History Main / EmbarrassingTattoo

* Corporal Nobbs's tattoo in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' says "WUM". The tattooist didn't notice Nobby was upside-down because he was drunk as well. It's not a proper tattoo if ''anyone'' can remember how it got there.

* The heroine of ''Mr. Meeson's Will'' by Creator/HRiderHaggard has the eponymous will [[HumanNotepad tattooed on her back]] after she and Meeson are stranded on a desert island with no writing materials. At the end of the novel, her new husband comments on what an immense sacrifice this was for a young Victorian lady, as it meant she could never be presented at court where she as she would have to wear an off-the-shoulder gown.

* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl meets a BikerBabe with a lower-back tattoo reading "Wanna Ride?" He takes her home...and discovers that far from being a badass BikerBabe, she was a cutesy, naive girl with a room full of stuffed animals, and a love of the outdoors and papier-mache, none of which Earl was into. And far from being promiscuous or sexually adventurous, like her tattoo would suggest, it turned out that before she hooked up with Earl, she was a virgin. Earl was confused, and the girl noted that her temporary tattoo (the one that had caught Earl's attention) had rubbed off on his forearm.

-->-- ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''

* PlayedForDrama in the ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HerFracturedSpirit''. Callie can't figure out how to get rid of the [[spoiler:octopus]]-shaped hip tattoo that was given to her [[spoiler:while she was BrainwashedAndCrazy by Octarians]]. Inklings should be able to make tattoos go away, however, Callie's tattoo won't disappear permanently. She has to actively focus on keeping it away.

** When Nami was working for Arlong against her will, she had been forced to wear the tattoo of his crew on her arm. She did some serious damage wearing it, causing Luffy's most common BerserkButton to be hit and [[LetsGetDangerous an ass-kicking to ensue]]. She since changed it to a pinwheel, which has a much more positive connotation for her.

* ''Webcomic/FullFrontalNerdity'': According to one strip, Lewis has a map to the Safe House bar in Milwaukee tattooed on his butt.

* In ''Welcome Home: Travels In Smalltown Canada'', Stuart McLean visits a boxing club in New Brunswick and one of the boxers is an ex-convict with a crossed-out tattoo on his shoulder. McLean asks what the tattoo used to say, but the guy politely replies that it was a mistake from his past and that he prefers not to discuss it.

A comedy trope where a character [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin has an embarrassing tattoo]]. It might be shoddily done, misspelled, or show the name of a former romantic partner. It might be written in a language the wearer doesn't understand (or even read) and thus [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels not mean what they think it does]]. It might be part of a trend that has been CondemnedByHistory. It might represent a gang or hate group, or otherwise not reflect the wearer's current beliefs or lifestyle. It might be a design or symbol from a [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy culture the wearer has little or no relevant connection to]]. It might be warped due to age, weight changes, pregnancy, or infection. It may have been the work of an amateur artist. It might be the location of the tattoo that is embarrassing (e.g.: on the buttocks or near the genitals). It might also be the result of [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb teenage whim]]; even if the person was legally an adult at the time, what looks cool at 19 can ''easily'' become embarrassing by 30. Bonus points, or perhaps a FacePalm (depending on the perspective), if AlcoholInducedIdiocy is a factor, regardless of whether it's the one doing or getting the tattoo.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In Francesca Lia Block's ''Literature/IWasATeenageFairy'', the heroine's love interest is discovered to have the names of not one but three former girlfriends tattooed on his chest. [[spoiler: Near the end, it's revealed he had them reworked into a tattoo of the heroine's name.]]
* In ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'', [[spoiler:Lisbeth Salander gets revenge on the guardian who brutally raped her]] by forcibly, painfully, and very badly tattooing him with [[spoiler:the words "I am a sexist pig, a pervert and a rapist." She prevents him from getting it removed, and he still has it when he dies.]]

