Just for Pun

"Upon discovering that Miles Black, the famous phrenologist from Yorkshire was going to take up yodeling to lonely goats in Bali, James White decided to balance four planks of wood on a beer keg and call it an abstract work of art in the style of a famous fourteenth-century architect, just going to prove that people will read any old garbage if they think there will be a good pun at the end of it."

- The Grand Panjandrum's Special Award for Vile Puns, The 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

''Sometimes we make punny trope names, just for pun. Others view it as (Cruel and Punusual?) (cool and punusual?) PUNishment.'' Or an Incredibly Name Pun.

Compare Tropemanteau.

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

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

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


 * Amazing Technicolor Index (Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
 * Books on Trope (Books on tape)
 * Chekhov's Pun (Chekhov's Gun)
 * Hocus Tropus ("hocus pocus")
 * I Have Your Index (I Have Your Wife)
 * Ind Ex Machina ("Deus Ex Machina")
 * Infauxmation Desk (information desk)
 * Invisibility Index ("visibility index")
 * Just for Pun (Just for Fun)
 * Keep Abreast of This Index
 * Nothing Butt an Index
 * The Parent Trope (The Parent Trap)
 * Punny Stuff (funny stuff)
 * Purple Is the New Trope (Purple Is the New Black)
 * Queer As Tropes (Queer as Folk)
 * Stay Ahead of This Index
 * Tastes Like an Index (Tastes Like Chicken)


 * Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder ("Absence makes the heart grow fonder")
 * Acrofatic ("acrobatic")
 * Acting Unnatural ("Act natural!")
 * Ad Nauseam (advertisement, Latin for "to the point of nausea")
 * Addiction Displacement (Adaptation Displacement)
 * Adipose Rex (Oedipus Rex)
 * Aerith and Bob ("Alice And Bob")
 * Affair Hair (a fair—that is, blond—hair)
 * Affirmative Action Girl ("affirmative action" + Action Girl)
 * Agony of the Feet ("agony of defeat")
 * Air Voyance ("clairvoyance")
 * AKA-47 (AK-47)
 * Alcohol Hic (alcoholic)
 * Aliens Steal Cable (probably unintentional pun on "Steel Cable", as well as Aliens Steal Cattle)
 * The All-Concealing "I" ("the all-seeing eye")
 * The All-Seeing AI ("the all-seeing eye")
 * All the Worlds Are a Stage ("All the world's a stage")
 * Alphabet Soup Cans
 * Altar the Speed ("alter the speed")
 * Animal Wrongs Group ("animal rights group")
 * Angrish (anguish or English)
 * Apathy Killed the Cat ("Curiosity killed the cat")
 * Apocalypse How (Apocalypse Now)
 * Apocalypse Not (ditto)
 * Apocalypse Wow (ditto, again...)
 * Arc Welding ("arc" as in a story arc)
 * Armed Farces ("armed forces")
 * Armed with Canon ("armed with cannon")
 * Ash Face (the insult "ass face")
 * Atomic F-Bomb ("atomic bomb")
 * Audio Erotica ("autoerotica")
 * Auto Erotica (a pun on "auto" in the sense of a car, and "autoerotica")
 * Awesome Moment of Crowning (Crowning Moment of Awesome)
 * Awful Wedded Life ("lawful wedded life")
 * Ax Crazy (acts crazy)
 * Baa Bomb (Bob-omb)
 * Bad Habits (evil churches cos nuns wear habits)
 * Bad Humor Truck (Good Humor, an ice cream company)
 * Bad with the Bone (Bad to the bone)
 * Balloonacy (lunacy)
 * Band of Brothels (plays on "band of brothers" from the original Saint Crispin's Day speech)
 * Battle in the Center of the Mind (Journey to The Center of The Earth)
 * Bayonet Ya (Bayonetta)
 * Beardness Protection Program / Beardless Protection Program ("Witness Protection program")
 * Beard of Directors ("Board of Directors")
 * Beary Funny (...very funny)
 * Beat Still My Heart ("Be still, my heart")
 * Bee-Bee Gun (BB gun)
 * Beetle Maniac (Beatlemaniacs)
 * Bifauxnen (Bishonen)
 * Big Applesauce ("The Big Apple", common nickname for New York City)
 * Big Badass Wolf (Big Bad Wolf)
 * Big Bra to Fill ("big shoes to fill")
 * Big Brother Is Employing You (Big Brother Is Watching)
 * Big Dam Plot (Big Damn Heroes)
 * Bi the Way ("by the way")
 * Black Hole Sue ("Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden)
 * Bland-Name Product ("brand name product")
 * Bleed'Em and Weep ("read 'em and weep")
 * Blood Bath (The term "bloodbath" separated into two words to refer to a literal bath in blood)
 * Blood Is Squicker in Water ("Blood is Thicker Than Water")
 * Blood Lust (The term "bloodlust" adopted to refer to a literal lust for blood, rather than a general joy of committing violence)
 * Bloodstained-Glass Windows (stained glass windows)
 * Bloody Hilarious ("bloody" being used both as slang and literally)
 * A Bloody Mess (ditto)
 * Bloody Murder (Where blood itself is used to cause a murder)
 * Blunt Metaphors Trauma ("blunt force trauma")
 * Board to Death ("Bored to death")
 * Boggles the Mind (after the word game Boggle)
 * Boldly Coming ("to boldly go where no man has gone before.")
