Verbal Tic/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character has some sort of catchphrase that he/she randomly adds to their speech.

  • Straight: Bob adds his catchphrase to almost every sentence he says.
  • Exaggerated: Bob's dialogue consists almost entirely of the catchphrase. He only adds a few meaningful words to it occasionally.
  • Justified: It's a habit that Bob has picked up, but it doesn't really bother anyone, so he never bothers to do anything about it.
    • Bob has Tourette's Syndrome, or Aspergers, or something.
    • Bob is from a region where the tic is considered normal.
    • Bob is from a culture or race where the Tic is part of their speech, and that not saying it would make you stick out.
  • Inverted: There's one word that Bob never uses, for no particular reason.
  • Subverted: Bob adds his catchphrase to every sentence he utters, but he only does it to annoy Alice. Eventually he gets bored of it and starts talking normally.
  • Double Subverted: But then he starts doing it again because he misses it.
  • Parodied: Bob starts saying "desu" at the end of every sentence. And then he puts on a green dress...and then gets red and green contact lenses...
  • Deconstructed: Bob has Tourette's Syndrome, and the involuntary verbal tics that come with it are awkward and make it difficult for him to interact with others.
  • Reconstructed: ... But Bob takes his medication, and it lessens the symptoms enough that he can function normally with his every day life. The verbal tic, however, still shows up at times.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob's little phrase is present in some episodes, completely absent in others, and varies in frequency.
  • Averted: Bob rarely uses his catchphrase in conversation.
  • Enforced: "We think giving Bob a full catchphrase would be too much, but he should have something distinctive to say."
  • Lampshaded: "Bob sure likes to say 'you know' a lot doesn't he?"
  • Invoked: Bob's decided he needs a gimmick... And a strange vocal quirk fills that role nicely, yessss....
  • Defied: Realizing that he's starting to say a certain phrase too much, Bob stops himself from overusing it, worrying that it'll annoy others around him.
  • Discussed: "Would you just STOP saying that?"
  • Conversed: ???

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