History Main / AccidentalProposal

* ''Literature/{{Gate}}'':
** An offered handshake is seen as a proposal by citizens of the empire, leading to some amusing moments during the peace negotiations.
** In some cultures sleeping in the same room of the opposite sex for three days is seen as this, as Lelei claims she is now engaged to Itami.

* In ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', Princess Melty appoints Naofumi archduke as payback for teasing her, hoping he will be buried in legal work like her. It isn't until later that she learns the title is reserved for the future king, and that Naofumi is now bound by law to marry her. By then its too late do undo it however.

[[/folder: Web Original]]

* ''Comicbook/DetectiveComics'' Annual #7 is an {{Elseworld}} featuring a 17th century privateer version of Batman, Captain Leatherwing. After rescuing some Cayman Islanders from Spanish slavers and providing TheChiefsDaughter with a dress, he has what he thinks is a simple exchange of gifts with her father. His first mate, Alfredo, has to tell him that this is a wedding ceremony.

* Done by James in ''Series/BigTimeRush''. Apparently giving a rose to a princess is a marriage proposal in some foreign countries.

->"''I made some cocoa and got engaged.''"

Any situation in which a character carries out an action which is misinterpreted as a wedding proposal by another character. Typically, the latter character accepts, much to the former character's horror. Hilarity ensues.

* ''FanFic/SixBridesForTwoSisters'': It is revealed that Princess Celestia offered to officiate Twilight’s wedding back when Twilight was still a filly under her tutelage. Due to a poor choice of wording on Celestia’s part, Twilight has been living under the assumption that Celestia intends to marry her when Twilight decides she is ready. Celestia herself is quite stunned when she realizes that ''everyone'', including Twilight, thought it was a proposal.

** In “The Goons,” the dumbest people in town race across the park while blindfolded. During the race, Richard accidentally picks up [[ButtMonkey Larry]] while he’s trying to propose to his girlfriend. As a result Larry ends up [[HoYay proposing to]] ''[[HoYay him]]'' [[HoYay instead]]. Instead of confusion, [[TheDitz Richard]] is overwhelmed, saying that it’s all happening so fast.

* ComicBook/{{Kathy}}: In issue #18's "Wedding Belles", Kathy's looking at a bridal wear shop window when Rick tells her he'll have a very important question for her that evening. She immediately assumes he's about to propose and, after he leaves, starts trying on dresses and preparing. [[spoiler:Rick actually wants Kathy's opinion on the way he's customised his car's fenders and grill]].

-->-- '''The First Doctor''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E6TheAztecs "The Aztecs"]]

* In ''Literature/{{Gate}}''

* In an [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie Comic]], in one of the Xmas issues, Moose shows Jughead a jewellery store window with a birthstone ring. He then asks Jughead to find out from his girlfriend, Midge, if she'd like that ring for Christmas. So later, Jug casually asks Midge if she would like the ring in the store window. Midge kisses Jughead and runs off in ultimate excitement. Turns out the jeweller had since placed a diamond engagement ring in the birthstone's spot. Since Moose was normally so jealous that he was known to hospitalize other guys for merely ''talking'' to Midge, Jughead was now seriously in deep doo-doo.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* In Creator/TimBurton's ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'', Victor (Creator/JohnnyDepp) is practicing his wedding vows in the forest, having fouled them up at the earlier rehearsal. When he manages to do it correctly, he slips the ring onto what he assumes is a twig sticking up from the ground. Instead, it's the hand of the titular Corpse Bride, Emily (Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter), who accepts his "proposal".

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Leap Year|1921}}'': Poor Stanley does this three times in rapid succession on Catalina, gaining three unwanted fiancées. He kind of brings it on himself, like when he tells Molly "what you need is a husband" after Molly has a breakup with her boyfriend.
* In the Creator/AbbottAndCostello film ''Ride 'Em Cowboy'', Willoughby (Lou) accidentally shoots an arrow into an Indian maiden's teepee. Tribal custom says this is a proposal of marriage and Lou and Bud spend much of the rest of the film running away from the bride-to-be and her tribe.

* When "Mrs. Davis Reads Tea Leaves", due to Mrs. Davis' fortunetelling and some ExactEavesdropping, ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'' thinks that Mr. Boynton is going to propose marriage and they start their life of wedded bliss at the old honeymoon cottage outside town. Unfortunately, he's really proposing they start a summer camp together at the old honeymoon cottage outside town.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E6TheAztecs "The Aztecs"]]: The Doctor accidentally gets engaged to Cameca by making her an offer that in her culture is a euphemistic marriage proposal. He apparently feels so badly about disappointing and leaving her that his libido goes AWOL for the next five or six centuries.
** He kinda-sorta proposes to River, ''twice''. The [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang first time]] he was asking whether she was married, [[spoiler:which she is, to him,]] and she just ran with it to mess up with him. The [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler second time]], she had been shot [[spoiler:and he didn't know it was her]]. He tells her "survive, and I'll marry you". [[spoiler:She regenerates.]]
** [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]]: The Doctor proposes to [[spoiler:Queen Elizabeth I]] believing her to be a Zygon. She wasn't, and she accepts. He ends up marrying her, promising to be right back... and running off. That's why she wants his head on a pike.

