History Main / ExactWords

** Lopez builds some very slow moving robots, with the reasoning
--->'''Senior Lopez''' "You said you wanted a DAY of victory. At this speed, they will win in exactly 24 hours."

*** In [[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy season 13]], [[spoiler:Felix]] did it again when he and [[spoiler:Locus]] hijack a prison ship and invite the prisoners to work for them. [[spoiler:Felix]] tells them that if they fight against [[spoiler:the people of Chorus]], they will go free and rich. Then he tells the prisoners who will join him to put their hands on the prison bars while those who won't join will be let off the ship. And he did let them off the ship... [[spoiler: by opening the air locks in the cells, sucking all of those not grasping the bars out into space.]]

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':

-->'''Senior Lopez''' "You said you wanted a DAY of victory. At this speed, they will win in exactly 24 hours."
** In [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy seasons 11 and 12]], beyond claiming that they were the greatest soldiers in the galaxy, [[spoiler:Felix]] never actually lies to the Blood Gulch Crew, instead using half-truths.
*** In [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy season 13]], [[spoiler:Felix]] did it again when he and [[spoiler:Locus]] hijack a prison ship and invite the prisoners to work for them. [[spoiler:Felix]] tells them that if they fight against [[spoiler:the people of Chorus]], they will go free and rich. Then he tells the prisoners who will join him to put their hands on the prison bars while those who won't join will be let off the ship. And he did let them off the ship... [[spoiler: by opening the air locks in the cells, sucking all of those not grasping the bars out into space.]]

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

* Wiki/TVTropes: On the page for ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'', the description of the game says that it "features never-before-seen freedom", which it does indeed: there is no collision detection (in other words, you can go through any object except the ground), and no angle detection (allowing you to drive vertically), and the game allows the player to freely drive straight off the map and into an infinite void.
* This is an April Fool's Day tradition on ''Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}'' -- the "Did you know?" section of the front page on April 1st contains a bunch of misleading but true facts, with the misleading nature of the assertions revealed if you click on the relevant link. One year, for example, it claimed that "The Australian government requires high-risk sex workers to wear full-face respirators"; clicking on the word "sex" revealed that they were actually referring to the chemical sodium ethyl xanthate, which is indeed a respiratory hazard.

* When the Music/SexPistols' manager Malcolm [=McLaren=] [[ExecutiveMeddling demanded that they record]] a song called "[[ObligatoryBondageSong Submission]]" to promote his punk clothing store, they did exactly that...except the song was about a mission in a submarine. As if to annoy [=McLaren=] more, the song is filled plenty of winking double entendres to his intended subject matter, but they're so [[StylisticSuck intentionally ridiculous]] that they're useless to advertise his clothing.

Subtrope of DoubleMeaning. Compare HeroicVow, IWouldSayIfICouldSay and IronicEcho. UnhandThemVillain is a specific variant. ThreatBackfire is a common result. It's very commonly used in FalseReassurance. The actual interpretation of the words is often NotHyperbole. When used in response to a question can often result in a MathematiciansAnswer. Can also lead to a LiteralMetaphor, LiteralMoneyMetaphor and to LiteralistSnarking, as well as LoopholeAbuse. Also see NoManOfWomanBorn. Contrast with ILied, for when the opposing party makes no effort to hide the fact that they were not holding to their end. Not to be confused with LiteralMinded. Often a very important part of the ComicallyWordyContract, but easy to overlook because the contract is so damned wordy.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'':
** At one point in ''Justice for All'', [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] gets away with lying to Phoenix despite his Magatama which lets him physically see people keeping secrets from him using this method. Specifically, he answers "no" to the question "Did you kill the victim?". [[spoiler:Which he didn't. He did, however, hire an assassin to do it. The Magatama activates when he later answers "no" to the question "Did you have anything to do with the victim's death?"]]. It's implied that this only worked because [[spoiler:the client was warped enough to consider there to be an honest, meaningful difference between the two, and so he didn't consciously hide anything from Phoenix the first time around]]. Not to mention that [[spoiler:the assassin in question, Shelly de Killer,]] blackmailed Phoenix into defending Engarde in court because somebody '''framed''' Engarde. Which is ''absolutely'' true; [[spoiler: Adrian Andrews stole a knife with Engarde's fingerprints and used it to stab the victim (who was actually strangled). What Phoenix doesn't learn until later was that Adrien was FramingTheGuiltyParty because she knew about Matt's rivalry with the victim and that if something happened to the victim, it was probably Matt's fault.]]
** In the third game, Godot is introduced as yet another prosecutor of legendary skill who has never lost a case. [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil Pretty standard opponent for Phoenix at this point]]. When the judge asks him how many cases he's prosecuted, he answers with... zero. [[spoiler:And this is actually two examples in one: he's never ''prosecuted'' a case before, but he has ''defended'' many cases in the past.]]

