History Main / FalseReassurance

A character who is told they'll get "what's coming to them" or "what they deserve" is almost ''always'' on the receiving end of this trope.

->''"Don't worry - I'm on ''your'' side. A violent death is [[ExactWords the last thing]] that'll happen to you."''

* According to historian David Irving, a British wartime MP asked in Parliament whether night bombings of Germany had adopted a policy of indiscriminately targeting civilians. He was told, completely accurately, that the policy had not been changed to this. He persisted, and was told "I said there had been no change in policy."

If you can't or won't lie, it can be hard to deceive others but fear not, because there are ways to pull the wool over another's eyes and never once be dishonest. Sometimes, you can [[CassandraTruth tell the truth but no one will believe you]] because the truth is simply too weird. Other times, you can [[SarcasticConfession tell the truth in a tone of voice which makes everyone assume you meant the opposite]]. If you are careful with your phrasing, you can pull off the highest verbal coup of all: to tell the truth, clearly and plainly, and still make everyone assume you meant something else. If others accuse you of being dishonest, tell them they didn't pay enough attention to your ExactWords. A character being told they'll get "what's coming to them" or "what they deserve" is almost ''always'' on the receiving end of this trope.

Needless to say, a [[LawfulEvil villain who prides himself on his honesty]] considers this good form ("Alice can't come to the phone right now. She's [[BoundAndGagged all tied up]] at the moment") but it's not strictly a villainous trope: heroic characters can give False Reassurance too, particularly, when they have a secret to keep but [[CannotTellALie can't]] or [[WillNotTellALie won't]] [[BlatantLies lie to their loved ones' faces]]. For example, [[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] might tell Lois Lane, "Don't worry. Clark Kent won't be seen outside this tropical resort," which does not bar ''Superman'' from going to investigate the mysterious temple.

** Almost the exact phrasing was used in ''{{Robocop 2}}'', as well.

* In the AndrewVachss Burke book ''Terminal'', a case is recounted where an AIDS-positive Nigerian who wants to have sex with a virgin teen is assured that he will not die of his disease - because Burke and co. shoot him dead before he can get what he wants.

* In an episode of ''SpeedGrapher'', Tatsumi poses as a substitute for Kagura's teacher, Ms. Wakaba. When someone asks what happened to her, Tatsumi assures them she got "A bit tied up", whereupon the scene cuts to Ms. Wakaba BoundAndGagged inside a locker.

* In [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2011-03-08 one strip]] of ''DominicDeegan'', Randy writes a song about Luna, and how she saved him from screwing up his life. It's bad. He shows it to [[JerkAss Taz]] to get some outside opinion.

-->'''Principal Skinner:''' "I've got a ''gut'' feeling Uter's around here somewhere. In fact, isn't there a little Uter in all of us? In fact, you could say that we ''ate'' Uter, and he's in our stomachs right now! ...wait, scratch that one."

* In ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Harry reluctantly comes up with a plan to get Griphook the Goblin to assist them in finding one of the Horcruxes. As Griphook will accept payment only in the form of the Sword of Godric Gryffindor (which they still rather need), he promises he will be given the sword, without specifying exactly ''when'' he would give it to him. The Goblin, however, isn't stupid, and this plan backfires spectacularly for Harry.

* In ''Conspiracy'', about the Wannsee Conference of Nazi Germany in 1942, one of the participants believes that the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Problem' that is being discussed will not involve their complete annihilation because Hitler has personally denied this to him. When it looks like the discussion is progressing in this fashion, he brings this up again in outrage -- and the response from Reinhardt Heydrich, the chairman of the meeting, is to simply reply "and he will continue to do so." The participant comes to the dawning realization that Hitler was playing a FalseReassurance in order to provide himself plausible deniability.

--> '''Lady Soulstealer:''' [[ComiclyMissingThePoint You'd... HA! Good one! Now that's a funny joke!]]

---> '''Lady Soulstealer:''' Do you need any help? I know a bit about security measures myself...//
'''Mehlata:''' No thank you. I have everything in order.//
'''Lady Soulstealer:''' Are you sure?//
'''Mehlata:''' [[FalseReassurance I'd bet your life on it]].//
'''Lady Soulstealer:''' [[ComiclyMissingThePoint You'd... HA! Good one! Now that's a funny joke!]]
The head of security believes [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1412.php someone within her organization]] is to blame for the recent attack on the ambassador's life.

-->'''[[spoiler:Courtney Gears]]:''' Don't be afraid, [[{{TheHero}} Ratchet]]. The transformation doesn't hurt... *[[{{EvilLaughter}} chuckles]]* much.

* The ''{{Wishmaster}}'' films, being the classic "[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Monkey's Paw]]" style stories, do this continuously.

-->'''Dr. Nefarious:''' To think, Lawrence, they said I was insane. But we'll see who's insane when my ameboids destroy all the life on this planet!
-->'''Lawrence:''' Yes sir, that should clear things right up.

-->'''Harry:''' Hands off the Fist of God.

* When he asks to have a private word with Narses during a meeting on neutral ground, {{Belisarius|Series}} swears to the Malwa commander Damodara that nothing they will discuss will involve harm to Damodara. Damodara is, however, GenreSavvy enough to comment to Narses afterward that he realized that Belisarius made a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial in promising no harm would come to Damodara but didn't mention anything about the Malwa Empire in general.