 * Boogie Knights ("Boogie Nights")
 * Born to Pun (Born to Run)
 * Boy Meets Ghoul (Boy Meets Girl)
 * Break the Haughty (Break the Cutie)
 * Bridge Logic (Fridge Logic)
 * Bubble Gun (bubble gum)
 * Bullet Holes and Revelations (Black Holes and Revelations, by Muse)
 * Bullet Index (Bullet lists of HTML coding)
 * Butter Face ("But her face")
 * By the Lights of Their Eyes ("by the whites of their eyes")
 * By Wall That Is Holey ("by all that is holy")
 * Camera Obscurer (Camera Obscura)
 * The Can Kicked Him ("Kicked the Can" reversed)
 * Canon Fodder ("cannon fodder")
 * Catch a Falling Star (protagonist/celestial body)
 * Caught the Heart on His Sleeve ("wearing your heart on your sleeve")
 * The Chains of Commanding (chain of command)
 * Chekhov's Pun (Chekhov's Gun)
 * Chekov's Gun (Chekhov's Gun)
 * Chic and Awe ("shock and awe")
 * The Chosen Zero (The Chosen One)
 * Cicadian Rhythm (circadian rhythm)
 * City of Weirdos (City of Heroes)
 * Civil Warcraft ("civil war)
 * Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive (Clap Your Hands If You Believe)
 * Clock Roaches ("cockroaches")
 * Clothes Make the Maniac ("clothes make the man")
 * Clothes Make the Superman (ditto)
 * Cluster F-Bomb ("cluster bomb")
 * Coitus Uninterruptus ("coitus interruptus")
 * Colon Cancer (punctuation mark/large intestine)
 * Comeback Tomorrow ("come back tomorrow")
 * Comic Sutra ("karma sutra")
 * Command and Conquer Economy (Command & Conquer)
 * Com Mons (Commons)
 * Compressed Hair ("compressed air")
 * Confusion Fu ("kung fu":)
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment (Cruel and unusual punishment)
 * Les Cops Sportif (Le Coq Sportif, a French clothing company)
 * Cordon Bleugh Chef ("cordon bleu")
 * Crappy Holidays ("happy holidays")
 * Crap Saccharine World (Crapsack World)
 * Crash-Course Landing ("crash course")
 * Crate Expectations ("great expectations")
 * Crater Power (Greater Power)
 * Crime After Crime ("time after time")
 * The Croc Is Ticking ("the clock is ticking")
 * Cue O'Clock ("two o'clock")
 * Cunning Linguist ("cunnilingus")
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast (also from Curiosity killed the cat)
 * Curse Is Foiled Again ("Curses! Foiled again!")
