History Main / INeverSaidItWasPoison

* A ''NancyDrew'' book had a JerkAss character being poisoned, but ultimately recovering. A few days later, his ex-girlfriend taunts him about as he tries to eat breakfast, stating, "You know, poison doesn't have to be a powder. Something could have been injected into that orange. . ." The only way she could have know what type of poison was used was if she was the assailant. So [[QuoteMine just take out the "doesn't have to be" part]], and she almost looks like there's a chance that she [[RuleOfThree might have]] known what kind of poison the original was.

* A ''NancyDrew'' book had a JerkAss character being poisoned, but ultimately recovering. A few days later, his ex-girlfriend taunts him about as he tries to eat breakfast, stating, "You know, poison doesn't have to be a powder. Something could have been injected into that orange. . ." The only way she could have know what type of poison was used was if she was the assailant.

This trope must be handled carefully; when sloppily done it's likely to turn what should be a dramatic moment into a FridgeLogic. The most common mistake is making the piece of information something that the person who makes the "slip" could reasonably have found out without committing the offense. The second most common mistake is making the "slip" an assumption that could reasonably be made even by an innocent person. It's also quite doubtful that anyone who committed the crime and isn't particularly scatterbrained would forget what they were and weren't told.

This trope must be handled carefully; when sloppily done it's likely to turn what should be a dramatic moment into a FridgeLogic. The most common mistake is making the piece of information something that the person who makes the "slip" could reasonably have found out without committing the offense. The second most common mistake is making the "slip" an assumption that could reasonably be made even by an innocent person.

The usual response to a perp SayingTooMuch. The perp, while maintaining his innocence, reveals information he could not possibly have known if he were innocent, usually the [[SayingTooMuch specific details of a murder]]. It can take the form of a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. For full dramatic effect, the interrogator does not immediately point out this discrepancy, but continues the interview, often saving the kicker to the very end, as a sort of AndAnotherThing epilogue. Even more dramatically, the interrogator may insist is ''wasn't'' poison and then probe the perp's reaction to this lie.

The usual response to a perp SayingTooMuch. The perp, while maintaining his innocence, reveals information he could not possibly have known if he were innocent, usually the [[SayingTooMuch specific details of a murder]]. It can take the form of a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. For full dramatic effect, the interrogator does not immediately point out this discrepancy, but continues the interview, often saving the kicker to the very end, as a sort of AndAnotherThing epilogue.

* In ''ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'', [[spoiler:the fake "Flora"]] is revealed when he looks at a photograph of the the Elysian Box and mentions [[spoiler:the cute goat on it. The picture was missing a piece that identifies the emblem as a goat (it looks more like a frog without it), meaning "Flora" had seen the mysterious box before, making him the thief]].

* In an episode of Warehouse13, an agent is discovered murdered under strange circumstances, and the team tracks down his old girlfriend to ask her some questions, during which she asks whether there have been any more electrocutions. Later, they realize nobody ever ''mentioned'' he was killed by electrocution. (Turns out she was also a warehouse agent, who ran off when her boyfriend was killed during an investigation, and knows exactly what did it.)

* In ''Wild Child'', when Poppy is before the Honour Court for setting fire to the school, head girl Harriet accidentally reveals that she was actually the one who started the fire, by talking about the very specific ligther that Poppy supposedly used when no one has mentioned anything about a ligther.

** One story had Encyclopedia figuring out which member of a gang robbed a grocery store, his only piece of evidence being a knife left stuck into a watermelon. When confronting the gang, one of the members says his knife is an inch longer...despite the knife never having been taken out of the melon, and the watermelon specifically having been described as "huge" so that even the longer knifeblade would still be completely hidden.
** Another EncyclopediaBrown story has someone getting shot in the foot by a BB gun. One of Bugs' friends shows up an Encyclopedia tells him to run to the kid's house and get his shoe. The kid grabs the correct shoe, and Encyclopedia points out that unless he was the one who shot him, he couldn't have known which shoe to get.

** Explicitly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''LawAndOrderLosAngeles when the prosecutor asks the defendant, a Secret Service agent, if based on his long career and investigations that he'd agree that a suspect displaying knowledge of the crime was probably guilty. Defendant says yes. Prosecutor presents the text messages (sent from a smartphone they'd found concealed in the defendant's cell) to the victims' husband/father revealing information that only someone present in the house just before the attack would have known.

