History Main / CallAPegasusAHippogriff

* There are carnivorous [[strike: unicorns]] "Alicorns" (also called "One-Horns", but guess what unicorn means) in the ''Elvenbane'' series as well. And some of the main characters are shapeshifting superintelligent dragons who are, in some details, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent quite different]].

* There are carnivorous [[strike: unicorns]] "Alicorns" (also called "One-Horns", but guess what unicorn means) in the ''Elvenbane'' series as well. And some of the main characters are mammalian shapeshifting superintelligent "dragons".
** Mammalian dragons aren't all that far off from the legends, actually; the "absolutely definitely a reptile" thing is a more recent invention. Most of the mythical dragons had ''a lot'' of mammalian features if you think about it--manes/whiskers/beards, bat-like wings, and sometimes even milk--and they apparently liked to live in the northern parts of Europe which are way too cold for large reptiles.

* There are carnivorous unicorns (more often called "One-Horns", but guess what unicorn means) in the ''Elvenbane'' series as well. And some of the main characters are mammalian shapeshifting superintelligent "dragons".

* In recent years series such as HerculestheLegendaryJourneys, XenaWarriorPrincess, and the PercyJackson books and movie, have consistently referred to persons with mixed human and divine heritage as ''Demigods''. The classical use of Demigod was for a minor deity, such as Pan, or "small Gods", such as those associated with a single river, forest or household. The proper term for a half-God? ''Hero.'' Linguistic shift has given the word a somewhat different meaning in modern English, but that doesn't make the misuse of "Demigod" right.

* The Kraken from ''ClashOfTheTitans'' isn't the giant squid or crab monster of Scandinavian myth, but some kind of gigantic pseudo-Greek mermonster.

* ''CardCaptorSakura'' has Cerberus. aka Keroberos, aka Kero-chan. His true form being a lion with wings, he looks ''nothing'' like a three-headed dog from Greek Mythology. He more resembles a griffin; or the [[ArsGoetia Demon Prince Vapula.]]

* In recent years series such as HerculestheLegendaryJourneys, XenaWarriorPrincess, and the PercyJackson books and movie, refer to persons with mixed human and divine heritage as ''Demigods''. The classical use of Demigod was for a minor deity, such as Pan, or "small Gods", such as those associated with a single river, forest or household. The proper term for a half-God? ''Hero.'' Linguistic shift has given the word a somewhat different meaning in modern English, but that doesn't make the misuse of "Demigod" right.

** HarryPotter had hippogriffs, too.

* Similarly, [[TheSandman Dream]] has three guardian beasts, one of which is a winged horse. This character is also identified as a hippogriff. Given that [[ViewersAreGeniuses this is Neil Gaiman writing]], it's likely an E. Nesbit tribute. Also, the dragon is called a wyvern.
** HarryPotter had hippogriffs too.

Compare IstanbulNotConstantinople, which is similar but for place names. Title is a takeoff of Call A Rabbit A Smeerp, of course, and is a reference to one of the best-known...

* JRRTolkien was fond of using "worm," the Middle and Modern English cognate of Old English "wyrm", to mean "dragon" or "serpent". "Worm" in the sense of "dragon" is attested as late as the mid-19th century in Northern English, as in the ballads of the Lambton Worm and the Laidly Worm, so the Good Professor wasn't just making it up as he went along.

* One of the stranger examples is in the book ''Thorn Ogres of Hagwood''. A character wanders into the action about halfway through the story. He is a short humanoid with a big, big beard and he carries a lot of different tools and has a great talent for metalwork. He is [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame identified as a dwa...]] no, wait, he is a Pooka. Uh... ([[TricksterMentor Pookas]] technically can [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith appear as dwarves]] but -as you'll recall from ''[[TheHarvey Harvey]]'', they also tend to be a lot weirder.)

* JRRTolkien was fond of using "worm," the Middle and Modern English cognate of Old English "wyrm", to mean "dragon" or "serpent". "Worm" in the sense of "dragon" is attested as late as the mid-19th century in Northern English, as in the ballads of the Lambton Worm and the Laidly Worm.

** Actually, it's more accurately a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern or wyrm]] , as it has only two legs

* The Kraken from ''ClashOfTheTitans'' isn't the giant squid monster of Scandinavian myth, but some kind of gigantic pseudo-Greek mermonster.

* JRRTolkien was fond of using "worm" as a synonym for "dragon", owing to both words having originated from ancient terms for "serpent". Possibly he was confusing or conflating (or spelling different) the word "wyrm", which can mean "dragon" or "serpent".

* JRRTolkien was fond of using "worm" as a synonym for "dragon", owing to both words having originated from ancient terms for "serpent".

* In ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow'', the Cockatrice and the Basilisk are pretty much palette swaps, although they are completely separate critters. Most of the time.