0-D | E-L | M-P | Q-Z | Indexes
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M
- MacGuffin: [1]
* - Madonna-Whore Complex: [2]*
- Mad Scientist: [3]*
- The Mafia: American Mafia, Sicilian Mafia, and Organized crime in Italy
- The Mafiya: Russian mafia in popular culture
- Magic 8-Ball: [4]*
- Magical Girl: [5]*
- Magical Girlfriend: [6]*
- Magical Negro: [7]*
- Magical Seventh Son: Seventh son of a seventh son
- Magic Carpet: [8]*
- Magic Square Puzzle: Magic square
- Magnetic Weapons: [9]*
- Magnum Opus: [10]*
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Public sex
- Malaproper: Eggcorn
- Male Gaze: [11]*
- Malicious Slander: Defamation
- Malt Shop: Soda shop
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Non-paternity event
- Mammy: Mammy archetype in the United States
- Mana: Magic (gaming)
- Manchurian Agent: Sleeper agent
- Mandela Effect: False memory
- Maneki Neko: [12]*
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: [13]*
- The Man in the Moon: [14]*
- Many Questions Fallacy: Loaded question
- Marriage of Convenience: [15] *
- Martial Arts Headband: Hachimaki
- Martians: [16]
- Mary Sue: [17]*
- Mascot: [18]*
- Matriarchy: [19]*
- Matricide [20]*
- Matrix Raining Code: Matrix digital rain
- Mayan Doomsday: 2012 phenomenon
- The Maze: [21]*
- Meaningful Name: Aptronym
- The Meaning of Life: [22]*
- Mecha: [23]*
- Medley: List of musical medleys
- Medusa: [24]*
- Meet Cute: [25]*
- Mega-Corp: Megacorporation
- Meganekko: [26]
- Melismatic Vocals: Melisma
- Memetic Mutation: Internet meme
- Men Are Tough: Masculinity
- The Men in Black: [27]*
- The Mentor: Wise Old Man
- Mephistopheles: Mephistopheles in the arts and popular culture
- Merchandise-Driven: Toyetic
- Mercy Kill: Euthanasia
- Messianic Archetype: Christ figure
- Meta Fiction: [28]*
- Metagame: Metagaming
- Metalhead: Heavy metal subculture
- Metal Scream: Screaming (music)
- Metaplot: [29]*
- Metatron: [30]*
- The Metaverse: [31]*
- Method Acting: [32]*
- The Metric System Is Here to Stay: Metrication
- Metroidvania: [33]*
- Mexican Standoff: [34]*
- Mickey Mousing: [35]*
- Microtransactions: [36]*
- Middle Child Syndrome: [37]*
- Might Makes Right: [38]*
- Mighty Whitey: White saviour narrative in film (not exactly the same, but very closely related)
- Miko: [39]*
- Mile-High Club: [40]*
- Miles Gloriosus: Alazon
- Military Academy: [41]*
- Military Alphabet: NATO phonetic alphabet
- Military Brat: [42]*
- Military Coup: Coup d'état
- Military Salute: Salute
- Millennium Bug: Year 2000 problem
- A Million Is a Statistic: Identifiable victim effect
- Mind over Matter: Psychokinesis
- Mind Rape: Psychological torture
- Min-Maxing: [43]*
- Miniature Effects: [44]*
- Mini-Game: [45]*
- Minimalism: [46]*
- Minnesota Nice: [47] *
- Mi'raj: Al-Mi'raj
- Miranda Rights: Miranda warning
- Mirror Chemistry: Chirality (chemistry)
- Misanthrope Supreme: Misanthropy
- Misplaced Retribution: Displaced aggression
- Missing White Woman Syndrome: [48]*
- Mission Creep: [49]*
- The Mistress: [50]*
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Hybrid beasts in folklore and List of hybrid creatures in folklore
- Mob War: Gang#Gang violence
- The Mockbuster: [51]*
- Model Sheet: [52]*
- Moe: [53]*
- Moe Anthropomorphism: [54]*
- The Mole: [55]*
- Molotov Cocktail: [56]*
- Money-Making Shot: Money shot
- Money to Burn: Money burning
- Monkey Morality Pose: Three wise monkeys
- Monkeys on a Typewriter: Infinite monkey theorem, Infinite monkey theorem in popular culture
- Mono no Aware: [57]*
- Monster Clown: Evil clown
- Monster Fangirl: Hybristophilia
- Montages: [58]*
- Monty Hall Problem: [59]*
- Mooning: [60]*
- Moon-Landing Hoax: Moon landing conspiracy theories and Moon landing conspiracy theories in popular culture
- Moon Rabbit: [61]*
- Moonwalk Dance: [62]*
- Mooks: Mob (gaming)
- Moral Event Horizon: Eternal sin
- The Morlocks: [63]*
- Morton's Fork: [64]*
- MOS: [65]*
- Most Tropers Are Young Nerds: Wikipedia:Systemic bias, much more of a problem there than here
- Mother Nature: [66]*
- The Mothman: [67]*
- Motion Blur: [68]*
- Motion Capture: [69]*
- Mountain Man: [70]*
- Mountain Warfare: [71]*
- Mouse Trap: [72]*
- Movie Multipack: Back-to-back film production
- Moving the Goalposts: [73]*
- Mrs. Claus: [74]*
- Mrs. Robinson: Cougar (slang)
- Mr. Imagination: Fantasy prone personality
- Mister Seahorse: Male pregnancy
- The Multiverse: [75]*
- Mummy: [76]*
- Münchausen Syndrome: [77]*
- Munchkin: [78]*
- Murder, Inc.: Contract killing (also see this article on the Trope Namer: Murder, Inc.)
