History Administrivia / SquarePegRoundTrope

* This is also why tropes are generally no longer named after specific characters -- beyond [[FanMyopia the assumption that everyone has heard of that character and thinks of them specifically as the absolute epitome of the trope]], some begin potholing any occurrence of said character's name to the trope, regardless of the topic at hand.

[[quoteright:320:[[Film/{{Idiocracy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/square_peg_7.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[-[[VisualPun Remember kiddies, make sure it's the right shape first.]]-] ]]

[[quoteright:320:[[Film/{{Idiocracy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/square_peg.png]]]]

Sometimes an Administrivia/EntryPimp forgets that Administrivia/TropesAreTools and tries to shove an example from their hated/favorite show into a trope where it doesn't fit. It may not be the fault of the contributor because the description of the trope left the emphasis on part B while part A is the important part. Or maybe the name of the trope was [[WordSaladTitle confusing]]. Or perhaps the original definition of [[Administrivia/MissingSupertrope the trope was something so specific or esoteric that new examples tend to be something related to, but not quite, the trope's original intent]]. But often it is because the contributor did not understand the standard and direction the trope was describing. This, of course, may result in TropeDecay.

In any case, if an example doesn't fit, don't add it. Someone else will just delete it anyway. The absolute worst case scenario is when the examples override the intentions of the description, which makes it [[TropeDecay a different trope altogether]].

[[caption-width-right:320:[-[[VisualPun Remember kiddies, make sure it's the ''right shape'' first.]]-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:320:[-Remember kiddies, make sure it's the ''right shape'' first.-] ]]

Sometimes an Administrivia/EntryPimp forgets that Administrivia/TropesAreTools and tries to shove an example from their hated/favorite show into a trope where it doesn't fit. It may not be the fault of the contributor because the description of the trope left the emphasis on part B while part A is the important part. Or maybe the name of the trope was [[WordSaladTitle confusing.]] Or perhaps the original definition of [[Administrivia/MissingSupertrope the trope was something so specific or esoteric that new examples tend to be something related to, but not quite, the trope's original intent]]. But often it is because the contributor did not understand the standard and direction the trope was describing. This, of course, may result in TropeDecay.

Administravia/TropesAreFlexible, but they can only be stretched ''so far''.

TropesAreFlexible, but they can only be stretched ''so far''.

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%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:320:[[VisualPun https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/squarepeg.png]]]]

