History Main / OuthumblingEachOther

!Examples

->'''Sheldon''': Howard, that's quite a gesture on your part. Showing yourself to be the bigger man.
->'''Howard''': Thank you.
->'''Sheldon''': Which I find totally unacceptable. I must be the bigger man.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the ''[[http://www.epicrapbattlesofhistory.com/ Epic Rap Battles of History]]'' episode "MLK Jr. vs. Mahatma Gandhi", they try to out-forgive each other.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Lightnovel/DateALive'': The competitive "splinters"/twins Kaguya and Yuzura call each other out on arrogance and get violent again instead of waiting on the "duel" outcome, when they find out that they both have secretly asked Shidou to actually choose ''the other one of the two'' as the winner (Shidou is agreed to be [[FinalBattle the tie-breaking]] judge as well as the target of novel-for-the-two duel in womanly charms). The said winner is to get to solely inherit the Yamai spirit identity and keep on living while the loser is to cease to exist.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''Series/FatherTed'', Mrs. Doyle goes for tea with her friend Mrs. Donne. Afterwards, both women insist on picking up the check, with the conflict escalating to a physical fight. In the end neither of them pays, because the management calls the police on them. ''Then'' they start insisting they will pay the bail for the other and almost come to blows again.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': After an argument between Sheldon & Howard over a parking spot, Howard comes over to apologize and let Sheldon have the spot. Sheldon, annoyed Howard is trying to be the bigger man, decides to let him have it instead and demands Howard acknowledge him as as the bigger man.

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', one of the fights between Peter and the Chicken was over who would pick up the check after the Chicken and his wife take Peter out for dinner in an attempt to bury the hatchet, because Peter refused to let the Chicken pay for everything.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesWeirdMysteries'' ends with Archie and Reggie each insisting that they'll pay for the tab. When it looks like they're going to break into an argument, Betty decides to pay instead. Subverted when it turns out they were only pretending to argue with each other so someone else would pay for them.

** Naturally, given their SiblingRivalry, Frasier and Niles fall into this trap when trying to be the bigger man and ending the latest spat they've gotten themselves into. After one particular public humiliation in court:

** Naturally, given their SiblingRivalry, Frasier and Niles fall into this trap when trying to be the bigger man and ending the latest spat they've gotten themselves into. Lampshaded after one particular public humiliation in court:

** In another episode, Frasier and Niles appear to have tried to avert this by taking turns "being the bigger man" whenever they have a falling out, leading Frasier to gleefully remember on one occasion that it's his turn to be the humble and mature one graciously accepting the other's apology. Unfortunately, when time comes, it turns out he'd forgotten an occasion a few weeks ago where Niles was the one to apologise, meaning that it ''is'' his turn after all.

When this happens expect lots of PassiveAggressiveCombat. May also involve a GiftOfTheMagiPlot if the two characters are arguing over who should get the other their gift. It can also take the form of dueling ComplimentFishing ("No, you're really good, much better than me!"). Compare MoreHeroThanThou, OverlyPolitePals, PolitenessJudo. SisterTrope to MiseryPoker.

* Discussed in ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters", Letter 26. Senior tempter Screwtape calls this scenario "the Generous Conflict Illusion", and says that it's an excellent way to make humans [[{{Hypocrite}} act selfishly but convince themselves they're being generous]].

The humor, of course, is that Bob and Alice are being childish and petty in the same moment that they ''think'' they're proving their maturity.

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Nedroid}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2010_11_24_beartato_thanksgiving2010.png]]]]

When this happens expect lots of PassiveAggressiveCombat. May also involve a GiftOfTheMagiPlot if the two characters are arguing over who should get the other their gift. It can also take the form of dueling ComplimentFishing ("No, you're really good, much better than me!"). Compare MoreHeroThanThou, OverlyPolitePals, PolitenessJudo.

