Just for Pun

Sometimes we make punny trope names, just for pun. Some people like this, while others view it as cruel and punusual punishment.

Compare Tropemanteau.

Please, when you add a new article title here, add the source of the pun (i.e. the original title or quote or whatever) in a note behind it. Many puns here are just too obscure for most of us.

And no, you are not supposed to explain your own puns like this page does.

If you came here looking for an index of pun-related tropes, rather than tropes whose names are puns, that's Pun.

Punny Indices:

A Safe Index to Hide (a safe place to hide)
Amazing Technicolor Index (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
Books on Trope (books on tape)
Can't Stomach This Index
Hocus Tropus (hocus pocus)
I Have Your Index (I Have Your Wife)
Ind ex Machina (Deus ex Machina)
Infauxmation Desk (information desk)
Invisibility Index (visibility index)
Just for Pun (Just for Fun)
The Parent Trope (The Parent Trap)
Purple Is the New Trope (Purple Is the New Black)
Queer as Tropes (Queer as Folk)
The Smoking Section
Spoilered Rotten (spoiled rotten)
Stay Ahead of This Index
Tail of the Index
Tastes Like An Index (Tastes Like Chicken)
This Index is a Real Pain

Punny Trope Names:

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Tropes A-D

Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"
Accent Depundent "accent-dependent"
Accident & Entertainment "Accident and Emergency" - now a redirect to Putting the "Medic" in Comedic
Acrofatic "acrobatic"
Acting Unnatural "Act natural!"
Addiction Displacement Adaptation Displacement
Adipose Rex Oedipus Rex + adipose tissues, meaning fats
Adolf Hitlarious Adolf Hitler
Aerith and Bob Alice and Bob
Affair Hair fair — that is, blond — hair
Affirmative Action Girl "affirmative action" + Action Girl
Agony of the Feet "agony of defeat"
Air Voyance "clairvoyance"
A.K.A.-47 AK-47
Alcohol Hic alcoholic
Aliens Steal Cable probably unintentional pun on "Steel Cable", as well as Aliens Steal Cattle
The All-Concealing "I" "the all-seeing eye"
All-Ghouls School "all-girls school"
The All-Seeing A.I. also "the all-seeing eye"
All the Worlds Are a Stage "All the world's a stage"
Alphabet Soup Cans "alphabet soup" + Solve the Soup Cans
Altar the Speed "alter the speed"
The Alternet "alternate" + "Internet"
Anchored Ship relationship going nowhere, like a tethered boat
And Now for Someone Completely Different "And now for something completely different."
Animal Wrongs Group "animal rights group"
Angrish "angry" and "Engrish"
Apathy Killed the Cat "Curiosity killed the cat"
Apocalypse How Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Not Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Wow Apocalypse Now
Arc Welding "arc" as in a story arc
Arkham's Razor portmanteau of Occam's Razor and Arkham from the Cthulhu Mythos, and/or Arkham Asylum from Batman
Armed Farces "armed forces"
Armed with Canon "armed with cannon"
Ash Face the insult "ass face"
Ashes to Crashes "ashes to ashes"
Attention Deficit Creator Disorder "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder"
Atomic F-Bomb "atomic bomb"
Auto Erotica a pun on "auto" in the sense of a car, and "autoerotica"
Awesome Moment of Crowning Crowning Moment of Awesome
Awful Wedded Life "lawful wedded wife"
Ax-Crazy "acts crazy"
Axe Before Entering "ask before entering"
An Axe to Grind a literal play on the common expression
Baa Bomb Bob-omb
Baby Boomers bombs hidden in baby carriages
Bad Habits nuns wearing habits + bad habits, as in behavioural patterns
Bad Humor Truck Good Humor, an ice cream company
Bad to the Last Drop Maxwell House Coffee slogan "Good to the last drop"
Bad with the Bone Bad to the bone
Balloonacy lunacy
"Balls" Gag ball gag
Band of Brothels plays on "band of brothers" from the original Saint Crispin's Day speech
Bathroom Break-Outbathroom break
Battle in the Center of the Mind Journey to the Center of the Earth
Bayonet Ya Bayonetta
