History Main / NoTimeToExplain

* ''Film/WorldWarZ''. BradPitt's character picks up a crucial clue about the virus, and gives this trope while convincing his superior in the UN to order the aircraft they're in to divert to a WHO research station. As the aircraft crashes shortly afterwards, it's something of a FridgeHorror moment; what if he'd been killed in the crash?

* ''Film/WorldWarZ''. BradPitt's character has an idea about the virus, and gives this trope while convincing his superior in the UN to order the aircraft they're in to divert to a WHO research station. As the aircraft crashes shortly afterwards, it's something of a FridgeHorror moment; what if he'd been killed in the crash?

* ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes A Game Of Shadows}}''. Holmes tries this line on Watson after throwing his wife off the train so she'll be out of the way of their shootout with Moriarty's henchmen. Unsurprisingly, Watson responds by trying to throttle him and is only stopped when the henchmen burst in the door and are killed by a [[BatmanGambit booby-trapped rifle set up by Holmes earlier]].

* Used to good effect in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Hero Worship": The Enterprise is stuck in a NegativeSpaceWedgie which is shooting a WorldWreckingWave at them. At the last second Data, in the throes of a EurekaMoment, orders the DeflectorShields to be deactivated -- explaining, after the fact, that the WorldWreckingWave was [[spoiler: a [[AttackReflector reflection]] of the shields' energy]].

See also YouDidntAsk, NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer, UnspokenPlanGuarantee, and DontAskJustRun. Contrast TalkingIsAFreeAction. However, be careful: This is a favorite tactic of a HighSchoolHustler in initiating a BavarianFireDrill.

* ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes A Game Of Shadows}}''. Holmes tries this line on Watson after throwing his wife off the train so she'll be out of the way of their shootout with Moriarty's henchman. Unsurprisingly, Watson responds by trying to throttle him and is only stopped when the henchman burst in the door and are killed by a [[BatmanGambit booby-trapped rifle set up by Holmes earlier]].

** It was also used in the early days when the Doctor had more than one companion. For example, the Doctor and Susan would have one adventure, while [[TrappedByMountainLions something else happened to Ian and Barbara]]. The line was used so the Doctor didn't have to explain events to Ian and Barbara that the audience had already witnessed.

** Played straight in a lot of other episodes. It's not uncommon for Picard to get a message over the Comm from one of his men that he's found something, then upon asking what is told, "You better come see this."

* In ''Anime/FairyTail'', during the Edolas arc, Gajeel says this to Erza and Gray.

** Deliberately over-used in StevenMoffat's UsefulNotes/ComicRelief parody "The Curse of Fatal Death", where it serves entirely as a LampshadeHanging on things there simply aren't in-universe explanations for.

* In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cute]]" from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', after Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is restored to normal, she asks just what happened. Twilight Sparkle tells her that there's no time to explain; they have to go fix Applejack. There isn't literally a time limit, but Twilight probably feels that the time for explanation is after the rest of the cast has been rescued from their misery.

--> '''Maxim 3:''' [[DontAskJustRun An ordinance technician at a dead run outranks]] ''[[DontAskJustRun everybody]]''.

--> '''Maxim 3:''' An ordinance technician at a dead run outranks ''everybody''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersVictory'': When Hellbat, Black Shadow, and Blue Bacchus are attacking a plasma energy facility on planet Micro, Greatshot orders them to let him take car of it, specifically saying that there's no time to explain.

* In ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmations'', Pongo says this to Danny the Great Dane, after he and Perdita realise that Cruella is behind everything and they need to hurry. Quite a few Disney films seem fond of this line.

* In ''Disney/101Dalmations'', Pongo says this to Danny the Great Dane, after he and Perdita realise that Cruella is behind everything and they need to hurry. Quite a few Disney films seem fond of this line.

--> '''Uncle Felix:''' The first of which is... [''removes his fake mustache''] ...I'm not you're uncle.

