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NemuruMaeNi Since: Apr, 2014
2015-02-10 21:58:11

Refers just once? That would be People Sit On Chairs. Having no idea of what context could be witheld, I'd still say there are signs of buildup of Insistent Terminology.

Trope Finder is the place for these questions.

RayAP9 Since: Mar, 2014
2015-02-10 23:53:46

Lost and Found is for when you're drawing a blank on a trope. When you have a trope in mind, but not sure if it fits, it wouldn't belong in Lost and Found.

Also, yes, just once using the phrase. Even given that, why would it be PSoC? It's a weird quirk he has because of his obsession with water. It's not something one would expect when watching the film for the first time.

Edited by RayAP9 System Specs: GPU, CPU, Dell Inspiron laptop, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-11 01:18:30

There's a thread titled "Is this an example" in the Trope Talk forum which I think is the right place to ask.

BTW, I think Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness is for when a character tends to use long words all the time, not just when they use a fancy job title.

Edited by GnomeTitan
Candi Since: Aug, 2012
2015-02-11 08:58:22

Is there a trope when someone describes a mundane low-level job with a fancy title? I certainly saw it on sitcoms enough.

Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-12 02:32:38

If there isn't a page for that trope, there should be one. It's quite common, not just in comedy, but also in more serious contexts. And in real life as well (where it's often an attempt to raise the status of a low-status job).

Edited by GnomeTitan
NemuruMaeNi Since: Apr, 2014
2015-02-12 05:45:58

^ Did Insistent Terminology not suit you? Or has its defacingly poor attempt at self-demonstration barred you from looking into it?

^x4; People Sit On Chairs was all the example qualified for. It was a "let's play along by taking the example as something explained as good as it needs to be" moment.

Edited by NemuruMaeNi
GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-12 08:00:55

Well, it's a kind of Insistent Terminology. Maybe it's common enough to be a subtrope. Or maybe it is a sister trope - it depends on what Insistent Terminology is really supposed to be.

The description of Insistent Terminology is written in a way that seems to cover the case where one character insists on being called a "water distribution engineer", but not so much the case where that is actually the official job title.

To elaborate a bit on that: the, rather laconic, trope description defines Insistent Terminology as "A character constantly corrects a word (fine, if you say it's called a term, then it's called a term) used in their introduction or any speech that otherwise refers to them, but never seems to stop (all right, keep) anyone else from using it."

To me, this doesn't quite seem to apply to the case where the official job title for a very mundane job is something very important-sounding. It could cover it (when a character insists that the elaborate title be used), but not the case where everybody just use the elaborate title because, well, it is the official title (and the point is that the audience knows what the job really is).

But Tropes Are Flexible so maybe the trope description just needs some tweaking.

Edited by GnomeTitan
SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
2015-02-12 09:06:28

It could overlap with Insistent Terminology, but it's not the same idea.

Insistent Terminology would apply if someone addresses or refers to me as a "travel pay approver" and I correct them to insist that I'm a "travel program budget analyst and certifying official".

However, it's not Insistent Terminology if someone asks me what I do for a living and I answer that I'm an "Active Guard/Reserve Office Travel Fund Budget Analyst and Defense Travel System Reviewing/Certifying/Approving Official". To make that example even more explicit, if I introduced myself as such and somebody answers, "Oh, so you're a budget analyst," and I say, "Yeah, pretty much." That is not remotely Insistent Terminology, but it is absolutely the trope being described above.

GnomeTitan Since: Aug, 2013
2015-02-12 11:03:01

^Having thought it over, I agree - there's not necessarily an "insistent" aspect to the fancy work title, and I think that's the central point here.

I'd say there is one trope about overly fancy terminology (not just job titles) that makes something seem better or more interesting than it is (some kinds of political correctness may belong there as well), and another trope that's Insistent Terminology. They tend to occur together because often the Insistent Terminology is an example of the first trope, but they are not the same since it needn't be inistent.

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
2015-02-12 11:16:22

^ Yeahp.

Now, I do think the "Fancy job title" is a Sub-Trope of Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness. I just happen to think it's prevalent enough to warrant being a separate Sub-Trope.

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
2015-02-12 13:03:28

Oops. That's true.

...Although I could still see employment-related Expospeak Gags being a Sub-Trope with enough examples.

Fighteer MOD (Time Abyss)
2015-02-12 13:38:07

Eh, let's not get into The Same But More Specific arguments if we can avoid it. It would have to serve a distinct narrative role from the parent trope.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
2015-02-12 13:49:59

That's a fair cop. I could see arguments either way, but I don't really see a need for a separate Sub-Trope.

Candi Since: Aug, 2012
2015-02-12 16:59:34

If anyone ever wants to bother, they can throw the idea on YKTTW. If no one wants to, then we have tropes covering it. Either way, is good.

Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
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