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Does "Dreamland" refer to the nightclub or the Adventures in Comaland? Yes.

"A game name like Just Cause is absolute gold for the reviewer, since it can mean both '(a) just cause', a righteous agenda, or the phrase 'just (be)cause', a dismissive explanation of whimsical or reckless behavior. The opportunity for puns is obvious: why would you steal a passenger jet and fly it directly up the bumhole of a sun-bathing prostitute? Just 'cause! Praise and large quantities of gamer pussy will swiftly follow."
Yahtzee, Zero Punctuation

Some works have titles with multiple meanings that all refer to the content of the work in different and independent ways. Often, one of the two meanings will be obvious at first glance, while the second meaning is more subtle and/or pertains to The Reveal or some other plot twist. The authors are probably very proud of themselves.

They are often hard or impossible to translate literally to another language, so translations will frequently use a Completely Different Title.

Compare Pun-Based Title (where the titles only sound like other things that refer to the content of the work), Justified Title (where a title that refers to the format of the work also refers to the content in some way) and Multiple Reference Pun (where similar forms of wordplay appear in other facets of the work). A Sub-Trope of Double Meaning.


Example subpages:

Other examples:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • Attack on Titan:
    • Episode 78, "Two Brothers," can either refer to Eren and Zeke or Colt and Falco, since both pairs of brothers play significant roles in the episode.
    • The original Japanese title of the series, Shingeki no Kyojin, can be read as either "Attacking Titans" or "[the] Attack Titan." Initially, it seems that it reads as the former, as the story deals with humanity's war against the titans, but later on, it is revealed that the name of Eren Yeager's titan is called the "Attack Titan." This detail was Lost in Translation and makes the twist more difficult to anticipate.
  • Berserk:
    • The Conviction Arc (断罪篇 or Danzai hen) is a Story Arc named after the Tower of Conviction in St. Albion, which is a place where sinners are punished. Throughout this Arc, Guts comes into conflict with Knight Templar antagonists including the Holy Iron Chain Knights and Bishop Mozgus who are on a crusade to stamp out witchcraft and heresy, so that the title refers to how they "convict" and punish anyone who disagrees with their dogma. Translating danzai as "conviction" gives it a second meaning in English, since "a conviction" is also a strongly held belief like religion or a reason to fight. In the case of Guts, he gets a What the Hell, Hero? about running away from his responsibility for Casca and reaches a new conviction that he’ll rescue her no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, antagonist Farnese experiences a Heel Realization and crisis of faith, which is resolved when she quits the Church and decides to follow Guts.
    • Volume 16, episode 111, "Monster" ("Kaibutsu") involves Nominal Hero Guts confronting a literal monster in the form of the insectoid Apostle Rosine, but at this moment the title is more befitting of Guts himself in a He Who Fights Monsters way. After letting Rosine's fake elf children swarm and bite him, he deliberately jumps through a fire in order to kill them and then douses himself by cutting open one of the cocoons in which her kidnapped children are reborn as monsters. He stands before Rosine with blood and organs dripping off him, giving a Kubrick Stare with one demonic-looking eye, while gnawing on the intestine of one of the creatures with his teeth. Even the bloodthirsty Rosine is as shocked as she is angered, asking, "Are you really human? What the hell are you?!".
  • In B Gata H Kei, (B type, H style), B stands for the main character's B blood type, and B cup breast size. It also stands for "second base", in the Japanese equivalent of American baseball metaphors. (Coincidentally, by our classification, she is also a Type B Tsundere.)
  • The final episode of Death Note's Animated Adaptation is titled "New World". It's also the climatic end in which the stakes are at their highest: will the New World be the perfect crime-free utopia Light is trying to create in his image, or will it be one newly freed from Light and the Death Note users' reign of terror?
    • The title of the second movie is "The Last Name." It could refer to Light's struggle to find out L's last name in order to kill him, since L's real name is L Lawliet, but it also could refer to whose name will be the last one written in the Death Note.
  • Dr. STONE: In an early chapter, Senku refers to soap as "the stone of life, Doctor Stone", since hygene is super-important for staving off disease. The title can also refer to Senku himself, since he's the smartest person in the "Stone World". A third meaning is added later on: though the apocalypse was caused by all humanity being turned to stone, the process has important benefits — curing the petrification can heal conditions that are beyond even modern medical science, like severed limbs or clinical braindeath.
  • The Elder Sister-like One refers to Chiyo's role as Yuu's Cool Big Sis and the fact that she is a literal Lovecraftian horror (though she's technically an Outer God, not an Elder God).
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • The title itself is an interesting case, because on the surface it clearly refers to Edward, whose military identifier is "the Fullmetal Alchemist". That the in-universe name is a bit ambiguous comes up repeatedly, with more than a few scenes where people assume that Alphonse is the Fullmetal Alchemist, especially since the name was specifically chosen by the evil conspiracy to remind Ed that if he made trouble, they'd come after Al. Then it's recontextualised by the ending, which uses the term "having a fullmetal heart" to refer to learning from painful lessons - which means that the title could refer to any number of alchemists, including both Elric brothers, Roy Mustang, Izumi Curtis, Hohenheim and even Scar.
    • The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode "The Shape of This Country" reveals that the entire history of the country of Amestris has been engineered to create and fuel a gigantic transmutation circle at its border. Thus, the country has been "shaped" for an evil plot both figuratively and literally. (This is also a reference back to the very first episode, where McDougal ranted to the Elrics, "Don't you guys understand the shape this country is in?")
  • The title of Girl Friends (2006) could mean "girls who are friends" or "girls who are lovers". The story revolves around both, being about how Mari and Akko start as best friends but fall in love with each other.
  • The Japanese title of Haré+Guu, Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu, is a rather elaborate pun that can be read several different ways, due to different readings of some of the words:
    • In the Jungle was Always Hare but then came Guu
    • The Jungle was Always Nice, Then Came Guu
    • The Jungle Is Always Sunny or Hungry
    • And the most obscure, a pun on a common phrase in Japanese weather forecasts:
      • The Jungle Is Always Clear, With A Chance of Showers
      • The Jungle is Always Clear, With Scattered Guu
  • Gohan no Otomo is translated as either "Rice and Friends" or "Side Dish Which Matches Rice Well". Gohan is the Japanese word for rice, while Otomo means companion or attendant, which could either refer to the companion dishes one eats with the rice, or the company one can share and enjoy the rice with.
  • Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood: The subtitle of this part mentions blood, which can refer to either the Joestar bloodline, marking the start of a Generational Saga, or to the Big Bad Dio Brando, who turns himself into a blood-drinking vampire.
  • Kaguya-sama: Love Is War does this with the two-part arc "I can't hear the fireworks". In part one it refers to the fact that Kaguya is confined to her bedroom. In part two it's because her heart is beating too loudly after seeing everything Shirogane did for her to make sure she could see them.
  • Love Hina. Hina refers to Hinata Sou, named after the original owner, but is also Japanese for "chick".
  • Martian Successor Nadesico (Kidou Senkan Nadesico, literally "Mobile Battleship Nadesico"): "Kidou Senkan" is similar sounding to "Kidou Senshi" referencing the use of Humongous Mecha in the show. "Senkan Nadesico" (or "Nadeshiko") is a double pun that references both Uchuu Senkan Yamato, and the Japanese concept of Yamato Nadeshiko. This multi-layered, multiple reference pun is likely the reason why ADV Films released it as "Martian Successor Nadesico" in North America.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam AGE refers to both the AGE system that are used to create the eponymous mechas, as well as the Coming of Age Story of its three protagonists.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, rather than being simply an Oddly Named Sequel refers to both the Midseason Upgrade, the Destiny Gundam, but also to the main villain's sinister, Brave New World-esque "Destiny Plan".
  • My-HiME's Japanese title, Mai-HiME, is a quintuple pun, meaning "Mai the HiMe"Explanation, "My HiMe", "My princess", "Mai the princess" and "Maihime" (a kind of dance).
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion:
    • The Japanese title for the first movie, Death and Rebirth, is written as "シト新生" (Shi to Shinsei). The first two characters, written in katakana, can either stand for "死と" (shi to, "death and," as in the English title) or "使徒" (shito, "apostle," the term used in the original Japanese to refer to the Angels).
    • A similar pun was employed for the title of episode 24, "最後のシ者" (Saigo no Shisha), which can be read as "The Final Messenger" or "The Final Casualty" depending on what kanji is used for "shi". On top of that, "シ者" looks like "渚" (Nagisa — as in Kaworu's last name). This sums up the plot of the episode, which is that Kaworu turns out to be the final Angel, and dies. Also, the word " Angel" can mean "Messenger."
      • Its English title, "The Last Cometh," can refer to either the final Child or the final Angel. They're the same person, after all.
    • The final episode of the series is called, "The Beast that Shouted Ai at the Heart of the World." Obviously it's a pun on a Harlan Ellison story ("The Beast that Shouted 'Love'..." — ai means "love"), but it sounds like "The Beast that Shouted 'I'..." As in, "I am an individual!"
  • One Piece:
    • The localized manga has a possibly unintentional case: The chapter in which Zoro joins is titled "Number One," and it can either refer to him being the first to join Luffy's Crew (each chapter in which a crew member joins or rejoins has the crew member's number), or a reference to Luffy and Zoro's respective goals of becoming Pirate King and the world's greatest swordsman.
    • The title of One Piece itself. While it refers to the treasure of "One Piece" mentioned by Gol D. Roger at the very beginning of the story, it also refers to the absolutely brutal world everyone lives in and the various pirate crews' hopeful efforts in making it to the desired treasure in one piece.
  • Oshi no Ko: The common way to read the title is "The girl (idol) I support", referring to Ai. However, at the end of the first chapter, it's clear that the other intended reading is "The children of the girl I support", referring to Ai's children, Aqua and Ruby.
    • The Indonesian release of the Oshi no Ko manga does a similar thing by including the subtitle "Anak Idola", which can be translated as either "Child Idol" (referring to Ai, an idol who was 16 at the beginning of the story), or "Child(ren) of the Idol" (referring to Ai's children, Aqua and Ruby).
  • Parasyte is titled 寄生獣 (Kiseijū) in the original Japanese, literally meaning "Parasitic Beasts". On the face of it, this refers to the Puppeteer Parasite alien species which appears among humanity and begins to prey on humans. At the same time, however, it refers to the theme of humans being a threat to themselves and the earth through overpopulation and environmental destruction. Toward the end, the leader of the parasite conspiracy Takeshi Hirokawa accuses humanity of being the real parasites destroying the Earth, making a Title Drop by calling humans "parasitic beasts".
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
    • The font of the kanji "魔法" (mahou, magic) in Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Magical Girl Madoka Magica) logo text is heavily stylized, and could be read instead as "廃怯" (hai-kyou, cowardice, hesitation). The title could reasonably be read as "廃怯少女 まどか☆マギカ" (Hai-Kyou Shoujo Madoka Magika), or Wavering Girl Madoka Magica in English. This is, if anything, a more accurate description of the series.
    • Another view is this: as Kyubey mentioned 魔法少女 (Magical Girl) are immature witches (魔女), 廃怯少女 can be construed as immature 廃女 (abolish-girl), or girl that abolishes — so what did Madoka do in the end?
    • In the romanized title, "Puella Magi" is known to be incorrect Gratuitous Latin for Magical Girl—magi is masculine as opposed the correct Latin for magical girl "Puella Maga". However "magi" is actually a noun with many meaning in Latin, among them "wise man" or "deceiver". Meanwhile, while "puella" could be used as a translation of "girl", is usually used in the context of child slaves. In other words the romanized title could be considered Deciever's slave: Madoka Magica highlighting the manipulative nature of Kyubey and the magical girl system.
    • Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion, meanwhile, has a title seemingly chosen specifically to make people argue about which "Rebellion" they're referring to. Kyubey rebelling against Madokami? Homura rebelling against her imprisonment? The girls rebelling against Homura's attempt to destroy herself and the labyrinth to save them? Homura rebelling against Madokami? The implied eventual rebellion to Homura's new world order? Urobuchi rebelling against people wanting a happier ending? It's anyone's guess, but it's probably meant to be at least a few of these things.
  • Shokugeki No Soma directly means "cooking spirit", yet it can also be interpreted as "Soma of Shokugeki", where the term "shokugeki" refers to the name of the school's famous high-stakes cooking duels. The word "Soma" is a pun on Soma's name in the Japanese version, and a direct reference to his name in the English localization.
  • Soul Eater: This one works on several levels; it is the Deuteragonist's name, a description of several characters (both good and bad), and used figuratively by Crona in the penultimate chapter to describe fear.
  • Tenchi Muyo! can mean "No Need For Tenchi!", "No Need For Heaven and Earth!", or "This Way Up!", depending on the interpretation.
  • Twilight Star Sui and Neri: Its alternative title, Sui and Neri of the Twilight Planet. The first meaning of the title is the Character Title itself; the second part of the title, "The Twilight Planet", is an Ironic Echo that subtly represents Earth's decline as human's home planetnote .
  • Urusei Yatsura: "Urusei" is a misspelling/mispronounciation of "urusai", which usually means "loud", or "annoying", or "obnoxious" and is also used to tell people to "shut up". "Yatsura" is a pejorative way of referring to a group of people. Also, while most of the name is written in hiragana, the kanji for "star" is used for the "sei" in the title, referring to Lum, an alien being who is one of the main characters. Thus, the title can be translated as "Those Annoying Aliens", or "Those Obnoxious Aliens".
  • The Japanese name of Zatch Bell!, Konjiki no Gash Bell, means "Golden Gash Bell". You could think that "Golden" refers to his blond hair, but in the final storylines of the manga and anime, Gash's spellbook actually becomes golden after he unlocks its true powers.
  • For Zombie Land Saga, the "Saga" in the anime's title refers to Saga Prefecture in Kyushu, which the main characters are trying to revitalize, as well as how the story is a "saga" of how the girls aim to become successful idols despite being zombies.