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[[folder:Q-Z]]
* QueerMedia is an index for works that have a strong focus on LGBT+ themes, having queer main characters whose sexual orientation and/or gender identity is integral to the story. Occasionally, works are added there simply due to them having one or two characters who happen to not be cisgender or heterosexual.
* QuirkyHousehold refers to a strange but loving family, and not to a DysfunctionalFamily that happens to be quirky.
* RageBreakingPoint is when the anger is held back, but then breaks through. If there is already anger released, it doesn't count. This isn't "rage crescendo".
* RagnarokProofing refers to objects (preferably ruins of civilizations) undergoing extremely long periods of time (on the scale of many decades, at the least) with no use or maintenance and remaining intact and usable with negligible decay and damage. Not just "something that's still in good shape after so long"; it has to have been abandoned to qualify.
* RapunzelHair is when very long hair indicates a feminine and/or upper-class character. If a character counts as a BarbarianLonghair, they cannot qualify by definition.
* RatedMForManly refers to, as it says on the Laconic entry, "Any work or character with an emphasis on masculinity--made by men for men--often involving badassery taken UpToEleven." Many examples, however, [[Administrivia/ZeroContextExample have little to no explanation for why they are there,]] and more often than not they translate to "I found this work to be the epitome of badassery and awesomeness" with little context to back it up. It also gets confused with TestosteronePoisoning; the key difference is that Rated M For Manly is manliness ''played straight'', while Testosterone Poisoning is a ''parody'' of manliness.
* Reality Ensues is often misapplied to any "realistic" outcomes. This trope is about surprising audiences with a realistic outcome instead of the expected for the series or genre. If the realism is expected in the work, it's not an example. If the outcome relies on something fictitious (like time travel or magical powers) it can't apply since it's not a realistic outcome. The extensive misuse and potholing led to the trope being renamed to SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome, but misuse is still extremely prevalent, with [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15416563480A70291100&page=1 the cleanup thread]] finding a majority of examples to be shoehorns.
* RealWomenDontWearDresses has developed many, many problems. It gets potholed incorrectly all the time, despite its straightforward title. Moreover, it's usually accompanied by whining and soapboxing about what female characters should and shouldn't be. Most of the (potholed) examples could be summed up as "Complaining About People Not Liking Damsel Scrappies You Like". The trope was originally about feminine clothes/mannerisms/hobbies being associated with weakness. Apparently, a lot of people think it is about backlash against female characters who '''are''' weak (but not necessarily 'girly').
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech requires it be delivered to the face of whomever it's aimed at such that they could be directly affected by it. It does not apply to simply saying someone sucks if the someone is not being confronted by it nor to complaints about fictional characters (unless they're confronted in-universe) or things that aren't characters (like the work itself) as they cannot react to the speech.
* {{Reconstruction}}. Distilling everything that makes a character or work awesome in an adaptation is actually AdaptationDistillation, hence the name. It also does not merely mean "taking a genre and making it LighterAndSofter". It has to address the issues brought up in a deconstruction and then make the tropes/genre/whatever still work, but with a degree of realism to it.
* RecycledInSpace means adding a gimmicky premise to a SequelSeries or self-proclaimed SpiritualSuccessor to make it seem different, rather than just continuing the original series. An example would be ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' (a show about twins living in a hotel) and its SequelSeries ''The Suite Life on Deck'' (a show about those same twins on a cruise ship). However, far too many examples are Administrivia/{{complaining|AboutShowsYouDontLike}} about DuelingShows, FollowTheLeader, or SerialNumbersFiledOff.
* RecycledScript refers to stories reused from previous works from the franchise or creator, not just a work that's similar to another unconnected work.
* RedshirtArmy is specifically for incompetent/easily killed faceless good guys. It's not for any faceless army that gets easily killed, nor is it about an army with literal red uniforms.
* RefugeInAudacity is committing a crime or scheme that is so outrageous no one can take it seriously. It is not about a joke that is so offensive it becomes funny; that is CrossesTheLineTwice.
* A RevengeFic is a fanfiction where ''the author'' gets revenge on a character they hate. While it's entirely possible for a fanfic where a character gets revenge on another character to be a Revenge Fic, it doesn't count unless it is [[WordOfGod explicitly stated by the author]] that he is getting revenge on that character.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves happens when a traitor is killed or punished by the party who benefits from the betrayal (usually a villain but heroic examples exist). It's not when the betrayed one takes revenge on the traitor or when the traitor gets any other kind of comeuppance from someone other than those they turned traitor for.
* RiddleForTheAges is, as the description explains, something that is '''never''' explained, whether within the work itself, WordOfGod or AllThereInTheManual. If something is explained by the creator or supplemental material or if the explanation is in a later episode, issue or film, it is not an example.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots are human because of features that no programmer would consider practical for a robot, not just because they ''look'' like a human. This makes TinCanRobot ''not'' the polar opposite of this trope.
* A RightHandCat is ''any'' passive (as opposed to active) pet owned by a villain, regardless of species. This also means that if a villainous pet ''cat '' (or a pet of any other species) is an active fighter, then it belongs under RightHandAttackDog.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge requires the "rampage" part as much as the "revenge" part, no matter how vengeance-obsessed the perpetrator is.
* A RobotGirl is an artificial/mechanical being (e.g., ArtificialHuman, RidiculouslyHumanRobot, EnergyBeing, {{Cyborg}}, ArtificialIntelligence, SpaceshipGirl), usually female, who is shown in-universe to be attractive, not a collection of ''all'' female examples of the above, in-universe attractiveness notwithstanding.
* RomanticPlotTumor has threatened to become a repository for romantic plots that someone doesn't particularly care for -- even when the romance story is central to that particular plot, rather than the romance story creeping into and taking over the main plot.
* RonTheDeathEater has been used to talk about people disliking a character for doing supposedly questionable actions. It is supposed to be for when people ''demonize'' a character by ''exaggerating or cherry-picking'' supposedly-questionable actions, sometimes just making stuff up if the character didn't do anything "bad" to begin with.
* Pretty much all of the "Rule Of" tropes get heavy misuse. RuleOfFunny, RuleOfCool, RuleOfSexy, RuleOfScary, RuleOfFun, RuleOfCute, and so on. They get used as if they lacked the "Rule Of" part when potholed. The Rule Of tropes are this: "Any violation of continuity, logic, physics, or common sense is permissible as long as it succeeds in being what it should be".
* RuleOfThree is one that gets thrown around in PotHoles similarly to RecycledInSpace and PrecisionFStrike seemingly just to lampshade how the troper wrote what they wrote. Its intention is to show that three is an extremely common number for writers to use in many different ways, such as with repetition, where it is a good number to stop at in order to establish repetition without letting it go stale. On the site, however, it's usually just potholed whenever anything happens three times, or worse, when somebody writes a joke themselves in three times and then potholes the third one to it. Of course, the worst is when somebody potholes to it for the third instance in a chain ''of more than three'', meaning it isn't really an example anyway.
* A SadistShow is one where the suffering of the characters is always PlayedForLaughs and is not intended to make them sympathetic. Furthermore, said suffering (even if it is humorous) has to be the ''focal point'' of the show, rather than just something that happens often.
* SanitySlippage is sometimes confused with JerkassBall, or even, in rare cases, IdiotBall, neither of which are related to going insane.
* SarcasticTitle means that [[NeverTrustATitle title-content dissonance]] is played for sarcasm ''to drive a point home''. It's frequently applied to any title that intentionally {{invert|edTrope}}s ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* The page for {{Satan}} is meant specifically for portrayals of Satan ''himself''. It is ''not'' meant for characters who are clearly based on him but aren't him or at least implied to be, such as [[WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack Aku]]. List them under SatanicArchetype, instead. The page itself even explains this.
* ScaryBlackMan is exactly what it sounds like, an intimidating black guy. The definition seems to be relaxed to refer to any minority character or even in some cases characters that just barely qualify for AmbiguouslyBrown, whether they're scary, intimidating, or not.
* TheScrappy gets a lot of definition drift. It is a character universally hated by the fandom. If the character is mostly loved, but a VocalMinority doesn't like them, they're not a scrappy. If the character gets a roughly equal amount of love and hate, they're a BaseBreakingCharacter (This also means that tropes in the ScrappyIndex, such as RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and TakeThatScrappy, cannot apply to {{Base Breaking Character}}s). It's also not a trope to complain about characters that bother you personally. It's also not an IntendedAudienceReaction; a character designed to be hated is a HateSink. Groups and species cannot qualify (as members can vary in popularity), only individual characters. It also gets misused to list characters' creators, most commonly let's players and reviewers, personally hate when it's strictly for fan reaction.
* ScrappyMechanic is about a mechanic in an ''otherwise good'' game, not just bad game mechanics in general (i.e. "I like this game a lot, but this ''one'' game mechanic is annoying."). Not ''any'' bad game mechanic. Otherwise, every widely-disliked game would have pages upon pages of Scrappy Mechanics listed here.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem is for when someone ''deliberately'' ignores rules, but does ''not'' actually change them. Otherwise, it's ForgotICouldChangeTheRules.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork refers to when a show is either intentionally sabotaged, or at least looks like it. It does not refer to shows in which there are differing opinions on why they were canceled, nor is it a way to complain about your favorite show being canceled.
* {{Scrub}} and StopHavingFunGuy refer to gamers who impolitely impose their ruleset on everyone who plays with them. Poor skill level alone does not equal a Scrub. [[ChallengeGamer High skill level]] and a tendency to [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome play on tournament settings, however un-"fun" they are to more casual players]] alone do not equal a Stop Having Fun Guy - they have to insist everyone else who ever plays, tournament or otherwise, plays the way [[ItsAllAboutMe they themselves have determined to be the "correct" way]].
* SeasonalRot refers to one particular season of a show that is judged in hindsight to be markedly inferior to other seasons. Way too many people are using the term to mean "I don't like the current season." It also does not mean "got less good over time," which is JumpTheShark.
* SecondYearProtagonist is not just "protagonist is a second year student at their school", which is Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs. There must be some narrative significance as to why the story assigned them to that grade level.
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny is for when a work that was once considered innovative or ground-breaking now comes off as mundane and derivative because [[FollowTheLeader other works]] or later installments have used its once unique aspects so often that they become commonplace. Some use it to bash any work that has gotten any degree of hate since its release date, regardless of if it was once unique or imitated.
* SelfMadeOrphan refers to when a character kills ''both'' of their parents. If the character in question only kills either their father or mother, it falls under {{Patricide}} or {{Matricide}} instead.
* {{Sequelitis}} is when a series is observed to get worse with each new installment. However, it tends to get misused to complain about any bad sequel or installment in a series, even if that series has been consistently well-received up to that point.
* SevenDeadlySins: Any group with enough people in it will invariably draw attempts to shoehorn them into the seven sins.
* ShadowArchetype refers to a character that serves as an external representation of what a character rejects about themselves used to symbolize their conflict with it. However, it's often used in the place of EvilCounterpart or {{Foil}}.
* Contrary to what its name may imply, ShesAManInJapan refers to any GenderFlip (male to female or female to male) of any character in any translation of any work. There are no inversions.
* A ShoutOut has to be intentional on the part of the creators. It is not a coincidental similarity between works. Before you succumb to the urge to write "looks like a ShoutOut to", consider how likely it is that the creator of Work B is familiar with Work A, and whether or not the element in question bears more than a passing similarity to the element in the original work. Also note that, since tropes are patterns shared across works and even genres and mediums, it's possible for Work B to have a similar plot or many similar tropes to Work A and ''still'' not be a ShoutOut. In fact, if you don't ''know'' it's a ShoutOut, it's probably best not to mention it. Additionally, a ShoutOut has to be referring to a work outside the franchise; if it's referring to another work in the same franchise, then it's a MythologyGag instead.
* ShownTheirWork is in regards to the ''creators'' doing the research and letting it show. As with many such tropes, sometimes it gets used by a troper to point out when they themselves did the research on something, like how many of a {{Rare Vehicle|s}} are still on the road.
* A SignatureScene is supposed to be the scene that defines a work, and may be so iconic that even people unfamiliar with the work can recognize it. However, the trope's YMMV status means that it can quickly turn into an exercise in listing any scene that's memorable or has reached meme status within the fandom. It's true that particularly famous works can have multiple famous scenes, but if a single film/season/game has a double-digit list that looks more like a scene-by-scene recap of the plot, it probably means that most of them don't qualify.
* "WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Did It", a reference to a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode, was meant to be the name for a joke where a character comes up with a unique and original idea, only to realize [[OlderThanTheyThink it's not as "unique" or "original" as they believed]]. Tropers, however, would consistently mistake its purpose to literally be "a trope used by ''The Simpsons''", making it rather redundant considering we already have the page ''for The Simpsons'' to list tropes used by ''The Simpsons''. The page eventually had to be renamed to "ItsBeenDone" to curb the misuse.
* SirSwearsALot is a character who can be identified with "curses frequently compared to everyone else." Someone who is a Sir Swears a Lot is not just someone who frequently uses curse words; they have to use disproportionately more foul language than the other characters in the work to qualify. If only one character is dropping {{Cluster F Bomb}}s, he counts. If everyone's doing it, they're not all examples.
* A SixthRanger is a late addition to TheTeam of heroes or villains and is not necessarily the sixth character. However, this trope does commonly overlap with FiveManBand (which makes such an ensemble TheTeam instead, as "five members" '''means''' "five members"), hence the trope name.
* SlapSlapKiss refers to characters slapping and then kissing each other, or at least exchanging some kind of physical violence followed by affection. Too many people think this trope refers to the overall atmosphere of a relationship, which is covered by BelligerentSexualTension and MasochismTango.
* SmallNameBigEgo is supposed to describe a relative nobody who has an inexplicably huge ego[[note]]Meaning they think they are better at something than they really are.[[/note]]. Too often, it's used to describe people or characters that simply have a big ego, even if they ''are'' indeed as good as they claim. Try looking for ArrogantKungFuGuy or ItsAllAboutMe for these cases.
* A SmugSnake is not just an incompetent wannabe-{{Chessmaster}}. He's a villain ''designed'' to be unsympathetic due to arrogance -- he might have a few traits of TheChessmaster in him, but will always be closer to HateSink than MagnificentBastard. People also tend to shoehorn it to arrogant characters in general, even if he doesn't fulfill the other criteria which qualify him for the trope. It's also not the evil counterpart trope to SmallNameBigEgo. An evil character can be a SmallNameBigEgo without being a SmugSnake.
* TheSociopath requires a character to have a LackOfEmpathy, be a StrawNihilist, a ConsummateLiar, and a ManipulativeBastard, and have a need for stimulation, a grandiose sense of self-worth, and a shallow effect. Many examples have people saying a character is a sociopath simply for not caring for other peoples' feelings. Alternatively, they're called a sociopath for either [[AxCrazy being dangerously violent]] or [[{{Sadist}} enjoying the pain of others]], which are separate concepts that need not overlap.
* "Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped" referred to when a story has an {{Anvilicious}} message, but the story actually works better because it's so blatant. Due to the misleading title, it was often used to say "any message I agree with that was done in an Anvilicious manner." Sometimes, it was even used when the message was well-written instead of being Anvilicious, was just an important message overall, or was just a nice, uplifting messages in general. SANTBD is about ''how'' the message is presented, not ''what'' the message is. The misuse overtook the original meaning to the point that SANTBD was reworked to simply redirect to {{Anvilicious}}.
* For something to be DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible, it's not enough to be a [[BoxOfficeBomb commercial failure]]--there are many commercially unsuccessful works that have been [[AcclaimedFlop hits with critics]]--it must fail both commercially and critically. It's also often misused for complaining, or simply for works that suffer from a large PeripheryHatedom. If a kids show is hated by adults but does well with kids, it's not an example. It has to be hated even by its target audience to count. The important thing isn't just the presence of a large hatedom, but rather the ''absence'' of people who ''don't'' hate the work.
* SoBadItWasBetter was renamed from "I Liked It Better When It Sucked". The change is to address that it is for when a work that is SoBadItsGood gets a sequel or remake that removes the "bad" aspects and its entertainment values diminishes to become merely SoOkayItsAverage. Many examples forget that people need to have enjoyed the original because it was SoBadItsGood and instead talk about works with lower production values or outdated technology (i.e. the original uses practical effects over a newer version's computer-generated imagery) regardless of whether or not it was really "bad" that people preferred for [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic reasons]] or felt that actual merit was lost.
* SoOkayItsAverage is supposed to be "works that are just all right," but it's often misused as "This work is supposed to be great, but I find it average!" when that is HypeBacklash. It's also for the general reception of a work; it isn't for works you personally found average.
* SophomoreSlump applies to series that make an awful or mediocre second installment then make a better third one. It tends to be misused as "The series becomes bad or keeps getting worse [[{{Sequelitis}} from the second installment onwards.]]"
* SpellMyNameWithAnS is supposed to be about official spelling mistakes, but it's frequently used for spells fans disagree with or just a regular name/word being spelt differently than it usually is.
* SphereEyes is supposed to be about a cartoon character having large, connected eyes. Tropers think it's about separated eyes in general cartoons and misuse it as such.
* A SpiritualSuccessor is a work that is thematically or (in the case of video games) mechanically similar to a previous work, except not part of the same continuity, and it has to be a ''deliberate'' successor that shares some of the same creator(s). But too often (especially on video game pages), Spiritual Successor gets an example on the work page that's basically "I think this work is a lot like this other work that has an entirely different creator", which is YMMV and should be filed as SpiritualAdaptation instead.
* SpoiledSweet is frequently misused for any rich or spoiled character who also happens to be nice or not a complete brat. Sometimes the character in question is just rich and nice without the spoiled part, which is not this trope (or [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs any trope]] for that matter). The character has to be pampered and sheltered, genuinely sweet to everyone to the point of being naive, and adored by everyone, meaning a LonelyRichKid is disqualified by definition. Also, due to the nature of the trope, it's supposed to be AlwaysFemale, but people still add it to male characters.
* StartOfDarkness refers to ''{{prequel}}s'' revealing a villain's backstory when that backstory wasn't revealed in the original work. Most tropers seem to just use it to mean "any villain backstory" even if the backstory is revealed within the same work that introduced the villain. Other times it's shoehorned for the first evil thing a FallenHero or otherwise soon-to-be-villain does to cement that status. You're looking for FaceHeelTurn or JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope there. Stories wherein good or neutral characters gradually become villains but isn't necessarily set up as a prequel is ProtagonistJourneyToVillain.
* StealthPun refers to a pun hidden in the work that requires a bit of thinking from the audience. Tropers often use it to refer to ''any'' pun, even ones that are directly stated.
* StrawmanHasAPoint is misused for any time a character who is supposed to be in the wrong is seen by audiences as having unintentionally valid arguments, neglecting they have to be a StrawCharacter (i.e. a character ''created'' expressly to be unsympathetic and wrong). If the character is a previously established, normally sympathetic character (e.g. a hero or protagonist) who's [[StrawmanBall meant to be wrong in this instance]], that's InformedWrongness.
* StrangledByTheRedString is a trope meaning that two characters who were, at most, friends or allies, but never had any romantic feelings who suddenly get together or express romantic interest. However, some people tend to use it to mean 'This couple had no chemistry or was very shallow', or worse, 'I didn't like this pairing'. At most, the former is RomanticPlotTumor or SatelliteLoveInterest, and the latter is just another Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike subset. This got so bad that some people would assume an entry they disagreed with as just 'I didn't like this pairing' even if it was an actual entry. Because of that, the trope became a YMMV trope.
* StrawFeminist gets some of the worst misuse as a LighterAndSofter substitute for "feminazi". It doesn't matter how radical, misandrist or [[RealWomenDontWearDresses anti-feminine]] the "feminist" is. If she is not portrayed negatively, or [[PoesLaw is a real person]], she is ''not'' a straw feminist.
* StrawHypocrite often lacks what is meant to distinguish it from regular {{Hypocrite}} since they are often used as [[TheWarOnStraw strawmen]]. While the former's hypocrisy stems from their devotion to a cause being a sham and knowing it, the latter is unaware of their hypocrisy, have rationalized it, and or [[BelievingTheirOwnLies still truly believe in their cause despite it]].
* The phrase "StuffedIntoTheFridge" refers to a general concept of villains attacking and displaying the hero's loved ones to get at them. However the phrase was ''also'' used by Creator/GailSimone to describe the poor treatment of women in comics, so many examples were merely instances of women getting harmed in any way by villains as if this is inherently sexist on the writer's part. The trope was made into a disambiguation page to curb the misuse.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome is when a returning character dies early on in the sequel. It's sometimes misused for any returning character who dies in a sequel even if it happens midway or during the climax.
* SubvertedTrope: Or at least the word "subverted" is [[Administrivia/NotASubversion misused all over the place]]. The term means a bait and switch move with a trope. Many here think it means any form of PlayingWithATrope, simply not using the trope in a genre or medium where it would be expected to be used (that's simply [[AvertedTrope averting the trope]]), or even playing a trope straight but [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools they want to say it's subverted anyway]].
* SugarApocalypse requires danger to happen to cutesy characters ''in a cutesy setting''. If the characters are cute but the setting isn't particularly so, then it's not an example.
* TailorMadePrison is supposed to be a prison that is made just for the one character but often lists any hard to escape prison which is covered by TheAlcatraz.
* TakeThat, of all tropes, occasionally gets misused. It is meant to refer to moments where a work takes a jab at ''another work'', but occasionally is potholed to scenes where a work takes a jab at ''its own franchise'', by tropers who apparently forget that SelfDeprecation exists.
* TastesLikeDiabetes is supposed to be about works that are insanely cute ''at the expense of quality'' (meaning they either compromise good writing and likable characters for cuteness or are just so excessively cute that enjoyment of them is hindered). Not about works that are just insanely cute; you're looking for SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel, which is cuteness applied in a [[{{Pun}} tasteful]] manner. There are far too many examples on the page that fit the latter but not really the former. Even worse, some people put examples where either they personally think the work has declined in quality due to insane cuteness (regardless of whether or not it actually has declined in quality), or works they personally think never were good to begin with just because they're insanely cute.
* The TeamDad and the TeamMom are ''acting'' parental figures to any group; they do not have to be literal parents to the other members. Both roles are defined by ''personality''; a TeamDad is strict and leads by example, whereas a TeamMom is warm and nurturing. This also means that a TeamDad can be female and that a TeamMom can be male.
* TearJerker is Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease, meaning examples about [[DiedDuringProduction the deaths of real people involved with the work's production]] should not be included. Besides, being mortal is just Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs.
* ThatOneLevel and ThatOneBoss -- emphasis on ''One'' -- refers to levels and bosses that are significantly harder than the ones before them, not just any hard level or boss. If every boss is brutally difficult, you're probably looking at NintendoHard or EasyLevelsHardBosses; if anything, you are actually more likely to encounter examples of these tropes in ''easier'' games where there's room for surprise. Instead, a lot of YMMV pages for very hard video games and dedicated TOL/TOB pages will list most, if not ''all'', bosses/levels, defeating the point of the trope. They also do not mean [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck Dethroning Level or Boss of Suck]]; there ''are'' players who genuinely enjoy challenging parts of video games. Also, ScrappyLevel is not a trope, having been renamed to ThatOneLevel to better reflect what the trope means, but people still add it to YMMV example lists as examples of "levels I hate."
* Administrivia/ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability refers to the policy where pages for obscure works shouldn't be removed on the basis of obscurity. The term sometimes gets thrown around for things ''other'' than obscure works, like tropes and Just For Fun pages. Those rely on different standards, as a trope can indeed be [[Administrivia/TooRareToTrope too obscure to get a page]] and certain pages can and have be cut for being irrelevant to the mission of the wiki.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter is about characters with great potential that don't get as much exposure as you think they deserve. It is often misused for complaining about poor characterizations, the way a character is handled in the story or the portrayal of a fan favorite in an adaptation, or a character not appearing in an episode at all, which might fall under AbsenteeActor instead if it's set up to make it seem like they would appear, but don't.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot, for plot points that are underdeveloped or not touched upon, has been reinterpreted into [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike complaining about plot developments you don't like, a potentially interesting plot being poorly-executed]], a plot thread that was left hanging, or WhatCouldHaveBeen.
* "Those Two Bad Guys" are a pair of villains who provide exposition and violence but is often used as if it's an EvilCounterpart to ThoseTwoGuys, which refers to two characters (good or evil) that are almost always together while simultaneously having little to no significance to the plot. As a result of the misuse, the trope has been renamed to BumblingHenchmenDuo.
* ThinLineAnimation is not simply [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs when a work has thin outlines]]. The art must be rounded and simplistic to truly qualify.
* [[PunctuatedForEmphasis This! Is! Sparta!]] got a lot of examples that are simply the character in question being loud, not giving the required emphasis on each word; this led to the rename "PunctuatedForEmphasis" to ''emphasize'' what the trope was about. This is also another one of those tropes, similar to RuleOfThree, PrecisionFStrike, and RecycledInSpace, which often gets shoehorned into pages in awkward and unnecessary ways. No page really ''needs'' somebody randomly adding in "It. Never. Stops." or some such to their own example and then potholing to it.
* TokenBlackFriend had to be renamed from "Black Best Friend" because of this. The trope is about how, in many cases, a white character has a black friend who ends up being a SatelliteCharacter that exists [[TokenMinority for the sole purpose of making the white lead appear more progressive]]. Simply having a friend who is black is as tropeworthy as [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs people sitting on chairs]], and yet many well-developed black characters have had this trope listed on their character sheet just because they're friends with a non-black character.
* TooCoolToLive refers to a character who's so skilled or powerful (in other words, "cool") that they're killed off because otherwise, they'd interfere with the dynamics of the conflict. It sometimes gets reduced to "a character I liked who died." Often the BigBad, TheDragon, or similarly plot-important villain who dies is given as an example of this trope. This is incorrect; the conflict with the big bad does not overshadow the plot, it IS the plot. Other examples include characters who were ganked during the final climactic battle or who didn't die at all. Even without these cases, most examples refer to cool characters whose death is integral to the plot, rather than a means to give other characters a chance to shine. Not helping matters is that the page description doesn't even mention this, plus it even mentions the main character dying at the ''end'' of the work.
* Too Soon was often misinterpreted as being literally about people exclaiming "[[DudeNotFunny Dude, too soon!]]" or asking "Was that too soon?" after hearing or making a comment about a recent event that was seen as in poor taste. The trope was actually about works being modified following a real-life tragedy in order to ''prevent'' audiences from thinking "too soon". This is why it was renamed to DistancedFromCurrentEvents.
