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Do you have trouble remembering the difference between Deathbringer the Adorable and Fluffy the Terrible?

Do you have trouble recognizing when you've written a Zero-Context Example?

Not sure if you really have a Badass Bookworm or just a guy who likes to read?

Well, this is the thread for you. We're here to help you will all the finer points of example writing. If you have any questions, we can answer them. Don't be afraid. We don't bite. We all just want to make the wiki a better place for everyone.


Useful Tips:

  • Make sure that the example makes sense to both people who don't know the work AND don't know the trope.
    • Wrong: The Mentor: Kevin is this to Bob in the first episode.
    • Right: The Mentor: Kevin takes Bob under his wing in the first episode and teaches him the ropes of being a were-chinchilla.
  • Never just put the trope title and leave it at that.
    • Wrong: Badass Adorable
    • Right: Badass Adorable: Xavier, the group's cute little mascot, defeats three raging elephants with both hands tied behind his back using only an uncooked spaghetti noodle.
  • When is normally far less important than How.
    • Wrong: Big Bad: Of the first season.
    • Right: Big Bad: The heroes have to defeat the Mushroom Man lest the entirety of Candy Land's caramel supply be turned into fungus.
  • A character name is not an explanation.


Other Resources:


For best results, please include why you think an example is iffy in your first post.

Also, many oft-misused tropes/topics have their own threads, such as Surprisingly Realistic Outcome (here) and Fan-Preferred Couple (here). Tropers are better able to give feedback on examples you bring up to specific threads. We don't discuss Complete Monster or Magnificent Bastard examples; please don't bring them up.

Edited by SeptimusHeap on Jul 17th 2025 at 8:59:01 PM

stankykong Since: Sep, 2021 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
#32151: Jul 13th 2024 at 6:38:38 PM

This is an awkward time to bring it up, but a couple months back another troper deleted this entry from The Gadfly saying "There's a difference between "Gadfly" and 'just plain mean'":

Speaking objectively, the entire point of the trope is people who rile up others and challenge the status quo. For better or worse, this is a prime example and the fact that we're even having this conversation speaks to it.

Edited by stankykong on Jul 13th 2024 at 9:42:59 AM

gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#32152: Jul 13th 2024 at 6:59:08 PM

Bumping from the previous page.

From Trivia.The Dukes Of Hazzard:

  • Fake Nationality: Sort of.
    • Despite all the southern charm (and southern stereotypes) of the show, none of the four main actors were actually from Dixie. (John Schneider was from New York, Tom Wopat was from Wisconsin, Catherine Bach was from Ohio and the '69 Dodge Charger was from Michigan.) Due to the popularity of the series, they have been accepted as honorary Southerners, however.
    • Meanwhile, Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse) was from Colorado and Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) was from Buffalo, New York. (Booke was actually a graduate of Yale.)
    • In fact, only James Best (Kentucky), Ben Jones (North Carolina), and Sonny Shroyer (Georgia) were southerners among the main cast.

Do the above examples fit?

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#32154: Jul 13th 2024 at 11:34:07 PM

[up][up][up] Honestly The Gadfly even having RL examples is surprising to me. Yeah it fits, but it's probably going to be a ROCEJ issue to call real people trolls, especially politicians.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#32155: Jul 14th 2024 at 12:05:19 AM

Bumping

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
stankykong Since: Sep, 2021 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
#32156: Jul 14th 2024 at 1:22:08 AM

[up][up]Understood, I'll do my best to make it fall in line with the rule.

Nethilia Girl Gang Disaster (she and zie) (Life not ruined yet) Relationship Status: A gay little love melody
Girl Gang Disaster (she and zie)
#32157: Jul 14th 2024 at 2:02:46 AM

[up] It's too risky to be there at all. It just needs to be cut.

I focus on obscure 1990s or graphic Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls. (She or zie, not they.)
CSS1 Since: Mar, 2021
#32158: Jul 14th 2024 at 12:19:55 PM

Re: My Adventures With Superman Main Trio, Should I take Ambiguously Brown off the list of tropes under Lois Lane? Later episodes indicate she’s clearly Korean. Not much Ambiguity there.

moo
NoobMaster Since: Jul, 2019
#32160: Jul 14th 2024 at 3:18:26 PM

In Beavis and Butt-Head, the duo and Adler repeatedly harass a girl named Kimberly by calling her a "vile temptress" for 'sexually attracting the boys' (the duo got erections because she is attractive). Does this still count as slut-shaming, or not really?

Arawn999 Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#32161: Jul 14th 2024 at 3:45:46 PM

I dunno. Most of the examples I've seen are either harassed for sleeping around with other people or have a false reputation for doing so.

Edited by Arawn999 on Jul 14th 2024 at 3:45:53 AM

CanuckMcDuck1 PEPSIMAN from Japan Since: Sep, 2023 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
PEPSIMAN
#32162: Jul 14th 2024 at 9:07:03 PM

Bullman: It can be kept cut, because Anxiety is more an extremist than a villain, and it doesn’t seem the jerk character isn’t hated that much or even that important.