* One ''Series/WhitestKidsUKnow'' sketch shows an inebriated character in the process of coming up with one of these. The end result is: [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser]] wearing shades, whaling on a double-necked guitar, on a surfboard, in front of a huge pot leaf, in front of a cross, with "Happy Birthday Rick" written above it. It was never shown on the show, but it is on the Internet, and [[http://www.geekologie.com/2008/03/24/questionable-bowser-tattoo.jpg and there are no words to explain how much this guy is going to hate himself in twenty years.]]

* In the 1955 Creator/JohnWayne movie ''The Sea Chase'', a sailor from a German vessel meets some British sailors in a neutral port during World War II, and to show there's no hard feelings they take him out drinking. [[WhatDidIDoLastNight He wakes up]] with a huge Union Jack tattooed on his back with the words BRITTANIA RULES THE WAVES.

* In the 1955 Creator/JohnWayne movie ''The Sea Chase'', a sailor from a German vessel meets some British sailors in a neutral port during World War II, and to show there's no hard feelings they take him out drinking. [[WhatDidIDoLastNight He wakes up]] with a huge tattoo on his back saying ENGLAND RULES THE WAVES.

* In ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', Russell Huxtable was revealed to once had a tattoo done on his chest for Anna. Unfortunately, he had a cold at the time, so it was spelled "Adda" -- which happened to be the name Anna's chief rival. He had that removed, but it left a scar on his chest.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': In "Be True To Your Fool", [[LiceEpisode Hank shaves his head due to a sudden onset of lice]] and discovers he had Bill's name tattooed on the back of his head, as a result of a drunken night and a well-timed rescue by Bill. Since Hank was too drunk to remember, [[SecretKeeper Boomhauer was the only one who knew of it as he was with Hank into the tattoo shop]] (he was going to have it tattooed ''across his chest'' before Boomhauer talked the artist into putting it somewhere more discreet). In a slight subversion, when he discovered the tattoo, he immediately had it removed, but later had it put back on in order to help Bill out of a funk.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': In "Be True To Your Fool", [[LiceEpisode Hank shaves his head due to a sudden onset of lice]] and discovers he had Bill's name tattooed on the back of his head, as result of a drunken night and a well-timed rescue by Bill. Since Hank was too drunk to remember, [[SecretKeeper Boomhauer was the only one who knew of it as he with Hank into the tattoo shop]] (he was going to have it tattooed ''across his chest'' before Boomhauer talked the artist into putting it somewhere more discreet). In a slight subversion, when he discovered the tattoo, he immediately had it removed, but later had it put back on in order to help Bill out of a funk.

* Hank in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' had "Bill" tattooed on the back of his head, as result of a drunken night and a well-timed rescue by Bill. In a slight subversion, when he discovered the tattoo, he immediately had it removed, but later had it put back on in order to help Bill out of a funk.

* It was a plot in an episode of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' when Jefferson got a tattoo on his butt for his wife Marcy -- but since the tattoo artist was plastered, it ended up spelled "Mary". Jefferson tried to get it changed, and [[spoiler:he did...to "Marty".]]

* In Music/{{Eminem}}'s "Puke", he complains about how he got his ex-wife's name tattooed on him (in real life, this is a little heart on his inner left bicep, incorporated into his Slim Shady/Uncle Ronnie Detroit shroom tattoo). Now if he gets another girlfriend, her name has to be Kim. ("''Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it''").

* The [[HumongousMecha Vox]] pilots in ''Anime/RinneNoLagrange'' use marks called Memoria to interact with their mecha. Some of them though are in questionable places, to say the least: Madoka's is on her butt, Lan's is somewhere on her breasts, and Muginami's is just above her crotch. It's further implied that these are created based on where the Vox touches them.

* An old ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' strip has Opus exchanging personal scandals with his fiancée Lola. She tells him she has two, and that the first one is a tattoo of Dan Fogelberg. He flips out over this, then calms down enough to ask where it is. "That's the other scandal," she replies.

