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1This is the favorite pastime of the ZenSurvivor, WaifProphet, EccentricMentor, and any character with even a smidgen of knowledge on the setting's BackStory, or plots that are happening that the hero knows nothing about.
2
3Just like a villain can't resist EvilGloating, these characters will often hold entire conversations (one sided or not) using only [[VaguenessIsComing vague]], [[RiddleMeThis cryptic]], [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom ominous]], and frequently DoubleEntendre laden terms and phrases to confuse the player and character. Why [[CannotSpitItOut don't they spill the beans quickly]] to help bring down the EvilOverlord? Well, usually the character in question either wants to [[YouAreNotReady protect]] or [[ThePlan manipulate]] the hero, other times they want to hide the truth. Of course, sometimes they ''do'' want to spill their guts but can't, due to a [[TongueTied geas]] or [[TheFettered binding oath]], and even the little they do dish out can get them in trouble. The Author of the character in question might not have mapped out that far ahead into the series, or they want to have a character that's "in the know" who won't spoil the big twist in the end. And of course, there's always doing it [[RuleOfCool just to look cool]] and mysterious regardless of reasons.
4
5Often, these PoorCommunicationKills will only frustrate the player/hero's attempts at solving the most recent dilemma, eventually riling them (and us) enough to tell the offending {{Mentors}} to [[RageAgainstTheMentor shove your vagueness someplace painful.]] At least, unless a TranslatorBuddy is there.
6
7This is related to how [[ProphecyTwist prophecies]] are never clear or straightforward, full of loopholes and interpretations. Creators might use these dialogues as place holders for SchrodingersGun, keeping them purposely vague enough to fit any {{Retcon}} in they need to.
8
9'''Common set ups for this include but are not limited to:'''
10* The WaifProphet, MadOracle, or another oracular type [[VaguenessIsComing uttering a prophecy]] to the main character. Questioning the oracle on its meaning [[IceCreamKoan will never help;]] they were either in a trance and don't remember what they said, were already as clear as they could be, or [[FigureItOutYourself "they are just the messenger, not the interpreter".]]
11* [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Two or more plot relevant characters]] (villains or not) will speak in vague terms about the hero, his role, the progress of their schemes, etc, all while staying stylish with [[TheFaceless light-repelling rouge]].
12* A mentor or erstwhile ally (or just a taunting villain) will show up [[DramaticHighPerching on a roof]] or unreachable area, and talk literally and figuratively down to the hero about coming events.
13
14'''Common Cryptic Conversations will have:'''
15[[index]]
16
17* CovertDistressCode
18* DoubleMeaning
19* {{Doublespeak}}
20* FigureItOutYourself
21* {{Koan}}: A paradoxical riddle or anecdote without a solution.
22** IceCreamKoan: A koan that doesn't make any sense at all.
23* LifeOrDeathQuestion: The answer means the difference between life or death.
24* LovesSecrecy
25* LyingByOmission
26* MathematiciansAnswer: A technically correct answer that still doesn't answer the question.
27* MetaphoricallyTrue: Someone appears to be lying, but their choice of words make what they say true to some extent.
28* NonAnswer
29* ProphecyTwist
30* ProverbialWisdom
31* PublicSecretMessage: Anyone may overhear it, but only the intended recipient will understand it.
32* {{Riddle}}
33** DelightingInRiddles
34** RiddleMeThis
35* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Constantly speaking using big words.
36* {{Shout Out}}s
37* SpySpeak
38* TeasingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier
39* VaguenessIsComing: [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doom]] is upon us! Beware the beast with two backs. ''He'' will knock three times! No, not the same ''he:'' %% DOCTOR WHO FANS: Please don't change it to "knock four times", this wasn't intended to be a reference.
40* YouKnowTheOne: Pronouns like "it", "them", "he", etc. Usually italicized or quoted. The cryptic conversation will rarely if ever speak using actual nouns, much less proper names.
41* YouWillKnowWhatToDo
42* WeWouldHaveToldYouBut
43
44'''Common Cryptic Conversationalists will be:'''
45
46* AloofBigBrother
47* EnigmaticMinion
48* MadOracle
49* MagnificentBastard
50* RiddlingSphinx
51* TricksterMentor
52* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness
53* WaifProphet
54* ZenSurvivor
55
56'''Compare and contrast:'''
57
58* TroubleEntendre, wherein the sinister meaning is transparent, but not to passersby.
59* TalkingThroughTechnique, where a concise conversation is held without ever saying a word.
60* WordSaladHorror, when the dialogue goes from "cryptic, but still capable of being interpreted" to "ominous nonsense".
61* WordSaladHumor, when the nonsensical conversation becomes PlayedForLaughs.
62
63[[/index]]
64
65%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
66----
67!!Examples:
68[[foldercontrol]]
69
70[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
71* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': In ch. 46, [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertholt, and Ymir]] have multiple conversations right over the head of Eren (and the audience), throwing out tantalizing hints while ignoring requests to explain themselves.
72* ''Anime/EdenOfTheEast'' is in love with this trope, and makes use of it so often that listing all the examples is simply impossible.
73* There are a couple of this in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', most notably among Father and the homunculi about the so called "promised day".
74** Which was pretty obviously going to be a [[spoiler:solar eclipse]] long before Brosh's younger siblings woke him up wanting to borrow his telescope...
75* ''Manga/{{Gilgamesh}}'' has some of this starting in the second episode. There are several sentences that are mostly composed of ellipses ("Debt collectors...?" "The contract for me... my organs... my sister... ...") At the beginning, since you've seen some of it, you can infer the lines not said, but the same can't necessarily of the characters, and in some cases is frustrating to the viewer.
76* Yuki and Itsuki have one of these in the first episode of ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. Predictably, [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] [[LampshadeHanging calls them on it.]]
77* Although not intentionally vague, about half of everything anyone said in the first season of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' was misunderstood by the other person because of their own preconceptions, usually leading to paranoia and literal PoorCommunicationKills.
78* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': When Inuyasha fails to master Tessaiga's new absorption power, Sesshoumaru saves him with Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru cryptically tells Inuyasha he's failing to understand the point of a sword. However, despite one-shotting the enemy by following Toutousai's cryptic advice to "grow in strength", Sesshoumaru also fails to master his own new power. [[spoiler:Inuyasha needs to learn that swords cut things, no matter what power they possess; Sesshoumaru needs to learn warriors should only fight when motivated by the strength of their compassion.]]
