Tropescilloscope: Loophole Abuse

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

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