
265** Bubble Bass's HashHouseLingo is accurate terminology.
266** Junior flying in "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve" looks totally implausible, but clams [[http://38.media.tumblr.com/44c33588071369934d357f275355402a/tumblr_miqq57ie4W1rh5jxfo1_400.gif actually do this.]]
267** In "Scavenger Pants", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick go on [[SnipeHunt a fake scavenger hunt organized by Squidward to get them to leave him alone]], and end up looking through the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Trench Mariana Trench]], correctly identified as the deepest trench in the world. (If it sounds familiar, it's the trench that Creator/JamesCameron famously explored the bottom of in a submersible in 2012.)
268** At the end of "Karate Star", Patrick [[AnArmAndALeg angrily tears off his destructive chopping hand]], and reassures a distraught [=SpongeBob=] that because he's a starfish, he can simply regrow it. Then it turns out the torn hand regrew into ''another Patrick''. Some starfish can even regrow their central disc from a single limb.
269* ShrineToSelf: Squidward, who only recreates himself in art.
270* ShrunkenOrgan: In "Funny Pants," Squidward breaks his "laugh box" (an organ he thought he made up), which has to be removed. The doctor remarks that it's the most dried-up, underused laugh box he's ever seen; it's in a jar the size of a salt shaker. Inversely, [=SpongeBob=] has a laugh box so big that he was able to donate half of it to Squidward while still retaining the capacity to do some laughing of his own.
271* SickEpisode:
272** "Suds" involves [=SpongeBob=] getting the suds, which are similar to a cold. Trouble ensues when Patrick shows up as a fake doctor, and Sandy tries to take [=SpongeBob=] to a real doctor.
273** In "Squiditis," Squidward lies that he has a disease and [=SpongeBob=] believes he has caught it. Subverted as nobody is truly sick throughout the course of the episode.
274* SignatureInstrument: One of Squidward's main hobbies is playing the clarinet, although he ([[NegativeContinuity usually]]) isn't very good at it.
275* SignatureLaugh: Most of the characters have distinctive laughs:
276** [=SpongeBob=]'s dolphin giggle
277** Patrick's moron laugh
278** Squidward's nasal chortle
279** Mr. Krab's pirate-accented "Ar-ar-ar-ar"
280** Plankton's EvilLaugh
281* SignatureSoundEffect: [=SpongeBob=], Squidward and Mr. Krabs make their own signature walking sound effects.
282** [=SpongeBob=]'s shoes create their own signature squeaks when he walks.
283** Likewise, Squidward walks with a distinct squishing sound because of his suction cups.
284** Mr. Krabs makes a rapid ticking sound whenever he scuttles his feet.
285* SiliconSnarker:
286** Karen, Plankton's computer wife, messes with Plankton's nerves most of the time in a AwfulWeddedLife manner, such as nagging him when his plans to steal the Krabby Patty formula fails, or getting jealous towards him when he goes to other women like Mr. Krabs' mother or another computer.
287** In "No Weenies Allowed", the robot server calls the patrons as "weenies" after they have been detected as such.
288* TheSimpleGestureWins: PlayedForLaughs in "Culture Shock," where the Krusty Krab holds a night show event. The audience has mixed reactions towards the characters performing on the stage, ending with Squidward's "artistic dance" being booed and [[ProducePelting tomatoed]]. Then [=SpongeBob=] walks onto the stage to clean up the mess... And somehow the audience treats it as the best performance ever.
289* SinisterStingrays: Man-Ray as a recurring villain... though it's subverted in that he's mostly an ineffective if not {{harmless|Villain}} one, especially in later seasons.
290* SistineSteal: In "Insecurity Guards", one of the paintings at the museum is a parody of [[Art/SistineChapel "The Creation Of Adam"]], with Mr. Krabs as God and the Krabby Patty as Adam.
291* SixIsNine: In the episode [[spoiler:"Born to Be Wild"]], a letter 'W' is actually an upside-down 'M'. [[spoiler:[=SpongeBob=] rips the letter 'W' from the shirt of a biker belonging to a scary gang, the Wild Ones. The biker actually belongs to a much tamer group, the ''Mild'' Ones.]]
292* SleepAesop: In "Fear of a Krabby Patty", Mr. Krabs opens up the Krusty Krab for twenty-four hours, which makes [=SpongeBob=] hallucinate Krabby Patties and become afraid of them due to sleep deprivation. This is implied to be a moral about sleep being important because [=SpongeBob=] mentions that all he needed was sleep and Mr. Krabs allows him to sleep (albeit for only one hour a day).
293* SleepDeprivation: In "Fear of a Krabby Patty", when Krusty Krab starts opening for 24 hours a day, Mr. Krabs gets an order of 10000 Krabby Patties. Cue [=SpongeBob=] making patties nonstop, without any sleep, for days. This later results in him hallucinating people as walking, talking Krabby Patties.
294* SleepsWithBothEyesOpen: Ever alert, Mermaid Man has trained himself to sleep with his eyes open.
295* SlobsVersusSnobs: In "The Battle of Bikini Bottom," [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick get in a war over cleanliness; [=SpongeBob=] wants Patrick to be clean and Patrick gets [=SpongeBob=] dirty.
296* SmallNameBigEgo:
297** Squidward believes that he is extremely talented, but hardly anyone in Bikini Bottom enjoys his work.
298** [=SpongeBob=] and Sandy have their moments, [[DependingOnTheWriter though not consistently]].
299* SmashCut:
300** In "Tea at the Treedome", Sandy discovers [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick have nearly dried up. This is accompanied by a cut from her dropping her tea glasses to a live-action shot of a sponge and starfish.
301** The episode "Krusty Krab Training Video" ends with the narrator saying, "Okay! The [Krabby Patty] secret formula i—"
302* SmartAnimalAverageHuman: [=SpongeBob=] and his pet snail Gary. While not human, sea creatures that walk upright are considered the "humans" of the show while feral creatures like clams, worms, and snails are considered "animals" that can be domesticated into pets. Gary is shown to be intelligent and wise compared to his goofy and eccentric owner. Gary even has dreams where he owns an enormous library and has a tall, humanoid body, with his shell and face as his head.
303* SmellySkunk: The opening of "Pineapple Invasion" has Plankton use a skunk to stink out the Krusty Krab, taking advantage of the chaos in an attempt to steal the formula.
304* SmugSnake: Plankton, Karen, Squilliam, Bubble Bass, and Mr. Krabs DependingOnTheWriter.
305* {{Snapback}}: About every episode.
306** "Wishing You Well" ends with Mr. Krabs being wished away and ''almost eaten''. He is fine in time for the next episode.
307** "Lame and Fortune" ends with Plankton being warped into a Chinese food restaurant and eaten. He's completely fine in the next episode.
308* SnapBack: Many characters and locations are destroyed, maimed, transformed, etc., in various ways, but none of it carries over to the next episode.
309** "Scavenger Pants" ends with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick asking Mrs. Tentacles to adopt them so Squidward can have the brother he never thought he had, but this is no longer acknowledged in later episodes. Naturally, they cannot possibly be adopted because 1, they already have living biological parents, and 2, they're legal adults.
310** "Glove World R.I.P." ends with Glove World being closed down and replaced with Glove Universe, but later episodes show Glove World operational again.
311* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Between Squidward and Mr. Krabs in the episode "Born Again Krabs":
312--> '''Krabs:''' I'm not cheap! I'm generous!
313--> '''Squidward:''' ''[deadpan]'' You almost tore a man's arm off for a penny.
314--> '''Krabs:''' ''[deadpan]'' Thanks, Squidward. I knew I could count on you.
315* SnarkyNonHumanSideKick:
316** Potty sometimes serves just to make Patchy's life miserable. Squidward also counts in most episodes.
317** Gary also counts, judging by [=SpongeBob=]'s reactions to his meowing.
318* SnipeHunt:
319** Mr. Krabs sends [=SpongeBob=] on one of these in the first episode, on Squidward's advice he'd make a terrible fry cook. [[spoiler: However, [=SpongeBob=] returns to save the Krusty Krab from some hungry anchovies with a ''real'' hydrodynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and turbodrive (there was only one in stock), which prompts Mr. Krabs to hire him.]]
320** In "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" when Squidward pretends to be a ghost and orders [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick around:
321--->'''Squidward:''' I want something else to eat now. Something that's very difficult to find.\
322'''Patrick:''' What do you hunger for, master?\
323'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Whatever you want, we'll find it, we'll find it!\
324'''Squidward:''' Cherry pie.\
325(''[[HammerSpace Patrick holds up a pie from behind his back]]'')\
326'''Squidward:''' Where'd you get that?\
327'''Patrick:''' I found it.\
328'''Squidward:''' ''[throws pie off screen]'' Well, go find it again!
329** Squidward sends [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick on these in "Scavenger Pants" so they can leave him alone. Naturally, they keep succeeding.
330** In the app ''Krusty Cook-Off'', Squidward stages a fake jellyfishing contest to get [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick to leave him be, but only Patrick can do it because [=SpongeBob=] has to work the pancake stand. Turns out the contest was real, and Patrick shows the trophy he won to prove it.
331* SnowMeansCold: During wintertime, it always snows in Sandy's treedome.
332** In "Boss for a Day," a customer's complaint about being too cold is visualized with a load of snow on the table, complete with a snowman.
333* SoldHisSoulForADonut:
334** In "Money Talks", Mr. Krabs sells his soul to the Flying Dutchman in exchange for the ability to talk to money. When Mr. Krabs' money talks him into spending them (specifically, on things he doesn't want, like corn dogs, fairy princess outfits, and diapers), Mr. Krabs tries to get his soul back from the Flying Dutchman, only for the Flying Dutchman to claim his soul anyway. The Flying Dutchman soon finds out that Mr. Krabs has already sold his soul to various monsters, as well as [=SpongeBob=], who tells the Flying Dutchman that Mr. Krabs was five dollars short on his last payday.
335** In "Born Again Krabs", the Flying Dutchman bets [=SpongeBob=] that Mr. Krabs is so greedy he'd sell ''[=SpongeBob's=]'' soul for a nickel. The Dutchman then offers Krabs all the change in his pockets--62 cents--for [=SpongeBob's=] soul. Krabs accepts without hesitation. Even Squidward was disgusted by this.
336* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Both [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs refuse to accept anyone can hate Krabby Patties (the plot device for ''Just One Bite'' and arguably ''Plankton's Regular'').
337** Though in the former episode, [=SpongeBob=] was aiming more for Squidward to just try it and when Squidward (falsely) proclaims he hates it, [=SpongeBob=] does accept it and realize he was wrong to be so forceful. The latter episode does play it straight, however.