* ToughActToFollow is often misused to critique or defend works whose reception suffers due to being compared to the high bar set by prior, well-received works. It is about the works that ''cause'' the high bar and should only go under them. Works that suffer from the high bar can go under ContestedSequel or {{Sequelitis}} if applicable.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood is supposed to mean a food which a character is so obsessed with that it becomes a defining trait for that character. Many of the examples are more along the lines of "food this character mentioned liking once".
* A TragicVillain is a character who knows what they do is evil, wrong, and regret it, yet continues to do so believing they have no other choice. It does not refer to those evil due to tragic pasts (WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds) or anything overriding their moral agency (BrainwashedAndCrazy, TragicMonster). A CompleteMonster is exempt from this because they have no genuine capacity for remorse, but they can be {{Subversion}}s of it.
* Trainwreck Episode referred to episodes of a show that focuses on a disaster such a car crash, fire, storm, etc. However, the "trainwreck" part was sometimes taken figuratively and the trope has been misused to describe things such as episodes of {{Lets Play}}s where the player or players keep failing at a certain section of the game, an episode where the creator runs into technical problems, or an episode of a RealityShow where the contestants keep failing. It ended up being renamed to BigDisasterPlot to make it more clear that it was about a certain type of plot.
* A TrollingCreator is a creator who deliberately attempts to enrage people. Some tropers use it interchangably with LyingCreator or TeasingCreator, or to describe when a BaitAndSwitch happens in promotional material or when promotional material does something even remotely creative.
* Amazingly enough, the word {{Trope}} itself has undergone severe TropeDecay on this site. A trope is something that's objectively a part of the work. AudienceReactions and {{Trivia}} are specifically stated on these pages to [[Administrivia/NotATrope not be tropes]], since they occur either in the work's audience or other external materials, not the work itself. Despite this, it's hard to find a page for an Audience Reaction or Trivia item that DOESN'T refer to itself as a Trope, and the YMMV and Trivia subpages for most works contain examples that say "This trope happens" or something similar. Even this very page, supposedly dedicated to correcting misused terminology, contains examples describing Audience Reactions and Trivia as "tropes"! And PlayingWithATrope is something that can only be done to actual Tropes since Audience Reactions are very rarely "played" in the first place, so most examples on a YMMV page that are "Subverted" or "Downplayed" are inherently misuse.
* An inversion of this is tropers thinking that mentioning a trope happening in Real Life somehow is not the same thing as stating a trope is TruthInTelevision, and feel the need to state the latter, especially in TropeLaunchPad (the reason it's not listed in the descriptions is because [=TiTV=] is an index, which can't be used in TropeLaunchPad).
* There's some room for debate about the exact definition of {{Tsundere}}, but it definitely is not supposed to describe any character who ever has a crush on someone and tries to hide it, nor does it mean "[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold character who is mostly angry, but sometimes nice]]," nor "[[BewareTheNiceOnes character who is mostly nice, but sometimes gets really angry]]." The Tsundere acts cranky and aggressive ''because'' she doesn't know how to deal with or properly express her more tender emotions.
* ATwinkleInTheSky is sometimes used whenever a character or object is sent flying really far away, even if they don't actually make a twinkle.
* TwoDecadesBehind is for when works set in the present contain anachronistic details from the past, or when no longer cool things are presented as the latest hot fad. For works that take place two decades ago, see TwentyMinutesIntoThePast.
* {{Ubermensch}} -- not so much the trope itself, but with the definition of its polar opposite the Last Man.
* UglyGuyHotWife is fairly self-explanatory, but that doesn't stop countless people from adding "I think this woman is sexy, and the guy is average at best, so I'll add it" type stuff. The article requires near-constant pruning to prevent this and other exaggerations of what counts as "ugly". The RealLife section was even worse and had to be axed ("this girl's not having ''my'' baby!")
* UnbuiltTrope is when a work uses a trope in a serious, unsentimental way before the trope is popularized, and so ends up looking like a Deconstruction in retrospect. But [[Administrivia/NotADeconstruction many Tropers have Deconstruction confused with other, similar tropes]], so UnbuiltTrope is misused accordingly.
* UncannyValley refers to when something looks extremely realistic (usually humanlike, but animal examples can exist), but not quite there, to the point that it causes a sense of unease in the audience. People have been using it to refer to creepy- or weird-looking stuff in general, such as a simply unusual art style, even if those things don't even look realistic in the first place.
* UnderminedByReality is only when the actions of the real life creators contradict the themes or messages of their work, but is often misapplied for any real life event that contradict the work (e.g. DatedHistory, FailedFutureForecast, ScienceMarchesOn). Sometimes it used for any sort of scandal the creator is caught up in even if it does not contradict the work's message.
* UnexpectedCharacter: Emphasis on the word "character" as this isn't a trope for anything unexpected. If something ends up being unexpected other than a character, then it would fall under ShockingMoments. Same thing goes for any character that is expected to appear, but certain other circumstances involving that character (such as them turning out to be the BigBad) to be unexpected as regardless of how unexpected those circumstances were, the fact still remains they were still expected to appear in some shape or form.
* UnexplainedAccent is an accent at odds with the work's setting and character's background with no explanation, such as someone having a foreign accent not shared by anyone in their family and not one they would have developed from their upbringing. It is not just about characters with accents or characters putting on a fake accent.
* UnfortunateImplications has a much more narrow definition than its name implies.[[note]]So the name of the trope itself makes for an unfortunate implication, albeit not one that would qualify for the trope.[[/note]] A lot of tropers pretty much use it for "something that one person could maybe possibly be offended by" and it got so bad that the UnfortunateImplications index had to be cut because people were putting tropes such as "CruellaToAnimals" (supposedly because it offends people who eat meat) on there. Tropers quite often pothole to Unfortunate Implications for examples of FridgeHorror. In a similar vein, the pages have tons of examples of ThatCameOutWrong listed on them, without any real implication anyone could confuse it for Unfortunate Implications. Possibly looking to sweep the inaccuracy Olympics, these examples will quite often have something in them that ''outright admits'' that this example was That Came Out Wrong, thus effectively admitting that the edit has no reason to be there and that the reader's time was just wasted in reading it. Unfortunate Implications is also sometimes potholed to when talking about ''intentional'' hate speech. This loose usage is largely the reason entries now require a reputable citation to prove the implications are noticeable to the general audience.
* UnfortunateNames is Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly, which means that the name ''has to be pointed out by a character InUniverse'', rather than a name that ''fans'' find unfortunate.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic is misused to complain about characters being unsympathetic, forgetting the ''unintentionally'' part. If they are treated or called out as being in the wrong despite intended sympathetic traits this trope is not in effect ''unless'' they are seen as unsympathetic for different reasons than the narrative intends.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece is when a work is ''loaded'' with dated references to the point it becomes a time capsule of a specific era. Many tropers use this item to simply list the dated references themselves even if the work only contains one or two minor things like a single line of dialogue, a background element or a piece of the soundtrack from an old fashioned artist. Also, many jump the gun and add recently released works because they feel like they're going to be dated at some point in the future.
* UnseenEvil was renamed from "Ultimate Evil" because too many people kept misusing it. It's supposed to refer to a villain [[NothingIsScarier so horrifying that they are (mostly) unseen]]. People would instead use it to describe characters who are evil incarnate, or they would confuse it with GreaterScopeVillain.
* UnsettlingGenderReveal is not just a shocking gender reveal. It is when what appeared to be compatible attraction is revealed to be incompatible upon a gender reveal, usually garnering a negative reaction.
* UnsoundEffect is supposed to mean a WrittenSoundEffect that's clearly not onomatopoeia, however, some people have started using it to describe any unusual sounding legitimate WrittenSoundEffect.
* TheUntwist became so bogged down with [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike "I saw that one coming a mile away"]] entries that we had to nuke the page and start over. As it is a subjective trope, you should only list examples that most people would consider Untwists. Also, The Untwist only applies when people think it's ''so'' obvious that they either expect a different twist or no twist at all. If it's merely very obvious, that's CaptainObviousReveal.
* UpToEleven cannot be in effect when a trope is taken to extremes. It falls under ExaggeratedTrope instead. This misuse was so rampant that it ended up becoming a redirect to ExaggeratedTrope.
* UrExample means the earliest known example that could reasonably fit a trope, often before people were even consciously aware the trope existed. It does ''not'' mean [[SugarWiki/MostTriumphantExample the "best" example or "my favorite" example]], and should not be confused with TropeMaker or TropeCodifier.
* VanillaProtagonist is for protagonists who are intentionally made normal or ordinary in order to make a more colorful supporting cast stand out, but tropers often use it to complain about protagonists they found boring.
* VideoGameSettings is suppose to be an index categorizing various environments that appear in video games front and center. However, it is frequently misused as a trope in its own right, sometimes even perceived as a {{Supertrope}}, to the point that it became the biggest offender of Administrivia/ExampleIndentationInTropeLists by being listed as the first bullet point in work pages, with whatever environments featured in the work being listed in the following second bullet points. Indexes are not meant to be listed in work pages as "main tropes" for "secondary tropes". That is not their purpose. They're there purely for archiving and categorizing tropes that fit within specific themes.
* VillainSong is supposed to be about a villain in the context of a storyline, but the vast majority of the music examples are simply SympatheticPOV songs. Because of this, it is very, very difficult to make a proper example of a villain song outside of the context of a ConceptAlbum as the trope doesn't describe a SympatheticPOV, but rather a song describing a story's villain in song.
* A VillainProtagonist is a main character who does explicitly evil things, not a main character who is merely unlikable. While there is room for an AntiVillain to be put in the viewpoint role, tropers have a tendency to shoehorn any main character who are occasionally {{Jerkass}}es (like an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist), {{Karmic Trickster}}s or {{Anti Hero}}es.
* VindicatedByHistory only applies to works. The equivalent trope for characters is RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap.
* ViolationOfCommonSense is a gaming-only trope which applies to moments where perfoming an optional and seemingly stupid action grants a reward. Due to its non-explicit name, this is often confused with StupidityIsTheOnlyOption (a gaming-only trope about an instance where doing something stupid is ''required'' to advance the plot), TooDumbToLive (a non-specifically gaming-related trope about someone doing something stupid and suffering from a predictably bad outcome), or just anything someone thinks violates common sense ([[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs usually not a trope at all]]).
* WalkingShirtlessScene sometimes gets added to say: "He was shirtless in this and that occasions". The trope refers to characters who appear most or all of their appearances without a shirt.
* WalkingSpoiler is one of the most misused and misunderstood tropes on the whole wiki. Tropers fail to realize that this trope has, in fact, a very narrow definition -- that the character's ''mere existence'' is a major spoiler. If you can talk about a character in the most basic sense (i.e. name, profession, basic relationship to the hero, etc.), then even if everything else is a spoiler, it's still not an example. A huge part of the examples just falls into the following categories: a) any characters that are involved in a plot twist, especially if the spoiler part is rather hard to explain, b) any case of FirstEpisodeTwist, c) many cases of LateArrivalSpoiler, TrailersAlwaysSpoil, ItWasHisSled and similar tropes, d) any character with a secret identity or secret motives, even if this is established in the exposition.
* Administrivia/WalkthroughMode is a specific form of natter on video game pages that goes "Um, actually, it's not hard if you do this." The page is commonly misunderstood as video game details being bad.
* TheWarOnStraw, at least when it comes to TV Tropes. Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} notes that the "straw man fallacy" is the lumping of a strong opposition argument together with one or many weak ones to create a simplistic weak argument that can easily be refuted. However on TV Tropes, due to tropers not following the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment, TheWarOnStraw means "A character who is drawn only for the purposes of either proving them wrong or ridiculing them" and RealLife examples are no longer tolerated.
* WaveOfBabies (of all tropes!) underwent a bit of TropeDecay. It refers to a ''literal'' wave, not just a large number of babies in a small space.
* WereStillRelevantDammit is for obvious, often misguided, attempts at keeping long-running shows and series up to date by adding references to current pop culture and fads, having the characters use current slang, etc. However, people have been using it for any time a work attempts to be hip, regardless of whether that work is or is part of a long-running series or not.
* A WhamEpisode is an episode that permanently and radically shatters the status quo of a series but it's very often used for any episode that even slightly progresses a story arc even if [[StatusQuoIsGod everything goes back to normal]] after the end of the arc.
* A WhamLine is an unexpected line that completely changes the direction of a scene. Tropers tend to shoehorn examples of InternalReveal or any memorable quotes (PreMortemOneLiner, ArmorPiercingQuestion, etc). Also not all [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]] have wham lines, sometimes action speaks for itself. WhamShot suffers the same fate.
* The four tropes DarthWiki/WhatAnIdiot, IdiotBall, TooDumbToLive, and LethallyStupid all went through this, to the point where they all became interchangeable ways to complain about character decisions people didn't like. The first is an AudienceReaction when a character makes a very dumb decision when there is an obviously smarter alternative at the time, the second is when a character makes an ''uncharacteristically'' dumb decision that advances the plot, the third is when a character's dumb decision actually gets the character killed or nearly does so, and the fourth is when a character's dumb decision gets someone else killed. Besides the above accidental attempts to fuse the tropes, the third and, to a lesser extent, the fourth are also pretty commonly used as a level of character stupidity, confusing them with TheDitz and "Ralph Wiggum" back when it was around.
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong is about an obvious catastrophe waiting to happen. Not someone literally saying the name. That's ASimplePlan.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids and WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids get mixed up a lot. The former is for works aimed at children that have a more adult subject matter, while the latter is for works aimed at older audiences that get confused for being kid-friendly.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic got renamed to FauxSymbolism because people kept missing the "not" part, and thinking it dealt with real symbolism. The fact that RuleOfSymbolism was created later and the page about {{Symbolism}} ''[[Administrivia/MissingSupertrope even later]]'' didn't help much.
* WhatIf: An AlternateHistory is a work of SpeculativeFiction set in a version of our universe where the course of history has changed. A WhatIf is a non-{{canon}} SpinOff of a preexisting work where canon backstory elements have been retconned. While "Alternate History" and "What If?" are the same thing outside of Wiki/TVTropes, they're unrelated tropes here.[[note]]unless you count RealLife history as a specific work or franchise and each Alternate History work as spinoffs[[/note]]
* WhatTheHellHero refers to when a hero commits a reprehensible act and is called out for it ''in-universe''. Way too many tropers miss that crucial last part of the definition and use it to describe any instance of a hero acting like a jerk. Reviewers pointing this out also does not count.
* WhiteMagicianGirl, back when it was called Staff Chick, received massive misuse with a lot of examples of characters who played the role of WhiteMage but didn't fulfill the characterization (the White Mage trope was created later to rectify this problem), or worse, examples that took the title literally and concentrated on staves alone (you're looking for a SimpleStaff in this case), thus, several straight examples were considered subversions because they didn't use ''staves''.
* WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack only applies romantically, which is how it's distinct from EasilyForgiven. Any non-romantic examples are thus misuse.
* WidgetSeries: "Widget" comes from WJT, '''W'''eird '''J'''apanese '''T'''hing. While the definition has since been expanded to not be specific to Japan, the core of the idea remains that the thing appears weird due to ''crossing cultural boundaries''; it's not a catch-all for just anything you think is pretty weird.
* TheWoobie is supposed to be a character whose frequent or continuous suffering causes and/or attempts to cause the audience to feel sympathetic towards him as a pattern. It's often mixed up with TearJerker--which doesn't rely on a pattern--ButtMonkey--which has no audience reaction part necessary--or {{Moe}}--which leads to a similarly protective reaction but has a different trope base that doesn't usually involve tangible suffering. It's also often used as a place to collect counterexamples to characters' lives being absolutely perfect, which isn't a trope ''or'' an audience reaction (while TheWoobie itself is a mix of both), but a non-notable {{aversion}}.
* {{Woolseyism}} is supposed to refer to changes in the localized version of a work that are considered superior to the native-language version of it; think of it as SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing but applied to writing instead of voice acting. However, it is too commonly thrown around to simply mean any changes to the work in the localization process.
* WordOfGod is supposed to be official statements from the creators of a series, but in a few cases it's used as, basically, "my fan theory is true regardless of my actual knowledge of the series, just because".
* TheWorfEffect is for moments where a supposedly powerful fighter is defeated by a new threat ''to show how powerful that new threat is''. That part is often forgotten and the trope is used to simply mean "this character is defeated by an opponent who should be weaker than them", even if it is not for the purpose of showing how powerful that character is.
* Administrivia/WorkPagesAreAFreeLaunch explicitly says that while anybody can post a work page directly on the wiki, one ''can'' use the Trope Launch Pad to get help fleshing out their work page, especially if they don't have at least three tropes listed. This doesn't stop people from commenting the link to it on every single draft for a work page posted in the TLP - even if the sponsor knows their page is in no shape to launch and is properly using the TLP to gather more feedback and tropes.
* XanatosGambit was clearly defined as a plan made to benefit the planner no matter the outcome. Many tropers just saw it as a brilliant scheme no matter the method and put just any clever plan from a character they liked in there. So we made BatmanGambit to define the trope better.
* People think XanatosRoulette means a XanatosGambit that's even ''more'' clever. They forget that the defining characteristic is that it breaks people's suspension of disbelief, often because ThePlan relies too heavily on luck, hence it being a roulette. This is why the name was changed to ''GambitRoulette''; to break the association. Another problem was confusion with EvilPlan because of poor word choice at the article's start. It has since been corrected.
* The YMMV tab is for stuff in the [[YMMV/HomePage YMMV]] index as well as AudienceReactions. Some people misuse it as listing objective tropes that they think make something they don't like sound good, or the other way around, despite that Administrivia/TropesAreTools. There are some odd and oddly pervasive instances of a sentence or phrase unambiguously gushing or complaining about a show but potholing to YMMV, likely the result of stealth justifying edits. This doesn't work even when one ignores the fact that potholing YMMV in the middle of an example ''at all'' is not supposed to happen.
* A major component of a {{Yandere}} is their mad obsession over a particular character, to the point where it's toxic. If they're simply cute and sweet on the surface and dangerous and crazy underneath without having someone to obsess over romantically and/or sexually, you have CuteAndPsycho.
* YaoiFangirl is sometimes used as a synonym for GuyOnGuyIsHot, especially in cases where the character shows no interest beyond finding two boys making out in front of her sexy.
* YouAllLookFamiliar is sometimes mistaken for YouLookFamiliar. The latter is a trivia element about an actor portraying two or more different minor roles. You All Look Familiar is about limited or null variation of character design especially in video games.
* YouBastard is where a work shames the viewer for enjoying something that is or could be considered immoral within said work. It does not refer to a character actually saying, "You bastard!" or any similar phrase, which is where potholes to this trope are often found.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair is about characters whose hair colors are biologically impossible (such as blue, green, pink or purple), but it sometimes gets used for characters whose hair colors are unlikely, although still biologically possible (such as Asian characters with natural blond hair or young characters with natural white hair), which falls under ImplausibleHairColor. Also, some people mistakenly believe this trope only applies to characters with literal blue hair. Also, if an animal character has fur in an unusual color, it falls under AmazingTechnicolorWildlife.
* YouMeanXmas refers to a fictional holiday that is a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Christmas, usually in a fantasy setting where Christianity couldn't realistically exist. It does not cover characters referring to Christmas as "Xmas".
* YouSuck had to be renamed to ThisLoserIsYou because people kept thinking it was for instances of a video game mocking the player for being terrible at the game when it's really about an AudienceSurrogate portrayed in a negative light.
* {{Zeerust}} refers to ideas of "futuristic" that, while still futuristic-looking, have a "retro" look to them. Back in the Troper Tales days, people wrote Troper Tales about how they prefer their older electronics to modern-day ones, which is completely different.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating can only be applied to an authority figure who is despised by everyone, yet it keeps getting misused for hated villains who aren't evil overlords, or even ''works'' that receive mostly negative reviews.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:L-P]]
* A LampshadeHanging was originally supposed to mean when a trope is pointed out in an attempt to hide or excuse it (i.e., please don't look at this trope). Instead, this has come to mean, "Any trope that is acknowledged or pointed out by one or more characters as it's occurring, in any manner or context whatsoever." That would be DiscussedTrope instead. It has gotten to the point that the entire wiki is considered to be nothing but hanging lampshades one after another when it's really ConversationalTroping instead. Another misuse is saying that a parody or review of a work "lampshades" an example within that work -- lampshading can only be done by the work itself.
* The distinction between LargeHam, ChewingTheScenery, and NoIndoorVoice seems to be blurred.[[note]]Quick rundown: LargeHam = overacts all the time. ChewingTheScenery = overacts in a single instance. NoIndoorVoice = talks unnecessarily loudly.[[/note]] In addition, apparently, there is little middle ground between LargeHam and DullSurprise.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers only applies to dialogue, but is often used for what's BreakingOldTrends. The trope eventually became Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly to combat the misuse.
* LateArrivalSpoiler, formerly titled "You Should Know This Already," is usually still potholed and linked as such to facilitate expressions of FanMyopia. It's supposed to refer to promotional materials for a franchise which spoil prior plot developments, assuming fans are already familiar with them. However, it's often used by tropers to mean "I just spoiled something, but it's your fault for not having already seen the movie/show, haha!"
* LeftHanging is when the story gets a proper ending but leaves major plot threads unresolved, not if the work was CutShort or otherwise abruptly dropped.
* A LethalJokeCharacter is one that appears to be a JokeCharacter but has hidden potential that can make them dangerous after all. It's not any character that happens to look, act or generally come across as quirky or weird, but is clearly in line with other characters in terms of gameplay. That's FightingClown. One cleaning of the page almost had to cut ''half'' of the content.
* LetsGetDangerous is supposed to be "a moment in the story when all the quirky, eccentric supporting cast stops being quirky and eccentric and start demonstrating their real skill." For some reason, people keep confusing this with CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass. The fact that the TropeNamer is the show's main character, and a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass himself, probably lends to some of the confusion.
* LightmareFuel is meant to be NightmareFuel that is PlayedForLaughs. It is not just NightmareFuel in an otherwise lighthearted work, that would be SurpriseCreepy.
* A LightningBruiser is a character that is fast, strong, and tough. The first two traits alone aren't enough to qualify.
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt is when the work seemingly or temporality kills a character but the intended dramatic effect is undercut by audiences correctly guessing the work wouldn't actually do it. It does not apply when the work genuinely/[[KilledOffForReal permanently]] kills them, nor for non-death related developments audiences knew wouldn't stick (which would simply be a case of StatusQuoIsGod).
* A LimitBreak is a type of move a character can use that requires a certain limit to be reached or broken, hence the name. It is not a catch-all term for simply a character's "ultimate attack" despite the large overlap. The difference between a Limit Break and any other SpecialAttack is that a Limit Break ''cannot'' be used with impunity (ie: spammable). It needs to have some sort of limit behind it, like a special rechargeable meter of some kind ({{Mana Meter}}s don't count), a certain item that is required to trigger it, or other factors that prevent a character from using it from the get-go. If a character's ultimate attack does not have a limit to begin with and can be used at will, it is not a Limit Break, and this also includes characters that become powerful enough to eventually learn how to use these attacks at their own volition.
* A LipstickLesbian is a woman attracted to other women who looks or acts more feminine than most. Just having long hair and wearing dresses/makeup isn't enough for this trope, otherwise any lesbian short of {{butch|Lesbian}} would qualify.
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis has spawned two other tropes due to misuse -- DirectLineToTheAuthor and ATrueStoryInMyUniverse. Specifically, the trope is about fan theories about how the work is a fictionalized version of real events (hence ''Hypothesis''). Any examples where the ''creator'' is the one claiming the work is a fictionalized version of real events is a Direct Line, and any examples where the ''characters'' treat the work as a fictionalized version of past events is In My Universe.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters is about having a large number of ''main'' characters, but the examples are slipping towards anything that isn't a MinimalistCast.
* LoudnessWar is about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war audio engineers using dynamic range compression to make a track sound loud at all times]], not just any sort of loud noise.
* LouisCypher is about when the villain of a work is revealed to be Satan in disguise, but it's sometimes used for any case where the villain is clearly {{Satan}}. More rarely, it's used to refer to any [[PaperThinDisguise incredibly obvious alias.]]
* A MacGuffin is an ''interchangeable'' PlotDevice. The key trait of a MacGuffin is that it can be anything, and whatever qualities it has are irrelevant to the story. Lots of people ignore that specification and include any item that drives the story or even items people happen to fight over when fighting over something ''has nothing to do with the definition''. If the PlotDevice could not be replaced with some other item without altering the plot, then it isn't a MacGuffin. This is an especially confusing one, as some tropes with "MacGuffin" in the title do not refer to actual {{MacGuffin}}s.
* MagicalGirlWarrior is not an interchangeable term with {{Henshin Hero}}ine. While this style of MagicalGirl does have some overlapping tropes due to being a subsect, the use of magic/{{magitek}} doesn't always mean a magical girl is present, as in the case of {{Sentai}} or {{Tokusatsu}} superheroines, or just plain magic-using {{Action Girl}}s. Conversely, if there is no magic used, then they can't be a magical girl by definition.
* MagicalMinorityPerson's sub-tropes (MagicalAsian, MagicalNegro, MagicalQueer, etc.) are defined by how they exist only to support the usually straight and white leads with their CloserToEarth wisdom. Many tropers just can't resist the temptation to describe Asian/black/queer/etc. characters with magical powers as "literal" versions of the tropes, regardless of their personality or role in the story.
* MagnificentBastard. Doesn't help that the definition was so vague in the first place; however, efforts to nail down a concrete definition have done little to stem the flood. (It also doesn't help that the TropeNamer, Erwin Rommel, is actually a WorthyOpponent). One of the most common misuses is being someone being acknowledged as this when they're actually just TheChessmaster. Misuse has also happened with characters who have irrecoverable {{Villainous Breakdown}}s, characters who are far too evil to count, or characters who aren't evil at all. Due to the strict definition, this is one of the only tropes on the wiki where every single example must be approved by a perpetual cleanup thread.
* MainstreamObscurity is about works that are praised and referenced to the point that everyone will have heard of them, but not many will have watched them directly. Often misused as "a work I like that should be more well-known" or "only old people like it".
* Who is MarySue? For a mainly FanFiction trope, she's piled up a great number of dubious {{Canon}} examples. See CanonSue, which is another mess. Both on Wiki/TVTropes and across the Internet, the term Mary Sue is often incorrectly used to refer to any OC in fanfiction who has a prominent role, is stereotypically feminine, or exclusively has positive character traits. While many true Mary Sues have these traits, a character only qualifies as a Mary Sue if they greatly overshadow the canon characters with how they're portrayed. Regardless, the trope turned out to be so FlameBait-y that listing any character as a(n unintentional) MarySue is not allowed anywhere on the wiki.