- Murder-Suicide: [79]*
- Must Have Caffeine: Caffeine dependance
- Mutants: [80]* (fictional)
- The Mutiny: [81]*
- Mutually Assured Destruction: [82]*
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: Life review
- My Local: Pub
- Mystery Meat: [83]*
N
- N-Word Privileges: Reappropriation
- Nails on a Blackboard: Chalkboard scraping
- Nanomachines: Nanorobotics
- The Napoleon: Napoleon complex
- Narcissist: Narcissistic personality disorder
- Narm: Bathos, the formal academic term.
- National Animal Stereotypes: List of national animals
- Nations as People: National personification
- Native American Casino: Native American gaming
- Natural End of Time: Ultimate fate of the universe
- Nature Versus Nurture: [84]*
- Naughty Tentacles: Tentacle erotica
- The Navigator: [85]*
- Nazi Gold: [86]*
- Nazi Hunter: [87]*
- Nazi Nobleman: Former German nobility in the Nazi Party
- Nazi Zombies: [88]*
- Nay-Theist: Alatrism
- Near-Death Experience: [89]*
- Necromancer: Necromancy
- The Needs of the Many: Utilitarianism
- NEET: [90]*
- Neologism: [91]*
- Nephilim: [92]*
- Nepotism: [93]*
- Nerf: Nerfing (video gaming)
- Nested Story: Story within a story
- Net Gun: [94]*
- Network Decay: Channel drift
- Neural Implanting: Brain implant
- Never Speak Ill of the Dead: De mortuis nil nisi bonum
- Never My Fault: Self-serving bias
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Crocodile attack
- Never Tell Me the Odds!: Neglect of probability
- New Game Plus: [95]*
- Newspeak: [96]*
- Newsreel: [97]*
- Non-Governmental Organization: [98]*
- Nice Jewish Boy [99]*
- The Night Owl: [100]*
- Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: [101]*
- Ninja: [102]*
- Nintendo Hard: [103]*
- Nixon Mask: Richard Nixon mask
- No Backwards Compatibility in the Future: Digital obsolescence
- No Bisexuals: Bisexual erasure
- No Budget: No-budget film
- Noble Savage [104]*
- Noble Tongue: Diglossia
- Nocturnal Emission: [105]*
- Non-Indicative Name: Misnomer
- Non-Player Character: [106]*
- Nose Art: [107]*
- Nose Nuggets: Nose-picking
- Nostalgia Filter: Rosy retrospection (see also Nostalgia)
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Succès de scandale
- NOT!: [108]*
- Not Available in Stores: Not sold in stores
- The Not-Love Interest: Romantic friendship
- No Transhumanism Allowed: Bioconservatism
- No True Scotsman: [109]*
- Not Safe for Work: [110]*
- Not So Extinct: Lazarus taxon
- Not Staying for Breakfast: One-night stand
- Nouveau Riche: [111]*, see also Parvenu
- Novelization: [112]*
- Nuckelavee: [113]*
- Nuclear Family: [114]*
- Nue: [115]*
- Number of the Beast: [116]*
- Numbers Stations: [117]*
- Nurikabe: [118]*
- Nu Speling: Spelling reform
O
- Obfuscating Insanity: Feigned madness
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Mother-in-law joke
- Occidental Otaku: Japanophile
- Occult Detective: Occult detective fiction
- Oceanic Airlines: [119]*
- Odessa Steps: The Odessa Steps sequence
- Oedipus Complex: [120]*
- Offing the Offspring: Filicide
- Off-Model: [121]*
- Off with His Head!: Decapitation
- Oktoberfest: [122]*
- Old Maid: Spinster
- Old Master: Elderly martial arts master
- Old Money: [123]*
- On a Scale from One to Ten: Scale of one to ten
- Once Upon a Time: [124]*
- One-Drop Rule: [125]*
- One-Episode Wonder: List of television series canceled after one episode
- One-Hit Wonder: [126]*
- One-Man Band: [127]*
- One Nation Under Copyright: Corporatocracy
- The Oner: Long take
- One World Order: World government
- Oni: [128]*
- Only in Florida: Florida Man
- Oop North: Northern England
- Open Secret: [129]*
- Opinion Myopia: False consensus effect
- Opposite Day: [130]*
- Organ Theft: [131]*
- Orichalcum: [132]*