 * Curse of the Ancients ("curse" as in profanity, "ancients" as in old people)
 * Danger Takes a Backseat (Death Takes a Holiday)
 * Date Crepe (Date Rape)
 * A Day At the Bizarro ("a day at the bazaar")
 * The Day the Music Lied (The Day the Music Died)
 * Dead Line News (Headline News)
 * Dead Man's Chest (a chest with a dead man, obviously)
 * Dead-Man Switch (Dead Man's Switch)
 * Dead Weight (a pun on the figure of speech "dead weight" and the most prominent characteristic of fat zombies)
 * Death Dealer (playing cards as weapons, i.e. "dealing death")
 * A Death in the Limelight (A Day in the Limelight)
 * Death Is Cheap ("Talk is cheap")
 * Death Throws ("death throes")
 * Debate and Switch ("bait and switch")
 * Deface of the Moon ("the face of the moon")
 * Denied Parody ("denied parity")
 * Depopulation Bomb (The Population Bomb, a 1968 book by Paul Ehrlich)
 * Depth Deception ("depth perception")
 * Depth Perplexion (also "depth perception")
 * Despair Event Horizon (or "Morale Event Horizon", punning off Moral Event Horizon)
 * Determinator (The Terminator)
 * Detonation Moon (Destination Moon, an early sci-fi movie and novel by Robert A. Heinlein)
 * Deus Angst Machina
 * Deus Ax Machina
 * Deus Est Machina
 * Deus Exit Machina
 * Deus Sex Machina
 * (all from Deus Ex Machina)
 * Diamonds in the Buff ("diamonds in the rough")
 * Diplomatic Impunity ("diplomatic immunity")
 * Dirty Harriet (Dirty Harry)
 * Disco Tech ("discotheque")
 * Discriminate and Switch (Bait and Switch)
 * Disney Creatures of the Farce ("creatures of the forest")
 * Distress Ball (Stress ball)
 * Divided States of America ("United States Of America")
 * Domed Hometown (Doomed Hometown)
 * Donut Mess with a Cop ("do not mess with a cop")
 * Doom It Yourself ("do it yourself")
 * Dork Age (Dark Age)
 * Dork Horse Candidate ("dark horse candidate")
 * Dork Knight ("Dark Knight" + "dork")
 * Dragon Their Feet ("dragging their feet")
 * Dragons Up the Yin-Yang ("up the yin yang")
 * Dropped a Bridget On Him (Dropped a Bridge on Him)
 * Dub Text (Subtext)
 * Dueling Dojos (Dueling Banjos)
 * Dung Fu ("kung fu" + "dung")
 * Dyeing for Your Art ("dying for your art")
 * Dye Hard (Die Hard)
 * Dye or Die (same sound, different spelling and meaning/"do or die")
 * Dysfunction Junction (Conjunction Junction, a Schoolhouse Rock song)
 * Eenie Meenie Miny Moai (Eenie Meenie Miny Mo)
 * Egg MacGuffin ("Egg McMuffin")
 * Elevator Action Sequence (Elevator Action)
 * The Elevator From Ipanema ("The Girl from Ipanema")
 * Elevator Going Down (a play on the double meaning of the phrase "going down")
 * Elvish Presley ('Elvis Presley')
 * Enemy Mime (Enemy Mine)
 * Engaging Conversation ("engaging" as in marriage engagement)
 * Epic Flail (Epic Fail)
 * Epic Hail (Epic Fail)
 * The Eponymous Show was partially named after Eponymous Kid, who started the campaign against "trope" in trope titles years before it became official policy (working title was "The Trope Show")
 * Epunymous Title ("eponymous title")
 * Everything's Deader with Zombies (Everything's Better with...)
 * Everyone Looks Sexier If French (Everything Sounds Sexier in French)
 * Evilutionary Biologist (Evolutionary biologist)
 * Extra Ore Dinary (extraordinary
 * Extreme Omni Goat (Extreme Omnivore)
 * Eyedscreen ("Eyes in Widescreen")
 * Eye Spy (I spy)
 * Eye Scream (ice cream)
 * The Eyes Have It ("the 'ayes' have it")
 * Facial Profiling (racial profiling)
 * Failing a Taxi (hailing a taxi)
 * Fair Cop ("It's a fair cop" i.e. "okay, you caught me fair and square")
 * Fairy Sexy ("very sexy")
 * Faith Heel Turn (Face Heel Turn)
 * Fake in the Hole ("Fire in the hole!")
 * Fake Real Turn (Face Heel Turn)
 * Faking the Dead (Waking the Dead)
 * Faking Use of the Twin (Making Use of the Twin, redirect to Double Vision)
 * Fall of the House of Cards (Fall of the House of Usher)
 * The Family That Slays Together ("The family that plays together stays together")
 * Fan Disservice (Fan Service)
 * Fan Dumb (Fandom)
 * Fanon (Canon)
 * Fan Service ("service" as in have sex with)
 * Fan Service Pack ("service pack")
 * Fan Service with a Smile ("service with a smile"; google it)
 * Fartillery ("Artillery")
 * Fauxlosophic Narration ("philosophic narration")
 * Faux Paw ("faux pas")
 * Fauxreigner ("foreigner")
 * Fauxshadow ("foreshadow")
 * Fauxtastic Voyage (Fantastic Voyage)