79* Carim Gracia of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' has the ability to magically create prophecies that turn out to be pretty vague thanks to the fact that they come in poem form, can be interpreted in many ways, and are written in the dead Ancient Belka language, adding even more ambiguities due to translation and mistranslation. Thanks to these factors, she considers them as useful as a fairly accurate horoscope.
80* Almost everything Itachi from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has EVER said.
81* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is infamous for this, with any plot-related conversation involving Gendo or [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE]] being the greatest offenders. Incidentally, it is far from the most {{JustForFun/Egregious}} example in anime; unlike, say, ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', these conversations never resort to the cheap trick of vague pronouns or adjectives; the characters involved talk frankly about the subjects at hand... it's just that the viewers won't understand what these things ''are'' until [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt they happen]], [[MindScrew if then]].
82* Justified in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Homura refuses to explain herself because [[spoiler:she already tried, in many previous timelines. [[CassandraTruth No one believed her]], and it mostly made things worse]]. Her first chat with Madoka is a completely straight example, with Homura implying that some vague disaster will befall Madoka's friends and family if she "changes herself." But it soon becomes clear that she specifically wants her to not become a MagicalGirl, and she reveals exactly why this would be bad once Madoka is in a position to believe her.
83* Quon from ''Anime/RahXephon'' speaks like this more often than not... the meaning of the terms she absently throw around in reference to the hero and his HumongousMecha do not become clear untill the end of the series, but along the way, others 'in the know' makes occasional use of them, creating sinister suggestions of their true importance.
84* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' loves obfuscated allusions, and it is part of what makes [[RewatchBonus rewatches of this series so rewarding]].
85** The GreekChorus shadow plays relate to the themes of the episode, but vary in how easy they are to parse. Some of them aren't straightforward in the slightest, and the viewer is always on their own about how to interpret them.
86** Touga, Anthy, and Akio are primary vectors of this trope in the main action of the series, especially when they get together.
87** The {{framing device}} of episode 13 is one long cryptic conversation; so cryptic that there is doubt about who he is talking to. Is he talking to the silent prince, [[spoiler:or to Anthy? Her figure is silhouetted in the doorway with Akio as he leaves. If the viewer assumes he's talking to Anthy,]] the scene is more even more sinister than it initially seems.
88* Used and abused extensively in both ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/{{xxxHOLiC}}'', most often delivered by Yuuko, Fai and Fei Wang. It took more than ''twenty'' volumes of hearing people referring cryptically to Fei Wang's ''"wish"'' before it was revealed what it actually was. Another dragged-out example are the constant allusions to how "Syaoran is the person closest to Watanuki".
89** Even the {{Exposition}} is typically given via CrypticConversation; you need to wait a while longer (sometimes ''months'') to get more exposition to explain the cryptic parts of the last batch. Even when everything is said outright, [[MindScrew its still somewhat hard to comprehend]], giving the impression of this trope on occasion even when things are being said outright.
90* ''Manga/VampireKnight'' has a lot of this, usually involving Kaname.
91* Lampshaded in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' when Kurama says something akin to "Oh, I see. It must be... that." and Yusuke responds that he is going to start charging him money every time he is vague.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Comic Books]]
95* From ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'':
96-->'''Shiva:''' The master left me only one item. It is on my person.\
97'''ComicBook/BlackCanary:''' I'll give you a dollar to stop being cryptic. Please say you'll take it.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Comic Strips]]
101* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'' strip, Peter and his girlfriend have such a conversation over the phone; the last panel shows his brother Jason listening in and musing that his spying may have gotten a bit obvious.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Fan Works]]
105* A lot of them in ''FanFic/AeonNatumEngel'' and ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion''. The stand-out is the conversation of two creepy girls in the prologue of the latter.
106* In Chapter 32 of ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant'', when Rachel brings Ragna and Ruby to her realm to explain things to them, she does so in an awfully vague manner that irritates the two. When Ragna calls her out on it, she explains that giving them the full story would potentially be costly to both themselves and those around them, as the secrets she keeps are very dangerous. Ruby snarks that she also does it for fun, which Rachel doesn't deny.
107* A FortuneTeller holds one of these with Calvin's parents in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''. She chides them for being LockedOutOfTheLoop about Calvin's heroics, before claiming "they're coming". Needless to say, Calvin's parents are unnerved.
108* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
109** Doctor Strange, a massively powerful {{Seer|s}} and TimeMaster (thanks to [[spoiler: the fact that the Time Stone transformed him to ensure Thanos' defeat]]) and therefore immensely knowledgeable, tends towards these. This is partly because he's a TricksterMentor with a side of {{eccentric|Mentor}}ity [[StealthMentor on the sly]], partly because he rather enjoys being cryptic because [[TheGadfly he]] knows ''exactly'' how infuriating it is. However, he's not shy of giving very detailed and explicit instructions if the situation merits it - this is usually a sign that something serious is going on.
110** 'Nathan' - actually an alternate version of Harry, who's more than a thousand years older than him, tends towards this. This is partly because he enjoys winding up his younger counterpart, partly because he [[FigureItOutYourself refuses to spoon-feed him]], but mostly because he's not entirely sure how different their timelines are (since they diverged long before the story started) and therefore is wary of accidentally sending Harry down the wrong track.
111** The Three Norns are even more cryptic than Strange, most of the time, something not helped by the way they tend to spread one person's words across three people.
112* Archer in ''WebVideo/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorksAbridged'' frequently does a less-than-thorough job of explaining things, generally by referencing parts of the wider ''[[Franchise/Nasuverse Nasuverse]]'' that nobody else understands and then refusing to elaborate further. Just as often though, he's actually slipping up by accidentally dropping hints about his true identity as [[spoiler:an alternate-future Shirou who has already gone through a version of these events already]]; his flimsy attempts to change the subject or insist that those slips were [[BlatantLies definitely not important]] annoys everyone. It even backfires on him once; when Archer genuinely tries to give a less-than-subtle hint about his intentions with Caster, Lancer just assumes he's spouting more cryptic nonsense and ignores it. Afterwards, Archer admits that he slips into being cryptic a bit too easily.
113* ''[[FanFic/FriendshipIsMagicTheAdventuresOfSpike Friendship Is Magic: The Adventures of Spike]]'': Most of Spike's conversations with [[SpiritAdvisor Dreamy]] are like this. He lampshades how annoying it is.
114* ''Fanfic/LearningHowToBeAPrincess'' lampshades this in one chapter, when Emperor Belos is trying to enroll Luz into Hexside. Since he doesn't want the fact he has a family to be public knowledge yet, he cryptically and repeatedly tells a confused Principal Bump that he just wishes to enroll "someone", before his wife Camila straightforwardly reveals that said person is their daughter.