    Audio Plays 
  • The Big Finish Doctor Who drama Lies in Ruins has River Song, Bernice Summerfield and the Eighth Doctor discover a future version of Gallifrey that does, indeed, lie in ruins. Except it's not Gallifrey at all; the ruins are lies.

    Comic Books 
  • Anno Dracula: Seven Days in Mayhem. The title references Seven Days in May of course, and like that book, it takes place over a week. But it also features the AD-verse version of the Council of Seven Days.
  • Ex Machina has a few examples:
    • The first storyline is titled "The First Hundred Days". It refers both to an old rule about politics (that a politician's first 100 days in office are the most crucial), and to the protagonist Mitchell Hundred's first days as Mayor of New York City.
    • The "Smoke Smoke" story arc is both about Mitchell getting dragged into a debate over legalizing marijuana in New York City, and about the New York Police Department investigating a string of crimes seemingly committed by a rogue firefighter. It also ends with the revelation that Mitchell secretly smokes marijuana to cope with the stressful side effects of his powers.
  • Rivers of London: Detective Stories. The four stories in the miniseries are, of course, detective stories. They also have a Framing Story of PC Grant discussing the cases with his examiner as part of his promotion exam: he's telling the stories to become a detective.
  • The last story arc of The Sandman (1989) is The Wake, which has three relevant meanings. The titles of the three chapters make them explicit: "Which Occurs in the Wake of What Has Gone Before", "In Which a Wake Is Held", and "In Which We Wake".
  • The Smurfs: The Betrayal of Smurfblossom sees her being betrayed by her best friend when Smurfstorm accuses her of having a crush on Hefty. Later on, she finds herself further accused of betraying Smurfstorm by causing her to fall out of a tree and injure herself.
  • Star Trek: Untold Voyages:
    • "Worlds Collide" refers to both the asteroid heading towards an M-Class planet and Saavik's difficulties in learning to become truly Vulcan because of her half-Romulan heritage.
    • "Odyssey's End" refers to both the end of the Enterprise's second five-year mission under Kirk's command and the Abductors ending their mission to undo the work of the Preservers after several million years.
  • The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye refers to both one of the franchise's classic Tag Lines (with its sister series using the other one), but the main cast being full of Hidden Depths and other secrets, some unknown to even themselves.
  • The Walking Dead: At first you think it's relatively obvious that the Walking Dead refers to the Romero-like zombies, but the first time it receives a Title Drop is when Rick has a Heroic BSoD and shouts that the survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse are the Walking Dead themselves, because it's only a matter of time until they all die.
  • Watchmen:
    • The phrase "Who watches the watchmen?" can be translated from the original Latin ("Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?") as "who guards the guards?" implying that the superheroes themselves are under attack. But it can also refer to those who watch, implying that someone else is watching them. It's also suggested to mean "Who watches over them?", since they're virtually all horribly broken individuals. Alternately, it can be interpreted as "who polices the police?", referring to the fact that the "heroes" aren't really as heroic as they should be (this was the original meaning of the Latin phrase in context).
    • It also has an entirely different set of layered meanings — Dr. Manhattan was originally a watchmaker, and his ability to see the future implies that everyone and everything in the universe is simply an unwinding clockwork mechanism — a world of mechanical watch-men.
    • The title of Chapter 10 is "Two Riders Were Approaching", a phrase from the Bob Dylan song "All Along the Watchtower". (The line is quoted in full at the chapter's end.) This phrase turns out to have five meanings within the chapter.
      • The initial panels show the president and vice president arriving at the Cheyenne Mountain bunker, first on separate jet planes and then riding separate electric golf carts.
      • In the parallel story line of the "Black Freighter" pirate comic book, the protagonist encounters (and kills) two people riding horses.
      • Two Jehovah's Witnesses riding bicycles stop at the newsstand to buy a newspaper and try to give a tract to the newsvendor.
      • The last few panels show Nite Owl and Rorshach on hover-bikes, approaching Veidt's Antarctic base.
      • When Nite Owl tries to guess the password on Veidt's office computer, it responds to his almost-correct password with "Password incomplete: Do you wish to add rider?" The correct "rider" is the number two.
  • The X-Men event, X of Swords the X is a reference to the X-Men. The title is properly pronounced "Ten of Swords," referencing the Tarot Motif of the event, and how the X-Men must gather ten swords to compete in a Tournament Arc. The title can also be read as "cross of swords," referencing the conflict between them and Arakko's swordbearers.

    Comic Strips 
  • Phil Dunlap's Ink Pen takes place around a talent agency for cartoon/comics characters — an "ink pen" of sorts.

