Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / Understatement

Go To

1%%
2%% Replacement image pending permission per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16889198670.29478000
3%% Please don't add it without permission from the artist.
4%% Please start a new thread if you have another suggestion.
5%%
6%%
7%% Please don't stomp this opening line with a quote.
8%%
9%% The version without the exclamation point is more understated.
10%%
11%% Just leave the opening line alone, please.
12%%
13%% Just leave the opening line alone, please.
14%%
15%% Okay, okay, we'll leave it alone. Geez.
16%%
17%% Will you guys knock it off already?
18%%
19
20Describing an [[NukeEm atomic explosion]] as being "somewhat noisy".
21
22A statement which, while technically accurate in a strictly literal sense, fails to convey the magnitude of the situation being described. There are many ways to use this. One common way is following the RuleOfThree by having two strongly made points followed by something [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking more casual]]. It may help to have a DeadpanSnarker who habitually presents things in the least exciting manner, especially if they've SeenItAll. TheDitz may make understatements unintentionally.
23
24In any case, understatement only works where a tension level has been built to go "under". Note that like {{sarcasm|Mode}}, some people are [[LiteralMinded completely blind to the effect]].
25
26Often used by CaptainObvious.
27
28British and Australian humor occasionally demonstrates this.
29
30Contrast FelonyMisdemeanor.
31
32''Please don't Administrivia/{{sinkhole}} this article in your own attempt at an understatement on the wiki. The attempt either works or it doesn't.''
33
34----
35!!Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly
36[[foldercontrol]]
37
38[[folder:Advertising]]
39* A commercial for Creator/AmazonPrime features Medusa and the curse she's under where her gaze [[TakenForGranite turns people to stone]]. The narrator refers to such curse as "a bit of a buzzkill".
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
43* In ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', when Chi-Chi freaks out when Goku doesn't know about the Dragon Ball on his head. Gohan's response:
44--> '''Gohan:''' She finally cracked.
45* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'':
46** The title character employs this often in her everyday speech. Telling her daughter [[MysteriousWaif Vivio]] that "[[YouWontFeelAThing This is going to hurt a bit]]" before [[spoiler: blasting her with [[BeamSpam five]] [[WaveMotionGun Starlight Breakers]] at the same time]] is just one of many examples.
47** Another infamous example: "Shall I cool your head a little?", which the title character uttered to a rebellious Teana before [[spoiler:bombarding her into unconsciousness using her own spell]].
48** When giving a summary of [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha the first season]], Shamal said that Fate was "going through some complications with her family at the time." Translation: [[spoiler: Fate's a clone and her mother was an abusive monster who manipulated her]].
49* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Nunnally become a master of understatement with "In the past, unfortunate happenings took place inside [[spoiler:the Special Administrative Region of Japan]]." "Unfortunate happenings" meaning ''[[spoiler:genocide]]''.
50* The Major from ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' sums it all up with this little declaration: [[BloodKnight "My friends, it has often been said that I like war."]] He then spends about 5 minutes clarifying what parts about war he loves the best. Somewhere along the line the understatement wears off.
51* Zelgadis, resident DeadpanSnarker of ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', is quite fond of understatement.
52* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', there was this small exchange between Mokona and [[{{Manga/X1999}} Fuuma]] during a battle:
53-->'''Fuuma:''' It looks like my big brother-san is starting to take this seriously. \
54'''Mokona:''' What happens if [[Manga/TokyoBabylon Seishirou]] gets serious? \
55'''Fuuma:''' That's when things get just a little bit scary.
56* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' tends to be [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror fairly nonchalant about things that would send other people screaming for the hills]]. One instance stands out, though, when he's fighting in his pain-nullifying Berserker armor. After getting bitten by what is basically a possessed sperm whale, picked up by a tornado and dropped from a height of several hundred feet, and catching a ''burning main mast'' (that would normally take 12 men and a bunch of pulleys to lift) before it falls on his friends, he remarks, deadpan, "Well, I'm gonna be sore in the morning."
57* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Mustang states this line while fighting ''[[spoiler:Envy]]''.
58-->'''Mustang''' What's it like having the fluid inside of your eyes boil? I imagine it might sting a little.
59** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 anime version]], there's this exchange:
60-->'''State Alchemist:''' You were killed for disrespecting your superior officer's orders.\
61'''Kimblee:''' You could say that...or you could say I made women and children go boom. And when my superiors complained...\
62'''Gluttony:''' Boom!
63* Two good ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' examples. One, Tsukuyomi casually mentions to Fate that she's never gotten along with other people very well. Tsukuyomi only falls short of an OmnicidalManiac in it ForTheEvulz because she lacks the power. Godel also sends Negi a brief note with a cheery smile about how their last meeting probably didn't go very well if he's reading this now. Godel [[spoiler:just tried to chop Negi's limbs off and made a huge wound in 'Asuna's' shoulder]].
64* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', one of the Digimon, which is shaped like a gear, does this a lot.
65-->'''Hagurumon:''' It's fantastic! It's great. Nah, guess it's okay.\
66'''Hagurumon: (later)''' It's a disaster! It's terrible! Meh, guess it's not that good.
67* Reversed in ''WebVideo/MobileSuitGundamAbridged'', when Char talks to Vice Admiral Dozle after one of Char's first encounters with the Gundam and reports back to Dozle (against his own will) and says the Gundam has 6 arms and eats people.
68* Comes up in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' after Madara crashes Naruto's battle with Tobi after having last been seen fighting [[spoiler:all five Kage]]:
69-->'''Naruto:''' What happened to the others?\
70'''Madara:''' Who knows? They're probably... not okay. ''[cut to [[spoiler:all five Kage]] lying in pools of their own blood]''
71* ''Manga/VinlandSaga'': After [[BewareTheQuietOnes growing a massive pair of balls]] and deciding to become the [[TakeOverTheWorld Ruler of Northern Europe]], Canute answers to the question where he would want to go ''"To the military headquarters in Gainsborough. [[ArchnemesisDad I will have a squabble with my father.]]"''
72* In ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', Dutch gets Rock to take care of their hostage with the following statement:
73-->'''Dutch:''' Rock, could you take over babysitting? As you can see, not a lot of maternal instinct there. ''[in response to Revy opening fire on an unarmed child hostage]''
74* The first preview video of ''Manga/KotouraSan'', where Haruka [[HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation interviews herself]], she gravely downplays how she thinks of her {{telepathy}} powers. She at most says, "I don't really want it," and uses her constant DirtyMindReading from Manabe as an example. [[spoiler:That is actually the ''least'' of her problems, particularly considering he's her ''first friend'' in nearly a decade. In an oversimplification, Haruka's telepathic powers left her friendless, socially stigmatized and severely traumatized.]] In fact, she started to sweat profusely as the "interview" goes on and eventually she decides it's too tiring to go on.
75* In the English Dub of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', Dennis mentions that "these potholes are wreaking havoc on my game" The potholes are areas of a racing track that have been all but obliterated during the duel (So much so that the track couldn't be used for the other 3 rounds of the Friendship Cup).
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Comedy]]
79* PlayedForLaughs in this [[https://youtu.be/yrbZxtuUdsQ clip]] by the late Creator/NormMacDonald. Norm talks about Albert Fish, the 19th century child-killer and cannibal. After explaining all of his evil acts, he ends it with this:
80-->'''Norm:''' This guy was a real jerk.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Comic Books]]
84* A few examples from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
85** In "Newcomers", Pete Donacek describes an attack by hundred-foot-tall ancient spirits:
86--->"They make a hell of a mess."
87** From "Knock Wood", after attorney Vincent Oleck questions a coroner if he was ''absolutely'' sure one of his subjects was [[DeathIsNotPermanent actually dead]]:
88--->''There was something of a commotion.''\
89''(Panel shows outside of the courthouse and a shout of ORDER! ORDER!)''
90** In "The Sorcerer's Assistant", as the Silver Adept has to complete three days' worth of work in six hours:
91--->''She is '''busy.''' Her duties are birthed swarming.''
92* Franchise/{{Batman}} saying in ''ComicBook/BruceWayneFugitive'' he knows he's "not an easy person to know". Cue the dumbstruck look on the faces of the assembled Batfamily.
93-->'''Oracle:''' Well... ''that'''s about the ''understatement'' of the ''century'', I'd say.
94* A similar scene occurs in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' when SociopathicHero Rorschach admits that it's hard to be his friend.
95* From some issue of some comic book written by some author:
96-->'''ComicBook/NickFury:''' The nuke... how'd it feel? \
97'''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}:''' Warm.
98* Evey's reaction to V blowing up the Houses of Parliament in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'': "But that... that's against the law!"
99* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'': "... guess th' white capes might be underestimatin' ol' Willy Pete jus' a li'l bit less, next time around."
100* ''ComicBook/UltronUnlimited'': "Ultron. We would have ''[[http://myhumblereview.blogspot.com/2011/10/avengers-vs-ultron.html words]]'' [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor with thee."]]
101* ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'': "World of Fire" has Leia delivering exposition about a DugTooDeep situation, and saying that if TheEmpire got hold of whatever was at the bottom...
102-->'''Luke:''' It could be trouble?\
103'''Leia:''' Luke, I love your gift for understatement!
104* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' starts as it means to go on when Rewind, Ratchet, and Chromedome, intent on joining a sort of exodus quest, suddenly have Whirl and Cyclonus crash in front of them after the former tackled the latter off a cliff. Before Whirl can finish Cyclonus off, however, there's a sudden Energon explosion from the below, which knocks out Whirl, blows open a hole in the ground, and reveals a legless Tailgate, who has a panic attack after thinking he's killed Whirl and passes out. Rewind only has this to say.
