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* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The Sleeper Under the Hill", a criminal hides a stolen painting on his wall, claiming that is a forgery of the famous painting.

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* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS14E5 The Sleeper Under the Hill", Hill]]", a criminal hides a stolen painting on his wall, claiming that is a forgery of the famous painting.
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* ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'': After learning about Maria, [[spoiler:Yuda]] would infiltrate the school by wearing his old uniform and follow her around. Maria never even noticed him.

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* In ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' ''[[Recap/XenaS03E20VanishingAct episode]]'' Autolycus, inspired by the false tunnel painted over the wall he saw in the castle, paints the golden statue of Pax to blend in with the background.



* A repeated gag used by Wrestling/{{Sting}} (both in TNA and WCW) is to have him wear a Sting mask (a mask identical to his iconic facepaint, making him look like a fan) and sit in the front row in order to ambush his opponent, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GTzHd1h47o here]]. At times he hides among a crowd of other people wearing Sting masks, overlapping with NeedleInAStackOfNeedles, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSRrXyrjUSk&t=05m43s here]].

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* A repeated gag used by Wrestling/{{Sting}} (both in TNA and WCW) is to have him wear a Sting mask (a mask identical to his iconic facepaint, making him look like a fan) and sit in the front row in order to ambush his opponent, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GTzHd1h47o [[https://youtu.be/1GTzHd1h47o here]]. At times he hides among a crowd of other people wearing Sting masks, overlapping with NeedleInAStackOfNeedles, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSRrXyrjUSk&t=05m43s [[https://youtu.be/GSRrXyrjUSk&t=05m43s here]].



* British television presenter and serial pedophile Creator/JimmySavile was incredibly talented at doing this, to the point where his predilections were an open secret within British comedy circles but not much further out. In 2000, he even [[SarcasticConfession said]] on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' that he was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUuOIXLawg "feared in every girls' school in this country"]] to the laughter of the audience (but noticeably ''not'' the panelists). Ian Hislop noted later, "It's a brilliant disguise: you dress up as a pedophile."

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* British television presenter and serial pedophile Creator/JimmySavile was incredibly talented at doing this, to the point where his predilections were an open secret within British comedy circles but not much further out. In 2000, he even [[SarcasticConfession said]] on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' that he was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUuOIXLawg [[https://youtu.be/CtUuOIXLawg "feared in every girls' school in this country"]] to the laughter of the audience (but noticeably ''not'' the panelists). Ian Hislop noted later, "It's a brilliant disguise: you dress up as a pedophile."

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* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' games feature this. In the first game, Altair is able to stand within a group of monks and guards won't spot him as he and the monks are wearing similar colours. From the second game onwards, Ezio is able to do this with any group of people, based on the idea that he's simply lost in the crowd. Although when hiding in a group of courtesans, MaleGaze certainly comes into it. This ranges from plausible to ridiculous depending on the game later in the series, since the assassin uniform stands out like a sore thumb in several of the eras featured.

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* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' games feature this."Hide in plain sight" is the second tenet of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', and every game has the option. In the first game, Altair is able to stand within a group of monks and guards won't spot him as he and the monks are wearing similar colours. From the second game onwards, Ezio any playable Assassin is able to do this with any group of people, based on the idea that he's they're simply lost in the crowd. Although when hiding in a group of courtesans, MaleGaze certainly comes into it. This ranges from plausible to ridiculous depending on the game later in the series, since the assassin uniform stands out like a sore thumb in several of the eras featured.featured (although, starting from Arno, they start wearing less obvious colours than the signature stark-white).


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** During the Assassin's Festival crossover in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Noctis gets to [[AscendedFanboy hide himself in the crowd]] by dint of ''everyone at the festival'' [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles being in Assassin cosplay]]; he just has to [[InTheHood put his hood up]] so Niflheim doesn't recognize his face.

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Fixing indentation


* Francisco Scaramanga's titular weapon in the James Bond film ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' is distinctive when it's put together (not just because it's, well, gold), but when it's disassembled it's basically a golden cigarette case and lighter, a pen and a cufflink. Several times in the film he casually takes these items out and starts fiddling with them, with his intended victim not realising what he's actually doing until it's too late.