    Fan Works 
Calvin and Hobbes

Case Closed

  • The title of Dominoes could refer to two things: a hobby game in which small tiles called dominoes are set up in long lines at regular intervals so that when pushed, the preceeding domino knocks the following domino over, which knocks over the subsequent behind it—a game often used as physical allegory for cumulative cause-and-effect chains, from which the name of such circumstances derives (a "domino effect") as well as the concept of Disaster Dominoes. It could also refer to Domino Masks, the type of masks commonly worn by superheroes in comics and cartoons, and the type of masks specifically worn by the morally questionable Super Team in-story. Fitting for a Super Fic with themes of secrecy, deception, and the far-reaching consequences that result.

Crossover

  • Infinity Train: Boiling Point (Infinity Train & The Owl House): "Boiling Point" can mean either that the Boiling Isles are the starting Point of the story, or the climatic moment that sets off the story where Boscha reaches her Rage Breaking Point.
  • Jaune Arc, Lord of Hunger (RWBY & Star Wars):
    • The title of the third chapter is "Victory", referring to how Nihilus and the Revanchists won a battle during the Mandalorian Wars in a flashback, and how Jaune defeats Cardin during their sparring match at the end of the chapter.
    • Chapter 17 is titled "Legends", which, aside from referencing the chapter being a Flashback Episode, is also a nod to the first half of the chapter that covers Nihilus's history in the Star Wars Legends continuity.
  • New Vegas Showtime (Fallout: New Vegas & Persona 5): Chapter 15 is titled "Zażyć z mańki", which is a Polish idiom that literally means "to attack from the left/with the left hand". It's a reference to Akechi, who appears prominently in the chapter and whose left-handedness was a canon plot point, but it also references Makoto having to use her left hand to shoot the raiders in self-defense.

Danny Phantom

  • The title of the Facing the Future Series story, Ancient History, could refer to both Amity Park being transformed into an ancient Egyptian kingdom, and Tucker facing the return of the two biggest mistakes in his past.

The DCU

  • The title of Batwoman fic Well-Matched refers to Kate and Sophie being evenly-skilled boxing opponents, and to their romantic compatibility.

Dragon Age

  • In Skyhold Academy Yearbook, the installment called Disorienuptials falls into this (along with being a One-Word Title and a Portmantitle). The main focus of the plot is a wedding (hence the nuptials), which gets kickstarted by one character having his wisdom teeth removed and making a Wacky Marriage Proposal while recovering from sedation (hence the disorient). However, it's hinted throughout the narrative that there's a secondary plan in the works, and the audience doesn't find out what it is until most of the characters do. It's a surprise wedding for another couple.
  • Twice Upon an Age is a series of fanfics set in an Alternate Universe where there are two Inquisitors - a female human and a male elf. The series title refers to the fact that there are two Inquisitors, of course; but it also refers to the fact that, in the series backstory, there are two Heroes of Ferelden, who were also a female human and a male elf.note 

Dungeons & Dragons

  • Vow of Nudity: "The Witch's Sacrifice" at first appears to refer to Fiora attempting to sacrifice Haara to a demon lord in the first chapter. But then the penultimate chapter reveals that the entire plot was kickstarted by Fiora sacrificing her future, her reputation, her soul, and the man she loved to stop him from unleashing a horde of demons on the world.

Five Nights at Freddy's

  • The Alternate Universe Fic, Something Always Remains. Does it refer to the Spring Bonnie suit leftover from the days of Fredbear's, the murderer still being around, all the further questions about the restaurant's past that come up when one gets solved, or how each of the main characters had something "remaining" in the pizzeria.

Girls und Panzer

  • The title of Off The Path not only refers to the incident in which a tank fell from a path into a river, causing Miho to save it, but, in the last chapter, the title also refers to Miho's departure from tankery, one step in her changing ideals about tankery.

Godzilla

  • Abraxas is a Protagonist Title, referring to the two main protagonists' Meaningful Name as a Titan that they gain in Chapter 10. That name in turn refers to the protagonists being a fusion of two beings who embodied multiple opposite concepts to each-other including female/male, good/evil and human/Titan, and have come together to form a single Physical God while making each-other whole: the latter is very important to the duo's character arc over the fic.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed

  • Twelve Moons and a Fortnight: Until very late in the story, the title is implied to refer to the length of time Wei Wuxian spends at Lotus Pier before his marriage to Lan Wangji. However, it also refers to the length of time between Wei Wuxian's revival and his predicted death, due to the way in which he was brought back to life.
  • Xiang Gong can be translated two ways, as husband or as a male prostitute. This ambiguity is the heart of the conflict in-universe, with Meng Yao thinking Nie Mingjue is asking him to be his personal prostitute when Nie Mingjue is proposing marriage.

How to Train Your Dragon

  • A Thing of Vikings: The chapter title Bonds Of Many Forms has several different meanings. One meaning is emotional bonds such as family bonds like that between Esther and her family, and the other is literal physical bonds on human slaves owned by other humans, as well as metaphorical bonds on human slaves owned by dragons.

Miraculous Ladybug

  • The Fall of Atlantis is about the destruction of the ancient civilization, which in both the story and in canon was caused by Plagg. It also describes the fall of the kwami Attlantis who, disillusioned by his selfish partner Calix and the warmongering nation he leads, tricks Plagg into destroying the island nation and all of its inhabitants.

My Little Pony

Pokémon

The Legend of Zelda

The Smurfs

  • Empath: The Luckiest Smurf, with the subtitle referring to the title character (1) being lucky to have been born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities, and (2) being lucky to be chosen as Smurfette's One True Love. Also (3) he is lucky to be the only begotten son of Papa Smurf, as all his fellow Smurfs are actually Happily Adopted.

Star Trek

  • In Romulan the title Solaere ssiun Hnaifv'daenn literally means "Aid to the Needy". This obviously refers primarily to the ch'M'R Aen'rhien's humanitarian mission to deliver vaccines and antiviral drugs to the planet Glintara, but it could also refer to Jaleh Khoroushi needing companionship as the Token Human on a Romulan ship (a need filled by Tovan tr'Khev).

Unsorted

  • Lampshaded by the author's notes in chapter eight of Bait and Switch. StarSwordC said that "A Captain's Hardest Job" was supposed to refer to Eleya visiting the morgue and sickbay after a battle to check on the dead and wounded, but given she ended up in bed with somebody at the end he wondered if it didn't end up being a bad sex pun instead.
  • My First Decepticon, one of the installments in the Black Crayons series could refer to both Annabelle Lennox's first ever encounter with a Decepticon (not counting Wheelie) and Barricade being the first Decepticon to ever appear in the series. Additionally, since the series is told in Switching P.O.V., this can also refer to the author writing a Decepticon for the first time in the series.
  • Dungeon Keeper Ami: The chapter, Staff Difficulties, about problems regarding a magical staff, and the problems that Ami has, controlling her warlocks, which are her staff, as in workers.
  • The Invader Zim fanfic In Short Supply deals with the Irkens' height-based class system, with both a lack of medium-sized Irkens and Zim's own shortness central to the story.
  • The Steven Universe fanfic Selaginella Lepidophylla deals with Rose Quartz coming back from the dead (or did she?) using a modified Time Thing. The title is the scientific name for a plant that is called "Stone Flower", "Resurrection Plant", and "False Rose of Jericho", among other names.
  • "Arm Candy", part of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Hearts series, is about Bruce Wayne's relationships with the young women who hang off his arms at parties (which turn out to be, both the relationships and the women, less shallow than many people assume). The title also refers to a scene in which Bruce learns that one of the young women, who grew up with abusive parents, draws decorations on her arms as an alternative to self-harming.
  • Synépeies - A Collection Of NTR Consequences: The story The Childhood Friend Waited Too Long does this to its source doujin of the same name. In said doujin, Miki was "stolen" from her childhood friend Takashi, because he never confessed his feelings to her until it was too late. Here, it is revealed that Miki had feelings for him too, but resorted to Hint Dropping which he never picked up on. So by the time she confronts him, it turns out that she has become the one who waited too long, as Takashi is already dating another girl.
  • For the majority of the Jackie Chan Adventures fic The Ultimate Evil, the title seems to refer to Shendu, the simultaneous Big Bad and Villain Protagonist who's called that by Lo Pei. However, the last chapter has Valerie Payne, Shendu's obsession, providing another meaning to that when she voices her self-loathing over what she was in the Demon World.
    Valerie: I was just so caught up in my own love story that I ignored the suffering and misery of my own species… My father once told me something… evil is not the act, but those who stand by and watch. Shendu committed unspeakable horrors, but I did nothing. I committed the ultimate evil by simply allowing it to happen.
  • The Cleaner sidestory of The Universiad — as in cleaning up loose ends, or being less messy than the alternatives? Yes.
  • Your Alicorn Is in Another Castle: "The Kaizo Trap" references the annoyance of a character named Kaizo, and also Kaizo as a Super Mario Bros. fan-term.

