A thread discussing similar tropes. If thread participants agree that two (or more) tropes really don't seem distinct enough to be separate, one can start a thread in the Trope Repair Shop for further discussion.
Before asking "What's the difference between these tropes?", check the Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions and Laconical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions lists. They may contain the answer. Feel free to contribute to them, too.
I've decided to start a new cleanup thread dealing with trope similarities. This thread is for discussing tropes that appear to be a duplicate of another trope, and if it's agreed upon that the two tropes talked about are similar enough, one should start a thread about it in the Trope Repair Shop.
I'll start with my issue...
Asian Hooker Stereotype and Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow are pretty much the same trope—they both involve a white man and an Asian woman.
Edited by Tabs on Nov 1st 2022 at 10:57:37 AM
Faux Death seems to be any procedure that will make your body look dead, while Faking the Dead is any action that will make other people think you have died, corpselike body optional.
Bugs Herald Evil and Flies Equals Evil seem to boil down to the same thing, insects = bad news. The former may be a little broader in just any insect while the latter is specifically flies, and the latter is a subtrope of the former, but I'm wondering if there's a false distinction here and FEE is just The Same, but More Specific.
CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
What's the difference between Hi, Mom! and Look Ma, I Am on TV!?
Hqamilicious
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Look Ma, I Am on TV!'s title is misleading. It's actually about people thinking or believing they'll become famous if they appear on television. Hi, Mom! is exactly what it sounds like, and what Look Ma, I Am on TV!'s title sounds like: Someone calls out someone they know when they're on television.
Considering the easy confusion and Look Ma, I Am on TV!'s title having nothing to do with the trope, I wouldn't oppose some solution there. "Squid has to go to market. He's had to go to market for as long as he's sucked water."
How sweet it is
I was going to handle a TRS decision to turn Is That What Theyre Calling It Now into a disambiguation. However, looking at the descriptions, I'm wondering if Imagined Innuendo and Un Entendre have any distinctions.
she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
the Retromancer
I don't see a difference.
- I thought it Un Entendre was That's What She Said, judging by the picture, but if it were, that would just be another duplicate.
So yes, dupe, vote for merge, etc.
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
I'm helping!
I know I've brought this one up before, but the ensuing discussion ended up solving a different problem entirely — I still don't see how fanfic versus expanded-universe makes Outdated by Canon and Canon Marches On meaningfully different at all, much less enough that the former should be classified as trivia while the latter is a trope.
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
the Retromancer
I think the two are mergeable.
Trans Siberian Anarchestra (it/they)
Flies are a particularly common example of Bugs Herald Evil, but Macabre Moth Motif and Spider Swarm are also subtropes. Different vermin express different tones of evil based on their associations - flies and worms eat decaying corpses (so large swarms are a sign of recent or impending mass death), moths eat books and cloth and are prone to self-destruction (so come across as creepy rather than dangerous), mosquitoes are parasitic and spread disease and breed in stagnant water, termites are organised and destroy shelter, ants are organised and predatory.
(Edit: I suppose Ant Assault probably isn't really a subtrope, for the same reason Bugs Herald Evil points out that bees and wasps usually aren't either - the key is insects which are "an inherent threat but lacking in direct violence".)
Edited by Noaqiyeum on Oct 26th 2022 at 8:59:19 PM
The Revolution Will Not Be Tropeable
the Retromancer
Fanfic Fuel vs. Canon Fodder? Both seems to be about plot threads that drives people to make fanfics about.
Trans Siberian Anarchestra (it/they)
Canon Fodder is a bizarrely fandom-centric description of "unresolved plot threads become resolved".
The Revolution Will Not Be Tropeable
the Retromancer
- Fanfic Fuel: An exposition is missing large amounts of detail, leaving it up to imagination.
- Canon Fodder: A long time against a mystery and its eventual resolution results in fandom making up own answers.
Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles
What's the difference between Riddle Me This and Only Smart People May Pass? Is the former a sub-trope of the latter?
Edited by good-morning on Oct 29th 2022 at 8:32:38 AM
oh hey how are you doing?
the Retromancer
I think Only Smart People May Pass is general (also has a lot of relations) while Riddle Me This is for verbal puzzles specifically.
What's the difference between Meta Guy and Genre Savvy?
Edited by SharkToast on Oct 29th 2022 at 9:40:03 AM
the Retromancer
- Meta Guy: Someone who regularly questions implausibility of what's happening around even if it'd be normal in the work's genre.
- Genre Savvy: Someone who consumes a lot of fiction and realizes that some trope is in effect and turns the situation to their advantage.
Colliding Criminal Conspiracies vs Evil Versus Evil?
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
the Retromancer
Camp is exaggerated anything and can refer to many things, typically a stereotype. Large Ham is a verbal type of it when a character talks loudly and impulsively like he's in a theatre.
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
From Clones to Genre vs. Genre Turning Point? I brought up the former earlier in relation to Genre Popularizer, but was told the two weren't dupes. But now I'm wondering if it's too similar to Genre Turning Point?
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
I'm helping!
Evil Versus Evil is the top-top-level supertrope for all "bad guy fights another bad guy" situations. Colliding Criminal Conspiracies appears to be one particular way it can happen, focusing on illegal activity in particular, though we haven't seen this page before and we'd want to double-check what the description is actually trying to say.
Edited by wingedcatgirl on Oct 31st 2022 at 5:58:32 AM
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
Felony Misdemeanor vs. Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life vs. All Crimes Are Equal? All of them sound like "minor crime is treated more harshly than it should".
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
What's the difference between Faux Death and Faking the Dead?