115-->'''Belos''': Camila!\
116'''Camila''': Well, you weren't going to say anything!
117* ''FanFic/ThePowersOfHarmony'': Prior to the various [[TheReveal reveals]], most of the conversations between the Guards and/or the Princesses play out like this, if only due to the audience having no idea what they're talking about.
118* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'': [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Celestia]] holds a couple of cryptic conversations with Twilight and [[Franchise/AceAttorney Phoenix]], confusing and irritating the heck out of them. The strongest example though comes from TheStinger in the final episode, where Celestia holds a conversation with someone else, with the viewers only hearing Celestia's words until the very end. [[spoiler:That other someone is heavily implied to be the ghost of Mia Fey, Phoenix's deceased mentor]].
119-->'''Twilight:''' ''([[InnerMonologue Agh! She did it again!]] [[LampshadeHanging Why do you have to be so cryptic Princess?]])''
120* During the 1000 Review special of ''FanFic/ThisBites'', Cross asks his future-self Wyvern if he's caused anything [[Fanfic/NineMinutes Nine Minutes-ish]]. Fans of the story know he's asking if he caused a BadFuture.
121* In ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-31969-9/Nycorson+Vacation+means+Chaos.htm Vacation Means Chaos]]'' Xander takes a look at Hawkeye and says six to which Hawkeye corrects him seven and mentions that Xander's a five. Steve Rogers is confused as to what they're talking about until Hawkeye says they're commenting on how many hidden weapons the other is carrying.
122* Done on accident a few times in ''Fanfic/ATeachersGlory'', such as when Naruto and Sasuke have an entire conversation with sentences that consist only of a couple words like "Iajutsu" and "Eight inches". They're not attempting to be cryptic so much as they simply don't require any syntax.
123* ''Fanfic/UsAndThem'': Whenever the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cetra]] speak with the planet, they usually wind up in one of these.
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
127* ''Film/BlindChance'' has an extremely puzzling phone conversation between Witek, the protagonist, and his dying father. The film then plays three different versions of events, in which Witek [[ButterflyOfDoom makes different choice based on his reflection on said conversation]]. The ambiguity is even stronger in the original version, due to difference in grammatical structures between Polish and English (and makes it near-impossible to fully capture in translation the perplexive nature of what the dying man said).
128-->'''Father''': I wanted to tell you this, because you might not make it on time[[note]]To his father's deathbed[[/note]]. You don't have to do anything.
129-->'''Witek''': I don't have to do anything in what way?
130-->'''Father''': In any way.
131* ''Film/TheMatrix'' films, a very lot, as skewered in this Maddox [[http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/images/matrix_question_tot1.gif parody]]
132** The second two of Film/TheMatrix trilogy are possible subversions. It turns out that [[spoiler: The Oracle makes deliberately vague prophecies partially because she only has a limited insight into the future through predicting the choices of others, partially so she has some way to pretend to have predicted any turn of events, and partially in order to cause the other characters to carry out her prophecies.]] After all, "would [Neo] have really [broken the vase] if [the Oracle] hadn't said anything?"
133* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has "Scene 24" (so called in the movie).
134* ''[[Film/OceansEleven Ocean's Twelve]]'':
135** Humorously deconstructed in Danny and Rusty meet up with an informant, with Linus insisting on tagging along. Before the meeting, they tell Linus that the informant only discusses business in a certain code and they don't have time to teach him, so he'll just have to play along:
136--->'''Informant:''' So, business?\
137'''Danny:''' Business.\
138'''Rusty:''' A doctor, who specializes in skin diseases, will dream he has fallen asleep in front of the television. Later, he will wake up in front of the television, but not remember his dream.\
139'''Informant:''' ''(speaking to Linus)'' Would you agree?\
140'''Linus:''' (''thouroughly confused'')\
141'''Danny:''' If all the animals along the equator were capable of flattery, then Thanksgiving and Halloween... would fall... on the same day.\
142'''Rusty:''' Mm.\
143'''Informant:''' Yeah.\
144'''Informant:''' When I was four years old, I watched my mother kill a spider... with a tea cozy. Years later, I realized it was not a spider -- it was my Uncle Harold.\
145'''Linus:''' ...Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, stars fill my dreams.\
146'''Ryan:''' (''{{facepalm}}'')\
147'''Linus:''' I am a traveler in both time and space, to be where I have been.\
148(''moments later, outside the restaurant'')\
149'''Rusty:''' [[Music/LedZeppelin Kashmir?]]\
150'''Danny:''' Is that your idea of making a contribution?\
151'''Rusty:''' We hadn't even started. We ain't even got to the terms yet.\
152'''Danny:''' We came this close to losing that.\
153'''Linus:''' Hey, I don't even understand what happened in there. What did I say?\
154'''Danny:''' You called his niece a whore.\
155'''Rusty:''' A very cheap one.\
156'''Linus:''' What?\
157'''Danny:''' She's seven.
158** It isn't until much later in the movie, after Linus is rescued from prison by [[spoiler: his mother]] that he figures out that all the nonsense phrases he'd heard ''really were'' just nonsense; a Lost in Translation con that Danny and Rusty (along with the informant) played on him, partly as a practical joke, and partly because they didn't want him screwing up their negotiations.
159* Tia Dalma from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' really loves conversing in this way.
160* Creator/DavidMamet movies are famous for their stylized and often cryptic dialogue. In ''Film/{{Spartan}}'', naturalistic speech is used only when the main character is speaking [[SpySpeak code phrases]].
161* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''
162** Kirk and Spock try to have one of these so that Spock can inform him that the ship is much less damaged than Khan had thought without letting their eavesdropping enemy know. However, the code is so ridiculously transparent that one has to assume Khan had an IdiotBall stuck in both ears not to realize.
163** Kirk and Spock later mention that The Book (Starfleet regulations) specifies that they shouldn't openly discuss their plans when they think their communications were compromised. It was an incredibly obvious code to Kirk and Spock, but then it ''had'' to be for Kirk to catch on and go along with it. Khan has only been around either of them for a few hours, years in the past, and couldn't be expected to realize when they are hint-hinting at each other.
164** Also relies on Spock's [[{{Pun}} pointed]] reference to Lt. Saavik, whom Khan has never met and only seen on the Reliant's viewscreen the one time he visually communicated with Kirk (and given Khan's obsession with revenge on Kirk, it's likely he didn't even notice her.) Saavik's penchant for quoting regulations is what Spock was referring to, something Khan had no possible way of knowing. It's actually a pretty brilliant verbal code, especially given it was [[IndyPloy entirely made up on the spot.]]