    Films — Animation 
  • Disney(/Pixar) films:
    • Frozen co-director Chris Buck mentioned in an interview that the title was chosen because it described the film on two levels. On the literal level, it describes the ice-covered landscape that the story took place in. On a more symbolic level, it describes the relationship of the two sisters, which is "frozen in the film when they were little girls". Additionally, it also refers to the loss of warmth of feeling and being stunned or chilled with fear (or shock), something that the sisters experience during the film.
    • Inside Out focuses on five anthropomorphic versions of the basic emotional states of an 11-year old girl named Riley and how their actions within her head project as her behavior externally. When Joy and Sadness become lost within her mind, this creates internal turmoil for Riley as she's having to deal with making a whole new life from scratch after moving to a new town. In her eyes, her world has been "turned inside-out".
    • The subtitle of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride can refer to either the lions that follow him or the fact that he's initially too proud of his father's legacy as a good king to really understand what it took to build that legacy in the first place. A third meaning is that it also refers to Simba's daughter and the film's protagonist Kiara, his "pride and joy".
    • Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas features the episode "Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas". The episode is about Mickey's dog being gone. "Doggone" is also an exclamation of annoyance, disappointment, etc. This refers to the fact that Mickey's Christmas won't be the same without Pluto.
    • Ratatouille: There's the obvious pun (which is lampshaded by Linguini for a Title Drop), but there's also the meal served up at the film's climax, and the name of the restaurant the main characters eventually start up.
    • Ralph Breaks the Internet both figuratively and literally. He at first "breaks the internet" in the sense that he became a major trending meme, but then a virus uses him to form a malevolent code that nearly destroys the world wide web.
    • The title of Soul refers to the literal souls in the movie, but it also refers to soul music. Early in the movie, the musician protagonist has his soul detached from his body.
    • Tangled can refer to either or both the main character's very long hair and her being The Pawn of her adoptive mother's gambits.
    • Turning Red: The film's title has several meanings. They include: becoming embarrassed, lustful or enraged, experiencing menstruation, and turning into a red panda, all of which Mei is capable of.note  It can refer to the appearance of the moon during a lunar eclipse which occurs in the film. It also can be interpreted as embracing both Chinese and Canadian culture given the symbolism of the colour red to both countries.
    • Lightyear is a spinoff of Toy Story focused on Buzz Lightyear, but its story also revolves around Buzz trying to help the denizens of a space colony return home after they're stranded light-years from Earth, and a major plot point involves the relativistic effects of traveling at the speed of light.
  • The Lucky Luke movie Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure is title Tous à l'Ouest : Une aventure de Lucky Luke in the original French. It means "everybody to the West", which describes correctly the plot of the characters traveling toward the West coast of America, but this is also a slang term that can mean "everybody's crazy!" Which is again not too far from the truth.
  • The "Hayop Ka!" of the not-for-children Hayop Ka!: The Nimfa Dimaano Story is Filipino for "You Animal!". In addition to the film being set in a world of animals, it indicates the particularly wild and scandalous nature of the titular protagonist.
  • The "A New Generation" subtitle of My Little Pony: A New Generation refers to how Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp are a new generation of ponies akin to the Mane Six that will spread the Magic of Friendship around Equestria, and also how this is a new generation in the My Little Pony franchise.

    Music 
  • Brave Saint Saturn's album Anti-Meridian. The "Anti-" references antimatter, as the discovery of a cheap means of manufacturing the stuff is a major plot point. It also represents "ante meridian", representing the dawn of a new era, caused by the aforementioned antimatter.
  • Genesis:
    • "Snowbound" from ...And Then There Were Three.... The title refers to being snowbound (as in, trapped inside by snow) and... well, hiding a dismembered body inside a snowman, which is what the song is actually about.
    • Their 1977 live album Seconds Out may have a double or even triple meaning. Second live album out since their formation (Genesis Live came out in early 1973), second of the "classic" five-member Genesis lineup to leave (first Peter Gabriel, then guitarist Steve Hackett), and a boxing term where the boxers' crew members are asked to leave at the end of a round, making way for the next round (possibly a reference to the band feeling the live album marked the end of an era for them).
  • Christian supergroup Lost Dogs released an album in 2001 called Real Men Cry. The title track is ostensibly about a failing romantic relationship, but the album was the first released since the death of founding member Gene "Eugene" Andrusco. Furthermore, as the band went from four members to three, the song "Three-Legged Dog", ostensibly about a hunting dog missing a leg whose owner keeps him out of love and affection, counts for this as well.
  • Origami Angel: GAMI GANG has a song called "Blanket Statement". It's a term for a catch-all statement that usually isn't true, but the song about the singer's bedroom, and how he's depressed and spends all day in his bed; particularly using his blanket when he's cold, so "it's no surprise he uses it every night."
  • R.E.M.'s album Green has multiple examples. Does it represent starting over? (This was REM's first album on Warner (Bros.) Records.) Naïveté? Money (The new record deal did bring in more money to the group)? Environmental themes?
  • Iron and Wine's extended narrative song "The Trapeze Swinger" is named for a recurring symbol in the song that relates back to the title in varying ways. At various points, it refers to the protagonist's memory of visiting the circus as a child and being entranced by a trapeze artist (symbolizing his lost childhood innocence), to the precarious nature of his relationship with his beloved (with their relationship referred to as a "trapeze act" at one point), and to the precarious nature of life itself (when, in the end, it's revealed that the protagonist has been Dead All Along, and narrating the song from the afterlife).
  • Ingrid Michaelson's song "The Chain", in which the act of taking the chain off of the door is about making up with her ex and letting him back into her home/life. There's also the implication that the chain could refer to their relationship, with the Breakup Makeup Scenario constantly repeating itself, since he keeps breaking his promises and she keeps forgiving him because she always misses him when he leaves.
  • The cover of Rush's Moving Pictures illustrates the title's triple meaning: men carry around paintings; onlookers cry in adoration of the paintings; all outside a movie cinema.
  • Now We Are Six by Steeleye Span is the sixth album they released, and their first album after Nigel Pegrum joined the group, giving them six members. And also a reference to A.A. Milne's book of children's poems, ' 'Now We Are Six'' (that is, six years old)
  • blink-182:
    • The song "Wrecked Him" is aptly named as far as the lyrics go. But it's Blink-182, so the title is a pun on the word "rectum."
    • While not outright confirmed, the title of the album Dude Ranch has been speculated by fans to play on multiple meanings that have been unofficially given to the term, including the most common meaning of a ranch used for tourism (giving us the cover art), a ranch wherein visitors come to play as cowboys (hence the internal photos of the band members dressed as cowboys), and especially its use as a sexual slang (mostly the meaning of "semen", but it has been used to refer to various sexual acts too).
  • Hawkwind's song "Flying Doctor" is about an Australian flying doctor who abuses prescription drugs - in other words, he's "flying" in more ways than one.
  • Public Image Ltd. named one of their albums Second Edition, which fits this trope on several levels. It's the group's second album, it's the second edition of the album (originally released as a set of 12" singles in a metal film canister as Metal Box), and it's the second edition of the band itself (with original drummer Jim Walker replaced by a variety of session players).
  • Black Flag's The Process Of Weeding Out EP — the instrumental, free-jazz-influenced release was intended to "weed out" conventional Hardcore Punk fans from more adventurous listeners, but it's probably not a coincidence that guitarist and main songwriter Greg Ginn reportedly had a penchant for marijuana use at the time.
  • Richard Marx liked the lyric "this old Nebraska town" for a Murder Ballad he'd written, so he wrote to the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce asking for a list of towns with two-syllable names. "Hazard" seemed appropriate.
  • The Megas: "Vampire Killer", in the final verse, shifts from referring solely to the Belmont family's magic whip from the Castlevania series, to referring to both the whip and its wielder, Leon Belmont.
  • Lyrically, Zardonic's Takeover is about a Changing of the Guard in the genre from giants like Pendulum and Celldweller to a new generation of artists like Zardonic and Qemists. But the music video also has Zardonic's Evil Twin literally attempt a Kill and Replace.
  • Clinton, an Alternative Dance side project for Ben Ayres and Tjinder Singh of Cornershop, had lyrics focused on political and social commentary and music influenced by funk and disco: Thus their name could be interpreted as a reference to either Bill Clinton or George Clinton (The former was still in office as President in 2000, when Clinton's debut Disco and the Halfway To Discontent was released).
  • Sloan's 2020 single "Silence Trumps Lies": Since the band themselves have described it as being about "the importance of listening", the title can be read as "silence wins out over lies". However, with a slight change of punctuation, the title becomes an imperative sentence: "silence Trump's lies".
  • George Harrison's 1976 solo album Thirty-Three and 1/3 is a play on both the speed that LPs play at (33 1/3 RPMs) and Harrison's own age at the time he recorded the album.
  • Lee Ann Womack's "Last Call," about a woman who receives a call from her cheating ex while he's out drinking saying he still has feelings for her, a play on "last call" in a bar and that he only ever calls her when he's drunk.
  • As revealed in the Title Track, the name of Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut refers not only to the last draft of a film made before it gets sent out to theaters, but also the slitting of one's wrists and/or throat to commit suicide.
  • Wynonna Judd's "I Saw the Light," which refers both to the revelation the singer was being cheated on and deserves better, and the way she found out—by seeing the shadow of her boyfriend and his lover in the light of his bedroom window.
  • Kittie's "video album" Spit In Your Eye: The expression to "spit in someone's eye" means to insult them or show contempt, which suits the group's often confrontational lyrics... but it's also a Rockumentary / concert film about the band touring to promote their album Spit, so it can be read as "Spit in your eye", as in a video companion piece to the album.
  • The Happy Fits: The tropical vibe of the band's music and the cover art of Under the Shade of Green having a pineapple on it bring to mind the image of relaxing under a palm tree. When it gets an Album Title Drop in "In The Lobby", it's used in the context of politicians and celebrities paying money to cover up their misdeeds from the public.
  • Randy Travis's "On The Other Hand," a song about a man contemplating whether or not to start an affair. The title referring both to the idiom of choices being weighed, and also to the wedding band on his actual hand that ends up being why he decides not to.
  • Elvis Costello's "45", where throughout the song the Title Drop is repeatedly given different contexts: First it's the year 1945, then a 45 RPM record, a .45 caliber revolver, and finally 45 as in the age Elvis Costello was when he wrote the song itself.
  • Nayeon's debut extended play, Im Nayeon, refers to both her full name and "I am Nayeon."
  • Anthrax got the album title Worship Music from a Christian television program they stumbled upon - in that context "worship" was an adjective, as in music used for the purpose of worshipping God; the band pointed out that "worship" is also a verb, as in worship of music itself.
  • Chris Brown's 11:11 is his eleventh studio album, and was originally scheduled for release on November 11, 2023, and planned to consist of eleven songs on its tracklist. However, it was released a day earlier on November 10, and it features twenty-two songs, split into two discs with eleven songs each.
  • Tally Hall: "Ruler of Everything" is sung from the perspective of Time, who claims to be the "ruler of everything" — meaning both that the entire universe is subject to his rules, and that he's the instrument by which all things are measured.