Beardness Protection Program / Beardless Protection Program "Witness Protection program"
Beard of Directors "Board of Directors"
Bears are Bad News The Bad News Bears
Beary Friendly ...very friendly
Beary Funny ...very funny
Beat Still, My Heart "Be still, my heart"
Bee Afraid "Be afraid"
Bee Bee Gun BB gun
Beetle Maniac Beatlemaniacs
Bifauxnen Bishōnen
Big Applesauce "The Big Apple", common nickname for New York City
Big Bra to Fill "big shoes to fill"
Big Brother is Employing You Big Brother Is Watching
Big Dam Plot Big Damn Heroes
Bi the Way "by the way"
Black Hole Sue "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
Bland-Name Product "brand name product"
Bleed 'em and Weep "read 'em and weep"
Blood Bath The term "bloodbath" separated into two words to refer to a literal bath in blood
Blood Is Squicker in Water "Blood is Thicker Than Water"
Blood Lust The term "bloodlust" adopted to refer to a literal lust for blood, rather than a general joy of committing violence
Bloodstained Glass Windows stained glass windows
Bloody Hilarious "bloody" being used both as slang and literally
A Bloody Mess ditto
Bloody Murder Where blood itself is used to cause a murder
Blunt Metaphors Trauma "blunt force trauma"
Board to Death "Bored to death"
Boggles the Mind after the word game Boggle
Boldly Coming "to boldly go where no man has gone before."
Boogie Knights Boogie Nights
Book and Switch Bait and Switch
Born To Pun Born to Run
Boy Meets Ghoul Boy Meets Girl
Brawn Hilda Brünnhilde
Break the Haughty Break the Cutie
Bride and Switch "Bait and switch"
Bridge Logic Fridge Logic
Bubble Gun bubble gum
Bullet Holes and Revelations Black Holes and Revelations, by Muse
Bullet Index Bullet lists of HTML coding
Butter Face "But her face"
By the Lights of Their Eyes "by the whites of their eyes"
By Wall That Is Holey "by all that is holy"
Camera Obscurer Camera Obscura
The Can Kicked Him "Kicked the Can" reversed
Canon Fodder "cannon fodder"
Canon Welding "cannon welding"
Captain Oblivious "Captain Obvious"
Cargo Ship an object-centered\transporting ship
Casting a Shadow "casting a shadow" and "casting" spells.
Cat-apult "cat" and "catapult"
Catch a Falling Star protagonist/celestial body
Caught the Heart on His Sleeve "wearing your heart on your sleeve"
Centrifugal Farce "centrifugal force"
Cerberus Syndrome Misspelling of Cerebus Syndrome and a reference to Cerberus
The Chains of Commanding chain of command
Chairman of the Brawl "chairman of the board"
Chekov's Gun Chekhov's Gun
Chic And Awe "shock and awe"
The Chosen Zero The Chosen One
Christmas Rushed "Christmas rush"
Cicadian Rhythm circadian rhythm
City of Weirdos City of Heroes
Civil Warcraft Civil War
Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive Clap Your Hands If You Believe
Clipped Wing Angel One-Winged Angel
Clock Roaches "cockroaches"
Clothes Make the Maniac "clothes make the man"
Clothes Make the Superman ditto
Cluster F-Bomb "cluster bomb"
Coitus Uninterruptus "coitus interruptus"
Colon Cancer punctuation mark/large intestine
Comeback Tomorrow "come back tomorrow"
Comic Sutra Kama Sutra
Command & Conquer Economy "command economy" plus Command & Conquer
Com Mons Commons
Compressed Hair "compressed air"
Compressed Vice "compressed ice"
Confusion Fu "kung fu":
Cool and Unusual Punishment Cruel and unusual punishment
Les Cops Sportif Le Coq Sportif, a French clothing company
Cordon Bleugh Chef Le Cordon Bleu, the instution of French cooking, and "blegh", disgust
Crappy Holidays "happy holidays"
Crapsaccharine World Crapsack World
Crash Course Landing "crash course"
Crate Expectations "great expectations"
Crater Power Greater Power
Crime After Crime "time after time"
Crime Time Soap "Prime Time Soap"
The Croc Is Ticking "the clock is ticking"
Cue O'Clock "two o'clock"
Cunning Linguist "cunnilingus"
Curiosity Killed the Cast also from Curiosity killed the cat
Curse Is Foiled Again "Curses! Foiled again!"
Curse of the Ancients "curse" as in profanity, "ancients" as in old people
Danger Takes a Backseat Death Takes a Holiday