* On ''Series/MagnumPI'', Higgins breaks the news of his impending marriage to another women to his Gal Pal Agatha and does it so awkwardly she thinks he's proposing and accepts! Higgins then has the fun of disillusioning her, and later of confessing that he doesn't want to marry the first woman at all and asking Agatha's advice. Somehow their friendship survives.

* In the seventh ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' film, Wolffy, while trapped in the prehistoric age and stuck in Paddi's body, hits one of the prehistoric goats with a stick in an attempt to stun it. The goat he hits is a female named Miss Lotus, and unfortunately for Wolffy, hitting another goat with a stick is the prehistoric goats' way of showing their affection for each other and gets him engaged with Miss Lotus.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'', [[spoiler:Suletta gets one of these with Miorine when she and her Gundam Aerial get involved in a duel against Guel and his Dilanza. According to the school's rules, the top duelist is Miorine's fiance. By beating Guel, Suletta immediately became the school's top duelist, the two are now in a relationship, even despite poor Suletta trying to dissuade it by pointing out she's a girl.]]

* This trope kicks off the plot of ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. During a competition to determine the fate of the Earth, Ataru's girlfriend promises to marry him if he wins. After defeating his female alien competitor Lum, he says how glad he is that he can get married. Lum thinks he's talking about marrying her, falls in love with him and accepts his "proposal". [[spoiler:It's later hinted Lum knew perfectly Ataru wasn't actually proposing and "accepted" his love so she could have an excuse to get rid of her extremely annoying ex, only to fall for Ataru for real when he threw away the perfect chance to force her to get back with her ex after seeing how stupid he was and how desperate to get away she was]].

* In ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'', Kazuma unknowingly proposes to Iris thrice - first when he accidentally steals her ring, which she will give to whoever marries her; then when he promises to defeat the Demon Lord, as it is a tradition for the hero to marry the princess as a reward for defeating the Demon Lord; and finally when he gives her a ring to replace the one he stole, in effect exchanging rings with her.
* In ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'', [[{{Tsundere}} Wolfram]] badmouths [[UnluckyEverydude Yuuri's]] mom, and Yuuri gets mad. Instead of punching Wolfram, Yuuri [[BitchSlap slaps him]] across the left cheek (apparently, Wolfram is too much of a {{Bishounen}} to punch). What Yuuri doesn't know is that slapping someone across the left cheek is how at least the noble classes propose marriage in Shin Makokou. When he finds out, Yuuri is horrified, but Wolfram (and darn near all the other characters too) takes the engagement ''very'' seriously.

Any situation in which a character carries out an action which is misinterpreted as a wedding proposal by another character. Typically, the latter character accepts, much to the former character's horror. HilarityEnsues.

* In ''Manga/TheRedRangerBecomesAnAdventurerInAnotherWorld'', When Idola pricks her ring finger on a cactus, Red uses his powers to produce a band-aid to keep the wound clean. He's unaware of her flustered reaction to this and thinks nothing of it until later on, where Rosie points out that in this world, few people have the funds for precious metal or jeweled bands. As such, proposals are often made with any kind of ring-shaped object... like that band-aid Red put on. He then tells Red to [[ShipperOnDeck "take responsibility" and ask for Poseidon's blessing for Idola's hand in marriage.]] Red, now thoroughly aware of the implications [[OverprotectiveDad and Poseidon's likely reaction]], tries to get Idola to take it off already, only for her to ''preserve it'' with magic so she can wear it like an actual ring.

* In ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'', [[{{Tsundere}} Wolfram]] badmouths [[UnluckyEverydude Yuuri's]] mom, and Yuuri gets mad. Instead of punching Wolfram, Yuuri [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps him]] across the left cheek (apparently, Wolfram is too much of a {{Bishounen}} to punch). What Yuuri doesn't know is that slapping someone across the left cheek is how at least the noble classes propose marriage in Shin Makokou. When he finds out, Yuuri is horrified, but Wolfram (and darn near all the other characters too) takes the engagement ''very'' seriously.

* This trope kicks off the plot of ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. During a competition to determine the fate of the Earth, Ataru's girlfriend promises to marry him if he wins. After defeating his female alien competitor Lum, he says how glad he is that he can get married. Lum thinks he's talking about marrying her, falls in love with him and accepts his "proposal".

* In ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'', [[{{Tsundere}} Wolfram]] badmouths [[UnluckyEverydude Yuuri's]] mom, and Yuuri gets mad. Instead of punching Wolfram, Yuuri [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps him]] across the left cheek (apparently, Wolfram is too much of a {{Bishounen}} to punch). What Yuuri doesn't know is that slapping someone across the left cheek is how at least the noble classes propose marriage in Shin Makokou. When he finds out, Yuuri is horrified, but Wolfram (and darn near all the other characters too) takes the engagement ''very'' seriously.

* In ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', Princess Melty appoints Naofumi archduke as payback for teasing her, hoping he will be buried in legal work like her. It isn't until later that she learns the title is reserved for the future king, and that Naofumi is now bound by law to marry her. By then its too late do undo it however.