->'''Wendy''': Stop doing that!\\
'''The Middleman''': What?\\
'''Wendy''': "Don't talk until the world is un-doomed! You can't cry until you've reached the international safe house. You have forty seconds to save your friendship!"\\
'''The Middleman''': These rules exist for a reason.\\
'''Wendy''': Why?\\
'''The Middleman''': I don't have time to explain now.
-->--''TheMiddleman'', "The Accidental Occidental Conception"

The only real justification is that it almost always takes longer to describe a given action than to just perform it - [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission."]] Explaining the action may waste valuable time that should be spent performing the action - [[ExplainExplainOhCrap meaning there is no time to perform the action at all.]] Of course, there's always the possibility that the person asking forgiveness ''really'' should have gotten permission - NiceJobBreakingItHero.

Not to be confused with the [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/558562 fun game of the same name]] which [[VideoGame/NoTimeToExplain has its own page now]].

* Deliberately invoked in GaoGaiGar Final by [[spoiler:Clone]] Mamoru as he steals the Q-Parts.

* Used by Reed Richards in every single issue of ComicBook/FantasticFour ever. [[spoiler:Slight, but only slight, exaggeration]].
* A particularly galling comic book example occured in a plotline in the ComicBook/{{X-Men}} books, especially ''{{Cable}}''. Bishop, a time-travelling X-Man, was determined to kill an infant being protected by Cable because ... he never said, except that she threatened the future in some way. He constantly insisted that the X-Men would agree that she needed to die ''if only they knew'' what a horrible future her survival would lead to. But he just ''never'' had time to explain it to them. This made sense (or at least you could see how it made sense to him) when he was in a running gun battle with Cable. Made a little less sense when the X-Men caught him and held him onto him for a few hours before he escaped.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Also parodied in the Norwegian ''Film/DeadSnow'', when two of the protagonists are trying to keep the attacking nazi zombies from breaking into the house.
-->-We've got to get to the shed!
-->-What? Why do we need to go there?
-->''(a beat)''
-->-Uh... no time to explain!
* In ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'', Nancy has a dream that she's seeing [[spoiler:her friend Rod]] being killed in the jail cell he's in. She wakes up and gets Glen (Johnny Depp) to accompany her to the police station. They join up at Nancy's house and run to the police station. Nancy waits until they're entering the police station to tell Glen that she doesn't have any time to explain. What could they have been discussing the rest of the way there that was more important than the fact that [[spoiler:Rod Lane]] was being killed?
* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': "Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
* Parodied in the fourth iteration of the ''ScaryMovie'' series, when the Tom Cruise/''[[Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds War Of The Worlds ]]'' character says "We're leaving this house in 30 seconds, there's no time to explain", and a random passerby runs up to the window and screams "Alien Attack!". Tom admits that that pretty much covered it.
* ''SpyKids''
--> '''Uncle Felix:''' (about the kids' parents being spies) There's so much I have to tell yu, but very little time to explain.
--> '''Carmen:''' Uncle Felix!
--> '''Uncle Felix:''' The first of which is (removes his fake mustache) I'm not you're uncle.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Ron gets increasingly more annoyed each time Hermione does this.
** And Hermione does this offscreen in a way that backfires in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]''. She and Penelope figure out what's petrifying students, and they proceed to run out of the library without bothering to tell anyone, like the librarian or other students, what it is. They manage to get petrified before they can get wherever they're going.
* This also happens in the ''[[Literature/ThePendragonAdventure Pendragon]]'' series, where Bobby, Gunny, and Spader initially think that stopping the {{Hindenburg}} explosion would save the future but upon a trip to the future Bobby and Gunny find out that [[spoiler:stopping the Hindenburg explosion would allow Hitler to win World War II.]] Spader refuses to believe this, as he doesn't understand how they know. He might have understood if Bobby or Gunny had taken more time to explain things to him; however, they also had to stop someone else from stopping the explosion, and couldn't take the time to explain things to him.
* Painfully used in ''TheWheelOfTime'' where there is no time to explain anything to Rand Al'Thor, on their long trek across the entire kingdom.
** Moiraine had no intention of explaining anything. Aes Sedai seldom do. "Because I said so" is generally considered enough for most people.
** With good reason, in this case. If Rand had turned out ''not'' to be the actual Dragon Reborn, it would be better if he hadn't been told the whole story. False Dragons (usually self-deluded into believing they're the real thing) often cause an incredible amount of havoc before they're brought down, so it's better not to give him any ideas until they can be sure he's The One.
* In ''[[Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSocietyThe Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey]]'', Reynie uses this to fend off questions from Joe "Cannonball" Shooter about why he and the other members of the Society aren't accompanied by any adults. It works quite easily, given that Cannonball is the sort of guy who is always on the move anyway.
* At the start of ''[[AuntDimity Aunt Dimity's Good Deed]]'', Willis Sr. abruptly leaves Lori's cottage after writing note to her that's uncharacteristically short on details, citing this trope. At first, Lori thinks it's a joke Nell played, but Nell points to the absence of the blue journal and Reginald. Dimity has left behind a second note, which has some additional information, but it ends in mid-sentence. This sets up the pursuit of Willis Sr. throughout the rest of the novel. When Nell points this out, Wiilis Sr. pleads "high spirits" [[spoiler: at just receiving the news that Lori is pregnant]].