The Day the Music Lied The Day the Music Died
Dead Line News Headline News
Dead Man Honking "dead man walking"
Dead Man's Chest a chest with a dead man, obviously
Dead Man Switch Dead Man's Switch
Dead Weight a pun on the figure of speech "dead weight" and the most prominent characteristic of fat zombies
Death Dealer playing cards as weapons, i.e. "dealing death"
A Death in the Limelight A Day in the Limelight
Death Is Cheap "Talk is cheap"
Death Throws "death throes"
Debate and Switch Bait and Switch
Deface of the Moon "the face of the moon"
Deliver Us from Evilthe line from the Lord's Prayer crossed with delivering a baby
Delusions of DoghoodDelusions of Godhood
Denied Parody "denied parity"
Depleted Phlebotinum Shells "depleted uranium shells"
Depopulation Bomb The Population Bomb, a 1968 book by Paul Ehrlich
Depth Deception "depth perception"
Depth Perplexion also "depth perception"
Despair Event Horizon or "Morale Event Horizon", punning off Moral Event Horizon
Determinator The Terminator
Detonation Moon Destination Moon, an early sci-fi movie and novel by Robert A. Heinlein
Deus Angst Machina*
Deus Ax Machina*
Deus Est Machina*
Deus Exit Machina*
Deus Sex Machina* * all from Deus ex Machina
Diamonds in the Buff "diamonds in the rough"
Dies Wide Open "eyes wide open"
Diplomatic Impunity "diplomatic immunity"
Dirty Harriet Dirty Harry
Disco Tech "discotheque"
Discriminate and Switch Bait and Switch
Disney Creatures of the Farce "creatures of the forest"
Distress Ball Stress ball
Divided States of America "United States Of America"
Domed Hometown Doomed Hometown
Donut Mess with a Cop "do not mess with a cop"
Doom It Yourself "do it yourself"
Dork Age Dark Age
Dork Horse Candidate "dark horse candidate"
Dork Knight "Dark Knight" + "dork"
Down L.A. Drain "down the drain" + L.A.
Dr. Fakenstein "Dr. Frankenstein"
Dragon Their Feet "dragging their feet"
Dragons Up the Yin Yang "up the yin yang"
Dub Text subtext
Dueling Dojos Dueling Banjos
Dumb and Drummer Dumb and Dumber
Dung Fu "kung fu" + "dung"
Dyeing for Your Art "dying for your art"
Dye Hard Die Hard
Dye or Die same sound, different spelling and meaning/"do or die"
Dysfunction Junction Conjunction Junction, a Schoolhouse Rock song

