With a Capital T

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

...and that stands for "Trope."

This is when a character emphasises the magnitude of the thing they're talking about by saying that it's a Thing "with a capital T". They may go on to add that the capital letter also stands for something else relevant.

Can be played for laughs by having the character get the initial letter wrong (or deliberately changing it to make a point), or announcing that the entire first syllable is capital.

Examples of With a Capital T include:

Advertising

  • An Australian public safety ad (about germ awareness) from the 1970s used a version of "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man:

Oh, you got trouble!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "D"
And that stands for dirt!

Fan Works

Over the next couple days we got Busy with a capital "B". (Which rhymes with "D", which stands for "Deadline"...)

Film

Biff: Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly! Think! Your old man, Mr. Loser?
Marty: What?
Biff: That's right. Loser with a capital "L".

Roland: And that spells cash with a capital...
Jacques: K!
Roland: You should go back to school.
Jacques: I hated teaching.

Andrew: It's shit with a capital "sh".

  • Stuck on You:

Cher: I was a bitch with a capital C.

Live-Action TV

Cat: I'm smooth, with a capital Smoo.

Henry Coleman: These are dangerous people, with a capital D, which means death, which could happen to you.

  • Psych, episode "Rob-a-Bye Baby":

Shawn Spencer: Dude, this blows, with a capital Z.

Roseanne: Marriage stinks, with a capital SUCK!

Kendall: Oh, well if it isn't Little Miss Teen Getaway. Your dad and I were just dealing with a little trouble.
Veronica: Like, trouble with a capital "T", that rhymes with "C", that stands for...
Keith: Veronica!
Veronica: What? I was going to say "cute."

  • In the Will and Grace episode "Coffe & Commitment", Jack meets a guy who describes as "cute with a capital Q".
  • On Glee, Kurt has been called "capital G gay."

Music

  • "My Resistance is Low":

I'm going Overboard with a capital O

  • "Eadie Was A Lady":

Eadie had class with a capital K.

Theatre

Oh, we got trouble!
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for pool!

Video Games

Axel: You really don't remember. It's me? You know, Axel?
Roxas: Axel?
Axel: Talk about blank with a capital B.

Coach Z: Strong Bad, you kidding? You can't put Senor Cardgage in your movie! That guy is creepy with a capital "cree"!

  • In MadWorld, the Black Baron considers one of the minigames he introduces as "Easy with a capital EZ".

Western Animation

Bizzy: That guy's a loser with a capital 'Loo'.

  • Beast Wars, episode "The Agenda", referring to a situation involving the villainous Blackarachnia:

Rattrap: We've got trouble! Oh yeah, trouble... with a capital "B"!

    • Also, in "Tangled Web", concerning approaching Maximals:

Quickstrike: We got trouble brewing outside. Trouble with a capital "M"!

Kazuki Fuchouin: He's hazardously lucky, isn't he?
Kakei Juubei: With a capital... hazardous.

Ace: Uh-oh. What we got here is a game of dirty pool. With a capital "D" for Destro!

Ramon: We got personality, with a capital Y. Why? Because we're hot!

Spike: Will you stop worrying? I know all about cats with a capital "K".

  • The Tick, episode "Evil Sits Down For a Moment":

The Tick: Falling in love with a supervillain is Trouble with a capital 'troub'.

Duo Damsel: Terra-Man, word is you've been terrorizing this entire prairie in search of someone.
Star Boy: The only thing you're gonna find here is trouble.
Bouncing Boy: With a capital "L"!

Real Life

  • This is where the name of The Teetotaler comes from. In the 1840s or so, people were pledging themselves to "T-Total Abstinence" from alcohol.