* Used in ''Series/DoctorWho'' :"Can't talk, must dash, explain later!" is basically one of the Doctor's catch-phrases. Any particular usage may be [[DontAskJustRun terrifyingly true]] or [[BlatantLies a typically clumsy bid to avoid the things he never, ever explains]].

* They didn't use the line, but in ''HighlanderTheSeries'', [[spoiler:Richie]] wouldn't have died if [[spoiler:Joe]] had spit out one more sentence before dragging [[spoiler:Duncan]] to him.
* ''TheTwilightZone'' episode "Passage on the ''Lady Anne''" has a pretty {{egregious}} example. At one point, the main characters are told "there's no time for lengthy explanations." [[spoiler:Unlike some of the other examples and the Trope description, though, there never ''was'' an onscreen reveal; the viewer never finds out the ''Lady Anne'''s dark secret.]]

* Used to ''good'' effect in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Hero Worship": The Enterprise is stuck in a NegativeSpaceWedgie which is shooting a WorldWreckingWave at them. At the last second Data, in the throes of a EurekaMoment, orders the DeflectorShields to be deactivated -- explaining, after the fact, that the WorldWreckingWave was [[spoiler: a [[AttackReflector reflection]] of the shields' energy]].
* Parodied in ''GregTheBunny'':

* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' was quite fond of this trope. Just do what Jack Bauer says, people. He's always right, anyway.
* A variation on ''{{Lost}}''. Ben tells Sun and Jack that in thirty minutes, he can take them to a woman who can explain everything to them. Cut to them in the car, and Sun says "You said we'd be there in thirty minutes." He responds, "I didn't account for traffic."
** Lost is rife with this in situations like "Come on, we need to get to the other side of the island, no time to explain" Cue several hour/day march across the island [[FridgeLogic making you wonder if they simply marched in silence or maybe talked about the weather for ten hours and a camping stop]], because they certainly ''must'' have had a few minutes to get caught up as they walked.
* Subverted in the ''{{Series/Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E17BasicLupineUrology Basic Lupine Urology]]": Starburns is being chased through the school by Troy and Abed, and he attempts [[FakeOutMakeOut to hide himself by asking Quendra to kiss him]], saying that he will "explain later". She refuses and says that she doesn't care what the explanation is.

* Gorion's use of this trope is pretty much the entire reason ''BaldursGate'' happens. Which doesn't really make sense, seeing as all he ever had to say was [[spoiler:"You're one of the many children of the God of Murder, and there's this guy going around killing them all and starting a pointless war so ''he'' can be the God of Murder. Time to leave!"]]