** In ''Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney'', in one point of Lamiroir's testimony, she says "As for what I saw... I saw nothing." [[spoiler:and she means it. She really saw nothing, she is blind at that point. She did, however, ''hear'' something.]]
** In ''Spirit of Justice'', [[spoiler:Dhurke]] spends the final chapter spouting nothing but this trope, to the point where his dialogue alone gives the game replay value.

* ZigZaggingTrope in ''Zero Escape: VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''. Some characters are very particular about [[IGaveMyWord promises]], so a shrewd player pays close attention to exactly what is being promised before making a difficult choice. Of course, some characters--even the nice ones!--''also'' have no problem [[ILied lying to the player character's face]]. It's amazing how a little freedom-or-death struggle brings out the manipulative sides of people.

** At one point in ''Justice for All'', [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] gets away with lying to Phoenix despite his Magatama which lets him physically see people keeping secrets from him using this method. Specifically, he answers "no" to the question "Did you kill the victim?". [[spoiler:Which he didn't. He did, however, hire an assassin to do it. The Magatama activates when he later answers "no" to the question "Did you have anything to do with the victim's death?"]]. It's implied that this only worked because [[spoiler:the client was warped enough to consider there to be an honest, meaningful difference between the two, and so he didn't consciously hide anything from Phoenix the first time around]]. Not to mention that [[spoiler:the assassin in question, Shelly de Killer,]] blackmailed Phoenix into defending Engarde in court because somebody '''framed''' Engarde. What de Killer didn't say was that the FrameUp and the murder have ''two'' separate culprits (with de Killer obviously being the latter).

** In ''Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney'', in one point of Lamiroir's testimony, she says "As for what I saw... I saw nothing." [[spoiler:and she means it. She really saw nothing, she is blind at that point.]]

** The curse of immortality the Gods placed upon BigBad Salem was phrased, "So long as this world turns, you shall walk its face." So, tired of her immortality, she decided to just ''destroy the world.''

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8APAXrhLM A Swedish commercial]] has a young man ask his date if she wants to "taste the sausage". She's disappointed that he meant it literally.

* As Creator/CharlieBrooker has pointed out; wording in advertising is key. For example you can't say a toothpaste will "eliminate" plaque build up but will instead, "help fight". As you can fight a wall but you probably won't get far.

** Bretonnia is subject to FantasyGunControl because of a kingly decree that states no crossbows can be used on Bretonnian soil (likely a measure to protect the privilege of the nobility - Bretonnia is an exercise in medieval classism [[UpToEleven to the extreme]]). A strict reading of the decree does not support a ban on black powder firearms but the decree hasn't been updated to include them and since a handgun can kill a knight just as readily as a crossbow can, including them is in the spirit of the law. However, Bretonnia's navy is full of ships bristling with cannons scavenged from anywhere the captains could get them - they don't operate on Bretonnian ''soil''.

* ''Webanimation/StupidKids'': In ''[=DaniGamer001=]'' Dani tries to be a Youtuber with little success of gaining views on his videos, Bazsi promises him he is gonna get views for him. And he did it, but now the Dani's videos are filled with dislikes and hate comments.

