This trope is under discussion in the Trope Repair Shop.
"It's called the science of listener attention. We did repetition, we did floating opposites, and now you end with the one that's not like the others."
— Toby Ziegler, The West Wing, "Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail"
When a list is given, sometimes the one at the end stands out. Below are various ways the list can end on an odd note.
Tropes:
- And a Diet Coke: A character orders a diet soda after they just ordered a ton of unhealthy food.
- And the Rest: When several characters are deemed important enough to call them by name, except for a few unworthy others who are dismissed as the "rest".
- And Some Other Stuff: Summarizing ingredients, but keeping the last few a mystery.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Listing strong, serious examples and then a weak, trivial finale.
- Arson, Murder, and Admiration: Naming evil things, then mentioning something complimentary.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Naming evil things, then mentioning a good deed.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Naming three things, the third being a combination of the first two things.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Naming nice, good, or mundane things, save for the last one, which is horrible or has a greater weight than the rest.
- Clue, Evidence, and a Smoking Gun: In a crisis, two things of small importance to said crisis followed by a very big one.
- Famous, Famous, Fictional: Naming famous real-life people or things, only to have the last one be of fictional origin.
- "Five Things" Fic: A type of fanfiction that revolves around a number of times something happens, followed by the one time something different happens.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Separating your friends from one individual, with the implication that the individual doesn't belong.
- Odd Name Out: A group with Theme Naming has one thing (usually the last one) with a completely different name.
- Odd Reaction Out: Someone reacts differently than other people, and it's usually the last reaction we see.
- The Triple: Two normal items followed by a non sequitur or humorous third item.
- The Three Certainties in Life: Three things are sure to happen: death, taxes, and whatever third thing they picked to be the punch line.
- Uniformity Exception: The one member of a group that sticks out in the end.