165* ''Franchise/StarWars'', if you believe Obi-Wan Kenobi's story that Darth Vader killed Luke's father was, as he put it, "True From A Certain Point Of View.", a.k.a MetaphoricallyTrue.
166** The Jedi in general in both the films and the EU tend to do this, but Yoda is indisputably the master, just about everything he ever says is cryptic.
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Literature]]
170* In Mad Magazine's spoof 'Doone' 'Duke Leto' rules that until the end of the crisis they will converse only in complete sentences. To the relief of his mentat who was about to call a time out to find out what they were talking about.
171%% * All Immortals in ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' (Nyx, Kalona and, to a degree, Rephaim) are prone to a mixture of this plus MetaphoricallyTrue.
172* The Oracle in ''[[Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore Voices]]'' gives its prophecies in odd, {{Koan}}-like fragments: short phrases like "broken mend broken" and "to keep bees from apple blossoms." Naturally, this has historically allowed the people asking the question to interpret the meaning to support the thing they already wanted to do, sometimes with disastrous results.
173* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' begins with Corwin/Corey having conversations with his sister and brother about things ''they'' know all about, and he has no memory of... and yet he [[RefugeInAudacity still manages to make them think he's fully aware of everything and perhaps knows more than they do, and takes over control of the situation]].
174* On Literature/{{Darwath}}, this is [[TheArchmage master wizard Ingold Inglorion's]] favorite method of teaching wizardry. His [[TheApprentice apprentice Rudy Solis]] gets a full dose of it during their journey to the Wizards' City of Quo in ''The Walls of Air''.
175* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', the two [[spoiler:Grey Angels]] have this conversation. It's not cryptic to them, and they didn't intend it as such, being alone during the conversation, but the reader knows very little of what they know and the subject of their discussion, so all the conversation conveys to the readers is that matters are getting grim indeed.
176* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''
177** In ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'', it is explained that prophecies ''have'' to be deliberately vague. If a prophecy is too detailed (e.g., "Your car will be stolen Friday"), and you act on it (move your car so it's not stolen), then that creates the question of ''how did you know your car would be stolen if it wasn't'', which leads to a [[TemporalParadox paradox]], which can lead to very bad things.
178** In [[TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles the RPG book]], Harry notes that the Gatekeeper always speaks like he knows more than he's letting on, and if you asked him something as simple as "What do you want on your pizza?", he'd ramble on and give you an answer that didn't make any sense until later. Then he giggles at the idea of [[TheComicallySerious the Gatekeeper]] eating pizza.
179** Harry is also sometimes deliberately cryptic when talking to his allies. Not because he's trying to protect them or anything. It's just that being sneaky and cryptic and mysterious [[DelightingInRiddles is pretty much heroin for wizards]].
180** The Sidhe are also like this, to the extreme. Harry has commented on several occasions that getting information out of them is like pulling teeth. Their tendency to speak in a convoluted, indirect fashion actually becomes a plot point in ''Literature/ColdDays''. [[spoiler:When Maeve actually gives straight answers, it turns out to be an indication that she has been [[BrainwashedAndCrazy corrupted]] by [[EldritchAbomination Nemesis]]... and has become capable of lying.]]
181* Robin Goodfellow from ''Literature/AnElegyForTheStillLiving'' loves these.
182-->“I want to say that I dislike you, but I find that I cannot.”\
183“We know each other too well for dislike. There's only hate between us now.”\
184“I never saw you before today.”\
185“Aye. And how long's today, then? The lives we tell ourselves are the ones we begin to believe.”\
186“Do you mean the lies we tell ourselves? I did not lie about it.”\
187“Not you sir. No. You would never lie. Why, I can't imagine what came over me, to even suggest such a thing as that. That you would lie? Absurd.”\
188“You...”\
189“Me?”\
190“What?”\
191“Me what?”\
192“To be frank, I doubt I have understood any word that's come from you since we met.”\
193“Frankly, Frank, if I made any more sense I'd go mad. Then they'd call me wise.”\
194“Who would?”\
195“They!”
196* Would you believe [[Literature/TheInheritanceCycle Eragon]] had one of these with a bird?
197* Ayatani Zweil in Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novels is so prone to this that Gaunt wonders why they have kept him on as chaplain.
198** In the same universe, the same author also came up with Glossia in the ''Eisenhorn'' and ''Ravenor'' books, which was a coded language based entirely around metaphor. Examples phrases include "Thorn wishes aegis, rapturous beast below,"Aegis, arising, the colours of space," and "Rose thorn, abundant, by flamelight crescent." Some of it can be guessed at, the rest... not so much.
199* Traditional Chinese courtesy requires indirection and ritual self denigration in conversation allowing for very polite and cryptic threats. A prize example is Literature/JudgeDee's various conversations with the BigBad in ''The Chinese Bell Murders''.
200* ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'': The conversation with the snake. It starts out straightforward, but as it goes on, the snake starts speaking more cryptically, dressing up words in poetic metaphor. The prince describes it as speaking in riddles.
201-->The little prince gazed at him for a long time.\
202"You are a funny animal," he said at last. "You are no thicker than a finger..."\
203"But I am more powerful than the finger of a king," said the snake.\
204The little prince smiled.\
205"You are not very powerful. You haven't even any feet. You cannot even travel..."\
206"[[DeadlyEuphemism I can carry you farther than any ship could take you]]," said the snake.\
207He twined himself around the little prince's ankle, like a golden bracelet.\
208"Whomever I touch, I send back to the earth from whence he came," the snake spoke again. "But you are innocent and true, and you come from a star..."\
209The little prince made no reply.\
210"You move me to pity--you are so weak on this Earth made of granite," the snake said. "I can help you, some day, if you grow too homesick for your own planet. I can--"\
211"Oh! I understand you very well," said the little prince. "But why do you always speak in riddles?"\
212"I solve them all," said the snake.\
213And they were both silent.
214* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
215** Conversations between mortals of various stripes and Elves apparently tend to go like this a lot. After trying unsuccessfully to get useful information out of Gildor near the beginning of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', a very annoyed Frodo remarks that, "And it is also said, 'Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.'" Gildor, amused, replies that Elves tend to be cryptic because they believe giving clear advice one way or the other is dangerous, and it's best for people to figure things out for themselves.
216** Gandalf also loves being cryptic. {{Lampshaded}} by Aragorn at one point, saying "In one thing, you have not changed, my friend: you still speak in riddles."
217* In ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'' we have Livia and Helena doing a little bit of SpySpeak and making several references to their first conversation making it also a NoodleIncident, and there's also a conversation between Lauren and Helena, where Helena attempts to SpySpeak to Dr. Lauren although the Doctor doesn't have a clue and just answer her questions straight up.