Tropes E-K

Eenie, Meenie, Miny Moai Eenie Meenie Miny Mo
E = MC Hammer E = mc^2, MC Hammer
Egg MacGuffin "Egg McMuffin"
Elevator Action Sequence Elevator Action
The Elevator from Ipanema "The Girl from Ipanema"
Elevator Going Down a play on the double meaning of the phrase "going down"
Elvish Presley 'Elvis Presley'
Enemy Mime Enemy Mine
Engaging Conversation "engaging" as in marriage engagement
Epic Flail Epic Fail
Epic Hail Epic Fail
The Eponymous Show Partially named after Eponymous Kid, who started the campaign against "trope" in trope titles years before it became official policy. The working title was "The Trope Show".
Epunymous Title "eponymous title"
Everything's Deader with Zombies Everything's Better with...
Everyone Looks Sexier If French Everything Sounds Sexier in French
Evilutionary Biologist Evolutionary biologist
Extra-ore-dinary extraordinary
Extreme Omni Goat Extreme Omnivore
Eye Am Watching You "I am watching you."
Eyedscreen "Eyes in Widescreen"
Eye Glasses eyeglasses - the trope is about glasses that seem to behave like actual eyeballs
Eye Recall "I Recall" as in "If I Recall Correctly"
Eye Spy I spy
Eye Scream ice cream
The Eyes Have It "the 'ayes' have it"
Facial Profiling racial profiling
Failing a Taxi hailing a taxi
Failure Is the Only Option "failure is not an option"
Fair Cop "It's a fair cop" i.e. "okay, you caught me fair and square"
Fairy Sexy "very sexy"
Faith–Heel Turn Face–Heel Turn
Fake in the Hole "Fire in the hole!"
Fake-Real Turn Face–Heel Turn
Faking the Dead Waking the Dead
Fall of the House of Cards Fall of the House of Usher
The Family That Slays Together "The family that plays together stays together"
Fan Disservice Fanservice
Fan Dumb Fandom
Fanon canon
Fanservice Pack "service pack"
Fan Service With A Smile "service with a smile"; google it
Fantastic Noir "Fantastic Four''
Fartillery "artillery"
Farts on Fire "hearts on fire"
Fauxlosophic Narration "philosophic narration"
Faux Paw "faux pas"
Fauxreigner "foreigner"
Fauxshadow "foreshadow"
Fauxtastic Voyage Fantastic Voyage
Fauxtivational Poster motivational poster
Faux to Guide "How To Guide"
Faux Yay Foe Yay
Feathered Fiend feathered friend
Feed by Example "Lead by example"
Fee Fi Faux Pas "Fee fi fo fum"
Femme Fatalons Femme Fatale
Feng Schwing Feng shui
A Fête Worse Than Death A Fate Worse Than Death
Fiction 500 Fortune 500
Fight Fur Your Right To Party "fight for your right to party"
Fingore finger
The Firefly Effect Butterfly Effect
Firemen Are Hot being high in temperature/sexually attractive
First Person Snapshooter First-Person Shooter
Fishing for Sole the type of fish vs. the bottom of a shoe
Flamethrower Backfire flamethrower fuel tanks are typically worn on your back, and getting it shot could have incendiary consequences for you
Flipping Helpless "flipping" as both a mild expletive and a literal verb
Flying Under the Gaydar "flying under the radar"
Foe Yay Ho Yay or foyer
Follow the Plotted Line "follow the dotted line"
Foo Fu Kung Fu
For Doom the Bell Tolls For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Inconvenience, Press "1" "for information press one"
For the Evulz "for the lulz"
Foreign Queasine "Foreign Cuisine"
Formulaic Magic "formulaic" as in "of mathematical formulas", not "unoriginal"
Fountain of Memes "Fountain of Dreams"
Four Lines, All Waiting "no lines, no waiting"
Fowl-Mouthed Parrot "foul-mouthed parrot"
Free-Range Children "free range chicken"
Free Wheel "free will"
Fruit of The Loon Fruit of the Loom, which is itself a pun on "Fruit of the Womb"
Full-Boar Action "full-bore action"
Fully Automatic Clip Show "fully automatic clip"
Full-Name Basis "first name basis"
Fulton Street Folly "Fulton's folly"
Fur and Loathing "fear and loathing", or more specifically Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Future Is Noir The Future Is Now
Game-Over Man when you lose, he appears as if to say "Game Over, man!"
Gambit Roulette "Russian Roulette"
Garbage Post Kid Garbage Pail Kids
Garden of Evil Garden of Eden
Gasshole "asshole"
Gaydar radar
Gendercide genocide
Gene Hunting Life On Mars' character Gene Hunt
Generation Xerox Generation X
Germanic Depressives "manic-depressive"
Get into Jail Free "Get out of Jail Free" Card
Ghostapo Gestapo
Ghost Butler Ghostbusters
Give Geeks a Chance "Give Peace a Chance"
Giving Them the Strip "giving them the slip"
God Couple The Odd Couple