- Orion Drive: Nuclear pulse propulsion
- Orochi: Yamata no Orochi
- Orwellian Retcon: Memory hole
- Oscar Bait: [133]*
- Otaku: [134]*
- Otaku O'Clock: Late night anime
- Ouija Board: Ouija
- Our Angels Are Different: Angel
- Our Banshees Are Louder: Banshee
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Centaur
- Our Cryptids Are More Mysterious: List of cryptids
- Our Dark Matter Is Mysterious: Dark matter
- Our Demons Are Different: Demon
- Our Dragons Are Different: Dragon
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Dwarf (mythology)
- Our Elves Are Different: Elf
- Our Fairies Are Different: Fairy
- Our Gargoyles Rock: Gargoyle (monster)
- Our Genies Are Different: Genie
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Ghost
- Our Ghouls Are Creepier: Ghoul
- Our Giants Are Bigger: Giant
- Our Goblins Are Different: Goblin
- Our Gods Are Different: Deity
- Our Gnomes Are Weirder: Gnome
- Our Gryphons Are Different: Griffin
- Our Homunculi Are Different: Homunculus
- Our Liches Are Different: Lich
- Our Manticores Are Spinier: Manticore
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Mermaid
- Our Monsters Are Weird: Monster
- Our Nymphs Are Different: Nymph
- Our Ogres Are Hungrier: Ogre
- Our Orcs Are Different: Orc
- Our Perytons Are Different: Peryton
- Our Pixies Are Different: Pixie
- Our Spirits Are Different: Spirit
- Our Sphinxes Are Different: Sphinx
- Our Titans Are Different: Titan (mythology)
- Our Vampires Are Different: Vampire
- Our Werebeasts Are Different: Therianthropy
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Werewolf
- Our Wights Are Different: Wight
- Our Wyverns Are Different: Wyvern
- Our Zombies Are Different: Zombie
- Ouroboros: [135]*
- Outlaw: [136]*, see also Outlaw (stock character) for a list of outlaws in folklore
- Outside-Context Problem: [137]*
- Overpopulation Crisis: Human overpopulation
P
- Panacea: [138]*
- Pan and Scan: [139]*
- Panspermia: [140]*
- Pants-Pulling Prank: Pantsing
- Paparazzi: [141]*
- Paper Talisman: Ofuda
- Paper Tiger: [142]*
- Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: Genophobia, Sexophobia
- The Paranoiac: Paranoid personality disorder
- The Pardon: [143]*
- Parental Neglect: Child neglect
- Pariah Prisoner: Prison social hierarchy
- Le Parkour: Parkour
- Parody: [144]*
- Parody Commercial: Parody advertisement
- Parody Religion: [145]*
- Pascal's Wager: [146]*
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Password strength#Examples of weak passwords and List of the most common passwords
- Pastiche: [147]*
- Patchwork Story: Fix-up
- The Patient Has Left the Building: Against medical advice
- Patient Zero: Index Case
- Patricide [148]*
- Patron Saint: [149]*
- Patter Song: [150]*
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Retributive justice
- Pay Phone: [151]*
- Peace Pipe: Ceremonial pipe
- Pedophile Priest: Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- Peerless Love Interest: Princesse Lointaine
- Peking Duck Christmas: Jewish American Chinese restaurant patronage
- Pelvic Thrust: [152]*
- Penal Colony: [153]*
- Pen Name: [154]*
- People in Rubber Suits: Creature suit
- People's Republic of Tyranny: People's Republic
- People Zoo: Human zoo
- Percussive Maintenance: [155]*
- Perfect Solution Fallacy: Nirvana fallacy
- Performance Anxiety: Stage fright
- Perma-Stubble: Designer stubble
- Permanent Red Link Club: Special:ProtectedTitles
- Perpetual Beta: [156]*
- Perpetual Motion Machine: Perpetual motion
- Perp Walk: [157]*
- Persecution Flip: Reverse discrimination
- Persona Non Grata: [158]*
- Personal Horror: Moral injury
- Personality Blood Types: Blood type personality theory
- Personal Seals: Seal (East Asia)
- The Peter Principle: [159]*