105--> '''Rewind:''' This is turning into a very odd day.
106* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
107** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen''
108*** When narrating his origin story, Xavier mentions that he and Magneto had "something of a falling out". In the image we can see a spear going through Xavier's spine, which made him unable to walk.
109*** General Ross explains that Nick Fury has been captured in India during a failed operation, and now all the intelligence secrets he knows are up for sale in the terrorist world. Wraith replies "Not exactly SHIELD's finest hour, General Ross". Ross admits he has a point.
110** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': When Lana asks Poey about his absence, he said that he had an emergency. Then he gives in, and confesses he's been dealing drugs again.
111** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''
112*** Remembering how the Nazis were such enthusiastic advocates of their drive for order, Herr Kleiser concedes that he ignored their "little eccentricities". This was when the Wasp asked him about the ''death camps''.
113*** Bucky explained that he used to protect Cap from bullies at school. Then we see him storming across some waves of Nazi soldiers. "Lucky for us, he's kinda filled out a little since then".
114*** "HULK TOUCH NAKED GUY LIKE NAKED GUY WAS TOUCHING BETTY!". And by "touch" he means "demolish".
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Comic Strips]]
118* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
119** [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2011/12/06 Garfield describes the "Santa's Elves Versus Godzilla" battle]] as [[CurbStompBattle "just a little lopsided".]]
120** [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2005/05/05 Garfield passes a small warning sign saying "Beware of the Dog"]]. He ignores it, only to find an [[CanisMajor absolutely gargantuan guard dog that towers over him]].
121--->'''Garfield:''' ''(mangled up)'' That sign was somewhat understated.
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Fan Works]]
125* In ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}: Ghost in the Shell'', after Tom is bitten in half while in cobra morph ([[ShapeshiftingHealsWounds he gets better]]), he spends several paragraphs talking about how people used to believe snakes would grow back their heads if you decapitated them, followed by: "Anyway, you can see why I was a little worried."
126* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': "Italy having a bad day" is a ''massive'' understatement [[spoiler:between being beaten, nearly raped, being bullied, and witnessing his closest friends [[CockFight attempting to fight each other to the death]] within hours of each other.]]
127* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18907975 Gold and Sapphires]]'', as [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo Giorno]] comes to realize that his upbringing has given him a pathological fear of weakness of any kind, a near-inability to have normal interpersonal relationships, and an unhealthy standard of perfection for himself, describes it as “Okay, he's got some psychological issues. Maybe. That's...something.”
128* Used a number of times in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', but perhaps most famously when John enters the scene dragging Paul, who has been turned into a diamond statue: “Lads, we've a bit of a problem.”
129* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'':
130** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight]] refers to what [[Franchise/AceAttorney Phoenix]] calls "[[TrappedInAnotherWorld kidnapping me]] with your freaky spell" as "a minor setback".
131** Twilight says that [[MilesGloriosus Trixie]] has a habit for running her mouth, which isn't that much of an understatement, but after spending 2 minutes with her, Phoenix thinks that "running her mouth" [[SmallNameBigEgo just doesn't cut it]].
132** Rarity says she got a "tad" annoyed waiting in the post office's line. She says this after [[DramaQueen her massive, loud rant about their service]] [[ComicalOverreacting and their lack of pens]].
133-->'''Phoenix:''' ''(A "TAD"!? It sounds like you just had an aneurysm!!)''
134* Rachel hangs the lampshade in ''Fanfic/TheGamesOfTheGods'', Book One, Chapter 33, before the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings War of the Ring]].
135--> "As I'm sure you know, Rachel, some dangerous times have come upon Middle-Earth." Elrond started.\
136"Understatement!" I muttered, and Elrond gave me a Look before continuing.
137* ''Fanfic/TheRigelBlackChronicles'': Tom Riddle has organized a massive international tournament, and carefully and subtly rigged it, in order to boost public support for his discriminatory blood purity legislation, and has secretly coerced Harry into an Unbreakable Vow to make her participate as his chosen winner. When Hermione innocently observes that, "It's not a coincidence that the legislation you mentioned is coming to light at the same time as the New Triwizard Tournament pits blood categories against one another, is it?" Harry nearly bursts into hysterical laughter, but restrains herself to answering, "No. No, it isn't."
138* ''Fanfic/TheTwilightChild'': Cadence's reaction to a hurried recap of events by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as Canterlot is invaded by Changelings which are being fought off by Celestia and Luna, while Discord is making it rain koala bears and pianos is simply to state: "That's unusual news."
139* At one point in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/425136/chapters/2487559 The Many Doors of Niu Heimar]]'' after Thor attempts to restrain him, Loki throws him so hard and far that a concrete sidewalk breaks as he lands. Thor claims Loki had reacted.
140-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Tony:]]''' He 'reacted.' [[SarcasmMode Love the tough guy routine]], [[LampshadeHanging what with the understatements and all]].
141** Tony is also the one to hang a lampshade when Bruce describes the Hulk as an "ailment."
142--->'''Tony:''' "You're like an expert at the understatement, I like it."
143* In ''Fanfic/ForThoseWeCherish'', Yang hears the Emperor's quote on Space Marines ''[[hottip:The relevant quote:They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.]]'' and says that she finds it catchy. Later, after some of the Lamenters talk about Roboute Guilliman, Nora thinks that he sounds like a swell guy.
144* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', the narration likes using this along with CaptainObvious. This is always PlayedForLaughs, of course.
145-->"In all honesty, he didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a red-colored shark head sitting atop a bundle of tentacles. It was hard to expect something like that."
146* ''Fanfic/ThePetricultureCycle'': ''Petriculture'': The final line, from Luna as a response to a SequelHook:
147--> “Yes, [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie did turn out well]], didn’t she?” Celestia stated as she absently stared out [[spoiler:the window of the palace at the sculpture garden]]. “Better than [[spoiler:our experience]], to say the least.”\
148On hearing this, Luna allowed herself the luxury of a barely noticeable smile. “As usual, your talent for understatement is uncanny, my dear sister.”
149* ''Fanfic/PastSins'': ''Glimpses 2'': "Day": When talking about two ponies' different experiences when fighting {{cult}}s:
150--> To say that Helia went through greater difficulties defeating her own cult was an understatement, and the final confrontation with Cozy Glow had left its permanent scar.
151[[/folder]]
152
153[[folder:Films — Animation]]
154* There's this from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', where Batgirl calls Harley out for helping Joker's final crime.
155-->'''Harley:''' "Okay, ''so he roughed the kid up a little'', but I'll make it right."
156** "Roughed the kid up a little" being the Joker torturing Robin to the point of ''complete insanity''.
157* The exchange between BigBad Yzma and her DumbMuscle Kronk in ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' when the "poison" (actually [[UnfortunateItemSwap a potion]]) they administer to the [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic]] Prince Kuzco doesn't quite kill him but instead [[ForcedTransformation turns him into a llama]].
158-->'''Yzma:''' What?! A ''llama?!'' He's supposed to be ''dead!''\
159'''Kronk:''' Yeah. Weird...
160* ''WesternAnimation/FlushedAway'': "Thank you... For the lift."; "Warning: Rather Cold" written on a tank of liquid nitrogen.
161* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': After Elsa is outed as a sorceress and runs away, accidentally freezing the whole kingdom into an EndlessWinter, this is combined with a [[LampshadeHanging Lampshading]] of CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot:
162-->'''Anna:''' ...Of course none of this would have happened if she had just told me her secret. ''She's a stinker''.
163* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'' -- when the Wolf watches Red Puckett fall several hundred feet from a moving cable car cabin, he summarizes it on his note-to-self tape recorder as, "Ouch."
164* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'':
165** In response to Monstro's '''''gigantic''''' sneeze...
166-->'''Jiminy Cricket:''' Gesundheit!
167** Early on, when the Blue Fairy explains the reason why Pinocchio’s nose grew, because perhaps he wasn’t telling the truth:
168-->'''Jiminy Cricket:''' Perhaps!?
169* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Louis the gator admits his wish to play trumpet for a human jazz band, leading to a flashback of what happened the one time he tried to do just that. It's a CutawayGag to Louis hopping onto a riverboat and immediately being chased off while dodging gunfire.
170-->'''Louis:''' [''Stonefaced''] It didn't end well.
171* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', Rapunzel [[MoodSwinger rapidly shifts]] between elation at her newfound freedom and despair at the thought of actually having run away from her "mother" (actually her kidnapper, but she doesn't know that) several times. Flynn snarks, "You know... I can't help but notice you seem a little at war with yourself here."
172* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'':
173** Ming explains the source of the transformation.
174--->'''Ming:''' Our ancestors had a mystical connection with red pandas. And what was a blessing became... ''(smiles sheepishly)'' an inconvenience.
175** Mei's dad, Jin, tells her that he only saw her mother's red panda form once, and that it was "big". [[spoiler:When Ming unleashes it at the film's climax, we see she's roughly the size of a ''{{kaiju}}''. Mei lampshades this when the rest of the family arrives to help.]]
176--->'''Mei:''' [[spoiler:Wh-what happened? She's huge!]]\
177'''Jin:''' [[spoiler:I told you she was big!]]\
178'''Mei:''' [[spoiler:''THAT'' BIG?!]]
179[[/folder]]
180
181[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
182* Creator/LaurelAndHardy: In the short film ''Helpmates'', Stan Laurel tries to help a desperate Oliver Hardy clean up after a wild party before the shrewish Mrs. Hardy returns home. One thing leads to another and Stan ends up burning Ollie's house down. After a tearful apology, he caps it off by stating, "Well, I guess there's nothing left for me to do." Ollie sighs with resignation and says, "I guess not."
183* ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'': "...they won't know where they're headed." "That's a bad way to fly."
184* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'':
185** After Donovan suffers one of the most [[CruelAndUnusualDeath nightmarish deaths]] ever after drinking from the wrong Grail, the Grail Knight has only this to say: "He chose... poorly."
186** Earlier in the film, Indy and his father are captured and then it keeps going FromBadToWorse. First, they're tied up together in chairs back to back, then Henry's attempt to burn through the ropes leads to the entire room getting set ablaze. After they seek shelter in the fireplace and accidentally trigger a hidden passage to a Nazi command center, Henry makes the following observation:
187--->''Our situation has not improved.''
188* ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' has Sallah's immortal line when he saves Indy from a poisoned date after seeing the monkey dead from eating them:
189-->'''Sallah:''' Bad dates.
190* ''{{Film/Ghostbusters 1984}}'' -- "[[ForbiddenChekhovsGun Crossing the streams would be bad]]." And earlier, just after annihilating a cleaning cart, "Okay. Successful test."
191* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}'': It is stated during the confrontation with the BigBad that, once the portal to the Other Side is opened, the dead will return to 'pester' the living. Erin points out that this doesn't sound so bad. The BigBad clarifies that this 'pestering' will take the form of torture, death and carnage. The Ghostbusters then remark that 'pester' is a poor choice of words for what he's describing, and 'apocalypse' would probably be a more fitting one.
192* From ''Film/GroundhogDay'':
193-->'''Rita:''' I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the wind. It's inspiring, in a way.
194-->'''Phil:''' My years are not advancing as fast as you might think.
195* [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]] in ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' confronts the BigBad in the climax of the film with "You killed my family. And I don't like that kind of thing."
196* ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'': "Years ago, something happened up there. Something not very nice." In the trailers for the movie, this quote by Mrs. Lovett was used to refer to Sweeney's rather... bloody... killing spree. But in the context of the movie (and the play it was based on), it referred to Benjamin Barker's false transportation for life and would lead into the number "Poor Thing", where we find out that Judge Turpin, after the above KickTheDog moment, [[RapeAsDrama had his way with the guy's poor wife]].
197* ''Film/HarryPotter'':
198** ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets The Chamber of Secrets]]'':
199*** Hermione, referring to LargeHam ghost Moaning Myrtle:
200---->'''Hermione:''' She's a little sensitive.
201*** After surviving a harrowing encounter with the Hogwarts Express:
202---->'''Harry:''' [[CaptainObvious I think we found the train.]]\
203'''Ron:''' Yeah.
204** ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire The Goblet of Fire]]'':
205--->'''Harry:''' "Come seek us where our voices sound."\
206'''Hermione:''' The Black Lake, that's obvious.\
207'''Harry:''' "An hour long you'll have to look."\
208'''Hermione:''' Again, obvious, though admittedly potentially problematic.\
209'''Harry:''' "Potentially problematic"? When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione?
210* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', Spock Prime's assessment of the bastard who [[spoiler:destroyed Vulcan because SP failed to save Romulus ''in the future'']]: "He is a particularly troubled Romulan." Leave it to Spock -- any Spock -- to be a master of understatement.
211** From the same conversation:
212--->[[spoiler:'''Kirk:''' So you're saying I have to emotionally compromise you guys.\
213'''Spock Prime:''' Jim, I just lost my planet. I can tell you, I am emotionally compromised."]]
214** ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'' had a couple regarding the [[EarthShatteringKaboom destruction of Praxis]]. The first was Brigadier Kurla's response to ''Excelsior'''s offer of aid: "There has been an incident on Praxis."
215*** The other was provided, once again, by TheSpock: "Two months ago a Federation Starship monitored an explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis." If you call being knocked off course and nearly shaken to pieces "monitoring".
216** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' when Chekov warns Sybok (who has just taken a Klingon hostage, among several others) that a Klingon bird-of-prey is coming to Nimbus III:
217--->'''Sybok:''' I imagine the Klingons will be quite angry.\
218'''Chekov:''' You are a master of understatement. They are likely to destroy the planet!
219** In a bit of dialogue cut from ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', Picard is rescued from the planet's surface by Geordi in a shuttlecraft. This is how Picard learns that the ''Enterprise'' has been destroyed:
220--->'''Picard:''' ''[seeing Geordie's arm in a cast]'' Was there some trouble with the Klingons?\
221'''Geordi:''' You could say that.
222* In the ending of ''Film/KillBill'', Bill explains his massacre of everyone attending the Bride's wedding rehearsal by saying that he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=lASM_n2R_TY "overreacted."]] Oh, and this little gem:
223-->'''[=Earl McGraw=]:''' It would appear someone objected to this union and wasn't able to hold their peace.
224* In ''{{Film/Gladiator}}'', the Emperor says of his son, "Commodus is not a moral man." Even he had ''[[TheCaligula no idea]]''.
225* Lampshaded in ''Film/IRobot''. After [[spoiler: the robot rebellion]] that the ProperlyParanoid protagonist Spooner predicted starts, Spooner shows up an expert in robotics who dismissed his warnings before and says with grim satisfaction:
226-->''"You know, somehow, 'I told you so' just doesn't quite say it."''
227* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'''s Tech Sergeant Fred Kwan prefers these; his reaction to being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWv9r5MXdSA&feature=related unexpectedly teleported]] 8 million light-years in a gel-pod to land on an alien ship was a subdued "That was a helluva thing."
228* In ''Film/{{Dredd}}'', at the end of the movie, the Chief Judge shows up to debrief Dredd on what went down at Peach Trees (including Gatling guns chewing up a block, taking out a major distribution and production hub for drugs, taking down one of the more powerful criminal organizations in Mega City One, a ridiculously high body count, and [[spoiler: taking down four corrupt Judges]]).
229-->'''Chief Judge:''' What happened here?
230-->'''Dredd:''' [[SeenItAll Drug bust]].
231-->'''Chief Judge:''' Looks like you ran into some trouble.
232-->'''Dredd:''' Perps were uncooperative.
233* ''Film/FightClub'': "You met me at a very strange time in my life."
234* ''Film/MajorLeague'': "Juuuuuuuuuuuuust a bit outside..."
235* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
236** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'':
237*** Logan's response when asked how his execution by firing squad went.
238---->'''Wolverine:''' Tickled.
239*** Also this exchange:
240---->'''Farmer:''' Had a rough night?\
241'''Wolverine:''' You could say that.
242** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
243*** Wolverine reminds Professor X that "Patience isn't my strongest suit."
244*** Kitty Pryde warns Logan that her power "might sting a little"; he then ''screams'' at the top of his lungs when she activates it.
245** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Most definitely applies when Wolverine is involved. The "little help" was basically doing all the killing for them.
246--->'''Raven:''' Well, you've been busy.\
247'''Scott:''' We had a... little help.
248* In ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', after [[spoiler:Grace Augustine]] is shot: "This is gonna ruin my whole day."
249* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'': "I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey..." Strange doesn't even ''begin'' to cover what happens to Brad (ASSHOLE!) and Janet (SLUT!).
250* The {{tagline}} to ''Film/CitizenKane'' was "It's terrific!"
251* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
252** From ''Film/ANewHope'':
253--->'''C-3PO:''' Master Luke, sir! Pardon me for asking... but, ah... what should Artoo and I do if we're discovered here?\
254'''Luke:''' Lock the door!\
255'''Han:''' And hope they don't have blasters.\
256'''C-3PO:''' That isn't very reassuring.
257** In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Jar-Jar warns Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to not expect a warm welcome from the Gungans. [[LittleDidIKnow Little did he know]] that ''before'' they had to deal with Trade Federation droids in the swamps of Naboo, they also had to deal with, among other things, attempted murder by ship explosion, poison gas, and armies of battle droids and droidekas.
258--->'''Obi-Wan:''' Oh, don't worry, this hasn't been our day for warm welcomes.
259** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'':
260*** Anakin Skywalker, just after the atmospheric entry tore off the bigger part of the ''Invisible Hand'' (the ship he happens to be flying): "We lost something." This was immediately {{lampshade|Hanging}}d with Obi-Wan's reply: "Not to worry, we are still flying ''half'' a ship."
261*** And before that, Anakin is in a turboshaft above a hundred-meter drop, an unconscious Obi-Wan slung over his shoulder and Palpatine hanging on to him for dear life. When Obi-Wan comes to, Anakin warns him that they're "in a bit of a situation."
262* In ''Women in Trouble'', when asked if she's a virgin, [[ReallyGetsAround porn megastar]] Elektra Luxx replies "No."
263* Creator/MichaelCaine is on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' to talk about his new movie ''Film/HarryBrown'', and a clip is shown of Harry [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing a thug]] for information on [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge his friend's killers]]. Caine then describes his character as "upset".
264* In ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'', the title character is confronted by Matilda about his mysterious week-long absence, to which he doesn't believe. Then he checks his messages...
265-->'''Answering Machine:''' You have twelve ''hundred'' new messages.\
266'''Zoolander:''' That is a bit above average...
267* ''Film/ForrestGump'':
268-->'''Forrest:''' ''[narrating]'' A few years later, that angry little man at the schoolhouse door thought it would be a good idea to run for President.\
269''[cut to footage of Governor Wallace being shot]''\
270'''Forrest:''' *narrating* But somebody thought that it wasn't.
271* The opening narration of the [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalyptic]] B-movie ''Hell Comes To Frogtown'' exposits that some years prior to the events of the film there was a "disagreement." Cue footage of a nuclear explosion.
272* ''Film/{{Primer}}'': "At this point, there would have been some... discussion."