 * Fauxtivational Poster (motivational poster)
 * "Faux To" Guide ("How To Guide")
 * Faux Yay (Foe Yay)
 * Feathered Fiend (feathered friend)
 * Feed by Example ("Lead by example")
 * Fee Fi Faux Pas ("Fee fi fo fum")
 * Femme Fatalons (Femme Fatale)
 * Feng Schwing (Feng shui)
 * A Fete Worse Than Death (A Fate Worse Than Death)
 * Fight Fur Your Right to Party ("fight for your right to party")
 * Fingore (finger)
 * The Firefly Effect (Butterfly Effect)
 * Firemen Are Hot (being high in temperature/sexually attractive)
 * First-Person Snapshooter (First-Person Shooter)
 * Fishing for Sole (the type of fish vs. the bottom of a shoe)
 * Flying Under the Gaydar ("flying under the radar")
 * Foe Yay (Ho Yay or foyer)
 * Follow the Plotted Line ("follow the dotted line")
 * Foo Fu (Kung Fu)
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls (For Whom the Bell Tolls)
 * For Inconvenience Press One ("for information press one")
 * Foreign Queasine ("Foreign Cuisine")
 * Formulaic Magic ("formulaic" as in "of mathematical formulas", not "unoriginal")
 * Four Lines, All Waiting ("no lines, no waiting")
 * Free-Range Children ("free range chicken")
 * Free Wheel ("free will")
 * Fruit of the Loon (Fruit of the Loom)
 * Full Boar Action ("full-bore action")
 * Fully-Automatic Clip Show ("fully automatic clip")
 * Full-Name Basis ("first name basis")
 * Fulton Street Folly ("Fulton's folly")
 * Fur and Loathing ("fear and loathing", or more specifically Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
 * The Future Is Noir (The Future Is Now)
 * Gambit Roulette ("Russian Roulette")
 * Garbage Post Kid (Garbage Pail Kids)
 * Gasshole ("asshole")
 * Gaydar (radar)
 * Gendercide (genocide)
 * Gene Hunting (Life On Mars' character Gene Hunt)
 * Generation Xerox (Generation X)
 * Germanic Depressives ("manic-depressive")
 * Ghostapo (Gestapo)
 * Ghost Butler (Ghostbusters)
 * Give Geeks a Chance ("Give Peace a Chance")
 * Giving Them the Strip ("giving them the slip")
 * God Couple (The Odd Couple)
 * God Save Us From the Queen ("God Save the Queen")
 * The Gods Must Be Lazy (The Gods Must Be Crazy)
 * Going by the Matchbook ("going by the book")
 * Going Fur a Swim ("going for a swim")
 * Gonna Need More Trope ("Gonna need more rope!")
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel ("good cop, bad cop")
 * Good-Looking Privates (low-ranking enlisted personnel, of course. What else could that refer to?)
 * Gosh Hornet ("Gosh Darn it")
 * Gotta Get Your Head Together ("get your head together")
 * Grave Clouds (serious/place of burial)
 * Grave Humor (ditto)
 * Gravity Is a Harsh Seamstress (Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress)
 * The Greatest History Never Told (The Greatest Story Ever Told)
 * The Greatest Story Never Told (ditto)
 * Grey and Gray Morality (note the spelling)
 * Grievous Bottley Harm ("grievous bodily harm")
 * Grievous Harm with a Body (ditto)
 * The Guards Must Be Crazy (The Gods Must Be Crazy)
 * Guide Dang It ("God dang it" which is derived from "God damn it")
 * Gung-Holier Than Thou ("gung ho" plus "holier than thou")
 * Hail to the Thief ("Hail to the Chief")
 * Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow ("here today, gone tomorrow")
 * Ham and Cheese ("ham" as in Large Ham and "cheese" meaning schlock)
 * Ham-to-Ham Combat ("hand to hand combat")
 * A Handful for An Eye (hand for a hand, eye for an eye)
 * Handy Cuffs ("handcuffs")
 * Hannibal Lecture (Hannibal Lecter)
 * Hate Sink ("heat sink")
 * Heart Drive (hard drive)
 * Heavy Meta (Heavy Metal)
 * Heavy Mithril (Heavy Metal)
 * Heel Face Return*
 * Heel Faith Turn* (both Heel Face Turn)
 * Heir Club for Men (Hair Club for Men)
 * Heliotropes ("helios" = Greek "sun" + "tropes"; no relation to the flowers)
 * Hellevator ("elevator")
 * Hellish Copter ("Helicopter")
 * Her Heart Will Go On ("My Heart Will Go On")
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen ("He Who Must Not Be Named")
 * He Who Must Not Be Heard (also "He Who Must Not Be Named")
 * High Heel Face Turn (Heel Face Turn)
 * Hilarity Sues (Hilarity Ensues)
 * Horny Devils (lustful demons - which may or may not have horns)
 * Horny Vikings (derived from their stereotypical horned helmets)
 * Hot for Preacher (Hot for Teacher)
 * Hot Scoop (an "exclusive" story or interview/to catch/a scoop-neck top)
 * How Do I Used Tense (How Do I Shot Web?)