218* Weber & Ringo's novel ''[[Literature/PrinceRoger We Few]]'' has a two-page conversation consisting of mixed allusions, metaphors, indirections, and double meanings. On the surface, it's about a meat supplier trying to get a contract with the Home Fleet. The subtext is that 1) the [[RightfulKingReturns Prince]] has returned, 2) he is neither [[TookALevelInBadass the useless playboy people remember him as ]] nor the [[TheEvilPrince villain]] that the [[EvilChancellor current powers]] are painting him as, 3) the [[AristocratsAreEvil current powers]] have [[MindControl turned the Queen into their puppet]], 4) he is preparing to overthrow them, 5) he has support among some of the other fleets, 6) part of the plan involves assassinating the admiral of the Fleet, and 7) he is requesting that, once that happens, the Home Fleet support him or, at the least, stand aside.
219* ''Literature/TheStrangerTimes'': "Flesh. Loves. Enter." Those three words are the only clue a certain ghost can give to her lover. While it may sound like WordSaladHorror at first, it's actually [[spoiler: a set of codewords that work in a geocode app to show her soul remnant's location]].
220* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': For no discernible reason, [[DeadPersonConversation StarClan]] is often cryptic when speaking to or giving prophecies to the Clans. This is lampshaded by Jayfeather in ''Shattered Sky'' when their advice for defeating Darktail is "the Clans must remember their names", and he complains about [=StarClan=] always being vague.
221* Subverted in ''Literature/TheWayOfKings2010'', where Dalinar thinks he's receiving these kinds of answers from what turns out to be essentially a prerecorded message, asking it questions and taking whatever it says next as a cryptic response. This causes him to mistake with tragic results the advice "Yes, act with honor and honor will aid you." for an answer to the question [[spoiler: of whether he should trust [[TheStarscream Sadeas]]]], to which the correct answer is a resounding no.
222* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Taylor has one with [[spoiler:Glaistig Uaine]], who uses the metaphor of actors in a play to drop hints about the plot.
223** Tailor gets called out for doing this with a villain by one of her teammates, [[AudienceSurrogate who doesn't know what she's talking about talking about either.]]
224--->'''Cuff:''' You're doing that crazy mastermind thing again.\
225'''Taylor:''' Which crazy mastermind thing?\
226'''Cuff:''' Where you talk to the other masterminds and one of you leaves something unsaid, and the other knows what that thing is without asking.
227[[/folder]]
228
229[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
230* Happens annoyingly in the second season of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', when it's revealed that Agents Mack and Bobbi joined Team Coulson with a secret agenda of their own that they only talk about in vague terms. At one point, Bobbi is unsure about keeping her ex-husband Hunter out of the loop, and Mack gives her a nonsensical speech that ends in "...Maybe in the next world, we can all be friends again." Even if you [[RewatchBonus rewatch the episode]] knowing [[spoiler: Mack and Bobbi are part of secret faction within SHIELD that seeks to unseat Coulson as Director because they distrust him after he was resurrected with alien blood]], Mack's speech STILL makes no sense.
231* Kosh from ''Series/BabylonFive'' exemplifies this trope, except that it's frequently hard to get him into a conversation at all. Here, [[http://www.arborius.net/~jphekman/b5/koshisms.html take a read]], it's hilarious.
232** What's scary? Many of them DO make sense in the end.
233** It seems to be a trait of Vorlons in general. After Kosh is killed, another Vorlon ([[AllThereInTheManual named Ulkesh]]) arrives to take his place, with no one but the command staff supposed to know that this isn't the same "Kosh".
234--->'''Sheridan:''' Your government neglected to tell me ''your'' name.\
235'''Ulkesh:''' Kosh.\
236'''Sheridan:''' Uh, yes, I understand that's how we're supposed to address you publicly, but privately? What should we call you?\
237'''Ulkesh:''' Kosh.\
238'''Ivanova:''' Ambassador Kosh... is ''dead''.\
239'''Ulkesh:''' We are ''all'' Kosh. ''[walks away]''\
240''[{{Beat}}]''\
241'''Sheridan:''' Well, he's a Vorlon, alright.\
242'''Ivanova:''' Yup.
243* The Hybrids in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' are the CPU of the Cylon Basestars. They all speak in surreal phrases which mix ship status reports, poetry, quasi-biblical verse, and ominous prophecy on current events. Of course, they're insane, so it's not like they have a choice in delivery. However, the eldest Hybrid was scarily lucid, and gave pretty concrete prophecy and warnings.
244* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
245** Angel in the first few episodes. Appears out of the darkness, says something cryptic, then disappears.
246*** She lampshades it nicely, with 'you couldn't just say it's a vampire with a fork?'
247** Pretty much all Whistler ever says.
248* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
249** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]]: The Doctor explains why he doesn't give out a proper name thusly:
250--->'''The Doctor:''' Do you know like we were saying, about the earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world is turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it... the turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world. And, if we let go... That's who I am. Now forget me.
251** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]] had the MadOracle Dalek Caan in this role.
252--->'''Dalek Caan:''' He is coming. The threefold man... he dances in the lonely places...
253** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]]: During the Doctor's conversation with River at the end, he's left baffled because she talks in mystery terms to avoid spoilers.
254%%* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Go ahead, have a chat with River. [[CloudCuckoolander Good luck.]]
255* Pretty much every line in ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
256** ''Lost'' ''is'' this trope.
257** But no scene in ''Lost'' better demonstrates this trope than the opening of the season 5 finale, in which [[spoiler: Jacob]] and a currently unnamed man casually discuss the usage of human beings as pawns in some kind of battle of wills on the island.
258* Father Mulcahy tries this strategy several times on ''Series/{{Mash}}'' in order to give another character vital information without revealing what someone told in in confession. One led to him and Klinger getting shot at while trying to retrieve penicillin stolen by the black market, and ''worse'' Klinger ripping his skirt.
259* In ''Series/Merlin2008'', TricksterMentor Kilgarrah loves this trope, always promising Merlin that "you will discover in time, young warlock," or somesuch.
260* ''Series/{{Skins}}'': In season 2, Cassie exchanges one with her teacher during her final exam. It ends with them dancing on ''Funkytown''.
261* Oma Desala in ''Series/StargateSG1''.
262** Pretty much anything to do with the Ancients or other Ascended beings, as evidenced by [[spoiler:Daniel when ''he'' got ascended for a season]], to name one example.