338* [[{{Somethingitis}} Something-itis]]: We can frequently see this trope be used by supposedly qualified people, such as "head-go-boom-boom-itis" in Squid Baby, or "oral-report-itis" in Oral Report.
339* SoundEffectBleep: "Hey, Patrick, how the [DOLPHIN CHIRP] are ya?" The whole episode (''Sailor Mouth'') took the trope as far as it could. (Though it turns out "DOLPHIN CHIRP" is the most filthy cuss word known to man.)
340** This has been a ''very'' popular source of parody on Website/YouTube, most involving editing cuss words in.
341** Subverted with "Krusty Love." [=SpongeBob=]'s cursing is filtered into nonsense vocal noises.
342*** The Dutch dub plays it straight though. See {{Angrish}} above.
343* SoUnfunnyItsFunny: The show had this, especially in the earlier episodes. The real king is this gem:
344-->'''Squidward:''' Why couldn't the 11-year-old get into the pirate movie? It was rated [[{{Pun}} Aaaarrrrrgh.]] ''[laughs uproariously]''
345--> ''[{{beat}}]''
346--> '''Squidward:''' ''[laughing dies down from awkward silence]'' Because... it's about... pirates...?
347--> '''Krabs:''' I'm not payin' ya to do stand-up, Mr. Squidward. Now get back to work!
348* SpaceEpisode: "Goons on the Moon" and "Mooncation" mostly take place on the moon. Squidward goes to Mars in "Out of the Picture." Plankton goes to space in "Fiasco!" in an attempt to get away from the police, but they follow him there as well. Subverted in "Sandy's Rocket," where [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick only think they're on the moon when the rocket crashes back in Bikini Bottom.
349* SpecialGuest:
350** "Pre-Hibernation Week" has Pantera as a special musical guest.
351** "20,000 Patties Under the Sea" has Music/{{Kiss}} frontman Gene Simmons as the sea monster [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick meet.
352** "Whatever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?" has Creator/RayLiotta as the leader of the Bubble Poppin' Boys.
353** "Hello Bikini Bottom!" has Creator/AndySamberg as Colonel Carper.
354** "License to Milkshake has [=Michael McKean=] as Captain [=FrostyMug=].
355** "Whirly Brains" has Creator/EdAsner as the Grumpy Old Man.
356** "Chatterbox Gary" has Creator/KeithDavid as the voice of Gary's translator and as Squidward's impersonation of it.
357* SpecialEditionTitle: "Christmas Who?" (done as ''The [=SpongeBob=] Christmas Special''), "Whatever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?" (done as ''[=WhoBob WhatPants=]''), and "Truth or Square" (done with a remade version of the theme song and stop-motion animation).
358* SpeciesSurname: Mr. Krabs (Eugene H. Krabs) is a crab. Plankton also has this trope; "Plankton's Army" revealed that his full name is Sheldon J. Plankton. Also playing this trope straight are Mrs. Puff and Patrick Star. Pearl may count since her surname is Krabs and ''Dunces and Dragons'' reveals she has crab ancestors. "Squidward Tentacles" is also an example of two [[ALizardNamedLiz similar]] [[ADogNamedDog tropes.]]
359* SpectatorCasualty: Parodied. During the Fry cook games several Fish in the Audience are turned into fish sticks when Patrick fails the high-jump and catapults hot oil everywhere. A food vendor walks up as a sign flips to hawk hot food.
360* SpellMyNameWithAThe: In the first two seasons, Karen refers to the show's titular character as "The [=SpongeBob=]."
361* SphereEyes: [=SpongeBob=] himself, along with the vast majority of other characters, have their eyes connected to each other.
362* SpiritualSuccessor:
363** ''[=SpongeBob=]'' itself can be considered the successor series to the earlier Nicktoon ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife''. Both series not only had much of the same writing staff but also shared similar character archetypes (Rocko to [=SpongeBob=], Heffer to Patrick, Ed Bighead to Squidward, etc.).
364** A large part of the pre-2004 crew now work for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. Most notably Dan Povenmire and Robert F. Hughes. (Who also both worked on Rocko.)
365** The series is also considered a LighterAndSofter take on ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' (which several of its' crewmembers have also been involved in) with its energetic, fluid animation, usage of stock library music, and overtly detailed close-up shots.
366* SplitScreenPhoneCall:
367** Parodied in "Jellyfishing." [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are calling each other until the camera zooms out and reveals that they're in the same room.
368** In "Overbooked," Sandy leans over the divider and shouts "Just be there!"
369** Sandy's calls to Plankton and Mrs. Puff in "Girls' Night Out" are done this way.
370* {{Spoiler}}: The Dish Network description for "Doing Time" is "[[AccidentalMisnaming Ms. Puff]] imagines going to jail for [=SpongeBob=]," which spoils the [[AllJustADream ending]].
371* SpotlightStealingSquad: Mr. Krabs and Plankton get more focus in Season 6.
372* SpotlightStealingTitle
373* SpringtimeForHitler: In "House Fancy", Squidward can't stand to see [[RichBastard Squilliam Fancyson]] on TV when he's showing off his BigFancyHouse, so he claims to have a fancier house than Squlliam's, even though it is nowhere as rich. He hires [=SpongeBob=] for an emergency redecorating session, which backfires when [=SpongeBob=] covers his living room in paint and the vacuum cleaner ends up vacuuming the entire living room and explodes, turning Squidward's house into a debris, which Nicholas Withers regards as a [[AccidentalArt neo-classical masterpiece]], and Squilliam has a nervous breakdown when Squidward's "masterpiece" manages to take the award that Squilliam was about to receive, being featured on the next episode of "House Fancy".
374* StableTimeLoop: In "SB-129," Squidward goes back in time and invents jellyfishing. When he returns to the present, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick tell him that he invented jellyfishing when he asks who came up with it.
375* StagingTheEavesdrop: In "Bossy Boots", Mr. Krabs tasks [=SpongeBob=] with firing Pearl (since he doesn't have the heart to do it himself). After Pearl reveals to [=SpongeBob=] that she ''wants'' to be fired, the two decide to stage an overly-dramatic firing for Krabs to hear from behind the door to his office.
376* StalkerWithoutACrush: [=SpongeBob=] is often depicted as such toward Squidward. "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS6E1HouseFancyKrabbyRoad House Fancy]]" has him spying on Squidward through the window by his own admission, and Squidward threatens to call the cops on him again, implying this is not the only time this has happened. Then there's "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsSquidsVisitToSquarePantsOrNotToSquarePants Squid's Visit]]", where he somehow manages to copy the interior of Squidward's house right down to the smallest detail, even the contents of his medicine cabinet. This got toned down slightly in the HD episodes.
377* StarstruckSpeechless:
378** In episode "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic", [=SpongeBob=] meets Kevin, an expert in jellyfishing. When [=SpongeBob=] gets close, he stares at Kevin and only manages to repeat "Hi Kevin" over and over, only snapping out of it when Kevin threatens to call security.
379** In "Christmas Who?", Squidward dresses up for SantaClaus when the real Santa doesn't show up. [=SpongeBob=], believing he's unexpectedly meeting the real Santa, is only able to repeatedly stammer "S-s-s-s-s-Santa..." until Squidward makes him stop.
380* StartMyOwn: In "Friend or Foe", it's revealed that Krabs and Plankton started a restaurant together as a retaliation when the owner of another restaurant wouldn't accept them as customers. Also, before Krabs started to make Krabby Patties, Plankton broke the partnership to start his own restaurant because nobody liked the patty the two of them made together.
381** Also, [=SpongeBob=] started running his own stand for his "Pretty Patties" after being made fun of (for making Pretty Patties) by Mr Krabs and Squidward.
382* StatusQuoIsGod:
383** After "Friend or Foe" it is possible that Mr. Krabs and Plankton stayed friends as kids for a brief time (ex-shown pulling the main drain at the end)
384** And there's "Bumper to Bumper". [=SpongeBob=] finally obtains his driver's license for real... [[spoiler:only for a cop to point out that because Mrs. Puff crossed the county line, thus setting off her security cuff, the test results were null and void and he then proceeds to ''tear up the license''.]]
385*** Every Boating School episode is this trope. Every single episode. "Bumper to Bumper" isn't the only Boating School episode that ends with [=SpongeBob=] finally getting his license, only for it to get taken away seconds later.
386*** Every "Plankton Tries to Steal the Krabby Patty Formula" episode is this trope as well. Even if Plankton successfully steals it, everything will go back to normal no matter what.
387** "Karen 2.0.": Karen gets replaced by a new Karen robot. [[spoiler: Plankton gets rid of Karen 2.0 and keeps the original Karen at the end.]]
388** "[=SpongeBob=] You're Fired". Let's just say, it's really not a spoiler that [=SpongeBob=] gets his job back at the end of this half-hour "special". Everyone knew the episode would end with everything going back to normal.
389** "The String". [=SpongeBob=] pulls a loose string from Squidward's shirt, eventually unraveling ''the entire universe as well as himself.'' This episode was the season 11 finale, but everything is back to normal next episode.
390* StealingFromTheHotel: Exaggerated in the episode "Kracked Krabs". Mr. Krabs starts "exaggerating" (stealing) from the hotel room, and [=SpongeBob=] helps him. They steal the toiletries, the furniture, the air conditioner, the wall... and eventually ''the room itself.'' As a hotel worker inspects their suitcase, the room pops out.
391* StealthInsult: Squidward in "Band Geeks":
392** "I really expected better of you people. I guess I'm a loser for that too."
393* TheStoolPigeon: In the episode "Banned in Bikini Bottom", after discovering a secret Krusty Krab being run by Mr. Krabs at [=SpongeBob=]'s house because Krabby Patties had been banned in Bikini Bottom, Plankton becomes a Petty Peter when he reports this to the police to get it shut down.
394* StopCopyingMe: Patrick does it to [=SpongeBob=] in "Big Pink Loser." Parodied when [=SpongeBob=] thinks "At least I'm safe inside my mind," and Patrick thinks the exact same thing.
395* StockAudioClip:
396** [=SpongeBob=]'s signature laugh, as well as [[MemeticMutation the guy shouting "My leg!"]]
397** In "Krusty Krab Training Video," Plankton goes on a rant that, from Mr. Krabs' perspective, sounds like incomprehensible chipmunk gibberish due to his small size. Evidently, Plankton's high-pitched speech was created by editing together two of his lines from "Plankton's Army" (an episode that aired much later, but was presumably produced around the same time) and speeding them up in post. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhx0_Cprgj4 See this video for a comparison]].
398** [=SpongeBob=]'s grunting in "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" was reused in "Your Shoe's Untied", "Something Smells", and "Jellyfish Hunter".