 * Humanity Ensues (Hilarity Ensues)
 * Hyde and Seek ("hide and seek")
 * Ice Cream Koan ("ice cream cone")
 * An Ice Person ("a nice person")
 * I Have Your Index (I Have Your Wife)
 * Implausible Deniability (Plausible Deniability)
 * Inaction Sequence ("action sequence")
 * Incest Is Relative ("incest" = romantic love or sex between two close relatives)
 * Incredibly Lame Fun (Incredibly Lame Pun)
 * Index to The Rescue
 * Inhuman Resources (Human Resources)
 * Innocence Virgin On Stupidity ("verging" for non-virgins)
 * Inn Between the Worlds ("in between")
 * Inn Security (insecurity)
 * Insecurity System ("security system")
 * Instant Messenger Pigeon (instant messenger + messenger pigeon)
 * Intro Dump (Info Dump)
 * I Resemble That Remark ("I resent that remark")
 * Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery ("Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery")
 * ISophagus (esophagus)
 * Inventional Wisdom (A play on "Conventional Wisdom", which none of the inventors in this trope seem to have)
 * Jack the Ripoff (Jack the Ripper)
 * Jail Bake (jailbreak)
 * Jailbird of Panama (The Tailor of Panama)
 * Jeanne D'Archetype (Jeanne d'Arc)
 * The Joy of X ("The Joy of Sex")
 * Just Plane Wrong ("just plain wrong")
 * Just Train Wrong ("just plain wrong")
 * Kevlard ("Kevlar")
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch (Kick the Dog)
 * Knight Fever ("night fever")
 * Even Heroes Have Heroes ("The Knights Who Say Ni")
 * Knocking on Heathens' Door (knocking on heaven's door)
 * Kung Fu-Proof Mook (say it out loud)
 * Kung Shui ("feng shui")
 * Large Ham Radio ("ham radio")
 * Last-Name Basis ("first name basis")
 * Launcher of a Thousand Ships ("the face that launch'd a thousand ships")
 * Let's Duet ("let's do it")
 * Level Ate ("level 8")
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell ("Like a bat out of hell")
 * Limey Goes to Hollywood (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
 * Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My! ("Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!")
 * Lipstick and Load Montage (Lock and Load Montage)
 * Little Dead Riding Hood (Little Red Riding Hood)
 * Little Miss Snarker (Little Miss Marker)
 * A Load of Bull ("a load of bullshit")
 * Locked Into Strangeness (a lock of hair)
 * The Loins Sleep Tonight ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight")
 * Losing Your Head (A figurative statement turned literal)
 * Lost in the Maize ("maze")
 * Loud of War ("Lord of War")
 * Louis Cypher ("Lucifer")
 * A Love to Dismember ("a love to remember")
 * Lowest Cosmic Denominator (Lowest Common Denominator)
 * Mage in Manhattan (Maid in Manhattan, itself a Pun-Based Title)
 * Magical Mystery Doors ("Magical Mystery Tour" (The Beatles album))
 * Mailer Daemon (references an automatic process that runs in the background and handles incoming email messages)
 * Making a Spectacle of Yourself ("spectacles", as in eyeglasses)
 * Malcolm Xerox (Malcolm X)
 * Marathon Running ("running" as in being aired by a network)
 * Marked Change ("marked" being used in the literal sense)
 * Married to the Job (Married to the Mob)
 * Martial Arts and Crafts ("arts and crafts")
 * Mary Suetopia (Utopia)
 * Mary Tzu (Mary Sue)
 * Master of Delusion (Master of Illusion)
 * Me's a Crowd ("three's a crowd")
 * Medal of Dishonor ("medal of honor")
 * Mega Neko (Not to be confused with Meganekko)
 * Memetic Mutation ("genetic mutation")
 * Men Buy From Mars, Women Buy From Venus (Men are from Mars (bars), Women are from Venus (razors))
 * Mentor Ship (mentorship / mentor+Shipping)
 * Mercurial Base ("mercurial" meaning both "moves around" and "frequently found on Mercury")
 * Metaphorgotten (metaphor + forgotten)
 * Million Mook March (Million Man March)
 * Mind Over Manners (Mind Over Matter)
 * Misguided Missile ("guided missile")
 * Miss Conception ("misconception")
 * Misterious Mist ("mysterious mist")
 * Mobile Suit Human (Mobile Suit Gundam)
 * Mobstacle Course ("obstacle course")
 * Mock Cousteau (Jacques Cousteau)
 * Morally-Ambiguous Ducktorate (Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate)
 * Mother F-Bomb ("mother of all bombs")
 * The Mourning After ("the morning after")
 * Mouthful of Pi ("mouthful of pie")
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous ("armed and dangerous")
 * Multiple Head Case ("head case" = insane)
 * The Murder After ("the morning after")
 * Musicalis Interruptus ("coitus interruptus")
 * Music of Note (importance/music note)
 * My Beloved Smother ("my beloved mother")
 * My Little Panzer (My Little Pony)
 * My Own Private I Do (My Own Private Idaho)
 * My Rule Fu Is Stronger Than Yours (My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours)
 * Nature Abhors a Virgin ("nature abhors a vacuum")
 * Nature Adores a Virgin (ditto)
 * Naval Gazing ("navel gazing")
 * The Need for Mead ("the need... for speed")
 * Newspaper-Thin Disguise (Paper-Thin Disguise)
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Herod (Nice Job Breaking It, Hero)
 * Nipple-and-Dimed ("nickel-and-dimed")
 * Nitro Express (after Nitro Express, a series of cartridges used in large-bore hunting rifles)
 * No Body Left Behind (No One Gets Left Behind)
 * No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine ("No, Mr. Bond... I expect you to die.")