* Meco's first album was titled ''Star Wars And Other Galactic Funk'', implying it includes funky arrangements of music from both Star Wars and other science fiction media: Sure enough, Side A is a disco medley of themes from Creator/JohnWilliams' ''Film/ANewHope'' score... and Side B is an original piece titled "Other Galactic Funk".

* In ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', young Frederic is apprenticed to serve the pirates until he's twenty-one. He is eager to leave the eponymous pirate band, and does so upon turning twenty-one. In the second act, the Pirate King and Ruth inform him that he was born on [[LeapDay February 29th]], and that the apprenticeship was to end on his twenty-first ''birthday''. Consequently, he isn't free to leave the pirate band until he's ''eighty-four'' years old. This makes things awkward for him when the Pirate King [[RulesLawyer decides to hold to the exact letter of the contract]]. In a bit of LampshadeHanging, Frederick points out that this is unfair, but as his whole character is defined by the concept of HonorBeforeReason, he begrudgingly rejoins them.

* [[ExactWords/AnimatedFilms Film — Animated]]
* [[ExactWords/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

->''' Oh hark I hear the church bells rining, will you come and be my wife,
->''' or dear madam have you settled to be single all your life?
->''' Oh, No John, No John, No John, No

* Imagine you're on a boat. You're out to sea, and everything is going well. But then some sharks attack you. They slam into the boat, and you fall overboard. The sharks circle you, ready to eat you alive. How do you survive this situation? [[spoiler: Stop imagining!]]

-->'''Dad:''' Son, I told you not to eat the cookies before dinner.
-->'''Son:''' I didn't touch one of them, Dad.
-->'''Dad:''' But there's only one left.
-->'''Son:''' That's the one I didn't touch.

-->'''Visitor:''' Could you please tell me where the Harvard Library is at?
-->'''Professor:''' At Harvard, we do not end a sentence with a preposition.
-->'''Visitor:''' Could you please tell me where the Harvard Library is at, asshole?

-->'''You''': I can do math really fast.
-->'''Them''': Okay, what's [math question]?
-->'''You''': [give any answer]
-->'''Them''': That's not the right answer...
-->'''You''': I said I was fast. I didn't say I would be correct.

-->'''Fat Friend''': I'll have you know that I'm in perfect shape!
-->'''Thin Friend''': You're round.
-->'''Fat Friend''': And ''round'' is a ''shape!''

-->"But soon they saw the years that passed
-->would never make him grow
-->The fairies would not answer her
-->The stones were dark and slept
-->A babe was all she asked for,
-->and their promises they'd kept."
* Pete Best just can't resist making puns on his name and famous former occupation. In 1965, for example, he released an original album called ''Best of the Beatles''. As in, ''Pete'' Best, ''formerly'' of Music/TheBeatles.
** This is a CallBack to the Beatles' early days, when the compere of the Cavern Club always described it as "the best of cellars". This was a pun, not just on a well-known phrase but on one particular use of it, the Creator/PeterSellers album ''[[PunnyName The Best of Sellers]]''.

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]