* MayDecemberRomance was/is frequently misused for any relationship where there is a significent age difference between the participants. In fact, it refers to relationships between young adults (20s-30s) with senior citizens (''at least'' late 50s). May and December, not May and August. AgeGapRomance is the supertrope for notable differences in age (like a 20-year old and a 40-year old), and JailbaitTaboo applies when the younger party is underage.
* MegatonPunch is intended to be a punch that sends the recipient flying very far away, often but not necessarily used comedically. It tends to get misconstrued as any particularly powerful-looking or painful-looking punch, even if it doesn't so much as knock the recipient off their feet.
* MemeticLoser is often misapplied to who or what is shown, portrayed as, or are objectively (TheAllegedCar, TierInducedScrappy) ineffectual or when their intended effectuality is an InformedAttribute. All examples must explain why the loser reputation, intentional or otherwise, is unfairly exaggerated.
* MesACrowd is a ''plot'' trope, about using the power of SelfDuplication to get your tasks done. It is frequently misused to refer to the power itself.
* MindScrew is about works that rely heavily on symbolism, to the point where it can be hard to follow if you don't "get" said symbolism. It's often used for works that are hard to follow in general, even if everything you see can be taken at face value and still make sense.
* MiniDressOfPower is about an ActionGirl whose outfit is a mini dress. It does not mean "well she does action stuff ''occasionally''", or worse, just a mini dress being worn (as that would be Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs).
* {{Mondegreen}} is Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly, meaning it involves a ''character'' mishearing something InUniverse, not simply ''viewers'' mishearing something.
* MonsterOfTheWeek is often misused as "this work has monsters and the main characters fight them". It actually describes a specific kind of plot, detailed in the first sentence on the trope page: "where the characters fight a villain and the whole story is wrapped up at the end, never to be dealt with again." If the "monster" [[ArcWelding turns out to be relevant to the overall plot later]], this trope doesn't apply. The threat must be limited to an episode or short arc that is entirely self-contained.
* {{Mooks}} are evil henchmen that have little to no backstory and exist only so that TheHero can kill hordes of them and look like a badass while doing it. It is not just a generic term for "minion". Yes, this means that if a work sets out to deconstruct WhatMeasureIsAMook, it doesn’t actually have Mooks.
* The MoralEventHorizon is meant to be a point where a character is established as so depraved, monstrous, and evil that there is absolutely no believable way to redeem them. However, it tends to get used as "someone acts like a jerk" and "anything that I think is the worst thing a character did", even if the character gets redeemed in the end. Also, many examples have more than one MEH per character, which is impossible; if a character has already been established as completely irredeemable, they cannot be [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment established as completely irredeemable again]]. Lastly, there's a tendency to mistake it with a character being a CompleteMonster, but a character can cross this line ''without'' achieving that status. When it was known as Rape the Dog, this led to people listing cases where the villain ''literally'' raped someone, or had sex with an animal, which are two completely different tropes (RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil and BestialityIsDepraved).
* MoralMyopia is often applied to any moments of {{hypocri|te}}sy. It's only for intentional hypocrisies used to establish a character as unsympathetic or in the wrong. Unintentional examples due to bad writing go under MoralDissonance.
* MoreThanMindControl is often misused as "MindControl and then some more MindControl" or "simple MindControl but more awesome". If anything, it's the opposite of the former; manipulating somebody's heart ''without'' having to use mind control.
* TheMovie is "a heavily expanded, one-shot episode of a TV series usually meant for theatrical distribution". However, people commonly mistake it for "any film adaptation" when other tropes like TheFilmOfTheBook would in fact apply. It's also often applied in attempts to justify an Administrivia/ZeroContextExample with the format "Trope: The Movie".
* MrFanservice is supposed to be about one hot male character (or a few of them) who provides fanservice for the straight/bi female (and gay/bi male) audience. The examples consist mostly of "here is a list of several dozen characters from show X that I found hot."
* MurderByMistake is when a character plots a murder but kills someone other than the intended victim. If the killer had no murderous intent, it's AccidentalMurder. The inverse misuse occasionally also happens.
* A MythologyGag has to be intentional on the part of the creators. It is not a coincidental similarity between works in the same franchise. Before you succumb to the urge to write "looks like a MythologyGag", consider whether or not the element in question bears more than a passing similarity to the element in the original work and if the creators would be making that element similar on purpose. In fact, if you don't ''know'' it's a MythologyGag, it's probably best not to mention it.
* NakedOnArrival is when a character is nude in their first on-screen/on-page appearance. Tropers seem to keep confusing it for when somebody is naked at the end of some sort of journey, which may or may not be a character's first appearance in the story. If the latter is because of the mechanics of some sort of teleporter, see CantTakeAnythingWithYou.
* {{Narm}} is for scenes that were intended to be dramatic but were undercut by things that caused it to be seen as unintentionally funny. It does not apply if scenes were supposed to be funny, fall flat but not in a way that's considered funny, or things that aren't scenes (like a a character's entire vocal performance).
* NarniaTime is not just when two worlds/dimensions (or more) have different but consistent time axis, such as one day in one world or dimension ''always'' equaling one hour or one year in the other (which falls under YearOutsideHourInside or YearInsideHourOutside depending on the point of view). It's when the scale between the two of them is inconsistent like when children after a few days in the real world return to Narnia either a few hours, days, month, years or centuries later.
* NearRapeExperience means that the rapist stopped of their own volition. If they had to be stopped by someone else, that's AttemptedRape.
* NetworkDecay is when a channel's content shifts away from its original theme (i.e. a channel based around music showing content unrelated to music). It does not just mean "the channel is bad because of changes made to the network."
* NeverLiveItDown is for characters best known for what supposed to be a brief or minor moment but is often used for complaining. Entries must explain why those reputations or moments are unfairly exaggerated. (Ironically, several of these misused entries are so disproportionately harsh against the character that they're unintentionally self-demonstrating of the item's correct definition.) It also only applies to characters or groups, as entire works are not moments. Its original name "Jean Grey Escalation" referred to ComicBook/JeanGrey being exaggerated by fans as constantly dying and coming back to life despite her only doing it once, but was confused with constantly dying and being revived so it was renamed to better fit the intended definition. And in-universe examples, formerly considered valid, now belong on OnceDoneNeverForgotten.
* NeverSayDie is when the words "die", "kill", "death", or other forms of those words are replaced with euphemisms ("destroy" being one of the most common examples) in a kid-friendly work because of the fear that children might not understand death, or that the idea of death might be too "heavy" for kids. However, not every aversion of those words constitutes an example; for instance, there are a lot of examples listed where the replacement words for death are merely used for dramatic effect (for example, "never made it out alive"). When determining whether an example counts, one should consider if the words used are a direct replacement for "die" or "kill", if the sentence would sound more natural if "die" or "kill" was actually used in its place, and if the replacement is being made for any other reason other than that it might be too intense for children (e.g., for dramatic effect, or for specificity).
* NiceGuy: Like the DeadpanSnarker before him, the NiceGuy distinguishes himself (or herself) from other characters by having his niceness, politeness, helpfulness, and lack of overt conflict/drama be his '''defining characteristic'''. However, much like how every character ever to make a sarcastic quip was soon labeled a DeadpanSnarker, now every character ever shown to have an ounce of kindness is being labeled NiceGuy even though it's far from their primary characteristic. Put simply: If you and/or the characters have to look for the niceness under a [[SugarAndIcePersonality cold]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold harsh]], or [[TroubledButCute troubled]] exterior, then the character is not a Nice Guy. Please don't go slapping that label on every character who is not a complete {{Jerkass}}.
* NiceHat is about a cool, impressive and/or different hat. It's not simply about any hat wore in general, since that's considered Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain has the word "fixing" for a ''reason''. And no, not being defeated is ''not'' what needs fixing. That's HoistByHisOwnPetard.
* Many tropers ''love'' adding NightmareFuel examples, often to the point of listing everything that's the slightest bit unsettling or twisting relatively harmless events to make them sound scarier than they are, especially in kid-oriented works (case in point: there was a time when ''every single episode'' of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' had a folder on the show's Nightmare Fuel page, usually consisting of mildly unpleasant things such as {{Slapstick}} or a character being sad). Some pad a work's Nightmare Fuel subpage to make the work look edgy and mature, but in reality, it only invites mockery from people who aren't part of the site's community. Nightmare Fuel is meant to be for scenes that ''terrify'' viewers, often to the point of giving them ''literal'' nightmares. It's '''especially''' not meant to be used for FridgeHorror (since it's only scary if you really overthink things), but go on any sufficiently long Nightmare Fuel page, and chances are you'll find quite a few such examples -- often specifically linking to the Fridge Horror page! It also tends to be used for listing ''every single violent thing'' in works where violence is to be expected (i.e. the Nightmare Fuel pages for ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which listed ''every single LimitBreak, stage transition, or FinishingMove in those games''), or simply listing descriptions of scenes without any detail on ''why'' they were scary (e.g., the Nightmare Fuel page for ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', where this was so rampant that it had to be [[Administrivia/LockedPages locked]]).
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant is supposed for be for characters who are scary or creepy ''without trying to be scary or creepy''. Many tropers forget about the latter part, and just add any scary or creepy characters even if they're obviously trying to be scary and creepy on purpose.
* NintendoHard is about games that are incredibly, ridiculously hard. Many tropers like to attach the label to any even remotely challenging or frustrating game, even if it isn't anywhere near as difficult as the insanely difficult [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] games that gave the trope its name. Others like to use it to shoehorn examples of ThatOneLevel on the main page.
* People tend to confuse NoEnding with LeftHanging, BolivianArmyEnding, GainaxEnding, CliffHanger, SequelHook, and nearly every other ending trope on the wiki except for GrandFinale.
* NoDamageRun is a SelfImposedChallenge. If the game rewards you for completing a task without taking damage, that's FlawlessVictory. If the game ends your run after a single hit, that's OneHitPointWonder. No-Damage Run often gets potholed into pages where OHPW or FV would fit better, such as main work pages where YMMV (including Self-Imposed Challenge and all of its subtropes) is not allowed.
* NoFinalBossForYou is about video games that have a FinalBoss, but for some reason, you can't access it. It's sometimes misused with games that don't have a final boss at all. Additionally, it and TrueFinalBoss tend to be confused with each other; TrueFinalBoss means "you don't have to beat this boss to beat the game, but it's there if you meet conditions above just beating the game", whereas NoFinalBossForYou means "you ''have'' to beat this boss for the standard ending, but you goofed at some point so you don't get to fight it." Admittedly, the line can be a bit blurry, especially if the unlock condition for an endgame boss is simply "beat this arcade-format game up to this point with no continues"; conflicting definitions of "beating"/"clearing" the game kick in at that point. Generally speaking, if a particular end-of-game boss has to be beaten to get a positive ending, then it's NFBFY, and if not you're looking at TFB.
* NoFourthWall is about when the characters all know they're fictional and never pretend that they aren't. BreakingTheFourthWall is when a work that usually has the fourth wall breaks it temporarily. People seem to not realize the difference, to the point where there are more examples of BreakingTheFourthWall on the NoFourthWall page than actual examples of NoFourthWall.
* NotHelpingYourCase is when characters are actually innocent of what they are accused of but act in a way that could make others wrongly assume them guilty. It's often misused for when they say things that make them sound guilty of something of which they genuinely ''are'' guilty, which is IResembleThatRemark.
* NoHuggingNoKissing is meant to be about works that are completely devoid of any romance. It is frequently misused to refer to characters who ''are'' romantically involved but don't show much physical affection onscreen.
* Administrivia/NoLewdnessNoPrudishness tends to get misused in conversations and edit reasons as an excuse for prude behavior against any sort of lewdness on the site in general. However, this ironically ignores the "No Prudishness" part of the page's name. While TV Tropes is no stranger to forbidding works that are straight-up pure porn (see Administrivia/TheContentPolicyAndThe5PCircuit), the site is not against all types of sexual content, just as long as they don't run afoul of NSFW policies. It's also misused the other way around as well, attempting to justify decisions against cutting profanitic content that may prove problematic to site policy. The purpose of NLNP is to discourage both lewd and prude behavior on the spectrum and to keep the site as neutral to both view points as much as possible.
* NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech was once called ""World of Cardboard" Speech". It was intended to refer to a speech where the hero decides to give it their all and not hold anything back, but was often misused for a speech where the hero states why they are the hero, which is a HeroismMotiveSpeech. The trope was renamed in order to curb the misuse.
* NotSoDifferentRemark used to be called simply "Not So Different". The trope involves some kind of in-story realization or remarks between the characters, beyond viewer analysis. If the similarities are not pointed out, the work is using them as {{Foil}} and usually setting a grayish morality. Too many people were using it for the latter rather than the former, so it had to be renamed for clarity.
* NotZilla is meant to be used for anything that is an {{Expy}} of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', however it is occasionally used with only the "Not" part in mind for something that is not in any way related to something else, even if there is no connection whatsoever to Godzilla.
* NukeEm is a trope about using nuclear weapons too eagerly or too much. Lots of examples added there are mostly about "this work has nuclear weapons", which [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs isn't a trope]] by itself. If the use of nuclear weapons is a reasonable resort given the scope of the situation, see NuclearOption.
* ObviousBeta is often used to complain about games that are buggy and/or feel rushed upon release, but while it may be a byproduct of rushing, it is actually about games who's initial release is so badly broken, it's practically unplayable, and has nothing to do with the amount of time it spent in development.
* OCStandIn is often misused as any character used as a blank slate for {{Fanon}} characterization/backstory. Which characters fans latch onto such would be an AudienceReaction and thus not belong under the original works tropes. This trope only applies to the fan works using the character as such or when the original work intentionally makes them to be used so (deliberately vague backstories for fans to fill in, CharacterCustomization).
* OhCrap is an ''in-universe'' reaction, but it is commonly potholed to reflect viewer/editor instances of metaphorically crapping their pants.
* For a work to qualify as an OldShame, it has to be something which the creator is so ashamed of or repulsed by that they actively try to distance themselves from it. It doesn't mean any work which has been criticized by its creator for any reason.
* Even so-called OmnipresentTropes can be {{averted|Trope}}. While Administrivia/NoTropeIsTooCommon, no trope occurs in every work.
* An {{Omniglot}} is someone who knows an unlikely number of languages or can learn them unnaturally fast. Being fluent in two or three languages doesn't cut it.
* OneWayVisor means a visor, not lenses. A visor is like a pair of goggles with temple-arms instead of a strap or the faceplate of a helmet. Doesn't stop people from adding [[ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws Red Hood]] and Franchise/SpiderMan.
* The "OurMonstersAreDifferent" category of tropes is often used to note the presence of a certain monster in a story. The tropes are intended to be used to ''discuss'' how a story portrays a certain creature compared to how other stories portray them.
* OvershadowedByControversy is not just for any work that has ever had a controversy about it, the controversy has to be better known than anything else about the work. It isn't for works that caused divided opinions in the fandom, those are actually cases of BrokenBase or ContestedSequel. It ''definitely'' isn't for anything that only a VocalMinority raised a stink about, the controversy has to overshadow the work's other qualities in the mind of the general public. Some tropers also like to jump the gun and add examples for works that only recently became the subject of controversy, without waiting to see if the controversy will actually end up overshadowing the work or not. This item also is not about works that have gained any sort of recognition for being rare and hard to find. That's KeepCirculatingTheTapes and DancingBear. Finally, this isn’t for [[ListOfTransgressions listing every single bad thing a creator has done]]. If they are mainly known for being controversial and nothing else, it isn’t this item.
* OverusedRunningGag is when a work itself acknowledges or lampshades how often it uses a particular gag. It does not mean "gag that I'm personally sick of" or, worse, "gag I continued after shoehorning in RuleOfThree".
* ParallelPornTitles are for porn parodies of works where the title is a pun on the name of the original work. It has been misused for any porn parody of a work even if the title is not a pun on the original work's name but instead simply the title of the work with "XXX" or "An XXX Parody" at the end of it.
* Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs refers to something so basic that it can't even be called a trope. It does not mean "[[OmnipresentTropes It's all over the place]]". The core issue is "meaninglessness", not "ubiquitousness."
* A PeripheryHatedom is when a work has a specific target audience that enjoys it, but people outside of that group are upset that a work dares not to appeal to them specifically. Many examples simply explain why people dislike a work, which is [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike not something we want on this wiki.]]
* Administrivia/PermanentRedLinkClub does not refer to every article that was ever cut and locked, as some may come back in the future. It is supposed to be a list of articles that this wiki ''never'' wants to come back.
* PinballProtagonist often gets slapped on any hero who stumbles on to the plot, gets help from their allies, or doesn't manage to stop the villain's plans from coming to fruition, regardless of how active they are beyond those points.
* PinkHeroine is not just about any heroine who wears pink. They must also be the protagonist or leader.
* PlatformHell refers to a specific subgenre of games which are specifically designed to punish and frustrate the player as much as possible. Tropers tend to use the phrase to mean "NintendoHard [[Administrivia/TheSameButMore BUT MORE!]]". Platform Hell games are almost exclusively either [[GameMod ROM hacks]] or homebrewed games. It used to be extremely rare for an official retail product to truly qualify as one of these.
* "The core idea of PoesLaw is that a parody of something extreme can be mistaken for the real thing, and if a real thing sounds extreme enough, it can be mistaken for a parody," as the first few lines of that page explain. However, examples have a tendency to be more about works or personalities that are either extreme or at least reviled in general, without the "mistaken for a parody" part. This usually leads to Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike while ignoring the trope definition.
* A PotHole is when a link is [[PotHole hidden in the text]]. Directly displayed links that use [={{brackets}}=] or CamelCase are not potholes.
* PragmaticVillainy is meant for an instance when a character refuses to indulge in an evil act not because [[EvenEvilHasStandards it's too evil]], but because said character knows it's not really to their benefit (wasted resources, PR nightmare, likely to get themselves harmed in the process, not actually possible, etc). It does not necessarily refer to villains who are pragmatic overall (that's closer to NoNonsenseNemesis), nor is it necessarily referring to villains who [[CombatPragmatist fight dirty.]]
* PrecisionFStrike, as the description says, only applies to characters who don't swear often, if at all. Maybe -- ''maybe''' -- if the swear is supposed to obviously be part of the drama of a significant moment. Of course, it gets applied to characters who swear all the time, and to moments that aren't the least bit dramatic. And that's not even getting into the number of pages where any single use of the word "fuck" is {{Pot Hole}}d to this trope as if F-bombs in and of themselves [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs are a trope]].
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames is meant specifically for licensed games ''that are generally regarded as bad''. Tropers have a tendency to PotHole this to ''any mention of a licensed game'', even if the game's quality is not mentioned. For these cases, the appropriate trope is LicensedGame. Either the PotHole is due to [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Complaining About Licensed Games You Don't Like]], the stigma of licensed games seeping into TV Tropes, or tropers simply not knowing that the trope LicensedGame exists.
* ProperLady is meant for characters who conform to classic Western ideals of femininity. If the lady in question is East Asian, she falls under YamatoNadeshiko instead.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality is often used as a catch-all for any protagonist performing and getting away with actions which our modern society perceives as morally wrong when in truth this use is more along the lines of ValuesDissonance. This trope is actually more about a DoubleStandard, wherein the main character and characters they are sympathetic towards are allowed to get away with performing actions that other characters would be condemned for, or alternately characters who are objectively not that bad are presented as irredeemable due to not liking or supporting the protagonist.
* PutOnABus means that a character is written off in such a way that they could return (as in, without being killed off). It does not necessarily involve a bus. If the character just suddenly disappears with no explanation at all, that's ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E-K]]
* An EggMacGuffin is an egg used as a PlotDevice. It may or may not be an actual MacGuffin.
* Any vaguely terrifying/gigantic/powerful monster will be called an EldritchAbomination at some point, despite not meeting the qualifiers for being an inexplicable entity that breaks defined in-universe laws.
* EndingAversion is often misused for any disliked ending, interchangeably with FanonDiscontinuity. It requires the ending to receive such infamy or backlash that even those who haven't seen the ending or non-fans hear about it AND those people therefore avoiding the work or series in its entirety as opposed to just pretending the disliked ending didn't happen.
* An EnforcedTrope is when tropes are forced into a work by an outside source (usually those in charge or MoralGuardians), even if the writer didn't want to include them. When a character sets up a trope on purpose, it falls under an InvokedTrope instead.
* EnsembleDarkHorse is supposed to refer to when a ''minor'' character who does little in the story becomes unexpectedly popular with the fans. It isn't supposed to mean "any character besides the main character who is popular." There have even been cases where the main character or one of the main characters themselves were listed, or even things that aren’t even characters at all.
* EpicFail is about when a character fails much harder than you would expect, and the work plays it for laughs. Sometimes people seem to think that a work/person/moment/etc. can be an epic fail as an excuse to complain. For that, the appropriate tropes would be DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible, TheScrappy, and DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck, respectively.
* EthnicScrappy is for characters who are both ethnic stereotypes ''and'' TheScrappy, not just for characters who are ethnic stereotypes.
* EvenBetterSequel is a sequel to a work ''that was already good'', but manages to be better. Not just every sequel that just so happens to be better than the last one, good or otherwise. Sequels that are unexpectedly better than ''actually mediocre'' predecessors has its own trope as well; SurprisinglyImprovedSequel.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Tropers have a tendency to shoehorn this. For the record, the trope only applies when an otherwise-remorseless villain refuses to do something especially evil ''because'' they think it's too evil. EEHS has been misused for characters who aren't really evil (try EveryoneHasStandards), a standard that they only have for pragmatic reasons (PragmaticVillainy), or a standard that opposes weaksauce villainy (EvilerThanThou, which is the complete ''inverse'' of the trope).
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer and EvenTheGuysWantHim apply to characters who have ''both'' admirers of the same gender and admirers of the opposite gender. If they only have the former, they fall under OnlyHasSameSexAdmirers.
* SillySimian used to be called "Everything's Better With Monkeys", but was renamed because rather than being used specifically for instances where monkeys are used in a work for comedic effect, it was constantly used to refer to [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs any instance of a monkey in a work]].
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is about titles that are humorously specific, and tell you everything you need to know about the plot just by reading it. A lot of people use it for any title that's not a total non sequitur or a substitute for Administrivia/SelfExplanatory.
* An ExcusePlot is a plot that is clearly there merely as a justification for the gameplay, or other form of flashy, show-offy-ness, to happen. It does not necessarily mean a poorly written, minimalistic, or stupid storyline. Some tropers seem to love to put it as examples [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike to movies and shows they don't like]] (you're probably looking for ClicheStorm in those cases anyway).
* An {{Expy}} is a ''very obvious'' copy of one preceding character whose differences are relatively minor, whether or not the later character eventually develops in a different direction. Merely sharing a few similarities is not enough to make a character an Expy.
* {{Facepalm}} is when someone literally facepalms. Not something facepalm-worthy, or [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike the entire show is facepalm-worthy]].
* FaceDeathWithDignity is, as the trope description says, not the same as BetterToDieThanBeKilled, nor is the latter a subtrope of the former, but rather about being killed with your dignity in tact, such as though taking a few with you or being DefiantToTheEnd. Yet for some reason a good number of characters who go out with the latter are listed as the former.
* FairForItsDay is ''not'' a synonym for ValuesDissonance; it is when a work that doesn’t completely agree with later decades contains aspects that were progressive for the time period in which it was made.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath is a death that is rather shocking and/or graphic ''for a family-friendly work''. If it's a CruelAndUnusualDeath in something that was never aimed at that demographic to begin with (like a horror film), it's not an example.
* FanDisservice is when a show intentionally does something gross to invoke {{Squick}}. It's not the same as a show failing at {{Fanservice}}, that's FetishRetardant. It also gets used for plain old body {{Squick}}. And for anything the creators do that the fans don't like. And male nudity, because apparently people attracted to men don't exist. Fan Disservice, in this case, is about people looking unappealing or in situations that would be fanservice but have {{Squick}}y context (such as rape); it should not be shoehorned in to complain about the addition/removal of characters, scenes that look different from what they expected, or others. The latter is basically the inverse of PanderingToTheBase, which is due to TV Tropes' definition of "Fanservice" having a more narrow meaning than it's often used as.
* FanDumb has to do with certain types (see the list on the trope page) of illogical fan behaviors, specifically those that have to do with being overly defensive of the work or their opinions about it (such as in shipping); HateDumb is its equivalent for people who bash a particular work. Way too many people have been using it pretty much every time someone defends a work they don't like, or complains about a work they like, even if their comments are reasonable. Please delete any examples of this misuse that you see, as we don't need {{Flame War}}s here.
* FanDislikedExplanation gets shoehorned to anything disliked by fans, forgetting the "explanation" part. The disliked thing has to be [[TheReveal a reveal]] about how or why X happened or works/worked. A popular {{Fanon}} being {{Jossed}} is not this trope unless the work give a specific alternate explanation.
* FandomRivalry is for rivalries ''between'' two or more different fandoms. However, it's been used for disagreements ''within'' fandoms, often over which installments in the series are good or bad, when those are actually BrokenBase or ContestedSequel. Also both or all sides have to take part, meaning one-sided rivalries don't count and cases where one of the works is generally considered bad and has no fandom to speak of also don't count. There also has to be a clear majority that support said rivalry in order for it to actually be such. VocalMinority examples don't count and instances where it involves half of said fanbases will go into each of the respective BrokenBase pages instead.
* FanonDiscontinuity is supposed to refer to cases when a sequel or episode just screws up our mental image of the plot, so the fandom collectively decides to ignore its existence. Of course, in {{Pot Hole}}s, it is used as another TakeThat against anything you don't particularly like, including entire verses. It requires the work to be (officially) set in the canon, meaning adaptations (unless stated to be canon), {{Continuity Reboot}}s, and AlternateContinuity works can't qualify. It also has to be discounted for narrative or tonal reasons so works only disliked for unrelated reasons (like gameplay) don't quality. An otherwise disliked work is not this trope if it does something for canon that fans consider WorthIt (unless fans pretend it happened in a different way), is brought up a noticeable amount of times in the work, or influenced the work so much that ignoring it is more trouble than it's worth (unless fans also pretend the entire work afterward, save maybe for bit and pieces, didn't happen).
* FanHater is someone who hate the ''fans'' of a work. It's not the same as hating the series the fans are attached to, which is {{Hatedom}}.
