Tropescilloscope: Loophole Abuse

Blatant cheating through semantics. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Black and Gray Morality Faux Affably Evil Red Eyes, Take Warning Only One Name Peek-a-Boo Corpse Heroes Want Redheads Canadian Movies Driven to Suicide No Antagonist Agony of the Feet Together in Death Took a Level in Badass Camp Gay Drives Like Crazy Arc Words The Hero Dies Adorkable Unwitting Instigator of Doom Determinator Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Handicapped Badass French Films Mugging the Monster Vampire Fiction Intergenerational Friendship In the Back Suspiciously Specific Denial Nice Guy Shoot the Shaggy Dog Boom, Headshot! Based on a True Story Historical Hero Upgrade You Killed My Father The Reveal Precision F-Strike Four-Temperament Ensemble Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Token Minority In Medias Res Early-Bird Cameo Domestic Abuse Re-Cut It's Personal Logo Joke Chekhov's Gunman Brick Joke It Can Think Groin Attack Rewatch Bonus Dumb Blonde Bavarian Fire Drill Fanservice Extra Dogged Nice Guy Never Trust a Trailer Horror Comedy Star-Crossed Lovers Extreme Doormat Framing Device Missing Mom Bloodier and Gorier Kubrick Stare Race Against the Clock Badass Bookworm Annoying Younger Sibling Expository Hairstyle Change World of Ham The Big Guy Storming the Castle An Arm and a Leg Soft Glass Heroic BSoD Anti-Villain The Bully Mystery and Detective Films Animated Credits Opening No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Ambiguously Gay Faking the Dead Redemption Equals Death Sacrificial Lion Neck Snap Death by Adaptation Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Black Comedy Rape Unspoken Plan Guarantee Heterosexual Life-Partners Big-Bad Ensemble Auto Erotica Vomit Indiscretion Shot Heel Realization Attempted Rape The Cavalry Badass Normal Big "NO!" Be Careful What You Wish For Jump Scare You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Drugs Are Bad Rasputinian Death Music Stories Leaning on the Fourth Wall Bullying a Dragon Moment Killer Stepford Smiler Sinister Minister BFG Captain Obvious Evil Laugh Bilingual Bonus Does This Remind You of Anything? Bi the Way Leave the Camera Running Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Love at First Sight Bond Villain Stupidity Revenge All Men Are Perverts The Place Composite Character Jitter Cam Mistaken for Gay Babies Ever After Honor Before Reason The '90s Face Death with Dignity Advertised Extra Almost Kiss As You Know Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Villain Song Meaningful Name Even Evil Has Loved Ones Made of Explodium Character Development Hell Is That Noise Rich Bitch Superhero Gilligan Cut Antagonist Title Older Than They Look Facial Horror B-Movie Bowdlerise Title Drop Setting Update Pay Evil unto Evil Hate Sink Rape as Drama Anyone Can Die Evil Is Hammy Room Full of Crazy Index of Film Westerns Batman Gambit Affably Evil Big Brother Instinct Rule of Cool Russian Films Death by Irony Mundane Made Awesome Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Military and Warfare Films Self-Deprecation Translation Convention Martial Arts Movie Badass Grandpa Light Is Not Good Epic Movie Ghost Fiction Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Laser-Guided Karma Gratuitous English Spiritual Successor The Stoner Car Fu Off-into-the-Distance Ending Roaring Rampage of Revenge Maybe Ever After Non-Indicative Name Early Installment Weirdness Idiot Ball Hoist by His Own Petard Chekhov's Skill Victoria's Secret Compartment Abusive Parents Failed a Spot Check Red Oni, Blue Oni Book-Ends Public Domain Feature Films Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Not Even Bothering with the Accent Cool Old Guy Serious Business Catapult Nightmare Scenery Porn The Dreaded Sadistic Choice Adults Are Useless Make It Look Like an Accident Cool Shades Shower Scene Soundtrack Dissonance Shirtless Scene I'm a Humanitarian Mr. Exposition Mercy Kill Ascended Extra Anachronic Order Villain Protagonist Red Herring Word of God Romantic Comedy Hope Spot Not So Stoic Anguished Declaration of Love Get Out! Suddenly SHOUTING! Gorn Hollywood Darkness Reality Ensues Suspiciously Similar Substitute Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Fire-Forged Friends Those Two Guys Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Vitriolic Best Buds Chase Scene An Axe to Grind Stalker with a Crush Made of Iron Bald of Evil Green-Eyed Monster Crazy Jealous Guy Recycled IN SPACE! Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Important Haircut Funny Foreigner The Smurfette Principle The Great Depression A God Am I Never Found the Body Rule of Three Parental Substitute Slasher Movie Shout-Out Italian Films The Remake Credits Gag Amusing Injuries German Films Dramatic Gun Cock Adaptation Dye-Job Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Guile Hero Never My Fault Back from the Dead Five-Man Band The Cameo Didn't Think This Through Mighty Whitey Tranquil Fury A Father to His Men Your Head A-Splode Downer Ending The Power of Love Reality Has No Subtitles Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Shown Their Work Bound and Gagged Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! I Need a Freaking Drink Foregone Conclusion The Casanova Protagonist Title Evil Counterpart Lock and Load Montage Depraved Bisexual Only Known by Their Nickname The '80s Butt-Monkey More Dakka Mythology Gag Pretty in Mink Danny Peary Cult Movies List Did Not Get the Girl Mexican Standoff Up to Eleven Police Brutality The '50s Spell My Name with an "S" Artistic License – Law Casting Gag Bloodless Carnage True Companions The Lost Lenore Creepy Child Face–Heel Turn Would Hurt a Child Super Strength Straight Gay Paper-Thin Disguise Combat Pragmatist Obstructive Bureaucrat I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Immune to Bullets Getting Crap Past the Radar Serial Killer Developing Doomed Characters Slap-Slap-Kiss Not Quite Dead Evil Brit Skewed Priorities The Film of the Book Not Using the "Z" Word After the End "Shaggy Dog" Story Outrun the Fireball The Ace There Is No Kill Like Overkill Hair-Trigger Temper Refuge in Audacity Adaptational Villainy Leitmotif Good Is Not Nice Laughing Mad Fingore Psycho for Hire Horror Films Jerk Jock Fantastic Racism Madness Mantra Sir Swears-a-Lot The Mole Famous Last Words Taking You with Me Married to the Job Cruel and Unusual Death Reasonable Authority Figure Disguised in Drag Black Best Friend Femme Fatale Eureka Moment The Quiet One From Nobody to Nightmare Big Eater Ax-Crazy Beard of Evil Left the Background Music On Dirty Cop Dropped a Bridge on Him Cool Guns Sassy Black Woman Biopic No Name Given Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Male Gaze Deadpan Snarker Action Prologue Killed Mid-Sentence Coming-of-Age Story Shell-Shocked Veteran Villain Ball Country Matters For the Evulz Real Life Writes the Plot Parental Neglect It Will Never Catch On And Starring Dark Action Girl British Films Action Girl Tap on the Head What Happened to the Mouse? Sci-Fi Horror Really Gets Around Male Frontal Nudity Bottomless Magazines Only in It for the Money Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Not What It Looks Like Death of a Child Costume Porn Evil Sounds Deep The Un-Reveal Awesome, but Impractical Defrosting Ice Queen Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Punctuated! For! Emphasis! "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue timeperiod Cloudcuckoolander Happily Married The Smart Guy Historical Villain Upgrade Action Survivor Chekhov's Gun Video Credits Hooker with a Heart of Gold Vomit Discretion Shot Exactly What It Says on the Tin Loads and Loads of Characters Ms. Fanservice Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Manly Tears Fat Bastard The X of Y Fan Disservice No-Sell Dissonant Serenity Historical-Domain Character The Alcoholic Darker and Edgier Call-Back Crazy-Prepared Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Spared by the Adaptation Cat Scare Cassandra Truth Oh, Crap! No Celebrities Were Harmed Eagleland Noodle Incident Slasher Smile Wounded Gazelle Gambit Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Sequel Escalation Kill 'em All Television Movie Index A Date with Rosie Palms Offscreen Teleportation Dark Reprise Author Avatar Becoming the Mask Chiaroscuro Manchild Humans Are Bastards No OSHA Compliance Riddle for the Ages Woman Scorned Disney Villain Death Dwindling Party Arch-Enemy Friend to All Children Time Skip Greater-Scope Villain Death Glare Major Injury Underreaction Names to Run Away from Really Fast Evil vs. Evil Parental Abandonment The Stoic Our Zombies Are Different Deus ex Machina Redshirt Army Empathic Environment Narrator Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other A.I. Is a Crapshoot All Just a Dream Knight Templar The Oner La Résistance Slashed Throat Meet Cute Pyrrhic Victory He Who Fights Monsters Men Are the Expendable Gender Henpecked Husband I Want My Beloved to Be Happy War Is Hell Mama Bear Psychological Thriller Children Are Innocent Actor Allusion