Chekhov's Gun

I learned about a new term today, thanks to one of the many book blogs I follow.  I can't remember which one it was, but I guess it is a well known term, because I found the meaning in Wikipedia, as described:

Chekhov's gun is a literary technique whereby an element is introduced early in the story, but its significance does not become clear until later in the narrative. The concept is named after Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, who mentioned several variants of the concept in letters. Chekhov himself makes use of this principle in Uncle Vanya, in which a pistol is introduced early on as a seemingly irrelevant prop and, towards the end of the play, becomes much more important as Uncle Vanya, in a rage, grabs it and tries to commit homicide.
The phrase "Chekhov's gun" is often interpreted as a method of foreshadowing, but the concept can also be interpreted as meaning "do not include any unnecessary elements in a story." Failure to observe the rule of "Chekhov's gun" may be cited by critics when discussing plot holes.

This phrase exactly describes another of my reading pet peeves, when the author describes too much detail that doesn't even apply to the theme of the story.  I never had a term for it, I just knew it bothered me.  I really don't care about the color of the neighbor's house if the character never interacts with said neighbor.  I have issues hearing all about the doll the character received as a child when their problems are not caused by any childhood trauma.  I'm suprised I never heard this term during any of my college lit classes (especially Dr. Basile's, he was the typical English prof with the tweed jacket with patched elbows, and the big furry beard). 

I love reading something and just thinking that is exactly right!  I also love when I can discover a very intelligent sounding term for one of my pet peeves.