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* ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'':
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Francisco Scaramanga's titular weapon in the James Bond film ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' is distinctive when it's put together (not just because it's, well, gold), but when it's disassembled it's basically a golden cigarette case and lighter, a pen and a cufflink. Several times in the film he casually takes these items out and starts fiddling with them, with his intended victim not realising what he's actually doing until it's too late.
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* ''[[Creator/AlanDeanFoster Who Needs Enemies]]'': In "Bystander," a space traveler spends hours observing a nearby alien ship to try and learn something about other (more powerful) cultures, then learns that a nearby comet that he barely glanced at was either a disguised alien ship or a secretly sentient alien itself.
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* This is how [[spoiler:Beatrice]] from ''VisualNovel/TyrionCuthbertAttorneyOfTheArcane'' was able to cast {{Invisibility}} without alerting everyone in the ball room. [[spoiler:She needed to clap her hands together and say "Okultarrae" at the same time. For the clap, she justified it by telling people it's a ritual she does when she's stressed to calm herself down. As for the incantation, she hid it in the middle of the sentence "The '''''occult are a''''' fascinating phenomena" while talking to Aster and Alaric.]] The effects of the spell took place elsewhere, so they didn't notice anything.
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Added wick to Metapuzzle page


* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzlehunt Puzzlehunts,]] or "metapuzzles", often work this way. Ostensibly, each individual puzzle -- such as a maze, a cryptic crossword, a word search, or some other game -- has a commonplace solution. However, the ''true'' goal of the puzzle is to find the "meta-answer", which is hidden somewhere within the solved puzzle itself: for instance, solvers might have to read diagonally down the crossword answers to notice another phrase, or read the first letter of the first answer, second letter of the second, and so on. Truly difficult puzzles can veer into {{Moon Logic|Puzzle}} territory -- for instance, recognizing that the apparently decorative cars on a grid are actually symbols in Morse code-- but the whole goal is that all of the information you need to find it is right in front of you. It's all a question of knowing how to look at it.

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* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzlehunt Puzzlehunts,]] or "metapuzzles", "{{Metapuzzle}}s", often work this way. Ostensibly, each individual puzzle -- such as a maze, a cryptic crossword, a word search, or some other game -- has a commonplace solution. However, the ''true'' goal of the puzzle is to find the "meta-answer", which is hidden somewhere within the solved puzzle itself: for instance, solvers might have to read diagonally down the crossword answers to notice another phrase, or read the first letter of the first answer, second letter of the second, and so on. Truly difficult puzzles can veer into {{Moon Logic|Puzzle}} territory -- for instance, recognizing that the apparently decorative cars on a grid are actually symbols in Morse code-- but the whole goal is that all of the information you need to find it is right in front of you. It's all a question of knowing how to look at it.
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covered by the more specific Treasure Chest Cavity


* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', somewhat, as four out of the five titular Elemental stones are hidden inside the Diva Plava Lagunia, a renowned opera diva.

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* In ''Fanfic/BlackSky'', George Weasley disappears from Hogwarts after his twin's petrification, and the staff and students wonder where did he go. Immediately following his vanishing, a new student came from nowhere, but everyone knows that George Weasley is a flamboyant prankster and a staunch Gryffindor and as much would never assume the persona of Jerry Prewett, the quiet Slytherin well-accepted by the Snake Pit. Everyone's wrong.

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* In ''Fanfic/BlackSky'', ''Fanfic/BlackSky''
**
George Weasley disappears from Hogwarts after his twin's petrification, and the staff and students wonder where did he go. Immediately following his vanishing, a new student came from nowhere, but everyone knows that George Weasley is a flamboyant prankster and a staunch Gryffindor and as much would never assume the persona of Jerry Prewett, the quiet Slytherin well-accepted by the Snake Pit. Everyone's wrong.
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Spelling.


* ''Series/{{Willow}}'': Due to a vision Willow had that she would be killed and leave the world in ruins when the forces of evil took over, Sorsha determined she would hide Elora Danen as a [[spoiler:simple servant in her castle, Brünhilde (nicknamed Dove), who at first has no idea about this]].

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* ''Series/{{Willow}}'': Due to a vision Willow had that she would be killed and leave the world in ruins when the forces of evil took over, Sorsha determined she would hide Elora Danen Danan as a [[spoiler:simple servant in her castle, Brünhilde (nicknamed Dove), who at first has no idea about this]].
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** Due to [[JerkassGenie a poorly-worded wish]], Demona eventually stops turning to stone during the day and instead becomes a human. [[KarmicTransformation She utterly despises this]], but as it's going to happen whether she likes it or not she quickly begins to take advantage of being able to interact freely with humans to further her genocidal goals.
--->'''Demona:''' My current... "situation" - though disturbing and distasteful... does, I admit, have certain... advantages. For example, there's much less sneaking around, less hiding... I can drive right up to my home in broad daylight... and not a single human even thinks to scream. The more fool they.
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** In "Lisa the Vegetarian", the entrance to Apu's secret garden on the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart is a freezer compartment labeled 'Non-alcoholic beer'.