God Save Us from the Queen! "God Save the Queen"
The Gods Must Be Lazy The Gods Must Be Crazy
Going by the Matchbook "going by the book"
Going Fur a Swim "going for a swim"
Good Angel, Bad Angel "good cop, bad cop"
Good-Looking Privates low-ranking enlisted personnel, of course. What else could that refer to?
Gotta Get Your Head Together "get your head together"
Grave Clouds serious/place of burial
Grave Humor ditto
Gravity Is a Harsh Seamstress Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress
The Greatest History Never Told The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Never Told ditto
Green Boy Color Green and Game Boy Color
Grey and Gray Morality note the spelling
Grievous Bottley Harm "grievous bodily harm"
Grievous Harm with a Body ditto
The Guards Must Be Crazy The Gods Must Be Crazy
Guide Dang It "God dang it""
Gung Holier Than Thou "gung ho" plus "holier than thou"
Hail to the Thief "Hail to the Chief"
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow "here today, gone tomorrow"
Half the Man He Used to Be with "half the man" being applied literally
Ham and Cheese "ham" as in Large Ham and "cheese" meaning schlock
Ham-to-Ham Combat "hand to hand combat"
A Handful for an Eye hand for a hand, eye for an eye
Handy Cuffs "handcuffs"
Hannibal Lecture Hannibal Lecter
Hate Sink "heat sink"
Health Food Term normally refers to healthy foods to eat (the original name for Hyperactive Metabolism)
Heart Drive hard drive
Heavy Meta Heavy Metal
Heavy Mithril Heavy Metal
Heel–Face Return*
Heel–Faith Turn* both Heel–Face Turn
Heir Club for Men Hair Club for Men
Heliotropes "helios" = Greek "sun" + "tropes"; no relation to the flowers
Hell-Bent for Leather A literal application of the idiomatic phrase.
Hellevator "elevator"
Hellish Copter "Helicopter"
Hemo Erotic "Homoerotic"
Her Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On"
He Who Must Not Be Seen "He Who Must Not Be Named"
He Who Must Not Be Heard also "He Who Must Not Be Named"
Hide And No Seek "hide and go seek"
High-Heel–Face Turn Heel–Face Turn
High-Pressure Blood High Blood Pressure
Hilarity In Zoos Hilarity Ensues
Hilarity Sues also Hilarity Ensues
His Story Repeats Itself history repeats itself
Horny Devils lustful demons - which may or may not have horns
Horny Vikings derived from their stereotypical horned helmets
Hot for Preacher "Hot for Teacher"
Hot Scoop an "exclusive" story or interview/to catch/a scoop-neck top
How Do I Used Tense? How Do I Shot Web?
Hugh Mann human
Human Resources resources extracted from human bodies
Humanity Ensues Hilarity Ensues
Hyde and Seek "hide and seek"
Ice-Cream Koan "ice cream cone"
An Ice Person "a nice person"
I Have Your Index I Have Your Wife
I'm a Humanitarian
Implausible Deniability Plausible Deniability
In the Hood "in the 'hood"
Inaction Sequence "action sequence"
Incest Is Relative "incest" = romantic love or sex between two close relatives
Incredibly Lame Fun Incredibly Lame Pun
Index to the Rescue
Inhumanable Alien Rights "inalienable human rights"
Inhuman Resources Human Resources
Inn Between the Worlds "in between"
Inn Security insecurity
Insecurity System "security system"
Instant Messenger Pigeon instant messenger + messenger pigeon
Intro Dump infodump
I Resemble That Remark! "I resent that remark"
Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
Inventional Wisdom A play on "Conventional Wisdom", which none of the inventors in this trope seem to have
iSophagus iPod in esophagus
It's a Small Net After All "It's a Small World After All"
Jack the Ripoff Jack the Ripper
Jail Bake jailbreak
Jailbird of Panama The Tailor of Panama
Japandering Japan + pandering
The Jaywalking Dead The Walking Dead
Jeanne d'Archétype Jeanne d'Arc
The Joy of X "The Joy of Sex"
Just Desserts "Just deserts", except the villain actually gets eaten
Just Plane Wrong "just plain wrong"
Just Train Wrong "just plain wrong"
Kevlard "Kevlar"
Kick the Son of a Bitch Kick the Dog
Knight Fever "night fever"
The Knights Who Say "Squee!" "The Knights Who Say Ni"
Knocking on Heathens' Door knocking on heaven's door
Kosher Nostra Cosa Nostra
Kung-Fu Proof Mook say it out loud
Kung-Shui "feng shui"
Laconical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions "Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions", of which the former is a Snowclone. Laconical is a word, but it is an archaic form of the more standard "Laconic".

