Basic Trope: Someone thinks someone else is their identical twin.
- Straight: Alice and Betty are identical twin sisters. When Alice's friend Charlie sees Betty, he says, "Are you okay, Alice?" because Betty was dancing to music, which Alice never does. Betty explains, "My name isn't Alice; I'm her twin sister Betty."
- Exaggerated: Nobody can tell Alice and Betty apart, not even their parents.
- Downplayed: Charlie suspects that Betty might not be Alice, but he can't be sure, so he asks, "Are... you Alice?"
- Justified: Alice never told Charlie she had a twin.
- Inverted: Charlie sees Alice acting peculiar and believes she has a twin sister when she doesn't.
- Subverted: As it turns out, Betty isn't real and Alice was tricking Charlie.
- Double Subverted: But then it's proven that Alice does have a twin sister — Diane, who was mistaken for her earlier in the episode.
- Parodied: ???
- Zigzagged: Charlie thinks it's Alice, while Dave thinks it's Betty, and it's left unclear who's right.
- Averted:
- Alice does not have a twin.
- Alice and Betty are fraternal twins.
- Alice and Betty are never confused for each other.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Can you believe that? He actually thought I was you!" "Well, we are identical twins."
- Invoked: Twin Switch - Betty disguises herself as Alice.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Alice and Betty wear name tags.
- Discussed: "So, you have an identical twin? How do I avoid getting you and her mixed up?"
- Conversed: "Fictional characters can't identify twins to save their lives!"
- Implied: Charlie scratches his head upon seeing Betty dancing, even though it's normal for Betty to be dancing, just not Alice.
- Deconstructed: ???
- Reconstructed: ???
- Played for Laughs: Alice or Betty being assumed to be the other is a Running Gag.
- Played for Drama: One or both twins ends up having an identity crisis.
- Played for Horror: ???
Back to Identical Twin Mistake.