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** In "Lisa the Vegetarian", the entrance to Apu's secret garden on the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart is a freezer compartment labeled [[DiscouragingConcealment 'Non-alcoholic beer'.beer']].
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* When Creator/TomCruise was practicing for his role in ''Film/{{Collateral}}'', he tested his ability to go incognito by working as a [=FedEx=] delivery man, with only a hat and sunglasses. Nobody recognized him.

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removing general example


* A similar trick involves using a fake name and fake phone number as a username and password, respectively, and adding them to your phone's contacts list. Even someone who thinks to check will have to fish it out of the list of actual contacts, and that's assuming they are able to bypass the phone's own locking measures.
* Lots of different species of plants and animals hide by blending into their surroundings using camouflage. They do this to catch unsuspecting prey or avoid predators.



* In the context of abusers and people with abusive mindsets, this trope can very frequently rear its head in the form of covert red flags, hints as to their true nature that seem innocuous enough to a layperson to be cast out in the open without issue. People who ''are'' aware of what the abusers are actually like can recognize the red flags right away, but because everyone else around them doesn't know, they aren't able to catch onto the evidence right in front of their faces. Abusers sometimes use this to blame the laypeople for not noticing or accuse them of BystanderSyndrome, [[NeverMyFault rather than taking accountability for their own actions.]]
** British television presenter and serial pedophile Creator/JimmySavile was incredibly talented at doing this, to the point where his predilections were an open secret within British comedy circles but not much further out. In 2000, he even [[SarcasticConfession said]] on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' that he was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUuOIXLawg "feared in every girls' school in this country"]] to the laughter of the audience (but noticeably ''not'' the panelists). Ian Hislop noted later, "It's a brilliant disguise: you dress up as a pedophile."
** Louis CK incorporated his sexual abuse predilections into his comedy for years, including an episode in one series about his character (also named Louis CK) forcing a woman to watch him masturbate, something he actually did to his female coworkers.

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* In the context of abusers and people with abusive mindsets, this trope can very frequently rear its head in the form of covert red flags, hints as to their true nature that seem innocuous enough to a layperson to be cast out in the open without issue. People who ''are'' aware of what the abusers are actually like can recognize the red flags right away, but because everyone else around them doesn't know, they aren't able to catch onto the evidence right in front of their faces. Abusers sometimes use this to blame the laypeople for not noticing or accuse them of BystanderSyndrome, [[NeverMyFault rather than taking accountability for their own actions.]]
**
British television presenter and serial pedophile Creator/JimmySavile was incredibly talented at doing this, to the point where his predilections were an open secret within British comedy circles but not much further out. In 2000, he even [[SarcasticConfession said]] on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' that he was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUuOIXLawg "feared in every girls' school in this country"]] to the laughter of the audience (but noticeably ''not'' the panelists). Ian Hislop noted later, "It's a brilliant disguise: you dress up as a pedophile."
** * Louis CK incorporated his sexual abuse predilections into his comedy for years, including an episode in one series about his character (also named Louis CK) forcing a woman to watch him masturbate, something he actually did to his female coworkers.



* "Grayman tactics" rely on this, as the tactic is all about blending into the background of a populated area by looking as normal, bland, and unremarkable as possible. Your brain basically blurs all the stimuli that it’s used to into the background until the reticular activating system is stimulated. You don’t usually notice what clothes someone you know is wearing unless it’s something new, and you don’t usually notice their face until they get a haircut. This is because your brain only has so much space, so things that it's seen a million times get bypassed as unimportant. As such, grayman tactics are all about being something that a random stranger would be used to seeing, bypassed as nothing special, and allowed to go about your business.

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* In the ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' episode "Leviathan", the thief hid the uncut diamonds he had stolen in a jar of multicolored glass rocks. In the same episode, they discover the identity of a legendary phantom thief with the priceless coins he had stolen displayed as his cuffs on his suit and the painting hidden in a replica of that painting displayed in his living room.

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* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'':
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In the ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' episode "Leviathan", the thief hid the uncut diamonds he had stolen in a jar of multicolored glass rocks. In the same episode, they discover the identity of a legendary phantom thief with the priceless coins he had stolen displayed as his cuffs on his suit and the painting hidden in a replica of that painting displayed in his living room.


