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{{trope}}
{{quote|"This song has nothing to do with f&$#ing kids, by the way."
|Intestinal Disgorge, ''I'm Going To F&@# Your Kid''}}
Sometimes, a title [[Word Salad Title|makes no sense]]. Sometimes, however, a title will make a sort of sense, but on later [[Fridge Logic|ponderings]], will be seen as misleading. Sometimes this is due to the title being an [[Artifact Title]] or perhaps the writer simply thought it was a [[Rule of Cool|cooler name]]. Also sometimes leads to instances of [[I Am Not Shazam]]. Taken to the extreme, these types of titles can lead to a [[Non-Indicative Name]].
Compare [[Completely Different Title]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' isn't exactly the most accurate translation of the Japanse title, ''Hokuto no Ken'', its just that it sounds a helluva cooler than "Fist of the Big Dipper" (which is what "Hokuto" actually is, the Japanese name for the Big Dipper).
** Or "Ken the Great Bear Fist", which is the localized title suggested by Toei's International Sales & Promotion Department ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110520220943/http://tvarc.toei.co.jp/tv/library/series-title.html source]).
** However, it's not THAT inaccurate either. Considering that the "Big Dipper" is a constelation that helps you find the "North star" Polaris. [
* There is a ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma One Half]]'' episode titled "Ranma and Kuno's... First Kiss." Be thankful that you really can never trust a title.
* Though the titles do make some sense in context, ''[[Virgin Love]]'' and its sequel ''[[Virgin Love|Junai no Seinen]] (The Young Person's Pure Love)'' do not do a very good job indicating how [[Hentai|smutty]] the works are.
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** This does not, however, prevent the fans from [[Fan Nickname|calling them the Watchmen]]. The movie even changes the name of the Minutemen to reflect it.
== [[
* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx1EMt_16bo DIGIMON 3: PREDATOR VS DIGIMON]'': The [[Predator]] {{spoiler|isn't the villain; in fact, Digimon has to help him with his dilemma. The actual villains are the FBI.}} Of course, what did you expect with legendary [[Troll Fic]] author [[Peter Chimaera]]?
* ''[[Cupcakes]]''. This ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic is ''not'' about making cupcakes!!
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* ''[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]'' movies, too (the thin man of the original movie referred to the murder victim, not the main character).
* ''Kangaroo Jack'' is very much a supporting character in the roo's own movie. [[Never Trust a Trailer|And it doesn't talk aside from a brief hallucination.]]
* The movie ''[[Stephen King|Hearts in Atlantis]]''. This is due, however, to it being an [[Artifact Title]] from the novella: the original novella was called "Low Men in Yellow Coats" and "Hearts in Atlantis" was an entirely different story (called so because the main
** I believe that Brautigan refers to the sunken continent at some point in the dialogue, but that still doesn't make explicit the "hearts" part.
* ''The Last King of Scotland'' is actually about the Last Dictator of Uganda. It makes sense in the movie...however, the eccentric Idi Amin was basically a [[wikipedia:Idi amin#Erratic behaviour and media portrayal|walking version]] of
* ''[[Tron]]'' isn't really about Tron, but more about Flynn. ''[[Tron: Legacy]]'' even moreso.
* ''[[Monster a Go-Go!]]'' has a monster ([[It Makes Sense in Context|sorta]]), but he doesn't dance - nor does [[Go-
* ''[[The Ref]]''. The title implies something sports-related, and the holiday setting suggests something happy, but the movie is about as black a comedy as one will find from mainstream Hollywood. The eponymous character is a cat burglar who kidnaps a horribly dysfunctional couple in an attempt to evade a manhunt, and winds up having to "referee" their bickering while he plots his escape. In retrospect, the title fits, but a first-time viewer would have no idea what to expect.
* ''The Grapes of Death''. Awesome title, but the grapes themselves don't kill anybody. Farm chemicals applied to the grapes cause people to go berserk.
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* [[Neil Gaiman]]'s short story "Other People" {{spoiler|has only one character.}}
* In a similar vein, in Agatha Christie's short story {{spoiler|"The Four Suspects"}}, the killer turns out to be {{spoiler|a fifth character not counted among the so-called suspects}}.
* The titular Goblet
* ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' makes sense if properly analyzed, but is never explained in the book or film and its origins involve a murky anecdote about the author's experiences in Africa and the term "orange" being used as slang for "man" because of the Malay and Indonesian word "orang" meaning "person", which is also connected to the etymology of the word "orangutan", a species which is only ''coincidentally'' known for its orange fur. Could something like ''Ludwig Van Villainous'' have proven a bit less complicated?
** Burgess also said it came from his hearing the slang term "as queer as a clockwork orange" and that he intended it as a metaphor for "...an organic entity, full of juice and sweetness and agreeable odour, being turned into an automaton." Clearly even Burgess doesn't know what the title "really" means.
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* Beyond the first few seasons, ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' as well as ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' would often go entire episodes without mentioning or showing a Stargate.
* [[Market-Based Title|In some markets]], ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger]]'' was [[Completely Different Title|localized as]] ''Galaxy Rangers'', even though the only characters who are outside the Earth are the main villains.
* The first episode aired of ''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'' is titled "The Team Unites". Yet there is no [[Avengers Assemble|uniting]], at least not in a [[Recruit Teenagers with Attitude]] sense. The Rangers ''already'' have their powers, and the episode is primarily focused on the Green Samurai Ranger, Mike, who technically could be said to "rejoin" the team in the latter part of the episode. It's all but confirmed that it was supposed to be Episode 3, and the ''true'' "first episodes" of ''Samurai'' came in the form of [[Origins Episode
== Meta ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[All Flesh Must Be Eaten]]''
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** The first ''Elder Scrolls'' game ''[[The Elder Scrolls: Arena|Arena]]'' doesn't have any arenas in it.
*** Fortunately, that's been handily dealt with: "Arena" is believed to be the translation of Nirn, from the language the earliest of the spiritual beings who took part in the creation of the world, the [http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ehlnofey Ehlnofey].
* ''[[Alice Is Dead]]''; {{spoiler|she is very much alive, she just wants you to ''think'' she's dead.}}
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [[MS Paint Adventures]] is really only 3 stories and 1 [[Orphaned Series]] and the current one hasn't actually been an adventure <ref>
* "Faraway Morning and Three Short Tales" is the title of the 34th chapter of ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' which actually does have characters telling [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|three short tales]]. Sounds like a short chapter, right? It's actually one of the longest chapters to date thanks to all of the [[Character Development]] and plot revelations going on between each of the tales.
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