399** "Night Light" reuses ''several'' sound effects from the first two seasons, such as [=SpongeBob=]'s yelling when Patrick rips off his bandage in "Suds", a high-pitched scream when he fell off the jellyfish in "Jellyfish Jam", another high-pitched scream when running from the "maniac" in the mailbox in "Hall Monitor", and a gasp when he sees Gary tied his shoes in "Your Shoe's Untied", which was also used when he saw the parade in "Something Smells".
400* StockBeehive: Jellyfish live in stock hives full of jelly. As with everything in the show, it falls under RuleOfFunny.
401* StockFoodDepictions: Krabby Patties are always just depicted as a burger with lettuce on a sesame-seed bun. Close-up depictions will also show cheese, tomato, and sauce, with the occasional onion and pickle.
402* StolenCreditBackfire:
403** "Arrrrgh": This episode has an inversion. After [=SpongeBob=], Patrick, and Mr. Krabs dig up the Dutchman's treasure, the Dutchman appears and asks who's responsible. Mr. Krabs immediately throws [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick under the bus. These two each get a doubloon for their troubles, while Mr. Krabs just gets plastic.
404** "Patty Hype": [=SpongeBob=] creates the Pretty Patties (Krabby Patties with different colours) and decides to sell them by himself. When they become extremely popular, Mr. Krabs convinces [=SpongeBob=] to exchange businesses so now he will have the more profitable Pretty Patties. As it turns out, the Pretty Patties change the color of people's bodies as a side effect, leading to angry customers wanting a refund from Krabs.
405** "Artist Unknown": After [=SpongeBob=] creates an immaculate statue in one stroke, Squidward berates him, causing [=SpongeBob=] to run off. An art critic later comes in and wants to buy the sculpture, which Squidward claims as his own, only for the head to come off while being moved. Squidward, knowing he can't recreate it, recruits [=SpongeBob=], who after being lectured by Squidward, only manages to make a mess. [=SpongeBob=] storms off right before the critic returns, and Squidward blames the whole mess on the janitor. In this mess, however, is another great statue, and the critic promises great riches for the janitor.
406** "The Lost Mattress": [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick buy a new mattress for Mr. Krabs and throw the old one out. Squidward tries to take the credit by signing their card with the words "This was all my idea". However, the old mattress contained all of Mr. Krabs's money, causing him to go into a coma when he realizes it is gone. Squidward is held accountable by the police since he took credit for the idea.
407* StoppedDeadInTheirTracks:
408** PlayedForLaughs in "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsChocolateWithNutsMermaidManAndBarnacleBoyV Chocolate with Nuts]]". When Patrick starts running off to buy more bags for their chocolate bars, [=SpongeBob=] starts piping up with a new selling idea, causing Patrick to freeze mid-run with a dopey look on his face.
409** Also parodied in "Spongebob, Sandy, and the Worm", where Sandy declares there is nothing Spongebob can say that will stop her from going after the titular Alaskan Bull Worm. Spongebob mutters some nonsense words, and Sandy pauses, saying "I got to admit, that slowed me down".
410* StormInATeacup: In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E10WetPaintersKrustyKrabTrainingVideo "Wet Painters"]], Spongebob and Patrick panic when they get paint on Mr. Krabs' first dollar, only to be told that the supposedly irremovable paint can be easily removed with saliva.
411* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: In "Squidville" Squidward replies to [=SpongeBob=] "''Playing'' with a ''reef'' blower? That is the most ''childish'' thing I've ever ''heard'' of. [=SpongeBob=] replies "But it's fun." Squidward replies "''Fun?'' How could playing with one of those over-sized ''hair dryers'' ''possibly'' be ''fun?'' Later in the episode, when ''Squidward'' is playing with a reef blower in Squidville, a resident asks him what he's doing and after Squidward tells him he replies "''Playing'' with a ''reef'' blower? That is the most ''childish'' thing I've ever ''heard'' of." then after Squidward says that it's fun, he replies "''Fun?'' How could playing with one of those over-sized ''hair dryers'' ''possibly'' be ''fun?''"
412** In "Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy IV", [=SpongeBob=] uses Mermaid Man's belt to shrink Squidward. He's left with no idea how to turn Squidward back to normal size. Patrick suggests instead of M, flip it to W for Wumbo. [=SpongeBob=] points out that's not a real word, and it shrinks as well. Later, after [=SpongeBob=] has shrunk everyone including Mermaid Man, everyone asks him if he knows how to unshrink. Mermaidman says, "Have you tried setting it to Wumbo?".
413* StrawLoser: It takes a ButtMonkey to make [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick look like winners; Squidward apparently fills that role.
414** Plankton seems to follow a similar comparison to Mr Krabs, who is usually a ButtMonkey or UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist himself when the former isn't in the spotlight.
415** Utilized in universe in "I'm With Stupid". When his parents come to visit, Patrick asks [=SpongeBob=] to act like a brainless loser in front of them so he will look less like a deadbeat in comparison. [[GoneHorriblyRight The scheme works too well]], since Patrick, who himself is a hopeless variant of the trope to [=SpongeBob=], actually starts to believe the act himself, and turns into a condescending bully towards [=SpongeBob=].
416* StunnedSilence: Numerous occasions, such as in the season-one episode "Hooky". [=SpongeBob=] goes to the "carnival" with Patrick during his Krusty Krab shift, and chaos ensues at the restaurant, since Squidward is a terrible fry cook but also the only one available to replace [=SpongeBob=]. Mr. Krabs demands to know what's going on.
417-->'''Squidward:''' It's a feeding frenzy, sir! And [=SpongeBob's=] not back from his break!
418-->'''Krabs:''' ''[{{beat}}, then laughs out loud]''
419-->'''Squidward:''' What?
420-->'''Krabs:''' I thought you said [=SpongeBob=] was takin' a break! No one's taken a break at the Krusty Krab since the chum famine of '59! Now, what were you sayin'?
421-->'''Squidward:''' ''[deadpan]'' He took... a BREAK.
422-->'''Krabs:''' ''[blinks once and stares ahead in silence, then his arms and nose fall off]''
423* StupidCrooks: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick deliberately attempted to rob a bank in order to try and break Mrs. Puff out of jail from the inside. For masks, both characters wore socks over their heads, which covered their eyes and didn't allow them to see where they were going, and the bank teller treats the ordeal as a normal exchange, asking [=SpongeBob=] for his name and ID (which he gladly hands over), pulling up his checking and savings accounts, and bluntly informing [=SpongeBob=] that he has no money in either account.
424* StupidSexyFlanders: In "Squilliam Returns":
425-->'''Squidward:''' Try to [[ImagineTheAudienceNaked imagine him in his underwear]]...oh no, he's hot!
426* StylisticSuck: Any scenes featuring Patchy the Pirate and Potty the Parrot are meant to look as cheap as possible. Especially Potty, a extremely poor-looking marionette.
427** "I wrote this," the song Patrick wrote in "Sing a Song of Patrick," it's so bad, that the band that was paid $100 to compose it died right after they were done playing it, society breaks down when it plays on the radio, and band together as [[TorchesAndPitchforks a massive lynch mob]] when they figure out that [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick hijacked the radio station to put it on the air.
428* SuckinessIsPainful:
429** Patrick's self-composed song in "Sing A Song Of Patrick", which is so awful that it [[BrownNote actually]] ''[[BrownNote kills]]'' the band that records it.
430** [[GiftedlyBad Squidward's clarinet skills...]]
431** Squidward's art is so bad that it causes Larry's eyes to light on fire in "Out of the Picture."
432* SuddenlyFluentInGibberish:
433-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Patrick, I didn't know you spoke bird!
434-->'''Patrick:''' No, that's Italian, [=SpongeBob=].
435* SuddenlyObviousFakery:
436** The plot of "Penny Foolish'' relies on Mr. Krabs and the audience both seeing a piece of green gum (really a rolled up $500 bill) as a brown penny until [=SpongeBob=] shows Mr. Krabs what he really picked up off the sidewalk that day.
437** "One Coarse Meal" has Plankton be terrorized by Pearl until the second half when it is revealed that "Pearl" is really Mr. Krabs in a costume with visible seams and patches that can't disguise the shape of his body from the head down. Before this, his costume was a one-to-one recreation of his daughter.
438* SuddenlySpeaking: In "The Secret Box", [=SpongeBob=] asks Gary if he thinks his plan is good. Gary replies with, "Hmm... ''NO''."
439* SueDonym: In "Fear of a Krabby Patty", Plankton gives his name as "Peter Lankton". It is later shortened to "P. Lankton". "Hey, wait a second... is this a prank call?"
440* SuperheroEpisode: Many episodes including Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy qualify. For example, "Patrick-Man!"
441* SuperGullible: [=SpongeBob=] is prone to this; taken up to eleven in "Gullible Pants".
442* SuperSargassoSea: The Bikini Bottom Triangle contains many items taken by the mermaids via singing to activate a giant vacuum, which opens a rift in the sky while doing so. When they sing their song backwards, the items are returned to their owner.
443* SupremeChef:
444** Jim was the Krusty Krab's fry cook; he quit due to the bad pay, but his patties are even better than [=SpongeBob=]'s.
445** [=SpongeBob=] himself can cook food very well, particularly Krabby Patties.
446* SurroundedByIdiots: Squidward. Big time.
447* SuspiciousSkiMask:
448** The page quote comes from "No Free Rides" as Spongebob confronts a ski-masked Mrs. Puff for carjacking his boatmobile.
449** Spongebob himself wears this to show a couple "the error of their ways" by leaping through their open window and yelling that he's the "Open Window Maniac".
450** After losing his name tag, Spongebob fears that his identity could be stolen. Cue ImagineSpot involving an unnamed ski-masked bank robber wearing his name tag.
451** Mr. Krabs and Spongebob provide the image source in "Krusty Towers" as they wear ski masks before "abducting" Mrs. Tentacles by bagging her and stuffing her into the trunk of a boatmobile. Until Mrs. Tentacles shows up behind them and closes the trunk for them before Mr. Krabs reveals that it was his laundry in the bag.
452** Spongebob and Patrick wear ski masks as they break "Smelly" (Actually Squidward encased in hardened sewage) out of a zoo.
453** In "Plankton's Intern" Plankton and Pearl wear ski masks as they sneak into the Krusty Krab to steal the krabby patty formula. It doesn't do much for either of them since [[PaperThinDisguise Plankton is still the same size and Pearl's mask just fits over half her face.]]
454* SwallowedAFly: In "Nasty Patty", the health inspector swallows a fly before he can take a bite of the 'Nasty Patty' that [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs fixed up. They believe that they killed him when they see him lying on the floor.
455* SwappedRoles:
456** "Gary's Got Legs" revolves around [=SpongeBob=] giving Gary arms and legs, causing the snail to pamper him to the point of becoming lazy. In essence, [=SpongeBob=] becomes the pet snail, and Gary becomes his owner.
