# Dead or nearly dead tropes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2025, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797 "2025-02-25T23:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/81 "2025-02-26T15:44:02Z")
Man, alone, sits down at the bar and tells the bartender, “Whiskey.” Bartender fills a glass with whiskey, and gives him the glass _and_ the entire bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/82 "2025-02-26T15:45:13Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I wonder if writers of period pieces include old tropes because their research (watching old shows and films) convinces them that these things actually happened back in the day. I think it _did_ on occasion. I recall a discussion on divorce many years ago (I think on this forum) where somebody mentioned a couple they knew that divided their house like that, then spent the ensuring decades refusing to talk or otherwise interact with each other. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/83 "2025-02-26T15:50:25Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > _Classic Doonesbury_ strips are repeats of the original _Doonesbury_ strips. I don’t know how to figure out when the original strip appeared. At least some of the time the original date is in tiny lettering in the paneling between frames. For the strip you mention a year of 2002 is given. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/84 "2025-02-26T15:55:36Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Daredevil is a devout Catholic so he refuses to kill. He only uses nonlethal combat techniques like hitting someone in the head with a metal club or For shame, Daredevil! Everyone knows you’re supposed to use a flexible blackjack or sap to minimize the probability of skull fracture. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/85 "2025-02-26T16:01:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > You don’t see the old pie in the face gag much anymore, either. I imagine it’s still pretty common on Nickleodeon shows. I’m a big _Supernatural_ fan, and I was surprised to learn that Kim Rhodes (Jody Mlls) had put in her time on _Zack & Cody_ and thus had her share of pie fights and cake face-plants. I figure that’s gotta be a sad resigned sigh for a lot of actors…they get cast on a Nick series and their first question must be “Ah well, which episode do I fall into a sheet cake?” “Did I say that out loud?” haven’t seen that one since (I’m sure) _Friends_ reruns, but maybe that hoary punchline still gets an airing now and then. Winning a talent competition of some kind solves all the protagonist’s financial worries. _Scrubs_ had an episode in which J.D. imagined the hospital as a sitcom, and they played with that trope. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/86 "2025-02-26T16:02:14Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > A man (usually Tony Curtis) dating two women. Oh no! They’re both stewardesses, nurses, etc. [A Guide For the Married Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqZvHBRDM0g) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/87 "2025-02-26T16:04:35Z")
The original strip was on November 27, 2002. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/88 "2025-02-26T16:05:04Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Excuse me while I shrivel up like an apple on fast forward, turn to dust and blow away in the wind) [I… am… still… Emperor!](https://youtu.be/WVIrGONcCu4?si=90PEW_ifdArbtsID&t=83) (should be que’d up to the line and ends with the crumbling away!) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/89 "2025-02-26T16:08:06Z")
School age child meets a famous person. His friends don’t believe him. Then at his birthday party the celebrity shows up. However, this did actually happen for my friend’s son. His uncle was a WWE referee and Andre’s road manager and Andre did come to his birthday party. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/90 "2025-02-26T16:08:11Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Man, alone, sits down at the bar and tells the bartender, “Whiskey.” Bartender fills a glass with whiskey, and gives him the glass _and_ the entire bottle. Corollary: man sits at bar and orders a beer. Bartender doesn’t ask “which of our dozen domestic brands or 57 varieties / brands of craft microbrews would you like?”, just pours a generic beer. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/91 "2025-02-26T16:17:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I think it _did_ on occasion. I recall a discussion on divorce many years ago (I think on this forum) where somebody mentioned a couple they knew that divided their house like that, then spent the ensuring decades refusing to talk or otherwise interact with each other. It appears that science fiction editor David Hartwell and science fiction writer and editor Kathryn Cramer continued to live together for four years, presumably in different sections of the house, until his death although they were separated. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/92 "2025-02-26T16:17:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > but also troped on the supposed benefits different vegetables were thought to provide. Popeye entered the chat ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/93 "2025-02-26T16:24:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Corollary: man sits at bar and orders a beer. Bartender doesn’t ask “which of our dozen domestic brands or 57 varieties / brands of craft microbrews would you like?”, just pours a generic beer. This was probably just good screenwriting at the time, where every line of dialogue was supposed to drive the story forward. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/94 "2025-02-26T16:27:33Z")
True, not really a trope, per se. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/95 "2025-02-26T16:28:31Z")
Television taught me never to get on an elevator with a pregnant woman. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/96 "2025-02-26T16:29:22Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > Corollary: man sits at bar and orders a beer. Bartender doesn’t ask “which of our dozen domestic brands or 57 varieties / brands of craft microbrews would you like?”, just pours a generic beer. > > This was probably just good screenwriting at the time, where every line of dialogue was supposed to drive the story forward. Paging Mr. Lewis… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5ENZglTjDrA/hqdefault.jpg "Cracking Up - Restaurant Scene.avi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENZglTjDrA) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/97 "2025-02-26T16:29:48Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Rubber chickens being funny. Speaking of… why _was_ that ever funny!? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/98 "2025-02-26T16:30:14Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Television taught me never to get on an elevator with a pregnant woman. …or worse yet, a plane! 😲 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/99 "2025-02-26T16:33:41Z")
I know I never get on an elevator with a plane. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797/100 "2025-02-26T16:37:33Z")
> [@solost](#): > > …or worse yet, a plane! 😲 Exactly, you don’t want to be around when hijinks ensue… and ensue they will! > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I know I never get on an elevator with a plane. I never get on a plane on a treadmill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-or-nearly-dead-tropes/1014797.md?page=6)