BigBadShadow25: The wizard crumbled to dust in the first SHAZAM!, so it seemed like he was dead. I think there was just no confirmation that he did die, and so there was an easy opportunity to bring him back. I think the example could be cut.

king15: Seems more like Word of God given your points about the importance of the showrunner and also how Condal has deviated from the books. Go ahead and redirect to that trope instead.

gjjones: It seems like a stretch to separate the actors as not being true southerners, and not worth the three subheadings about it. I’d say either cut or condense into one, smaller paragraph that addresses the trivia.

Ayumi-Chan: The last example with the author probably fits (despite it’s dryness), but I don’t think specific moments of chapters or episodes can count. You may need to check with ATT or your own gut instinct too.

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Jul 14th 2024 at 10:15:15 AM

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
Reymma RJ Savoy from Edinburgh Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
RJ Savoy
#32163: Jul 15th 2024 at 4:27:28 AM

[up][up][up] I would say so, it's just even more nonsensical than most slut-shaming (intentionally, I assume).

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#32164: Jul 15th 2024 at 6:30:27 AM

[up][up] Thanks! They have been removed.

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
taotruths Live Jet Reaction (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: I sleep in a big bed with my wife.
Live Jet Reaction
#32165: Jul 15th 2024 at 12:35:48 PM

I found this on Empty Promise

I'm thinking this is misuse, because it kinda sounds a little complain-y, and it's not what the trope is about.

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#32166: Jul 15th 2024 at 3:06:32 PM

[up]Cut as complaining and reliant on YMMV for a non-YMMV.

TooBleakStoppedCaring.Anime And Manga:

I asked TBSC cleanup but got no response for several days. Thoughts?

Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#32167: Jul 15th 2024 at 4:40:08 PM

Good observation and let me give my opinions for all those examples.

the first example is a misuse for that category so yes. The second is correct. For your third one moving the example to Foregone Conclusion is the best option. No opinion for the fourth one.

ThrawnCA Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
#32168: Jul 16th 2024 at 5:06:10 AM

Would concepts like Naruto's chakra coils and Spirit Cultivation Genre meridians fall under Anatomy of the Soul?

sohibil Since: Dec, 2020 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#32169: Jul 16th 2024 at 5:35:35 AM

On YMMV.Bio Meat Nectar I've come across a Harsher in Hindsight entry, whose context is too vague. My guess is, that it's referring to 2012 Fukushima accident, but don't know for certain. What should be done about it?

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#32171: Jul 16th 2024 at 7:44:07 AM

[up][up]I would also be inclined into deleting it.

Rm74 Since: Jun, 2018
#32172: Jul 16th 2024 at 8:48:08 AM

For Poor Things:

Despite it's contents, do you think the film would count as an example of a Lighter and Softer film compared to Yorgos Lanthimos's works? Because the past ones, even if they were comedic seemed a bit more dark and edgy compared to Poor Things.

ArthurEld Since: May, 2014
#32173: Jul 16th 2024 at 10:35:07 AM

I guess it comes down to whether or not Lighter and Softer applies to a creator's work as a whole.

Because it's generally used for an existing work being changed in an adaptation.

Personally, I don't think it counts, because it seems outside the scope of what LAS is supposed to cover. Otherwise you'd have to add all sorts of examples (George Miller, best known for the Mad Max series, also wrote and directed Happy Feet, just to pick somebody at random).

king15 Have Faun Since: Mar, 2024
Have Faun
#32174: Jul 16th 2024 at 11:14:26 AM

[up][up]Of his films, I've seen The Favourite and Poor Things, as well as about half of The Killing of a Sacred Deer (but know roughly how the rest of the film goes). While I'd say Poor Things is definitely less dark than Sacred Deer, I'd say it is of a similar level of darkness to The Favourite. The main difference is that The Favourite has a Downer Ending, while Poor Things has a happy ending, but Poor Things still has a dark, foreboding tone (especially for the first section prior to Bella leaving, but the dark tone is present throughout the film) that includes themes like suicide, a lack of female autonomy, and implications of paedophilia and incest. So, with my limited knowledge of Yorgos Lanthimos' films, I'd say that Poor Things is about as dark as The Favourite, so not Lighter and Softer, though perhaps his other films are much more dark.

Edited by king15 on Jul 16th 2024 at 9:41:16 AM

Filip04 Since: Nov, 2023
#32175: Jul 16th 2024 at 11:20:57 AM

I have one question concerning National Animal Stereotypes trope used with Rutt and Tuke from Brother Bear. Namely, these two are given Accent Adaptation in the Finnish, German and Swedish dubs where they speak with South-Western Finnish dialect, Swedish accent and Norrland dialect respectively. What I mean by this is that moose are characteristic animals for the Lappish countries (i.e. Finland, Scandinavia and Norway) and I think that these Accent Adaptations should be added to the entries surrounding them, but I worry that this trope only applies to the original English language versions. Can you advise me what to do in this situation?


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