- Phantasy Spelling: Sensational spelling
- Pheromones: [160]*
- Philosopher's Stone: [161]*
- The Phoenix: [162]*
- Phony Veteran: Military imposter
- Photo Comic: Photonovel
- Photographic Memory: Eidetic memory
- Picky Eater: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
- Pie in the Face: Pieing
- Piggy Bank: [163]*
- Pig Latin: [164]*
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Gendered associations of pink and blue
- Pink Elephants: Seeing pink elephants
- Pinky Swear: [165]*
- Pirate: Piracy
- Pirate Booty: Buried treasure
- Pirate Girl: Women in piracy
- Pirates vs. Ninjas: [166]*
- Pit Trap: Trapping pit
- Pixellation: Pixelization
- Placebo Effect: Placebo
- The Plague: Epidemic, Pandemic
- Plague Doctor: [167]*, Plague doctor costume
- Planar Shockwave: Praxis effect
- Platonic Cave: Plato's Allegory of the Cave
- Platonic Life-Partners: Platonic love
- Plausible Deniability: [168]*
- Playboy Bunny: [169]*
- Player Character: [170]*
- Player Versus Environment: [171]*
- Player Versus Player: [172]*
- Playing Doctor: [173]*
- Playing with Fire: Pyrokinesis
- Plea Bargain: [174]*
- Plot Device: [175]*
- Plot Hole: [176]*
- Plot Point: [177]*
- Plot Twist: [178]*
- Plucky Comic Relief: Comic relief
- Pluralses: Reduplicated plural
- Poe's Law: [179]*
- Point of Divergence: [180]*
- Pointy Ears: [181]*
- Police Brutality: [182]*
- Police State: [183]*
- Political Cartoon: Editorial cartoon
- The Political Officer: Political commissar
- Poltergeist: [184]*
- Polyamory: [185]*
- Pony Express Rider: Pony Express
- Ponzi: Ponzi scheme
- Population Control: Human population planning
- Portable Hole: [186]*
- Portal Network: Portals in fiction
- Portmanteau: [187]*
- Posthumous Credit: List of works published posthumously
- Postmodernism: [188]*
- Post-Peak Oil: Peak oil
- Post-Scarcity Economy: [189]*
- Pothole: Piped links
- Poverty Food: Famine food
- Poverty Porn: [190]*
- POW Camp: Prisoner-of-war camp
- Powered Armor: Powered exoskeleton
- Practical Effects: Practical effect
- Prank Call: [191]*
- Preacher's Kid: [192]*
- Precursors: Elder race
- Prehensile Tail: [193]*
- Prelap: [194]*
- Pre-Rendered Graphics: [195]*
- Present Day: [196]*
- President for Life: [197]*
- Press-Ganged: Impressment
- Pressure Point: [198]*
- Press X to Not Die: Quick time event
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Cultural appropriation, Wigger
- Previously on…: Recap sequence
- Pride: [199]*
- Pride Parade: [200]*
- Primal Scene: [201]*
- Prince Charming: [202]*
- Prison: [203]*
- Prison Rape: [204]*
- Prison Riot: [205]*
- Prison Ship: [206]*
- Prisoner's Dilemma: [207]*
- Prisoner Exchange: [208]*
- Prisoner's Last Meal: Last Meal
- Private Detective: Private investigator
- Privateer: [209]*
- Product Displacement: [210]*
- Product Placement: [211]*
- Professional Killer: Contract killing
- Professional Voice Dissonance: Code-switching
- Professor Guinea Pig: Self-experimentation
- Profiling: Racial profiling
- Programming Game: [212]*
- Promotion to Parent: Parentification
- Propaganda Piece: Propaganda
- Prophetic Names: Nominative determinism
- The Protagonist: [213]*
- Protest Song: [214]*
- Proxy War: [215]*
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Romantic friendship
- Psychic Powers: Psychic and List of psychic abilities
- Psychological Projection: [216]*
- Psychopomp: [217]*
- Public Execution: [218]*
- Publicity Stunt: [219]*
- Pun: [220]*
- Punchline: [221]*
- Punk Punk: Cyberpunk derivatives
- Puppet State: [222]*
- Puppy Love: [223]*
- Purgatory and Limbo: Purgatory, Limbo
- The Purge: [224]*
- Purple Prose: [225]*
- Putto: [226]*
- Pyramid Power: [227]*
- Pyromaniac: Pyromania
- Pyrrhic Victory: [228]*