* In ''{{Fahrenheit}}'', [[spoiler: at one point Lucas has a vision of the evil Oracle approaching his brother Markus at his church. Lucas immediately calls his brother and tells him to lock himself in. Markus asks why and the player is given the choice to either say NoTimeToExplain, at which point you gain control of Markus and can lock yourself in; or come up with an alternative.]]

* There is a flash game ''entitled'' [[{{Troperiffic}} "No Time]] [[http://www.arcadebomb.com/play/no_time_to_explain.html to Explain"]] in which your player is intruded on in his home by [[MyFutureSelfAndMe him from the future]], who informs the player of the fact and remarks "[[TitleDrop there's no time to explain!]]" before getting dragged out by a GiantEnemyCrab, leaving you to pick up a giant laser beam doubling as a jetpack to stop the crab. It turns out that [[spoiler:a (mostly, aside from possibly giving you and your past self a T-Rex heads or glasses) StableTimeLoop is in effect, and after being dragged out of the house by the Giant Enemy Crab again (also possibly wearing a T-Rex head or glasses), the original player screams "I should've seen this coming!!"]] A commercial remake was released later, which proves there's really no time to explain all the crazy stuff before the first attack.
* A doppelganger of yours says this literally in SimonTheSorcerer 2 after you break out of a cell. He also hands you a strange twig that teleports you outside and as it turns out, your doppelganger was [[spoiler:actually your future self helping you escape via a so called timestick]].

* Shows up in ''KeychainOfCreation''...after the heroes had already gone through an overly-long TransformationSequence.

* SchlockMercenary has this in its BigBookOfWar. Twice.

* Parodied on ''TheSimpsons'', in the episode "Lemon of Troy": Nelson bursts into the classroom and shouts "Everybody come quick! Something's happened. NoTimeToExplain." Along the way, he stops take a drink at a fountain, and is asked if it wouldn't be simpler to explain the matter. His response is "No! I said there's no time to explain and I stick by that!"

** Played straight in ''TransformersVictory'' - when Hellbat, Black Shadow, and Blue Bacchus are attacking a plasma energy facility on planet Micro, Greatshot orders them to let him take car of it, specifically saying that there's no time to explain.
* "No time to explain, Fred!" was Super Chicken's CatchPhrase (well, one of them) in ''GeorgeOfTheJungle''.

* Birdman plays this card in the ''Birdman'' episode "Avenger for Ransom", as he steals top-secret government documents and flies out the window, when just a few more words might have averted a skirmish with the military. Later, when he reveals that the documents he gave the villain were worthless, the general apologizes to ''him'' for doubting his word.

* In CharlieTheUnicorn 3:
-->'''Blue unicorn''': Come with us to the future!
-->'''Pink unicorn''': We need your help to finish our snowman!
-->'''Charlie:''' Snowman? What're you going on about?
-->'''Blue unicorn''': There's no time to explain!
-->'''Pink unicorn''': Grab on to our tongues!
* In ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' the good fairies tell this to Prince Phillip as they break him out of Maleficent's dungeon.
* ''AngelinaBallerina: The Next Steps'' has the titular character saying this when her best friend, Alice, is saying about not liking of going to separate schools. Guess what she tried to her in the end.
* Averted in {{ReBoot}}, in the season 3 episode Mouse Trap. Bob tells the crew that they have to lower the shields (which were the only things keeping them safe from the ravages of the Web) in order to pass through the buffer surrounding Mainframe. There's a general outcry at this because it sounds insane, but when [=AndrAIa=] asks Bob why, he explains. (Turns out, their shields were made from dead web creatures, which was why Mouse's trap, set up to protect Mainframe from such beings, had activated.)

* ''HarryPotter'': Ron gets increasingly more annoyed each time Hermione does this.
** And Hermione does this offscreen in a way that backfires in Chamber of Secrets. She and Penelope figure out what's petrifying students, and they proceed to run out of the library without bothering to tell anyone, like the librarian or other students, what it is. They manage to get petrified before they can get wherever they're going.