->'''Sheldon''': Why do you have the Chinese character for "soup" tattooed on your right buttock?
->'''Penny''': It's not "soup", it's "courage".
->'''Sheldon''': No, it isn't. But I suppose it does take courage to demonstrate that kind of commitment to soup.

* An Australian ad for "0800 Reverse" (a service that lets you make reverse charge calls from your mobile) had a teenage girl showing off a tattoo on her lower back to her friends. She explains that her mother helped her choose the design and her jealous friends wish that they had a 'cool' mother like that. However, when she looks at the tattoo in the mirror, she realises that what appeared to be an abstract design actually read "0800 Reverse" when reflected.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* From ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':

* From ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Portgas D. Ace has his name tattooed on his arm, except it's written "ASCE" with the "S" crossed out. One would presume the artist couldn't spell, but the "S" [[spoiler:is actually a tribute to his thought to be dead brother Sabo (whose Jolly Roger was a crossed out S)]].

* A major plot point in ''{{Anime/Photon}}'' is that the eponymous character and the female lead both have the same tattoo [[FaceDoodling written on their foreheads]] in ''magic'' magic marker, so it's totally permanent. Having matching drawings like this is [[AccidentalMarriage akin to a marriage proposal]]. The embarrassing part is that the tattoo reads ''UsefulNotes/{{Baka}}'' -- Japanese for "idiot".
* At one point in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Ryouga becomes invincible thanks to a tattoo of a war god on his stomach. Since the god happens to look like a cutesy smiley face, he begs Ranma to defeat him to make it disappear.
** There's also the more serious problem that the mark persists even in his animal form, which means that he runs the risk of Akane discovering his curse. This is a problem since, in his pig form, he's been posing as Akane's pet P-chan, and sleeping in her bed. If she were to find out, she would likely not be happy about it.

--> "I have a friend who got drunk and got a tattoo in Mandarin; he thought it said "Golden Warrior" until a Chinese friend said, "No, it says 'ass monkey'." And then he did it again, this time in Sanskrit; he thought it said "Dawn of Enlightenment" until an Indian friend said, "No, it says 'deliveries on Tuesday'." So he is The Ass Monkey Who Delivers On Tuesday for the rest of his life."
* The oft-repeated urban legend of a punk-rocker girl or woman coming to some hospital's emergency department with complaints of severe abdominal pain. She is diagnosed with appendicitis and scheduled for emergency surgery. While she is being prepped [[note]] Which includes shaving off her pubic hair. [[/note]], it's discovered that she has dyed her pubic hair bright green, and has a tattoo just above her pubic region that reads, "Keep off the grass." She has the surgery, and wakes up to find a note on her bandages from the surgeon or one of the OR nurses that reads, "Sorry, we had to mow the lawn."

** To dissuade Jeremy from getting a tattoo Walt reveals that he got one on his butt during his days in the Peace Corps. He remarks on how tattoos grow along with you and Connie agrees, commenting that "That peace symbol is now the size of a stop sign".

* PlayedForDrama in the ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HerFracturedSpirit''. Callie can't figure out how to get rid of the [[spoiler:octopus]]-shaped hip tattoo that was given to her [[spoiler:while she was BrainwashedAndCrazy by Octarians]]. Inklings should be able to make tattoos go away, however, Callie's tattoo won't go disappear permanently. She has to actively focus on keeping it away.
* Not exactly tattoos, but close: in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', to punish four ninjas for attacking them in their hotel room, John uses the dye from their outfits to imprint the words [[SharePhrase “DONT FUCK WITH 9000S”]] on them. Then he and Ringo hang them, naked, on the illuminated side of the hotel and don't let them down until dawn.
* ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'': a tattoo on Draco's arm reveals that he is bisexual.
* ''Fanfic/PsalmOfTheLark'': Barbara has an embarrassing old tattoo of a robin that she'd prefer to hide. It's related to her ex-boyfriend Dick (AKA, the first Robin).

