History Main / Safeword

* Johnny Knoxville of ''Jackass'' uses "Oklahoma". It started as part of a gag where he's beaten by dominatrices, but in the third movie he uses it to stop a stunt in which an attack dog is hanging off his ass.

* Another ''SNL'' BDSM sketch, involving Kristin Wiig as politician Nancy Pelosi, ended with the sound of a belt sander as a dude is screaming. She runs off stage yelling the safe word. For the record, it was "Palomino".

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''[[ImAMarvelAndImADC Marvel/DC]]'': Apparently, Gobby's safe word is "pumpkin."

* In ''GeneSimmonsFamilyJewels''Gene had to experience some domination and had the safe word, "ice cream".

* Richard {{Castle}} has the safe word apples. Used in two episodes so far. There are also hints that Beckett has a dominant streak.

* In the ''{{Superjail}}!'' episode "Cold-Blooded", Jared is sent into the prison undercover (against his will). The warden tells him that if things get rough, he can just say the safe word and Jailbot will get him out of there. Hearing that the safe word is "Baby make weewee," Jared objects that it isn't a word, much to the Warden's annoyance. [[spoiler:He then uses it almost immediately, but since the twins messed up Jailbot's circuitry, he's out of luck.]]

* Richard [[Castle]] has the safe word apples. Used in two episodes so far. There are also hints that Beckett has a dominant streak.

Sometimes a word that really means "No" is needed, but the actual word "no" isn't available for one reason or another. A "safe word" or "duress code" can be aimed at the person who interacts with you, to underscore that you really need to hit the emergency brake. Or it could be meant for a third party that might come to your aid. Or both.

* One old spy story had a member of the French Resistance of WorldWarII giving out the duress code while they were under duress and having their [[WhatAnIdiot British contact in England tell them they made a mistake]], "That's the duress code, you need to remember not to use that." Needless to say, [[ItGotWorse things went downhill from there]].

Examples:

* A similar thing in an episode of ''MadAboutYou'', when Jamie ropes Paul into making a new "I ♥ NY" commercial. They talked about having a code word, like "paramecium" or "Estes Kefauver", but never actually settled on one. Then they were on the set, and by now it's way too late to back out:

Sometimes a word that really means "No" is needed, but the actual word "no" isn't available for one reason or another. A "safeword" or "duress code" can be aimed at the person you inteact with, to underscore that you really need to hit the emergency break. Or it could be meant for a third party that might come to your aid. Or both.

In the BDSM subculture, three safewords are widespread: Red for full stop emergency shutdown, yellow for "This is too hard, I need us to slow down" and green for "don't mind my screams, you can push harder".

Of course, any word can be used as a SafeWord. And the concept is not limited to sexual situations either. Commonly used by undercover operatives of all kinds while wearing a wire or being in a bugged room.

When Played For [[PlayedForDrama Drama]], (sub)cultural flavor or similar, the SafeWord is likely to be either "red" or some other simple word that isn't easily used by mistake. When PlayedForLaughs, it is instead likely to be:

* A) Something hilariously unsexy such as the name of [[AcceptableTargets Ugly Politician Local To Area Where Writer Lives]]
* B) Something which can be mixed up easily with something else leading to [[HilarityEnsues hilarious consequences]] when the safeword is invoked by mistake.
* C) Something which is hard to remember or hard to pronounce, giving the character a really hard time.

* {{Eurotrip}} features a combination of B and C types when Cooper unknowingly goes into a BDSM club Vandersexxx. The safeword in question? Impossible to even write on tvtropes.
* ''Four Christmases'': the main characters are visiting the parents. They decide to use the word "mistletoe" for when they can not take it any longer and want an excuse to leave.

* Appears in ''The Last Hot Time'' by JohnMFord, as the protagonist learns about BDSM.
* One old spy story had a member of the French Resistance of WorldWarII giving out the duress code while they were under duress and having their [[WhatAnIdiot British contact in England tell them they made a mistake]], "That's the duress code, you need to remember not to use that". Needless to say, [[ItGotWorse things went downhill from there]].

* on CSIMiami an undercover agent indirectly causes the death of a woman he was using to collect evidence on a drug dealer when he ignores her (coded) call for help.
* In the ''SuperJail'' episode "Cold-Blooded," Jared is sent into the prison undercover (against his will). The warden tells him that if things get rough, he can just say the safeword and Jailbot will get him out of there. Hearing that the safeword is "Baby make weewee," Jared objects that it isn't a word, much to the Warden's annoyance. [[spoiler:He then uses it almost immediately, but since the twins messed up Jailbot's circuitry, he's out of luck.]]
* In one of the first "I'm Carol" sketches on ''SaturdayNightLive'' Carol was at a BDSM party where they went through everybody's safe words twice because Carol couldn't remember what they were. [[http://snltranscripts.jt.org/04/04gkey.phtml]]
* Another SNL BDSM sketch involving Kristin Wiig as politician Nancy Pelosi It ended with the sound of a belt sander as a dude is screaming. She run off stage yelling the safeword. For the record, it was "... Palomino."
* In WhiteCollar, Niel has to go undercover with minimal surveillance (GPS and audio) to determine whether his target has some stolen bonds. His code for the FBI to move in is "long flight".
* A similar thing in an episode of ''MadAboutYou'', when Paul is roped into making a new "I [Heart] NY" commerical by Jamie. They talked about having a code word, like "Paramecium" or "Estes Kefouver," but never actually settle on one. Then on the set, and by now it's way too late to back out:
-->Paul: Honey? Paramecium! '''Big ones!'''
* On ''TheDrewCareyShow'' when Drew & Co. went to visit his creepy stalker (only to discover that the stalker had modeled his house, and his life, after Drew's) the signal was for someone to say they were tired. After the stalker takes them prisoner, Oswald says "Boy, I sure am sleepy," as though that would get them out of the jam they were in.


[[AC:WebComics]]
* Prominently referenced and sometimes used in ''{{Collar 6}}'', seeing how it is all about BDSM. Laura's safeword, for example, is [[spoiler:"halo"]].

* In TalesOfMU, Mackenzie's safeword is "basement".

* In FamilyGuy, Peter and Lois use "banana" as the safeword when they do BDSM.
* In TeamAmericaWorldPolice, our hero have a safeword when playing with the terrorists, so that his friends will know when to pull him out. [[spoiler: being the kind of movie this is, of course it doesn't work!]]
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Sometimes a word that really means "No" is needed, but the actual word "no" isn't available for one reason or another.

Of course, any word can be used as a SafeWord. And the concept is not limited to sexual situations either.

When Played For [[PlayedForDrama Drama]], (sub)cultural flavor or similar, the SafeWord is likely to be either "red" or some other simple word. When PlayedForLaughs, it is instead likely to be:

Compare and contrast TrustPassword and ConsentingAdults.

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