The Noun and the Noun

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

In a more upscale cousin of the Magic Ampersand, lots of novels and classic films have names that consist solely of lists of two or three nouns. Frequently these nouns are abstract, reflecting overarching themes more than specific plot points.

A standard subtrope is a title that parodies the Austen examples below; these will generally have two alliterative nouns, the second of which is considerably longer than the first.

See also Name and Name.

Examples of The Noun and the Noun include:

Anime and Manga

Comic Books

Film

Literature

Live-Action TV

  • All the titles of Blackadder the Third were like this, parodying Austen ("Dish and Dishonesty", "Ink and Incapability", "Nob and Nobility", "Sense and Senility", "Amy and Amiability", and "Duel and Duality").
  • "Sense and Sensitivity", episode of Angel.
  • "The Unicorn and the Wasp", episode of Doctor Who which is set in 1926 with Agatha Christie. Ironically, this name was chosen to sound suitably Agatha Christie-like, even though Aggie never used The Noun and the Noun as a title...
  • Slings and Arrows
  • Lampshaded in Seinfeld where Elaine rents a movie called "The Pain and the Yearning", whose plot summary is simply "An old woman experiences pain and yearning".
  • The Bold And The Beautiful
  • The Young and The Restless
  • Law and Order
  • Sons And Daughters
  • On one episode of M*A*S*H, we hear that there will be a screening of the captured Chinese propaganda film The Imperialist Running Dog and the Showgirl.

Music

  • The Lion and the Cobra, Sinead O'Connor
  • The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, Bruce Springsteen
  • Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy, Elton John. And its sequel, The Captain And The Kid.
  • The Broadsword And The Beast, Jethro Tull
  • The Geese And The Ghost, Anthony Phillips
  • "The Holly and the Ivy"
  • Guns N' Roses
  • "The Well and the Lighthouse," Arcade Fire
  • The Bird and the Bee
  • Restless and Wild, Accept
    • Also their songs "Losers and Winners", "Rich & Famous", "Sick, Dirty and Mean" and "Thunder and Lightning".
  • Heaven and Hell, Black Sabbath
    • Also the songs "Sick and Tired" and "Devil and Daughter"
  • Insanity and Genius, Gamma Ray
    • Also the songs "Rich and Famous" and "Father and Son"
  • Denim and Leather and Power and the Glory, Saxon
  • Power and Pain, Whiplash
  • Violence & Force, Exciter
  • Roses & Champagne, Silver Mountain
    • Also the song "Axeman and the Virgin"
  • Triumph and Agony, Warlock
  • Abattoir song "The Living and the Dead"
  • Anthrax's Armed and Dangerous EP and song.
  • Chateaux song "Chained and Desperate"
  • Angus song "Leather and Lace"
  • Blind Guardian song "Skalds and Shadows"
  • Annihilator song "Sixes and Sevens"
  • Artillery song "Hunger and Greed"
  • Grave Digger song "Wild and Dangerous"
  • Running Wild songs "Fire and Ice", "Fire and Thunder" and "Chains and Leather".
  • Ludo song "The Lamb and The Dragon".
  • The Gaslight Anthem song "Boomboxes and Dictionaries"
  • "Fashion and Fame", by The Angels/Angel City.
  • "Sabra and Chatila", by the lesser-known NWOBHM band Legend.
  • "Sword and Steel", by the better-known NWOBHM band Iron Maiden.
  • Thin Lizzy, Thunder and Lightning.
  • Selena's remake of Pretenders' "Back on the Chain Gang" was retitled "Fotos y Recuerdas" ("Pictures and Memories").
  • Sturm Und Drang (Storm and Stress), the transition style between Classical and Romantic, circa 1800.
  • Cole Porter, "Night and Day"
  • Guys and Dolls
  • The Wild, the Willing, and the Innocent, UFO
  • The Birds, the Bees, and The Monkees
  • Midnight Oil song Power and the Passion.

Video Games

Web Comics

  • Gunnerkrigg Court:
    • Chapter 1: "The Shadow and the Robot"
    • Chapter 7: "Of New and Old"
    • Chapter 8: "Broken Glass and Other Things"
    • Chapter 9: "Questions and Answers"
    • Chapter 25: "Sky Watcher and the Angel"
  • Sluggy Freelance:
    • Book 6: "The Bug, the Witch, and the Robot"
  • Darths and Droids
  • Schlock Mercenary, among the chapter names.Book 12 is "Part I: Black and White, Part II: Mass and Might, Part III: Fight or Flight[1]

Western Animation

  1. of course, the way things turned out, it wasn't really "OR" either.