* In ''Film/GoldenEye'', Film/JamesBond forces Jack Wade to show a rose tattoo with the name "Muffy" ("Third wife") on his hip as part of their TrustPassword.

* Deputy Clementine Johnson in the ''Series/{{Reno 911}}'' movie gets a tattoo of somebody's face after a drunken night of lovemaking. She spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out who it is. It's [[spoiler: Deputy Garcia]].
* James from ''Film/Snatched2017'' once wanted to get a tattoo that symbolized the quote "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore," but he was so drunk that instead he got a tattoo of Borat giving the thumbs-up with the caption "My wife." He keeps it covered with a patch. When he shows it to Emily, Emily shows him a raised tattoo of an unrecognizable symbol she got on her lower back when she was eighteen.
* She does not survive long enough for it to become embarrassing, but Angie has the word 'WHORE' tattooed on her forehead by Jack as punishment for her infidelity in ''Film/SnuffMovie''.
* The con-artist protagonist of the western/comedy film ''[[Film/SupportYourLocalSheriff Support Your Local Gunfighter]]'' has an enormous and embarrassing tattoo on his chest which honors his ditched fiancee. It finally gets burnt off in an explosion, allowing him to marry the LoveInterest.

* In the 1955 Creator/JohnWayne movie ''The Sea Chase'', a sailor from a German vessel meets some British sailors in a neutral port during World War 2, and to show there's no hard feelings they take him out drinking. [[WhatDidIDoLastNight He wakes up]] with a huge tattoo on his back saying ENGLAND RULES THE WAVES.

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, the Death Eaters have the "Dark Mark" tattooed on them as a symbol of their membership. Former Death Eaters like Snape and Karkaroff consider them shameful, given some of their exchanges in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet Of Fire]]''. Also, in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Ginny spreads a rumor about Ron having a pygmy puff tattoo, "but I didn't say where" (and of Harry having a [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Hungarian Horntail]] on his chest, but that's [[GarnishingTheStory another trope]]).

* In ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'', [[spoiler:Lisbeth Salander gets revenge on the guardian who brutally raped her]] by forcibly, painfuly, and very badly tattooing him with [[spoiler:the words "I am a sexist pig, a pervert and a rapist. She prevents him from getting it removed, and he still has it when he dies.]]

* In ''{{Literature/Papillon}}'', the Masked Breton has a cockroach tattooed on his face. As he tells Papillon and the other escapees, he foolishly got it in prison to look tough, but after escaping, he realized that it made him very easy to identify and would make a normal life almost impossible for him.

* A semi-humorous example is the forehead tattoo of the badass mercenary Raven in ''Literature/SnowCrash'', which reads "Poor Impulse Control". What makes this one less amusing is that it was given as a judicial punishment rather than a personal choice. There's also the drunken hick that the half African-American, half-Korean Hiro encounters who has "RACIALLY INSENSITIVE" and "MOOD SWINGS" tattooed on his forehead - although in that case, the hick seems to think those are things to be proud of. [[OffWithHisHead Briefly.]]

* One of the stories of ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' has Calvin's dad getting him a tattoo for his birthday. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mrs. Jewls]] advises him [[DiscussedTrope not to get something he thinks is cool now but will regret later, but rather something he will appreciate for the rest of his life]]. [[spoiler: He gets a potato on his ankle. Everybody mocks him for it, but he likes it.]]

* Grade schooler Little Pete in ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' had a tattoo of a lounging Spanish woman that he called "Petunia" and was later revealed to have another of a sailing ship. He's not embarrassed, but his mother was, and she always tried to make him cover them up.
* In the Tru TV show ''Series/AllWorkedUp.'' Byran, the process server, winds up having to serve a tattoo artist who tattooed the plaintiff with Japanese kanji that turned out to be a ForeignCussWord.

