Questions tagged [title-explanation]
For questions about the titles of SFF works. A common question of this type would be "why did such-and-such a work have this title?" Do not use this tag for questions seeking the title of an unknown work; instead, use [story-identification]. Always use in conjunction with the specific work tag in question.
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What does “TKO” mean in mutai (alien boxing)?
An episode from the first season of Babylon 5 is called “TKO”.
The main story is about Susan Ivanova dealing with her father’s death, and the B story is about Michael Garibaldi’s friend, Walker Smith, ...
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Who are the titular “Masters of the Universe”, and what are their powers and goals?
In the various He-Man media, (nearly?) always subtitled “and the Masters of the Universe”, who are the said Masters? What are their powers? How did they get them? What makes them Masters of the ...
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Why the title "World Enough and Time" for the Doctor Who episode?
The first part of the Doctor Who Series 10 finale is an episode entitled "World Enough and Time", an obvious reference to the opening line of the poem "To His Coy Mistress" written ...
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What is the significance of the title of the film, "Infinity Pool"?
I'm curious about the meaning behind the title of Brandon Cronenberg's sci-fi horror film, Infinity Pool (2023). As far as I know, the only literal reference to an infinity pool in the film is the ...
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Meaning of the title "Now Inhale" by Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell's story "Now Inhale" - discussed here is one I read decades ago and don't currently have access to a copy of. Therefore I'll ask here: what is the significance of the ...
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Meaning of Matango in Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People?
I posted this in the Japanese stack exchange but the word appears to be made up based on early feedback and google translate.
https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Matango#Name indicates this is a variation of ...
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Is A. C. Clarke's "Death and the Senator" really a jab at William Proxmire?
I've seen this claimed repeatedly, but no authoritative evidence, and I am not convinced. Was Proxmire really that famous as anti-space crusader by May 1961 (minus however long the story was in the ...
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What does "An Obol for Charon" mean?
What is the meaning of the title of the Star Trek Discovery episode "An Obol for Charon"?
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What is the significance of the title "Fiat Voluntas Tua" (a quote from the Latin "Our Father") as a section title in A Canticle for Leibowitz?
When Walter M. Miller Jr. originally wrote the novelettes that he later fixed up to become A Canticle for Leibowitz, they were titled:
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" (The Magazine of Fantasy ...
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"The Hero as Werwolf": why that spelling for werewolf?
"The Hero as Werwolf" is a short story by Gene Wolfe. Quoting the synopsis from here:
It [sic] the late 21st century, humanity has evolved into a master race with some people left behind. ...
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Does the phrase "Return of the XXX" actually predate Return of the Jedi and Return of the King in common usage?
The comments on this answer involve a disagreement about whether Return of the Joker is a direct reference to Return of the Jedi, with one party arguing is it obviously a reference and the other ...
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Why was the title of Rivers of London changed to Midnight Riot?
The novel Rivers of London, originally published in Britain, was published in the US under the title Midnight Riot.
Why was the title changed for the US audience?
(Presumably it can't be because "...
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Amok Time, as in “Run Amok”?
Regarding the Star Trek episode “Amok Time”, I always assumed “Amok” was a fictional sci-fi word, but then I realized it’s spelled the same as “to run amok”. Is there an intentional connection there,...
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What does "Et In Arcadia, Ego" refer to?
Episodes 9 and 10 of season 1 of Star Trek: Picard are titled "Et In Arcadia, Ego" parts 1 and 2, respectively. One does not use a Latin title like that without it meaning something. What does the ...
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Why was the 1992 film Universal Soldier given that title?
Universal Soldier was a 1992 action film, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as two men who died as Vietnam, only to be resurrected as brainwashed super-...
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Why was "Non-stop" retitled "Starship"?
I read this book a while ago, and there was one thing I remembered strongly about it: there was a plot twist where we learn that everyone is on a generation ship.
However, when I found the book again ...
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In the MCU, how did they decide to use a subtitle for the movie instead of numbers?
A question popped into my mind.
At the beginning of the MCU we got movies numbered like Iron Man 2 or Iron Man 3, But at one point, we got subtitles like Thor: Ragnarok or Spider-Man: Homecoming.
For ...
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Why was Episode 1 named "The Phantom Menace"? [duplicate]
This is the only title name that didn't make to me; all the other titles make sense to me, but this the only one that stumped me. "The Phantom Menace" never made sense because all the other movies ...
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Any significance of "Endgame" in Avengers 4 title according to comics?
