NOTES
With huge thanks to all the friends who pitched in and read reams of fanfic to help me collect these. I never could have done it all myself, and I truly appreciate it. Every one of these is an epithet found in an actual story somewhere on the web or in a zine.

written December 2004.

 

Epithets by Fandom

by Arduinna

 

These are in no way meant to be suggestions for use in fiction. After reading yet another story packed with epithets, I'd finally had enough, and recruited a bunch of friends into helping me hunt down lists of epithets used in various fandoms. Some of these are very common; some are pretty much one-shots. All of them detract from characterization and energy in the stories they're found in, when used to excess (and excess, for epithets, basically means "more than one in every couple thousand words").

For a more detailed look at why epithets are a problem, see my essay on the subject.

 

Blake's 7

  • the cowardly thief
  • the little thief
  • the Delta
  • the Delta thief
  • the rebel leader
  • the curly-haired rebel
  • the burly rebel
  • the gentle rebel
  • the blonde pilot
  • the blonde smuggler
  • the blonde woman
  • the black girl
  • the weapons tech
  • the blonde girl
  • the blonde gunslinger
  • the blonde assassin
  • the computer expert
  • the emotionless computer expert
  • the computer tech
  • the computer man
  • the Alpha
  • the Alpha computer tech
  • the computer scientist
  • the blonde smuggler
  • the Auron telepath
  • the alien woman
  • the curly-haired alien
  • the slim woman
  • the slim alien
  • the pilot
  • the tall pilot
  • the younger man
  • the younger curly-haired rebel
  • the curly-haired pilot
  • the box of lights
  • the crabby box
  • the irritated computer
  • the perspex box

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Buffy/Angel

  • the blond(e) vampire
  • the shorter vampire
  • the taller vampire
  • the brooding vampire
  • the souled vampire
  • the Irish vampire
  • the British vampire
  • the chipped vampire
  • the Slayer
  • the blonde Slayer
  • the brunette Slayer
  • the younger Slayer
  • the tiny killer
  • the red-haired witch
  • the older man
  • the younger man
  • the high school boy
  • the vampire in leather
  • the leather-clad vampire
  • the Irish demon
  • the dark-haired, insane vampire

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CSI

  • the rugged forensics investigator
  • "the Grumpy Santa" (I swear to god)
  • the traumatized forensic investigator
  • the usually calm, reasonable man

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DC comics

  • the dark-haired man
  • the redhead
  • the archer
  • other two superheroes
  • the two heroes
  • the other speedster
  • the former Boy Wonder*
  • the former Wonder Girl*
  • a certain Navajo-raised superhero
  • the Armani-clad half of the pair

* Note from the contributor: in fairness, these two make sense in context - the POV is someone who really would think of them that way. The joy of a fandom with canon epithets ;)

  • The caped persona
  • the gymnast
  • the dark-haired young hero
  • the playboy billionaire
  • the black-and-azure clad legend
  • the Bludhaven hero
  • the young vigilante
  • the black-clad vigilante
  • the bound man
  • the sable-haired athlete

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Due South

  • the Ice Queen
  • the dear Inspector
  • the Mountie
  • the detective
  • the Italian detective
  • the Chicago detective

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Forever Knight

  • the tall white haired man dressed in black
  • the elder
  • the elder vampire
  • the gorgeous blond haired man
  • the master vampire
  • the boy

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Gundam Wing

  • the braided baka
  • the braided pilot
  • the braided boy
  • the braided-boy
  • the braided Preventer
  • the braided young man
  • the uni-banged young man
  • the ex-Gundam pilot
  • the little blond business man
  • the longhaired man
  • the auburn hair boy
  • the quiet boy
  • the pale blond man
  • the fortified teenager
  • the lean, mean, gorgeous Chinese man

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Harry Potter

  • the Gryffindor
  • the brave Gryffindor
  • the slim Gryffindor
  • the brunette Gryffindor
  • the green-eyed Gryffindor
  • the unrestrained Gryffindor
  • the impassive Gryffindor
  • the noble Gryffindor
  • the sleepy Gryffindor
  • the reckless Gryffindorian
  • the Slytherin
  • the blond Slytherin
  • the blonde Slytherin
  • the sliver blond Slytherin
  • the white blond Slytherin
  • the ash blonde Slytherin
  • the silver-haired Slytherin
  • the grey-eyed Slytherin
  • the sarcastic Slytherin
  • the sulky Slytherin
  • the shaking Slytherin
  • the sexy Slytherin
  • the now-seated Slytherin
  • the sleek Slytherin
  • the smooth Slytherin
 
  • the Potions Master
  • the greasy Potions master
  • the unwashed Potions Master
  • the graceful Potions Master
  • the silently suffering Potions Master
  • the professor
  • the Potions professor
  • the Prefect
  • the Gryffindor Prefect
  • the tired Prefect
 