Tropes L-O

Large Ham Radio "ham radio"
Last Disrespects "last respects"
Last Name Basis "first name basis"
Last Plan Standing "last man standing"
Launcher of a Thousand Ships "the face that launch'd a thousand ships"
Let's Duet "let's do it"
Let's Have A Ceilidh "Let's Have a Kiki"
Level Ate "level 8"
Limey Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My! "Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!"
Lipstick and Load Montage Lock and Load Montage
Little Brother Is Watching Big Brother Is Watching
Little Dead Riding Hood Little Red Riding Hood
Little Miss Snarker Little Miss Marker
The Living Dead concerns living actors playing dead characters
A Load of Bull "a load of bull(shit)"
Locked into Strangeness a lock of hair
The Loins Sleep Tonight "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" song
Loose Canon "loose cannon"
Losing Your Head A figurative statement turned literal
Lost in the Maize "maze"
Lost Will And Testament "last will and testament"
Loud of War "Lord of War"
Louis Cypher "Lucifer"
A Love to Dismember "a love to remember"
Lowest Cosmic Denominator Lowest Common Denominator
Mage in Manhattan Maid in Manhattan, itself a Pun-Based Title
Magical Mystery Doors "Magical Mystery Tour" (The Beatles album)
Mailer Daemon references an automatic process that runs in the background and handles incoming email messages
Making a Spectacle of Yourself "spectacles", as in eyeglasses
Making Love in All the Wrong Places "Lookin' for Love (In All the Wrong Places)"
Malcolm Xerox Malcolm X
Marathon Running "running" as in being aired by a network
Marked Change "marked" being used in the literal sense
Married to the Job Married to the Mob
Martial Arts and Crafts "arts and crafts"
Marty Stu Mary Sue
Mary Suetopia Mary Sue + Utopia
Mary Tzu Mary Sue + Sun Tzu
Master of Delusion Master of Illusion
Mayor Pain "major pain"
Me's a Crowd "three's a crowd"
Medal of Dishonor "medal of honor"
Mega Neko Meganekko
Mêlée à Trois "ménage à trois"
Mellow Fellow "mellow yellow"
Memetic Mutation "genetic mutation"
Men Buy from Mars, Women Buy from Venus Men are from Mars (bars), Women are from Venus (razors)
Mentor Ship mentorship / mentor+Shipping
Mercurial Base "mercurial" meaning both "moves around" and "frequently found on Mercury"
Metaphorgotten metaphor + forgotten
Million Mook March Million Man March
Mind over Manners Mind over Matter
Misguided Missile "guided missile"
Miss Conception "misconception"
Mobile-Suit Human Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobstacle Course "obstacle course"
Moby Schtick "Moby-Dick" plus "entertainment routines"
Mock Cousteau Jacques Cousteau
Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness The Mohs scale, only with Rock & Roll and Heavy Metal instead of rocks and metals.
The Mourning After "the morning after"
Mouthful of Pi "mouthful of pie"
The Moving Experience wordplay in that "moving" here refers to physical movement to a new home
Mr. Vice Guy "Mr. Nice Guy"
Multi-Armed and Dangerous "armed and dangerous"
Multiple Head Case "head case" = insane
Mundanger "mundane" + "danger"
The Murder After "the morning after"
Murder in the Family "murder(ing) the family"
Music of Note importance/music note
Musical Chores "musical chairs"
Musicalis Interruptus "coitus interruptus"
My Beloved Smother "my beloved mother"
My Little Panzer My Little Pony
My Little Phony My Little Pony
My Own Private "I Do" My Own Private Idaho
My Rule-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours My Kung-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours
Nature Abhors a Virgin "nature abhors a vacuum"
Nature Adores a Virgin ditto
Naval Gazing "Navel-Gazing"
Neck Lift literally lifting somebody by the neck, not the cosmetic-surgery technique
The Need for Mead "the need... for speed"
Nepharious Pharaoh "nefarious".
New Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind
Newbie Boom "baby boom"
Newspaper-Thin Disguise Paper-Thin Disguise
Nice Job Breaking It, Herod! Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
Nipple and Dimed "nickel-and-dimed"
Nitro Express after Nitro Express, a series of cartridges used in large-bore hunting rifles
"Noah's Story" Arc Noah's Ark + Story Arc
No Body Left Behind No One Gets Left Behind
No Dead Body Poops Nobody Poops
No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine "No, Mr. Bond... I expect you to die."
No One Respects the Spanish Inquisition "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
No Periods, Period "period" can mean both menstruation and a full stop
No Shirt, Long Jacket "Short Skirt, Long Jacket"
No Woman's Land "no man's land"
No Yay also a pun on Ho Yay
Noodle Implements Noodle Incident
Norse by Norsewest North By Northwest
Not Right in the Bed "not right in the head"
Nothing Is Scarier "nothing is scarier than..." crossed with the noun "nothing"
Nubile Savage Noble Savage
Nuns N' Rosaries Guns N' Roses
Nun Too Holy "none too holy"
The Obi-Wannabe Obi-Wan Kenobi
Of Corpse He's Alive "of course he's alive!"
Of Corset Hurts "of course it hurts!"
Of Corsets Sexy "of course it's sexy!"
Obsessed Are the Listmakers "Blessed are the peacemakers"
Obfuscating Disability Obfuscating Stupidity
Olympus Mons "Mons from the Olympus", and the actual mountain in Mars
Omazing Powerup After the "Om" used in chanting
Omnicidal Maniac "homicidal maniac"
One-Hit-Point Wonder One-Hit Wonder
One-Scene Wonder also One-Hit Wonder
One Tract Mind "one track mind"
One True Threesome "One Two Three"
One-Two Punchline one-two punch
One, Two, Three, Four, Go! The entire trope is based on a pun.
"Open!" Says Me "Open Sesame"
The Operators Must Be Crazy The Gods Must Be Crazy
Orchestral Bombing "orchestrated bombing campaign"
Out-of-Genre Experience "out of body experience"
Out with a Bang "bang" as in an act of coitus
Overt Operative "covert operative"
The Owl-Knowing One "the all-knowing one"