    Podcasts 
  • The title of The Magnus Archives most obviously refers to the fact that the main characters are the archival staff of the Magnus Institute. But the post-season 4 Q&A reveals that "The Magnus Archives" is also the name of Jonah's ritual to bring all of the Dread Powers into the world, which he has worked towards throughout the show and finally pulls off in the season 4 finale.
  • Welcome to Night Vale:
    • The title of "Past Time" has a triple-meaning. It refers to the ghost Lucia recounting her death in the distant past, to baseball ("America's pastime"), and to Lucia's insistence that it's "past time" to stop the strangers.
    • "Big Sister" introduces Hadassah McDaniels, who is Hiram's big sister — both in the sense of being older, and literally being extremely large.
    • "All Right" refers both to the the viewer's desire to believe everything is alright, and to the fact that if you listen with headphones, the audio for the episode is directed almost exclusively towards the right ear.

    Puppet Shows 

    Tabletop Games 
  • The title of Abyss refers to the game's underwater setting, but it can also mean "moral depths", which goes well with the game's seedy political environment.
  • The title of Calico can refer to a type of fabric or a type of cat. The game is about making quilts that cats will enjoy.
  • White Dwarf magazine covers both SF and fantasy games. A "white dwarf" is of course a category of star in astronomy, but from its first issue, the magazine has featured imagery of a (usually white-bearded) fantasy dwarf, who is sometimes acknowledged to be "the white dwarf".

    Theatre 
  • All the Way takes the name from Lyndon Johnson's 1964 campaign slogan "All the Way with LBJ", but it's also about Johnson's attempt to gain support from members of Congress and civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to fully enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • Follies takes place at a reunion of former showgirls from a fictional equivalent of the Ziegfeld Follies, and shows how their lives have been affected by the foolish choices they've made in their lives since then—i.e., their follies.
  • The Inheritance can refer to Eric's literal inheritance (the country house Walter leaves him) and more broadly, to generational trauma and lessons.
  • Pacific Overtures is about the opening of Japan to Western trade — hence, "Pacific Overtures", since Japan is in the Pacific Ocean and an overture is a piece of music (ironically, Pacific Overtures lacks an actual overture). But the title also means 'peaceful initiatives', and was supposedly Commodore Perry's actual description of the American's efforts to persuade the Japanese to open up to trade with them.
  • RENT deals with characters who are trying to get out of paying their rent, and whose lives are torn apart — i.e., rent — by poverty and disease.
    • La Bohème, on which Rent is based, has a similar duality; taken literally, it refers to "The Bohemian (woman)" — i.e. Mimi — and figuratively it refers to "The Bohemian Lifestyle" (referenced in Rent with the song "La Vie Bohème")
  • The Musical of Musicals: The Musical! uses this trope for two of its five segments:
    • The Rodgers and Hammerstein parody is entitled "Corn!", because it takes place among the cornfields of Kansas and because of its old-fashioned, hokey, corny sentimentality.
    • The Stephen Sondheim parody is called "A Little Complex", achieving a rare triple meaning: it takes place in a little apartment complex, everyone has a little psychological complex, and the music itself is a little complex (i.e., complicated).
  • Much Ado About Nothing follows the standard Shakespearean comedy convention of having a self-deprecating title. Additionally, in Shakespeare's day, "nothing" was a double-entendre for female genitalia, and a major part of the plot deals with Hero's virginity. (It's also — and separately — a Pun-Based Title, as "nothing" and "noting" were homonyms to Shakespeare.)
  • No Strings has a title song which uses the metaphorical meaning. The orchestration applies a more literal meaning: not counting a guitar, a contrabass and a harp, there is no string section.
  • The title of Der Kuhhandel, an unfinished operetta by Kurt Weill, is a German idiomatic expression for shady business. However, the literal meaning, "cow trading," also happens to be accurate.
  • In The Importance of Being Earnest, the conflict stems from several different characters not being earnest, and also about the surprisingly important matter of who is and is not named "Ernest".
  • The title of the musical Grind had several meanings. As spelled out by Ken Mandelbaum in Not Since Carrie: "there is the grind of show after show at Harry Earle's; the bumps and grinds of Satin and the girls; Doyle's grinding of elements to make the bomb that killed his family; and the grinding down of people's spirit by the Depression."
  • The title of Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus—the basis for the film of the same name—obviously refers to the middle name of its subject, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but it can also be taken as a reference to the Latin phrase "Ama Deus!" ("Love God!"), referencing Salieri's strong religious convictions, which end up leading to his love of music and his eventual descent into madness.
  • The one-woman show A Day Without Sunshine, which centers around the life of Anita Bryant, references both the slogan for Florida Orange Juice, for which she was a spokeswoman for in her heyday, how her anti-gay activism torpedoed her career.
  • In Icebound, Ben talks about the New England winters he spent with his family, and then says "Icebound, that's what we are all of us, inside and out." He is referring both to the winters and the emotional coldness of the Jordan family.
  • State of the Union: The title alludes to Grant Matthews' running for President, as well as to his strained marriage.
  • Vanities by Jack Heifner lays it out in a prefatory note to the play:
    The dictionary meanings of vanity: 1) The quality of being personally vain, excessive pride in one's own appearance, qualities, gifts and achievements. 2) Emptiness, unreality, sham, folly, want of real value. 3) A dressing table.
    The play Vanities means all of these things.

