History Main / FumblingTheGauntlet

* ''StarTrekVoyager'': One episode has Janeway insult an alien race by putting her [[CharacterTic hands on her hips]], provoking a conflict due to the "obscene gesture".
* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In episode "Apocalypse Rising", Sisko is pretending to be a Klingon, and as part of the effort, strikes Worf with the back of his hand. Worf then asks if he meant to challenge him to a battle to the death and suggests to simply strike him with his fist instead.

* The Final War of the ''{{Bolo}}'' continuum was begun in part due to standard Melconian FirstContact procedure: Enact a Non-Intercourse Edict until the governing body has come to a conclusion. The Concordiat saw this as a sign of aggression and the situation deteriorated from there.

* In the ''Starfire'' series by DavidWeber, the Orions consider a toothy smile a challenge. There is also an inversion where a person mistakes an Orion's toothy smile for a friendly gesture.

* In ''Karateka'', ''don't'' [[spoiler: approach Princess Mariko in fighting stance]]. [[NonstandardGameOver Just don't]].

* In {{Anne McCaffrey}}'s ''[[AcornaSeries Acorna]]'' series, Acorna often unnerves her fellow Linyaari by smiling human-style (with teeth showing). Among her people (Acorna was raised by humans since she was a toddler), baring your teeth is a display of naked aggression, akin to walking around with your fists up.

* ''StarTrekVoyager'': One episode has Janeway insult an alien race by putting her hands on her hips, provoking a conflict due to the "obscene gesture".

** They also consider eye-contact a challenge, as do most canids. Felids, however, consider eye-contact soothing (since it means you're not going to try to sneak up on them), unless they're already stalking you...in which case they usually charge.

** Mal also manages the sister trope of an AccidentalMarriage two episodes later. Either the verse has some surprising cultural diversity, or Mal is surprisingly sheltered.

--> --'''{{Firefly}}''', episode "Shindig"

* Inverted in ''TheSimpsons'', when Homer goes around ThrowingDownTheGauntlet not expecting it to be picked up.

* ''StormHawks'' at one point takes the Sky Knights to Junko's home, where Piper accidentally bumps into someone. She raises her hands placatingly - and Junko hastens to intervene, because this is how his people challenge each other to a ''fight''.

* One of the characters in ''[[Timeline]]'' does the opposite. An opponent throws down the gauntlet to show his contempt, but our hero apparently didn't know that picking it back up meant he accepted. [[FridgeLogic Even though he was an archeology student recruited for his knowledge of history.]]

** Mal also manages the sister trope of an AccidentalMarriage two episodes later. Either the verse has some surprising cultural diversity, or Mal isn't very well travelled.

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' a teenage girl flirts with Stu, a tourist from Earth. He takes the initiative and tries to kiss her, not realising that this is a capital offence. Granted, the Loonies invoked this as part of their justification for their planned independence war.
* One of the characters in ''Timeline'' does the opposite. An opponent throws down the gauntlet to show his contempt, but our hero apparently didn't know that picking it back up meant he accepted.

* In Ranma 1/2, Girl-Ranma does this in Shampoo's village by eating the prize that Shampoo was to win. Shampoo challenges 'her'; Ranma defeats Shampoo, and winds up earning a Death Sentence.

* One of the charachters in ''Timeline'' does the opposite. An opponent throws down the gauntlet to show his contempt, but our hero apparently didn't know that picking it back up meant he accepted.

* ''{{Firefly}}'' episode "Shindig": Mal hauls off and decks Atherton Wing after the latter hits the former's BerserkButton by implying that Inara is a whore (only Mal gets to call her that). Turns out that punching someone in a social function on that planet over a woman is a challenge to a sword duel over the honor of the woman in question.
** That's reading a bit much into the specifics of the situation; it's only specified that hitting someone with a closed fist is considered a formal challenge (whether the circumstances dictated that it SHOULD be to the death is not disclosed).

-> (Mal punches Atherton)
-> '''Atherton:''' I accept.
-> '''Mal:''' That's great! What?

--> --'''{{Firefly}}''', episode "Shindig"

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!!Examples

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* In the ''Starfire'' series by DavidWeber, the Orions consider a toothy smile a challenge. There is also an inversion where a person mistakes an Orion's toothy smile for a friendly gesture.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* ''StarTrekVoyager'': One episode has Janeway insult an alien race by putting her hands on her hips, provoking a conflict due to the "obscene gesture".
* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In episode "Apocalypse Rising", Sisko is pretending to be a Klingon, and as part of the effort, strikes Worf with the back of his hand. Worf then asks if he meant to challenge him to a battle to the death and suggests to simply strike him with his fist instead.

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[[AC:RealLife]]

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* The same happens in a {{Xanth}} story, by PiersAnthony. Dor meets a giant spider, and tries a "hug" gesture to show friendship. The spider thinks he is readying his fangs.

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' a teenage girl flirts with Stu, a tourist from Earth. He takes the initiative and tries to kiss her, not realising that this is a capital offence.

* Japanese got a lot of non-verbal signs easy to botch. But there was one even locals could fall for: in certain period emphatically striking one's sheath with the sword's guard was a gesture of a challenge. Given that it's the culture which invented [[SingleStrokeBattle Iai-jutsu]], this little tradition probably kept the number of warriors with loose sheaths rather low.

In an [[FishOutOfWater unfamiliar social environment]], a character does something that he thinks is mostly innocuous, either intentionally or by accident. Unfortunately, in ''this'' society, said act constitutes ThrowingDownTheGauntlet, and will result in him engaging in a DuelToTheDeath, possibly on the spot.

-> '''Warrick:''' There has been a challenge.

* ''{{Firefly}}'' episode "Shindig": Mal hauls off and decks Atherton Wing after the latter hits the former's BerserkButton by implying that Inara is a whore (only Mal gets to call her that). Turns out that punching someone in a social function in the Core over a woman is a challenge to a sword duel over the honor of the woman in question.
** It wasn't a Core planet. Just an outlying planet with an affluent population.

* The same happens in a {{Xanth}} story, by PiersAnthony. Dor meets a giant spider, and tries a "hug" gesture to show friendship. The spider thinks he is reading his fangs.

--> (Mal punches Atherton)
--> '''Atherton:''' I accept.
--> '''Mal:''' That's great! What?
--> '''Warrick:''' There has been a challenge.
---> --'''{{Firefly}}''', episode "Shindig"

* In {{Anne McCaffrey}}'s ''Acorna'' series, Acorna often unnerves her fellow Linyaari by smiling human-style (with teeth showing). Among her people (Acorna was raised by humans since she was a toddler), baring your teeth is a display of naked aggression, akin to walking around with your fists up.

See also AccidentalMarriage for other results of innocuous gestures.