 * No One Respects the Spanish Inquisition ("Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!")
 * No Periods, Period ("period" can mean both menstruation and a full stop)
 * No Woman's Land ("no man's land")
 * No Yay (also a pun on Ho Yay)
 * Noodle Implements (Noodle Incident)
 * Norse by Norsewest (North by Northwest)
 * Nothing Butt an Index ("Nothing but an index")
 * Nubile Savage (Noble savage)
 * Nuns-N-Rosaries (Guns N' Roses)
 * Nun-Too-Holy (nun and "none too holy")
 * The Obi-Wannabe (The Obi-Wan)
 * The Obi Wrong (ditto)
 * Of Corpse He's Alive ("of course he's alive!")
 * Of Corset Hurts ("of course it hurts!")
 * Of Corsets Sexy ("of course it's sexy!")
 * Obsessed Are the Listmakers ("Blessed are the peacemakers")
 * Obfuscating Disability (Obfuscating Stupidity)
 * Olympus Mons ("Mons from the Olympus")
 * Omazing Powerup (After the "Om" used in chanting)
 * Omnicidal Maniac ("homicidal maniac")
 * One-Hit-Point Wonder (One-Hit Wonder)
 * One-Scene Wonder (also One-Hit Wonder)
 * One-Tract Mind ("one track mind")
 * One-Two Punchline (one-two punch)
 * One, Two, Three, Four, Go (The entire trope is based on a pun.)
 * Open Says Me ("Open Sesame")
 * Orchestral Bombing ("orchestrated bombing campaign")
 * Out-of-Genre Experience ("out of body experience")
 * Out with a Bang ("bang" as in an act of coitus)
 * Overt Operative ("covert operative")
 * Owl Be Damned ("I'll be damned")
 * The Owl-Knowing One ("the all-knowing one")
 * Pandaing to the Audience (Pandering to the Audience with Pandas)
 * Parodic Table of the Elements (Periodic Table Of The Elements)
 * Passing Judgment ("passing" in the sense of "moving past" and "passing" in the sense of "expressing")
 * People of Hair Color ("people of color")
 * Perma-Shave (Burma-Shave)
 * Personal Space Invader ("personal space")
 * Person of Mass Destruction: (Weapon Of Mass Destruction)
 * Pet Heir ("pet hair")
 * Phlegmings ("lemmings")
 * Phoney Call ("phone call", used to be called Fauxn Call)
 * Pin-Pulling Teeth (either teeth that pull out grenade pins or grenade pins that pull out teeth)
 * Plane Spotting (Trainspotting)
 * Plot Hole ("pothole")
 * Pony Tale ("ponytail")
 * Pooled Funds (swimming pool vs. common money)
 * Poor Communication Kills ("poor communication skills")
 * Porn Stache (Porn Stash)
 * Porting Disaster ("courting disaster")
 * Post Dramatic Stress Disorder (Posttraumatic stress disorder)
 * Power Gives You Wings ("Red Bull gives you wings!")
