Unseen Academicals: Difference between revisions

* [[All Psychology Is Freudian]]: Mr. Nutt's method of psychotherapy revolves around acknowledging repressed memories and emotions (especially vis-a-vis paternal/maternal conflict), and is based entirely on Uberwaldian philosophy which comes complete with nonsensical Germanesque names. He even adopts the stock gag-Austrian accent (with "ze" for "the"), explaining that it's "soothing."

* [[Always Camp]]: Pepe the fashionista, but only when he's working.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Pepe again. [[Word of God]] ([[Shrug of God|Shrug]] [[Word of Gay|Of Gay]]?) is "he's probably as gay as a treeful of monkeys, but you can never tell".

* [[Animal Athlete Loophole]]: [[Aint No Rule]] saying an orangutan can't play football! Since the wizards are writing the rules of football themselves as they go along, of course, there wouldn't be. The climax relied on this (for non-ape reasons), with the twist that there actually was a rarely-used rule allowing it. It was implied there soon be an [[Obvious Rule Patch]].

* [[The Blacksmith]]: Mr Nutt shoes a horse for the carriage company and silvers Glenda's tins. [[I Thought It Meant|No, not like that.]]

* [[Brain Bleach]]: Glenda and those slightly-less-than-three seconds.

* [[Brainless Beauty]]: Juliet, although not fully.

* [[Brick Joke]]: {{spoiler|The possessed whistle}} and {{spoiler|"Come on if you think you're hard enough!"}}

* [[Inelegant Blubbering]]

* [[Inherently Funny Words]]: ''gloing''

* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Professor Bengo Macarona, after scoring the first goal for the Academicals, insists that any chanting of his name also includes his full name and list of honours. Since this in its entirety is "Professor Macarona D.Thau (Bug), D.Maus (Chubb), Magistaludorum (QIS), Octavium (Hons), PHGK (Blit), DMSK, Mack, D.Thau (Bra), Visiting Professor in Chickens (Jahn the Conqueror University (Floor 2, Shrimp Packers Building, Genua)), Primo Octo (Deux), Visiting Professor of Blit/Slood Exchanges (Al Khali), KCbfJ, Reciprocating Professor of Blit Theory (Unki), D.Thau (Unki), Didimus Supremius (Unki), Emeritus Professor in Blit Substrate Determinations (Chubb), Chair of Blit and Music Studies (Quirm College for Young Ladies)" and the crowd actually ''agrees to go along with it,'' this turns the football chant "One Makaronah, there's only one Makaronah, there's only one Makaronah, one Makaro-naah" into an [[Overly Long Gag]] of absolutely ''EPIC'' proportions.

** Also, continuing a gag from ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'', it's Post-Mortem Communications, ''not'' "necromancy".

* [[Roboteching]]: Trev can do this with ''tin cans''. It's all about the spin.

* [[Running Gag]]: "It doesn't chafe", "Skull ring, remember?", hanky panky, etc.

** And that of civilization. Can a reasoned will not only contain violence, but defeat the mob?

* [[Shaped Like Itself]]: "Mostly they're just pies, sir. Made of...pie."

* [[Shout-Out]]: Most of the early plot of the book is a direct copy of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', when it is not a [[Shout-Out]] to "[[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]]" or ''[[My Fair Lady]]''.

** Juliet ("Jules"), a woman in dressed in golden-shining chainmail, is supported after the game by the whole Ankh-Morpork team in red shirts -- this is clearly ment to resemble the '''Jules''' Rimet Trophy, awarded for the Football World Cup (up to 1970). [http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/06/article-1160022-049568020000044D-623_312x524.jpg\]

** The [[Running Gag]] of the celebrity press asking about "your favourite spoon" is from ''[[Private Eye]]''.

** The reference to ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' gets [[Lampshaded]] near the end of the book, when {{spoiler|Glenda}} comments about how an in-universe play (named ''[[Star-Crossed Lovers|Starcrossed]]'') is [[This Is Reality|unrealistic]]. (The play in question has been written by Hwel, [[Discworld/Wyrd Sisters|a character from an earlier book]] who is the Disc's [[Shakespeare]].)

{{quote|It occurred to new employee Rudolph Scattering...}}

** And when Hex is asked to find a football, he responds by asking whether they meant a spherical or oval ball, a shout out to [[American Football|those]] [[Rugby Union|other]] [[Australian Rules Football|games]].

** Glenda's private thoughts about how to deal with Ottomy -- and how to dispose of the evidence -- are a tip of the hat to ''[[Sweeney Todd]]''.

** Nutt's indecipherable philosophy of football recalls Eric Cantona at his most Dadaesque.

** One of Juliet's brothers is named Algernon. Mr. Nutt describes to him a theory that football players were very similar to lab rats. He promptly attacks Mr. Nutt. [[Flowers for Algernon|Algernon still likes rats and dislikes experiments on them.]]

* [[Spock Speak]]: Nutt, most of the time.

* [[Stealth Pun]]: Trev works in the university dribbling candles for wizardly pursuits. By the end of the book, he's dribbling footballs instead.

*** Un-stealthed in the back-cover copy, which calls him "a likely lad with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can". (The pre-release blurb had much the same phrase, but called him an "urchin".)

** The three-eyed teddy, described as "more enlightened than the average bear" is an obvious reference to both the "third eye" of Eastern mysticism and [[Yogi Bear]]. Now think about where the title "yogi" comes from...

** Hix is Unseen University's Token Black Magician.

{{quote|'''Ridcully:''' Angry husband?

'''Stibbons:''' Angry wife, as I heard it.

'''Trev:''' Well, yes, that's true.

'''Juliet:''' Yes, but they used to say you were his son. }}

* [[Verbal Tic]]: Juliet's habit of ending every sentence with "Din't it?" or "Didn't I?" or something similar, innit.

* [[Visual Innuendo]]: Glenda points out that the proposed uniform design with "UU" on the front resembles breasts.