263** This appears, on some level, to be because of the "rules" of being Ascended, which includes not being able to directly interfere, which probably extends to just spitting things out.
264** Lampshaded when he uses one of Oma's particularly confusing statements ("If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago") to test a fake version of Oma taken from his memories: since he never figured out what the hell Oma was talking about, the fake Oma didn't know what it meant either.
265--->'''O'Neill:''' No, I'm all for subtlety but that is downright ''encrypted''.
266* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Darmok, and Jalad... at Tanagra.
267** Though TNG has many examples of this (The Samaritan Snare and Rascals immediately spring to mind), Darmok might not qualify. The alien species were speaking quite plainly; it is just that they speak a different language, built around a radically different communications phenotype.
268* Parodied in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' where a generic evil genius is giving vague commands to his minions until one of them objects on the basis that it's confusing. And brings up the time they spent months actually ''hoping'' a guy would have an accident instead of [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident arranging one]].
269** Yeah, here we are: https://youtu.be/F0KmNVZs-VI
270* ''Series/TwinPeaks''; The owls are not what they seem.
271** ''Twin Peaks'' is ''CrypticConversation: TheShow''. There have been entire books written about what a large portion of the dialogue actually means. Also this gets ramped up in ''Twin Peaks: The Return''.
272[[/folder]]
273
274[[folder:Music]]
275* In the song "Witch Doctor" by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., the "advice" that the witch doctor gives the man for winning the girl's heart is really just gibberish [[note]]It's "Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang", a phrase said three times in a row in the chorus of the song.[[/note]] but he apparently he sees some meaning in it, even if the listeners can't.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
279* If you’re ever in ''Series/FraggleRock'', ask [[TricksterMentor Cantus the Minstrel]] for advice. He’ll freely give it, but you’ll have to FigureItOutYourself. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by frustrated fellow minstrel [[OnlySaneMan Murray]], and an exasperated [[ActionGirl Red Fraggle]].
280[[/folder]]
281
282[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
283* A lot of ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' sources used this.
284** The best case may be [[http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mc/mc20010829c this]] Mintiper's tetrastich. It ostensibly speaks about the beauty of the forest, for those in the know hints at a weird magical artifact, and "mantle" as an elven type of personal magical defences in Franchise/ForgottenRealms. With a straight, but obscure reference to the matter at the end. Also may be misinterpreted as a reference to ''another'' artifact and comparison with elven royals who tend to practice [[TooMuchForManToHandle High Magic]].
285* In ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', the GM may narrate this way to help keep the [=PCs=] in the dark:
286-->'''PC:''' ''(in a vehicle with unlabeled controls and no manual)'' [[WhatDoesThisButtonDo I press button #5.]]\
287[[spoiler:''[The vehicle drops anchor entirely normally.]'']]\
288'''GM:''' Sounds like something big just fell off.
289[[/folder]]
290
291[[folder:Toys]]
292* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', this drives [[TheStoic Kopaka]] [[NotSoStoic nuts]]. Every second character he comes across talks this way.
293-->'''Kopaka:''' I swear one day a villain will give a straight answer to a straight question and when it happens I'll be so shocked I'll--\
294'''Pohatu:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Crack a smile?]]
295[[/folder]]
296
297[[folder:Video Games]]
298* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI:'' Altair is always on the end of these and is clearly shown as being irritated by it. He eventually calls Al-Mualim out on this.
299-->'''Altair:''' ''[very agitated]'' You speak in circles, master! You praise me for being observant then tell me not to be! What is the aim of this?!
300* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', you can carry one with a shady individual in one of the eponymous city's inn. The only way to end it is to acknowledge that you have no idea what you are talking about. The rogue expresses surprise, with a hint of respect, that you were able to fake the conversation for so long and then disappears, never to be seen again...
301* Used constantly in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' by [[TricksterMentor Jubei]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rachel]]. {{Lampshaded}} just as much by Ragna:
302-->'''Ragna:''' I have no freaking clue what you're saying. Can you speak in human for me?
303* Between levels in ''VideoGame/BombChicken'', you're taken to a room with a giant statue of a bird, and treated to a cryptic quote from an unknown source. They don't really make much more sense once you reach the end of the game. [[spoiler: The source of the voice is apparently the final boss -- a horribly mutated chicken that also lays bombs.]]
304* In ''VideoGame/BrutalOrchestra'', Osman Sinnoks speaks in terms that the player is never given direct connection to in-game. Nowak and Bosch are also just as confused, but when they state that they have no desire to die, the conversation turns threatening and a fight commences.
305* The Praetorian Resistance in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' communicates entirely in a metaphor- and symbol-ridden argot that is difficult at best to decipher. One Resistance contact with whom players may interact is so deep into their lingo that he is all but incomprehensible -- despite the fact that he's handing out mission assignments.
306* In ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective'', Agent [=McScream=] (the protagonist's evil double from the DarkWorld) speaks almost entirely in vaguely ominous utterances.
307* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'':
308** Many instances of ProductionForeshadowing in ''Undertale'' built up to an entity implied to be [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster]] hijacking the official Twitter account and inviting the audience for a "[[CharacterCatchphrase very, very interesting]]" experiment where they must [[ButThouMust accept everything that follows]] from that point on. The player's SOUL is introduced into the game as they help "The Voice" create a vessel in a ominous void of darkness. As soon as they're done, what seems like a second unknown Voice claims the player has no choice in the matter and uncerimoniously discards the vessel to force the SOUL into the role of Kris.
309** When Jevil is defeated, he cryptically speaks about the Knight, Queen and the fountains of darkness. Talking to Seam after this will have him talk about their shared past, and imply it was [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster]] who informed Jevil about the true nature of the world, making his views "darker yet darker".
310** Spamton speaks in a bizarre self-censored language and appears to be constantly watched by someone who keeps him from explaining too much to Kris. At one point he confusingly speaks of somebody named "Mike" to Kris like the man's a villain, but the Spamton Sweepstakes clarifies Mike was a friend and somebody named "Tenna" is their shared enemy. Once you defeat Spamton, you can talk to the Addisons about him and one cryptically mentions Spamton hastily leaving a phone hanging with somebody still speaking on the other side. But when the Addison picked it up, there was nothing but "garbage noise" -- the same one Kris can hear on their own phone in the dark worlds. The same one from [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster's Entry #17]]...
311** There are lines of "unused" dialogue in the game's code from somebody trapped in the darkness. In-game, they end up using Spamton as a medium at one point. The salesman pretends nothing happened, but then adds it looked like they were talking to "you".
