Two characters unnaturally explain backstory or world details to each other in conversation, like servants gossiping about their employer's life.
Maid and butler dialogue is a specific type of exposition dump where two characters discuss background information, world rules, or backstory in a way that serves the reader but doesn't make sense for the characters themselves. The name comes from the old theatrical convention of opening a play with servants talking about their master's affairs to set the scene. The characters become exposition delivery devices rather than people with their own reasons to speak.
This is one of the most common traps in early drafts, especially in fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction where you've built a rich world and desperately want readers to understand it. Spotting maid-and-butler dialogue in your work is a sign you need to find organic ways to let your world reveal itself through conflict and action rather than through characters lecturing each other.
Wilde deliberately parodies this convention - his opening scene between Algernon and his manservant Lane is a playful nod to the theatrical tradition of using servants to set the stage.
Tolkien largely avoids this trap by using hobbits as genuine outsiders who need things explained. When Gandalf explains history, Frodo actually doesn't know it.
The Trade Federation scenes feature characters explaining trade disputes and political maneuvers to each other in ways that feel more like briefings for the audience than natural conversation.
Two characters arguing about exposition is still exposition. "You fool, the Dark Crystal powers the entire kingdom!" "No, it only powers the eastern provinces!" That's still a lecture wearing an argument costume.
Instead of characters narrating where they are and what's happening, drop readers into action and let setting details emerge through what characters notice, bump into, and react to.
Contemporary fiction has its own version: characters explaining family dynamics, workplace politics, or relationship history to people who were there. It happens in every genre.
Write a scene where two characters who've lived in a fantasy world their whole lives discuss an upcoming festival. First, write it as pure maid-and-butler dialogue where they explain everything about the festival to each other. Then rewrite it so their conversation reveals world details through disagreements, personal stakes, and emotional reactions. Compare the two versions and notice how much more alive the second one feels.