  • the teen
  • the older man
  • the boy
  • the other boy
  • the younger man
  • the younger male
  • the youngster
 
  • the blonde
  • the lanky blond
  • the hunk
  • the dark-haired virgin
  • the blond teen
  • the blonde teen
  • the brunette teen
  • the dark-haired teen
  • the tow-headed teen
  • the taller teen
  • the disheveled teen
  • the green-eyed boy
  • the scarred boy
  • the gold-clad boy
  • the inhibited boy
  • the pale boy
  • the fainting boy
  • the smaller boy
  • the naked, wet boy
  • the supine boy
  • the dark-haired boy
  • the blond boy
  • the blonde boy
  • the drop dead gorgeous blonde boy
  • the hairless boy
  • the blasted boy
  • the dark-haired man
 
  • his lover
  • his soon-to-be lover
  • his panting lover
  • his fair lover
  • his teen lover
 
  • the brat
  • the obnoxious brat
  • the annoying brat
  • the adorable brat
  • the little brat
  • the impossible brat
  • the insolent brat
  • the stubborn brat
  • the irritating prat
 
  • the Quidditch enthusiast
  • the seeker
  • the Gryffindor seeker
  • the wet seeker
  • the sweaty seeker
 
  • the Boy Who Lived
  • the other man
  • the normally laidback individual

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Hercules

  • the demigod
  • the self-styled King of Thieves
  • the small fluffy blond
  • the thief
  • the blond
  • the hunter
  • the Golden Hunter
  • the unkempt and habitually broke figure
  • the little blond
  • the golden warrior
  • the ashen-faced hunter

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Highlander

  • the Oldest Immortal
  • the eldest Immortal
  • the Oldest One
  • the Highlander
  • the man identified by the sobriquet "Highlander"
  • the dark-haired Immortal
  • the younger Immortal
  • the doe-eyed Scot
  • the Highlander
  • the katana's owner
  • the bronzed Scot
  • the bilateral amputee

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Lord of the Rings

words in (parens) are alternative versions of the epithet

  • the Elf
  • the archer
  • the Elven archer
  • the long-fingered archer
  • the Elven warrior
  • the golden-haired Elf
  • the blond Elf
  • the beautiful Elf
  • the Silvan Elf
  • the blue-eyed Elf
  • the silken-voiced Elf
  • the tall Elf
  • the willowly Elf
  • the far-sighted Elf
  • the Prince of Mirkwood
  • the Elven princeling
  • the Elven-King's son
  • Thranduil's son
  • the March-Warden
  • the March-Warden of Lothlorien
  • the aloof Elf
  • the cool Elf
   
  • the Elf Queen
  • the Queen of the Golden Wood
  • the Lady of Light
  • the Queen of the Galadhrim
  • the Noldorin Queen
  • Finarfin's daughter
  • Celeborn's Queen
  • the last exile
   
  • the twins
  • the Elf twins
  • the half-Elven twins
  • the Peredhil twins
  • the Sons of Elrond
  • Elrond's sons
  • the warrior twins
   
  • Isildur's heir
  • Elendil's heir
  • Gondor's heir
  • Anduril's master
  • the former Ranger
  • Envinyatar
  • the Dunandan
  • the Dunedain chieftain
  • the steely-eyed Man
  • the Numenorean
  • Elrond's foster-son
  • Arathorn's son
   
  • the Elf Princess
  • the Queen of Gondor
  • Elessar's Queen
  • the Evenstar
  • Elrond's daughter
   
  • the Wizard
  • the Gray Wizard
  • the Gray Pilgrim
  • the Gray Wanderer
  • the White Wizard
  • the White Rider
  • the cranky Wizard
  • the kindly Wizard
  • the wise Wizard
  • the formerly Gray Wizard
 
  • the Dwarf
  • the long-bearded Dwarf
  • the grumpy Dwarf
  • Gloin's son (son of Gloin)
   
  • the Third Marshal of the Mark
  • the Marshal
  • the exiled Marshal
  • Eomund's son
  • Theoden's foster-son
  • the Rider of Rohan
  • the Rohirrim [used incorrectly as a singular]
  • the tall Rider
  • Firefoot's rider
   
  • the Steward
  • the Steward's (Denethor's) son
  • the Steward's (Denethor's)favorite
  • the Steward's (Denethor's) firstborn
  • the Steward's (Denethor's) heir
  • the future Steward
  • Gondor's greatest warrior
  • the Captain-General of Gondor
  • the Ithilien Ranger
  • the Captain of the Rangers
  • Boromir's (younger) brother
  • the Prince of Ithilien
   