    Toys 

    Visual Novels 
  • Ace Attorney:
    • The case title "Turnabout Goodbyes" from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney also has several meaning. It refers to both the fact that Manfred von Karma is saying "goodbye" to the DL-6 Incident (due to the Statute of Limitations) as well as how it refers to how Phoenix has to say goodbye to Maya at the end of the case. It could also refer to how Miles Edgeworth is saying goodbye in way to his past perfectionist self.
    • The title of the episode "Rise from the Ashes" could be referring to the fact that Edgeworth rises up from his past, and the fact that a Phoenix is said in legend to be reborn from ashes, which is a metaphor for how Phoenix Wright comes back from a hopeless trial. It can also refer to the SL-9 Incident, a two year old closed case that is reinvestigated (metaphorically rising from its ashes), as finding the truth behind it becomes crucial to solving the current case.
    • Also done with "Bridge to the Turnabout". Not only is it referring to the literal bridge that plays a big part in the case but it also refers to the fact that the case "bridges" all of the games plot lines and how the events are a "bridge" that leads to the end turnabout. It could also be referring to the fact that it "bridges" Mia's trial with Phoenix's giving them an overall resolution.
    • "Farewell, My Turnabout". It refers to both how Phoenix's client is guilty yet he is forced to defend him so it's like he is saying goodbye to him having a turnabout and how Phoenix feels he does not deserve to be a lawyer anymore because he is defending a murderer.
    • The title of Dual Destinies, has many meanings. It can refer to: Apollo & Clay, Athena & Blackquill, Phoenix & Blackquill, Phoenix & Edgeworth, Means & Courte, Tenma & Kybui, Nine Tales Vale & Tenma Town, Blackquill & Aura and Aura & Metis. If you extend the title a little bit, it can also refer to Hugh & Robin & Juniper. It could be used to refer to just Hugh & Robin too, who both initially follow two very different creeds, but ultimately end up in the same place.
    • "The Cosmic Turnabout" both refers to the themes of space through the episode, particularly the fact the victim had just reached his dream of becoming an astronaut, but can also refer to the fact that the victim, who's Apollo's friend, has been killed, and is now in the "cosmos". This double meaning is even more blatant in the Japanese version, where the title literally translates to "The Turnabout That Became a Star".
    • "Turnabout for Tomorrow": Prosecutor Blackquill is to be executed the following day so you're trying to find the truth behind UR-1 by then for a stay of execution. Plus finding out the truth of UR-1 will also dispel the dark age of the law, to bring light for the future.
    • Spirit of Justice has a number of meanings. The most obvious one is the metaphorical spirit of justice that the characters are attempting to uphold. 'Spirit' can be taken literally as well though, as spirits of the departed play a vital role in the game's story. Take that a big further, and the title can also refer to the spirit of Jove Justice, which becomes a vital element in the game's finale. Furthermore, "Spirit of Justice" is also the name of the Lady Justice statue in the Department of Justice Headquarters in Washington D.C.
    • There are three different characters that "Turnabout Time Traveler" could be referring to: Ellen Wyatt, who was made to believe she had traveled back in time; Sorin Sprocket, who has anterograde amnesia, and thus can't form any new memories past the crash that killed his sister; and Pierce Nichody, who blames Sorin for his fiancee's death and is unable to move on from it.
  • The original title of The Confines of the Crown, The Royal Trap, refers both to the dangers for those caught up in royal politics and to the Gilded Cage that the royals themselves are forced to live in, but takes on another meaning when you realize that Princess Cassidy was born male, though she identifies as female. This likely wasn't intentional though, as the title change was largely due to wanting to avoid offending anyone who considers "trap" a transgender slur.
  • Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony has a number of meanings, all of which are related to huge spoilers, including those which aren’t revealed until the end of the game.
    • The "V" in V3 is the only time the series has formatted its titles in this way. Most fans will assume it’s merely an addition to differentiate it from the Danganronpa 3 anime series, guessing that the V stands for "version", "video game", or "visual novel". In the game's final chapter, it is revealed that the entire Danganronpa saga up to this point was an in-universe TV show, with each game or anime being a different season broadcasted on live television. V3 was the fifty-third season in-universe, with the "v" being a Roman numeral for 5 (It really ought to be L3 by Roman number conventions, but that would ruin the misdirection).
    • Killing Harmony, which references the Rhythm Game mechanics of the class trials, can also refer to the death of the Decoy Protagonist Kaede Akamatsu. Harmony is a musical term, which can mean two or more pitches sounding in combination. Kaede is a classical pianist who plays her instrument harmoniously. She's also a paragon of good who fosters social harmony among the ultimate students, inspiring them to resist the mastermind’s attempts to divide them against each other. The mastermind eventually realizes that the students are never going to cooperate with the killing game unless Kaede is removed from the picture, so the mastermind kills Rantaro and frames Kaede for it, allowing her to be falsely convicted in the class trial. Her Cruel and Unusual Death, "Der Flohwalzer", involves her being hanged by the neck and used to operate the keys of a giant piano until she dies; this method of execution could be considered a "killing harmony", i.e. a piece of music that kills. Furthermore, if Kaede is the person who preserves harmony between the students and therefore represents the concept of harmony, then by killing her the masterminds succeeds in "killing harmony". The surviving students learn to fear and distrust each other, making it all too easy for the mastermind to manipulate one student or another into committing a murder in each subsequent chapter.
    • Yet another meaning of killing harmony is revealed at the end, when it turns out that the whole killing game is part of an ongoing TV show orchestrated for the entertainment of viewers around the world. World peace has been created through the elimination of war and conflict, so Danganronpa satisfies an otherwise unmet craving for violent thrills and the emotional rollercoaster of hope and despair. The people of the world are living in harmony with each other, but the thing that unites them is their obsessive consumption of this killing game, and they are unanimous in demanding that the protagonists play their parts so that the show will never have to end.
  • A Date with Death is about a player character who's narrowly survived other life-threatening situations making a bet that, if they lose, could lead to their death in the following days. The bet is made with a Grim Reaper, an embodiment of death, who they end up courting and going on a romantic date with.
  • The "Doki Doki" in Doki Doki Literature Club! is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a loud heartbeat. This makes sense, given how it's a Dating Sim. However, fear can also cause an elevated heart rate...
  • Hatoful Boyfriend:
    • "Hato" is apparently the word for "Dove", and it is a game where most characters are doves. "Hatoful" is one way to say "Heartful" in Japanese, and it's also a play on "Hurtful".
    • Its sequel Hatoful Boyfriend Holiday Star came out around and initially seems to be Christmas-themed. The eponymous Holiday Star doesn't appear until somewhere in February in-game and doesn't have anything to do with any specific holiday — it's 'holiday' in the sense of leaving your life and responsibilities behind.
  • Frequent in The Infinity Series:
    • Ever17: Refers to both Blick Winkel mistaking all the events for occurring in 2017, as well as Tsugumi's Curé Virus stopping her aging at physically 17 years old.
    • Remember11: Though the number in the title initially looks like 11, it can also refer to 2 (1+1) or 3 (11 read as a binary number). This, (along with the logo of the game being three interlocked rings) hint that the game is about looking past first assumptions.
    • 12Riven: The subtitle, Ψ-Climinal of Integral can be read two ways due to the Japanese L/R confusion. Psych Liminal (probably alluding to the alternate dimension) or Psi Criminal (alluding to the criminals using PSI abilities).
  • Kira☆Kira generally means shining, or sparkling. In this story, it refers both to Kirari's name, and the band's first performance, the song TwinkleTwinkle, that is also translated with this word.
  • Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort takes place at a resort, and it turns out that all of the girls are working there as a "last resort" to solve their personal issues.
  • Last Chance In Xollywood: The player character is getting their last chance of making it big in Xollywood, and they work for a studio named Last Chance. The film studio is also owned by a woman named Randy Chance.
  • The title of Last Window most obviously refers to the literal window which Cris Hyde was looking out of when he was murdered. However, it can also refer to the fact that this is Kyle's last window of opportunity to find out the truth of 25 years ago. It also ties into the fact that Tony has a "last window" to turn his life around, and how Sidney has a "last window" to make things work with his ex-wife, among other things.
  • When They Cry:
    • Both of the series contains a few. The first and most obvious one is the double meaning of the word ´´cry/naku´´ (both words carry the same meaning), to call and to weep. In other words, the titles can be interpreted either as When The Cicadas/Seagulls Call or When The Cicadas/Seagulls Weep.
    • Another double meaning for Higurashi is that "cicada" (蜩) can also be written as "day-to-day life" (日暮し), and besides the above translation Naku can also be written as "none/nothing". This means that besides When The Cicadas Cry, the title can also be written as "When the day-to-day life is no more".
    • While it is a bit of a stretch Umineko literally means Seacat (Umi-Sea, Neko-Cat) and Schrödinger's Cat is often used in the series to explain the endless possible scenarios of Rokkenjima. So the title can be written as either "When the Seagulls Cry" or "When the cat in the middle of the sea is dead". Which fits surprisingly well with the end of the series where Beatrice's "catbox" is buried at the bottom of the sea.
  • Zero Escape:
    • The title of the franchise refers to the central antagonistic "Zero" figures, and also means that there's no escape.
    • Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors has its title commonly shortened to 999. This shortened title conveys the urgency of the situation the characters have found themselves in, as "999" is one of the most commonly used emergency telephone numbers (alongside 911 and 112). The long version of the title also has a double-meaning that counts as a major spoiler: there are doors labeled with numbers 1 to 9, and every number is used at least once, but there are multiple "nine" doors encountered at the end.
    • Virtue's Last Reward refers to the general theme of the game about how showing virtue is neither good or bad. It means both "virtue leads to your death", as in the phrase "he was led to his last reward", but also can be interpreted as "virtue will give you a last reward", as in if you're virtuous you will succeed. This double meaning title was made for the English version to replicate the double meaning of the Japanese title, Zennin Shibō Desu. Although it's literal translation is "Good People Die", it can also be alternatively read to mean something along the lines of "I want to be a good person."

    Web Animation 
  • AstroLOLogy: The episode title "Taurus Makes a Yummy Treat" can be taken as referring to either Taurus literally making the treat in question since he has a picnic, or him being the treat himself since he's almost eaten by cannibals. The fortune message at the end of the episode makes fun of this double meaning ("They say you are what you eat. Little wonder why Taurus would make a yummy treat.").
  • Dinosaurs: Terrible Lizards by Rathergood. "Terrible" having two meanings: a.) "mighty and fearsome", as in the original definition of "fearfully great lizards", and b.) meaning "lame, pathetic, and awful". The dinosaurs of this series...fall into the latter definition.
  • The title of Walrusguy's Youtube Poop "The Only Mama Luigi Poop Anyone Has Ever Made" is both a hyperbolic sarcasm (Mama Luigi was a very popular poop source at the time) and a reference to the fact that while normally Walrusguy uses Mama Luigi to disguise Doctor Rabbit poops, "The Only..." was an actual Mama Luigi poop.
  • Twentieth episode of If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device is called "You're green with it!", referring both to episode's topic, the Salamanders (who have green as their primary color motif), and Magnus' jealousy of Leman Russ and his Space Wolves, as well as Emperor's disgust at the Centurion, who's been having "cuddling sessions" with him (It Makes Sense in Context), turning out to be his own son.
  • RWBY:
    • Volume 1 has the two-parter "Black and White", which focuses on Blake and Weiss (who represent those colors as part of the show's use of Colorful Theme Naming) getting into a gigantic argument because they both view the treatment of the Faunus in stark "us versus them" terms and neither will acknowledge that the other has valid points — in other words, they see the issue in black and white.
    • "The Final Word" breaks Volume 8's trend for single-word titles. The episode and volume's final line of dialogue is Cinder telling Ironwood "And that's checkmate", suggesting that the episode's true, hidden title is "Checkmate".

