"Bonus points if..." is a
Stock Phrase used to indicate that an act will be considered better, funnier, cooler, or otherwise more extreme if it meets certain criteria. If doing a backflip is awesome, then doing a backflip
while standing on one leg! must be
extra-awesome, and thus receives "bonus points". Note that these points are purely imaginary -
nobody is keeping a tally and the
Stock Phrase is used in a context where there isn't even a point scoring system, let alone bonuses. Bonus points are often awarded in trope descriptions and examples, but the phrase is also common in
Real Life. There are also several variations, most commonly "Bonus points for doing X" or "For bonus points, do X".
When describing an example or a trope, bonus points are often given for "optional extras" which are not strictly required for the trope, but which are commonly associated with it. They may also be given for things which add context to an example in a way which makes it exceptionally awesome, funny, or a particularly clear embodiment of the trope.
50 Bonus points if the speaker actually
quantifies the amount of points up for grabs.
For the use of actual points in
Video Games, see
Scoring Points. For
Game Shows where the points are tracked but nobody cares, see
The Points Mean Nothing.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Live Action TV
- Psych, from "A Very Juliet Episode":
Shawn: Well, Dad, thanks for trying. And bonus points for using the word 'jackass' in another conversation unironically.
- House, displaying his usual Dr. Jerk persona in the episode "Humpty Dumpty": "Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?"
- NCIS, from "Split Decision":
Abby: It's not like they have any new ideas. It's just so...
Ducky: The song remains the same?
Abby: Exactly. And bonus points for the gratuitous rock reference.
- In another episode, Abby explained that the victim, while being held prisoner in her captors' bathroom, had deliberately overdosed on eye medication in an attempt to thwart their plot to use her to get past the retina scan that was guarding information they wanted to steal. "It didn't work, but points for the MacGyver."
Video Games
- In Final Fantasy X-2, Rikku starts irritating Paine.
Paine: You're a pain. Minus four respect points.
Rikku: Uh-oh. How many points left?
Paine: Forty-seven.
Rikku: That's not a whole lot, is it?
Webcomics
- In Questionable Content:
- Dora asks Faye to name her top five favorite bands to make a point about her indie bias. When she answers with four obscure bands and Slayer, Dora (who is a goth) says "Bonus points for liking Slayer, but my point is still proven".
- During Sven's first scene, he gives Faye bonus points for making some Added Alliterative Appeal.
- Inverted shortly after the Wham Episode, when Faye leaves for Georgia temporarily as part of the result:
Marten: I just didn't want you to feel like you wouldn't be missed.
Faye: While you lose points for the convoluted sentence structure, I appreciate the sentiment.
- The Order of the Stick:
Wight #2: "I think he did. Also, I think no one has ever asked that exact question in the history of civilization, so bonus points there."
Real Life