* In the ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has a particularly embarrassing one. After breaking up with his fiancee Angela, Hodgins is horrified to find [[PapaWolf her father]], Billy Gibbons from Music/ZZTop,[[note]]Not played by Billy Gibbons, he ''is'' Billy Gibbons.[[/note]] is in town. Angela tries to talk him down, only for Hodgins to wake up in the middle of the desert, drugged, with Angela's face tattooed on his arm in scary perfection with the caption "Angela Forever". Naturally, Angela is horrified ("You're ''sweating'' on me!"), but she gets over it after [[spoiler:she and Hodgins eventually make up and get married for real]]. But that didn't stop Billy from doing it again, this time with Hodgins' other arm and Billy's ''own'' face...
* An episode of ''Series/TheBoys2019'' has a woman showing off that her arm has Music/EdSheeran's face as she and a boyfriend made matching ones... and two weeks later they broke off, made her regret it deeply ("I fucking hate Ed Sheeran!").

* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' had an odd PatientOfTheWeek who was a white supremacist with an embarrassing neo-Nazi tattoo. Although he didn't want to show it, he still didn't want a non-white doctor to treat him (although he didn't want to admit that outright). Dr. Bailey, the spunky female black doctor, ended up operating on him and stitching the tattoo up into an S shape rather than a swastika.

* In ''Series/ICarly'', Freddie had to get a tattoo of Sam's face after losing a bet. [[spoiler: It was fake, but he didn't know it until it was too late.]]
* In one punishment of Series/ImpracticalJokers, Joe has Sal, Murr and Q get these. Q's is a picture of a cat and the sentence "38, lives alone, has 3 cats." Q jokes that he's not going to be 38 forever. Murr's is a picture of a screaming, skydiving ferret, a reference to a previous episode's punishment. Sal's is a headshot of Jayden Smith. Why? It's funny.

* On ''{{Series/Justified}}'', Boyd Crowder used to run a gang of Neo-Nazis and has swastikas and other white supremacist symbols tattooed on his body. After being shot, he had a HeelFaithTurn and renounced the ideology. The tattoos are now a source of embarrassment to him, especially when he tried to ally himself with the African American community of Noble's Holler and its leader Limehouse.

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo":
-->'''Dean:''' Do you have any tattoos? Give him a little sneak peek there. All tattoos are sexy.
-->'''Charlie:''' Mine is Princess Leia in a slave bikini straddling a 20-sided die.
-->'''Dean:''' ...
-->'''Charlie:''' I was [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy drunk]], it was Comic-Con.
-->'''Dean:''' [[NoodleIncident We've all been there]].

[[folder: Radio]]
* In ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'', Series 9, Episode 1, Russ has a tattoo of a crocodile's lower jaw. He has an explanation in place that it represents the fact you can hold a crocodile's jaws closed, but not open, symbolising that strength depends on application, but it's actually because he asked the tatooist for the narrowest animal she had, then backed out altogether when she'd just started.

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': During the side mission "Chippin' In", when [[PlayerCharacter V]] allows [[{{Deuteragonist}} Johnny]] to [[WillingChanneler take over their body for an evening]], Johnny can tattoo a [[spoiler:heart with a cupid's arrow and "JOHNNY + V" written inside it]] on V's right tricep.
* In ''[[VideoGame/NancyDrew Danger By Design]]'', a fashion designer who wears a mask throughout the game turns out to have been hiding a stupid-looking tattoo of an alien's face on her cheek.
* Carver, younger brother of the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' PlayerCharacter, has a tattoo of a warhound which he got when he was in the army. He claims he can make it ''bark''. [[{{Squick}} No one is interested in having his claim proven]].

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Chainsawsuit}}:'' In [[http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2015/01/19/super-bowl-regrets/ "Super Bowl Regrets"]], a guy preemptively gets a tattoo to celebrate the Green Bay Packers winning the 2015 Super Bowl--and when the Packers don't even make it to the Super Bowl, he laments that his tattoo looks stupid now. Then we see the tattoo in question, and it's a mix of bad grammar and clashing styles that would have looked stupid even if his team had won.

