Basic Trope: Someone is being talked about behind their back. We then cut to that someone, who immediately sneezes.
- Straight: Bob mention Alice in a conversation with Carol. We cut to Alice, who suddenly sneezes.
- Exaggerated: Alice has a sneezing fit whenever someone she knows mentions the name Alice, even if it isn’t her.
- Downplayed: Alice already has a cold, and only sniffs suddenly when her name is mentioned.
- Justified: Alice can magically detect her name whenever it’s spoken, and the sneezing is an allergenic reaction to this.
- Inverted: Alice sneezes, and we cut to Bob who is suddenly reminded of her.
- Subverted: Bob mention Alice in a conversation with Carol. We cut to Jake, who wasn’t mentioned in the conversation at all, who promptly sneezes. .
- Double Subverted:
- Jake wipes his nose, talks about his plans for Alice, and THEN we finally cut to her and hear her sneeze.
- Alice then asks “I wonder where carol is…” promptly causing the latter to sneeze.
- Parodied:
- There is a brand of anti-allergy medications specifically for whenever you’re talked about behind your back.
- Immediately after sneezing, Alice's ears start burning.
- Zig Zagged: Alice sneezes for no reason. She then wonders where Bob is right now. We cut to Bob, who suddenly sneezes, and then resumes talking about Alex with Carol. We cut to Alex, who suddenly straightens, looks around... and immediacy orders Steve to sneeze.
- Averted: No sneezing occurs throughout the film, even with all the verbal backstabbing.
- Enforced: The sneeze, and the series as a whole, is used to discuss Japanese idioms and sayings.
- Lampshaded:
- “Gah. Backtalk always does a number on my nose.”
- Bob immediately says "Gesundheit" whenever he mentions a name while gossiping about someone.
- Invoked: Bob regularly talks about Alice behind her back in order to make her sneeze as importune times.
- Exploited: Alice knows Bob is plotting against her, and uses all the sneezing to fake a sick day and get out of work.
- Defied: Carol makes a long lecture on the various causes of sneezing and specially mentions this is not one of them.
- Discussed: “Do you think Alice has a cold, or is it just all the gossip?”
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Alice suddenly sneezes, then looks around as if looking for the person talking about her.
- ATCHOO!* *sniff* Hey, I think Sneeze Cut has been talking about me behind my back!
