Talk:plot twist

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plot twist

Is it sum of parts? You can re-express it as "a twist in the plot" so it doesn't seem particularly set to me. ---> Tooironic 21:56, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Our current standard line of reasoning focuses on encoding not decoding, however wrongheadedly. As a result, if "plot twist" is deemed unexpected in the fact-free opinions of voters here, this kind of readily decodable expression (assuming that the decoder is aware of more than the literal sense of "twist") is often not deleted. In this we are boldly going where no lemming has gone before, unless we are to think of Urban Dictionary as our peer. As you must know UD includes almost any common collocation that appeals to its target market. DCDuring TALK 01:01, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Twist has a meaning synonymous or nearly synonymous with plot twist. Although I think plot twist is a set phrase, I am tempted to agree with Tooironic and DCDuring that it is SOP. - -sche (discuss) 03:40, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

I would agree; my hesitation being that the relevant sense of (deprecated template usage) twist is as yet unverified. As things stand, for all we can tell it might be there only on the basis of the collocation plot twist. — Pingku^dimmi 06:55, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

These are interesting:

• 1986, http://books.google.com/books?id=aZZZAAAAMAAJ, page 54:

  The plot has enough detection and plot twists to satisfy classic mystery fans, as well as those readers who prefer the unusual in suspense.

• 1989, http://books.google.com/books?id=EoCqO6zw_twC, page 881:

  Great dance sequences submerged in a plot rife with defections and unlikely plot twists.

• 2002, Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers, page 51:

  The story combined these elements with a murder plot with another ironic plot twist of a crime catching up with you in the end.

It seems like these writers must think "plot twist" has some meaning that bare "twist" does not, because otherwise the usage would be redundant, no? (Contrast "Every fall, the oak tree loses all of its oak leaves", which sounds ridiculous.) But I'm open to other interpretations.

—Ruakh_TALK 12:07, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm unsure. Mglovesfun (talk) 12:16, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, me too. Maybe this is why RFD commenters usually don't invoke cites: real-world usage tends to muddy more than it resolves. :-P   —Ruakh_TALK 18:47, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

I think "the plot has enough plot twists" does sound as ridiculous as "the oak tree loses its oak leaves". See also Citations:kangarooette. - -sche (discuss) 02:59, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

• Keep. Ƿidsiþ 14:59, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

Why? ---> Tooironic 00:17, 17 April 2011 (UTC)

• Keep, because if I pointed to a corkscrew-shaped tract of land and said, "look, a plot twist", you'd get the joke. bd2412 T 19:56, 21 April 2011 (UTC)
  • If you pointed to a long hot dog and said "look, a big red dog", I'd get the joke, too, but that doesn't make big red dog inclusible. If you pointed to a person who was sitting on a desk and whose job is programming applications (software) and said "look, a desktop computer application programmer", I'd get the joke, too, but that doesn't make desktop computer application programmer inclusible.​—msh210℠ (talk) 20:06, 21 April 2011 (UTC)
    • Getting the joke for a "big, red, dog" doesn't require the collocation; you could point at the hot dog and make any joke about it being an actual "dog" (a "dirty dog", a "barking dog", a "stray dog"). With a a "plot twist" you would need to use only the complete set phrase for the other party to realize that you were using a figurative expression as a literal reference. bd2412 T 14:30, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
• Keep. For what it's worth, I just came upon this entry while wondering what the usage of "plot twist" was, and precisely how it differed from "plot development". I found the words "expected outcome" especially helpful. Gunslinger47 21:10, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

kept as no consensus. -- Liliana • 13:24, 16 September 2011 (UTC)