A literary element that, at first, seems to have no purpose but is later revealed to be important to the plot. This is commonly thought of as a parallel of foreshadowing, but it is more properly interpreted as "do not include any unnecessary elements in a story."
The return of Carmelita Spats in The Slippery Slope after her seemingly unnecessary appearance in The Austere Academy is an example of Chekhov's gun.
"One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." -Anton Chekhov
"One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." -Anton Chekhov
by Rising_Rose January 17, 2010
Get the Chekhov's gun mug.A Chekhov’s Firing Squad is when a TV show or movie has almost no plot in the first several episodes, and then proceeds to pull all triggers at once. The way that this turns out is a show feeling bland, with presumably filler episodes for most of the season, though these episode actually build foreshadowing and silent plot. These small, unnoticed details go completely unheard or said, until they all hit you at once like a freight train.
by Theomunstroa May 20, 2023
Get the Chekhov’s Firing Squad mug.A dramatic principal that states every element of a story must be completely unnecessary and never called back to.
by redsleepinggrass November 29, 2022
Get the Chekhov's Unregistered Firearm mug.If a film shows a dog more than once (specifically if that dog has a connection to the main character) that dog will then die later on.
by Origami_Sangha March 7, 2021
Get the Chekhov’s Dog mug.If a ball-gag appears in a work of erotica, one or more characters must use said ball-gag before the story's end. Variation of Chekhov's "gun on the mantle." Bonus points if you put the ball-gag on a mantle.
by Marilyn Spence December 31, 2019
Get the Chekhov's Ball-Gag mug.Danny: oh hey a gun
Kurtis: well, you know what they say about chekhov's gun
both: you better shoot that thang
Kurtis: well, you know what they say about chekhov's gun
both: you better shoot that thang
by squiddy_animations February 27, 2022
Get the chekhov's gun mug.An obvious bad decision made early on, noticed but ignored, that remains harmless for a significant period of time and inevitably causes damage when the decision is invoked.
"I'll just duct tape it, just a temporary fix. I'll do it properly later."
"That's Chekhov's footgun waiting to fire. Do it properly right now."
"That's Chekhov's footgun waiting to fire. Do it properly right now."
by LeCircumflex February 2, 2026
Get the Chekhov's footgun mug.