Common Metaphors

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In Kingdom of Loathing, Jick and company have used certain metaphors and actions to help clue the player as to an effect that might be in place. Below lists the more commonly used ones.

Anger and annoyance

Monster Level. Many skills and items that increase monster level will include messages about making monsters upset.

Animal sympathy

Familiar Weight. Do you love animals? So does Brother Corsican! A few items and effects describe you as being more in touch with the animal kingdom, an indication something will affect familiar stat gains or weight.

Awareness

With improved reflexes, it's easier to get the first strike. Being either attentive or hyperactive will increase your Combat Initiative. The opposite also holds true, as with mother's little helper.

Carbonation

MP regeneration. Originated with the choice to make soda water an MP regeneration item, and has extended to sham champagne, carbonated water lily, and almost any soft drink in the kingdom.

Colors

Elemental damage, particularly red, blue, black or gray, purple, and green. Some items reduce the intensity of colors, and thus damage, while others increase it. Which can be good or bad.... Likewise Prismatic Damage is often indicated by rainbows or multi-colored paint.

Red often stands for Muscle, and blue for Mysticality. This corresponds with the common association of red with HP and blue with MP in other games. Green and possibly yellow can stand for Moxie. Examples are Take the Red Pill/Take the Blue Pill and red/blue/green LavaCo lamps.

Competition and rage

Extra PvP Fights. Things that would be associated with competitiveness, like energy drinks, or otherwise cause the player themselves to feel angry or generally pissed off will most likely increase the amount of PvP fights from rollover.

Dancing

Item drop bonus. The Baby Gravy Fairy danced when it found items, and that has been extended to other familiars and effects. The choice of dancing appears to have been an arbitrary one, however.

Dazed and confused

Deleveling. Less a metaphor, and more likely just an accurate description of deleveling. Sometimes will be described as "leaving the monster visibly shaken".

Electricity

MP. Particularly in the form of static electricity, for restoration, but also in other forms for draining, such as in Fernswarthy's Basement.

Focus

Critical Spell Chance/Critical Hit Chance. Staring at enemies hard makes it easier to pick out their weak spots. Examples are Wizard Squint, Sauce Monocle, Violent Gaze.

Oiliness

Resistance to all elements, as seen in Oilsphere, celestial olive oil, Oil of Parrrlay, and pec oil. This likely relates to the use of colors to indicate elements, because a sheen of oil on water creates rainbow-like iridescent colors.

Oil also indicates the element Sleaze, which is themed around both sexual innuendo and physical greasiness.

Seeing clearly

Item drop bonus. Mostly used with eyedrops, as there are four types in the game that boost item drops. In addition, some effects which cloud your vision can lower item drops. Note that this contrasts winking being a meat drop booster.

Smelliness

Combat frequency. This refers to how smelly you are, instead of how well you smell other things. Many monsters in the kingdom hunt by scent, and making yourself smellier will usually increase the combat frequency.

Smelling

Meat bonus. Inhalers and almost anything affecting your sense of smell will affect how much meat drops. (Flared Nostrils and On the Trail are exceptions.)

Smiling

Stat gain bonus. The smile first originated with the bloody face on the Volleyball familiar, a reference to Wilson from the movie Cast Away.

Winking

Meat bonus. Any familiar that winks or item that makes the player start winking will likely increase the amount of meat dropped. This originated with the first meat-drop familiar, the Leprechaun.