🛣️ A highway 🧑‍🎤 A copy character

expy

1 9.9

A character or work clearly based on one from another story

noun
/ˈɛkspi/

Jargon

: expy

The villain in the new movie is an obvious expy of a classic comic book character.

Examples

Writers sometimes create an expy to pay tribute to their favorite stories.
The character in the novel is a clear expy of a famous historical figure.
Fans debated whether the protagonist was just an expy of the author's earlier hero.
Many fans recognized the expy of their favorite superhero in the movie.
In the film 'The New Adventure', the main character is an expy of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a similar hat and investigative skills.
The politician's speech was filled with references to an expy of a famous historical leader, aiming to inspire the audience.
The video game features an expy of a well-known superhero, complete with a similar costume and powers.

Synonyms

example

vsexpy

269 1.0

A person or thing to copy because they do something good

is used to represent a particular element from a different work not to imitate

exemplar

vsexpy

13 7.2

A person or thing that shows very good behavior for others to copy

is a representational stand-in modeled to match a character or element

simulacrum

vsexpy

Formal

4 9.9

Something that looks like the real thing but is not

is a clear, intentional model that stands in for another work

Antonyms

original

∞ 2.8

Not a copy and existing as the first form

How Similar

clone

28 5.5

expy

Jargon

1 9.9

pastiche

Literature

5 8.6

to homage

3 7.5

inspiration

2 3.4

Surface Forms

expy singular

expies plural

Etymology

Expy is a slang short form of the word example. A helpful way to remember it is to think of an 'example' character who stands in for or copies another character, so an expy is a clear copy or tribute to someone from a different story.