Just because it may be obvious to you doesn't mean it's obvious to everyone.When adding examples to this page, there are some notes to keep in mind: This is not a trope for the names of things in general. All Real Life examples go in Titles or Advertising section. This trope is only for titles or names given deliberately by authors or marketers. Compare Meaningful Name, A Dog Named 'Dog'. Adjective Noun Fred titles easily lend themselves to this.Ĭontrast In Name Only, Artifact Title. If a title is going for this kind of transparency in description, it may also be Shaped Like Itself but Shaped Like Itself tends to fail at actually being descriptive in the way that Exactly What It Says On The Tin always is. The characters might point out the thing with a Title Drop. A Spoiler Title or Excited Title! Two-Part Episode Name! may feature some degree of this. See also In Which a Trope Is Described, a Victorian version of this trope. Direct opposite of and mutually exclusive with Non-Indicative Name. More on which may be found at That Other Wiki.ĭirect opposite of Word Salad Title, but not necessarily mutually exclusive with it. This became a figure of speech through their extremely straight-forward TV ads. The title comes from the long-running 'Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin' TV advertising campaign for Ronseal Quick Drying Woodstain, a British product for staining wood, which is known to dry quickly (and other Ronseal products, but the woodstain was first).