Random Events Plot Australian Movies The '60s Bond One-Liner Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Training Montage Police are Useless The Chick Instant Death Bullet Humiliation Conga NO INDOOR VOICE Scare Chord Every Car Is a Pinto Wretched Hive Retired Badass Fate Worse than Death She's Got Legs Smug Snake Age Lift Cowboy Cop Reckless Gun Usage Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Same Language Dub The Mafia Dull Surprise Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Intrepid Reporter "Well Done, Son!" Guy The Vamp Parental Incest Artistic License – Geography As Himself Evil Is Petty Call-Forward Manipulative Bastard Frame-Up Took a Level in Jerkass The Dog Bites Back Big Bad Plucky Comic Relief Guns Akimbo Anti-Hero Broken Aesop The Alleged Car Disproportionate Retribution Bar Brawl Cat Fight Cold-Blooded Torture Half the Man He Used to Be Alliterative Name Those Wacky Nazis Extremely Short Timespan Card-Carrying Villain Bunny-Ears Lawyer Despair Event Horizon Deconstruction Naked People Are Funny Unusually Uninteresting Sight Damsel in Distress Fake Shemp Accidental Misnaming Improbable Weapon User Drowning My Sorrows Take That! Flipping the Bird Papa Wolf Product Placement Funny Background Event Deal with the Devil Mind Screw Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Action Genre Hero of Another Story Beta Couple Those Two Bad Guys Breaking the Fourth Wall Black Dude Dies First Wham Shot Bittersweet Ending Last-Name Basis Sealed Evil in a Can And I Must Scream Daddy's Girl Contrived Coincidence The Hero An Aesop Everyone Has Standards Fun with Acronyms Fatal Flaw Crucified Hero Shot I Did What I Had to Do Blackmail 20 Minutes into the Future Documentary Due to the Dead Punch-Clock Villain Overprotective Dad Adaptation Expansion Morality Pet Bare Your Midriff Earn Your Happy Ending Dirty Old Man Red Right Hand Hypocrite All Girls Want Bad Boys Creative Closing Credits Bait-and-Switch folderlabel Toplessness from the Back Body Horror Rousing Speech Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Overly Long Gag The Bad Guy Wins Badass Boast Actually Pretty Funny Thriller I Have Your Wife The Load Unresolved Sexual Tension No Ending Sanity Slippage Bloody Hilarious Blood Knight How We Got Here Fiery Redhead Hong Kong Films Pet the Dog Eyepatch of Power Evil-Detecting Dog Double-Meaning Title What the Hell, Hero? Say My Name Yandere Sequel Hook Wicked Cultured Dual Wielding Mad Scientist One-Word Title Posthumous Character For Want of a Nail Punny Name Rated M for Manly All for Nothing Expy One-Man Army Foreshadowing Lighter and Softer Better to Die than Be Killed Disappeared Dad Insane Troll Logic As Long as It Sounds Foreign Pragmatic Adaptation Real Life Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Sole Survivor Big Bad Duumvirate Brother–Sister Incest Artistic License – Physics Off with His Head! Insult Backfire Artistic License – Biology Silence Is Golden Adaptation Name Change Ominous Latin Chanting Whole Plot Reference Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Kick the Dog Kick the Son of a Bitch Smoking Is Cool All There in the Script Decoy Protagonist Freeze-Frame Bonus The Starscream O.O.C. Is Serious Business Politically Incorrect Villain Worthy Opponent Lampshade Hanging Villain with Good Publicity Wrong Genre Savvy "Awesome McCool" Name Gender Flip Novelization Interrupted Suicide Corpsing Kids Are Cruel Villainous Breakdown Dying Moment of Awesome Silent Movie Adaptation Distillation Jerkass Has a Point Apocalypse How Flashback In Name Only Distracted by the Sexy Throwing Your Sword Always Works Cluster F-Bomb Fanservice Not So Different The Faceless Deliberate Values Dissonance Properly Paranoid Bolivian Army Ending Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies The Atoner Kill It with Fire You Have Failed Me Evil Plan Broken Bird Unreliable Narrator No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Curse Cut Short Fatal Family Photo Adaptational Badass Determinator aka: The Determinator Ambiguous Disorder Monumental Damage Motor Mouth Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie A Minor Kidroduction Wham Line Does Not Like Shoes Demonic Possession Authority Equals Asskicking Calling the Old Man Out The Sociopath Closed Circle Dark Is Not Evil Hypocritical Humor Creator Cameo Sexy Discretion Shot You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Ship Tease Beware the Nice Ones Insistent Terminology Bad "Bad Acting" Adult Fear All There in the Manual Black Comedy Eldritch Abomination