Unpronounceable Alias: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|'''Aang:''' Name's Bonzu Pipinpadalopsicopolis ... the Third, and these are my grandkids.

 

One of our heroes is traveling or acting under false pretenses, and is asked for their name when they'd really rather not give it. Unprepared for this, they quickly stammer something that's barely a word at all, let alone a name. If it's supposed to be a full name, it often ends in "the Third".

Naturally, the questioner and everyone else around will pronounce the name perfectly, [[Lampshade Hanging|hang lampshades]] about it, and not yield an inch. Award bonus points if the alias turns out to actually be someone's name that the questioner knows.

 

 

* ''[[Trigun]]'': Vash introducing himself to Wolfwood: "I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobella Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre André Charton-Haymoss Ivanovicci Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the Third", adding, "Don't hesitate to call."

* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'': Radical Edward, real name Francoise, introduces herself as "Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky The Fourth."

** Possibly a reference to Pippi Longstockings, full name Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking, another red-haired, self-groomed girl with eccentric behaviour and speech

** Her father's not much better, being named Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lutfen, which translates as "[[Check, Please!|Excuse me check please]]" in Turkish.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[A Fish Called Wanda]]'', the rather dense Otto is attempting to explain to Archie Leach's wife just what the heck he's doing in her house. Part of his flimsy cover includes the alias Mr. Manfrenjensen...jen. When she picks apart his story, she idly repeats this pseudonym perfectly.

** If I remember correctly, she says it as "Mr Manfrenjen St. John", making it even funnier.

*** "St. John" as a name is pronounced "sen jen."

 

* ''[[Kenan and Kel]]'': When Kenan and Kel (disguised as a woman) pose as a married couple to win a car on a game show for couples, Kenan impulsively stammers out the last name "Rockersteinbergerson."

** The girl interviewing them for the show pronounces it without missing a beat, but after that no one else is able to—not even Kenan. When he is asked how to pronounce it by the show's host, he stammers a bit and then gives up and just says "I don't know."

* [[Stephen Colbert]], on hearing of Mel Gibson's arrest and anti-Semitic remarks, recommended the legal firm of 'Leibowitz, Silverberg and Fishmansteinberg'. Funnier if you know that Jon Stewart's real birth name was Leibowitz.

** A flashback tells us that the first alias [[The Witcher|Geralt of Rivia]] tried was somewhat along those lines. It's referenced in a [[Mythology Gag]] latter.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* Subverted in one of the Volo novels (''[[Forgotten Realms]]''), in which Volo and his companions are passing themselves off as drow. One makes up an Unpronounceable Alias for himself by stringing a lot of X and Z sounds together, in accordance with cliches about drow names, yet their interrogator isn't fooled for an instant, because the resulting tongue-twister is a ''woman's'' name in drow culture.

* In a somewhat hilarious story with [[Painting the Fourth Wall|absolutely NO fourth wall whatsoever]], the narrator introduces himself to the protagonist (yes, you read that right) as Sir Francis Daxiana Reginald Popniner Killamen Snap the 3rd. Call him Max.

** Also, of course, parodying the effect of having call centers outsourced to India where your call is answered by somebody with an extremely thick Indian accent who introduces himself as "James" or "Nathan".

 

{{quote|DOUGLAS: All right, answer this question with a lie: what is your name?

ARTHUR: Arth...nold Man, er, Cat...sir...man.

DOUGLAS: That’s an unusual name. Tell me, is it made up?

ARTHUR: Yes, it is. Oh! }}

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** In at least two episodes, Pinky is Dr. [[I Love Lucy|Jiggle-it-a-little-it'll-open]].

* In ''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]]'' episode "The Dress", Gumball is forced to wear his mom's wedding dress because [[Man Child|his father]] shrunk all his clothes in the wash. When he's inevitably spotted by the other kids, they don't recognize him ([[Attractive Bent Gender|in fact, most are quite smitten with him]]), and he hastily tries to invent an alias [[Line-of-Sight Name|from all the things around him]], coincidentally landing on "Gumball" more than once, but no one seems to notice - and, of course, everyone remembers his ridiculous pseudonym perfectly.

* [[Atlantis: The Lost Empire|"Ki- Kidamaschnaga- Do you have any nicknames?"]]

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]