457** "Pat Hearts Squid" has Squidward moving in with Patrick, causing the former to become stupid and lazy and the latter smart and jerkish.
458* SynchronizedSwarming: Plankton rallies his extended family to aid him in finally stealing the Krabby Patty secret formula.
459-->'''Mr. Krabs''': Curse you Plankton, and [[LampshadeHanging your ability to join together to form a working human ear!]]
460* SynchroVox:
461** Used in the opening with "Painty the Pirate", who starts the theme song. Notably, since the still image is a painting of a realistic human being, the UnintentionalUncannyValley effect that normally plagues this trope is greatly reduced.
462** Done by [=SpongeBob=] in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture" when he reveals to MM and BB that their movie is using ACTORS.
463** Patrick does it in "Moving Bubble Bass" after Bubble bass revealed he tricked [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick and ate the free lunch he promised them, which leads to Patrick to threaten him.
464--->'''Patrick:''' If my friend [=SpongeBob=] doesn't get his free lunch... ''[with live-action face]'' '''THINGS ARE GONNA GET ''CRAZY''.'''
465[[/folder]]
466
467[[folder:T]]
468* TailfinWalking: The fish citizens walk on their pelvic fins. Cetateans (whales and dolphins) such as Pearl walk on their tail flukes.
469* TakeAThirdOption:
470** In "Walking Small", where Plankton is trying to build his Chum Bucket Mega Bucket in the Goo Lagoon, he tells [=SpongeBob=] that nice guys finish last, and that only aggressive people conquer the world. [=SpongeBob=] kindly retorts with, "What about aggressively ''nice'' people?"
471** In "For Here or to Go", Plankton wins a bun seed counting contest and Mr. Krabs is forced by the Bogus Business Bueru to either give him a Krabby Patty, or risk the Krusty Krab getting shut down. He instead turns Plankton's plan on him by having him eat the patty he won before winning, resulting in disgusting patties of his own creation mixed with his stomach contents.
472** In "[=SpongeBob=] You're Fired" when Mr. Krabs is faced with the prospect of paying one nickel more, he has to either decide to forgo the extra nickel and pay his employees as normal, or save money by firing one of them. He chooses the latter and fires [=SpongeBob=]; unfortunately, he realizes too late the Krusty Krab falls into complete disarray without him. After rehiring him in the end, Mr. Krabs takes a third option and installs a pay toilet to make up for the extra nickel.
473* TakeThat: "Krabby Land" is an episode-long potshot to UsefulNotes/McDonalds. Mr. Krabs' quote at the end clinches it:
474-->'''Mr. Krabs:''' The children? I don't care about the children! The fact that feeble minds are easily manipulated by cheap playgrounds and talentless clowns is no skin off my nose! Survival of the fittest, [=SpongeBob=]! Survival of the fittest!
475** "Graveyard Shift" has another one at [=McDonald's=] when Mr. Krabs makes it so the Krusty Krab is open 24/7 and Squidward says it's a stupid idea. There are [=McDonald's=] restaurants that are open 24/7.
476** The 2017 Free Comic Book Day comic has a huge one to the comics industry at that point in time, and even to [[BitingTheHandHumor Free Comic Book Day itself]]:
477--> '''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Why, it's the day when all the graphic literature shops provide ''gratis'' samples of their wares in a pathetic attempt to bolster an industry which has spent the last two decades in a death spiral brought on by lethal interaction between the lack of variety and a monopolistic distribution system!
478%%* TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity: [=SpongeBob=] is often the victim of this.
479* TalkingAnimal: In an episode where [=SpongeBob=] befriends a seahorse he says "That's it, girl. Don't be afraid. I'm just a talking sponge is all."
480* TalkLikeAPirate: Mr. Krabs, Patchy, the Flying Dutchman, and other minor characters all typify this trope. In "Aargh!" though, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick take it to an absurd degree:
481--> '''[=SpongeBob=]''': Aargh, captain, aargh, we're, aargh, about, aargh, to hit, aargh-
482--> '''Krabs''': Out with it, man, aargh!
483--> '''Patrick''': I think, aargh, he's trying, aargh, to say, aargh... ''[crashes the boat]'' Land.
484--> '''Krabs''': Urgh... from now on, only the captain says "aargh".
485* {{Taps}}: In the episode "Band Geeks", Squidward and the Bikini Bottom citizens are practicing in a marching band. Squidward tells the flag spinners in the front to spin the flag faster, and eventually, so fast that they fly and collide with a zeppelin, which explodes. The trumpeter of the band then plays the Taps as the rest of them hold their hats on their chest.
486%%* TeamRocketWins: Plankton in "Wishing You Well" and the movie.
487%%** Squilliam in Squilliam Returns.
488* TechnicalEuphemism: In "Patrick [=SmartPants=]", when Patrick has become an InsufferableGenius due to replacing the top of his head with brain coral, he is being condescending to Sandy. She angrily demands to know if he's calling her dumb and he says she's just "impaired".
489* TeensLoveShopping: Pearl the teenage whale likes the mall and defines it to some teenage mermaids as the place where you get whatever you want, which led to the mermaids chanting, "Mall! Mall! Mall!".
490* TeethFlying: [=SpongeBob=] has to impersonate Mr. Krabs at his Navy reunion. One of Krab's buddies asks to punch him in the "armor abs", resulting in one of his teeth coming loose. The others are disappointed that he only lost one tooth, until he spits out a few more, and then ''his skeleton'' and the others declare, "Now that's manly!"
491* TemporarilyAVillain: The show has Barnacle Boy switching sides over not getting enough food and respect.
492* TemptingFate:
493** During the episode "[=SpongeGuard=] on Duty":
494--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I'm cool! I'm every bit as cool as Larry! ''[smugly]'' And if I'm not, let me be struck by... ''[lightning rumbles]''... a flying ice cream truck! ''[ice cream truck song plays]'' ... AND LIVE! ''[ice cream truck stops in mid-air inches above [=SpongeBob's=] head, then falls on him]''
495--->'''Larry:''' Please do not drop flying ice cream trucks on the bathers!
496** A textbook example occurs in "Wet Painters," when [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick have to paint Mr. Krabs' house of valuable collectibles. Cue Murphy's Law, involving a giant paint bubble:
497-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Barnacles! What could be worse than a giant paint bubble?!\
498'''Patrick:''' Ooh! I know! ''(produces a bubble wand, dips in into the paint, and blows another giant paint bubble)'' ''Two'' giant paint bubbles!\
499'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' [[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOO!]]\
500''(the bubbles collide and form one MASSIVE paint bubble)''\
501'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Patrick, I don't think this bubble can get much bigger!\
502'''Patrick:''' Nonsense! ''(produces a bike pump to hook up to the paint bubble, inflating it further)''
503** Also, in "Can You Spare a Dime?":
504--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Squidward is not a freeloader and he would never take advantage of me.\
505'''Narrator:''' Three weeks later...\
506'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' He's just having a hard time getting his confidence back.\
507'''Narrator:''' Many months later...\
508'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I'm sure he's close to a breakthrough.\
509'''Narrator 2:''' [[RuleOfThree So much later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one...]]\
510'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' ''[grunts as he crawls to the living room]''\
511'''Gary:''' ''[matter-of-factly...]'' Meow, meow, meow...\
512'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I ''know'' he still isn't looking for work! DON'T RUB IT IN!
513** The lead singer of the band from "Sing a Song of Patrick" says that they'll record Patrick's song "even if it kills [them]". GilliganCut to a cemetery, with four graves sitting side-by-side.
514* TerribleArtist: [=SpongeBob=]'s crude drawings come to life in the episode "Frankendoodle". Even Patrick criticizes him on his lack of structure and perspective, [[HypocriticalHumor though his drawings aren't any better.]]
515* TerribleTicking: Or in this case, squeaking, in "Squeaky Boots".
516* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Averted, [=SpongeBob=] has curly lashes... though he is a bit girly.
517* ThatCloudLooksLike: [=SpongeBob=] watches the clouds go by with Sandy, who then reminds him they are all flowers.
518* ThatPoorCat:
519** In "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II", a cat screech was heard when Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy parked their invisible boat mobile with a crash. This happened 2 times.
520** All snails usually meow like cats. But starting in Season 4, they were able to screech. Gary was able to screech too. He did it in five episodes: "The Thing", "What Ever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?", "Grooming Gary", "Gary in Love" and "Unreal Estate".
521** There was a similar gag of a guy yelling "My leg" instead of a yowling cat. Mainly in the early seasons.
522* ThereShouldBeALaw: In "Squidville," after [[IronicHell Squidward gets bored of his daily routine in Tentacle Acres,]] he starts behaving the same way [=SpongeBob=] did at the beginning of the episode that caused him to move to Tentacle Acres. His actions result in his neighbors compiling a LongList of grievances against him, and he reacts with:
523-->'''Squidward:''' Grievances! This town is a grievance! There should be a law against so many stuck-up tightwads living in one place! This city needs to be destroyed! Or at least, painted a different color.
524* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave:
525** Squidward, when he loses his job in 'Can You Spare A Dime?'.
526** [=SpongeBob=] when he has to take a vacation.
527** the Flying Dutchman, after he wrecks his ghostly ship. [[spoiler: Which had been fixed for 3 months by the time he decided to leave.]]
528* TheTheTitleConfusion: It's known as ''[[https://i.imgur.com/5fqdfnt.png The SpongeBob]]'' on Creator/{{StarTimes TV}}.
529* ThisBillboardNeedsSomeSalt: In "Sleepy Time", Plankton, dreaming that he's a giant, treats the Krusty Krab's sign as a lollipop.
530* ThousandYardStare: Mentioned by name when Mr. Krabs and Squidward find [=SpongeBob=] in shock at the beginning of "The Krusty Sponge". When he realizes it's because they're about to receive a visit from food critic Gene Scallop, Krabs adopts one as well.
531%%* ThreeWishes: At the end of "Shanghaied".
532* ThrowTheDogABone:
533** Squidward in "Band Geeks" (where [=SpongeBob=] and everyone else in Bikini Bottom manage a musical performance impressive enough to give his rival Squilliam a heart attack), "House Fancy" (where in spite of his house getting wrecked, it is determined way fancier than Squilliam's house), "Enchanted Tiki Dream" (where [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick give it their all to let Squidward have some happiness for once) "Suction Cup Symphony" (where his performance is applauded), and "Love That Squid" (he gets a girlfriend named Squilvia who loves him even when he loses his patience with [=SpongeBob=]). In "Whale Watching," Mr. Krabs hires Squidward to babysit Pearl, in exchange for a [=SpongeBob=] free shift, and after some animosity, Squidward and Pearl make up at the end, and end up [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave siccing [=SpongeBob=] on a boy that spurned Pearl.]]