* FanPreferredCouple does not mean "liked more than the OfficialCouple by upwards of fully THREE people and also we have a forum." It means a pairing that, judging by its apparent degree of canon validation, is more popular than it should be. It's also important to note the trope applies to ''non-canon couples only''. An OfficialCouple that happens to be popular with fans doesn't count as an example. This is also not a way to list a bunch of popular pairings in the fandom, as it's looking for the MOST popular non-canon pairing.
* {{Fanservice}} is an objective trope for content the creator ''intended'' to be appealing, most commonly in a sexual context. It's occasionally used to describe content not meant to be appealing, or even content meant to be FanDisservice, because it happened to fit a troper's fetish. If you really want to talk about how attractive you think a character is even when they are not played for fan service, bring up their attractiveness briefly while discussing the character in a gush entry in the Sugar Wiki. The word has also evolved as another word for the nonsexual trope PanderingToTheBase outside of the Wiki, which only adds to the confusion.
* FantasticRacism means racism between humans and mythical/fictional creatures, or between said creatures and other fictional creatures. It is ''not'' an adjective describing how powerful one's racism is; nor is it about regular old racism involving real world ethnicities in a fantasy setting.
* FauxActionGirl refers to characters famed as {{Action Girl}}s in-universe, but in practice the "Action" part is just an InformedAttribute. It's quickly becoming "Any female character who so much as loses one fight, or ever gets captured", [[NeverLiveItDown even if they curb-stomp everyone the rest of the time]].
* FauxAffablyEvil is a villain who acts friendly while doing blatantly evil things, often in a cruel or mocking manner. A villain who pretends not to be a villain at all by acting friendly is a BitchInSheepsClothing.
* FauxlosophicNarration is for philosophic content that ''has little to do with the plot'' of the work in question. It doesn't mean philosophical content in general that you don't like.
* A FemmeFatale is a woman whom the hero can't resist even though getting involved with her means certain danger, especially if she intentionally uses her beauty to overcome the hero's better judgement. It doesn't mean "sexualized female villain". Likewise, not every Asian villainess is a DragonLady, and not every eastern-European villainess is TheBaroness or a {{Sensual Slav|s}}.
* FieryRedhead is fairly self-explanatory for the most part, but that doesn't stop people from labeling every red-haired character who occasionally gets angry a fiery redhead, even if being hot-tempered is far from their primary characteristic.
* FighterMageThief is supposed to be a ThreeApproachSystem representing three archetypes, the Fighter who deals with problems physically (usually by combat as the name Fighter implies), the Mage who deals with problems with their special abilities ([[FunctionalMagic magic]], [[PsychicPowers psionics]], [[GadgeteerGenius gadgets]], etc.) and the Thief who deals with problems "indirectly" ([[TheSneakyGuy stealth]], [[LongRangeFighter ranged combat]], [[GuileHero social skills]], etc.). Some tropers feel the need of sneaking a trio in even if only two out of the three fill the archetypes niches, using the loosest connection to a specific archetype to put a trio on the trope page (for example, being BookSmart alone does not qualify one for being a Mage or using technology without being "indirect" does not qualify one to be a Thief, though the latter would have the trio qualify for PhysicalMysticalTechnological).
* TheFireflyEffect is about viewers being afraid to commit themselves to a show because they are afraid of it being canceled, even if it's popular like ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' was. Tropers often use it to complain about a show they like being ScrewedByTheNetwork.
* The FiveManBand is a common template for a cast of main characters, but it does not necessarily mean that all teams will fit into that precise mold. The five-man band is intended to be a ''specific'' pattern, so if even one character doesn't really fit any of the assigned roles, it's '''not''' an example. This page has the following problems:
** For a team to fit this template, it has to contain ''only five'' people, but not all quintets are Five-Man Bands. The only team members that fit this ensemble are TheLeader, TheLancer, TheBigGuy, TheSmartGuy and TheChick. Some works focus on a team member who isn't TheLeader, so this role is ''not'' necessarily interchangeable with TheHero.
** TheChick is not just any female member of a team; it is a female member who acts as the moral center in a male-dominated team. Furthermore, unlike the other four members of the Five-Man Band, 'The Chick' can never be gender-inverted; TheHeart is the unisex equivalent for any team ''except'' the Five-Man Band.
** The Five-Bad Band was created as a villainous counterpart to the Five-Man Band, consisting of the BigBad, TheDragon, TheBrute, the EvilGenius and the DarkChick. Eventually, it was determined that ''all'' of the examples were misuse, due to having more or less than five members, at least one member not fitting any of the roles, male villains being labelled the DarkChick or the villains not actually working together as a team. This led to the trope being cut.
* {{Flanderization}} was originally a fairly specific phenomenon, referring to when a previously complex character would eventually come to be defined by one or two specific quirks. However, over time, it decayed into "character generally became broader/wackier", and from there, it further decayed into "any broad/wacky character", even if they were that way to begin with. At this point, the trope has become so vague that people now say that the trope ''{{i|rony}}tself'' has been Flanderized. On the Flanderization page there was a list of '''Tropes''' that have been Flanderized, which almost rivaled the normal examples in length.
* FlatWhat is exactly what it looks like. Specifically, it's for ''in-universe'' reactions along that line. Most potholes to it are by way of a word or phrase that is neither flat nor a "what", because editors assume the trope is about being confused in general and either fail to understand or refuse to accept that [[Administrivia/ConversationInTheMainPage their reaction to something isn't necessary for the example to work]]. On the rare occasion it ''is'' actually potholed to the word "what", it tends to be all-caps, italicized and/or bolded, with multiple question marks and/or exclamation points behind it instead of a period, or some combination of the above, tropers apparently forgetting BigWhat is also a trope and/or just deciding "Flat" can be safely ignored so long as the "What" is actually present.
* {{Foil}} is often misused for any contesting character, even ones from completely unrelated series. Foils must exist in the same story and be intentionally juxtaposed by the narrative, almost always through them interacting with each other, to emphasize their contrasting traits.
* ForWantOfANail is about a story examining how a seemingly-small change might have major effects on an established timeline. But much like FridgeHorror, it's frequently misused as an excuse to point out something that ''might'' have substantially changed a story, even when the work doesn't discuss this alternative scenario in any way.
* FountainOfMemes is for ''characters'' that spawn a lot of memes, but it's often used for works that spawn many memes, or even just ''one'' meme that ends up being ridiculously popular.
* FourIsDeath is not simply [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs any time the number four is used in a work]]. It is meant for instances where that number signifies something bad that is happening or about to happen, usually in reference to an Asian superstition rooted in the words for "four" and "death" being homophones in some Asian languages. The same applies to ThirteenIsUnlucky and the number thirteen.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble suffered a similar fate as FiveManBand, though not as bad. It's supposed to be one character per temperament, one temperament per character, and it's supposed to be a group of only four (or five, if there is an eclectic temperament) people. However, instances where there is more than one temperament given per character or a temperament is given to more than one character are not rare. Also, when there is a group of five people, there's a tendency for tropers to use the eclectic temperament for characters who don't actually fit it, just to avoid the above situations.
* For the FramingTheGuiltyParty trope, the "guilty" part is vital. It doesn't mean just any FrameUp. In particular, the "framing yourself" sub-trope is often misused. It's about when ''the guilty party'' intentionally frames themselves with the aim of the police noticing the frame-up and discounting them as a suspect, or getting off on Double Jeopardy. An innocent party framing themselves to [[TakingTheHeat take the heat]] for someone else doesn't qualify.
* [[/index]]It can even apply to namespaces, as it turns out. The "Franchise/" namespace is specifically meant for a series with at least three related articles under different namespaces (e.g., Franchise/JamesBond counts because of [[Literature/JamesBond the original novels]], the [[Film/JamesBond film series]], a [[WesternAnimation/JamesBondJr '90s cartoon]], and individual pages for various video games, among others). Every now and then, however, someone trying to add namespaces to links in a page that originally did not have them will just attach Franchise to it rather than looking up where it actually goes (series subject to SequelDisplacement seem particularly prone to this, presumably from people recognizing they're not familiar with the earlier parts of the series but overestimating just how extensive it was before they discovered it).[[index]]
* FranchiseOriginalSin is often used by those defending either a work by claiming its flaws and criticisms also existed in prior works, or those criticizing an entire series by claiming the flaws later installments are criticized for have always been there. It requires there be an explanation as to ''why'' said flaws were ignored or more tolerable in said prior works or installments.
* FreudianExcuse is for traumatic experiences in a character's childhood or youth that have a great influence on their adult life. Tropers often latch on to the "excuse" part and misuse it for any unfortunate event that explains character's behavior, such as being raped, losing one's job or family as a fully formed adult.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse requires in-story acknowledgement. The villain having a weak FreudianExcuse that falls flat compared to their laundry list of atrocities or the work not using their predicaments to justify their crimes are not sufficient criteria for this trope unless the work has a scene where a character explicitly rebuts the villain's FreudianExcuse.
* FridgeBrilliance isn't "My favorite show is awesome and makes no mistakes". All series have plot holes and issues, even if insignificant, and trying to deny it with an "ICanExplain" won't change this. That'll just lead to FanDumb. A lot of people don't understand the line between Fridge Brilliance and WildMassGuessing. Fridge Brilliance is "Oh, X is Y because Z", WildMassGuessing is "Why is X Y?"
* FridgeHorror is when something gets scarier due to retrospect. The same situation, but scarier. Some have just used it for immediate scary implications, which is relatively acceptable as far as square pegs go, but others have used it for imagining an altered version of the plot that's scarier than before. Still others seem to take it to mean, "Imagine the absolute worst, edge-case scenario that could possibly have happened in this setting," and yet others take it as an excuse for "What if" scenarios that clearly did not happen in the work, neither of which fit the bill.
* FridgeLogic is specifically about a PlotHole that catches your attention as well as all those nagging questions that have had you scratching your head long after you watched the movie or read the book. But likely it was just a minor thing and it doesn't really destroy your enjoyment of it. The page became a location for Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike and a place to vent. Headscratchers was meant to curb the examples, but a decision was made to scrap ''all'' the examples and just refer people to Headscratchers.
* FunnyAfro only applies when the hairstyle in question is used for comedy. It is not about every character with an afro, which is Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment is "a scene, joke, or offhand line that was originally meant to be funny or light-hearted but which, due to traumatic events in future episodes of a show or in real life, now makes the viewer cringe when it is seen in reruns." The two events have to be very similar to count (for example, the page picture of a cartoon drawn in 1993 of a plane hitting the WTC). There are a lot of entries where the original line is simply a reference to an actor who later died. Unless the line at least somewhat predicts the circumstances of the actor's death, it's not an example. Otherwise every single reference to a famous person would eventually count, and ultimately, people being mortal in general is as tropeworthy as [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs people sitting on chairs]]. Similarly, other entries are merely about how works by a creator or in which an actor starred become harder to watch or read after said creator/actor becomes controversial in real life. Unless there is a line or scene in the work mimicking ''how'' the real-life person became controversial, such examples also don't count. Still more examples list two events that are very tenuously connected, if at all, especially if the latter event is emotionally charged and still fresh in people's minds at the time the example is written. Many also miss the part about it being originally PlayedForLaughs. If it mirrors tragic events but wasn't played for laughs, it isn't this, it's HarsherInHindsight. The trope is also not "HarsherInHindsight that can be interpreted as BlackComedy".
* GagBoobs refers to the comedic use of large breasts. Many examples nowadays simply trope it for any character with large breasts, ignoring the comedy requirement.
* GainaxEnding is when a work ends on a deliberately incomprehensible note, but often gets confused with LeftHanging and/or TwistEnding.
* "The Garfunkel" was supposed to be the band member whose presence is really superfluous to the sound of the group. However, a lot of the examples seemed to be "the band member that nobody recognises", even if they have important roles (bassists and drummers especially fall victim to this). This isn't helped by the trope having been named after someone who gets judged as this by popular culture, but who in truth was not (Art's voice was an indispensable part of the Music/SimonAndGarfunkel sound). We eventually renamed it to LesserStar.
* In some GenderBlendingTropes, such as UnsettlingGenderReveal, people will refer to instances of women dressed as men (or anything along those lines) as inversions of the trope, presuming (due to the FirstLawOfGenderBending) that men dressed as women is the default in such situations, even when the actual trope definition is neutral on the subject.
* GenderFlip is for when a character is reimagined as the opposite gender. However, some people use it for an AlwaysFemale, or AlwaysMale, trope that is applied to the opposite gender (which is covered by GenderInvertedTrope).
* A GenericDoomsdayVillain is a villain without motivations (or unknown ones), characterization or backstory and is overall just a living plot device so that the hero has a threat to face. It's often misused for [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional villains]] or villains who act ForTheEvulz (which ''is'' a motivation, though a very simple one). It's also often used for complaining about villains people found lame or boring, even if said villain has clear motivations or characterization.
* GenreKiller is supposed to be about a ''singular'' work or event that somehow manages to kill an entire genre. Prior to being cleaned-up, multiple works were listed as being a killer of said "genres" rather than just one, and most of the "genres" listed on the page were just works with some kind of gimmick rather than actual genres.
* For the most part, GenreSavvy is pretty self-explanatory. However, it's widely misused (to the point that [[TropeDecay the misuse significantly outnumbers the correct use]]) because some people use it to note any time when a character makes a good decision in general, as opposed to making a good decision based on genre conventions. It's also misused a lot for its sister trope FunctionalGenreSavvy; Genre Savvy is not simply about characters ''behaving'' according to their genre, but about characters ''[[TaughtByTelevision learning from other fiction]]'' about how to deal with their genre. Finally, don't confuse with MediumAwareness; a Genre Savvy character usually [[ThisIsReality isn't aware]] that their own world is actually fictional.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff refers to a character (or a work as a whole) who is significantly more popular in a certain part of the world than in his/her country of origin. For some reason, the page gets several entries detailing the ''opposite'' phenomenon. Many entries also describe example of things having niche or cult fandoms in other countries while still being clearly less popular than their point of origin.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar is about content in a work which should not have been allowed according to its rating, but made it in anyway due to being hidden in a way that made it easy for the {{Media Watchdog}}s to miss. A lot of examples are AccidentalInnuendo which were never intentionally attempted to be sneaked past the censors. Others meanwhile boil down to HehHehYouSaidX, {{Parental Bonus}}es alluding to adult material but not objectionable in and of themselves, people assuming the radar is looking for something it actually "cleared to land" (especially with Creator/{{Disney}}-made works), or thinking there is a radar to get around for works which lack one. In general, if something happens front-and-center, such as a violent fight scene or a character saying a swear word loud and clear, it's pretty much impossible for the Radar to have missed it, meaning that almost certainly knew the Crap was there but allowed it anyway. ToiletHumor in works aimed at children is one thing that often gets confused as Getting Crap Past The Radar (perhaps due to the implications of literal Crap), despite such jokes being very popular with that age group. Also, many tropers seem to forget that in order for something to qualify as Getting Crap Past The Radar, it has to actually get past the radar. This got so bad that much of the misuse warranted the creation of the YMMV page DemographicallyInappropriateHumour.
* A GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere is a {{boss|Battle}} who comes out of nowhere ''and'' is completely [[WackyWaysideTribe irrelevant to the plot]]. A lot of tropers will call ''any'' boss that comes out of nowhere a Space Flea even if they ''are'' plot-relevant.
* Some entries make it seem like every amusing cut is a GilliganCut. Gilligan Cut has a very specific definition (character refusing to do something, and then shown doing it anyway) but is somewhat frequently misused on work pages and in potholes for DescriptionCut (which involves a person describing something and then it being shown to be false/misleading) and IronicEchoCut (which involves two people saying almost the same thing back-to-back).
* AGodAmI refers to characters who ''actually'' believe themselves to be divine when they are not. Someone who just has a massively inflated ego that dwarfs their actual achievements is SmallNameBigEgo.
* ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy'' isn't even a trope, yet it is occasionally used as one. We ''do'' have {{t|heGodsMustBeLazy}}wo {{t|heGuardsMustBeCrazy}}ropes that are [[JustForPun puns]] based on it, but ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' itself is a movie. You might be thinking of MadGod.
* {{Gonk}} is not just any character that you find ugly, the character must have some kind of exaggerated ugliness which makes him look different from the rest of the cast. Also, it's not another term for NonStandardCharacterDesign.
* GoodIsNotNice is supposed to be a character who is unquestionably good, yet being unfriendly, impolite, grumpy or edgy-labelled by mannerism. It is frequently used for someone who is simply being a {{Jerkass}} or even being amoral at best on the side of the main characters if they fight against the villains. (Which should fall under {{Jerkass}}, TokenEvilTeammate or VillainProtagonist).
* GreyAndGrayMorality is when both sides of the conflict are neither good or bad. Just because a hero has [[AntiHero some flaws]] and the villain has some [[AntiVillain redeeming qualities]] doesn't mean the setting is Grey and Gray in terms of morality. Likewise, BlackAndWhiteMorality is not reserved for naive works where [[IncorruptiblePurePureness the heroes can do no wrong]] and [[ClassicVillain all villains are motivated by nothing but venality and spite]].
* GuideDangIt now gets used for any puzzle that's the least bit difficult, not just ones that aren't possible to solve without a strategy guide or walkthrough. A true Guide Dang It situation would be one where you look up the solution and, after doing it, analyzing it, and discovering ''zero'' legible in-game hints pointing towards that solution, proceed to exclaim "HOW THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO KNOW TO DO THAT?" If the clues ''are'' there and you just missed or misinterpreted them, it's not an example.
* GuiltyPleasure means liking something yet feeling guilt or embarrassment for liking it, because it's considered outside the mainstream, it's lowbrow, or because the one who likes it is out of the demographic. The definition got twisted to slightly above SoBadItsGood (when many of the examples on that page are interchangeable), and ultimately to Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike but more specific. Almost every example was not an actual example, and people used it as a page to complain about things they thought were SoBadItsGood, even if what they were complaining about was critically acclaimed or just animated shows and kid's shows in general. It got so bad and opinionated that the page was regulated to in-universe examples.
* GutPunch is about a sudden ToneShift that makes the work significantly DarkerAndEdgier. The part where it suddenly hits you, "Oh, ''this'' is why everybody is talking about how dramatic this work is!" It is not just about any dramatic or shocking moment. And if the work is dark to begin with, then you probably want MoodWhiplash or FromBadToWorse.
* Someone with a HairTriggerTemper isn't only someone who releases their rage. It's someone who throws a tantrum over minor and irrational situations. If someone gets angry and outraged for good and highly understandable reasons, then this trope doesn't apply to them.
* A HandWave is an explanation that is too flimsy to hold up under scrutiny, not any brief explanation and most definitely ''not'' "explanations that don't appeal to you".
* HarderThanHard refers to when a game has a hard difficulty followed by at least one difficulty above it (for example, difficulty levels with the labels Normal, Hard, and ''Very Hard''). It does not simply mean a hard mode that's much harder than the normal mode, or an extreme case of a NintendoHard game. This same problem plagues EasierThanEasy, which is supposed to be a labeled difficulty mode below "Easy" (for example, starting off with ''Very Easy'' or ''Beginner'' before the standard Easy, Normal, and Hard), but often gets used to talk about easy modes that are ridiculously easier than the Normal mode but are still simply named "Easy", or simply a game that's really easy.
* HardTruthAesop has often been used to complain about works that teach "wrong" morals due to its old name, "Family-Unfriendly Aesop". It's actually more about unpleasant truths that offend legitimate, accepted wisdom. It also has to be the intended Aesop, so doesn't apply if the work doesn't try to teach AnAesop (AccidentalAesop), is different from the intended Aesop (AlternateAesopInterpretation), or the Aesop is so unpleasant/immoral it's not supposed to be taken as legit (SpoofAesop).
* HateSink is a character whose intended purpose is for the audiences to dislike and root against. It's often misused to any character with lots of vile deeds or traits and few to none redeeming traits. Such characters can still be too endearing to be disliked such due to coolness, entertainingness, humor, or being too unrealistically/outlandishly over-the-top to take seriously. A Hate Sink has to avoid, subvert, or downplay any such endearing traits. Their lack of endearing or redeeming traits also has to be intentional, otherwise they're TheScrappy (which can only overlap with Hate Sink if they're disliked by audiences for different reasons than the narrative intends). It also tends to get mixed up with CompleteMonster, which is a whole different trope entirely and one that needs InUniverse justifications from the other characters in the story than just the audience.
* A couple of SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments entries were deleted not because they weren't [[EmotionalTorque emotional]], but because those were TearJerker moments. Heartwarming can make you cry, but crying isn't necessarily heartwarming. The same thing is happening in Tear Jerker.
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct was meant to be used when an actor who normally isn't taken too seriously ends up putting out a stand out performance. It seems to be in danger of becoming used for any good acting, or when an actor who ''is'' taken seriously does a ''slightly'' better acting job than they normally do. Inverted in cases where a dramatic actor pulls a stellar comedic performance, which are almost never tagged because tropers expect this to be standard even if those dramatic actors weren't taken seriously before.
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen is meant to be used for a RecurringCharacter who never appears on screen. Some tropers use it to refer to a character who only appears a couple of times.
* HeroKiller seems to be falling into this, being used as a blanket term for any character that has managed to kill a hero, regardless of how major a role they had. One of the key elements of the HeroKiller is that he is so effective and so dangerous that even the protagonists are terrified of him; someone who appeared for one episode, had a fairly even-sided battle with the protagonists, and managed to take down a hero before being killed in the climax is not a HeroKiller.
* HeroicBuild is about characters who have superpowers and a muscular physique to go with their superpowers. The trope is misused more often than not, with people who only read the trope name and not the description assuming that it means any character who happens to be a good guy and somewhat muscular.
* A HiddenElfVillage is a village that refuses to participate in external conflicts. It may or may not be populated by elves.
* HilariousInHindsight refers to when a work becomes more amusing due to a later event retroactively changing the context. It's not uncommon for tropers to make extremely flimsy connections that often rely on FanMyopia, such as a later work having a vaguely similar (and often [[OlderThanTheyThink quite common]]) plot line. Along with its sister tropes HarsherInHindsight and FunnyAneurysmMoment, tropers often use the trope to shoehorn connections between works and current events (sometimes forgetting that certain concepts existed at the time the work came out), which became such an issue that all three were given a [[Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease waiting period.]] Sometimes, the "hindsight" part is completely ignored, and tropers make connections to events that took place or works that came out ''before'' the work in question came out. One particularly bad example of shoehorning involving this trope was ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', where ''half the page'' for Hilarious in Hindsight listed examples where a rapper made a reference to someone who later appeared as a rapper on the show, which isn't even a trope.
* HijackedByGanon is specifically about an old and recurring villain who is either behind or takes over the new one. Unfortunately, many people forget the "Ganon" part and just focus on the "Hijacked" part, thinking the trope is about any villain who manages to hijack another one, regardless if they're new or not. If the new villain is behind the old one, that's TheManBehindTheMan. If both villains are willingly working together as equals, that's BigBadDuumvirate, and if their relationship is very rocky and they don't get along with each other, which may lead to an eventual betrayal, that's TeethClenchedTeamwork. Finally, if you're looking at a villain who has betrayed any allegiances they have gotten into, that's ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, not this trope.
* HilarityEnsues was misused constantly to refer to anything that leads to a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Funny Moment]] in a work instead of when a dangerous or illegal action is PlayedForLaughs. It was eventually turned into a redirect to PlayedForLaughs.
* HopeSpot is not "things are gloomy but there's a window of hope", but a subversion of that exact concept: The characters' hopes are dashed when the window gets smashed.
* "Hot Mom" and "Hot Dad" were supposed to refer to moms and dads who the other characters find attractive. Tropers used them to mean "character I think is hot who happens to be a parent". Both are now no longer tropes but disambiguation pages. Besides, we already have StacysMom for in-universe examples of such.
* HoYay is about homosexual ''subtext'', not "gay moment". At one point, even ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' was stated to have it, which was wrong because the male characters are explicitly attracted to each other. It's also now used for any two guys or girls who are best friends at all. Sometimes even characters that have no relation at all but the editor thinks that it would be hot for those two characters to be together. ShippingGoggles are certainly to blame. This is probably why HomoeroticSubtext was created to cover actual subtext, requiring either WordOfGod or LampshadeHanging to qualify and prevent shoehorning.
* HumanoidAbomination is specifically about an EldritchAbomination (see above) that has a humanoid form or guise, but is often used to label humanoid monsters of any variety, EldritchAbomination or not.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters (once "Humans Are Bastards") is supposed to be about how humans are complete jerks and worse '''compared to other sentient species'''. Humans being horrible people, in general, does not count as this trope, though HumansAreBastards was later split off as a separate trope for that purpose.
* A HurtingHero is a troubled protagonist, and not necessarily one who is in constant physical pain.
* HypeBacklash is supposed to be about works that receive heightened expectations due to heavy praise, yet leave viewers disappointed. Tropers have translated this to Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike [[ItsPopularNowItSucks that happen to be popular]]. It also isn't for when a highly anticipated work or announcement ends up being disappointing.
* HypnoTrinket is about any {{Brainwashing}} item that looks like an everyday wearable thing (clothing, jewelry, etc.). Anything worn or slapped on the skin, yet looks obviously like a MindControlDevice, is just that trope [[Administrivia/TheSameButMoreSpecific but wearable]].
* This is why ''I Am Not Making This Up'' no longer exists on this wiki, what with everyone potholing anything vaguely weird into it. NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer is being misused in the same vein, albeit on a much smaller scale.
* IAmNotShazam is when people incorrectly assume a work has a CharacterTitle and call the main character by the title even if they have a completely different name. Tropers often assume the page is about ''any'' character who is known by an incorrect name regardless of whether or not the false name is the work title or not.
* IAmTheNoun is when a character refers to themself as the sole representative of a group or abstract concept ("I am the Night", "I am the Law", "I am the State", etc) not when a character refers to their title or function ("I am the King", "I am the guardian" etc.).
* To qualify as an IceCreamKoan, a statement needs to a) sound profound at first, ''and'' to b) be actually nonsense, a tautology, or just a joke. Resist the urge to label every mysterious utterance as one of these.
* IdiotBall is meant to be used for when a character who is ''normally intelligent'' suddenly acts stupid or does something stupid because the plot requires it. It doesn't count if the character is usually portrayed as being stupid to begin with, that character is simply being TheDitz. Nor does it apply if their stupidity stems from established character traits or situations they couldn't be expected to make good decisions.
* ImAHumanitarian is about ''cannibalism'' among humans, not about non-humans eating humans. When monsters or aliens devour humans that's ToServeMan, when they munch on each other it's probably MonstrousCannibalism.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice is when a character gets impaled on a significantly large object. It's often used for any stabbing by bladed weapons, including small knives and arrows.