312** Onionsan tells Kris about investigating a mysterious song that comes from the sea. A strangely familiar song that is "not new", as in, the one mentioned by the River Person back in ''Undertale''.
313** The Spamton Sweepstakes donation event ended with a disembodied voice attempting to convince the audience to kick Spamton out of the spotlight and silence him forever, saying he isn't any better than the rest of them.
314** A 2024 Valentine's Day newsletter to players came with a variety of postcards from various characters, including [[https://web.archive.org/web/20240214025909/https://email-files.fangamer.com/list_48/campaign_6/valentines/39-unknown-1-sssssssr-4ss77d74YEmXmQpCmFW5nCQg.png a mysterious "illegible" letter]] that is conveyed to the reader's heart in All Caps text and disappears after being read (the file was replaced by [[NothingIsScarier a blank card]] shortly afterwards). It could be from [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster]] due to the letter's nature, the writer's strange remarks and [[BreakingTheFourthWall how they acknowledge]] ''Deltarune'' itself but it doesn't match his usual mannerisms -- particularly in the Japanese version of the card. The author mentions they need to help somebody that, ironically enough, they have forgotten about. Was it ''themself''? Well, peharps... Then they bid farewell with an odd typo: "GOOD BY!"
315--->''"I NEVER [[ArcWords FORGET]] SOMEONE I\
316[[ArcWords DON'T]] REMEMBER."''
317* Subverted hilariously in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. The PC is performing contract kills for an assassin guild. She or he corresponds with a messenger from the guild who constantly speaks in cryptic messages. By choosing the correct dialogue options and acting confused as to what the messenger means, the PC can eventually frustrate the messenger enough that he says (and I paraphrase), "Yes, yes, you kill the target, you get the reward!" Whereas before, he only alluded to it.
318** Played straight with Flemeth. Practically every conversation with her has her speaking in riddles and chiding you for acting like you understand what she's truly talking about. She gets no better when dealing with Hawke in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''.
319** Similarily, the [[TakenForGranite petrified]] oracle Eleni Zinovia is incredibly cryptic. In the Mage origin, Jowan dismisses the statue's prophecies as nonsense.
320** [[IdiotSavant Sandal]] occasionally utters these in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. "One day, the magic will come back, all of it. Everyone will be as they once were. When ''he'' rises, all will see." [[spoiler: It doesn't appear to foreshadow anything that happens in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', but perhaps someday we'll see...]]
321* Most characters from ''[[VideoGame/DrownedGod Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages]]'' speak like this by default, usually in metaphors and allusions to history, with many of them outright trying to deceive you. One of the biggest themes of the game is the covering-up of history, which the player must discover the truth behind by digging through every breadcrumb of story the game throws at you. Some characters like [[ISeeDeadPeople Baphomet]], [[TheUnintelligible The Relic Hunter]], and [[EnfantTerrible Horus]] are especially prone to this.
322* In ''VideoGame/{{Everhood}}'', any encounter with TheVoice qualifies, but especially so when it offers to tell you the [[ProverbialWisdom Absolute Truths]], which the voice cautions that learning might help or hurt you.
323* Ulysses of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' speaks entirely in metaphorical terms with heavy use of symbolism in his language. For example, he tends to refer to NCR and Caesar's Legion as the Bear and the Bull, the animals depicted on their respective flags.
324* The Vortigaunts from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' may qualify here, although it doesn't always take a [[{{Pun}} theoretical physicist]] the figure out the meaning of their word play.
325* A lot of what White Face says in ''VideoGame/{{Imscared}}'' seemingly does not make a whole lot of sense. It is coherent, but it has little to no context or provocation, such as its excessive apologizing.
326* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' employs this trope several times over the course of the series, especially in regards to [[OptionalBoss optional bosses]] and secret endings that hint towards the next sequel.
327** Especially where Namine erases Sora and his friends' memories of their time together with her, the only remaining evidence being a cryptic line written in Jiminy Cricket's journal "Thank Namine" and "We must return to save them from their torment". The answer to the last line becomes a major focus of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded''
328** Doubly so in the [[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Final Mix]] versions. The fact that there's a OptionalBoss known by fans as the "Enigmatic Man" should be proof enough of this.
329* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'':
330-->'''Atton:''' Just so you Jedi know, the whole "cryptic routine" isn't mysterious, it's just irritating. If you really can see the future, you should be at the pazaak table.\
331'''Exile:''' But to know the future, one must know yourself.\
332'''Atton:''' What was that, some kind of joke? That's what I'm talking about. 'Jedi Talk.' You two should start your own little Jedi Academy.\
333'''Exile:''' But to teach, one must be willing to learn.\
334'''Atton:''' All right, all right! Cut it out, I get it, I get it. The last Jedi in the galaxy, I get the comedian who runs around in his underwear.
335** Played entirely straight with Kreia. ''Everything'' she says is open for interpretation, half-true, entirely true (but told in a misleading way), or heavily layered with her unique blend of Jedi and Sith ideas. Fifteen years after the game's release it's ''still'' a topic of debate as to what she knew or what her true motives were.
336* The "End Poem" in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has two disembodied voice saying seemingly meaningless things yet feel meaningful.
337* Yeesha of ''VideoGame/MystV'' and ''VideoGame/{{Uru}}'' is the queen of this.
338* Everyone is cryptic in ''VideoGame/Persona2''. Including your own party members, who will wax introspective in minor conversations. The protagonist only avoids this by never talking.
339* In ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', the gods (when the player speaks with them) are extremely fond of this, hinting and alluding without actually saying. Since the player [[spoiler:finds out a secret about them that makes them much less impressive]] at the end of the game, most of them drop this in the sequel, ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternityIIDeadfire''. Rymrgand still keeps it up, even to his fellow gods, because [[spoiler:he figures out what Eothas is up to well before any of his fellow deities, and supports it for entirely different reasons than Eothas is doing it]].
340* It's more of a "cryptic monologue", but [[spoiler:Tezkhra]]'s thoughts in ''VideoGame/TheReconstruction'' often take the form of this, making vague references and trailing off before anything important is revealed.
341* The hidden terminals in ''VideoGame/{{Superhot}}''. The PlayerCharacter uses them to ask the AI controlling superhot.exe questions, but the responses frequently raise more questions than they answer.
342* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
343** Sans often implies to the protagonist that he comes from somewhere other than the Underground, in a way that suggests he thinks the child should know what he's going on about. Convincing Sans to give his bedroom's key to the protagonist results in [[spoiler:an elaborate prank where the kid walks aimlessly in the dark before Papyrus turns the lights on and the place is revealed to be messy but otherwise normal, with a note reading "the ''[[DoubleMeaning truth]]'' is that [[OminousMundanity you got owned]], nerd..." A second key left within reach unlocks the back room of Sans' house, which contains yet more mysterious items]]. This is all heavily implied to be ProductionForeshadowing for ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}''.