534** IneffectualSympatheticVillain Plankton and Mrs. Puff in "Wishing You Well" both get their wishes granted, with Plankton wishing to be taller and Mrs. Puff wishing for her own hot rod. On the subject of Plankton, there's an episode he gets a pet, in which he receives a happy ending.
535* TieInCereal: {{Invoked|Trope}}. [=SpongeBob=] has been shown eating Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy bran flakes.
536%%* TimeTravelEpisode: "SB-129".
537* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Mr. Krabs and Pearl, as a family example.
538* TitleConfusion: There's an episode called "Patty Caper" and a special called "The Great Patty Caper". Sometimes people get them mixed up.
539* TitleDropAnthology: Many DVD collections use this naming scheme, such as ''[=SpongeGuard on Duty=]'', which contains [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E1TheAlgaesAlwaysGreenerSpongeGuardOnDuty the eponymous episode]] from season 3, along with several other episodes.
540* ToiletHumor: Shows up from time to time:
541%%** Patrick's stomach in "Something Smells".
542** [=SpongeBob=] cleaning a toilet as an actor for a sponge in a commercial.
543%%** "I gotta act natural!"
544%%-->"Oh that's real nice."
545* ToiletTeleportation: Subverted when [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick pretend to be ghosts and haunt Mr. Krabs. They clogged all the toilets so he couldn't try to escape that way.
546* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:"Wait a minute, Patrick... ''I'm'' the maniac!"]]
547* ToneShift: Seasons 9B-12 are DenserAndWackier than previous episodes.
548* TongueOnTheFlagpole: Happens to Patrick when he gets his tongue on a wooden pole when the Krusty Krab is frozen in "Krabs a la Mode." He doesn't seem to mind, though.
549* TooDumbToLive: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's past counterparts in "SB-129" repeatedly attempt to play catch with a jellyfish, barehanded. Squidward intervenes to teach them how to jellyfish mostly because their agonized screams are disrupting his clarinet playing.
550* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In "Born Again Krabs", Mr. Krabs trades [=SpongeBob=]'s soul for 62 cents. Just as he starts to feel bad about it, the Flying Dutchman comes back to return [=SpongeBob=] after being annoyed by his incessant chatter about his hobbies.
551** The Flying Dutchman gave [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick up as slave crewmen in "Shanghaied" because they were incredibly bad at it. In a subversion, rather than letting them go, he planned to eat them, but they escaped. Then the Dutchman catches them, but he offers them three wishes before they're eaten. After accidentally using up two of their wishes, they use their final wish to turn the Dutchman into a vegetarian. But then they appear in a blender, somehow transformed into fruit, with the Dutchman preparing to eat them.
552** [[RuleofThree In a third]] Flying Dutchman example, namely "Scaredy Pants", [=SpongeBob=] is shaved down by Patrick to make him rounder for a sheet he uses as a Flying Dutchman costume to try to scare everyone in the Krusty Krab for Halloween. He fails miserably, but as the restaurant is laughing at him the real Dutchman arrives, angered by [=SpongeBob=]'s insulting costume and about to steal everyone's souls. He takes a moment before doing so to explain the concept of being scary to [=SpongeBob=], then removes the sheet... and flies away screaming when he sees the sponge had been shaved down to facial features, a brain, and a "spinal cord".
553* TooUpsetToCreate:
554** In "Pickles", [=SpongeBob=] gets so upset about forgetting to put pickles on a Krabby Patty that he is unable to remember how to prepare one. It gets so bad he can't do ''anything'' at all, even talk with proper syntax. Once he is able to relearn how to make a Krabby Patty, he returns back to normal.
555** In "Artist Unknown", [=SpongeBob=] attends Squidward's art class, annoying his teacher with his unusual creative process. Squidward scolds him for doing art "wrong", and he gets so upset he quits the class and goes to live in the dump. When an art collector comes in and declares one of [=SpongeBob's=] artworks a masterpiece, Squidward tries to get [=SpongeBob=] to make some more. Unfortunately, [=SpongeBob=] has taken Squidward's criticisms to heart, and is unable to recreate his previous work.
556* TormentedTeacher: All Mrs. Puff-- [=SpongeBob=]'s boating achool teacher-- wants is to pass the sponge and get him out of her hair. The problem is that [=SpongeBob=] is a ''[[DrivesLikeCrazy horrible]]'' driver, so Mrs. Puff has to bear the brunt of all his accidents and her consequent inflations. Her time with him got so bad that in "Demolition Doofus", Mrs. Puff tricks him into signing up for a demolition derby just for the other competitors to kill him, then join in herself when it backfires.
557* TownContestEpisode: In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS9E15SanctuaryWhatsEatingPatrick "What's Eating Patrick?"]], Patrick competes in Bikini Bottom's annual eating contest against the last winner, Oswald McNulty. He prepares for it by binging on Krabby Patties while running on a treadmill.
558* TownGirls:
559** This trope applies with Sandy as the Texas tough Butch, Pearl as the GirlyGirl Femme, and Mrs. Puff as the in-between (caring but firm) Neither.
560** It also works with Sandy as the Butch, Pearl as the Femme, and Karen as the in-between (devoted wife but evil mastermind) Neither.
561* {{Tradesnark}}:
562** In "Sand Castles in the Sand," [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick play [[strike:Frisbee]] Small Plastic Disc That You Throw[=/=]Toss.
563** "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V" proclaims the IJLSA as "a subsidiary of Viacom," Nickelodeon's parent company.
564* TraineeFromHell: Spongebob is this to Mrs. Puff. He has failed her Boating School dozens and dozens of times, every time putting the poor driver instructor to hell over the fact that he can't take the driver's test without crashing and/or injuring her.
565* TrainingFromHell: The episode when a DrillSergeantNasty shark teaches [=SpongeBob=] how to drive. It works, but [[spoiler: [=SpongeBob=] ends up being able to drive only when [[HandicappedBadass BLINDFOLDED]]]]. HilarityEnsues.
566--> MY PANTS!!!!
567* TranslationConvention:
568** The sea creatures (and Sandy, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy) hear each other speak English but in any live-action segment on land, humans don't seem to be able to hear them.
569** Anthropomorphic characters hear snails meowing, but "Gary in Love" shows that snails hear meows as English.
570* TreeBuchet: In "Club [=SpongeBob=]", Squidward tries to leave [=SpongeBob=]'s clubhouse by grabbing a vine and pulling himself down the stalk the treehouse is situated in, dragging the treehouse with him and bending the stalk double. As soon as he puts a foot on the ground, the vine snaps….
571* TrivialTragedy: In "A Day Without Tears", Squidward bets [=SpongeBob=] he can't go a day without crying. When the news anchor mentions "sad news for Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fans", Squidward turns the volume up and the anchor says that The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Show will only be played seven times a day instead of eight. Not wanting to lose the bet, [=SpongeBob=] quickly changes the channel.
572* TroubledFetalPosition:
573** Played for laughs with Squidward in "Band Geeks", after another screw-up by his slapdash marching band.
574** [=SpongeBob=] does this for a whole episode in which he becomes afraid to go outside, so he decides to live inside his house for the rest of his life. [[StatusQuoIsGod Thankfully, he got over it.]]
575** One episode had Kevin the Sea Cucumber sits in a fetal position and cry for his mommy and blankie when attacked by a King Jellyfish. The other Jellyspotters join in shortly until [=SpongeBob=] saves them all.
576* TroublemakingNewPet: "A Pal for Gary" sees [=SpongeBob=] get another pet, a blowfish-esque fish named Puffy Fluffy, so Gary can have some company while he's away at work. What the sponge failed to realize is the creature ''hates'' being around other pets, and once he steps out of the room, Puffy Fluffy turns into a man-eating beast. When [=SpongeBob=] returns, Puffy Fluffy returns to his cute form and [=SpongeBob=] assumes that Gary is not being nice to Puffy Fluffy or ignoring him. The sponge continues to be oblivious to the new pet's behavior and continues berating Gary -- even when he sees Puffy Fluffy in a monstrous form and about to eat his snail, he doesn't realize the danger and tells Gary to "put Fluffy down". And even after Gary saves [=SpongeBob=] when Puffy Fluffy tried to eat him, he is ''still'' mad at Gary for sending his partner away in the end. Fortunately, he at least forgives Gary in the final scene and decides to take him to work with him so he's not lonely.
577* TryingNotToCry: [=SpongeBob=] manages at this in "A Day Without Tears".
578* [[ThreeShorts Two Shorts Format]]: There are occasional episodes containing a third short -- namely, the {{pilot}} and five of the fifth season's episodes.
579* TwoHalvesMakeAPlot: In the special "Atlantis Squarepantis" [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick find half of an amulet and bring it to a museum, where the other half coincidentally resides.
580* TwoTimerDate: Averted; you see, [=SpongeBob=] had ''three'' appointments booked for the same time, not two.
581* TyopOnTheCover:
582** An in-universe example: Bikini Botto'''''n''''' Arcade in the episode "Karate Star".
583** "Pet Sitter Pat" has a book titled 'Snail Tails', which actually had the correct spelling on [=SpongeBob=]'s list of things to do with Gary.
584[[/folder]]
585
586[[folder:U]]
587* UmbrellasAreLightningRods: In one episode, Squidward loses his house, and it begins to rain. (Even though they're underwater.) He has an umbrella and opens it, but predictably, it gets hit by lightning.
588* UmpteenthCustomer: A customer gets this for giving Mr. Krabs his millionth dollar earned. He gets no prize; he and the others just get thrown out so that Krabs can enjoy the dollar in peace. He does reward his workers, though... with a fishing trip.
589* UnconventionalFoodOrder: In "You Don't Know Sponge", Patrick orders his favorite flavor of ice cream: Dill Pickle Swirl with mustard and extra bacon bits.
590* UnconventionalFoodUsage:
591** The episode "Chocolate with Nuts" has [=SpongeBob=] claim that a certain type of potato chips aren't delicious. Patrick says, "Not the way I use them anyway". It's never revealed what he uses them for.
592** In "To Love a Patty", [=SpongeBob=] dates a Krabby Patty (a type of burger). Mr. Krabs says that food is for eating, not for dating, so [=SpongeBob=] eats "Patty", but by then, it had expired, so [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident he asks for a doggie bag to throw up in]].
593** In "I Had an Accident", [=SpongeBob=] talks to a potato chip [[PunnyName that he names Chip]] in order to cope with his loneliness while staying at home to prevent accidents.
594** Discussed in "The Gift of Gum", where [=SpongeBob=] is throwing his [[MyNewGiftIsLame gift of a giant, dirty gumball]] away, but lies that he's dressing it up.
595** Discussed in one episode where Patrick wonders if mayonnaise and horseradish [[EverythingIsAnInstrument can be used as instruments]].