** Explicitly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''LawAndOrderLosAngeles]] when the prosecutor asks the defendant, a Secret Service agent, if based on his long career and investigations that he'd agree that a suspect displaying knowledge of the crime was probably guilty. Defendant says yes. Prosecutor presents the text messages (sent from a smartphone they'd found concealed in the defendant's cell) to the victims' husband/father revealing information that only someone present in the house just before the attack would have known.

* In ''{{Persona 4}}'', [[spoiler:Adachi]] reveals himself by saying that he thought everyone was sure that "[[spoiler:Namatame]] put them in [the television]" -- no one but the murderer and the protagonists could have known that that was how the victims were killed. He had also cast suspicion on himself in an earlier instance when the protagonists [[spoiler:find a list of everyone that Nametame had put into the television: Adachi shows no surprise at the contents of the list despite the fact that it was comprised of people who were rescued before being murdered (and were therefore classed as mere "disappearances" that had no relation to the murders).]]

This trope must be handled carefully; when sloppily done it's likely to turn what should be a dramatic moment into a FridgeLogic. The most common mistake is making the piece of information something that the person who makes the "slip" could reasonably have found out without committing the offense. The second most common mistake is making the "slip" an assumption that could reasonably be made even by an innocent person.

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* In {{Transmetropolitan}}, our heroic journalist accuses the presidential candidate of killing his aide, to which the response is along the lines of "Of course we wouldn't kill her, she was a friend and a vital part of the campaign". See there how they admit that murdering some people would be okay in their book.

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* In ''TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Mercedes realizes that the mysterious Count really is Edmond when he tells her that "Edmond Dantes is dead." She had told him that her love was dead, but not his name.

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* In JoWalton's novel ''Farthing'', the murder victim appears to have been stabbed. The police forensic techs figure out that he actually died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but don't reveal this to the press. A bit later, one character reveals that they know that the victim was gassed.

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::: The victim had been stabbed in the head.

** An example from season 2: A woman with amnesia comments that "someone bashed that poor man's head in," when no one had told her how the man was killed. Unfortunately, by the time Kate realizes this, it's too late.
* Subverted on ''HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': In the episode "Bad Medicine," Detective Lewis tells VillainWithGoodPublicity Luther Mahoney that a recently deceased thug obviously committed suicide. Mahoney scoffs, pointing out that the victim was shot in the back of the head and the gun was left on the table next to him. Lewis gleefully pounces, proclaiming that neither piece of information was released to the public and placing Mahoney under arrest. In the end, though, the state's attorney figures that there are any number of ways Mahoney could have learned it, too many to be beyond reasonable doubt.
* Inverted on ''TheWire'': The detectives show one of the perps a bag with three guns saying that they found his fingerprints on one of them. The perp knows that they cleaned them, so asks the detectives which one it is. They point to another gun.

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* The Cranes of Ibycus is a classic example of this trope making it OlderThanDirt. According to legend ancient Greek poet Ibycus was murdered by bandits on his way to Isthmian Games. Only the Cranes flying above witnessed the murder. Later the criminals gave themselves away by pointing out 'The Cranes of Ibycus' to one another in public.

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* A "Five Minute Mystery" titled [[http://www.otr.net/r/fmin/74.ram The Return of Mr. Lawrence]] plays it by the book: a murdered woman's maid accuses the woman's former husband of poisoning her. The police never said it was poison.

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* Used, in a rather lame piece of writing, to determine the Dean's real murderer in ''VeronicaMars''.

-->'''Lassiter:''' Hang on a minute! I don't believe anyone said the witness' name. You're under arrest.\

** Subverted, in that it was deliberate.

-->'''Moe/Claudius (nervously to Gertrude/Marge):''' Do you have diarrhoea? I have diarrhoea... ''[tries to leave]''

-->'''Bridget:''' You're a liar, Malcolm Reynolds!

** One episode had him find a witness, but it was a blind man. So they bring the suspect in, and [[spoiler:have a guy in shades walk in, sit down, and identify the suspect as leaving the murder scene right after the murder. The suspect, a psychologist, claims to be able to use his medical training to tell the man is blind, and hands him a newspaper...which he reads perfectly. Columbo reveals it's actually the blind man's similar-looking brother, and there was no way the suspect should've thought he was blind.]]