* Wiki/TVTropes: On the page for ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'', the description of the game says that it "features never-before-seen freedom", which it does indeed: there is no collision detection (in other words, you can go through any object except the ground), and no angle detection (allowing you to drive vertically), and the game allows the player to freely drive straight off the map and into an infinite void.
* When WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic gathers his fellow reviewers for an invasion in ''WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}'', WebVideo/{{Phelous}} questions where everyone was going to stay. Critic says that he "booked everyone a hotel room". GilliganCut to everyone crammed into '''a''' hotel room.
-->'''Phelous:''' [[LampshadeHanging Well, gee, I didn't see]] ''[[LampshadeHanging that]]'' [[LampshadeHanging one coming.]]
* [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]] tricked [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] into reviewing ''Film/TheSpirit'' with him by telling him that he had a comic book movie with Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/ScarlettJohansson. It was based on a comic, and both did appear in the movie, but Linkara was led to believe that FB was referring to ''Film/IronMan2''.
* This is common when it comes to requests on ''Music/SongsToWearPantsTo''. Andrew will often take poorly thought-out or silly requests and do this to them. For example, one person offered some lyrics and asked for them to be recorded, "not necessarily in this order." [[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220063956/http://www.songstowearpantsto.com/songs/i-empty-my-baby/ This was the result.]]
* In ''Literature/ThaliasMusings'', [[http://thaliasmusingsnovels.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/1-5-let-the-games-begin/ Aphrodite's blessing]] on the Pythian Games: [[spoiler:"To whichever two among the gods and goddesses here whom the Fates will choose, may you each meet your true love at the Pythian Games."]] Thalia knows that if she or Apollo is chosen, [[spoiler:they won't end up together since they've already met]].
** The first to be chosen is [[spoiler:Aphrodite's own son Eros, who finds love at first sight with Psyche]].
** The second is [[spoiler:Hephaestus, Aphrodite's ''husband'', who meets Aglaea. Aphrodite is more than happy to let him go]].
* In ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/shamusplays/8304-Shamus-Plays-Into-the-Bandits-Den.4 Shamus plays]] VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Norman is a warlock who tries to be LawfulGood. When called upon to 'slaughter a virgin' as part of his induction into the Warlock Union, he buys a virgin sheep and pays a butcher to slaughter it for him.

* ''Literature/BastardOperatorFromHell''. If you ask the BOFH for more disk space, he'll give it to you -- by deleting all your files. And that's nothing compared to what he does with his contract. It got "[[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/14/bofh_2006_episode_23/ numerous strange clauses]]", including one about UFO sighting in the vicinity of the building... which he successfully used... more than once.
** And don't tell the PFY to "fire her up" when you want him to start a computer; you'll be calling the emergency line soon after.
* In Episode 61 of ''Creator/RoosterTeeth'''s "LetsPlay ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''", Ryan had captured a cow in the bottom of his dirt house and named him Edgar after an incident lead him to losing a game. Flash forward six episodes and Michael covertly frees Edgar and Geoff unwittingly kills the cow. Ryan finds the damage, hunts down another cow and puts him in the hole, leading to Michael freaking out over his victory being rendered null. As he tries to point out that the cow he lured in probably isn't the real Edgar, Ryan responds "No, no, you don't understand. ''Edgar is the one in the hole''.", meaning that it doesn't matter how many cows anyone frees, the one in that hole will always be Edgar.
* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-810 SCP-810]] of the Wiki/SCPFoundation is a lamp with the inscription "Ask what you will, and you shall never want for it". If (for example) you ask for "food", rather than ensuring you never run out of food, you'll never again ''desire'' food, and will thus starve to death without realizing it.
** Then there's [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-294 SCP-294]], a drinks dispenser that dispenses any liquid you ask it for. It was considered completely harmless until someone ordered a "cup of joe", and a security guard collapsed. Upon further inspection, it turned out he was missing about a cup of blood, tissue and various bodily fluids, all of which could be found dispensed into a cup by the machine. And that his name was "Joe".
* In WebVideo/DanganRonpaAbridgedThing, Monobear promises the class that if a murder occurs, the class will get to see pictures of what Sayaka Maizono looks like under "those clothes", meaning her "idol outfit." A murder does occur, but the murderer is caught before the photos can be released to the class. We do get to see a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of what the pictures look like, though: they're just Sayaka in her school outfit ''under those clothes''...because the idol outfit is on her head, meaning she is ''literally'' under those clothes.

'''Piccolo:''' (in the distance) [-You dumbass!-]\\

'''Piccolo:''' (still in the distance) [-[[CatchPhrase NEEEEEEEERRRRDDD!]]-]

--->'''Vegeta''': ...I won't ''punch'' you.\\
'''Krillin''': [[LampshadeHanging Oddly specific.]]