596* UnanthropomorphicTransformation: In "Feral Friends", most of the cast are transformed into regular sea creatures by a mysterious green rock known as Neptune's Moon. Only Sandy is [[NoSell unaffected]] due to her being a land animal. [[spoiler:At the end of the episode, [[HereWeGoAgain an orange ball of light known as Neptune's Sun appears and turns Sandy into a regular squirrel]] -- a [[MediumBlending live-action one]], no less.]]
597* UnexpectedKindness: "Rock Bottom" sees [=SpongeBob=] stuck in a strange cavern city where he can't understand any of the strange locals. Near the end of the episode, [=SpongeBob=] hears an approaching raspberry sound and runs away, assuming one of the locals is coming for him. However, the local is a friendly anglerfish who returns [=SpongeBob=]'s lost [[ChekhovsGun balloon]], which he ties to [=SpongeBob=]'s wrist and begins to inflate. Since nobody has understood him all night, [=SpongeBob=] assumes the local can't understand what he needs either, but then [[{{Balloonacy}} the balloon pulls SpongeBob up out of the cavern]]. Turns out, the local wanted to help [=SpongeBob=] all along!
598* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode: Despite being a mostly comical cartoon series, this show has a few episodes that manage to be rather dark:
599** A Pal For Gary: In this episode, [=Spongebob=] adopts a new pet who is extremely dangerous around other pets but ignores said warning, which transforms into a monster that attacks Gary, and [=Spongebob=] does nothing about it.
600** Demolition Doofus: Mrs. Puff enlists [=Spongebob=] to be in a demolition derby in order to kill him as revenge for severe injuries she sustained from a recent failure, but his bad driving ironically makes him a racing superstar and she's furious when he does not get hurt.
601** One Coarse Meal: Mr. Krabs finds out that Plankton [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes is afraid of whales]]. Sensing this opportunity, Krabs uses the knowledge of Plankton's phobia to drive him to suicide by willing wanting to be run over by a bus, much to [=SpongeBob=]'s concern. [[KarmaHoudini Mr. Krabs ends up getting away with it in the end.]]
602* UnexplainedRecovery: In "Karate Island" despite getting beaten to a pulp by Sandy, the Karate Master is perfectly fine when Squidward arrives on "Clarinet Island" shortly after.
603* UnimpressiveProgressReveal: Used in some episodes.
604** In the episode "Procrastination", [=SpongeBob=] writes his homework very dramatically and enthusiastically... only to be revealed that all he did was just writing a very stylized "THE".
605** In an earlier episode, "Your Shoe's Untied", [=SpongeBob=] realizes he doesn't know how to tie his shoes after he unties them for a demonstration; consequently, he can't take a single step without tripping on them and falling flat on his face, which causes a problem at the Krusty Krab when he has to bring a Krabby Patty from the grill to Squidward on the other side of the kitchen. He tries rubbing his shoes together and slowly shuffling along on the wood floor, but despite his best efforts, he barely moves away from the grill, which only annoys Squidward further.
606* UnknownRival: Only occurring in "Banned in Bikini Bottom" and "Free Samples", [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs are unaware of Plankton's plans and are unaware he's in the same location as they are. They also don't see or talk to each other throughout, aside from almost hearing his voice in the latter.
607* UnraveledEntanglement: At the end of the lost episode, Patchy the pirate tries to replay the VHS tape of the lost episode, but the film becomes unraveled while the tape is still in the VCR, and Patchy gets tangled up in the film.
608* UnreadableDisclaimer: In "Pickles", it's revealed Mr. Krabs does have a money back guarantee on his menu, but it's written in text that you'd need a microscope to read. Bubble Bass is somehow aware of it, though.
609* UnreadablyFastText: In "No Free Rides", [=SpongeBob=]'s date of birth is given as 14 July 1986.
610* TheUnreveal: The forumla for the Krabby Patty is one of Bikini Bottoms biggest secrets, and the show goes to great lengths to keep it that way.
611** THE SECRET RECIPE TO THE KRABBY PATTY SECRET FORMULA IS -- *Cuts to credits/a commercial*
612** In ''Krabby Road'' we are given a brief glimpse at the formula. However the ingredients are [[UnusualEuphemism nonsense words comprised of random letters]] akin to something a frustrated person might type when banging on a keyboard.
613** Plankton managed to access it thanks to his family, only to learn the secret ingredient includes his own kind. It turns out that's not true at all.
614** In "Goodbye Krabby Patty?", [=SpongeBob=] takes out the formula and reads it, but the front of the sheet is never shown and he keeps the back of it facing the fourth wall before the scene changes to him cooking.
615** Slightly averted in "The Great Krabby Caper" which actually reveals some of the ingredients to the formula, specifically flour, barnacle shavings, turmeric, and either sea or land salt. "[=SpongeBob=] On Parade" also confirms salt as one of the ingredients to the formula.
616** A book detailing the series claimed to have the secret formula at the end. [[spoiler:All it read was, in .5-point font, "Congratulations! You know how to use a magnifying glass!"]]
617* UnsatisfiableCustomer: [[FatBastard Bubblebass]].
618* UnstoppableRage:
619** Patrick was tearing up the carnival in the Valentine's Day episode after he only got a handshake (while [=SpongeBob=] got other people roses, a box of chocolates, and a bike); because [=SpongeBob=] can't tell him the real surprise (the chocolate balloon) before Sandy came with it.
620** Sandy, on more than one occasion.
621** Plankton, although usually only in his own fantasies of what his life would be like if he were bigger.
622* UnsuccessfulPetAdoption:
623** In "My Pretty Seahorse", [=SpongeBob=] adopts a seahorse named Mystery. Seahorses can be kept as pets in the [=SpongeBob=] universe, but Mystery runs away.
624** In "Dumped", [=SpongeBob=] adopts two snails named Larry and Jerry and a worm named Rex. Larry is too aggressive so he must be sent away, and Rex leaves on a bus, but it's unclear what happened to Jerry.
625** In "A Pal for Gary", [=SpongeBob=] adopts a pet named Puffy Fluffy, who runs away. Just as well, because Puffy Fluffy, despite his cute name, kept trying to eat Gary.
626* UnusualEuphemism: "Fishpaste!" "Barnacles!" "Tartar Sauce!" etc.
627* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
628** Patrick is sometimes this in the post-first movie episodes. In "The Inmates of Summer", him coming to the dockyard to tell [=SpongeBob=] he will miss him is what leads them to crying so much they miss the Sun and Fun ship and head for Inferno Island instead. Also in "Sentimental Sponge", Patrick accuses [=SpongeBob=] of throwing out precious belongings, which results in [=SpongeBob=] becoming a hoarder for the episode.
629** In "All That Glitters", the fish who ordered the Monster Krabby Patty is what leads to [=SpongeBob=] breaking his spatula and selling everything to get Le Spatula.
630** In "Mimic Madness", Squidward telling Mr. Krabs that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery is what results in [=SpongeBob=] catching Mocking Mimicry Madness and suffering a ShapeshifterIdentityCrisis.
631** In "[=ChefBob=]", Squidward bluntly snubbing a customer in the eponymous puppet's ear range is what causes it to become a sentient InsultComic.
632[[/folder]]
633
634[[folder:V]]
635* VacationEpisode: Season 8 gave us five of them. "A [=SquarePants=] Family Vacation," "Patrick's Staycation," "Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation," "Mooncation," and "Walking the Plankton."
636* VagueAge: [=SpongeBob=] lives on his own and holds down a job, yet is considered a "kid" by some. However, a few episodes give his DOB. Possibly justified when considering his mental age, or the long lifespan of actual sponges.
637** He's failed boating school thirty-seven times as of the start of the series. ''(Meow)'' [[RunningGag Umm...thirty ]]''[[RunningGag eight ]]''[[RunningGag times.]]
638** And he has HUNDREDS of employee of the month awards by the time The Movie takes place. Employee of the month awards that would take 37 years and two months just to win.
639* VengefulVendingMachine: In the episode "Rock Bottom", [=SpongeBob=] is waiting for the bus so he can go home. He gets hungry and runs across the street to the vending machine to buy a candy bar. The machine itself works properly, but the bus showed up and drove off every time he tried to put a dollar into the machine or to reach for the candy bar after it was dispensed. Keeping his eyes on the bus, he slowly moves to grab the candy bar, with the bus revving the engines everytime he gently touches the bar. He tries to run back across the street to catch the bus, but it drives off. A random stranger walks up to machine and just takes the candy bar.
640* VerbalTic: In Rock Bottom, you actually need to raspberry between words (i.e.: '''JUST''' * PPPTPTPTP* '''LIKE''' * PTPTPT* '''THIS''') in order for you to be understood.
641-->"What? *pbthbth* I can't *pbthbth* understand *pbthbth* your accent. *pbthbth*
642* VerySpecialEpisode:
643** "Sailor Mouth" is about swearing and foul language.
644** "The Bully" is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bullying.]]
645** "Hooky" parodies this, with the hooks (taking on the role of a GRatedDrug) being the ridiculous part.
646* VillainHasAPoint: Occurs in the episode "Walking Small". Even though he was simply using [=SpongeBob=] ('''''for land development!''''') throughout the episode, Plankton was 100% right when he told [=SpongeBob=] that he should be more assertive and stop letting people walk all over him.\
647\
648In this episode alone, two people cut in front of him in line for free ice cream, and [=SpongeBob=] does nothing in retaliation. By the time he gets to the front, the vendor is sold out. Then, as he and Plankton sit on a bench, a large fish sits on [=SpongeBob=], and doesn't even move when [=SpongeBob=] asks him to do so politely.\
649\
650All in all, a lot of [=SpongeBob's=] problems would probably easily be solved (or never occur) if he weren't a spongy, yellow doormat.
651* VillainOpeningScene: Some of the more newer episodes tend to open with Plankton at the Chum Bucket.
652* VictoriousRoar: [[PlayedForLaughs Played for Laughs]] in the episode "The Algae's Always Greener". When Plankton decides to use his "Switch-Lives-Just-To-Know-What-It's-Like-O-Mogrifier" device to switch lives with Mr. Krabs, he finds himself thrust into an alternate dimension where he has lived Krabs' life and success as the owner of the Krusty Krab restaurant. Unfortunately for Plankton, he unknowingly inherits the exact same problems Krabs has to normally deal with on a daily basis as well, including an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty formula, by a naked Krabs himself this time. When [=SpongeBob=] finally defeats Krabs by getting him to wear a bra, via cannonfire, [=SpongeBob=] and everyone else in the Krusty Krab, sans Krabs and Plankton, commemorate their victory with a victory screech. Needless to say, the entire episode is a case of [[ItMakesSenseInContext It Makes Sense in Context]].
653* VillainSong: The pirate ghosts from "Ghost Fools" get one.
