< Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking/Playing With
Basic Trope: A list of 3 or more things ends on the weakest point.
- Straight: Alice is listing off a number of reasons not to date Bob. It goes as follows: "He drinks a lot, he's a philanderer, and he leaves the toilet seat up."
- Exaggerated: "He's killed every girlfriend he's had, he sells heroin to children, and his haircut makes his ears look big."
- Up To Eleven: "He's sentenced to jail for life imprisonment because of mass murder, but he escaped, he's on the FBI top ten most wanted list, and he wears a silly hat."
- Downplayed: "He doesn't say 'please' or 'thank you', he snaps at people for every slight, and he only eats his pasta with marinara sauce."
- Justified:
- For some twisted reason, leaving the toilet seat up is really the worst crime in Alice's book.
- Alternative: Alice is listing the reasons by order of priority, and the next-to-last item is notably worse than the last.
- Alternative: The toilet seat is secretly a device which activates a killer blades if it's been set up for too long which would kill any unsuspecting person going to the toilet.
- Inverted: See Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick
- Subverted: "He drinks a lot, he's a philanderer, and he leaves the toilet seat up...then he beat his last girlfriend with said toilet seat."
- Double Subverted: "...And his haircut makes his ears look big!"
- Parodied: Carol and Diane are listening as Alice lists off her reasons. They react with casual indifference as the allegations the he drinks a lot and cheats, but react with incredible shock when they find out he leaves the toilet seat up.
- Deconstructed:
- Alice's priorities are so incredibly screwed up that she's unable to see the forest through the trees...
- See also: Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life
- Reconstructed: ...but some people end up finding that charming and still befriend her.
- Zig Zagged: "...and he beat his last girlfriend. And he has a silly haircut! And I think he does heroin! And..."
- Averted: "He blows up a random car every week for fun, kidnaps people when he's bored and slings crack to teenagers because he can. He has no redeeming values."
- Enforced:
- "Well, we're almost out of comedy gags...how about the standard 'long list' where the last item is weak?"
- "It's a lighthearted show, we can't have this list of horrible things without something to break the tension."
- Lampshaded: "Wow, you've really got your priorities in order."
- Invoked: "So, Alice, why won't you date Bob again?"
- Defied: "I know he leaves the toilet seat up, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important."
- Discussed: "If you want to be truly convincing, be sure to always end on the strongest note. The other way around is just silly."
- Conversed: "Why did she include that last thing last? That doesn't seem so bad."
First you must cross a mountain, then you must cross a river, then you must go back to Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking.
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