** Roy's father not only getting a drunk tattoo but also a "Blood Oath of Vengeance" to go with it.

* ''Webcomic/UnwindersTallComics:'' Local CloudCuckoolander Howard gets the word "Butt-Brain" on his forehead. Unwinder calls it the most tasteless tattoo he's ever seen--but mostly because it's in [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} Papyrus font.]] (It's even worse than Howard's other tattoo: "Poop-Eater", on his arm, in Comic Sans.) Since Howard is also a RealityWarper, the tattoos completely disappear after this particular page.

* Storm Blackfire, a character in the ''Jade Regent'' Actual Play podcast series from Podcast/{{RPGMP3}}, is a half-elf [[BarbarianHero barbarian]] and combat expert. At one point, she [[PowerUp acquired]] a magical [[EmbarrassingTattoo glow-in-the-dark butterfly tattoo on a certain part of her body]], which is difficult for her to conceal under her [[ChainmailBikini usual attire]]. Luckily, her magical sword [[ExposedToTheElements imbues her with cold-resistance]].
* While Paul from WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun is shaving off his beard in ''[[WebVideo/DesertBusForHope Desert Bus For Hope 2: Bus Harder]]'', someone remarks that he could have one of these under his beard. [[AvertedTrope They are soon proven wrong.]]
* While only lasting for two vlogs, Hyper Fangirl got a tattoo of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's face on her neck, creeping everyone out even more.
* The tattoo artist in [[https://notalwaysright.com/spilled-the-ink-on-that-one/154482/ this story]] from ''WebSite/NotAlwaysWorking'' assumes this to be the case for the man's name his client wants covered up. He's ''dead'' wrong: it's a memorial tattoo for her father, but she's just found out he'd actually [[FakingTheDead faked his suicide]] to go live with his other family. But since the artist mocked her, she'll go get the cover-up somewhere else.
** Also assumed of [[https://notalwaysright.com/those-customers-will-have-you-in-stitches/233319/ this person]] on sibling site ''Website/NotAlwaysHealthy''. In this case, the fresh bandage that earned a nosy onlooker's scorn was not even for a tattoo-- the wearer was healing from a punch biopsy that had to be stitched closed, and the bandage was to protect the stitches.
* In ''Literature/TalesOfMU'', Mackenzie lets Amaranth write "Nymph's Toy" on her forehead in magic marker -- as in, actual magic, meaning it can't be removed without magic (or, presumably, self-mutilation). Naturally, this happens ''right'' before they head out to the college town for the first time. Mackenzie very quickly goes from acting naturally about it (because she forgot it was there) to being mortified once she realizes ''why'' everyone is staring at her.
* WebOriginal/ZDoggMD has the "medimoji" series, which are short clips featuring CGI-animated emoji characters talking about the ups and downs of various medical jobs. The alien emoji is a radiologist, and he mentions an ultrasound tech by the name of "Bob." Although Bob is TheUnseen, it's mentioned that Bob has a lot of tattoos, and that makes some patients (particularly older patients) nervous. Especially the arm-sleeve tattoo he has that reads, "I Love {{Satan}}." (But, in the end, Bob is so good at his job, even the most anxious patients are pleased with him and don't care about the tattoos.)
* Discussed in [[https://youtu.be/I6fOoskFWsI?t=3458 an interview]], where after asking a table tennist about tattoos, the host wonders the opposite of our page quote, if in China disgruntled tattoo artists write Portuguese words (in Comic Sans!) to take advantage of clients who can't read them.

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}},'' [[EruditeStoner Trent]] has a tribal tattoo that he picked out of a magazine; he good-naturedly acknowledges that doing so was kind of dumb. In one episode when [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]] imagined herself married to him in the future, however, hypothetical older!Trent wants to get them removed because it "reminds me of how much I've wasted my life."

