Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


When listing three or more things, apparently the rule is to not finish strong: list some strong examples followed by a very weak example. This is especially evident in a List of Transgressions: you'll frequently find Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking mentioned in the same breath. It is most often used for comedy, but can also be used for character development.

This is Truth in Television to a certain extent. Some district attorneys will charge a criminal with every single crime they committed in the process of committing their greatest transgression, resulting in situations where a murder suspect is actually technically on trial for homicide, trespassing, and illegal parking.

See also: Good News, Bad News, The Triple, Odd Name Out, What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?, and Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving. Compare Poke the Poodle, All Crimes Are Equal, and Major Misdemeanor, when the minor crime carries significant consequences.

The inverse is Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick, where a list of seemingly mundane things ends with something much darker.

Examples of Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking are listed on these subpages: