# This is driving me crazy (TV Tropes)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 18, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433 "2009-02-18T19:31:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433/1 "2009-02-18T19:31:38Z")

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So the TVTropes article on [Lampshading](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging) features a panal of the cartoon they took the term “lampshade” from. They used to have a link to the full cartoon- but it didn’t work. Now they don’t even pretend to link to it. It’s driving me crazy- what is the full cartoon, and what gets lampshaded (in the literal and figurative senses)?

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**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433/2 "2009-02-18T19:44:00Z")

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[Order of the Stick #546](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0546.html)

Er… I don’t get the joke in it.

EDIT: Oh. He’s lampshading the implausible story in the previous panel. Ha.

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**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433/3 "2009-02-18T20:33:27Z")

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So TV Tropes came up with the term “lampshade” first, for whatever improbable reason, and the cartoon was referring to TVT?

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**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-driving-me-crazy-tv-tropes/486433/4 "2009-02-18T20:42:22Z")

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> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#):
>
> So TV Tropes came up with the term “lampshade” first, for whatever improbable reason, and the cartoon was referring to TVT?

TVTropes claims it’s the term used by Mutant Enemy, which is Joss Whedon’s production company. A reference to Joss is more likely than a reference to TVT.