Basic Trope: A family spends an inconceivable amount of money on food purchases.
- Straight: The Tropersons, a seemingly-middle-class family, dine out more often than not at fancy restaurants.
- Exaggerated: The Tropersons dine at five-star restaurants for every meal. If they want a snack, they go there as well.
- Downplayed:
- The Tropersons eat at home, but all of them cook dishes you'd only expect in pricy restaurants.
- The Tropersons eat out a lot but are shown to keep a strict budget regardless.
- The Tropersons eat out a lot but the food they eat is more often than not fast-food.
- Justified:
- The Tropersons are very concerned with keeping up appearances - dining out frequently is a way to not appear poor.
- Alternatively, they're very good at working a budget to the point where they can dine like they do.
- Due to some oddities such as organic matter replicators, or high-value food stamps, everyone can afford to eat lavishly in the setting.
- One of the Tropersons saved the restaurant owner's life, and eat for free.
- The Tropersons just really like to eat out at restaurants, and they skimp on other expenses to be able to do so.
- One of the Tropersons works at a restaurant or as a food critic, so they get a lot of free or discounted meals.
- One of the Tropersons has engaged in Company Credit Card Abuse.
- Justified/Downplayed: The parents work at a restaurant, and the kids have learned their parents' trade. note
- Inverted: Dog Food Diet
- Subverted: The family is shown eating as many meals at home as they are shown eating out, if not more.
- Double Subverted: ...Until Mr. Troperson lands that new promotion, in which case they throw their money around.
- Parodied: A group of vagrants are shown eating incredibly lavish meals and bemoaning their poverty while talking about the vintage of the 200+ year old wine.
- Zig Zagged: How often they dine out varies from week to week.
- Averted:
- They dine out occasionally, but not frequently.
- They are never seen eating anything.
- Enforced:
- "Hell, I dunno how often middle-class families dine out. What am I, a sociologist?"
- A fancy restaurant set is the most convenient one, so the show is stuck using it regardless of how unrealistic it looks.
- A fine dining chain has a Product Placement deal, so the Tropersons have to be shown eating there.
- Lampshaded: "I made my favorite thing for dinner...reservations."
- Invoked: No one knows how to cook, so...
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: After a few months of luxurious dining, they decide to cut back.
- Discussed: "Hey Joe?" "Yeah Bob?" "How do they manage to eat out so much?"
- Conversed: "So Mom, how do we, on one paycheck, manage to eat out every day?"
- Deconstructed: Eating nearly every meal out wreaks havoc on their budget.
- Reconstructed:
- The Tropersons like eating out so much that they pick other expenses to skimp on, so they can continue to do so.
- The Tropersons scrounge for coupons to reduce the expenses of their restaurant meals as much as possible
Back to Improbable Food Budget
