History Main / ThatMysteriousThing

* "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do ''That'')" by MeatLoaf is often falsely quoted as an example. If fact, each verse has Meatloaf stating two thing that he ''will'' do, and one that we ''will not''. The line "I won't do that" simply reiterates that he won't do the thing he has just said he won't do.

--> - ''HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw''

* In MercedesLackey's ''Owl Trilogy'' from the ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' Series, in the second book, everyone dances around the name of the person who is going to be his mage-teacher, simply referring to him as 'your teacher' until they surprise him with the incredibly famous (or infamous) Firesong, only the most powerful mage in the freaking world.
* In ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', Hagrid tells the bank goblin, "I'm here to pick up the you-know-what in vault you-know-which." It turns out to be the Sorcerer's Stone.

* During the HotSpringsEpisode about halfway through Persona3, the boys accidentally([[CovertPervert Ish]]) stay in the hot springs during the girls' time. When the girls of the group show up, Akihiko mentions that [[TheOjou Mitsuru]] would most likely "execute" them. He doesn't go into detail of what this execution is, but was apparently on the wrong end of it once. Of course, the girls do show up and Mitsuru indeed threatens them with "execution". Cut to at least half-an-hour later and the boys are sitting on a bench with their heads low, apparently scarred for life. The player never finds out with the execution actually it, thought some fans theorize it is some kind of merciless GroinAttack.

* One of the files in the ''ResidentEvil'' remake has John Toleman promising the Groundskeeper "a certain item he had always wanted to get hold on" in exchange for hiding the [[MacGuffin imitation of a key]]. The file hints how to find said key, but you never find out what this item is or if the Groundskeeper ever got to enjoy it before turning into a zombie.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcj16EGYYrs "The Thing"]] by [[ThePhilHarrisAliceFayeShow Phil Harris]]. The song is called "The Thing" but the word Thing doesn't actually appear in the song - it's just ''BOOM BA-BOOM''.

* "I Would Do Anything For Love" by MeatLoaf. He would do anything for love, but he won't do that. What the hell is 'that,' anyway?

** 'that' refers to whatever has just been mentioned in the preceding lines of the song - he won't: lie to her, forget the way she feels, forgive himself if they don't go all the way, do it better than he does it with her, stop dreaming of her, forget her, or screw around. It's amazing how many people don't realize that he's ''telling us directly'' what he won't do.

** 'that' refers to whatever has just been mentioned in the preceding lines of the song - he won't: lie to her, forget the way she feels, forgive himself if they don't go all they way, do it better that he does it with her, stop dreaming of her, forget her, or screw around. It's amazing how many people don't realise that he's ''telling us directly'' what he won't do.

* In the movie and play ''Theatre/{{Doubt}}'', character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. They don't even say 'homosexual', which would be the most likely word for that time and place. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.

* In HarryPotter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Hagrid tells the bank goblin, "I'm here to pick up the you-know-what in vault you-know-which." It turns out to be the Sorcerer's Stone.

* "I Would Do Anything For Love" by [[Meatloaf]]. He would do anything for love, but he won't do that. What the hell is 'that,' anyway?

* In the movie and play ''{{Theatre/Doubt}}'', character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. They don't even say 'homosexual', which would be the most likely word for that time and place. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]
* ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' did this a few times.

-->"The Watch will be ready for you at midnight. The watch. The chinese watch..."

* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', Pete has a die that is this. We don't know what its made out of, but its apparently unsafe to roll indoors, must land on a metal tray, and is possibly deadly.

----

* In the movie and play ''{{Theatre/Doubt}}'', character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.

* In the movie and play ''{{Doubt}}'', character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.

See NoodleIncident ("Remember 'that time' when..."), NoodleImplements ("'That thing' I plan on doing with all this weird stuff..."). May turn out to be a ChekhovsGun, involving {{Foreshadowing}}. Occasionally related to BuffySpeak, when a character refers to something as a 'thing' due to lack of full knowledge of what said 'thing' actually is. Compare HurricaneOfEuphemisms and related tropes, in which the mysterious 'thing' isn't referred to vague terms but in bizarre ones. Not to be confused with YouKnowThatThingWhere.

* In the movie and play {{Doubt}}, character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.

* In MercedesLackey's Owl Trilogy from the HeraldsOfValdemar Series, in the second book, everyone dances around the name of the person who is going to be his mage-teacher, simply referring to him as 'your teacher' until they surprise him with the incredibly famous (or infamous) Firesong, only the most powerful mage in the freaking world.

* MontyPythonsFlyingCircus did this a few times.

** In the pirhana brothers sketch, with a mobster being interviewed by a reporter, and trying to keep a transaction secret:

* From HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw, 'That thing' that Potamus always sends people.

See NoodleIncident ("Remember 'that time' when..."), NoodleImplements ("'That thing' I plan on doing with all this weird stuff..."). May turn out to be a ChekovsGun, involving {{Foreshadowing}}. Occasionally related to BuffySpeak, when a character refers to something as a 'thing' due to lack of full knowledge of what said 'thing' actually is. Compare HurricaneOfEuphemisms and related tropes, in which the mysterious 'thing' isn't referred to vague terms but in bizarre ones. Not to be confused with YouKnowThatThingWhere.

* "One Thing" by FingerEleven. Apparently he's trade it all for that one thing, whatever it is.

* From HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw, 'That thing' that Potamus always sends people.

* The "new recruits" mentioned in the first episode of the second season of ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''. [[spoiler: At the end of the episode it turns out that they're the reassembled [[RobotBuddy Tachikomas]].]]
* In the movie and play {{Doubt}}, character go out of their way, understandably, to not say the words 'gay' or 'molestation'. The closest they really get to saying it out loud is 'the boy's nature' and 'inappropriate relations'. It's actually pretty interesting how they get everyone in the audience to know what they are talking about immediately, without actually putting a name to it.
* In RealLife the Manhattan Project created the first atomic bomb. Most people in the Project had no idea what it was making. But for the few who did, they often referred to the bomb as "the gadget" for security reasons.

* "I Got It From Agnes" by TomLehrer.

----

!!!Examples

* "One Thing" by FingerEleven. Apparently he's trade it all for that one thing, whatever it is.

* "One Thing" by FingerEleven. Apparently he's trade it all for that one thing, whatever it is.
* "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meatloaf. We never find out what 'that' is he wouldn't do for love.