* IncrediblyLamePun was originally an in-universe reaction to a pun, but was misused by tropers to say "I found this joke lame", or worse, "Here's a lame joke I just added". The misuse became so bad it was separated into LamePunReaction for its original purpose as an in-universe trope, and {{Pun}} as an index for tropes which revolve around stock puns.
* An InfinityPlusOneSword is not merely the strongest weapon in the game. It also has to be one of the hardest to acquire. If it's easy, it fits InfinityMinusOneSword.
* InformedSpecies is supposed to be about fictional animals who barely resemble the species they're supposed to be, to the point where a regular watcher would have a hard time guessing what animal they are, often even mistaking them for something else. However, it decayed into a list of animals that don't look 100% like the real species, even if they're still identifiable as such.
* InNameOnly is when a derivative work is completely different from the original, despite sharing its title. It is sometimes misused to describe any differences from the source material, or anything that does not resemble what it is named after. The RealLife section had this problem, in addition to complaining and natter, before the page was made Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease
* An InnocuouslyImportantEpisode is an episode that subtly sets events in motion that lead to a big payoff later in such a way that the audience won't realize the importance of the episode until late in the series. But it's often used to describe light-hearted episodes that surprisingly end with a big reveal or a major event, even when said reveal and event has no relation with the rest of the episode. Other times it just gets used as "this episode received a CallBack or ContinuityNod later on", even if it doesn't really make the episode any more important in the grand scheme of things.
* InsaneTrollLogic is for logic that is incredibly demented to the point where it makes no sense at all. Too many people try to cram [[LogicalFallacies flawed logic]] into the trope as opposed to the nonsensical logic that it is supposed to reflect.
* InternetBackdraft is about a topic so controversial that merely bringing it up risks igniting a FlameWar, even if done innocently by someone who didn't know about the controversy. In practice, it's nearly always used as a list of every single thing that caused a negative knee-jerk reaction in a certain fandom. This led to it being made FlameBait and all examples purged.
* IstanbulNotConstantinople is about using alternative names for real places in AlternateHistory or AlternateUniverse. Examples of renaming a place (''especially'' in RealLife) are subject to PleaseSelectNewCityName.
* It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY is an in-universe trope where a character insists on a "fancier" pronunciation of a word or name. Many tropers confuse it with NoPronunciationGuide or misuse it as a generic pothole for pointing out how to pronounce something. The misuse became so frequent that the trope was renamed to PretentiousPronunciation.
* "It Just Bugs Me" became something of a repository for complaining and AccentuateTheNegative. Sometimes they get purged by the [[Administrivia/TVTropesGlossary Wiki Magic]], sometimes not. Eventually, the problem was so great that the name was changed to Headscratchers/{{Headscratchers}}.
* The ItSucks pages are for reactions by the general audience and critics. They are ''not'' pages for Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike.
* ItWasHisSled is supposed to be for plot twists that were once secrets, but are now known by ''everybody'' because of the way they've permeated through popular culture. It's fast descending into "any twist that a ''[[FanMyopia particular]]'' fandom/market/niche knows about", or worse, "''any'' twist", hence the Administrivia/ExampleSectionectomy. A more indirect example/result of misuse is that, when writing about twists that don't really fall under this but are still considered examples by myopic fans, tropers often neglect to use spoiler tags on pages that don't have a "spoilers off" policy (e.g., trope pages where the mere presence of a work on them can indirectly spoil the twist). Because of this, tropers who plan to read/watch/play a certain work without spoiling anything beforehand can be reading a non-"spoilers off" page and inadvertently come across twists devoid of spoiler tags simply because the person who added the example assumed that it was already widely known. Also, this isn't for twists that people see coming from a mile away; that goes under CaptainObviousReveal.
* JerksAreWorseThanVillains managed to attract misuse ''the moment it was launched'' from Trope Launch Pad, requiring some cleanup and a description overhaul. The general idea behind the trope is that it's an AudienceReaction phenomenon where audiences tend to react more negatively to general {{Jerkass}} characters doing minor stuff to annoy the hero than to actual villains who commit heinous crimes. However, this excludes InUniverse examples (since they don't qualify by default) as well as HateSink characters (who're ''intended'' to be despised by the audience). Also, this trope should never be used as just another outlet for LoveToHate, TheScrappy, AmericansHateTingle, RonTheDeathEater, CompleteMonster, MoralEventHorizon, DesignatedHero, or just [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike complaining about characters you don't like]]. The key factor here is the dissonance between a jerk character and a villain, and why audiences tend to react more negatively to the former than the latter.
* JerkassHasAPoint is when the {{Jerkass}} character is acting as a voice of reason, and requires sympathetic characters in the work somehow acknowledge that they are right. It is not just when audiences agree with the jerkass. It also often gets confused with StrawmanHasAPoint where a creator tries to make a character the voice of reason, but the ''audience'' ends up agreeing more with the jerkass strawman that character is arguing against.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk is often misused as simply "[[{{Jerkass}} a character who is/acts like a jerk]]". The trope, however, is actually about moments where [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold characters who usually act like jerks seem to have a change of heart]] and do something good, until it is later discovered that they had selfish and unpleasant reasons for doing so. The DoubleSubversion is crucial.
* {{Jossed}} is meant to be for cases in which a fan's theory is disproved by later developments in the story or by WordOfGod, but it sometimes gets used on WildMassGuessing pages for cases in which there's some evidence that a fan theory is unlikely to be true, but it's not entirely disproven. If someone has to later come along and add a note saying that the guess was "un-Jossed", most likely it was never really Jossed in the first place (barring LyingCreator or FlipFlopOfGod).
* JustFriends requires a pair of opposite-sex characters to develop their friendly feelings into romance, regardless if only one or both of them do it. If they don't feel anything but platonic, there's a whole bunch of tropes for that: LikeBrotherAndSister, PlatonicLifePartners, MistakenForRomance, ChildhoodFriends (sans any ChildhoodFriendRomance), the list goes on.
* A KarmaHoudini requires they make it to the end of the story without suffering any form of punishment for their wrongdoings. This requires the story to be over, disqualifying anyone from an ongoing work. This is also not about what's viewed as insufficient or offscreen punishment since that means they were in fact punished. Any characters considered redeemed (unless for [[PragmaticVillainy self-serving reasons]]) are exempt as they've owned up to karma. It's also sometimes used when IdiotHoudini ([[HanlonsRazor where the actions are committed out of stupidity rather than malice]]) would fit better.
* KarmicOverkill is not just when a character is punished excessively, but when the narrative treats it as justified and fair, only for audiences to disagree -- feeling, even if they agree that the character deserved punishment, it was unfairly excessive. If does not apply if their punishment was ''supposed'' to be seen as excessive.
* KatanasAreJustBetter requires to show that a katana wielder is better than other melee and ranged weapons. Just wielding a katana doesn't qualify for this trope.
* KickTheDog refers to any gratuitously cruel act used to clearly show the character as evil, including ''but not limited to'' [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals literally kicking a dog]]. People often miss the "gratuitous" part: It's a ''pointless'' act of cruelty, not something done in the advancement of a clear goal. It's also becoming increasingly shoehorned for whenever a character does something even slightly mean.
* KickTheSonOfABitch is often used when a character does something bad to an evil character, either for revenge, heroism or some other personal issues -- but that's not what it's supposed to mean. What they should be using instead is PayEvilUntoEvil. KickTheSonOfABitch is only applicable when a character does something mean to an evil character without KNOWING of their evil ways. This is so common, in fact, that the trope's very page explains the difference between the two, but people still can't seem to get it right.
* KidAppealCharacter is supposed to be a character in a larger cast specifically designed to appeal to children; it often just gets used for any child character at all (or even just any character who is younger or smaller than the rest of the cast), no matter how they're characterized or marketed, or even if there are adult characters that kids like better.
* KillItWithFire: Thanks to MemeticMutation, the trope is now used as a PotHole for what is technically BrainBleach. The Kill It With Fire trope is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin; things that are associated with the Memetic Mutation version of it are Brain Bleach.
* KilledOffForReal was being misused for any CharacterDeath, its supertrope. It's only in play when characters can reasonably be assumed to be dead, they can reasonably be expected to return, and they don't return. Applicable to settings where "Killed Off For Fake" (DisneyDeath or BackFromTheDead) is present, it's mutually exclusive with AllDeathsFinal. Sometimes it also gets misused when a setting has both a real world, and a not-so-real world such as a simulation, and characters are killed in the real world. This still doesn't qualify, because while characters might be expected to come back to life if killed in a simulation, there's no expectation that they'd return when killed in reality.
* KillEmAll keeps getting mistaken for characters literally "killing them all" because it's also used as a StockPhrase. It's specifically an EndingTrope where virtually every major character in the story ends up dying. The "Kill 'Em All" is on the part of the ''writers'', not (necessarily) the characters. The in-story tactic of killing everyone is covered by tropes like LeaveNoSurvivors, ThePurge, FinalSolution, and MurderIsTheBestSolution.
* KnightOfCerebus refers to a character who causes or heralds [[CerebusSyndrome a lasting shift in the tone of the work to darker/more serious]]. It is often misapplied to any dark/serious villain, even if [[StatusQuoIsGod the tone returns to normal afterward]] or it's the first/only installment in a work and thus hasn't established a tone to change.
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* AbsenteeActor is when a character is inexplicably absent from a story in which they would logically be expected to appear, leading to FridgeLogic. Most examples are just "This character who's part of the regular cast didn't appear". This is especially bad when there's a large EnsembleCast, since not all characters are expected to always appear to begin with.
* AbsoluteCleavage refers to when a character's outfit shows not just their chest, but part of their stomach too. Most examples are just "this character has noticeable cleavage".
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap refers to a level {{cap}} that is way higher than what is needed for or can be reached by the endgame, not simply level caps with high numbers - a level cap of 20 would be absurdly high if you only need to be level 4 or 5 to beat the main story. Conversely, an AbsurdlyLowLevelCap is not a level cap with a low order of magnitude, but rather a cap that can be reached well before the endgame even without any intentional and prolonged LevelGrinding - a cap of ''99'' would be absurdly low if you reach it halfway through the game, even without sidequests and the like. Not helping matters is that, for a very long time, the articles’ descriptions denied that the two tropes were mutually exclusive, despite everything else proving you can’t have both at the same time.
* An AccidentalAesop is when a work that's meant to have no moral actually has a pretty good moral. However, many examples are more a case of BrokenAesop (in which the moral the work is trying to teach is contradicted by the work itself), CluelessAesop (in which a moral's effectiveness is botched by poor presentation), AlternateAesopInterpretation (where a moral is presented but fans see a different one), EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory (where people see religious symbolism, but not necessarily morals, in works where there is none), DarthWiki/WarpThatAesop (where people draw absurd conclusions to the work), or just plain FanDumb.
* AccidentalInnuendo is when something was ''not'' intended as a DoubleEntendre, but is seen as such by viewers. It is often mistaken for InnocentInnuendo, where something is taken out of context within the work to sound dirty, and HehHehYouSaidX, where something innocuous is viewed as dirty InUniverse. When it is neither of those but was still meant deliberately, it is just a DoubleEntendre.
* An ActorAllusion has to be intentional. Two characters in different shows played by the same actor coincidentally being in an (arguably) similar situation does not count - it has to be established, either through [[ShoutOut the show making a reference]] or even just [[WordOfGod someone behind the production saying]] that it's an actual allusion.
* AdaptationDecay is supposed to be when certain elements of a show are simplified or modified so it can translate to whichever medium it's translating to. It's not supposed to mean [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike "adaptation that I think is worse than the original."]] The misuse was bad enough that its page now no longer allows examples that are not InUniverse.
* It seems that the amount of times AdaptationDistillation gets used as this for [[SugarWiki/GushingAboutShowsYouLike gushing about adaptations someone likes]] outnumbers the times it is actually used correctly on this wiki. For the record, it's about works which manage to capture the essence of a LongRunner in a brief adaptation without resulting in ContinuityLockout.
* AdaptationalSelfDefense was once "The Dog Shot First" and before that "Han Shot First", but because it was named after a meme from ''Film/ANewHope'', people kept using it to refer to the meme rather than the trope itself.
* {{Adorkable}} is supposed to describe a character whose particular quirks make them cute or endearing to the audience, it's not meant to describe any character that you find cute. There's another trope for that, {{Moe}}. While it's true that being adorkable is a trait found in many moe characters, the two tropes ''aren't'' the same thing.
* AdultFear refers to anything that would upset levelheaded adults and could actually happen in real life. Most tropers seem to think it's exclusively about children in peril, which wouldn't be a misuse so much as simply forgetting that Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible... if they bothered to remember that the peril in question ''can't be fantastic'' to begin with, though the world overall can be. For instance, a perfectly mundane murderer luring children away from their parents' backyard would be an example of AdultFear, even if the world also happens to include wizards and dragons. But having the murderer turn out to be a shapeshifting demon would not be.
* For AesopAmnesia, sometimes people mistakenly use ForgottenAesop, a redirect to LostAesop which is about AnAesop that the ''work'' forgot, not the character.
* AgeAppropriateAngst is meant to be about examples where a character's angst is justified by their youth. Half the examples listed are just various characters who have traumatic backstories.
* AgonyOfTheFeet was originally about characters hurting their feet and then hopping comedically while clutching their hurt foot. Then, it began to be used for foot injury in general, even without the hopping. The hopping part was eventually spun off into its own trope, HurtFootHop, while AgonyOfTheFeet was reworked to be about feet being hurt in general.
* AKA47 is about weaponry in video games being [[BlandNameProduct given a different name for trademark reasons]]. Every now and then a page that ends up mentioning the AK-47 assault rifle will have its name potholed to the trope because, hey, it's only missing one letter, that's gotta count, right?[[note]]Ironically, most instances actually would count - very few video-game "AK-47s" are actually the original model that was given that name, but [[MisidentifiedWeapons that's not for here]].[[/note]]
* AlasPoorVillain is when the narrative tries to present a villain's death as eliciting sympathy. Cases of the audience feeling sympathy for the villain go under CryForTheDevil.
* AllAnimationIsDisney is about an animation being mistaken for a Creator/{{Disney}}[=/=]Creator/{{Pixar}}[=/=]Creator/DreamWorksAnimation production, not necessarily something that uses Disney's animation style, which is {{Disneyesque}}. While these two tropes may overlap, they're not the same thing.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation was about subtext that leads one to believe there [[HiddenDepths is more]] ([[StepfordSmiler or less]]) to a character [[BeneathTheMask than meets the eye]]. Now it is often used to describe characters that have wildly different characterizations between adaptations or even hidden personalities one could rule out right off the bat. Another common misuse is to promote borderline {{WMG}} material, often along the lines of, "Was the villain telling the truth when he said he murdered the hero's hamster in cold blood, or did he really adopt the hamster himself because he couldn't bear to harm a living thing?"
* AluminumChristmasTrees is supposed to be about something that actually exists, but is obscure enough that people ''think'' it's fake - such as in the TropeNamer, where most people think aluminum Christmas trees are fake because the first thing they see that references them, ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'', actually destroyed their popularity decades before most people who've seen the movie nowadays were even born. Alas, most instances forget the ''obscurity'' requirement and end up looking like someone trying to get around the removal of I Am Not Making This Up, attaching the trope to something that sounds ''slightly, vaguely'' improbable if you're not familiar with it, which in most such uses, a good percentage of the population actually ''is''.
* The whole point of AmbiguousDisorder is that the disorder is never actually stated, if they even have a disorder at all. Far too many people use it as an excuse to diagnose characters with mental disorders, or to list characters who were eventually revealed to have a legitimate mental disorder (or not). Additionally, a character merely being socially awkward, introverted, weird, prone to anger, unhappy, etc. is not enough to say that they have a mental disorder, especially if there are other reasons for their moods or behaviours. It's gotten to the point where the trope page's source had to state ''multiple times'' what the purpose of the trope page was, and yet people ''still'' continue to do the above.
* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent is defined as when one or both parents are absent without explanation, leaving the audience to assume there was either death or divorce. However, it's often misinterpreted as simply one parent not being brought up or shown, which is closer to InvisibleParents.
* AmbiguouslyBi gets misused a lot mostly as "this character is part of a heterosexual OfficialCouple but has HoYay with someone else", since it's supposed to be used for characters who are implied to be bisexual without explicit confirmation.
* AmbiguouslyBrown is meant to refer to a character whose skin is noticeably darker than the rest of the cast, but their ethnicity is never touched upon. It now tends to refer to any character whose skin isn't milky white, even if their ethnicity is clearly stated.
* An AmbiguousSituation is one where one mystery has many possible solutions that are offered to the viewers, but which one is the true answer is never explained. Many tropers rush to add this trope as soon as an episode ends in a {{cliffhanger}} or introduces any kind of question, even if it's practically guaranteed that the situation will be resolved eventually, sometimes as soon as the next episode. Hell, sometimes they add it based on a ''trailer'' which raises a question that will almost undoubtedly be answered in the full work. If Bob has a DisappearedDad, and ends up meeting several candidates for who his lost father is, an Ambiguous Situation would occur only if we never learn which one is his father.
* AmericansHateTingle is when something popular or well-liked in its home country is ''hated'', not simply unpopular, in another country. Unpopularity and hatedom are not the same thing. Perhaps even stranger, the page has examples of things that are hated in their ''home'' country, without any indication of how people feel about it in other countries.
* AndIMustScream is an endless FateWorseThanDeath that cannot be escaped by ''any'' means whatsoever, not a catch-all term for [[NightmareFuel things that would make someone scream in terror]]. "Any means whatsoever" includes dying, so any situation where someone could die of thirst, starvation, or from whatever injury is keeping them trapped in the first place does not count.
* SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced is meant to be about people who were initially uninterested in a new work in a favorite series of theirs, or a new adaptation of a familiar story, suddenly getting excited about it due to a bit of preproduction news that shows that the creators care. It tends to get used for any good preproduction news in general, and for especially anticipated works the subpages can essentially consist of ''every'' new detail about the work that emerges.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing means a death is celebrated by the ''characters'', not the audience. And it's only the celebration of the death and misfortune of characters, not just celebration in general.
* AnimationBump does not mean "any kind of good animation," only good animation from a scene in a movie or episode that doesn't consistently have animation that good.
* The AntiHero is meant for characters who remain on the good side, but have character flaws to balance it out, such as cynicism, selfishness and revenge. However, they don't have to be selfish, rude, or precisely criminal all the time, as they can be polite, and good-natured, due to the part they're not completely evil, but in between the two alignments. The notorious example is that one thing these heroes have in common, however, is that they live by the philosophy "the ends justify the means", meaning they employ harsh methods in order to reach their goals.
* AnyoneCanDie does not mean "My favorite show once had a character die."; it means that ''no character is safe from dying in any way'', hence the trope name.
* UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s are a ''[[VideoGameSystems platform]]'' of video games, not a ''genre'' -- they can include all sorts of genres aside from certain long-form styles such as the RolePlayingGame. Yet, whenever a video game trope has examples folderized by genre, "Arcade Games" sometimes shows up as a genre folder.
* ArcWords are a cryptic recurring statement whose true significance is a mystery until a big reveal. It's not just any important phrase, and it's ''certainly'' not recurring themes that use similar words when brought up.
* The ArcherArchetype is about how bow-using characters tend to be analytical, independent, and not overly emotional. It's often misused for any archer, regardless of whether they fit the personality type. Such examples may be more fitting under TheStraightAndArrowPath (a character who wields a bow even though guns are available in the setting) or MasterArcher (an extremely skilled archer).
* ArmorPiercingSlap is when a character easily slaps around a character much stronger than they are, usually for the sake of comedy. That's why it's called ''Armor-Piercing'' slap, and not "regular slap" as some people think.
* ArtShift is when a work has a temporary change in art style than the one usually used, typically for a scene or segment. Misuse results in the trope being called when the art style gradually changes over the course of the work, which is ArtEvolution.
* AscendedMeme is a meme spawned by a work that was put into the work later because it became a popular meme. It is often misused as a ShoutOut to any meme, whether it came from the work or not. If it's acknowledged by, say, someone involved in the production as opposed to characters in the work, see MemeAcknowledgment.
* Not every villain who gets killed is an AssholeVictim. Sure, they may be an Asshole of the highest degree, but the Victim part of the trope name is just as important. If the BigBad is killed to prevent him from taking over the world or killing lots of innocents, they're not considered a "victim". At the same time, many folks consider any {{Jerkass}} character who gets killed as this, but truth is the victim doesn't always have to die. Just simply be a victim of something beyond their control.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever refers to when a character grows to giant size against their will with no way to return to normal. It is often misused to describe creatures who are already giant to begin with, characters who can change their size at will (which is SizeShifter), or even normal sized characters that are only giant in comparison to something miniature sized, such as a model city. In addition, some tropers even invert Square Peg Round Trope by taking the "Attack" part of the trope's name too literally and deleting examples where the 50-Foot whatever doesn't run amok, which it doesn't need to do to qualify for the trope.
* AudienceAlienatingPremise is for works with a premise that deters so many it fails commercially. Some use it to say "this is very bad, no one would like it". All examples must have proof the work failed commercially. Anything that's successful despite this goes under AndYouThoughtItWouldFail instead. Niche works can alienate most but still have enough fans to be successful, while fanworks are exempt because they can be so niche that there's no metric to measure their failure.
* AuthorsSavingThrow happens when an author makes a change in the work based on an AudienceReaction. This is more than just "listening to fans complain". Since it is about changes after the fact, anything written before the work reaches the audience is exempt even if it addresses potential complaints.
* DiedDuringProduction was once called "Author Existence Failure", but it was constantly used to refer to [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs any creator who died]] regardless of whether they died before or after the work finished production, rather than specifically the former. The trope was renamed to clarify that it is about creators who kicked the bucket ''before'' the work was released, and not after.
* AuthorTract is an entire work designed to preach to the audience. A specific rant during the story goes under CharacterFilibuster if delivered by a character within the story, or AuthorFilibuster if delivered by the work itself.
* AvoidTheDreadedGRating is for something completely pointless and easy to edit out (like a brief swear) that was added to bump the film's rating, ''not'' important plot points.
* AwesomeButImpractical refers to skills, units or items that ''are'' powerful, but rendered useless by exorbitant requirements. The impracticality must be shown or discussed in-work, things that ''should'' be impractical but not portrayed as such don't count. A lot of examples are just CoolButInefficient. In retrospect, this was probably inevitable with "Awesome Yet Practical", which frequently received examples that were [[ExactWords awesome yet practical]]. Its initial purpose was to be a counterpart to [[MundaneMadeAwesome What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?]], describing cases where that trope should have applied but the thing in question was somehow awesome anyway. It was eventually cut.
* AxCrazy is often used where AnAxeToGrind would be the proper trope. Ax-Crazy does not specifically have anything to do with axes; the focus is on "Crazy".
* BackedByThePentagon does not literally require support from the actual Pentagon to be present, support from any country's military is an example, but quite often films with backing from other nations is listed as an aversion or subversion.
* {{Badass}} is defined as "a character who pulls off outlandish, gutsy stunts that would (almost) never work in real life". Now it apparently means "[[SugarWiki/GushingAboutCharactersYouLike a character that I, the editor, like]]". This is why the page was turned into a list of its many possible definitions and its wicks purged.
* BadassDecay refers to a character who was once incredibly badass but is now largely ineffective and perhaps even comical. It's gotten to where if they lose ''one'' fight, they've gone through decay. When that happens, the appropriate trope is TheWorfEffect.
* BadassNormal describes a character without superpowers who manages to be badass in a setting where other characters '''do''' have superpowers, particularly against said superpowers. The second, crucial aspect is frequently ignored. And occasionally they forget the first, believing human automatically counts as being "Normal," even if said humans can fly under their own power and shoot energy beams out of their hands. And even that gets ignored, with aliens with not super-impressive superpowers getting labelled as such.\\
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If you're looking for a trope for heroes with lame powers that manage to be awesome, you have a couple of choices. HeartIsAnAwesomePower for seemingly lame powers that turn out to have genuinely awesome applications and ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman for when the plot contrives to make the lamely powered character useful. Might possibly be an EmpoweredBadassNormal.
* BadBadActing is a form of StylisticSuck, when a character in-universe acts very poorly, played for laughs. It often gets potholed to any kind of BadActing in general.
* BadBoss is used way too often instead of the correct trope MeanBoss. A Bad Boss is one who will ''kill or maim'' his minions for the slightest of motives, or no reason at all. A boss who's just (verbally) abusive to his employees is a Mean Boss.
* TheBadGuyWins is about the work ending with the villains victorious, not any time the villains win only to lose in the end which is YouCantThwartStageOne.
* BalloonBelly is a trope where a character overeats and ends up having a huge, round belly as a result. Tropers occasionally confuse this with a character being inflated, which is InflatingBodyGag. The confusion may come from the fact that when a character inflates, their ''belly'' expands like a ''balloon''.
* BaseBreakingCharacter means a character that ''divides'' the fanbase (i.e., some love it and some hate it). It is not a character that the ''overwhelming majority'' of the fanbase hates. If that's the case, consider looking in the ScrappyIndex for a more fitting reaction. BaseBreakingCharacter also requires a roughly equal amount of fans and detractors; it isn't for characters that are mostly well-liked but hated by a VocalMinority. Base-Breaking Character had to be renamed from "Base Breaker" because people were using it to mean any base-breaking thing, which should just be listed under BrokenBase.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace is meant to be used for when a character who should not be able to breathe in space without a space suit can breathe just fine. If the character has powers that enable them to breathe in space, it's not an example. Also, for video games, it doesn't count if the character can only go out into space due to a glitch, since they're not intended to be there anyway.
* BatmanGambit has suffered from the same decay as XanatosGambit. It's supposed to refer to a plan which relies on predicting how people will behave when confronted with certain situations. But as with Xanatos Gambit, tropers have gotten it into their heads that it means "any clever, convoluted plan."
* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible is a trope that mostly appears in {{Police Procedural}}s, about unhelpful ''witnesses'' making an investigation needlessly difficult. It is frequently misused for any person being unhelpful in any context.
