# Have you ever been in a Trope situation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711 "2022-05-19T20:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dunka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@Dunka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunka)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/1 "2022-05-19T20:54:57Z")
I think Tropes get a bad reputation. They are thought of as cheap shortcuts by the entertainment industry. Aren’t they just shared experiences? We can all relate to? Have you ever had an experience that would qualify as a Trope if it was in a film? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/2 "2022-05-19T22:55:15Z")
I don’t think your definition works. They’re not shared experiences; they’re shared imaginary experiences created by people with no imagination. Think of them as pre-digital Xerox copies: the more they get copied, the more corrupted they become, until they’re pretty much useless. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/3 "2022-05-19T23:08:13Z")
From TVTropes: > Tropes are not the same thing as cliches. They may be brand new but seem trite and hackneyed; they may be thousands of years old but seem fresh and new. They are not bad, they are not good; [tropes are tools](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/TropesAreTools) that the creator of a work of art uses to express their ideas to the audience. It’s pretty much impossible to create a [story without tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/JustForFun/TheTropelessTale). The OP and the first reply represent opposite ends of one dimension one could measure tropes on. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/4 "2022-05-20T01:09:11Z")
Oh, do you mean: [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticMeasurementSystem](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticMeasurementSystem) ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/5 "2022-05-20T03:13:52Z")
Have you ever had coffee that was not merely lousy but ridiculously bad? As in spit it out and shriek bad? If so, there’s [Bad to the Last Drop - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadToTheLastDrop) ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/6 "2022-05-20T03:25:30Z")
I’ve been in varieties of the [Secret Relationship Trope](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SecretRelationship) multiple times. People were trying to keep their relationship secret but for some reason, which for the life of me I do not understand, three different times they told me and expected me to keep their secret. And one time it turned into the ‘everybody knew’ variety, and another time the ‘nobody cared’ variety. But the third time people finally guessed after the couple announced that they were married, and then they told everybody I knew all along so then everybody was mad at me for not blabbing. This is why you should run from a trope as fast as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/7 "2022-05-20T05:07:41Z")
A few years back, I was acquainted with a girl who shared my exact same birthdate. Not birthday–that’s (relatively speaking) a dime a dozen. I’m talking birth **date**. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/8 "2022-05-20T05:40:40Z")
I once dated a woman who was born on the exact same birthdate as me (same day and year). We also used to get allergy shots at the same hospital as kids (but never met back then). ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/9 "2022-05-20T06:34:47Z")
Sorry. Went off topic. Deleted post. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/10 "2022-05-20T11:55:04Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Oh, do you mean: > > [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticMeasurementSystem](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticMeasurementSystem) Well played! Is there a trope about “fantastic coincidences” (that most people have in real life because we have so many possibles? When I went to middle school there were, in the entire school, only three people with my first name in the school, and one with a shorter version of the same name. We were all in the same class, despite there being four classes in the grade. One of them had the same birth date as me. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/11 "2022-05-20T13:13:00Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > A few years back, I was acquainted with a girl who shared my exact same birthdate. Not birthday–that’s (relatively speaking) a dime a dozen. I’m talking birth **date**. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I once dated a woman who was born on the exact same birthdate as me (same day and year). Wow, this is a very odd, coincidental ninja’ing (Unless I’m getting whooshed by a meta-joke on tropes I’m not getting). As for me, I’m an overweight, often clueless, pretty lazy guy married to a woman out of my league. That’s your classic sitcom setup right there. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/12 "2022-05-20T15:53:19Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’ve been in varieties of the [Secret Relationship Trope](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SecretRelationship) multiple times. My wife and I worked together when we first started dating, so we decided we should keep it quiet for a while. One day, we were walking into a store, and walking out at the same time was… our boss! When we fessed up that we were seeing each other, he grinned and said, “yeah, I know.” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/13 "2022-05-20T16:03:31Z")
Many years ago while living with a boyfriend, we both lost/quit our jobs and didn’t want to tell each other so both pretended to go to work every day for about a week until the truth came out. I don’t know if that’s a trope, exactly. Maybe more of a sitcom situation(?) ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/14 "2022-05-20T16:06:09Z")
Of course, once you find yourself in a trope there are a limited number of conclusions ahead. Watch any sitcom and you’ll see there’s no escape. All 3 cases I mentioned were people working together. I didn’t work at the same place as any of them but I knew people who did, and there was some overlap among them. So I wasn’t some kind of neutral outsider. Listen up co-workers who want a secret relationship, please just keep it to yourselves. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/15 "2022-05-20T16:11:07Z")
Individuals pretending to work has come up in sitcoms. I don’t recall it happening with both people in a couple, but it has some hints of the Gift of the Magi trope, just no gifts at all in the end. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/16 "2022-05-20T16:12:59Z")
> **[Unconfessed Unemployment - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnconfessedUnemployment)** > > What do you do when you are Married to the Job, and the job dumps you? Many breadwinners, almost always male, derive most of their sense of self-worth and achievement from their ability to bring home the bacon. The flip side is that getting laid … ---
**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:** [May 20, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/17 "2022-05-20T16:59:10Z")
This was done on The King of Queens. In flashback Doug explains that he didn’t actually have a job as an IPS delivery man when Carrie agreed to marry to him. He had been pretending to go to work there and hung around in the company locker room until eventually he convinced them to give him a job. I feel like the double unemployment situation has been done, just nothing coming to mind at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/18 "2022-05-20T23:30:40Z")
Without going into revealing detail, let’s just say one of the tropes (or more like a cliche) you would swear was of the “shared imaginary experiences created by people with no imagination” actually happened in real life, just as if lifted word for word from a bad Hollywood screenplay. So, even some situations that sound improbable or implausible have in fact occurred. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/19 "2022-05-21T00:30:21Z")
Back when I was in the Navy, there was a bad equipment problem onboard a ship which resulted in a few deaths and injuries and some significant and costly equipment damage. Maybe a year later, I was on a business trip at the same time that the investigation was ongoing and I was staying at the local officers’ quarters. At breakfast one morning I was having breakfast at a table with a much more senior officer who had some insight into what had happened during the incident. So he was telling me about this, almost sotto voce, and he quite seriously said “and you didn’t hear this from me…” The only thing missing was the quietly ominous soundtrack music, and I recall thinking that at the time he was saying that. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711/20 "2022-05-21T00:58:40Z")
This thread brings to mind the aluminum Christmas tree trope: > **[Aluminum Christmas Trees - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AluminumChristmasTrees)** > > A story element that exists or existed in Real Life but is assumed to be fictional by the audience, often because it seems too unlikely, bizarre, or kitschy to be real. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction... The Trope Namer comes from … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-in-a-trope-situation/964711.md?page=2)