344** The hidden scenes regarding [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster involve GlitchEntity characters cyptically describing how his consciousness got split across time and space. A report from him to two unknown people about an expanding darkness is ''only'' viewable via hacking. A Sound Test screen features melodies titled "Happy Town", "Meat Factory" and "Trouble Dingle" that are all overriden by "Gaster's Theme" before an entity thanks the player for their "feedback". Furthermore, the website for ''Deltarune'' was first launched shortly after the release of ''Undertale'' in secret with two ominous messages from Gaster to the players]].
345** The "River Person" is a hooded person on a boat that serves as FastTravel. They can randomly warn the protagonist about a "man who came from another world" (possibly Sans, considering his ramblings) and a "man who speaks in hands" (possibly [[spoiler:Dr. Gaster]], who speaks in uppercase Wingdings symbols that include hands). Sometimes they speak of an "old song coming from the sea", which is later mentioned by Onionsan in the setting of ''Deltarune''.
346** A "Clam Girl" NPC insists that the protagonist should meet their neighbor "Suzy" and that it might be the reason the kid fell into the Underground to begin with. The Nintendo Switch port modifies the scene so that she laments how the protagonist never met Suzy... before adding that they will soon enough and changing into a GlitchEntity before disappearing. The first demo for ''Deltarune'', where Su''sie'' is a major character, was released shortly afterwards.
347** [[https://under-lore.tumblr.com/post/692476837791662080/what-are-the-demon-texts One update added]] a cryptic message from a certain entity to somebody unknown that can only be read by datamining the game's code. Version [=1.05A=] included an additional line reading "HE IS" before version 1.06 immediately removed it. The greeting and mannerisms suggest this is [[spoiler:Chara, the Fallen Child]] talking, but if so, just who is it that they of all people would show such deference to?
348--->''"Greetings. You have made yourself completely clear. Understood. I, your humble servant, will follow you to the utmost..."''
349* At the ending of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' final boss skirts around this; laying out quite simply how all the various factions in the AlienHierarchy came to exist but being overly vague as to why they exist or why they attacked Earth in the first place. Perhaps it's a SequelHook.
350* Taken to truly absurd levels with the [[OmniscientCouncilofVagueness Gazel Ministry]] in ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', who spend hours upon hours discussing whether this or that character has helped or hindered their plan that they exhaust a thesaurus alluding to without actually describing.
351[[/folder]]
352
353[[folder:Web Original]]
354* Blog/RainbowDashReadsHomestuck parodies this; an asker asked something with a lot of *spoilers* so Rainbow replied with *spoilers*.
355* {{Invoked|Trope}}, ''requested'', and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002785 here]] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
356-->'''John:''' do you think that instead of telling me exactly why that is with a clear explanation, you can give me a series of really coy riddles about it and then sort of giggle?\
357'''Nannasprite:''' When you pass through the first gate, everything will change. You will find the place where the constellations dance beneath the clouds. And then your true work may begin. Hoo hoo hoo!\
358'''John:''' i suddenly understand everything!
359* Shortly before the main plot of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'' gets underway, DreamWeaver Paollo tries to send Credenza a warning about the BigBad and his plans. When she has no clue who or what he's talking about, he expresses his frustration with the trope:
360-->'''Paollo:''' Darnit, what's the point of being omniscient when ''no one else is''?
361* ''Literature/AshAndCinders'' heavily indulges in this trope. It frequently happens whenever Orym and Thavian share a scene. [[https://talesfantastic.wordpress.com//2016/07/13/13-the-confrontation/ There's even an entire chapter devoted to one of them.]]
362* ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'' can be heavy on this, particularly from the BigBad.
363* ''ARG/{{Camdrome}}'': A lot of Camdrome's answers are very cryptic and vague, and much of his replies come in a coded fashion featuring simple sentences, if any words at all. Later on in the game a trapped player using Camdrome's account was only able to discuss their situation through the use of Website/YouTube video titles.
364* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', [[TricksterMentor Taliesin]] talks to [[WanderingMinstrel Leon]] about the Laws of the Andain by using riddles because he feels every Andain must figure out the laws and the true meanings behind the words themselves with no outside help.
365* At the beginning of ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'''s chapter 2, Heru and Oziris are shown talking briefly in manner just clear enough to let us know that Oziris is aware of what's going on, but not nearly enough for us to figure out why recent events are bad news.
366* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' Annie once asks [[PhysicalGod Coyote]] what the Court is, and he replies "It is man's attempt to become God." Coyote immediately [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by asking [[TheDragon Ysengrim]] if it's a sufficiently cryptic answer, to which Ysengrim replies "Very cryptic. It barely answers anything at all." and Annie appends that it just raises more questions. Coyote of course, being a TricksterGod, was going for this exactly and is delighted that it was so vague.
367* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where Tarquin notes that the fact that his team is ''not'' speaking cryptically in regards to [[spoiler:Malack's vampirism]] means that it's highly likely that the protagonists already found out about it.
368* Kor Icomb of ''Literature/SkiesUnbroken'' tends to have these with a supernatural being known as Lady Luck. Compare and contrast CosmicPlaything.
369* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' plays this trope off of [[SpySpeak several]] [[WaifProphet others]] in the "Race" story arc.
370-->'''Nathan:''' I'm down. Tell Summer 'The chickens are in the hayloft. Plan Gamma is a go.'\
371'''Jewel:''' She says '[[AttackPatternAlpha Plan Gamma]] acknowledged. The meercats are in the bag.'\
372'''Nathan:''' ...\
373'''Jewel:''' So we're good?\
374'''Nathan:''' Hard to tell with her. Do you see an actual bag of meercats?\
375'''Jewel:''' No.\
376'''Nathan:''' Then we're probably good.
377[[/folder]]
378
379[[folder:Western Animation]]
380%%* WesternAnimation/TwelveOunceMouse is basically made of this.
381* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Iroh's teachings to Zuko often come in cryptic statements. When trying to figure out what Iroh would say in a situation where he wasn't present, Zuko says [[IceCreamKoan something cryptic and vaguely profound]]... and unfortunately can't understand ''that'' either.
382%%* The Dungeon Master, of the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' cartoon.
383* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' had [[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} the Weird Sisters]], who loved to confuse Humans and Gargoyles by talking like this.
384[[/folder]]
385
386----
387-->''Good conversation.''\

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