History Main / TrivialTitle

* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': "[[Recap/TheGoodPlaceS3E11ChidiSeesTheTimeKnife Chidi Sees the Time Knife]]" is named for a one-off gag that has no effect on the plot -- Chidi accidentally falls into a hole in the IHOP and sees "trillions of realities, folding onto each other like thin sheets of metal forming a single blade", Michael brushes this off as something everyone's seen, and the conversation just moves on.

* ''VideoGame/CounterfeitMonkey'': The title comes from the Counterfeit Monkey, a place you visit to look for Slango in the mid-game ([[spoiler:he's not there]]). You're not there for a very long time, and it's a minor part of the game.

A subtrope of NeverTrustATitle. Sister trope of DeceptivelySillyTitle. Compare NonIndicativeName. May be a consequence of ArtifactTitle of overlap with SelfReferentialTrackPlacement. Can be used to avoid a SpoilerTitle.

* In an example that was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen narrowly averted]], ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' reportedly had to deal with a [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executive]] who wanted to rename the film ''Space Man From Pluto'', and suggested that they shoehorn it into the script as a TitleDrop. Needless to say, ''Back to the Future'' is a time travel movie that has nothing to do with either space men or Pluto.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': "The Ricklantis Mixup" has ''nothing'' to do with the duo's adventure to the lost city of Main/{{Atlantis}} . It's an episode about the [[PlanetOfSteves Citadel of Ricks]].

* The CounterEarth seen in the sky in ''Film/SecondEarth'' seems to imply that the movie is about an AlternateTimeline or even TheMultiverse to some extent that our characters are going to interact with. However, the film is mostly about a by-the-books redemption story of a girl who accidentally crashed her car and killed another mans' family; with the whole Second Earth in the daytime sky bearing very little relevance to the plot.

* ''Film/RawDeal'' never explicitly references a raw deal, much less one where the titular character is in a position where it's appropriate to say "Nobody gives him a raw deal". By implication, it's the situation where he was given an option of "Retire or be prosecuted" by the FBI after he assaulted a witness, but this took place five years before the film starts, he is engaged with a (almost) completely different adversary instead, and it has almost nothing to do with the plot apart from explaining his circumstances at the beginning of the film and a callback line at the end. This is probably because the title was changed several times in production from "Triple Identity" which at least has *some* relevance to the plot to the more generic action-sounding final title.

* Creator/NealStephenson's ''Literature/{{Zodiac}}'' takes its name from the style of inflatable boats used around Boston harbor. The main character rides a zodiac on a few occasions, including one nautical chase scene, but the boats don't factor majorly into the plot.

* ''Literature/StateOfFear''. The title refers to the thesis that the U.S. government and the media are collaborating to [[YouCanPanicNow keep the public in a near-constant panic]], ensuring their continued power. This thesis was completely overshadowed (both in the novel, and in the RealLife media controversy surrounding the novel) by the secondary point that global warming in particular is just a hoax--the latest such hoax used to perpetuate the state of fear.

* ''Film/LicoricePizza'' is set in Los Angeles in 1973 and named after a record store chain that had outlets in the San Fernando Valley in that era, but the record store plays no role in the story and none is ever seen in the movie. Director Creator/PaulThomasAnderson said in an interview that basically he just liked the way the name sounded.

* The 1970 edition of ''WesternAnimation/TheArchieShow'' was titled ''Archie's Funhouse Starring the Giant Jukebox.'' the titular jukebox served no other purpose except for flashy decoration and appeared sporadically for seconds at a time.

* The title of the British movie ''Film/DivorcingJack'' refers to [[spoiler:how the protagonist mishears the last name of composer Music/AntoninDvorak]]. However, [[spoiler:the composer]] isn't really significant to the plot either, [[spoiler:"Dvorak"]] is merely a clue that leads the protagonist to some information he was looking for, which has nothing to do with [[spoiler:Dvorak or his music]].

Keep on mind that some of these are examples where the ''literal'' thing to which the title refers is not that significant, but the title is still ''thematically'' linked to the work or MakesSenseInContext, so it's not really trivial. For example, In these cases, it may overlap with JustifiedTitle.

* ''Film/TheRoom'': The action doesn't all happen in one room, and there's nothing special about Johnny's living or bedroom, or about any other rooms featured in the movie. According to WordOfGod, it refers a person's HappyPlace... which doesn't factor in the film at all.

-->--'''B.W. Clough''', "[[https://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/23/the-theory-and-practice-of-titles/ The Theory and Practice of Titles]]

-->--''B.W. Clough'', "[[https://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/23/the-theory-and-practice-of-titles/ The Theory and Practice of Titles]]