doylist
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
From a real-world perspective; of or relating to an explanation outside the text; external to the narrative.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
I would accept that many of them behave like humans born on earth would, but that must be an artefact of poor translation or our poor understanding of their motives and objectives [Watsonian] or lack of vision on the writers part [Doylist - to borrow some terms from the Bujold mailing list - think '
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “doylist” mean?
From a real-world perspective; of or relating to an explanation outside the text; external to the narrative.
Is “doylist” formal or informal?
doylist is generally slang.