  • the White Lady
  • the Lady of Rohan
  • the Princess of Ithilien
  • the fair-haired shield maiden
  • the Steward's wife
  • Dernhelm [outside the proper context]
   
  • the Three Runners
  • the Three Hunters
  • the thoughtful Man (Ranger)
  • the intelligent Man (Ranger)
  • the Man
  • the Warrior
  • the Ranger
  • the gray-eyed Man

top

Magnificent 7

  • the man in black
  • the green-eyed man
  • the dark-skinned man
  • the dark clad man
  • the gold-toothed man
  • the Kid
  • the leader
  • the tracker
  • the long haired, shy, tracker
  • the sensitive tracker
  • the sharpshooter
  • the rifleman
  • the gunslinger
  • the blond gunslinger
  • the hardened gunslinger
  • the preacher
  • the healer
  • the con man
  • the resident gambler and con man
  • the gambler
  • the glib, silver tongued gambler
  • the scoundrel
  • the ladies' man
  • the bounty hunter
  • the former bounty hunter
  • the scrawny, shaggy, ex-bounty hunter
  • the womanizer
  • the former slave
  • the greenhorn
  • the southerner
  • the breathless and less-than-immaculate southerner
  • the Texan
  • the peacekeepers
  • the lawmen
  • the regulators

top

Mpreg

  • the ghostly pale form
  • the new mother-to-be

top

Night Court

  • the tall man
  • the suave man
  • the tall, good-looking man
  • the Prosecutor
  • the debonair people's representative

top

Popslash

  • the brunette
  • the blonde
  • the younger one
  • his newly-found boyfriend
  • the curly-haired blonde
  • the Italian
  • the second youngest of the band
  • the Mississippian
  • the eighteen year old pregnant boy
  • the lissome young popstar

top

Professionals

  • the ex-merc
  • the ex-soldier
  • the dark-haired man
  • the blue-eyed man
  • the ex-cop[per]
  • the curly-haired man
  • the green-eyed man

top

The Sentinel

  • the guide
  • the Guide
  • the kid
  • the younger man
  • the smaller man
  • the determined young man
  • the anthropologist
  • the curly-haired anthropologist
  • the easily aroused anthropologist
  • the grad student
  • The graduate student, police observer, and anthropologist
  • the young detective (Blair)
  • the good doctor (Blair)
  • the police observer
  • the sentinel
  • the Sentinel
  • the older man
  • the bigger man
  • the younger Ellison
  • the detective
  • the older detective
  • the still, pale senior detective
  • the cop
  • the big cop
  • the determined cop
  • the balding man
  • the distraught man
  • the pale man
   
  • the big African-American captain
  • the large African-American captain
  • his friend and captain
  • the Cascade PD captain
  • the PD captain
  • the diminutive Asian housekeeper
  • the Ellison Chinese housekeeper
  • the tiny woman (Sally)

 

  • the tall brunette (Megan)
  • the elder Ellison (William)
  • the retired businessman (William)
  • the younger and smaller detective (Rafe)
  • the other detective
  • the taller man

top

Smallville

  • the bald billionaire
  • the bald young man
  • the teen
  • the alien teen
  • the blonde girl
  • the blonde reporter
  • the farmer
  • the tall farmer
  • the blond (or blonde, ugh) farmer
  • the red-headed woman

top

Stargate SG-1

  • the archaeologist
  • the linguist
  • the colonel
  • the USAF officer
  • the grey-haired (man, colonel, USAF officer)
  • the Jaffa
  • the major
  • the older Tau'ri
  • the strapping young airman
  • the Tau'ri
  • the resident astrophysicist

top

Weiss Kreuz

  • the telekinetic
  • the former Weiss assassin
  • the former Schwartz assassin
  • the young Kritiker leader
  • the cerulean-eyed man
  • the Irishman
  • the Irish assassin
  • the Weiss redhead
  • the Japanese ex-Kritiker agent
  • the telepath
  • both the natural redheads
  • the younger psion
  • the malefici bitch
  • the violet-eyed man
  • the German
  • the fair-skinned assassin
  • the red-haired German
  • the blond Kritiker agent
  • the American
  • the man known as Oracle in Este
  • the red-haired Weiss kitten
  • the pale teen
  • the rust-haired man
  • the wine-haired Abyssinian

top

West Wing

  • the former Labor Secretary
 

top

X-Files

  • the FBI agent
  • the AD
  • the Assistant Director
  • The tall older boy (Mulder)
  • the blood-stained redhead
  • the red-headed agent
  • the handsome, flushed Deputy
  • the big man
  • the bald man
  • the new 47-year-old (Skinner)
  • the old fuddy-duddy (Skinner)
  • the one-armed man
  • the double agent
  • the green-eyed agent

~ fin ~

Feedback of any sort, from one line to detailed crit, is always welcome, at arduinna at trickster dot org.

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