Avengers 4 title Avengers: Endgame was a long kept secret and it was said it can spoil the Infinity Wars:
But how? How come this title was so big deal? Is this title ...
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What does the title "Up The Long Ladder" mean?
In TNG Season 2, Episode 18 ("Up The Long Ladder"), the Enterprise plays host to a bunch of hillbillies. What is the meaning of the title?
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What is "Found" referring to in the title of Margaret Peterson Haddix's book?
In the book Found, Jonah finds out that he isn't who he thought he was. In fact, he's not from the modern times at all. The people from the future are fighting over him and the other kids like him, ...
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Revenge of the Sith - What they are taking revenge for? [duplicate]
Star Wars Episode III was titled as Revenge of the Sith. This title confuses me. We see Sidious and Vader getting rid of all Jedi which may be a part of revenge. However, what they are taking revenge ...
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Why is Game of Thrones called the way it is?
Question spawned from this chat discussion.
When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground. - Cersei Lannister
Why does Cersei call it Game of Thrones (and why did ...
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What's the in-universe relevance for the name of Spider-Man: Homecoming?
The out-of-universe reason looks obvious. Marvel celebrated the fact that it can work with Spider-Man again after it sold its movie rights to Sony.
But, if you look at other movies in MCU, names viz. ...
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Why doesn't Smaug die in the 2nd Hobbit film if it was titled the 'Desolation of Smaug'?
Doesn't desolation mean a state of complete emptiness or destruction?
So why doesn't Smaug perish by the end of the 2nd Hobbit film if the film's title was made to describe his end? He only dies at ...
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Why was the episode called "Born to the Purple"?
Having recently watched "Born to the Purple", season 1 episode 3 of Babylon 5, I'm still puzzled about the name. The only mention of purple that I can recall in the episode is Londo's Purple Files ...
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What does the title "Return of the Jedi" refer to? [duplicate]
Which entity does the "Jedi" in the title "Return of the Jedi" refer to? Does it refer to the general return of the Jedi Knights to the galaxy via Luke, or does it specifically refer to the redemption ...
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What was the common usage of the term "alien" around 1977?
The Alien movie was released in 1979. If you walked up to the average person on the street in 1977 and asked them to think of an alien, what is the first thing that would come to mind: would it be 'a ...
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There has been an awakening...but of what exactly? [duplicate]
Snoke says to Kylo Ren:
There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?
...
The dark side and the light...
It seems clear throughout Episode VII that Rey is waking up to her own potential, and that ...
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What exactly is the Last Crusade?
Google gives me two definitions for "crusade"
The first refers to the actual Crusades. The second refers to a general quest.
Is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade meant to refer to either one of ...
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What specifically does the "awakens" in "The Force Awakens" refer to?
I checked the Wikipedia article and some interviews, and haven't found any specific answer.
What specifically does the "awakening" of the Force in the title refer to?
Was the Force somehow asleep or ...
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What are the things that the title "Ender's Game" refers to?
I am not asking what are all the different works titled "Ender's Game". (If I was asking that then the answer would be: 1977 novella, 1985 novel, and 2013 movie. The comic and audioplay have slightly ...
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What are the influences for the Harry Potter titles, particularly their structure?
I first read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in around the year 2000 and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets immediately afterwards. Ever since I've questioned in the back of my mind ...
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Why the title "Goblet of Fire" for book 4?
HP and the Philosopher's (Sorceror's) Stone - that Stone is what the book's all about, finding it or taking it or keeping it safe.
HP and the Chamber of Secrets - again, the book is all about the ...
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What does the title of "Bag of Bones" mean with respect to the story of the film?
I have recently watched the TV miniseries Bag of Bones (based on the Stephen King novel of the same name), and I am confused about the significance of its title to the story. I will refer to it as a &...
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Who is the eponymous Jedi in Return of the Jedi?
I had always assumed the Jedi in the title of Return of the Jedi referred to Luke Skywalker's return from defeat. But Jedi is its own plural -- could it be referring to the rebuilding of the ...
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Why is Cloud Atlas named 'Cloud Atlas'?
I am writing a film report on Cloud Atlas (though the school system is different here, I would be in high school in the US, AFAIK) and I have to explain the title as part of this film report, but ...
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How did Pushing Daisies get its name?
I've been trying to figure this one out for a while. This show is about a person who can bring back people from the dead. How would it get the name Pushing Daisies? Thanks!
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