Tropes P-S

Panda-ing to the Audience Pandering to the Audience with Pandas
Parodic Table of the Elements Periodic Table Of The Elements
Party of Representatives political/representative party + role-playing Player Party
Pass Fail from "pass/fail" as an academic term
Passing Judgment "passing" in the sense of "moving past" and "passing" in the sense of "expressing"
People of Hair Color "people of color"
Perfumigation "fumigation"
Perma-Shave Burma-Shave
Personal Space Invader "personal space"
Person of Mass Construction Person Of Mass Destruction
Person of Mass Destruction Weapon of Mass Destruction
Pet Heir "pet hair"
Phlegmings "lemmings"
Phoney Call "phone call", used to be called Fauxn Call
Pin-Pulling Teeth either teeth that pull out grenade pins or grenade pins pulling out teeth
The Pin Is Mightier Than the Sword The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Plane Spotting Trainspotting
Pocket Protector One kind protects the shirt; the other, the wearer.
Pony Tale "ponytail"
Pooled Funds swimming pool vs. common money
Poor Communication Kills "poor communication skills"
The Poorly Chosen One "poorly chosen"
Porn Stache Porn Stash
Porting Disaster "courting disaster"
Power Gives You Wings "Red Bull gives you wings!"
Pre-Climax Climax "climax" being used in both the sexual and dramatic senses
Precision F-Strike "precision strike"
Premature Aggravation "premature ejaculation"
Premature Encapsulation ditto
President Evil Resident Evil
Pretty in Mink Pretty in Pink
Pretty Spry for a Dead Guy "Pretty Fly for a White Guy", The Offspring
Prophetic Fallacy Pathetic fallacy
A Protagonist Is Ryu A Winner Is You and all of its associated tropes
Psychic-Assisted Suicide Physician-Assisted Suicide
Ptero Soarer "pterosaur"
Public Exposure The criminal offence of "public exposure", "exposure" in the sense of publicity and the camera term for how long the shutter is open
Pungeon Master Dungeon Master
Punny Name "funny name"
Putting on the Reich "Puttin' on the Ritz"
Questionable Consent Questionable Content
Quicksand Box Quicksand
Race Lift "face lift"
Raising the Steaks "Raising the stakes"
Ramprovisation "Improvisation"
Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs Good Old Fisticuffs
Rash Equilibrium Nash equilibrium
Reaching Between the Lines Reading Between The Lines
Reality Ensues Hilarity Ensues
Red Eyes, Take Warning "red sky at morning, sailors take warning"
Refrain from Assuming to hold back/the chorus of a song
Remilitarized Zone Demilitarised zone
The Resolution Will Not Be Televised "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
- The Resolution Will Not Be Identified
Ret Gone Retcon
Retirony retirement + irony
Retraux faux + retro
Revenge SVP RSVP
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", again
The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified same as above
Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense "poor in cents"
Right on Queue "right on cue"
Rip Tailoring actor-comedian Rip Taylor
Rip Van Tinkle Rip Van Winkle
Rock Me, Asmodeus! "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco
Role Called "roll call"
Room Disservice "room service"
Roswell That Ends Well All's Well That Ends Well
Rule of Pool Rule of Cool
Rummage Fail "rummage sale"
Rump Roast A character's rear end (or "rump") gets burned.
Sadly Mythtaken "sadly mistaken"
Safety Worst "safety first"
Scaled Up "scaled up" = made larger + "scaled up" = covered in scales
Scooby-Dooby Doors "Scooby dooby doo!"
Scooby Stack "Scooby snack"
Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Screw the Rules, I Have Money!
Screw Yourself a common insult, applied literally
Scry vs. Scry "Spy vs. Spy"
Sealed Evil in a Duel Sealed Evil in a Can
Second Face Smoke "second-hand smoke"
See Water "seawater"
Self Offense "self defense"
Self-Fanservice "self-service"
Send in the Clones "Send in the Clowns"
Senseless Violins "senseless violence"
Series Fauxnale "series finale"
Serkis Folk "circus folk"
Seriously Scruffy "Seriously" can be used as an intensifier, therefore the trope name can mean either "Very scruffy" or "Scruffy because things are serious".
"Sesame Street" Cred Sesame Street + "street cred"
Set the World on Fire referencing works in which the Earth is literally set ablaze
Sexiled "exiled"
Sexophone "saxophone"
Sexposition portmanteau of "sex" and Exposition
Sextra Credit: "extra credit"
Shaggy Frog Story Shaggy Dog Story
Shear Menace "sheer menace"
She-Fu "sifu"
Sherlock Homage Sherlock Holmes
Ship Mates "ship mates," i.e. fellow sailors
Ship Sinking relationship sinking like a wrecked boat
Ship Tease "striptease"
The Ship Yard the docking location of many vessels; Also, just about every trope there is a pun
Shock and Awe "shock" meaning a literal electric charge
Shoo Out the Clowns "Send in the Clowns"
Shoo the Dog Shoot the Dog
The Show Must Go Wrong The Show Must Go On
Sickeningly Sweethearts Sickeningly Sweet
Single Malt Vision "single-malt Scotch" + Double Vision
Single-Palette Town "single palette" + Pallet Town
Sit Comic a Sitcom starring a stand-up comic
Skeletons in the Coat Closet "skeletons in the closet", i.e. embarrassing or damaging secrets
Skirts and Ladders "Chutes and Ladders", a board game
Slippery Soap "slippery slope"
Slow No "slow mo"
Smithical Marriage "mythical marriage"
Smoking Gun Control "smoking gun"
Smoking Hot Sex with "smoking" here referring to smoking tobacco rather than the degree of passion
Snark Bait "shark bait"
The Snark Knight The Dark Knight
Social Semi-Circle "social circle"
Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond
Something Else Also Rises The Sun Also Rises
Songs in the Key of Lock normally songs are written in a major or a minor key
Soul-Powered Engine Coal powered engine
Sound Defect Sound effect
Sounds of Science "Sounds of Silence"
Spare to the Throne "heir to the throne"
Spin-Offspring Spinoff and "Offspring"
Spoiled Sweet "spoiled rotten"
Spring Cleaning Fever "spring fever"
Squat's in a Name "What's in a name?"
Start of Darkness Heart of Darkness
Steel Ear Drums Steel Drums
Step into the Blinding Fight "Step Into the Blinding Light"
Stock Ness Monster Loch Ness Monster
Stock Punishment Stock Punishment is a stock punishment (in the same vein as Stock Phrases, Stock Characters, etc.)
Stocking Filler a play on "stocking filler" (as in a small Christmas gift), this trope deals with sexily-stockinged women
The Straight and Arrow Path "the straight and narrow path"
Straight to the Pointe "straight to the point"
Stranger in a Familiar Land Stranger in a Strange Land
Strawberry Shorthand strawberry shortcake
Suck E. Cheese's Chuck E. Cheese
Sucksessor "successor"
Sue Donym "pseudonym"
Suetiful All Along Beautiful All Along
Suit with Vested Interests "suit with vest" + "vested interests" + "suit" as a metaphor for a Corrupt Corporate Executive
Suppressed Mammaries "suppressed memories"
Swing Low, Sweet Harriet "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
Swipe Your Blade Off "wipe your blade off"
Sword Almighty "Lord Almighty"
Synchronized Swarming "synchronized swimming"