* Grunkle Stan of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has a tattoo on his back which is partially seen under his undershirt. It's unclear what it refers to, but Stan is bound and determined that no one sees it, especially his inquisitive nephew Dipper, as said nephew found out on "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained". Later, in "A Tale of Two Stans" we find out that [[spoiler: it's not a tattoo at all, but rather a burn mark Stan got when fighting with his twin brother 30 years ago]].
** In ''Literature/GravityFallsJournal3'', fitting this trope markedly more than Stan's tattoo, it is revealed that [[spoiler: his twin brother Ford got a lot of embarrassing tattoos during his time with a tribe of tentacle-armed warrior piglets, including a star giving a double thumbs-up and declaring him to be an [[Music/SmashMouth All Star]].]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'''s DistantFinale episode "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbActYourAge Act Your Age]]," [[MadScientist Doofenshmirtz]] purposefully gives himself a mid-life crisis. WordOfGod says that one joke they wanted to use was him getting a tattoo that he openly acknowledges he'll regret ten minutes later; after seeing it, he comments that it'll probably only take five. [[ExecutiveMeddling The note from the higher-ups]] apparently said that "''no one'' [[ContractualPurity on a Disney Channel show]] will ever be shown in the act of getting a tattoo."

** In one episode, Homer changes his name to Max Power. Marge comments that that poses a problem, as she has the name "Homer" tattooed on her..."you know". Homer's cheerful response: "Oh Marge, they have harsh acids that can burn that off!"

** In another episode, Bart somehow managed to tattoo "Wide Load" on Homer's rear end.

* As shown on ''Tattoo Nightmares,'' mentioned above, one of the most common embarrassing tattoos for men are tribal tattoos. A tattoo fad that boomed in the Nineties and went bust very soon after, tribals are mostly now seen as dated and ''extremely'' trashy. They've also attracted a pretty big hatedom from tattoo artists since they're one of the most common coverups and the most difficult to do well. (The DistaffCounterpart in this regard would be names and dates.)
* Chinese (and occasionally Japanese) characters were the tribal tats of the 2000s, only they affected men and women equally. They were intended to look exotic and mysterious, but instead, they made the wearer look like an idiot if they couldn't actually read the tattoo for themselves. This can obviously be averted if the wearer knows the language, but by the end of the decade, Chinese tattoos had become such a cliche that they would be embarrassing regardless. Most Asian languages are tone-based, meaning that the kanji can mean anything if you don't know how to pronounce it accurately. The blog [[http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com/ Hanzi Smatter]] translates many unfortunate Asian tattoos. It's hard to decide which ones are worse: the "Asian Gibberish Font" where English letters are replaced by Chinese-looking scribble and the resulting "word" is meaningless, or the ones that are blatant insults like "Toilet Goblin".
* A simple [[http://images.google.com/images?q=bad+tattoos Google search for "bad tattoos"]] unearths all kinds of hilarity.

* A fan of Family Guy decided to get a memorial tattoo of Brian Griffin after he dies in an episode called "Life of Brian". After an episode or two, not only was [[ShaggyDogStory Brian brought back to life]], but Creator/SethMacFarlane [[https://twitter.com/sethmacfarlane/status/412407556942753792 mocked everyone]] who thought Brian was KilledOffForReal.
* In the 2018 Usefulnotes/FIFAWorldCup, England fans arrogantly decided to get tattoos reading "It's coming home" when the England team went against Croatia. As you'd expect on this trope page, England lost 2-1.
** In fact, many a list of "[[https://www.thesportster.com/entertainment/top-20-sports-tattoos-youre-glad-you-dont-have/ Embarrassing sports]] [[https://www.businessinsider.com/worst-sports-fans-tattoos-2011-12 fans tattoos]]" have fans who commit the mistake of branding themselves with the team's logo and a year of a possible title that never comes.

* ''Film/UnderTenFlags'' (1960). A sailor from the German raider meets some British sailors in a neutral port, and to show there's no hard feelings they take him out drinking. [[WhatDidIDoLastNight He wakes up]] with a huge tattoo on his back saying ENGLAND RULES THE WAVES.