As You Know, Bob

A dialogue technique where characters tell each other information they already know, but they audience don't, for solely the audience's benefit. It is a writer slang.

"As you know, Bob, we're on a spaceship hurtling towards the sun and if we don’t fix the hyperdrive in five minutes, we'll be dead. But let's talk about our high school years."

by DictionaryDecimator July 6, 2024

Zeppo

A character who is part of the main cast but often sidelined and given little to do.

"The dog was the Zeppo of the show, but hey, you can't blame the writer, a use for a guard dog left in it's kernel all day except for once in two weeks has almost no part in a family time traveling to stop Titanic sinking"

by DictionaryDecimator July 7, 2024

Eucatastrophe

A sudden, favorable resolution of events in a story; a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien to describe a "good catastrophe" that brings a happy ending.

"Just when all hope seemed lost, the hero’s pet hamster activated the hidden self-destruct button on the villain’s base. Eucatastrophe for the win!"

by DictionaryDecimator July 6, 2024

Pellucidity

the quality of being clear or transparent. It can be used in various contexts:

Physical Clarity: In a literal sense, pellucidity describes something that allows light to pass through, like clear water or a transparent material.

Figurative Clarity: In a metaphorical or abstract sense, pellucidity refers to the clarity and ease of understanding in language, thought, or expression. For example, a pellucid explanation or writing is one that is easy to understand and free of ambiguity.

Boss: Your cubicles are now installed with pellucidity, so I can know which one of you keeps taking the "67 signs you are married to Chewbacca in a parallel universe quiz"

4 year old kid: ABCs are too hard to understand, but if it was taught with skibidi toilet videos I could understand it with pellucidity
13 year old: How do you know that word? And it's subway surfers gameplay for me for pellucidity
Stereotypical middle-aged man: ...It's stock market for me

by DictionaryDecimator July 1, 2024

Villain Decay

When a once-scary villain becomes less threatening over time.

"By the third season, the main antagonist had suffered such villain decay, he was less scary than a wet sponge."

by DictionaryDecimator July 6, 2024

Narrative Deadweight

A character, part or sub-plot in a book, or movie that adds nothing to the overall story.

Ron: "The part about the protagonist's goldfish was total narrative deadweight, but it did give us a great fish funeral scene."

by DictionaryDecimator July 6, 2024

Chekov's Gun

The principle that every element introduced in a story should be necessary and used later.

"When it was said in Chapter one that Timmy's hamster used to only eat the tail fur of the Namaqua chameleon found in Southwestern areas of Namib desert. I knew it was Chekov's gun waiting to go off"

by DictionaryDecimator July 6, 2024