| rdfs:comment | - Some mythological creatures are more famous than others, but a few are so famous that their entire species has been named after them in the popular consciousness, in a kind of mythological malapropism -- or, alternatively, a singular creature proposed as a unique aberration is adopted by other stories as if it were a species. The ancient phrase for this trope is sui generis, roughly "a thing that defines its own category". For instance, someone encountering a creature for the first time may Call a Pegasus a Hippogriff. Trope name is a reversal of "one of a kind".
|
| abstract | - Some mythological creatures are more famous than others, but a few are so famous that their entire species has been named after them in the popular consciousness, in a kind of mythological malapropism -- or, alternatively, a singular creature proposed as a unique aberration is adopted by other stories as if it were a species. The ancient phrase for this trope is sui generis, roughly "a thing that defines its own category". Related but distinct from Single Specimen Species, since the original creature may have less-famous forgotten relatives, or the original creature might have been solitary and then turned into a race by later authors. Either way, there's not just one anymore. However, A Kind of One may be portrayed as a Single Specimen Species in each subsequent work, following the original; in which case it may be a case of Call a Smeerp a Rabbit since the characters have never seen it before, but the readers have. For instance, someone encountering a creature for the first time may Call a Pegasus a Hippogriff. Trope name is a reversal of "one of a kind". See also Trope Namer, Ur Example, Public Domain Character. Examples of A Kind of One include:
|