* In ''Series/FatherTed'', Mrs. Doyle goes for tea with her friend Mrs. Donne. Afterwards, both women insist on picking up the check, with the conflict escalating to a physical fight. In the end neither of them pays, because the management calls the police on them.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': After an argument between Sheldon & Howard over a parking spot, Howard comes over to aplogoize and let Sheldon have the spot. Sheldon, annoyed Howard is trying to be the bigger man, decides to let him have it instead and demands Howard acknowledge him as as the bigger man.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Lightnovel/DateALive'': The competitive "splinters"/twins Kaguya and Yuzura call each other out on arrogance and get violent again instead of waiting on the "duel" outcome, when they find out that they both have secretly asked Shidou to actually choose ''the other one of the two'' as the winner (Shidou is agreed to be [[FinalBattle the tie-breaking]] judge as well as the target of novel-for-the-two duel in womanly charms). The said winner is to get to solely inherit the Yamai spirit identity and keep on living while the loser is to cease to exist.

[[AC:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', this is the correct way to negotiate with Shin merchants. In one scene, a Shin livestock merchant keeps telling his trading partner how dirt cheap he got the chickens he's selling and expresses awe at the Thaylen merchant's unmined metal[[note]]Shin consider breaking rock to be blasphemy[[/note]], while the Thaylen tells him that the chickens are a lucrative niche product and the metal was basically classroom detritus produced by [[AlchemyIsMagic Soulcaster]] apprentices practicing.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In ''Series/FatherTed'', Mrs. Doyle goes for tea with her friend Mrs. Donne. Afterwards, both women insist on picking up the check, with the conflict escalating to a physical fight. In the end neither of them pays, because the management calls the police on them.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', the titular character is feuding with his SitcomArchnemesis Cam Winston. When they think their parents have begun dating, Frasier decides to bury the hatchet and call a truce, only for his phone to ring: Cam had the same idea. Frasier feigns a bad signal as a pretense to hang up, furious that "that son-of-a-bitch is trying to steal my high ground!"
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': After an argument between Sheldon & Howard over a parking spot, Howard comes over to aplogoize and let Sheldon have the spot. Sheldon, annoyed Howard is trying to be the bigger man, decides to let him have it instead and demands Howard acknowledge him as as the bigger man.

[[AC:Web Original]]
* In the ''[[http://www.epicrapbattlesofhistory.com/ Epic Rap Battles of History]]'' episode "MLK Jr. vs. Mahatma Gandhi", they try to out-forgive each other.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', one of the fights between Peter and the Chicken was over who would pick up the check after the Chicken and his wife take Peter out for dinner in an attempt to bury the hatchet, because Peter refused to let the Chicken pay for everything.

When this happens expect lots of PassiveAggressiveCombat. May also involve a GiftOfTheMagiPlot if the two characters are arguing over who should get the other their gift. Compare MoreHeroThanThou, OverlyPolitePals.

-->'''Sheldon''': Howard, that's quite a gesture on your part. Showing yourself to be the bigger man.
-->'''Howard''': Thank you.
-->'''Sheldon''': Which I find totally unacceptable. I must be the bigger man.
-->--''Series/TheBigBangTheory''

This is when two characters who disagree with each other each decide to be the better person and give in, then start arguing again about who will be allowed to give in.

The humor of course is that the characters are acting childish and petty over the idea of being the more mature person by letting the argument go.

-->Sheldon: Howard, that's quite a gesture on your part. Showing yourself to be the bigger man.
-->Howard: Thank you.
-->Sheldon: Which I find totally unacceptable. I must be the bigger man.

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', this is the correct way to negotiate with Shin merchants. In one scene, a Shin livestock merchant keeps telling his trading partner how dirt cheap he got the chickens he's selling and expresses awe at the Thaylen merchant's unmined metal[[note]]Shin consider breaking rock to be blasphemy[[/note]], while the Thaylen tells him that the chickens are a lucrative niche product and the metal was basically classroom detritus produced by [[AlchemyIsMagic Soulcaster]] apprentices practicing.