* A writer posted a list of musicians who were in great bands but had terrible solo careers. He invoked this trope to justify including Music/PaulMcCartney on the list, pointing out that technically {{Music/Wings}} counted as a band.
* An AprilFoolsDay article about ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' detailed a supposed ultimate deck that "never allows your opponent to deal lethal damage" and "ends games quickly". It actually consisted entirely of ways to trigger a "you automatically lose" condition.
* In an episode of the LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} series ''[=YogNews=]'', LetsPlay/{{Turpster}} is busy boasting that with LetsPlay/{{Strippin}} no longer working at Yogtowers, he is the strongest man in the office. He then struggles to open a simple water bottle, which LetsPlay/KimRichards opens with ease. His response?
--> '''Turps:''' Goddammit, Kim, I said strongest man. Not strongest wo-man. Can't compete with women. Their boob strength.
* During the first LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} playthrough of ''VideoGame/TroubleInTerroristTown'', the common "spell the word ''innocent'' backwards" test is put to use [[note]]the reasoning for it being that a traitor would not be able to read it back quickly since their HUD would read "traitor" instead, although it isn't foolproof[[/note]]. LetsPlay/SimonLane gets challenged to do it by LetsPlay/HatFilms, and says "I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T B-A-C-K-W-A-R-D-S". This gets him killed. [[spoiler:He was a traitor, and the round ends.]]

* In the ''WebVideo/RoosterTeethShorts'' episode [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Axr3dH5Qw&ab_channel=RoosterTeeth "Sex Dogs, Sex Dogs"]], Matt notices that in the background Chris has forgotten to hide a photo of dogs having sex. He requests that Chris pay attention to the full frame, which he agrees to. [[LiteralMinded Chris]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} being]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Chris]], however, he moves the dogs into the foreground, increases the size of the picture and blurs Burnie out. When Matt returns to point out the new problem, he requests that the photo focuses on the subject, so Chris focuses on the dogs having sex (mistakenly believing them to be the subject) and not Burnie. When he has that error called out and is told to focus on Burnie, he dresses Burnie up in a dog suit for the next photo, making him cry in the process, and points out he did exactly what he was told by making people's eyes go right to Burnie, albeit for the worst possible reasons. This last one is enough to get him fired by Matt, who is by this point exasperated.
* {{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}} once stated that he would never LetsPlay ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' or ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' due to those games being overrated and Let's Played a lot. Since then, he has Let's Played ''Super Mario 64 '''DS''''' and ''Super '''Luigi''' Galaxy''. (And he fudged a bit on that first one too, by including parts of the original game whenever an original star was removed in the remake.)
* {{WebVideo/JonTron}} released a trailer stating that Jontron's [=StarCade=] Episode 1 would be released on May 9th. The episode was released... On the last possible second before May 10th.
* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole:'' Garmelie wants "a piece of a Syngorn threshold crest", meaning a fragment of the magical devices that allows the whole city to travel between the Material Plane and the Feywild, but never explicitly specifying it as such. What Percy gives him is [[spoiler: a piece of a crest which Keyleth molded out of the threshold of the door to their guest room in Syngorn, using the Stone Shape spell]]. Much to Garmelie's dismay, he has to accept this deal as fulfilled.