Tropes T-Z

Take a Moment to Catch Your Death "...to catch your breath"
Take Me Out at the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
Taken for Granite "taken for granted"
Talking Poo usually means "speaking nonsense"
The Taming of the Grue The Taming of the Shrew
Tank Goodness "thank goodness"
Tanks, but No Tanks "thanks, but no thanks"
Tanks for Nothing "thanks for nothing"
Tanks For The Memories "thanks for the memories"
Tantrum Throwing a reference to the phrase "throwing a tantrum," this trope is about throwing objects during a tantrum
Technological Pacifist Technical Pacifist
Teeny Weenie "teeny weeny" + wiener, or genitalia
Telephone Polearm "telephone pole + polearm"
Tentacle Rope "tentacle rape"
Terra Deforming "terraforming"
Thanatos Gambit Xanatos Gambit + Thanatos, the Greek god of death
Thanks for the Mammary "thanks for the memories"
That Old Time Prescription "that old time religion"
That Poor Car That Poor Cat
That Poor Cat That Darn Cat!
That Syncing Feeling "that sinking feeling"
There Will Be Toilet Paper There Will Be Blood
Third Line, Some Waiting "no lines, no waiting"
This Bed of Rose's "bed of roses"
This Is a Drill This Is Not a Drill
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman "This looks like a job for Superman!"
This Means Warpaint This Means War!
Throw the Mook at Them Throw the Book at Them
Thud and Blunder "Blood and thunder"
Tinkle in the Eye "Twinkle in the eye"
Title Scream "Title screen"
Toasted Buns A character's rear end (or "buns") gets burned by a jet pack.
The Tooth Hurts "the truth hurts"
Top God "top dog"
The Topic of Cancer "Tropic of Cancer"
Trade Snark "trademark" + "snark"
Trainstopping "Trainspotting"
Transflormation "A transformation into flora"
The Trap Parents The Parent Trap
Trash Landing "crash landing"
Trash of the Titans Clash of the Titans
Tree Buchet "Trebuchet", a catapult-like siege weapon
Trenchcoat Warfare Trench warfare
Triang Relations "triangulations"
Tribal Carry Bridal Carry
Trojan Gauntlet "Trojan" as in the brand of condoms
Trouble Entendre Double Entendre
Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty from the Chamillionaire song "Ridin'"
Tuck and Cover a play on the combat maneuver "Duck and Cover"
Tutu Fancy "too fancy"
Twerp Sweating Perp Sweating
Twincest twins + "incest"
Two Dun It "whodunit"
Two Lines, No Waiting "no lines, no waiting"
Tyke Bomb "time bomb"
Type Caste "typecast"
Typeset in the Future "set in the future"
Uncanny Valley Girl Uncanny Valley + Valley Girl
Uncatty Resemblance "uncanny resemblance"
Uncle Tomfoolery "Uncle Tom"
Unconscious Objector conscientious objector
The Unfair Sex "the fair sex," i.e. womankind
Unholy Matrimony "holy matrimony"
Unishment "punishment" that is actually a reward
Unsexy Sadist "Sexy Sadie"
Unsound Effect "sound effect"
Uranus Is Showing "your anus is showing"
Urban Legend of Zelda "urban legend" plus The Legend of Zelda
Urine Trouble "you're in trouble!"
Use Your Head literally!
Vampire Bites Suck dual meaning of "suction"/"not good"
Van in Black The Men in Black
Vapor Wear Vaporware
Verbal Ticked Verbal Tic
Victoria's Secret Compartment Victoria's Secret (lingerie company)
The Von Trope Family Von Trapp Family
Wager Slave "wage slave"
Waif-Fu "waifu"
Wall Bang Her "wall banger"
Wall Glower "wallflower"
War Ship shipping in battle, maybe even in a war vessel
Water Wake-up "What a wakeup"
Weapon Wields You In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You joke
We Didn't Start the Führer "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Weight and Switch "Bait and Switch"
Weight Taller "way taller"
A Weighty Aesop "weighty" in the sense of anviliciousness, and fat
What a Drag a literal instance of dragging someone
What Have We Ear? "what have we here?"
What's a Secret Four? "what's a secret for?" - now redirected to Cryptic Background Reference.
What the Fu Are You Doing? "What the fuck are you doing?"
When Harry Met Svetlana When Harry Met Sally...
Where Everybody Knows Your Flame "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme - and tagline - from Cheers
Where I Was Born and Razed "where I was born and raised"
White-Dwarf Starlet "white dwarf star" + "starlet"
Wife Husbandry Husbandry = raising something.
Window Pain "window pane"
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity "with great power comes great responsibility"
With Great Power Comes Great Perks again, "with great power comes great responsibility"
Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer "won't take no for an answer"
Works Pages Are a Free Launch Play on "a free lunch", common euphemism for anything of value that is free, as in "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Worst Aid "first aid"
Wreaking Havok "wreaking havoc"
Write Back to the Future Back to the Future
Writer on Board Baby on Board
Yoko Oh No Yoko Ono
You Are What You Hate "you are what you eat"
You Dirty Rat a literal play on a phrase often and incorrectly attributed to James Cagney
You Make Me Sic "You make me sick!"
Your Cheating Heart this is a real song title, believe it or not
Your Mime Makes It Real Your Mind Makes It Real
Your Vampires Suck see Vampire Bites Suck above
Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb "Youth is wasted on the young"
Zero-G Spot "G-spot"
Zipperiffic Stripperiffic

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