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** The final arc of Season Two reveals that Sherlock's brother Mycroft is actually a spy for [=MI6=] who's being framed as a [[TheMole mole]] for foreign intelligence. Things look bad for Mycroft when he realizes that he's been in all of the locations on a list of the mole's activities, but he swears up and down that he's innocent. It's Joan who figures out the truth: the real mole is Mycroft's handler Sherrington, who accompanied him everywhere and was considered BeneathNotice by [=MI6=] (and indeed, Sherrington angrily admits that he's partially motivated ''because'' the organization has ignored him for so long).
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** In "Strange Jest," a Miss Marple short story, Charmaine and Edward, a young couple, asks for the elderly lady's help in finding the inheritance their Uncle Mathew left them. They've torn his house and garden apart looking for it, but the actual treasure is much easier to find. Upon being shown a hidden cabinet in Uncle Mathew's writing desk, Miss Marple realizes that there's "a secret inside a secret" involved and uses a hairpin to open a concealed drawer in the cabinet; the opening is hidden as a clearly-visible wormhole in the back of the structure. The drawer itself contains old letters and a strange recipe, and Edward and Charmaine think that the letters and recipe form a secret code, but Miss Marple tells them they're overthinking it: the stamps on the envelopes are actually extremely rare and valuable and thus the true inheritance. As she explains it, Uncle Mathew, as a [[TheGadfly prankster]], couldn't resist playing a little joke as a final puzzle for his relatives to solve.
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* {{Downplayed}} in ''Literature/TheSecretOfPlatform13.'' When [[RichBitch Mrs. Trottle]] catches on to the rescuers and takes [[SpoiledBrat Raymond]] into hiding, they naturally expect that she's left London. They look into her summer home in Scotland, have lookouts at train stations and docks, etc. It turns out that she's still in the city, though at a very high-class and secure hotel that makes getting to Raymond much harder.

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* {{Downplayed}} {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheSecretOfPlatform13.'' When [[RichBitch Mrs. Trottle]] catches on to the rescuers and takes [[SpoiledBrat Raymond]] into hiding, they naturally expect that she's left London. They look into her summer home in Scotland, have lookouts at train stations and docks, etc. It turns out that she's still in the city, though at a very high-class and secure hotel that makes getting to Raymond much harder.



* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.

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* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':



* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', Spider-Man invokes this trope when he doesn't bother to change out of his costume after ending his patrol, as it's Halloween and everyone simply thinks he's a fan in a costume. It isn't until he starts shooting webs that the others realize he's actually Spider-Man.

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* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'', Spider-Man invokes this trope when he doesn't bother to change out of his costume after ending his patrol, as it's Halloween and everyone simply thinks he's a fan in a costume. It isn't until he starts shooting webs that the others realize he's actually Spider-Man.
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* Similarly done with [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page529.html this strip]] of ''{{Webcomic/Subnormality}}'', where the OvertOperative is just a SharpDressedMan — the ''actual'' spy is the one who'd been trying to get the waitress' attention for the duration of the strip.

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* Similarly done with [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page529.html this strip]] of ''{{Webcomic/Subnormality}}'', where the James Bond-looking OvertOperative in the tuxedo that the comic ''seems'' to focus on is just [[SharpDressedMan some handsome guy in a SharpDressedMan tuxedo]] — the ''actual'' spy spy/narrator is the one old guy with glasses in the background, who'd been trying and failing to get the waitress' attention for the duration of the strip.
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* Marvin Acme's LostWillAndTestament in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''. It was [[spoiler:printed in disappearing-reappearing ink in the paper Roger used to write his love letter to Jessica]].

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* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Marvin Acme's LostWillAndTestament in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.LostWillAndTestament. It was [[spoiler:printed in disappearing-reappearing ink in the paper Roger used to write his love letter to Jessica]].



** One variation involves an employee at a car manufacturing plant who asks to take home a wheelbarrow full of useless scrap metal every Friday to tinker with over the weekend. His boss, suspecting that he's trying to smuggle out valuable car parts among the scrap, digs through the contents of the wheelbarrow and never finds anything, so he lets him go. Years later, the boss realizes he's just stealing wheelbarrows.

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** * One variation involves an employee at a car manufacturing plant who asks to take home a wheelbarrow full of useless scrap metal every Friday to tinker with over the weekend. His boss, suspecting that he's trying to smuggle out valuable car parts among the scrap, digs through the contents of the wheelbarrow and never finds anything, so he lets him go. Years later, the boss realizes he's just stealing wheelbarrows.
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* ''Literature/MenInBlackTheGreenSalivaBlues'': Late in the book, after their telepathic "ally" has been killed, Jay and Elle have to figure out where the last sixteen Zahurians are hiding. Jay comes to the sudden realization that they don't need to be looking for trees -- they need to be looking for ''hiding places'', where the tree-like aliens could blend in without being spotted. Later on, a comment from the waitress leads them further along the right path, to finding places where a lot of flowering plum trees could sit around without being seen as out of the ordinary. The agents ultimately find the Zahurians in a local mall, one already heavily populated by mundane flowering plum trees.

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