* BerserkButton is misused a lot as "something that pisses off anyone, for any reason", but it isn't a hot button issue (that's SoapboxSadie), it isn't something that annoyed someone when they were in a bad mood or something done until the person snaps (that's the proverbial "last straw"), it isn't a laundry list of things that annoy them (that's HairTriggerTemper), and it's ''certainly'' not something that would make a hostile response an entirely reasonable reaction (that's [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs just normal]]!). That last one in particular often comes up when a character starts getting much more on edge when their family is threatened -- a BerserkButton there would be if they were pushed beyond all reason. If it really is a radical change, but they are still reasonable it could fall under LetsGetDangerous. It's also misused for things that annoyed somebody only ''once'', when the requirement is to be something specific to a person that pisses him off ''every time'', hence the word "button". Also, if the worst thing somebody does is to frown or be mildly upset, it's probably not this trope. It also isn't meant to be used for stuff that is a ''personal'' BerserkButton to ''you'', so you shouldn't be listing something like "Any TakeThat to my favorite work" as an example.
* BetterThanCanon is only applicable for FanWorks. Official or licensed works, even if they're AlternateContinuity, adaptations, or CanonDiscontinuity, are exempt due to having some canon status.
* BeyondTheImpossible used to be about a series repeatedly ''topping'' itself, such that escalation (''not'' continuation) continues even after you're certain it's peaked in whatever area. Many of the potholes seem to use it as a NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer. It has since been redefined to be ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with its original definition going to SerialEscalation.
* BigBad is meant to describe the villain/antagonist who is causing the main or one of the main conflicts in the story. However, it's often mistakenly used as "main villain" instead of "conflict causer". It's a much smaller subset and just {{villain|s}} is an OmnipresentTrope, so listing all of those would be pointless. ArcVillain and MonsterOfTheWeek are subtropes that cover the lower tiers of primary conflict causes.
* BigGood is meant to describe the hero/protagonist who is the cornerstone that unites the warriors during the conflict in the story. However, it's often mistakenly used as "main hero" instead of "powerful force". It's a much smaller subset and just {{hero|es}} is an OmnipresentTrope, so listing all of those would be pointless. ArcHero and [[MentorArchetype mentors]] are subtropes that cover the lower tiers of primary cornerstone of any organization.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment is very often used as a term describing any example of MoodWhiplash, {{Padding}} or mild strangeness. For it to be an example, a scene has to be completely unforeshadowed and out of nowhere, irrelevant to the plot, bizarre even in context, and never mentioned again afterwards. If a scene doesn't fulfil all of those requirements, it's not an example.
* BilingualBonus refers to jokes, bits of information or similar that are conveyed through another language that the audience would only understand if they are fluent in the other language. It does not apply if it is directly translated so there is no difference if the audience is bilingual or not. It is often used for anytime a foreign language is spoken even if there is no "bonus" like extras chatting about banal things in the background to provide atmosphere.
* {{Bishonen}} refers to a very specific aesthetic involving delicate, androgynous men and boys in anime or other eastern work. It is ''not'' supposed to be just another word for "guy that I think is kinda hot." If the guy in question is handsome in a manly way, he falls under {{Hunk}} instead, and for a character found in a western work who fits the aesthetic, that's PrettyBoy. It's also not another word for "DudeLooksLikeALady". There can certainly be overlap, but if the character in question is more "{{Moe}} cute" rather than "handsome/pretty", he's probably not a bishonen.
* BlackBlood is for cases where blood is portrayed in an unusual color as a form of censorship. If the character literally has black blood, it's AlienBlood.
* BlatantLies happen when a character tells an implausible lie to others. If the viewer knows it's a lie but the other characters don't find the explanation outright unlikely, it's not an example, no matter what those [[FourthWallMyopia know-it-alls]] say.
* BlessedWithSuck and its inverse CursedWithAwesome only happens if there's an actual blessing gone wrong or curse gone right. If a character is ''cursed'' with suck, it's a plain old {{Curse}}. A blessing that works the way it was intended is a regular blessing.
* BlueBlood has nothing to do with literal {{blood|yTropes}}, it's about aristocrats. Some tropers don't get this and use it for characters who literally have blue blood, which is covered under AlienBlood.
* BodyHorror is "any form of Horror or Squickiness involving body parts, parasitism, disfigurement, mutation, or unsettling bodily configuration, ''not induced by immediate violence''". However, it's often misused for anything horrific that happens to a human body, even when this is simply the result of a brutal attack or violent death. This trope is often also used to refer to any unpleasant transformation, which would apply more to the less frequently used sub-trope TransformationHorror.
* BraggingRightsReward is a reward that ''could'' have been useful if the player didn't have to do everything else to get it. If it isn't useful to begin with, it's a CosmeticAward.
* BrainBleach is when something is so {{Squick}}y, a character ''in-story'' makes reference to 'bleaching my brain' or something similar. It's not just a catchall term for anything that the ''troper'' wants to forget.
* BreakoutCharacter and BreakoutVillain refers to characters who get expanded roles in later works in response to their unexpected popularity, not just those that prove popular or get expanded roles. Characters that were "intended" for their major future roles before their popularity are exempt unless they get bigger roles than originally intended.
* BribingYourWayToVictory is a game trope in which one can pay real-world money for an in-game advantage. It is an explicit and intended function of the game, and does not refer to ''actual bribery'', the crime of giving someone money or gifts in exchange for something they shouldn't be selling you at all -- misuse as such is thankfully not ''too'' common, yet.
* BrickJoke is a funny event which is set up early, but the punchline doesn't come until later. It's not [[ContinuityNod a reference to something that happened before]] that just so happened to be funny. It also isn't a funny joke that gets used again later unexpectedly, which is either a CallBack or a ChekhovsGag. It's also not (necessarily) a joke about bricks.
* BrokenAesop is meant for morals contradicted by the work itself, but it's often instead used for "bad" morals.
* A BrokenBase is a fanbase that has a sustained, acrimonious split between two or more distinct factions over a particular issue, and is not to be used for the reception of a work as a whole. Those who dislike a work are obviously not part of the "Base". Additionally, BrokenBase tends to be used for [[FandomRivalry rivalries between different fandoms]], rather than (just) rivalries ''within'' fandoms. It's also not "any disagreement among the fanbase, no matter how small," it's not "something the fanbase overwhelmingly disliked," and it's certainly not "something the fanbase was afraid they might not like based on pre-release information". This also requires the conflict be big enough to stay sustained, so anything prior to the release of a work is exempt as too soon to judge.
* BulletHell refers to ShootEmUp[=s=] with a ''lot'' of (usually at least 100) bullets on the screen at once; enough to cover a good fraction of the screen. It is '''not''' a catch-all term for the shoot-'em-up genre, nor does it mean just any shmup that [[NintendoHard just so happens to be difficult]]. A rule of thumb: If you can, with a very quick glance, accurately count how many bullets there are on the screen at any given point, it's not an example. Bullet Hell also does not refer to just anybody or anything firing a massive number of projectiles; you're probably thinking of MoreDakka, AlphaStrike, BeamSpam, or MacrossMissileMassacre.
* BuryYourGays is often used for any time an LGBT character dies, when it is supposed to refer to them ''being singled out'' to die due to their sexuality. If a work has high death tolls or many LGBT characters that don't die, this trope is not in effect.
* ButtMonkey means simply a character who things hardly ever work out for, and nothing more. This is an {{inversion}} of Square Peg Round Trope where people ''refuse'' to use it even when it fits, because they mistakenly believe that it is required to be PlayedForLaughs. There is a type of Butt Monkey that ''is'' required to be Played for Laughs--but that trope is TheChewToy.
* ButNotTooBlack: Posters tend to use the trope page merely to list all the light-skinned people in Hollywood rather than make any attempt to relate their appearance to a particular work or storyline. Some attempt should be made to explain why skin, hair, features, behavior, etc are relevant in a given situation. And some features can be subjective.
* A CallBack brings back an element from an earlier event in a series that is actually relevant again for the plot. Not only is it confused with ContinuityNod (when the reference has no impact on the plot) but is often used when a scenario or a situation is mildly similar to another even when there's no connection between them.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong is about a CanonForeigner who is revealed to be an actual canon character. A few of the examples are either characters from sequels that are revealed to be pre-existing characters, or actually cases of {{Composite Character}}s.
* CardCarryingVillain has a tendency for being misused for villains who are perceived as simply being cartoonish or overt in their evil actions. While one tends to go with the other, the trope only requires that a bad guy ''labels'' themselves as evil or villainous. It does not apply to everyone who's ObviouslyEvil and vice versa.
* CerebusSyndrome is about a work shifting from {{comedy}} to {{dramedy}} or {{drama}}. It is not simply about becoming DarkerAndEdgier over time. If a work doesn't start off with comedic elements, it doesn't qualify for this trope.
* CessationOfExistence is specifically about a lack of an afterlife, where a dead character "experiences" something akin to an endless sleep without dreams. It has been misused for just about anything which could be described as "a person ceases to exist", from RetGone to FadingAway.
* CharacterDerailment is about characters who change throughout the show or story [[ThePlotDemandedThisIndex without any rhyme or reason]]. Some examples are just minor examples of {{Flanderization}}, and there are even some that ''do'' have logical explanation to [[CharacterDevelopment character change within the context of the story]]. The Character Derailment page has also been used for [[TheScrappy character bashing]] even though there is an obvious difference between the two. It is also not for characters from an original material who have a different personality in an adaptation or in a different continuity, (that's AdaptationalPersonalityChange), nor is it the inversion of RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower is a BadassNormal that's UpToEleven after he or she undergoes TrainingFromHell to match against those who have supernatural or enhanced powers. The training is ''definitely'' important.
* ChocolateBaby is when a child has physical traits they could not have possibly inherited from either of their ostensible parents ''because the mother was either unfaithful or raped,'' and their ostensible father is not in fact their biological father. It is not just an aversion of StrongFamilyResemblance. That would be HollywoodGenetics.
* {{Chickification}} refers to when an ActionGirl becomes a wimp ''with no in-universe explanation''. The same goes for its inversion, {{Xenafication}}.
* ChristmasRushed refers to instances where a work is rushed out the door ''in order to meet a specific deadline'' (i.e. a MilestoneCelebration or a holiday such as Christmas). It is not simply "any work that is rushed or incomplete", the deadline part is necessary.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome is when a character is removed from an ongoing work, and later entries in the work behave as if they had never existed in the first place -- as in the TropeNamer ''Series/HappyDays'', where Richie's older brother "leaves for college," but in future seasons, Richie's father states he only has one son and one daughter. A common misuse is the trope being listed when a character simply doesn't show up in a sequel or later episode, or gets confused with PutOnABus.
* CliffHanger does ''not'' constitute a BolivianArmyEnding. A Bolivian Army Ending is an ending (meaning that there are no more installments) in which a character is stuck in a situation that is extraordinarily likely to end in their death or capture, but the work ends before this comes to pass. Therefore, [[OffscreenInertia it is theoretically possible that the character escaped and made it out alive]]. The key point, though, is that ''we never see this''. A cliffhanger, on the other hand, is the ending of one installment of a serial whose unresolved plot points, including but not limited to the fate of a character in mortal peril, are resolved in the immediately succeeding installment. If the later installments are canceled before they are made, it’s still not a Bolivian Army Ending, but CutShort.
* A {{Cloudcuckoolander}} is a strange character who is ultimately ''harmless'' despite their quirks; dangerous characters with quirks go under AxCrazy or InsaneEqualsViolent.
* CluelessAesop is often misapplied to any poorly handled but not outright {{broken|Aesop}} Aesop. It only applies when the poor handling is due to the subject being too mature, complex, or at odds with the tone/conventions of the work for it to effectively portray.
* CompletelyMissingThePoint is misused as a TakeThat against anything, instead of the in-character use. Eventually, the misuse forced the trope to be renamed to ComicallyMissingThePoint, but even after the rename, misuse persists.
* CompleteMonster is misused a lot as "villain I really hate" or "any villain who crosses the MoralEventHorizon". It's a trope with ''very'' strictly defined criteria: "The most heinous characters played seriously with no redeeming or altruistic qualities." The operative word in there is '''Complete''' Monster, not "Mostly Monstrous", which would fit almost every villain. Groups cannot qualify by definition, nor can something which can't help its nature or actions. There should also be continuity in their portrayal, as the villain must be consistently characterized as pure evil. It sometimes but doesn't always overlap with YouMonster, while IAmAMonster would usually be a ''rejection'' of Complete Monsterdom. Further, there's a common misconception that such character are innately ''[[LoveToHate good]]'' or ''[[TheScrappy bad]]'' for a story; Administrivia/TropesAreTools. Due to the strict definition, this is one of the only tropes on the wiki where every single example must be approved by a perpetual cleanup thread.
* "Conspicuous [=CG=]" referred to when "a Computer-Generated image stands out considerably compared to that of the traditional animation style". However, a lot of people seem to misuse it as "bad-looking CG", when in fact that's a type of SpecialEffectsFailure. It's perfectly plausible for Conspicuous [=CG=] to be conspicuously ''better''-looking than the rest of the animation. This is why the trope got renamed to TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects.
* A ContinuitySnarl is when the continuity of a work gets muddled after multiple plotlines start to contradict each other, most likely due to writers not communicating or forgetting things. The trope is more often used to list minor continuity errors and mistakes, which is another trope: SeriesContinuityError. This has gotten to the point where the two tropes are sometimes used interchangeably, and many examples of the latter trope often have identical entries on the Continuity Snarl page.
* ConvenientMiscarriage does not cover just any miscarriage. It is a situation where the characters do not want a baby and/or adding one to the cast would alter the plot. A miscarriage that is convenient to neither the plot nor the characters is likely a DoubleSubversion of the LawOfInverseFertility.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot is when a situation is caused by a person that didn't ask for help from the others. It is not necessarily a case where "Scenario X from Show Y could have been avoided if the main character didn't do a certain action that causes the events in the first place". Most importantly, it has to be acknowledged in an in-universe conversation. A former page image was replaced due to this misuse.
* CoveredUp means that a CoverVersion ''eclipsed the original song''. It does not simply mean "any popular cover", nor does it mean "this song has a lot of covers."
* A CrapsaccharineWorld is a world which appears bright and cheerful or some kind of utopia on the surface, but holds a very dark secret that makes it almost as bad as a true CrapsackWorld, or depending on your interpretation, just as bad if not worse. Essentially a BitchInSheepsClothing or a StepfordSmiler as the setting. It's not simply a world with positive elements that are contrasted with serious problems and harsh reality. That's AWorldHalfFull. However, a Crapsaccharine World can become A World Half Full, and from there usually evolves into a SugarBowl.[[/index]]
* "Crazy Awesome," we hardly knew ye. You have been besieged by people who only know crazy as a superlative adverb rather than a descriptive adjective. The trope is for characters who are mentally unbalanced (in a good way) and this imbalance is the primary part of his/her effectiveness. It's not So Crazy It's Awesome, nor does it simply refer to anything that's really, ''really'', awesome, especially because the proper definition is about ''characters'' specifically. This caused the trope to be split between SuccessThroughInsanity for the original definition and CrazyIsCool for the misuse.[[index]]
* CreatorsApathy replaced They Just Didn't Care since many failed to realized it was redefined to be about the creators ''admitting'' to not caring, as opposed to anything that ''feels'' like the creator didn't care. There's still those who forget that it needs [[WordOfGod official word on their not caring]], and that reviewers accusing them of not caring (including the former TropeNamer) does not qualify. Strangely, the rename has also lead to a few inverted examples, where cleanup attempts for the old trope name seem to forget that it was renamed and not deleted outright, and will even remove examples where the creators in question ''did'', in fact, admit to not caring about something.
* CreatorsPet (formerly The Wesley) is ironically a case of an AudienceReaction that's gotten ''more'' misuse after a general rename. Now people will use it for characters that the author simply admits is their favorite (which is covered by CreatorsFavorite), or they'll use it when they feel the narrative is favoring one character too much (that's just CharacterFocus, which doesn't require the creators to like them). The original definition still applies. It's only about characters that are widely hated by the fanbase, adored by the creators, and put in the spotlight more than other characters.
* CriticalDissonance is for works where the consensus of the work's ''quality'' between critics and audiences differs. It is not about works that were critically acclaimed but sold poorly (those would fall under AcclaimedFlop), nor is it for works that were critically trashed but sold very well (those would fall under CriticProof).
* CriticalResearchFailure is about things that any non-expert would know is wrong. Instead, people will pothole any obscure fact that only someone in the field would know to this.
* CrosshairAware: This is a video game mechanic wherein, solely for the player's benefit, crosshairs visibly mark the location of an incoming enemy attack. It doesn't mean "aware of crosshairs"; an NPC who reliably moves away from where you're aiming even when they shouldn't know that in the first place is TheAllSeeingAI.
* DanBrowned is not "didn't do the research, but only an expert in the field would know." It's "The work is presented as accurate and[=/=]or factual, but is riddled with errors." It gets constant maintenance to keep it from becoming "They got this esoteric fact, that only an expert in the field would notice, wrong."
* TheDanza is about characters who are explicitly named after the actor who plays them. Unfortunately, many people have forgotten the "named after" part and will declare any character/actor combination that shares some part of their names an example, even if the character existed long before an actor was cast for them.
* DarkAgeOfSupernames is about superhero names that are dark, edgy, and sometimes [[XtremeKoolLetterz misspelled]]; such as Bloodwulf or Deathblow. Several examples don't sound dark and edgy, just intentionally misspelled; like Bugg or Gloo.
* Darkness Induced Audience Apathy is for works that are so dark that there's no meaningful conflict anymore or the resolution of the conflict is meaningless (like a child molester vs a genocidal slave-trader) and large parts of the audience lose interest. However tropers just keep adding any work that is in the least way dark/depressing/cynical and ignore that the conflict might arise from some other source than just character A vs. character B and ''has'' meaning for huge parts of the audience. Endings do not count toward this as audiences have to lose interest before the ending. Single dark episodes from non-dark series don't count as the darkness doesn't last long enough for apathy to set in. Also, many examples are just "works I personally think are too dark". The misuse got so out of hand that the trope was renamed to "So Bleak, It's Boring", but that name proved to be just as misleading since there's a difference between being bored by something and being apathetic towards drama. To clarify that the point is that the audience stops caring due to the darkness making things too depressing and miserable rather than simply boring, it was renamed ''again'' to TooBleakStoppedCaring.
* DeadpanSnarker refers to a character who distinguishes himself by having a snarky remark for every occasion. It far too often gets {{Pothole}}d for ''any'' sarcastic remark made by ''anybody''. If an otherwise polite character is sarcastic once or twice, it's just sarcasm. And if all or most characters in a work talk like this, there's no need to single any character out; use WorldOfSnark.
* DeathGlare is not supposed to be a scary, dangerous glare or a face a character makes before or while going on a rampage. It is a glare a character delivers to make a DeadpanSnarker shut up, similar to a BeQuietNudge or a ShutUpKiss.
* DeathIsCheap does not refer to any one character coming BackFromTheDead. It means that it's common to do so.
* {{Deconstruction}} refers to fiction that takes an established genre or work, and adds a layer of realism by establishing why its associated tropes are used, and [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome how they would affect the real world]]. It is not DarkerAndEdgier applied to an entire genre, nor is it merely just [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism any story with an overly cynical tone]]. [[Administrivia/NotADeconstruction We have a whole page on that topic]].
* A DecoyProtagonist is treated like the main character early in a work, but then gets killed off or otherwise permanently removed from anything resembling a protagonistic role. But this is not the trope to use if the character remains the focus, even if [[SupportingProtagonist other characters seem to be driving the plot more]].
* DefconFive is when media gets the order of DEFCON ratings backwards (e.g. referring to DEFCON 1 as the lowest state of alert and DEFCON 5 as the highest, when these are the opposite in reality); occasionally it just gets referred to any time DEFCON ratings are shown or otherwise mentioned, regardless of if they're in the wrong order or not.
* DenserAndWackier is about a crazier ToneShift ''in a single work'' (such as a series getting crazier in its second season than its first), meaning examples that involve spin-offs or reboots that are crazier from the get go do not count.
* DeusExMachina is an unrealistic or out-of-place plot device which shows up out of nowhere to resolve the plot. It is not a PretentiousLatinMotto meaning "plot points I think are stupid." Of course, the terms gets thrown around a lot in this manner outside the wiki too, making its misuse TruthInTelevision.
* DeusSexMachina is not any sex that's a plot point. It's an ability or item that only works if someone has sex.
* DevelopersForesight is about a rare game instance that can happen which the developers acknowledge and put special content in for that matter, like a special trick or sequence break. If it is something that happens often or the developers set the player up for that instance, it's not an example of this trope. For this reason, the trope was renamed from The Dev Team Thinks of Everything, with the hope that having a name that sounds less like praising the developers for their cleverness would cut down on people trying to boost their favorite game by including it, though misuse continued even after the rename.
* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch is about the dissonance of cultural slang and cuss words used in different countries, with their meanings often misinterpreted or completely lost when brought over to an audience not familiar with them (for example, "bloody" has more negative connotations to British people than to Americans). Unfortunately, the trope name is misleading enough to be taken at face value, causing some tropers to misuse it in a way to refer to works that failed to do actual research about the topics they present. For cases of literal failed research, see CriticalResearchFailure instead.
* DisappearedDad, MissingMom and ParentalAbandonment are often used to parents whose absence lacks an InUniverse explanation. They are supposed to cover ''only'' parents that are clearly absent or deceased. The former examples should go to AmbiguouslyAbsentParent, which was specially created for this reason.
* DisappointingLastLevel in a video game means a drop in quality and a rushed-in-development feel in the last parts of the game. An [[DifficultySpike increase in difficulty]] by itself is ''not'' an example of this; such a difficulty spike needs to feel out of nowhere and lazily implemented - as if the spike is less an intentional move from the developers and more of [[FakeDifficulty the game not being designed]] for you to do what it ''expects'' you to do for the finale - for it to qualify.
* DisneyDeath is where a character is ''believed'' to be dead, only for them to be revealed to have survived. This trope is occasionally used mistakenly to refer to when a character ''does'' die, yet shows up alive later on, which is BackFromTheDead. What makes this particularly bad is that for a Disney Death, the character ''doesn't even die''.
* {{Disneyesque}} refers to a work that adopts an art style used in Creator/{{Disney}}'s animated works (usually for homage or parody purposes), similar to how {{Animesque}} is about a non-Japanese work adopting an anime/manga style. It is not about something that [[FollowTheLeader Follows the Leader]] to the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon (e.g., ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'' or ''WesternAnimation/{{Thumbelina|1994}}''), borrows Disney's fairy dust trademark, or uses DisneyCreaturesOfTheFarce.
* DisproportionateRetribution gets misused for any time audiences see it as excessive. It is not subjective and is intended to be portrayed as unfair and excessive ''by the narrative''. KarmicOverkill is for moments the narrative treats as fair but audiences view as excessive.
* DontExplainTheJoke. In regard to in-universe examples, the trope is almost always used properly. In {{Pot Hole}}s, people tend to mistake "Explaining the scene or the character in question for people who aren't familiar with the series" as "explaining a joke", as if they think everyone who'll ever read the example [[FanMyopia already knows what they're talking about]] and they're only explaining in detail [[AsYouKnow because they like explaining things everybody already knows in detail]].
* Some links to "Do Not Want" were people saying that they "do not want" something to happen. The trope was actually about humorous bootleg subtitles. This resulted in a rename to TranslationTrainWreck to end the confusion.
* DoomedHometown is not just about "any settlement destroyed by a disaster where a character doesn't have a home to go back to". It needs to be very significant to the plot to work, and it has to tie into the reason why said character is going on an adventure in the first place. For this reason, only TheHero or similarily major characters can qualify for the trope. Minor background characters (or [=NPCs=] in the case of video games) do not count unless they provide some lore and exposition regarding the town's demise, which may be relevant to a major character's DarkAndTroubledPast.
* DoubleStandard Rape ([[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale M/M]], [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale F/M]], [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale F/F]], [[DoubleStandardRapeSciFi Sci-Fi]]): If it's not portrayed as "okay" or "funny" in the work, it's not an example. And if other kinds of rape are also portrayed the same way, it's not an example because these tropes are about double standards; then it's just RomanticizedAbuse or BlackComedyRape in general.
* DownToTheLastPlay refers to any sporting event which is decided in dramatic fashion at the very last minute. Though it does not matter which team wins, many assume it to mean that the protagonist team always has to win. If the protagonist team doesn't win, tropers will label it as a subversion or an aversion. A true subversion would be a game that ends anticlimactically. A true inversion would be a game decided on the very ''first'' play.
* DracoInLeatherPants refers to any villainous or in extreme cases unsympathetic character who is made out to be "not that bad" by the fandom, by either downplaying or outright ignoring their actions. While this could be used to make the character more attractive to ship them with the rest of the cast, simply making a character ''look'' hotter is SelfFanservice. And then there are those who consider ''any'' character who is made out to be more sympathetic by the fandom to be a DILP, when the trope requires a villain or otherwise antagonistic character to be deliberately unsympathetic.
* TheDragon drifted over time and is now the right hand of the BigBad, the EvilCounterpart of the heroic NumberTwo. It was originally intended to mean something like a "penultimate threat," or an antagonist that's a more physical challenge for the protagonist before they face the BigBad as a mental challenge. The redefining reflects the trope's visibility and the various subtropes which regard The Dragon as evil's #2.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim is for when a significant character dies in an anticlimactic or inconsequential way, not simply whenever someone dies because something fell on them.
* DualWielding, for using two one-handed weapons at the same time with one in each hand, is mostly used properly ''except'' in the context of firearms, which many tropers don't seem to realize has [[GunsAkimbo a more specific subtrope]].
* DudeNotFunny is Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly, meaning examples where a reviewer finds a particular joke in a work tasteless should not be listed there.
* DuelingWorks is often shoehorned to any similar works. If they are intended for different fandoms or release months or more apart, they aren't competing with each other and thus don't count.
* DummiedOut pertains to situations where work was started on content that was never completed or ultimately replaced, but traces of it remain and are left intentionally inaccessible through normal means. The page lists several examples of content that was changed between various stages of a work's development, only known to outsiders thanks to photos or videos of preview builds. While these exhaustive lists of known changes during the creation of a game or other work are interesting for similar reasons and make for just as good a read, they aren't examples of the trope unless some artifact of them still exists buried within the final product; however, such cases could still be examples of WhatCouldHaveBeen.
* DyeingForYourArt is a Trivia about when an actor makes heavy, long-lasting changes to their physical appearance for a role (e.g.: becoming overweight, or very skinny, or taking a lot of muscles...). The trope is often used for less long-lasting physical changes, like a change of haircut or a dye, two things which are specifically mentioned as misuse in the description on the own page of DyeingForYourArt (they respectively fall under RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle and DyeHard), or sometimes is evenly more blatantly misuses as "actor did something disgusting[=/=]physically intensive while shooting some of their scenes".
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!!Since there are far too many individual examples to list, list examples of tropes that tend to get a lot of this.