%%* SovietWomble (https://youtu.be/PaQzgF95Gv4?t=10m32s)
* Tokusatsu fan [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClHLcw9EZeyqH5u0D90j9Vg Marcosatsu]] posted a video titled [[Series/KamenRiderWizard Kamen Rider Wizard- Life is Showtime (Extended).]] It was extended alright- three lines were the only thing repeated in the video for over ''[[OverlyLongGag 10 Hours.]]''
* After the ''Asian Jake Paul'' diss track that was directed at the infamous Ricegum, Boyinaband said that he was going to apologize for the venomous comments that resulted from his insults in the song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx4b63UJAeE even going to do so in person.]] [[spoiler:It turns out that the guy he's apologizing to is ''Casey Neistat'' for a throwaway line in the disstrack that was still meant to insult Ricegum anyways [[labelnote: The Line in Question]] That's bad! But then I heard [Ricegum] try to rap. I was more disappointed than when I found out Casey Neistat didn't have nice tats![[/labelnote]], and Ricegum is still an {{acceptable target|s}} for him because of all the other stuff he's done.]]
* On his ''Bad Gods'' website, Creator/LoreSjoberg had skits about a radio station that plays nothing but Music/{{REM}}'s ''Stand''. One of them had the DJ excitedly announce that The Music/PussycatDolls had just released a cover of the song, and they had a copy, but since they play ''nothing but'' REM's ''Stand'', he played that instead.
* In ''Literature/TheTimTebowCFLChronicles'', this comes up when interpreting the rules of [[{{Calvinball}} Canadian football]]:
** You can't ground the ball to end the play if you aren't ''on the ground''. Which means there's no way to end a play (and conversely, nothing to stop opponents from trying to "force a fumble") if the carrier is in the third story of a house, or in water, or on a ship.
** In Greenland, Tebow uses a catapult to "throw" the ball over the horizon, based on a vague promise that there's an Argonaut over there to catch it.
--->'''Schooner:''' Are you allowed to throw it if there isn't an intended receiver?\\
'''Tebow:''' Sure there is. I intend for there to be a receiver.
* A long-standing gag of ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' is that the video game of ''Literature/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' is the worst video game ever made, yet he's long-since played much worse ones like ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'' and ''VisualNovel/PlumbersDontWearTies''. He's since justified this with the Shit Scale, which categorizes the badness of video games. Jekyll and Hyde makes up the second-worse category all by itself while everything that's worse falls into the "so bad it doesn't even count as a game" category; as anything worse than Jekyll and Hyde no longer counts as a game, it makes Jekyll and Hyde the worst video ''game'' ever made.
--> '''Nerd:''' When ranking terrible games, there's usually a certain level of playability. Even though I maintain Jekyll and Hyde is the worst game I've ever played, there's still that unholy category that lies underneath; games that can't even be called games.
* This is an April Fool's Day tradition on ''Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}'' - the "Did you know?" section of the front page on April 1st contains a bunch of misleading but true facts, with the misleading nature of the assertions revealed if you click on the relevant link. One year, for example, it claimed that "The Australian government requires high-risk sex workers to wear full-face respirators"; clicking on the word "sex" revealed that they were actually referring to the chemical sodium ethyl xanthate, which is indeed a respiratory hazard.
* ''[[https://youtu.be/pWYj39ut9UY YouTube is Going to Be Fine in 2020]]'', which despite going over Website/{{YouTube}}’s vague and shady policies growing worse day by day, isn’t sarcastically titled. [=YouTube=] ''the corporation'' will be fine in 2020 and isn’t going anywhere no matter how many fuck ups, terrible policies, and acts of censorship they can and will keep doing.
* ''LetsPlay/{{Dream}}:'' At the start of every Minecraft Manhunt video, Dream says, "If I beat the Ender Dragon, I win." This comes into play at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dwDlZy9fk8 "Minecraft Speedrunner VS Hunter (Again)"]], where [[spoiler: Dream kills the dragon but George kills him before he can enter the overworld portal- Dream successfully argued that he won, as the rules state he only has to kill the dragon before he dies, not enter the portal]]. It also comes into play at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTXS4MMngnA "Minecraft Speedrunner VS 3 Hunters Rematch"]], where [[spoiler: Dream kills the Ender Dragon a ''second'' before the hunters kill him, barely giving him the win]].
** At the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7t5B69G0Dw "Minecraft Speedrunner VS 3 Hunters FINALE REMATCH,"]] Dream [[spoiler: complies to [=BadBoyHalo's=] request to come down, but Bad didn't say ''not'' to attack him; so Dream did]].
--->'''[=BadBoyHalo:=]''' Come down here please.\\
[[spoiler: ''[Dream comes down and attacks him.]'']]\\
'''Bad:''' Ooh! He came down!
* ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP:''[[spoiler: Jschlatt orders Technoblade to "[[PublicExecution take out]]" Tubbo at the Manburg Festival. Although Techno ends up following through with this order, he [[HoldingTheFloor delays]] by asking whether Schlatt wants him to take him out for a fancy dinner.]]
* ''Literature/TheNewHanselAndGretel'': Much like most [[DealWithTheDevil Faustian Bargians]], Mathair puts the specific things she offered them as part of the deal, though not all of it was as intended.
** In Jamie's case, she wanted her own private bathroom.
---> '''Mathair''': You did want this house because you wanted your own bathroom, darling. Well, now you’ve got it,... It's a very private place for you to go potty in... Until it isn't.
** One of the things Jack liked about getting the house was access to a pinball machine. In the brief time Jack and Jamie are allowed to be more "grown-up" (being able to walk and talk), he tries killing time by playing with it.
** While Mathair agreed to set Jack and Jamie free if they won their bet, she never said anything about undoing the various enchantments that gives them the bodily autonomy of adults. Winning would mean that they would be a pair of adult babies out on the streets without her to care for them. [[spoiler:It is this that makes Jamie give in, Jack only submitting to stay with her.]]
* When the ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' are mocking ''VideoGame/{{Gubble}}'', with Arin talking it up as if it's some epic and deep difficult gaming experience with Danny not buying it for a second, we get this.
-->'''Danny:''' Oh, so it just sort of does it on its own, huh? Oh, so it's ''VideoGame/PacMan''!\\
'''Arin:''' Yeah! Not as easy as it looks, is it?\\
'''Danny:''' [[ItsEasySoItSucks It's actually easier than it looks.]]\\
'''Arin:''' YEAH! NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS. IS IT?!
* ''WebVideo/MetaBallStudios'': The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvp4mifc28s "DRAGONS Size Comparison"]] video features size comparisons of many literal [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] -- and the [=SpaceX=] Dragon spacecraft as a "reference".