 * Pre-Climax Climax ("climax" being used in both the sexual and dramatic senses)
 * Precision F-Strike ("precision strike")
 * Premature Aggravation ("premature ejaculation")
 * Premature Encapsulation (ditto)
 * President Evil (Resident Evil)
 * Pretty in Mink (Pretty in Pink)
 * Pretty Spry for a Dead Guy ("Pretty Fly for a White Guy", The Offspring)
 * Prophetic Fallacy (Pathetic fallacy)
 * A Protagonist Is Ryu (A Winner Is You and all of its associated tropes)
 * Ptero-Soarer ("pterosaur")
 * Public Exposure (The criminal offence of "public exposure", "exposure" in the sense of publicity and the camera term for how long the shutter is open)
 * Pungeon Master (Dungeon Master)
 * Punny Name ("funny name")
 * Putting on the Reich ("Puttin' on the Ritz")
 * Quicksand Box (Quicksand)
 * Race Lift ("face lift")
 * Raising the Steaks ("Raising the stakes")
 * Ramprovisation ("Improvisation")
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs (Good Old Fisticuffs)
 * Rash Equilibrium (Nash equilibrium)
 * Reaching Between the Lines (Reading Between The Lines)
 * Reality Ensues (Hilarity Ensues)
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning ("red sky at morning, sailors take warning")
 * Red Sky, Take Warning (ditto)
 * Refrain From Assuming (to hold back/the chorus of a song)
 * Remilitarized Zone (Demilitarised zone)
 * The Resolution Will Not Be Televised ("The Revolution Will Not Be Televised")
 * The Resolution Will Not Be Identified
 * Retirony (retirement + irony)
 * Retraux (faux + retro)
 * Revenge SVP (RSVP)
 * The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized ("The Revolution With Not Be Televised", again)
 * The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified (same as above)
 * Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense ("poor in cents")
 * Right on Queue ("right on cue")
 * Rip Tailoring (actor-comedian Rip Taylor)
 * Rock Me, Asmodeus ("Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco)
 * Room Disservice ("room service")
 * Roswell That Ends Well (Alls Well That Ends Well)
 * Rule of Pool (Rule of Cool)
 * Rummage Fail ("rummage sale")
 * Sadly Mythtaken ("sadly mistaken")
 * Safety Worst ("safety first")
 * Scooby-Dooby Doors ("Scooby dooby doo!")
 * Scooby Stack: (Scooby snack)
 * Screw the Money, I Have Rules (Screw the Rules, I Have Money)
 * Screw Yourself (a common insult, applied literally)
 * Scry vs. Scry ("Spy vs. Spy")
 * Sealed Evil in a Duel (Sealed Evil in a Can)
 * See Water ("seawater")
 * Sein Language ("Sign Language'')
 * Self Fanservice ("self-service")
 * Send in the Clones ("Send in the Clowns")
 * Senseless Violins ("senseless violence")
 * Series Fauxnale ("series finale")
 * Serkis Folk ("circus folk")
 * Sesame Street Cred (Sesame Street)
 * Sexiled ("exiled")


 * Shaggy Frog Story (Shaggy Dog Story)
 * Ship Mates ("ship mates," i.e. fellow sailors)
 * Ship Tease ("striptease")
 * The Ship Yard (the docking location of many vessels)
 * Shock and Awe ("shock" meaning a literal electric charge)
 * Shoo Out the Clowns ("Send in the Clowns")
 * Shoo the Dog (Shoot the Dog)
 * Shoot the Shaggy Dog (Shoot the Dog)
 * The Show Must Go Wrong (The Show Must Go On)
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts (Sickeningly Sweet)
 * Single Palette Town ("single palette" + Pallet Town)
 * Sit Comic (a Sitcom starring a stand-up comic)
 * Skeletons in the Coat Closet ("skeletons in the closet", i.e. embarrassing or damaging secrets)
 * Slippery Soap ("slippery slope")
 * Slow No ("slow mo")
 * Smithical Marriage ("mythical marriage")
 * Smoking Gun Control ("smoking gun")
 * Smoking Hot Sex (with "smoking" here referring to smoking tobacco rather than the degree of passion)
 * The Snark Knight (The Dark Knight)
 * Social Semi-Circle ("social circle")
 * Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond (Everybody Loves Raymond)
 * Something Else Also Rises (The Sun Also Rises)
 * Songs in the Key of Lock (normally songs are written in a major or a minor key)
 * Soul-Powered Engine (Cole powered engine)
 * Sound Defect (Sound effect)
 * Spike of All Trades ("Jack of All Trades")
 * Spin Offspring (Spin-Off)
 * Spoiled Sweet ("spoiled rotten")
 * Spoilered Rotten ("spoiled rotten")
 * Spring Cleaning Fever ("spring fever")
 * Start of Darkness (Heart of Darkness)
 * Steel Ear Drums (Steel Drums)
 * Strawberry Shorthand (strawberry shortcake)
 * Stock Ness Monster (Loch Ness Monster)
 * The Straight and Arrow Path ("the straight and narrow path")
 * Stranger in a Familiar Land (Stranger in A Strange Land)
 * Suck E. Cheese's (Chuck E. Cheese)
 * Suck Sessor ("successor")
 * Sue Donym ("pseudonym")
 * Suetiful All Along (Beautiful All Along)
 * Suppressed Mammaries ("suppressed memories")
 * Swing Low, Sweet Harriet ("Swing Low, Sweet Chariot")
 * Swipe Your Blade Off ("wipe your blade off")
 * Take Me Out At the Ball Game ("Take Me Out to the Ball Game")
 * Taken for Granite ("taken for granted")
 * Talking Poo (usually means "speaking nonsense")
 * The Taming of the Grue (The Taming of the Shrew)
 * Tank Goodness ("thank goodness")
 * Tanks for Nothing ("thanks for nothing")
 * Tanks for The Memories ("thanks for the memories")
 * Tantrum Throwing (a reference to the phrase "throwing a tantrum," this trope is about throwing objects during a tantrum)
 * Tentacle Rope (uh... it's another term that Naughty Tentacles is called)
 * Terra Deforming ("terraforming")
 * Thanatos Gambit (Xanatos Gambit + Thanatos, the Greek god of death)
 * Thanks for the Mammary ("thanks for the memories")
 * That Old Time Prescription ("that old time religion")
 * That Poor Car (That Poor Cat)
 * There Will Be Toilet Paper (There Will Be Blood)
 * Third Line, Some Waiting ("no lines, no waiting")
 * This Is a Drill (This Is Not a Drill)
 * This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman ("This looks like a job for Superman!")