Sometimes an EntryPimp forgets that Administrivia/TropesAreTools and tries to shove an example from their hated/favorite show into a trope where it doesn't fit. It may not be the fault of the contributor because the description of the trope left the emphasis on part B while part A is the important part. Or maybe the name of the trope was [[WordSaladTitle confusing.]] Or perhaps the original definition of [[Administrivia/MissingSupertrope the trope was something so specific or esoteric that new examples tend to be something related to, but not quite, the trope's original intent]]. But often it is because the contributor did not understand the standard and direction the trope was describing. This, of course, may result in TropeDecay.

* The four tropes WhatAnIdiot, IdiotBall, TooDumbToLive, and LethallyStupid all went through this, to the point where they all became interchangeable ways to complain about character decisions people didn't like. The first is an AudienceReaction when a character makes a very dumb decision when there is an obviously smarter alternative at the time, the second is when a character makes an ''uncharacteristically'' dumb decision that advances the plot, the third is when a character's dumb decision actually gets the character killed or nearly does so, and the fourth is when a character's dumb decision gets someone else killed. Besides the above accidental attempts to fuse the tropes, the third and, to a lesser extent, the fourth are also pretty commonly used as a level of character stupidity, confusing them with TheDitz and "Ralph Wiggum" back when it was around.

* OverusedRunningGag is when a work itself acknowledges or lampshades how often it uses a particular gag. It does not mean "gag that I'm personally sick of."

* NeverLiveItDown is for characters best known for what supposed to be a brief or minor moment but is often used for complaining. Entries must explain why those reputations or moments are unfairly exaggerated. (Ironically, several of these misused entries are so disproportionately harsh against the character that they're unintentionally self-demonstrating of the item's correct definition.) It also only applies to characters or groups, as entire works are not moments. Any use of this trope applied to RealLife creators, individuals, or groups [[Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease require 25 years, 10 months for sports, since the moment]] to prove it wasn't lived down. Its original name "Jean Grey Escalation" referred to ComicBook/JeanGrey being exaggerated by fans as constantly dying and coming back to life despite her only doing it once, but was confused with constantly dying and being revived so it was renamed to better fit the intended definition. And in-universe examples, formerly considered valid, now belong on OnceDoneNeverForgotten.