    Webcomics 
  • A&H Club: The titular A&H (Athletics and Health) club is a prominent location in the story. The two protagonists are also named Adrian and Hildegard, forming another kind of A&H.
  • BACK is primarily about Abigail, who is Back from the Dead for unknown reasons. However, it's eventually revealed that the entire story takes place on the back of an enormous creature being exploited for resources.
  • Conjuring Cutlasses
    • The "Cutlasses" in the title could refer to the type of sword but could also be read as a pun with the protagonists Ren and Ida being lasses who cut.
  • El Goonish Shive
    • The "New and Old Flames" arc title seems to refer both to past and present love interests, as well as fire-based enemies.
    • The "Sister 3" chapter "An Unkindness" was an unintentional example, although the author admits it worked out quite well. The chapter involves an interaction between Adrian Raven and his mother Pandora. The author claimed that he planned on naming the chapter after whatever you call a group of ravens. He was thrilled to end up with a title that also reflected the less-than-friendly nature of the two Ravens.
  • Homestuck:
    • The central game of the comic has Titles for players that grant them certain powers. The titles have non-literal meanings to them (Prince effectively means Destroyer, Light mainly means Chance), and your main power is linked to Sburb's interpretation of the Title. However, if a Title can have a literal meaning, Sburb has a chance of granting you that too (a Seer of Mind can see imaginary friends) or giving you a fate that literally interprets your Title (the Thief of Light blinded someone).
    • Certain major animation pages have names that can be applied to a number of different things that happen on the same animation. "Enter," the end of Act 3, involves John entering his first Gate, Rose entering Sburb, and Jade entering the time capsule lotus room and finding her own copies of the game.
  • Curse Quest: Walrus is on a quest to remove his curse. A curse quest also appears to be an actual thing in-universe, being a quest so deadly that no sane adventurer dares go on them.
  • Irregular Webcomic! is a bizarre case; the title was supposed to mean that it would update irregularly, but it soon began having extremely regular daily updates. Conveniently, the title fit with the comic's numerous separate irregularly-updated storylines...until the comic ended, and the website switched to hosting weekly blog posts, which the author lampshaded as making it neither irregular nor a webcomic.
  • The cast of Winters In Lavelle will probably end up spending a winter or two in Lavelle; but the title also refers to two of the main characters, Aiden and Kari Winters, who are themselves "Winters" in Lavelle.
  • Chapter 13 of Go Get a Roomie! is titled "Your Song". It begins with Allan's phone, which has the Elton John track as its ringtone. It ends with Lillian talking to Allan about Roomie's suggestion that she write stories based on her dreams, and Allan saying, "It's your song, Lillian. Now you can dance to it."
  • The Order of the Stick has several for its strip titles. For example, "Telling Lies" refers to both Haley's potion-enhanced bluff ability letting her tell any lie and have it be believed, and to the fact that (since the potion doesn't work when she tells the truth) the specific lies she tells reveal her true feelings to the readers (i.e. her lies are telling, in the "revealing" sense). To be exact, the fact that she is shown to be using the potion's effects when she tells her father that he raised her well, and didn't screw her up emotionally, shows us what she really thinks about him.
  • Chapter 43 of Rain (2010) is titled “Liriel’s Daughter” which refers to Rain, who is Liriel Flaherty’s daughter. After the reveal of Liriel being a closeted trans man, Rain decides to take his deadname and make that her new first name. The title suddenly refers to Lydia, who is Emily and Rain’s, whose first name is now Liriel, daughter.
  • Episode titles of Darths & Droids often have multiple meanings, usually referring to different things in the gameworld and the world of the players. For example, episode 1442 is called "Not to Scale", and is about them preparing a battle map for the next game session (where the figures may not be to scale) and Ben warning Pete about attending a high school concert (where the singers will probably be out of tune).
  • Elf & Warrior: While the title can obviously refer to Basri (elf) and his uncle Hector (warrior), it also refers to Basri's mother (elf) and father (warrior).
  • Age Matters suggests an Age-Gap Romance between the leads, 29-year-old Rose Choi and 23-year-old Daniel Yoon. It also digs into matters of their age: Rose is unhappy that she's pushing 30 with a broken engagement and no job, while Daniel is concerned about being a CEO at a young age.
  • Weak Hero refers to Gray Yeon, the protagonist who, in spite of his frail body, is able to beat down any bully who stands in his way via Combat Pragmatism. However, there are multiple other characters in the story who the moniker of "weak hero" could be applied to, the two most notable being Eugene (Gray's first ally who can't fight at all but nevertheless heroically supports him) and Stephen (who defies his bullies for the sole purpose of protecting his friend, a scene the author has admitted was inspiration for the webtoon's title).

    Web Original 
  • TV Tropes: There are some Trope Names that have double meanings:
    • Like Is, Like, a Comma: In the days before punctuated titles were allowed, this could be parsed as either "The word 'like' functions as a comma" or as a Self-Demonstrating Article ("'Like' is, like, a comma!") The current punctuation establishes the second interpretation as correct.
    • Money for Nothing: It can parsed as "money gotten without effort" and "money that has no use". Most examples have both true at the same time.
    • As noted in the trope description, Last-Second Chance could be parsed as either "a chance (at redemption) offered at the last second" or "the final possible offer of a second chance for the character," both of which neatly sum up the description when taken together. However, this depends on disregarding the hyphen, which allows only the first meaning.
    • The Scrappy: while Scrappy-Doo is the Trope Namer, it can also be interpreted as "character the audience wants the creators to scrap".
    • Thememobile can be read as either "Theme-mobile" or "The me-mobile," both of which describe the trope.
    • Nothing Is Scarier could be phrased as "Nothing is Scarier... than not knowing" or "...not being shown something". It could also be literal as in Nothing (instead of having something there) is Scarier.
    • Hell Is That Noise can be read as either "the hell is that noise?" or "that noise is hell".
  • The Alpha Jay Show: The title of "Velma Doesn't Understand How Love Works" both means "Velma Dinkley has the character flaw of mishandling her personal relationships in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated", and "the depiction of romance throughout Velma fails to be believable", with the video being an analysis of the former and a critique of the latter.
  • Gamingandstuff:
    • Episode 13 of the LP of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers was called "SHOCKER", which meant two things:
    • 1: The dungeon he went to in that episode mainly had electric types
    • 2: He used a webcam (even though it ended up being The Unreveal)
  • Perpetual Players Campaign 1 is called Menagerie of Fate often gets abbreviated to M.o.F which is the initialization of Measure of Failure the mechanic measurement of how badly someone just screwed up a roll.
  • ProZD has a Let's Play series called "ProZD Plays Games with Jay". As many viewers (and ProZD) acknowledge, the title refers both to Jay and SungWon playing video games together, but also to how SungWon messing with Jay (or "playing games with him") is the primary form of comedy in the channel.
  • Too Many Cooks: The title refers to the Show Within a Show having a massive amount of characters named "Cook", but it's also implied that the show's constant tonal and genre shifts are due to an overlarge production staff, as in the saying "Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup".
  • Nightmare Time, the episode "Time Bastard" is so called because the main character, Ted, becomes a "bastard" child of the laws of space-time due to his company's experiments, and because he is a time-traveling asshole.
  • The title of Winter of '83 refers to both the events taking place in January of 1983 and it being the final days of the In-Universe channel 83 of Fawns Circle.
  • Epic Rap Battles of History could both be about the hyping of the Battle Rapping or also referring to the rappers who are Historical and Public Domain Characters.
  • Unraveled is ostensibly about Brian David Gilbert unraveling some esoteric aspect of video game lore (such as the logical timeline of the The Legend of Zelda series or determining exactly what Kirby is). It is mostly about Brian's mental state slowly unraveling the deeper he follows his research and conclusions.
  • The r/nosleep story "My boyfriend needs to be drunk in order to have sex with me" is, on the surface, about a trans woman who feels unwanted because of Exactly What It Says on the Tin, and insists that they do it sober, for once. After unenthusiastically complying, the man "...got up from the bed, pulled away the maggots that clung to his flesh, and wiped away the streaks of slime from his belly. He then opened both windows of the bedroom, letting out the miasmal gases." Turns out that the narrator's "transition" was not "male-to-female", but rather "dead-to-living"...