654* VirtualSidekick: Karen is Plankton's supercomputer, [[KissMeImVirtual wife]] and sidekick. She gives him advice on his evil schemes and occasionally transfers her A.I. into a mobile robotic form to directly assist him.
655* VisualPun:
656** "Plankton!" -- When Plankton takes control of [=SpongeBob=]'s brain and makes him walk into his kitchen, [=SpongeBob=] says "Time for a well-balanced breakfast." He walks through the wall and out through the fridge with a loaf of bread, a jug of milk and a carton of eggs balanced on his head and adds "This isn't what I had in mind."
657** Also from "Plankton!":
658--->'''Plankton:''' Brace yourself, [=SpongeBob=], this is my lab! (''labrador retriever barks'') And this is my LABORATORY!
659** "Squid on Strike" -- When instructed to make a picket sign, [=SpongeBob=] makes two visual puns: the first being a part of an actual picket fence and the second being the image of someone picking their nose, a "pick-it" sign.
660** "No Weenies Allowed" -- [=SpongeBob=] calls out Sandy for a karate challenge. She appears from the sand and grabs him with the lines "Oh, I'm Sandy alright. I'm very Sandy." And [=SpongeBob=] gets the joke while ''flying'' in the air!
661** Another "sandy" example, this time from "Ripped Pants"
662--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Hey, Sandy! Look! ''(covered in a mound of sand)'' I'm Sandy!
663** In "The Algae's Always Greener" where Krabs flicks tiny Plankton back to the Chum Bucket, he yells, "So long, shrimp!" An actual shrimp is then seen exiting the Krusty Krab.
664** Combining this with a normal {{pun}}, [=SpongeBob=]'s phone is shaped like a conch; a "shellphone" if you will.
665** In "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V", Barnacle Boy gets sick of being an unrespected sidekick and decides to become evil. He then announces that he's crossing over [[FaceHeelTurn to the dark side]]. Zoom out to show half of the Krusty Krab that's pitch-dark. When everyone stares at Mr. Krabs, this is his response:
666--->'''Mr. Krabs:''' Why should I waste money lighting the whole store?
667** In "Clams" after Mr. Krabs is crying over the loss of his dollar [=SpongeBob=] says "I've never seen Mr. Krabs so broken up" right before his body appears to be in pieces.
668** In the episode "I'm With Stupid", Patrick receives a note (cue paper with a musical note on it). On the other side, there's a letter on it (cue flip; other side has a giant letter "B" on it). He also got a message from his parents.
669** In the episode "New Leaf" Mr. Krabs tells his employees to keep their "eyes peeled". You can guess how [=SpongeBob=] interprets this.
670--->'''Mr. Krabs:''' Plankton's concocting another hair-brained scheme to steal me recipe. So keep your eyes peeled.\
671'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Whatever you say, cap'n. (''literally peels his eyelids'')\
672'''Mr. Krabs:''' (''impressed'') Now that's an employee who follows orders.
673** Sandy finds {{Wormsign}}. Literally. It's a road sign with the word "Worm" written on it.
674** In "The Bully", Mrs. Puff tells the class to "put on a happy face" for the new student. Cut to the class all wearing smiling masks.
675** In "Something Smells", Patrick tells [=SpongeBob=] he needs to "Get this thing off your chest" in order to feel better. Cut to a pulsating purple creature attached to [=SpongeBob=]'s chest.
676** In "Imitation Krabs" [=SpongeBob=] remarks that "As long as these pants are square, and this sponge is Bob, I will not let you down!" We then see him holding Mr. Krabs over his head and Mr. Krabs asks if he could please let him down.
677** In "Krusty Krushers" the champion wrestlers put [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick in a sleeper hold, which involves rocking the two to sleep like babies.
678** In "Sailor Mouth" Patrick imagines himself with 40 eyelashes after [=SpongeBob=] says that Mr. Krabs will give them "40 lashes".
679** In "Sun Bleached" [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick tell Craig Mammleton they are putting on coats of sunscreen to stay protected from the sun, and the time comes to put on another coat. They literally make coats, as in outwear, out of sunscreen and put them on, along with a top hat and walking stick to match.
680** In "Sportz?", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's idea of kickboxing involves them punching each other with boxing gloves on their feet.
681** In "Sleepy Time", when [=SpongeBob=] disguises himself as a thumbtack and Plankton [[AgonyOfTheFeet steps on him]], causing himself to shrink back to his normal size, [=SpongeBob=] delivers the following line: "I think he's got the point!"
682* VitriolicBestBuds: Type 1 with [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward.
683* VocalEvolution:
684** Creator/TomKenny's [=SpongeBob=] voice was somewhat deeper and nasal in earlier seasons, before becoming higher pitched and childlike in the movie & revival seasons. Does not help with VagueAge. He does go back to his lower voice around season 8.
685** Season 1 in general had a more relaxed voice acting, aside from Squidward, who ironically sounded more nervous and his voice mellowed out afterwards.
686** Post-''Sponge Out of Water'' and ''Sponge On the Run'', [=SpongeBob=] sounds ''much'' deeper and slightly nasal, likely due to Tom Kenny aging after at least 20 years.
687[[/folder]]
688
689[[folder:W-X]]
690* WalkOnTheWildSideEpisode: In one episode, Squidward gets so fed up with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's antics that he decides to move out into a gated community filled with other squids who share his interests. Inside, he finds that everyone else has a Easter Island head house, everyone else loves playing the clarinet, everyone else loves riding their paddlebikes, everyone else loves ballet dancing, and everyone else enjoys eating canned bread. He's thrilled at this, but soon gets bored of the same routine every day, to the point where he starts going out of control and just lets loose while playing around with a leaf blower. The other citizens filled a formal list of complaints, but Squidward tells them off by flying his leaf blower into the sky while screaming wildly.
691* WalkThroughTheCamera:
692** "Breath of Fresh Squidward" [=SpongeBob=] walking with new Squidward attached to him. "Boy, the new Squidward sure is chummy."
693* WatchingTheSunset:
694** [=SpongeBob=] with Squidward in "Dying for Pie"; Squidward panics because this would be the time the bomb pie drops into the sponge's lower intestine, and explode.
695--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' This is great. Just the three of us; you, me, and this brick wall you built between us.
696** Squidward weaponizes it in "A Day Without Tears" as his first attempt to get [=SpongeBob=] to cry before the day ends. It fails when the sunset ends, snapping him out of it.
697* WaterIsAir:
698** Very frequently, starting with the intro to every episode, in which [=SpongeBob=] takes a bath. Most noticeable in "SpongeHenge," involving a wind storm that causes [=SpongeBob's=] holes to whistle.
699** [=SpongeBob=] and friends are also perfectly capable of falling off cliffs, drinking water from cups...Pearl's ponytail is nice and neat...
700** Lampshaded in one episode where [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick run away after they think they're wanted fugitives for popping a balloon.
701--->''[=SpongeBob=]and Patrick are sitting around a campfire late at night.''\
702'''Patrick:''' [[LampshadeHanging Hey, if we're underwater, how can there be a--]]?\
703''[fire immediately goes out]''
704** In another episode, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick receive party invitations from Patchy, but the water smeared the writing; [=SpongeBob=] complains that the sender forgot about the physical limitations of living underwater...before proceeding to [[HypocriticalHumor throw them into a fire.]]
705* WeaponizedStench:
706** "Karate Island" has Filthy Phil, who deals with his opponents by using his body stench to knock them out. Unfortunately for him, Sandy is protected from his smell thanks to her suit, and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he ends up smelling his own stink]].
707** The episode "Something Smells" has [=SpongeBob=] accidentally trigger this trope when he uses a rancid seanut plant for a sundae, creating a horrific case of bad breath. The odor becomes so horrible that everyone in Bikini Bottom has a near-fatal reaction; the only person immune is Patrick, who lacks a nose. [=SpongeBob=] can't understand why everyone is running away from him, and Patrick convinces him that it must be because he's ugly. It isn't until Patrick himself eats some of the sundae and also gets bad breath that they realize what's going on, as [=SpongeBob=] ''can'' smell Patrick's terrible fumes (he likely couldn't smell his own because of the real-life phenomenon of "scent blindness," which dulls a person's own odor to themselves).
708* WearingItAllWrong:
709** In "Pickles", a supposed error on a Krabby Patty order causes [=SpongeBob=] [[CentipedesDilemma to not remember how to do]] ''anything''. At one point, we see that he put his underwear over his head.
710** At the beginning of "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E1YourShoesUntiedSquidsDayOff Your Shoe's Untied]]", Patrick gets a new pair of shoes, and decides to wear them on his hands instead of his feet. [=SpongeBob=] likes this idea, and suggests also wearing gloves on their feet and hats on their "captain's quarters". [[BrickJoke In a later scene]], Patrick is still wearing his shoes on his hands as he eats a Krabby Patty at the Krusty Krab.
711** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E6GrandmasKissesSquidville Grandma's Kisses]]", [=SpongeBob's=] grandmother gives Patrick a sweater as a present. When Patrick opens it, he thinks it's a hat and wears it on his head until [=SpongeBob's=] grandmother tells him it's a sweater.
712* WhatAreYouInFor: Said by Patrick at the end of "[=SpongeBob=] Meets The Strangler", when the Strangler ends up in the same jail cell as him.
713* WhatTheHellHero:
714** In ''Karen 2.0'', when [=SpongeBob=] accidentally makes Karen cry some more after Plankton dumps her, Mr. Krabs responds to this with this:
715--->'''Mr. Krabs''': ''(Angrily)'' Smooth, [=SpongeBob=]. REAL smooth!
716** Squidward even calls Mr. Krabs out on selling [=SpongeBob=]'s soul for 62 cents in ''Born Again Krabs''. Squidward hates [=SpongeBob=] with a burning passion of a thousand suns, but even he was disturbed at what Krabs did.
717** In "Stuck in the Wringer", [=SpongeBob=] yells at Patrick for ruining his life by gluing him to his wringer. But the [[UngratefulTownsfolk townspeople]] [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass call [=SpongeBob=] out for yelling at Patrick]] even though it was Patrick who got him in that mess in the first place.
718** In "Yours, Mine and Mine", Mr. Krabs is shocked at [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick fighting over [[AppleOfDiscord Patty Pal]] and chews them out for letting one toy get in the way of their friendship.
719--->'''Mr. Krabs''': All this brawlin' is over a toy?! You two shouldn't let a little trinket get between youse! '''You should be ''ashamed'' of yourselves.'''
720** In "One Coarse Meal", [=SpongeBob=], of all characters, is outright '''disgusted''' when he finds out Mr. Krabs is tormenting Plankton of his fear of whales. He confronts him in his office and tells him off, but he doesn't listen nor own up and changes the subject.