Villain Opening Scene The Chessmaster Enemy Mine Truth in Television Stock Footage Central Theme Death by Sex Continuity Nod Celebrity Paradox Hollywood Law Abhorrent Admirer Japanese Films Artistic License – Gun Safety Too Dumb to Live Double Entendre Break the Cutie Covers Always Lie Eye Scream Badass in a Nice Suit Brainless Beauty Film Noir Index Alas, Poor Villain Genre Throwback Stealth Pun Needs Wiki Magic Love Film Noir The Brute Blood from the Mouth Shipper on Deck Destination Defenestration Historical In-Joke Line-of-Sight Name Woman in White Genre Savvy Playing Gertrude Gainax Ending Malevolent Masked Men My God, What Have I Done? Hero Antagonist Implacable Man Plot Hole The Voiceless Ungrateful Bastard Let's Get Dangerous! Obviously Evil Mooks Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Meaningful Background Event Arranged Marriage Impaled with Extreme Prejudice This Is Gonna Suck The '70s Put on a Bus The Stinger Adapted Out Only a Flesh Wound Chewing the Scenery Science Fiction Films Reality Is Unrealistic Crapsack World Bland-Name Product Rule of Symbolism Meaningful Echo Spanner in the Works Aside Glance Establishing Character Moment Artistic License – Military Diabolus ex Machina Bring My Brown Pants Break the Haughty Improbable Aiming Skills Daylight Horror Easily Forgiven Dramatic Irony Irony Catch-Phrase Grey and Gray Morality Eiffel Tower Effect And the Adventure Continues Taking the Bullet Dirty Coward Pre-Mortem One-Liner Cain and Abel Author Appeal Brutal Honesty Curb-Stomp Battle Ass Shove Ambiguous Ending N-Word Privileges Berserk Button Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Freudian Excuse Dark and Troubled Past Visual Pun Psychopathic Manchild Fantasy Films Gone Horribly Right Totally Radical Karma Houdini She Cleans Up Nicely Here We Go Again! Foil Disney Death He Knows Too Much What You Are in the Dark Your Cheating Heart My Greatest Failure Naïve Newcomer Aluminum Christmas Trees Retcon Improvised Weapon Beauty Is Never Tarnished Vacation Films Pretty Little Headshots Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Very Loosely Based on a True Story MacGuffin Ripped from the Headlines The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Christmas Movies Index Obfuscating Stupidity May–December Romance Scenery Gorn Large Ham Homage Undying Loyalty Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! The Musical Well-Intentioned Extremist Badass Longcoat Corrupt Corporate Executive Bad Boss Knife Nut Darkest Hour Karmic Death Retirony Big Applesauce One Steve Limit Scary Black Man Only Sane Man Artistic License – History Dressing as the Enemy Race Lift Tempting Fate Adaptational Heroism Once More, with Clarity! Armor-Piercing Question Exact Words Jerk with a Heart of Gold Big Fancy House The End... Or Is It? Running Gag Market-Based Title Bury Your Gays Dutch Angle Film Series Love Triangle Works Set in World War II Cool Old Lady Gold Digger Tagline Anachronism Stew Informed Ability "The Reason You Suck" Speech From Bad to Worse Alpha Bitch Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Fourth Date Marriage Betty and Veronica Match Cut Show Within a Show Heel–Face Turn Stuff Blowing Up Fainting Red Shirt Epic Fail Adaptational Attractiveness Nothing Is Scarier Pragmatic Villainy Dramedy Imagine Spot Would Hit a Girl Have a Gay Old Time Take a Third Option Mr. Fanservice Heroic Sacrifice Belligerent Sexual Tension My Beloved Smother It's All About Me Our Vampires Are Different Man on Fire Neck Lift Asshole Victim Hidden Depths Ironic Echo Defiant to the End Poor Communication Kills Department of Redundancy Department Zombie Stories '80s Hair Spiteful Spit Affectionate Parody The Dragon Trailers Always Spoil Sports Stories Fish out of Water Unusual Euphemism The Ghost Big Damn Heroes Twist Ending Animal Motifs Drill Sergeant Nasty Comically Missing the Point Gory Discretion Shot Air-Vent Passageway Mood Whiplash Camera Abuse Broken Pedestal Captain Ersatz Stealth Hi/Bye Even Evil Has Standards Accidental Murder Not So Above It All Blatant Lies The Lancer Nice Hat Stylistic Suck Canon Foreigner Romantic False Lead Amoral Attorney Rule of Funny Deliberately Monochrome The Ditz Loophole Abuse Demoted to Extra Jerkass Dies Wide Open Genre Shift As the Good Book Says... Final Girl Conspicuous CG Award-Bait Song Animal Title Index Small Name, Big Ego Manic Pixie Dream Girl Shut Up, Hannibal! Death Seeker Grievous Bottley Harm Pimped-Out Dress Cool Car Offscreen Moment of Awesome Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!