There are some variables that should just not be declared in hook_theme() or they run the risk of conflicting with attributes used by drupal_render() and/or the FAPI.
Examples:
type
theme
theme_wrappers
markup
prefix
suffix
pre_render
post_render
children
states
attached
cache
printed
This should all be clearly documented in the docblock for hook_theme as many themers would be unaware of all the items in the full list.