Subtrope of DoubleMeaning. Compare HeroicVow, IWouldSayIfICouldSay and IronicEcho. UnhandThemVillain is a specific variant. ThreatBackfire is a common result. It's very commonly used in FalseReassurance. The actual interpretation of the words is often NotHyperbole. When used in response to a question can often result in a MathematiciansAnswer. Can also lead to a LiteralMetaphor, LiteralMoneyMetaphor and to LiteralistSnarking, as well as LoopholeAbuse. Also see NoManOfWomanBorn. Contrast with ILied, for when the opposing party makes no effort to hide the fact that they were not holding to their end. Not to be confused with LiteralMinded.

* Hanse Davion pulls this in the course of the Clan Invasion in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. Promising his ancient enemies of House Kurita that "No Federated Commonwealth units would cross their borders" until the Clan invasion was dealt with, he found out soon after that House Kurita was on the verge of a catastrophic defeat. For a moment, it looks like Hanse, a man known as "[[CunningLikeAFox The Fox]]", is up to something, and he is. He sends ''mercenary'' units across the border straight to the Combine homeworld. At first, several Combine high officers are furious, thinking they have been betrayed. This is quickly {{inverted|Trope}} when the mercenaries reveal that Davion has hired them to ''defend'' Luthien, not attack it as the Combine officers expected from Davion's Exact Words. By employing mercenaries rather than his own Federated Commonwealth forces, he stays true to his promise while also keeping the Combine from falling...so that he can use the Combine as a buffer zone between his realm and the invading Clans. There's a reason Hanse Davion is considered a MagnificentBastard.