721--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Mr. Krabs, I know you and Plankton are sworn enemies and all, but... ''Putting on a dress to frighten him?!'' Isn't that taking it a little ''too'' far?
722* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: In "A Day Without Tears", [=SpongeBob=] has to resist crying by midnight to win Squidward's bet.
723* WhosOnFirst: "Good Ol' Whatshisname", in which Squidward tries to find out the name of a mystery customer.
724** Also, in "Shellback Shenanigans":
725--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' When are we making this fresh batch of Krabby Patties, Mr. Krabs?\
726'''Mr. Krabs:''' What?\
727'''Plankton:''' Okay, now what'd he say?\
728'''Karen:''' "What?".\
729'''Plankton:''' I said, "What'd he say?"\
730'''Karen:''' He said, "What?".\
731'''Plankton:''' I have no idea, that's why I'm asking you what he said!\
732'''Karen:''' I know that, and I'm saying he said, "What?"!\
733'''Plankton:''' I know that! Wait... oh, he ''said,'' "What?"\
734'''Karen:''' Yes!
735* WhosWatchingTheStore:
736** Only three people operate the Krusty Krab, and all three are not always at work at the same time.
737** "Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle" shows that Pearl works in the store if Mr. Krabs isn't there. But while she's gone, some old sea captain works there instead.
738* WholeEpisodeFlashback:
739** The episode "Missing Identity" is told in flashback by [=SpongeBob=] to a waitress and customer in the diner one night.
740** "To [=SquarePants=] or Not to [=SquarePants=]" is a flashback to "three days ago" from the beginning of the narration.
741** The Season 8 "vacation" arc of episodes ("A [=SquarePants=] Family Vacation", "Patrick's Staycation", "Walking the Plankton", "Mooncation", "Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation") are told in flashback by whoever had the vacation, by showing a photo slideshow of the event, and the rest of the episode is what happened on said vacation.
742* WholePlotReference:
743** The very first episode, "Help Wanted", is a loose remake of a scene from ''[[Creator/JerryLewis The Bellboy]]'' where Stanley's boss makes him set up chairs in a huge ballroom to keep him out of trouble, only to return a minute later and see every chair single set up perfectly. Just replace "setting up chairs" with "looking for a hydrodynamic spatula" and "doing it abnormally fast" with "actually finding it."
744** "Patrick Smartpants" is ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon''. Patrick suddenly becomes smart after an accident in Jellyfish Fields. It turns out that after the top of his head was knocked off, [=SpongeBob=] put a "brain coral" on Patrick instead of Patrick's real head.
745** The episode [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E2ClubSpongeBobMyPrettySeahorse Club [=SpongeBob=]]] is, believe it or not, one for Literature/NineteenEightyFour, only LighterAndSofter.
746** "Culture Shock" is one for the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Show Biz Bugs", with Squidward and [=SpongeBob=] standing in for Daffy and Bugs, respectively.
747** "Porous Pockets" is one to the ''Prodigal Son'' parable; both involve the protagonist gaining an exceedingly enormous amount of wealth, and it ends with them losing it all and having to go back to their former life.
748* WhyDontYouMarryIt: In "Married to Money", Plankton fails to get the Krabby Patty secret formula once again, and after listening to Mr. Krabs' statement of how money makes the world go round, he mocks him and asks "why don't you marry it." Mr. Krabs goes silent and sadly responds that if he could, he would.
749* WhyWontYouDie: Very blatant in "Demolition Doofus," when Mrs. Puff is trying to ensure that [=SpongeBob=] will die in the truck rally but his bad driving protects him, she screams, "Why are you still alive?!" [=SpongeBob=], oblivious to this, replies: "Put it in drive?" [[NeverSayDie Note that this is the closest toward mentioning death in the episode.]]
750* WindbagPolitician: When [=SpongeBob=] was chosen hall monitor, he gave a long, boring acceptance speech (which includes a quote from an equally long speech given by a famous hall monitor). By the time he was finished, class was over without him actually performing his hall-monitor duties.
751* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing:
752** In the episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V", Mermaid Man hires the main cast to pose as superheroes against Face Heel Turned Barnacle Boy's villain group "Every Villain Is Lemons". However the team's ineptness with their super powers leads them to all injure themselves, while the villains look on dumbfounded.
753** In "The Great Snail Race", [=SpongeBob=], Squidward and Patrick enter a snail contest, with Patrick's contestant being a rock.[[note]]"Thanks, I know. He's got nerves of steel"[[/note]] While [=SpongeBob's=] snail Gary crashes and Squidward's snail forfeits the race to be by his side, Patrick's "snail" somehow got to the finish line.
754* WithholdingTheirName: In the episode, [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS5E4SpyBuddiesBoatSmartsGoodOlWhatshisname "Good Ol' Whatshisname"]], Squidward and [=SpongeBob=] compete in against each other to learn the names of all the customers in the Krusty Krab. When Squidward gets down to the last customer, it seems like the customer doesn't want to tell Squidward his name, as it sounds like he tells him "What's it to ya?". After Squidward takes the customer's wallet from him, getting himself arrested as a result, Squidward finds out [[RealJokeName the customer's real name]] is "[[WhosOnFirst What Zit Tooya]]".
755* {{Workaholic}}: [=SpongeBob=] ADORES his job at the Krusty Krab, to the point where he ''goes insane'' when Mr. Krabs tries to make him take a vacation.
756* WorkOffTheDebt: The plot of "Pat No Pay". Being Patrick he screws up even the simplest of jobs.
757* WorldOfHam: At least half of the characters on the show have a ''huge'' thing for the dramatic, and will demonstrate whenever they get the chance.
758* WorldsSmallestViolin: In a scene from "Squilliam Returns" in which Mr. Krabs plays the World's Smallest Violin as a variant of this trope.
759-->'''Mr. Krabs''': Oh, boo hoo. Let me play a sad song for you on the World's Smallest Violin. ''[Does so]''
760-->'''Squidward''': This is serious!
761-->'''Mr. Krabs''': I know. This really ''is'' the World's Smallest Violin. See? (camera focuses on his claw to show World's Smallest Violin)
762* WormInAnApple: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick try to raise an abandoned clam (the equivalent of birds in the setting) in "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve". Ignorant of what a clam eats, they unsuccessfully present it with an apple. However, a worm that talks and claims to be visiting from Apple World pops out from the fruit. The duo feeds the worm to the clam instead, despite the worm's threat that "[[UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev we will bury you!]]"
763* {{WPUN}}:
764** The episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" has the oldies station KOLD.
765** Other episodes, such as "Krab Borg" feature KRUD.
766--->"And now, back to KRUD with all of your personal YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH STEALING MY CAR hits!"
767* WrongGenreSavvy: Mr. Krabs in ''Born Again Krabs''. He thinks it's AllJustADream and he's in the hospital "sleepin' like a baby"... until he gets the bill.
768* WrongRestaurant:
769** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E3TheBullyJustOneBite The Bully]]", Patrick calls Mrs. Puff's Boating School, thinking he called Pizza Castle, and tries to order a pizza. [=SpongeBob=] is actually glad Patrick called, and hopes he will stand up to Flats for him. Unfortunately for [=SpongeBob=], Flats is Patrick's old community college buddy.
770** In "Pizza Delivery", someone calls the Krusty Krab for a pizza by mistake. Not one to miss out on a quick buck, Mr. Krabs smashes some Krabby Patties into a pizza and has [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward deliver it. HilarityEnsues.
771** In "Squidville", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are at the gate to Tentacle Acres, where Squidward has moved. Patrick mistakes the intercom for a take out window and makes an order.
772** In "Seance Schmeance", an old man keeps coming to the Krusty Krab mistaking it for the restaurant that was there before, asking for a certain sandwich. Mr. Krabs holds a seance to find the recipe and get rid of the customer once and for all.
773** In "Komputer Overload", a customer is at the drive thru of the Chum Bucket and keeps trying to order items that the Krusty Krab sells. Plankton angrily tells the customer that they don't sell any of those items, and if he wants any of those, he should go to the Krusty Krab.
774* XtremeKoolLetterz: The Krusty Krab.
775* XMustNotWin: While usually fine defending his own business, Mr Krabs is sometimes shown to have an unsettling grudge towards any minor success his rival Plankton gains, even so much as gaining ''one'' customer is enough for him to start on an obsessive vendetta in stealing Plankton's "business."
776[[/folder]]
777
778[[folder:Y-Z]]
779* YankTheDogsChain:
780** Some episodes tend to do this to both Squidward and Plankton. Used so often in the later seasons that it's almost the show's signature trope, especially with Squidward.
781** Happens to [=SpongeBob=] whenever he tries to get his driver's license.
782* YesMan: The Jellyspotters
783* YesNoAnswerInterpretation: From "Chimps Ahoy":
784--> '''Dr. Marmalade''': Lord Reginald, are you all right? ''[shrieks and explosions are heard]'' I'm sorry, was that a "yes"?
785* YouCanSayThatAgain: [=SpongeBob=] utters the line in the episode "The Two Faces of Squidward", after Patrick says "We're not just neighbors...", and Patrick, as one might expect, follows through.
786* YourCostumeNeedsWork: "That's the worst [=SpongeBob=] costume I've ever seen!" - Passenger on a train ride that ''[=SpongeBob=] himself'' is driving in the episode "The Krusty Sponge"
787* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: A method used by one driving teacher...and it actually works! But now [=SpongeBob=] can only drive safely while blindfolded.
788* YourHeadAsplode: In "Sing A Song Of Patrick", Patrick's song is so bad, just hearing it causes a random fish's head to blow up within seconds of hearing it.
789* YouNeedABreathMint: A bystander offers one to Mr. Krabs in "Hooky" after he yells in his ear about "the hooks".
790* YouNoTakeCandle: Patrick's sister, Sam.
791* YourTelevisionHatesYou: In "Idiot Box", Squidward is trying to forget about [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick playing in their box, but everything on TV is about boxes, even [[VisualPun boxing]].
792* ZanyCartoon: Big time.
793* ZillionDollarBill: In "Goodbye, Krabby Patty?", thanks to [[spoiler: the gigantic success of frozen Krabby Patty]], Mr.Krabs receives what seems to be a 100 million dollar check, only to find out there's plenty more zeroes written all the way to its back, making the amount to be 100 ''nonillion''[[note]]that's thirty zeroes[[/note]] dollars.
794* ZombieApocalypse:
795** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in "Once Bitten", where the zombie apocalypse turns out to just be the public being hysterical.
796** In "Krabby Patty Creature Feature", Krabby Patties experimented on by Sandy cause the population of Bikini Bottom to turn into [[BodyHorror horrifying fish-burger hybrids]] whose only goal is to force other fish to eat them, turning them into more of said creatures.
797[[/folder]]

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