 * Thud and Blunder ("Blood and thunder")
 * Title Scream ("Title screen")
 * The Tooth Hurts ("the truth hurts")
 * Top God ("top dog")
 * The Topic of Cancer ("Tropic of Cancer")
 * Tradesnark™ ("trademark" + "snark")
 * Trading Card Lame (Trading Card Game)
 * Trainstopping ("Trainspotting")
 * The Trap Parents (The Parent Trap)
 * Trash Landing ("crash landing")
 * Trash of the Titans (Clash of the Titans)
 * Tree Buchet ("Trebuchet", a catapult-like siege weapon)
 * Trench Coat Warfare (Trench warfare)
 * Tribal Carry (Bridal Carry)
 * Trojan Gauntlet ("Trojan" as in the brand of condoms)
 * Trouble Entendre (Double Entendre)
 * Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty (from the Chamillionaire song "Ridin'")
 * Tuck and Cover {a play on the combat maneuver "Duck and Cover")
 * Twerp Sweating (Perp Sweating)
 * Twincest ("incest")
 * Two Lines, No Waiting ("no lines, no waiting")
 * Tyke Bomb ("time bomb")
 * Uncanny Valley Girl (Uncanny Valley + Valley Girl)
 * Uncatty Resemblance ("uncanny resemblance")
 * Uncle Tomfoolery ("Uncle Tom")
 * The Unfair Sex ("the fair sex")
 * Unholy Matrimony ("holy matrimony")
 * Unishment ("punishment" that is actually a reward)
 * Unsexy Sadist ("Sexy Sadie")
 * Unsound Effect ("sound effect")
 * Upper Class Wit ("Upper Class Twit")
 * Uranus Is Showing ("your anus is showing")
 * Urban Legend of Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Urine Trouble ("you're in trouble!")
 * Use Your Head (literal application of the phrase)
 * Vampire Bites Suck (to draw out through external negative pressure/"not good")
 * Van in Black (The Men in Black)
 * Vapor Wear (vaporware)
 * Verbal Ticked (Verbal Tic)
 * Victoria's Secret Compartment (Victoria's Secret (lingerie company))
 * The Von Trope Family (Von Trapp Family)
 * Wall-Bang Her (Wall Banger)
 * Wall Glower ("wallflower")
 * Water Wakeup ("What a wakeup")
 * We Didn't Start the Fuhrer ("We Didn't Start the Fire")
 * What Have We Ear? ("what have we here?")
 * What's a Secret Four? ("what's a secret for?") - now redirected to Cryptic Background Reference.
 * What the Fu Are You Doing? ("What the fuck are you doing?")
 * Where Everybody Knows Your Flame ("Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme - and tagline - from Cheers)
 * Where I Was Born and Razed ("where I was born and raised")
 * White Dwarf Starlet ("white dwarf star" + "starlet")
 * Wife Husbandry (Husbandry = raising something.)
 * Window Pain ("window pane")
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity ("with great power comes great responsibility")
 * With Great Power Comes Great Perks (again, "with great power comes great responsibility")
 * Won't Take Yes for An Answer ("won't take no for an answer")
 * A Worldwide Punomenon ("a worldwide phenomenon")
 * Worst Aid ("first aid")
 * Wreaking Havok ("wreaking havoc")
 * Write Back to the Future (Back to The Future)
 * Writer on Board (Baby on Board)
 * Xtreme Sport Xcuse Plot ("Extreme Sport" and "Excuse Plot" with Xtreme Kool Letterz)
 * Yoko Oh No (Yoko Ono)
 * You Are What You Hate ("you are what you eat")
 * You Dirty Rat (a literal play on a phrase often and incorrectly attributed to James Cagney)
 * You Make Me Sic ("You make me sick!")
 * Your Cheating Heart (this is a real song title, believe it or not)
 * Your Vampires Suck (see You Make Me Sic above)
 * Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb ("Youth is wasted on the young")
 * Zero-G Spot ("G-spot")
 * Zipperiffic (Stripperiffic)