If you can't or won't lie, it can be hard to deceive others but fear not, because there are ways to pull the wool over another's eyes and never once be dishonest. Sometimes, you can [[CassandraTruth tell the truth but no one will believe you]] because the truth is simply too weird. Other times, you can [[SarcasticConfession tell the truth in a tone of voice which makes everyone assume you meant the opposite]]. If you are careful with your phrasing, you can pull off the highest verbal coup of all: to tell the truth, clearly and plainly, and still make everyone assume you meant something else. If others accuse you of being dishonest, tell them they didn't pay enough attention to your ExactWords.

** Even Davey Jones gets in on it, after Will wins a game of chance (or rather, someone else [[HeroicSacrifice intentionally loses]]) that gets him out of his debt. "Congratulations, Mister Turner, you're free to leave. The very next time we come in to port!" Cue group EvilLaugh as Will realizes he didn't learn his lesson about the difference between "We'll let you go" and "We'll take you to safety and THEN free you".

* Captain Hook does this in both the ''Disney/PeterPan'' movies by [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney]]. In the first, he promises Tinker Bell, "I give my word not to lay a finger -- or a hook -- on Peter Pan," so he tries to assassinate him with a bomb, which he explains when Smee [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim asks why he doesn't just slit his throat.]] In the second, he promises Jane he won't harm a hair on Peter's head, meaning that when he plucks one hair from his head when he captures him. He's chosen one specific hair on his head not to harm, and if he removes it, [[ExactWords then he definitely can't harm that specific hair when he harms the rest of Peter.]]

If you can't or won't lie, it can be hard to deceive others. But fear not, because there are ways to pull the wool over another's eyes and never once be dishonest. Sometimes, you can [[CassandraTruth tell the truth but no one will believe you]] because the truth is simply too weird. Other times, you can [[SarcasticConfession tell the truth in a tone of voice which makes everyone assume you meant the opposite]]. And if you are careful with your phrasing, you can pull off the highest verbal coup of all: to tell the truth, clearly and plainly, and still make everyone assume you meant something else. If others accuse you of being dishonest, well, you may have been a bit ''misleading'', but you never ''lied''. They just didn't pay enough attention to your ExactWords.

Needless to say, a [[LawfulEvil villain who prides himself on his honesty]] considers this good form ("Alice can't come to the phone right now. She's [[BoundAndGagged all tied up]] at the moment"). But it's not strictly a villainous trope: heroic characters can give False Reassurance too, particularly, when they have a secret to keep but [[CannotTellALie can't]] or [[WillNotTellALie won't]] [[BlatantLies lie to their loved ones' faces]]. For example, [[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] might tell Lois Lane, "Don't worry. Clark Kent won't be seen outside this tropical resort," which of course does not bar ''Superman'' from going to investigate the mysterious temple.

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', SociopathicSoldier Kimblee was under orders to kill Winry's parents because they treated patients on the enemy side, but they were killed by Scar shortly before Kimblee and co. could get there. When he meets Winry years later, he puts on a charming front, informing her that his squad found their bodies after arriving "a moment too late" (though he's not lying at all when he says that he respected her parents for their dedication to their work).
** Another instance with [[spoiler:Pride/Selim Bradley]] where he says [[spoiler:to Mrs. Bradley]] that he wants to learn alchemy to help out his father. This is probably literally true, although he meant a [[BigBad different Father]] than his listener thought he did.
* Xelloss from ''{{Slayers}}'' does this very well. Notable instances include his assurances that "I absolutely will not use the Claire Bible manuscript for evil purposes", "Lord Hellmaster didn't tell me his plan", and (novel only) "His heart isn't beating". All technically true, and yet entirely misleading: [[spoiler:he planned to destroy, not use, the Claire Bible manuscript; Hellmaster didn't tell him the plan, but he quickly figured it out on his own; and the "he" in question is perfectly fine, as it is really a disguised Mazoku who only even has a heart when it wants to]].
* Used for good in an episode of the 1980s ''Anime/AstroBoy'' series. In order to avoid putting more stress on a young blind girl, Astro impersonates the destroyed robot True and states "I'm fine! I need to go rescue more people now!" This is all technically ''true'' -- since robots can't normally lie -- but it's not coming from the person she thinks it is.
** So Astro became a false True?
*** Even better, True spent most of the episode reprogrammed so that he could only lie, rather than only being able to tell the truth.

* This is basically how [[Anime/CodeGeass Schneizel el Britannia]] rolls.

* In ErastFandorin novel ''The State Councellor'' BigBad gives to Fandorin a HannibalLecture and then offers a choice: fight him, join him or just keep silent. Fandorin choose to keep silent. Where is the catch? Fandorin holds information that could save BigBad's life.

** ''Literature/GravePeril'': At Bianca's costume party, Harry tells a vampire that Michael, dressed as a KnightTemplar, is not really a KnightTemplar. She then grabs his arm, and is burned by his faith. Harry didn't tell her that he's actually one of the world's three [[{{Paladin}} Knights of the Cross]].