** In ''The Wild Beyond The Witchlight'', Granny Nightshade will pull this on anyone accepting her posted services offered for a favor. "Win the heart of the one you love?" [[spoiler:You get the heart, torn out, in a box.]] "Be buried up to your neck in silver?" [[spoiler:You get literally encased in a silver nugget which disappears if you are freed.]] "No sword will ever break your skin?" [[spoiler:Petrified.]] "I'll make you as strong as an octopus?" [[spoiler:A regular, non-giant, non-magical octopus.]] But some of her service offers actually are genuine, like "I'll curse anyone you choose,"; she actually will, as cursing people is kind of her jam. This allows the [=PCs=] to pull a revenge Exact Words on her - by [[spoiler:choosing for her to curse ''herself'']]!
* In an ''[[TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} Exalted: The Alchemicals]]'' comic, diplomatic negotiations hit a snag when the Autochthonian emissary says "There can be no peace between our peoples now". He meant "now" as in "at the present moment", not dismissing the possibility of future friendship. After the misunderstanding is cleared up, the Realm emissary agrees that indeed their nations are not friends "now".

* The Seraphim of ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', angels who must speak the truth at all times, often take refuge in this trope.
** On the other hand, this used to trip up Laurence, Archangel of The Sword, in his early days as Commander of The Host. Angels of The Sword must obey both the spirit and the letter of Laurence's orders, and when his commands were too detailed, the servitors were left with no way to adjust for conditions without earning dissonance.
--->"Thus, Laurence will not tell a Servitor 'Take Highway 41 to Tifton, Georgia, find the Tether of Death just south of there, and bring me the Seneschal’s head.' Such specific orders could result in all kinds of dissonance – what if the angel knows a more efficient way of traveling to Tifton (or Highway 41 is washed out)? What if Laurence’s intelligence is flawed, and the Tether is north of Tifton, or it’s actually a Tether to Dark Humor? What if the Seneschal has been destroyed already – should the Tether be left intact? What if the Seneschal wants to redeem? What if the angel can only kill the Seneschal by some means which won’t leave an intact head to bring to Laurence? Scenarios like this came back to bite the young Archangel of the Sword, until he learned to loosen his control – a little." -- ''Superiors 1: War and Honor''

** And in ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'', a key plot point is that Chuubo, a fairly ordinary boy, has gained the ability to create Imperial Miracles but can't really do anything useful with them due to wording problems (unless they come from his heart, in which case they work as intended). There is a running joke that he has yet to discover the correct wording to obtain an ice cream: "I wish I had an ice cream" makes "Chuubo has an ice cream" a law of reality, meaning that he can't eat the ice cream, because he would then no longer have it.
* TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}: Reactor failures have a 94% survival rate, provided that appropriate protective measures are taken. The specific nature of "appropriate protective measures" (donning a Green-clearance environment suit and evacuating the sector) is classified to preserve morale.

** The god of contracts(which is a devil too) Asmodeus, is this. His clergy are savvy in using the wording in their contracts to their avantages, they even get a spell that uses a contract as material focus.
** Subverted with Abadar, god of cities and merchants. Like Asmodeus, he have an interest with contracts, but unlike him, he prefers to follows the spirit over the words.
* In the RolePlayingGame ''Truce at Bakura'', Chewbacca suggested to Han Solo that he have the Tydirium return to the fleet while doing repairs. Han Solo agreed, but then it occurred to him that Chewbacca forgot to specify which fleet he was supposed to return to, thus giving him and the Endor Strike Team an easy opening to take over the Star Destroyer Accusor without having to fire a single shot.
* Tabletopgame/WarhammerFantasyBattle:

** In the first edition TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay Realms of Sorcery had [[JokeItem Erik' Sword of Confusion]]:
-->This was made for Erik the [[TheAlcoholic drunkard]], a notorious [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Nors]][[GrimUpNorth can]] mercenary. While in the cups, he foolishly commissioned a wizard to make him a sword that could "cut through things like butter". The wizard was as good as his word. Against normal targets, the sword has Damage -3, but it cuts through dairy products with the efficiency of a fine cheesewire. The wizard who made the sword was later found drowned in a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath vat of yoghurt.]]

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}