    Western Animation 
  • In 6teen, the show's title refers to the six teenagers that make up the show's True Companions and the fact that they're all 16 years old.
  • Frylock's name in Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He "sounds black" according to Shake and has dreadlock-esque fries for hair, but also has magical powers, making him sort of a warlock.
  • Archer has a season subtitled "Dreamland". This can refer to either the nightclub that the story centers around, or it can refer to the fact that it's Sterling Archer's coma dream.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Ben 10: Omniverse: The title of the episode "Catfight" references both the episode's main villain (Nyancy Chan, whose powers involve mind-controlling cats) and its main plot (two alien girls with feelings for Ben and less-than-stable personalities come to Earth at the same time and fight with his Love Interest).
  • Big City Greens: One episode is titled "Friend Con". Sure it's short for "Friend Convention", but it can also refer to someone conning a friend, or scamming them.
  • The Boondocks episode Wingman refers to Moe, Granddad's actual wingman in World War II. However, in modern slang a "wingman" is someone who draws the attention of undesirable women away from you...and at the end, it turns out Moe did exactly that.
  • The Chipmunks: The title of the third season episode "Sisters" can reflect on either of the two elements that make the conflict that Brittany goes through in the episode: her attempt to join a school clique known as Sisters and her sibling relationship with the nerdy Jeanette (with Brittany's attempt to join the clique happening the same time she and Jeanette are partnered together in raising a piglet for a science project).
  • The Comic Strip was a US syndicated first run animated series. In broadcasting terms, to show episodes of the same series five days a week is called stripping a show.
  • The title of Extreme Ghostbusters takes on a new significance in the wake of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. In the game, a "necromantic shockwave" made all of New York's ghosts much stronger; the show is not so much Ghostbusters who are Extreme but Busters of Extreme Ghosts.
  • The Fairly OddParents!: "Hare Raiser" revolves around a monstrous rabbit, so it's a pun on "hair raiser". However, this is a Stealth Pun for the episode's ending, where the hare was only being scary so it could get food for its babies; it's a hare raising its children!
  • The Family Guy episode title "A Lot Going on Upstairs" can either be taken figuratively (Brian going into Stewie's mind to find the source of his nightmares) or literally (Peter creating a man-cave in the attic).
  • Four Eyes!: The title refers to both the fact that Emma has four eyes as an alien and the fact that she wears glasses to maintain her human disguise.
  • Franklin: One episode of the series is titled "Franklin Takes the Bus". Taking the bus refers to riding it from one destination to another, but in this episode, Franklin takes a toy bus from his school without asking Mr. Owl first.
  • The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy refers to both the show revolving around The Grim Reaper, but also to the adventures themselves being literally grim.
  • Kamp Koral:
    • "Painting with Squidward" is about Squidward teaching his cabinmates how to draw, paint, and sculpt. It also references the end of the episode, where the winner of the art contest ends up being Squidward squished into a frame: a literal painting with him.
    • "The Taste of Defeat". The plot revolve around Plankton losing his customers to Narlene and her new restaurant, but it also serves as a bit of Foreshadowing to what ultimately brings Plankton's customers back: Narlene cooks the food with her feet, horrifying the people who ate there.
  • King Leonardo and His Short Subjects can either refer to the individual cartoons with the King, Tooter Turtle and the Hunter or the diminutive populace of which the King rules over.
  • King of the Hill:
    • The episode "Lucky's Wedding Suit" refers to both the story arc of Lucky and Luanne getting married, and the main plot of Lucky filing a Frivolous Lawsuit on Dale to pay for the wedding.
    • "Hank Fixes Everything" is both about Hank being accused of being behind a propane price fixing agreement and needing to clear his name, and how the other characters tend to rely on him as the go-to problem solver, including in this episode.
  • The Soviet animation short 'Million in the Sack' refers not only to the actual million, but to the Big Bad Mr. Million, who gets trapped in the sack at the end.
  • In season 5 of Miraculous Ladybug, most episodes are named for a concept that relates to a superpower that is used in that episode. In most cases, the word also applies to other events of that episode. For example, the first episode, "Evolution", corresponds to the Rabbit Miraculous and its time-travelling Burrow power, but also to the main villain evolving into a new threat as "Monarch".
  • My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Forgotten Friendship could mean three things with its subtitle: The obvious one is the mysterious memory wipe of Sunset Shimmer's friends. With them forgetting ever being friends with her, Sunset's forgotten relationship with Princess Celestia, or A resentful and lonely Wallflower Blush tired of being ignored and forgotten by Sunset and the others.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • The title of Over the Garden Wall references how the series is about Wirt and Greg visiting the other, mysterious world that is the Unknown. However, the penultimate episode reveals a much more literal meaning: The brothers went to a cemetery called the "Eternal Garden", climbed over a wall when they thought the police were after them, almost got hit by a train, and then fell into a freezing pond. That is how they got into the Unknown.
  • The Patrick Star Show: "Just in Time for Christmas". It's a Christmas Episode revolving around Patrick rushing to get presents for his family at the last moment... doing so by using a time machine to visit various time periods (he gets his dad an electric razor from the future and his grandpa a pterodactyl egg from prehistoric times).
  • The Phineas and Ferb episode "Bee Story" is paired with, and is a P.O.V. Sequel to, "Bee Day", explaining what the Fireside Girls were doing. So in addition to being a story about bees, it's a B-story.
  • Ready Jet Go!: "A Star is Born" both refers to the educational theme of the episode (how stars are born) and the plot of the episode (the kids making a movie).
  • Regular Show: "Dodge This" is based on both it being an episode about the main characters entering a dodgeball circuit, and Mordecai and CJ's awkwardness to confront their past interactions once they realize they have to play against each other.
  • The Simpsons:
    • In "Lisa's Substitute", Lisa gets a substitute teacher. However, it also refers to his status as a Parental Substitute whom Lisa connects to better than Homer.
    • The title of "Bart Gets a Z" is a reference to "Bart Gets an F", refers to the name of Bart's new teacher, Zach, and is a reference to Generation Z.
  • The Smurfs (1981) episode "Smurf The Other Cheek" can either be (1) a reference to Biblical doctrine about how one should respond to aggression with non-violence, or (2) a Smurfing way to tell somebody to "kick the other's cheek (butt)", which is what the episode actually is all about.
  • In Hong Kong, South Park was retitled as Nanfang Sijianke, or South Park's Four Slackers; it also sounds an awful lot like The Four Musketeers.
    • The title of two-part episode "Cartoon Wars" can refer to the rivalry among South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy, and to the protests sparked by the Danish newspaper cartoons about Muhammad. Of course, both themes are touched in the episode.
    • The episode "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" could be referring to the scene where the fictional Jesse Jackson asks Randy Marsh to "apologize" by Literal Ass-Kissing, or it could be interpreted as an apology to the real-life Jesse Jackson for that scene and the constant use of the N-word.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants has a couple of these:
    • "Walking Small" refers to SpongeBob's incapability of walking tall, as well as Plankton's small size.
    • "Idiot Box" revolves around SpongeBob and Patrick buying a television (sometimes called an idiot box in pejorative slang) just to give it to Squidward because they just want to play in the box, as two idiots would.
    • "Can You Spare A Dime?" refers to Squidward's poverty, as well as Mr. Krabs actual missing dime.
    • "Chocolate With Nuts" refers to SpongeBob and Patrick selling chocolate "with or without nuts", as well as them being the nuts themselves.
    • "Rock Bottom" refers to being in a situation where it couldn't be any worse, such as being stuck in a deep ocean trench (itself literally called Rock Bottom).
    • "Potato Puff" is a quadruple meaning title, referring to both the potato that Mrs. Puff replaces herself with, and her becoming a couch potato without needing to watch SpongeBob. It's also a pun on a food, "potato puffs", and a species of fish called the potato puffer.
    • "Slimy Dancing" is about Squidward entering a dance contest. The title refers to both him being a squid (and squids are slimy), and the fact that he uses dishonest (i.e. slimy) tactics to cheat and win.
    • "Blackened Sponge". SpongeBob gets a black eye, but it can also be a pun on SpongeBob fearing that his reputation will be "blackened", since he got the black eye in a really embarrassing incident and keeps making up stories to cover the truth.
  • Star Wars Resistance: In "The Triple Dark", the title phrase has several meanings: First, a "triple dark" is a phrase used on the Colossus to describe a low-visibility storm, which pirates like Kragan and his band use to hide in when they attack the station. It also fits how the First Order, who are revealed to be behind Kragan's attack in this episode, are preparing to surprise-attack the New Republic, and (almost) no one suspects a thing.
  • Steven Universe:
    • "The Return": Lapis and Peridot are returning to both Earth and the show as a whole. And while we hadn't seen Jasper before, it later turned out that she was returning to her birthplace.
    • "Cry for Help": Peridot's distress signal to Homeworld, but also both Pearl and Amethyst's unhealthy feeling that they can't manage without Garnet.
    • "Lars' Head": The continuing emotional growth of Lars, but also the dimensional portal in his hair.
    • "Can't Go Back": Lapis doesn't think she can return to Earth, but also, the following episode reveals that Steven's dream represents Pink Diamond's "no turning back" decision.
    • "The Question" is both a Cross-Referenced Title to "The Answer", in that Ruby questions why she and Sapphire stayed fused as Garnet just because Rose told them to, but also refers to her asking Sapphire to marry her.
    • "Reunited" has three different meanings: Ruby and Sapphire reuniting as Garnet, Lapis returning to Earth and joining the Crystal Gems, and Blue and Yellow Diamond believing they have reunited with Pink.
    • "Escapism" refers to both Steven and Connie's desire to escape Homeworld, as expressed in the titular song and the fact that the episode serves as a breather (though not an entirely peaceful one) from the serious plot at hand.
  • Storm Hawks' first episode, "Age of Heroes", refers both to an era of heroes and to the main characters being too young to be an official squadron.
  • Swing, You Sinners!: "Swing" can mean either "dance", befitting the upbeat, jazzy song number from which the short takes its name, or it can mean "what someone does at the end of a noose", and sure enough there's no shortage of hanging references in regards to poor Bimbo.
  • The Venture Brothers: The title obviously refers to Hank and Dean Venture, but:
    • In the finale of Season 1, Rusty Venture reconciles with his Long Lost Sibling, Jonas Venture Jr. In the opening of Season 2, the two men replace Hank and Dean in the Title Sequence, and JJ tries to encourage Rusty by reminding him "We're the Venture Brothers!" Indeed they are the only Venture Brothers, since Hank and Dean are (temporarily) dead.
    • Season 7 reveals that Rusty and The Monarch are related. They are also Venture Brothers.

    Other 
  • Singer Vehicle Design is a company in Los Angeles that specializes in restoring and rebuilding the Porsche 911. The company was named for Norbert Singer, a noted Porsche engineer, as well as the fact that company founder Rob Dickinson is the former vocalist for the band Catherine Wheel.
  • The Broken Diamond can refer to how DC was carved out cartographically as an uneven, somewhat diamond-like shape. It can also refer to the broken state of the Diamond Orders due to their internal politicking.


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