273* From ''Film/{{Clue}}'':
274-->'''Wadswoth:''' ''Three'' murders.\
275'''Mr. Green:''' Six altogether.\
276'''Wadsworth:''' This is getting serious.
277* In ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Willy Wonka says that cannibalism "is frowned upon in most societies."
278* In ''Film/DrStrangelove [[EitherOrTitle or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]'', General Buck Turgidson gets several of these in quick succession when he informs the President of the United States that General Ripper, a lower echelon American military commander, has ordered a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union without the approval or knowledge of the White House or the Pentagon.
279** When the President asks how General Ripper could possibly order such an attack, Buck says:
280--->"Although I hate to judge before all the facts are in, it's beginning to look like General Ripper exceeded his authority."
281** The President questions how the Human Reliability Tests didn't catch General Ripper's burgeoning psychosis:
282--->"Well, I don't think it's quite fair to condemn the whole program because of a single slip-up, sir."
283** Buck advocates following General Ripper's lead and to launch an all-out nuclear attack on Russia:
284--->"Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than 10 to 20 million killed, tops.
285** Earlier when the President is talking with the Soviet Premier, he attempts to describe what Ripper did.
286--->"...one of our base commanders, he had a sort of -- Well, he went a little funny in the head. You know. Just a little funny. And uh, he went and did a silly thing..."
287* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': [[NotInKansasAnymore "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."]]
288* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico'', Agent Sands of the CIA [[spoiler: just had his [[EyeScream eyes drilled out]] and left in the street]]. When a boy approaches him, Sands tells him "I'm not having the best day here, kid."
289* ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'': Two examples courtesy of [[DeadpanSnarker Ian]] [[ShellShockedVeteran Malcolm]].
290-->"Mommy's very angry."\
291\
292"Hang on, this is gonna be bad." ''(cue T. rex attack)''
293* From ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', is a good one from Wash: "I don't mean to alarm you, but I think we're being followed." [[spoiler: A Reaver ship is in hot and very active pursuit at this time.]]
294** And then there's this: (after having lost another part of the ship)
295--->'''Wash:''' If [Kaylee] doesn't give us some extra flow from the engine room to offset the burn-through, this landing is gonna get pretty interesting.\
296'''Mal:''' Define '''interesting'''.\
297'''Wash:''' "Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die"?\
298followed by:\
299'''Mal:''' This is TheCaptain speaking. [[CasualDangerDialogue We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence, and then explode]].
300* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
301** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'':
302*** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, when he runs into Loki in Germany.
303---->'''Steve Rogers:''' You know, [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the last time]] I was in Germany and saw a man [[ComicBook/RedSkull standing above everyone else]], we ended up disagreeing.
304*** The [[UnfazedEveryman security guard]] who discovers Banner after his [[DestinationDefenestration exit from the Helicarrier]] sums it up pretty nicely after being told he isn't a {{Human Alien|s}}.
305---->'''Guard:''' Well son... [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 you've got a condition.]]
306*** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, a soldier from the second world war with little understanding of anything more complex than a radio, stares at a circuit board while attempting to help ComicBook/IronMan fix the damaged heli-carrier and tells Stark exactly what he sees.
307---->'''Tony Stark:''' What does it look like in there?\
308'''Steve Rogers:''' It seems to run on some form of electricity.
309** The end of ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' had Yondu describing Peter Quill's father, [[spoiler:from whom he'd been protecting Peter after having unwittingly delivered God knows how many other children to their deaths]], as a "jackass".
310** ''Film/AntMan1'' has a ''really fun'' one: as preparation for the big heist at Pym Technologies, Hank Pym asks Scott Lang to steal a [[MacGuffin gizmo]] from "[[ASimplePlan an old Stark warehouse]]." Said intel pre-dates ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' -- Stark has ''just'' finished converting the warehouse into [[spoiler:'''the new Avengers headquarters.''']]
311--->'''Scott:''' [[OhCrap Uh, guys]]? I think we have a problem. Hank, didn't you say this was "some old warehouse"? '''It's ''not''. YOU SON OF A BITCH!'''
312** PlayedForDrama in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. Captain America is left so utterly (and understandably) stunned by [[spoiler:Thanos using the Infinity Stones to literally kill half the universe]], that his only response is a quiet, affectless “[[OhCrap oh god]]”.
313** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' Scott calls back to the airport fight scene from ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' to identify himself to the Avengers when he shows up at their HQ. In his words, "I was pretty big." He was about ''[[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever 40 to 50 feet tall!]]''
314* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'':
315** A MissingTrailerScene has Gwen Stacy informing Peter that he is a wanted man and that her father has 500 men searching for him, to which he replies that this "seems a bit excessive."
316** From the movie, we have Spider-Man being pretty badly wounded by The Lizard, then being flushed down a sewage pipe. His response after all this? "Oh, that ''sucked''."
317* ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'': In a deleted scene, it was revealed that, [[OnOneCondition to be allowed to inherit]] his great-grandfather's estate, [[AlliterativeName Frederick Frankenstein]] had to become a medical doctor of his own will and earn some measure of esteem on his field. A relative then asked if Frederick did acquire a "measure of esteem" and was told he's the fifth most respected expert on his field.
318* In ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', Burke tries to explain away his deadly scheme as "I made a decision, and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, Ripley. It was a bad call." Ripley immediately calls him out.
319* At the end of ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'', when the title pair ask [[Creator/GeorgeCarlin Rufus]] if he can play the electric guitar, he says, "Well, I play ''a little''." And then he starts playing like a rock star. [[spoiler: Although considering in his time rock music is the basis of their whole society, this level of skill might be considered "a little" compared to everyone else.]]
320* In ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', Jonah very aptly describes TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt as "something not-that-chill."
321* ''Film/DumbAndDumber'': Lloyd drives east instead of west on their road-trip to Aspen, across a fifth of the country before Harry wakes up and notices they're driving across completely flat plains, resulting in two understatements. Harry doesn't take the second one well:
322--> '''Harry:''' Huh. I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than ''this''.\
323''[later]''\
324'''Lloyd:''' So we backtracked a tad.
325* Early in ''Film/RedCliff'', Zhuge Liang - a man [[MemeticBadass widely considered to be one of the greatest military strategists in Chinese history]] - mentions that he finds the formations that Gan Xing is drilling his soldiers in to be outdated, prompting this exchange.
326-->'''Zhou Yu:''' You are knowledgeable in the art of war?\
327'''Zhuge Liang:''' Just a little.
328* In ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'', Aurelio gets in one while detailing the damage to the Mustang and telling John "And I don't know if you've noticed, but you've got a crack in your windshield." The windshield is completely smashed.
329* ''Film/{{The Assignment|2016}}'': Frank's girlfriend notes that he looks different after his involuntary sex reassignment, but makes no further comment. This is putting it ''very'' mildly. It's a wonder she recognized him. Before he had a beard and larger nose, as the most obvious examples.
330* In ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog|2020}}'', after Sonic sets off a not-EMP that knocks out power for a good portion of the country, the government wants to do something about this blackout, and Vice Chairman Walters suggests sending in a "lab rat with teeth" to handle it. They quickly realize that Walters means Dr. Robotnik, who quickly proves to be an absolute nutcase of a BigBad.
331-->'''Air Force Chief of Staff:''' You're not suggesting who I think you're suggesting...\
332'''Vice Chairman Walters:''' I know, he's a little weird.\
333'''Air Force Chief of Staff:''' "Weird"?! He's a psychological tire fire!
334* At the very end of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'', Master Splinter asks the Turtles if they were seen during their latest adventure, during which they were very much [[HighlyVisibleNinja highly visible]]. After all of them deny being seen, Splinter holds up the latest newspaper which shows them with the headline "Ninja Rap is Born" and then says ''"Practice harder."''
335[[/folder]]
336
337[[folder:Literature]]
338!!!'''By Author:'''
339* Creator/DavidEddings:
340** In ''Literature/TheTamuli'', Emperor Sarabian is said, by his ambassador, to use this. A hurricane is "a light breeze"; the loss of half his fleet is "a minor inconvenience"; the imminent collapse of his empire as "some civil unrest". This is a tendency common among Tamuls as they have a [[PlanetOfHats racial tendency toward extreme politeness]].
341** Eddings has a tendency to use this trope. In [[Literature/TheBelgariad Belgarath the Sorcerer]], Belgarath notes that "Alorns take a petty delight in gross understatement" after Beltira comments "we wouldn't want that" with regards to the ending of the world. The original example would be in ''Castle of Wizardry''. A horde of Algarian cavalry so large as to make their approach resemble thunder [[BigDamnHeroes falls on a small army that was pursuing the protagonists]], slaughtering most of them and driving the rest away. Described by King Cho-Hag as an "[[ButForMeItWasTuesday interesting morning]]."
342* Creator/PGWodehouse was somewhat inclined to the use of understatement for humorous effect.
343** Probably his most oft-quoted example:
344--->"It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine."
345** When {{Literature/Jeeves|AndWooster}} quotes Shakespeare. Bertie comments that that Shakespeare fellow must have had a lot of clever things to say, and Jeeves replies:
346--->"I understand he has given uniform satisfaction, sir."
347!!!'''By Work:'''
348* A brief one in the ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'' novel ''Assumption of Risk'', where Galen Cox is asked to describe the impromptu Solaris honor duel he was just in, fighting two SmallNameBigEgo Mechwarriors alongside [[TheAce Kai Allard Liao]]. In the fight, he had jumped his ''Crusader''--far and away the smallest and most fragile of the four 'Mechs partaking in the duel--between two heavily armed enemy Assault 'Mechs, landing on an elevated platform barely five meters wide (which is about the width of his ''Crusader''). He proceeds to describe his choice of position as 'a bit narrow and a tad warm.'
349* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': "And [[TheVamp you]], who have told me a hundred times [[BlatantLies how deeply you pitied me]] for the [[MetaphoricallyTrue sorceries by which I was bound]], will doubtless hear with joy that they are now ended for ever. There was, it seems, some small error in your Ladyship's [[MindControlDevice way of treating them]]."
350* ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'': When a Grove Keeper asks Anthony whether he knows anything about termites, Anthony is filled with a visceral hatred and need to destroy. When he repeats the word "Termites" in pheromone language, hundreds of nearby ants stop what they're doing, filled with the same rage and passion. "How can the Colony live knowing that a giant monster termite nest exists out there in Pangera? We can't! We must destroy it! They cannot be permitted to exist within the same Dungeon!" His response to the Grove Keeper, however:
351--> [I've heard of termites, yes.]
352* ''Literature/TheCulture'': ''Literature/ConsiderPhlebas'' has a brief history of the interstellar war the novel is set in. The "Statistics" section says the war lasted for forty-eight years and a month and saw (among other losses) the death of over 851 billion sentient beings, and the destruction of 91,215,660 ships, 53 planets and moons and six ''stars'', followed by a "Historical perspective":
353-->''A small, short war that rarely extended throughout more than .02% of the galaxy and .01% by stellar population... the galaxy's elder civilizations rate the Idiran-Culture war as... one of those singularly interesting Events they see so rarely these days.''
354* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}''
355** ''Literature/SoulMusic'' features a ruthless Troll crime boss, Chrysoprase: "People tended not to speak to Chrysoprase in case they said something that offended him. They wouldn't know it at the time. They'd know it later, when they were in some dark alley and a voice behind them said: Mr. Chrysoprase is ''really upset''."
356** In ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', Drumknott is surprised that the absence of Vimes, Carrot and Angua, and the resulting strike by the Guild of Watchmen over the tyrannical leadership of Sergent Colon hasn't led to a noticable increase of crime. Vetinari explains that the criminals all know Vimes is ''coming back'', and when he comes back to ''this'', he "will not be happy".
357* In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', Dante's friend, Forese, agrees to name his neighbors in Purgatory by saying "It isn't forbidden", a sardonic response in light of the fact that they are all so [[NothingButSkinAndBones emaciated and hollow]] that names are necessary to distinguish them.
358* In ''Literature/DrumsGirlsAndDangerousPie'', the parents are loudly arguing when the mom see the children watching.
359-->'''Mom:''' It's okay. Your father and I were just having a ''little disagreement''.\
360'''Main Character:''' [[LampshadeHanging Yeah, and Mount Everest]] [[DeadpanSnarker is a]] ''[[DeadpanSnarker hill]]''.
361* At one point in ''Literature/EndoAndKobayashiLive The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte'', Endo suggested he just "cried a little bit" over Lieselotte's backstory. The narration then points out:
362-->''The definition of "a little" varied from person to person, but [Endo] Aoto had shed enough tears that both he and [Kobayashi] Shihono knew he was lying. However, being the high school boy that he was, he simply couldn’t admit that.''
363* In ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'', a Soviet intelligence general says that if they don't do '''something''' to humiliate British intelligence, "There will be ... displeasure."
364* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'':
365** Early in the first book, upon being told that Earth has been destroyed and he can't go home again, Arthur Dent says "Look, I'm a bit upset about that".
366** In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', when Fenchurch describes her sudden revelation as to how the world could be made a good and happy place (which she no longer remembers):
367--->"It was very odd," she said, much as one of the pursuing Egyptians might have said that the behaviour of the Red Sea when Moses waved his rod at it was a little on the strange side.
368* ''Literature/LeftBehind'': "To say the Israelis were taken by surprise is to say the Great Wall of China is long."
369* In the novel version of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', Creator/YoshiyukiTomino mentions that Japan had "technically" lost UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
370* Creator/PeterFHamilton's ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy'' brings us [[LampshadeHanging this gem]]:
371-->'''Adamist Officer:''' I've always been a massive admirer of the Edenist ability to understate. But I think defining a chunk of land fifteen kilometers across that suddenly takes flight and wanders off into another dimension as a little problem is possibly the best example yet.\
372'''The Edenist:''' I never said ''little''.
373* "Wellerism" -- binary explosive used by Sam Weller of ''Literature/ThePickwickPapers'' -- was sometimes made of Understatement and Parable:
374-->'''Sam Weller:''' There's nothin' so refreshen' as sleep, sir, as the servant girl said afore she drank the egg-cupful of laudanum.\
375'''Sam Weller:''' Wery sorry to 'casion any personal inconwenience, ma'am, as the housebreaker said to the old lady when he put her on the fire.
376* ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor: Pasta and Parties'': "Lacking gravitas" as a way to describe understatement:
377--> "Excitement, yes." A word to describe murder [...] and evil [[spoiler:witch-puppets]], definitely, but he felt that it lacked a sense of gravitas.
378* ''Literature/{{Seveneves}}'' by Creator/NealStephenson has:
379-->"If you are going to make first contact with an intelligent alien race," said Cantabrigia Five, "dropping huge strip-mining robots into their homeland might not be your best move."
380* In the novel ''Literature/SpocksWorld'', Kirk has this to say about his experience in ''[[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime Amok Time]]'': "Being strangled with an ''anh-woon'' can ruin your day."
381* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
382** In ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'', just as in the comics example above, Luke tends towards these. Lampshaded by Leia in a fit of PurpleProse.
383--->"You have this wonderfully evocative way about you, Luke, of reducing the most excruciatingly uncomfortable circumstances to the merely mundane."
384** Luke hangs on to this tendency over the decades. In ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'', someone says it looks like he's made the understatement of the year.
385* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' novella ''Literature/{{Edgedancer}}'': When Nale's AbsurdlySharpBlade slams into him at full force, Wyndle's only reaction is "''ow''". On one hand, he's an AbsurdlySharpBlade himself, and LikeCannotCutLike. On the other, "full force" means a lot when the person dishing it out is a OneManArmy.
386* ''This is The Way The World Ends'' by James Morrow: "Chapter 5 -- In Which the Limitations of Civil Defense Are Explicated in a Manner Some Readers May Find Distressing." This is the chapter in which, well... [[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin look at the bloody title.]]]]
387* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': "I thought you were dead. I lost my temper," says [[Literature/TheImmortals Daine Sarrasri]], by way of explanation for '''''leveling an imperial palace with SKELETON ZOMBIE DINOSAURS''''' and then setting hyenas on the culprit.
388* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': Discussed in ''Literature/{{Cetaganda}}'' in the context of "talking small unsuccessful military campaigns":
389-->"The Vervain invasion is now officially described as an unauthorized adventure. The erring officers have been corrected, thank you."\
390"What do they call the Cetagandan invasion of Barrayar in my grandfather's time? A Reconnaissance in force?"\
391"When they mention it at all, yes."\
392"All twenty ''years'' of it?"
393* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': [[Literature/GauntsGhosts Ibram Gaunt]]'s Vox officer Dughan Beltayn has a habit of describing any problem, from Vox interference to major Chaos incursion with "something's awry". Gaunt learns to cut to the chase and ask ''what's'' awry.
394* Creator/GKChesterton's poem "Wine and Water" contains this gem:
395-->The cataract of the cliff of heaven fell blinding off the brink\
396As if it would wash the stars away as suds go down a sink.\
397The seven heavens came roaring down for the throats of hell to drink,\
398And Noah he cocked his eye and said, "It looks like rain, I think."
399* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', after Aeduan completely loses his mind when faced with a large fire, he comments in his narration that it had... unsettled him.
400[[/folder]]
401
402[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
403%%
404%% Please note that these are alphabetical by series.
405%%
406* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': When the riot is in full swing, one of the guards reports "We have a situation on 5-2-D." Of course, "situation" doesn't begin to describe it and the guard ends up taken out by the prisoners before he can clarify what the "situation" is.
407* From ''{{Series/Angel}}'':
408-->'''Wesley:''' [''to Angel''] I may have made a tiny mistake. The word Shanshu that I said meant you were going to die? Actually I think it means that you are going to live.\
409'''Cordelia:''' Okay, as tiny mistakes go... that's not one.
410* Regarding a character on ''Series/BurnNotice'' who's attempting to blackmail Michael Westen into joining forces with a psychopath to commit 46 separate murders, and already has plans in motion to frame someone else for them:
411-->'''Larry:''' That guy... he's kind of a dick.
412* On Charlie Rose's talk show, Bill Gates described watching Microsoft's stock rise for 14 years was "a bit fun."
413* ''Series/TheChasersWarOnEverything'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8cN2pB3MCE on The Westboro Baptist Church]], following a short clip from a ''viciously'' homophobic sermon by Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps, which was delivered three days after September 11th.
414-->"I don't know if you've picked up on the theme, but these guys are a little anti-gay."
415* ''Series/DeathValley'': Stebeck at one point phones his wife to tell her it was a "weird day at work". Only if [[spoiler: having two attempts to blow up cops by planting bombs in zombies, followed by an attack on the precinct by over a dozen zombies and having to kill two cops who got bit]] qualifies as 'weird'.
416* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
417** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens "The Pandorica Opens"]] gives us this brilliant exchange.
418--->'''The Doctor:''' I'm not trying to be rude — but you died.\
419'''[[spoiler:Rory]]:''' Yeah. I know. I was there.\
420'''The Doctor:''' ''[gestures wildly]'' How can you be here?\
421'''[[spoiler:Rory]]:''' I dunno. It's all a bit fuzzy.\
422'''The Doctor:''' Fuzzy...?\
423'''[[spoiler:Rory]]:''' I died, and turned into a Roman. It's very distracting.
424** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E3Rosa "Rosa"]]: The Doctor says she "did not warm" to the police officer who searched the motel room. This, after she'd spent most of the conversation looking like she wanted to deck him for his racist remarks about Ryan and Yaz.
425* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'':
426** Adelle reacts to learning that [[spoiler:the Evil Corporation has the plans for a device that can GrandTheftMe the planet]] with "That's unnerving."
427** Adelle is one of the queens of these. When a man gets shot in the head in her office, her initial response is an annoyed "Well, I suppose this carpet is ruined."
428* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
429** Mal to Patience: "Well, we may not have parted on the best of terms...I realize certain words were exchanged...also, certain bullets..." (She had shot him).
430** The opening narration from the "Train Job", provided by Book: "The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. ''[intercuts with footage from the Battle of Serenity]'' There was some disagreement on the matter."
431** In ''Safe'' Mal says of River: "She makes things not be smooth."
432* ''Friday Night Fights'': ESPN's Teddy Atlas frequently uses "he got a little bit careless" to describe a fighter who has just been spectacularly knocked out (or "you can see his power a little bit on that punch" for the victorious fighter).
433* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'':
434-->'''Michael:''' Just wanna double-check, how do ethical philosophers feel about murder?\
435'''Chidi:''' It's frowned upon.
436* ''Series/HannahMontana'' usually answers such a line with, “Ya ''think?”''
437* In the Series 36 episode of ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' guest Quentin Letts described UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler as "jolly cross".
438-->'''Ian Hislop:''' ""Jolly cross"? You mean "homicidal maniac"."\
439'''Frank Skinner:''' "I think that was the Daily Mail's headline at the time. "Hitler: Jolly Cross""
440* ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' once had a non-humorous example. The VillainOfTheWeek is a terrorist who arranged a bombing of a U.S. convoy that killed four of the five men in the [=HumVee=]. After the terrorist is captured, Steve and Danny go to visit the survivor with the news. He refers to the incident as "a bad day at the office".
441* The very first scene in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
442-->'''[[Creator/BobSaget Future Ted]]:''' Kids, [[FramingDevice I'm gonna tell you an incredible story]] -- the story of [[TitleDrop how I met your mother]].\
443'''Future Son:''' Are we [[IncrediblyLameFun being punished for something?]]\
444'''Future Ted:''' ''[confused]'' No.\
445'''Future Daughter:''' Yeah, is this gonna take a while?\
446'''Future Ted:''' Yes.
447* ''Series/{{The Incredible Hulk|1977}}'' has the classic line from the main character.
448-->'''David Banner:''' Mr. [=McGee=], don't make me angry. YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry.
449* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
450** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]":
451*** Lestat de Lioncourt informs Tom Anderson that "I came to my wealth honestly and at great sacrifice." We learn in "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E6LikeAngelsPutInHellByGod Like Angels Put in Hell by God]]" that the vampire Magnus had kidnapped the human Lestat from his room in Paris, imprisoned him a tower full of corpses that resembled him physically, fed on his blood nightly for a week before transforming him into a vampire against his will, and then gestured to a large pile of money which served as an informal inheritance to his newborn fledgling before committing suicide by tossing himself into a fire.
452*** Lestat is enraged that Louis de Pointe du Lac had ghosted him after TheirFirstTime, so he warns his lover, "I don't take kindly to being avoided." Lestat murders [[ClosetGay Louis]]' [[TheBeard beard]] Lily, intrudes on the funeral procession for Louis' brother Paul, breaks Finn's arm when he intervenes to separate Lestat from Louis, sets Louis' Catholic church on fire, and kills two of its priests so that ''nobody'' (not even God -- Lestat is a HollywoodAtheist) can stand between him and his beloved Louis.
453* ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'': Jeeves might be said to lightly indulge in this on occasion.
454* ''Series/TheMandalorian'':
455** Chapter 9 provides one which ends up crossing series lines when Din Djarin and Cobb Vanth nearly get into a shootout in front of Grogu.
456--->'''Cobb:''' We gonna do this in front of the kid?\
457'''Din:''' He's seen worse.
458** Chapter 13 then reveals that Grogu was at the Jedi Temple when [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Order 66]] went down, meaning that he most likely watched Jedi being killed by Clone Troopers. Chapter 6 of ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' confirms this when Luke Skywalker unlocks Grogu's memories and sees the poor little guy watching terrified as three Jedi are gunned down. Djarin had no idea how right he was when he said that Grogu has "seen worse" than a one-on-one gunfight.
459* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse's Netflix outings (''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', ''Series/JessicaJones2015'', ''Series/LukeCage2016'') have it that in New York City, [[Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} Midtown Manhattan getting attacked by an alien horde led by a mad god through an interstellar portal]] is merely known as "The Incident".
460* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode spoofing ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' -- a particularly bad movie, even by [=MST3K=] standards -- Tom Servo says, "You know, there are certain flaws in this film."
461* ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'': After their rematch in "[[Recap/ObiWanKenobiPartVI Part VI]]", a very unhappy Darth Vader is ranting about how he plans to get Kenobi no matter what. After several minutes of listening to his apprentice going on like this, the Emperor's response is, "You seem agitated, my friend."
462* ''Series/OddSquad'': This exchange from the Season 3 episode "Villain Networking" as the villains that The Shadow has gathered fight each other:
463-->'''The Shadow:''' What's going on here?!\
464'''Brutus:''' The villains are having a ''little'' trouble getting along...\
465''[cue a laser beam aimed at a villain nearly missing them and hitting a bowl, which falls on the floor]''\
466'''The Shadow:''' A ''little?!''
467* Dr. K from ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'', in the episode "In Or Out", when she tries to apologize to the Rangers for behaving so coldly towards them. Also makes for a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.
468-->'''Dr. K:''' Gem and Gemma have confronted me with the possibility that in an effort to protect myself from future emotional trauma, I may have treated some of you with a degree of forced emotional detachment, perhaps even bordering on coldness.\
469'''Flynn:''' "Bordering on coldness", you say?\
470'''Summer:''' ''[sarcastically]'' That's ridiculous, Doctor.\
471'''Dillon:''' ''[sarcastically]'' You must be imagining it.\
472'''Dr. K:''' No, no, I'm afraid it's true.
473* The official description for ''Prillitoos'', a program aimed for older people, states that it awaits those who aren't very young anymore, to watch this program.
474* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
475** "Demons and Angels" has this gem from the psychopathic, CreepyCrossdresser version of Rimmer:
476--->'''Rimmer:''' I want to hurt you.\
477'''Lister:''' Why?\
478'''Rimmer:''' Because I'm not a very nice person.
479** After the future Rimmer mentions they spend time with the Hitlers and the Goerings:
480--->'''Future Rimmer:''' It's just a bit unfortunate that the finest things tend to be in the possession of people who are judged to be a bit dodgy.\
481'''Kryten:''' Herman Goering is ''a "bit dodgy"?!''
482* ''Series/{{Rome}}'' has Octavius explaining why it might be better to sit out a long siege rather than burn down Cleopatra's palace:
483-->"We are trying to keep the locals calm. Burning down the royal palace with their queen still inside might make them slightly peevish."
484* ''Series/{{Search}}'': A North Korean soldier sees the murderer running up trees and leaping from branches at incredible speed. His reaction? "That seems way too fast."
485* ''Series/TheShield'' had Claudette, having destroyed Vic Mackey's life by exposing his sins to his fellow cops PLUS his betrayal of his last remaining friend Ronnie (who was arrested), banished Vic for life from the Farmington District Precinct with the four following words: "You Can Go Now."
486* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''
487** "Errand of Mercy", when Kirk and Spock are trapped on Organia during a Klingon invasion.
488--->'''Kirk:''' So we're stranded here, in the middle of a Klingon occupation army.\
489'''Spock:''' So it would seem. Not a very pleasant prospect.\
490'''Kirk:''' You have a gift for understatement, Mister Spock. It's not a very pleasant prospect at all.
491** "The Apple" when Spock is injured:
492--->'''[=McCoy=]:''' Second degree burns. Not serious but I bet they smart.\
493'''Spock:''' Doctor, you have an unsurpassed talent for understatement.
494** ''Star Trek'' episode "I, Mudd" has this excellent exchange
495--->'''[=Mudd=]:''' Well of course I... left.\
496'''Kirk:''' He broke jail.\
497'''Mudd:''' I borrowed transportation.\
498'''Kirk:''' He stole a spaceship!\
499'''Mudd:''' The patrol reacted in a hostile manner.\
500'''Kirk:''' They FIRED at him!\
501'''Mudd:''' They've no respect for private property! They damaged the bloody spaceship!
502** Lazarus from [[Recap/StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor "The Alternative Factor"]] falls off a cliff at one point and injures his head. Later...
503--->'''[=McCoy=]:''' How's the head?\
504'''Lazarus:''' Aches.
505* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
506** In "Peak Performance", the crew of the ''Enterprise'' comes up with a plan to make it seem as though they have destroyed the ''Hathaway'' by firing photon torpedoes at it and detonating them a millisecond after the ''Hathaway'' jumps to warp. The problem is, they don't know whether or not the ''Hathaway'' will be able to do this. Data describes the outcome of a failure to jump to warp as "unfortunate".
507** In the episode ''Clues'', everyone of the crew except Data are knocked out by a wormhole. Data claims they were out for thirty seconds. Eventually overwhelming evidence surfaces that conflicts with Data's version of events. Captain Picard confronts Data:
508--->'''Data:''' It is a mystery, sir.\
509'''Picard:''' ''That is an understatement!''
510* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E06TheImpossibleBox The Impossible Box]]", Emmy, the Starfleet captain Raffi speaks to, summarizes the bad blood between the Federation and the Romulans in a single sentence.
511-->'''Emmy:''' The Romulans are in a 250-year bad mood.
512* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
513** In the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS02E22AllHellBreaksLoosePartTwo All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two]]", Dean sums up Sam's return from the dead for Bobby.
514--->'''Dean:''' Well Sam's better.
515** In the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS04E17ItsATerribleLife It's a Terrible Life]]", Sam and Dean are watching a Ghostfacers video explaining that to dispose of a ghost, you have to dig up the corpse and burn it.
516--->'''Ed:''' It's... illegal in some states.\
517'''Harry:''' All states.\
518'''Ed:''' Possibly all states.
519** In the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E01SympathyForTheDevil Sympathy for the Devil]]", Chuck finds a molar in his hair after [[spoiler:Castiel is smote to death by the archangel Raphael.]] Chuck's reaction?
520--->'''Chuck:''' This has been a really stressful day.
521* ''Series/TimeCommanders'' in the Battle of Gaugamela, the team playing as Macedon gets Alexander killed. The historical experts are very calm when pointing that dying puts a hitch in Alexander's long term plans.
522* ''Series/TopGearUK'':
523** On the episode where they take a trio of Alfa Romeos to the track, Richard (in the pits) radios Jeremy to see how he's doing. Jeremy replies that he's doing "Not brilliantly." Cut to Jeremy's car flipped onto its side.
524** Whenever someone says "That's not gone well", it's usually caught fire or crashed. Or both. (There's even a [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/B002KMF4LQ/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=11052681&s=kitchen poster]])
525** In the Botswana episode, Richard claims his car has "got a bit of water in it." He says this while watching Oliver drown in a lake.
526* Played on ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''. Hm-m-m, do you want to know how Damon became such a bad man? Just ask him:
527-->'''Damon''' In all this important soul-searching. And cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story? \
528'''Elena''' He said there was more.\
529'''Damon''' Yeah. That's an understatement.
530* ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' host Pat Sajak to the show's first $1,000,000 winner, Michelle Loewenstein: "You may be one of our bigger winners." (The previous winnings record being barely one-tenth of that.)
531[[/folder]]
532
533[[folder:Magazines]]
534* A vintage Whitney Darrow cartoon for ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' magazine has a trio of robbers emerging from a bank with their loot, to face an encircling cordon of heavily-armed police, a swarm of press vehicles and about a thousand rubberneckers. One of the robbers: "There must have been a leak."
535* This gem from ''Magazine/PSMagazine'':
536-->''A slipping gear in your M203 grenade launcher can cause it to fire when you least expect it. This could make you very unpopular with what is left of your unit.''
537[[/folder]]
538
539[[folder:Music]]
540* At the end of "[[Music/TheBeatles The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill]]," John suddenly yells "Ey, up" Cue the opening bars of "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic While My Guitar Gently Weeps]]." Similarly, on the same album, George's "One more time" leads to a spooky string passage at the end of "Piggies".
541* The entire premise of the song "[[http://www.spiderrobinson.com/freemusic.html Belaboring the Obvious]]" by Spider Robinson.
542* In their [[BlackComedy dark]] song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2UpM8Ci_ao Protect and Survive]]'', Music/TheDubliners mock an official nuclear attack survival guide that was issued by the British government in the 70s and 80s. The second stanza serves as one huge understatement.
543--> Well a nuclear strike could be recognized / It would stand out in a crowd / There's a flash, then a bang, then a blast of heat / And a bloody great mushroom cloud / So if you happen to see one at the end of your street / Would you please pick up the telephone and inform your local police
544* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "You Don't Love Me Anymore" has a description to what the narrator's mate has done (among other things, pushing the guy in an elevator shaft, putting piranhas in his bathtub and shaving his eyebrows). His response? "Got a funny feeling [[TitleDrop you don't love me anymore]]."
545* John Prine's "Please Don't Bury Me" includes the following line:
546-->When I got there, they did say, "John, it happened this-a way: you slipped upon the floor and hit your head."
547* Music/TheCars: It's rather obvious that the singer of "Since You're Gone" is one accord short of suicide, and the song ends with "Since you're gone, the moonlight ain't so great." Even the synthesizer has to burst out in tears.
548* In Music/TheLonelyIsland song "Space Olympics", a DeconstructiveParody that shows what would realistically happen in a sporting event in space, a public announcement warns that there are "minor scheduling adjustments." The adjustments in question include multiple events being cancelled and the rest being put on pending, which is far from minor when they're the main focus of the Space Olympics.
549* In Music/SetItOff's "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", the narrator wants to kill the metaphorical wolf, but can't because murder is "frowned upon" in all fifty states.
550[[/folder]]
551
552[[folder:Radio]]
553* ''Radio/BleakExpectations'': When Pip Bin and Ripely fill the widowed Ms. Sweetly Delightful in on why they're asking for her help (namely, her childhood crush, Pip Bin's guardian, Mr. Benevolent has come back from the dead and is seeking to conquer Britain with an army of working-class undead), she merely responds with a confused "that's... unusual news."
554* In ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'', [[DeadpanSnarker Arthur Dent]] occasionally indulges.
555-->'''Arthur:''' What happened to the Earth?\
556'''Ford:''' It's been disintegrated.\
557'''Arthur:''' Has it?\
558'''Ford:''' Yeah. It just boiled away into space.\
559'''Arthur:''' Listen, Ford, I'm a bit upset about that.
560[[/folder]]
561
562[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
563* "''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' is [[CrapsackWorld not a happy place]]." This bleeds into the fandom so much that, on this very wiki, it has been remarked that such things as ''losing your home planet'' is not sufficient enough reason to {{Wangst}}.
564** (This borders on canon. The members of the Tanith First-And-Only lost their homeworld, and often get told to "Suck it up, already.")
565* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': "Solar Exalted have poor impulse control."
566* ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'': "For gameplay purposes, nuclear weapons can be a {{game breaker}}."
567[[/folder]]
568
569[[folder:Theatre]]
570* ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. Mercutio is fatally stabbed in a fight with Tybalt. When Benvolio asks if he's hurt, Mercutio replies, "[[TearJerker Ay, a scratch]]," then follows with, "But 'tis enough, 'twill serve." when he realizes that he's dying. In a play where ''everything'' is overstated and exaggerated, his understatement shows us how bad the situation really is, making it that much more heartbreaking. [[Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968 Zeffirelli's film adaptation]] makes it all the more tragic by showing that even after Mercutio carks it, everyone ''still'' believes he's playing around until someone discovers a bloody spot on him. Even the music that plays at that moment indicates that shit is ''really'' about to go down.
571* ''Theatre/WesterosAnAmericanMusical'':
572** The following exchange from "Knight's Watch Defeated":
573--->'''Stannis:''' I never thought I'd have to kill my own Hand.\
574'''Davos:''' As your Hand, I don't think that's very good plan.
575** After getting framed for murder and losing his TrialByCombat, [[spoiler:Tyrion]] comments that he's "having a bad year".
576[[/folder]]
577
578[[folder:Video Games]]
579* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' [[AxCrazy Hazama]] is forced to [[spoiler: leave the heroes alive at the end of ''CS'']]. His response is, "Guess I went a little crazy there".
580* In ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon Project Origin]]'', Snake Fist comments that "They took her ([[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Alma's]]) babies away. [[UnstoppableRage She didn't like that.]]"
581* The official description of ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' says ''"This is a jumping-and-shooting action game. In a cave. ...Also you can save."'' Also, Momorin's "Chivalry is dead, let me tell you" after being thrown off a floating island.
582* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' gives us the description of the quest "One Small Favor" (a quest that's an infuriatingly long ChainOfDeals):
583-->'''Quest Length:''' Short (with some longer parts as well).
584%%* The commander of the Earth Defense Force in ''VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce2017'' calls the player character, Storm 1, a "great soldier" later on in the game.
585* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'': When [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne comes back as a spirit]] in the final case of "Trials and Tribulations," she has this to say:
586-->[[spoiler: "Yes. I was hanged. It wasn't exactly ... pleasant."]]
587* When Metal Gear [=RAY=] is curbstomping an oil tanker into oblivion in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'', Snake(who is on board the tanker) says to Otacon "This is bad..."
588* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' has this wonderful number from EVA (Snake's love interest): "Not good." What makes this an understatement is that EVA says this after Ocelot (Snake's rival) had shot out the engine of the [=WiG=] with his revolver that she was piloting to get Snake and her out of Russia, Ocelot then jumps onto the plane and proceeds to engage Snake in a hand to hand brawl with Snake not having a gun to defend himself should Ocelot pull his out (which he does), all the while EVA is trying to keep the plane stable so it doesn't crash into the lake they happen to be over. Yeah, EVA, of course your current situation is not good.
589* [[WordOfGod The creator]] of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' has said:
590-->"I think I made [[KillerRabbit the fish]] [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/40d:Carp too hardcore]]."
591* The official Strategy guide for ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft}}'' has a picture captioned with:
592-->"When a Nuke goes off, you'll know it."
593* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': Prepare for unforeseen consequences.
594* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2'': "Hello? Hellooooo? Well, if you're hearing this, then chances are [[CaptainObvious you've made a very poor career choice.]]"
595* ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' takes this to a logical extreme, and then some. Gelimer decides to make a "[[spoiler:tiny ship]]" called Black Heaven. [[spoiler:That's right, it's colossal. It's monstrous. It's inconceivable how its construction was even possible. It houses an army of evil robots. And how does it even hold itself in the air? Oh, and to hit the point home, it's first introduced in a Black Heaven cutscene: Flying next to it are more enemy ships, each fairly large, but tiny in comparison. Oh, and that tiny thing in the looming shadow of the Black Heaven? That's ''your airship''.]]
596* Jack in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has a doozy when she's telling Shepard of all of her various crimes, one of which is [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking vandalism]]. When pressed she explains that by 'vandalism' the Hanar mean she [[ColonyDrop dropped a starbase onto a moon]], and it was their favorite moon at that.
597** Mordin, a ''slightly'' neurotic scientist, always analyzes every situation with scientific objectivism:
598---> '''Mordin:''' Trying to determine how scale-itch got on the Normandy. Sexually transmitted disease. Only carried by [[MixAndMatchCritters Varren]]. Implications... [[BestialityIsDepraved unpleasant]].\
599'''Mordin:''' Suggest you stay clear. Explosion likely to be... [[HeroicSacrifice problematic]].
600** In the Arrival {{D|ownloadableContent}}LC, after two games of the [[EldritchAbomination Reapers]] spouting nothing but boasts about their inherent superiority and the inferiority of all organic life, [[spoiler: Harbinger]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu finally lets slip that Shepard has gotten to him.]]
601--->''[[AC:[[WorthyOpponent Shepard, you have become an annoyance.]]]]''
602* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''
603** In the first ''VideoGame/Portal1''-game, the mildly psychotic supercomputer, SelfDemonstrating/{{GLaDOS}}, also likes to understate things.
604--->'''[=GLaDOS=]:''' While safety is one of many Enrichment Center goals, the Aperture Science High-Energy Pellet seen to the left of the chamber can, and has caused, permanent disabilities, such as vaporization. Please be careful.
605---> '''[=GLaDOS=]: (later)''' As part of a previously mentioned required test protocol, we can no longer lie to you. When the testing is over you will be... missed.
606** At first it sounds like [=GLaDOS=] just likes you so much that she is going to miss you, but listening to [=GlaDOs=]'s later line "The Enrichment Center reminds you, that in the end you will be baked, and then there will be cake", you should know what to expect.
607--->'''[=GLaDOS=]: (even later)''' Due to mandatory scheduled maintenance, the appropriate chamber for this next testing sequence is currently unavailable. It has been replaced with a live-fire course designed for military androids. The Enrichment Center apologizes for this inconvenience and wishes you the best of luck.
608--->'''[=GLaDOS=]: (again) '''Although the euthanizing process is remarkably painful, 8 out of 10 Aperture Science engineers believe that the companion cube is most likely incapable of feeling much pain.
609--->'''[=GLaDOS=]: '''Please note that we have added a consequence for failure. Any contact with the chamber floor will result in an unsatisfactory mark on your official testing record, followed by death.
610** Wheatley's remark at the very start of [[VideoGame/Portal2 the second game]].
611--->'''Wheatley:''' Most test subjects do experience some, ah, cognitive deterioration after a few months in suspension. Now you've been under for... ''quite'' a lot longer[[note]]It's estimated Chell was under for anywhere between 300 and 50.000 years[[/note]], and it's not out of the question... that you might have a ''veeeery'' minor case of... ''serious'' brain damage.
612* From the final level of ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' (at which point the player characters have fought zombies across half the United States):
613--> '''Soldier:''' Are you ''immune''? Have you encountered the infected?\
614'''Nick:''' Yeah, you could say that.
615* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', Cristina Vespucci said of her cousin to a prospective employer of his: "Try Amerigo out. I bet in a decade you'll have named your shipping company after him." Biggest understatement of the century.
616* In horror/survival RPG ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'', the text descriptions that you get when clicking on environments are often this. For example, in one room featuring a towering guillotine with a crimson-stained blade, blood-splattered walls and floor, and later a couple of corpses, both shot through the head and lying in pools of their own blood, you get this text: ''"You see dried blood spots here and there."''
617* In ''VideoGame/ObsCure II'', after one character turns into a giant, mutated abomination, pins another character to the wall with a knife, and crushes the skull of another under his foot, his friends burst in and confront him with this line.
618-->'''Stan:''' [[spoiler: Kenny]], you've become a major jerk, man.
619* In ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'', York's ([[spoiler:well, Zach's]]) greatest insult to the ultimate villain of the game, [[spoiler:Forrest Kayson, who at that point has been revealed to be an inhuman demon who has corrupted the town, caused people to kill each other, inspired the raincoat killer's spree and has just raped and murdered Emily]]? "You're one crazy guy".
620* In ''{{VideoGame/Civilization}} V'' you have the option of choosing Fascism for your society. The last part of the historical description reads: "This form of government was quite popular with [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany certain]] [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly states]] in Central Europe during the last century but other states didn't much like it, and it was ultimately abandoned after [[FinalSolution some]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII unpleasantness.]]"
621* The Caretaker AI of ''VideoGame/WildStar'' claims he has developed certain instabilities that may occasionally cause him to be a sadistic psychopath.
622* In ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCore Armored Core: Verdict Day]]'', after hearing TheDragon's calm explanation of his motive; that is, to gather every strong mercenary and have them fight each other before killing the victor, as he is "the Reaper", he is called out by your CO and CoolOldGuy, Fatman. Fatman's response to all that insanity?
623-->'''Fatman:''' You are not right in the head.
624** Which had an even bigger understatement as a reply:
625--->'''[[spoiler: J]]:''' And what's wrong with that?
626* In ''VisualNovel/MyHaremHeavenIsYandereHell'', as Yuuya watches [[StalkerWithACrush Sayuri blissfully eat his hair]], he narrates calmly, "Lately, I've just been seeing all these new sides of Sayuri, and I don't mean in a good way." This is because he's been imprisoned by her for several days already, and even before that was ConditionedToAcceptHorror.
627* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': Parodied in the Worst Ending. "Clarence was slightly distressed by the outcome of the date." [[spoiler:*picture of Clarence flying over the DespairEventHorizon*]]
628** Also parodied in the Best Ending. "All in all, Clarence was somewhat pleased with the outcome of the evening." [[spoiler:*picture of Clarence in bed with the girl with a giant grin on his face*]]
629* The ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'' DLC "Nightmare In North Point" has Wei run into the ghost of [[spoiler:Vincent]] who died during the main game. He describes being dead as "a drag".
630* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'': A case where it overlaps with AndThatsTerrible when [[DistressedDude Mayor Cravendish and Harbanno]] are captured by Ganon:
631-->'''Cravendish:''' This is illegal, you know.
632* In ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', the Crusader's journal entries mention "having words" with whatever villain they are after. [[DeadlyEuphemism And by "having words", they mean "kill".]]
633* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'', after the duo watch an infobot revealing [[BigBad Chairman]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Drek]]'s plan to destroy the planet Hoven to use its orbit for his new artificial planet:
634-->'''Ratchet:''' Now this guy's gonna blow up an entire planet? That's just... mean!
635* In Chapter 12 of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', if the player [[spoiler:does not side with Edelgard in the Holy Tomb]], the Gatekeeper, when spoken to, will abandon his usual CatchPhrase that there's "Nothing to report," to say that there is something- [[spoiler:the Imperial Army is invading Garreg Mach Monastery, leading up to the climactic battle before the TimeSkip]].
636* In ''VideoGame/LegendOfDragoon'', the party gives the mayor of Haschel's home village the rundown of the game up till now (near the end of it). His response after the fade-in is "A world crisis? That's a pretty awful thing!" The crisis in question? Trying to prevent a god of destruction from wiping out all life on the planet.
637* ''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'': [[FauxAffablyEvil Aleph]] refers to his past team of archangels falling apart [[spoiler:as a result of [[OffingTheOffspring killing his own son]] which turned his ex-lover Morgante against him]] as such.
638-->'''Aleph''' ...[[NeverMyFault my old band got a tad dysfunctional and had to split]].
639[[/folder]]
640
641[[folder:Web Animation]]
642* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue Revelation'': "[[spoiler:Agent Tex]] is a bit of a badass." This was said during [[CurbStompBattle an epic beatdown]] being delivered by the aforementioned person to Red Team [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Tucker]].
643* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
644** In the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "virus", Strong Bad's reaction to learning the Compy has been infected by 423,827 computer viruses is "That is ''not'' a small number! That is a big number!"
645** In the 20th anniversary cartoon "Homestar Runner Goes for the Gold", the narration describes Dijjery Doo [[HoistByHisOwnPetard accidentally blowing up himself and Strong Bad with a bomb]] by simply saying "Dijjery Doo's plan backfired."
646--->'''Strong Bad:''' Uh, yeah, you think? You sure you didn't want to use any more adjectives there, like "catastrophically, [[BuffySpeak head-chunkularly]]" backfired, maybe?
647* ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'': "And then the player and [[VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine Walker]] do a bad thing." Yahtzee's way of describing [[spoiler:[[KillItWithFire using white phosphorus]] [[MoralEventHorizon on civilians]].]]
648[[/folder]]
649
650[[folder:Webcomics]]
651* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' lampshades this one [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/040818c here]]:
652-->'''Mega Man:''' We have a slight problem. There's about five million Robot Masters outside, and they all wanna kick my ass.\
653''[{{beat panel}}]''\
654'''Alternate Mega Man:''' We may wanna work on your definition of the word "slight."
655* [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2008/12/15/page-102/ Jayden and Crusader]], a comic supposedly grounded in reality has this one:
656-->'''Smic:''' [The best part of Christmas] used to be building the gargantuan robotic Father Christmas powered by atmospheric engine, who would duel with my brother's contraption for the right of the first choice of Faberge egg.\
657'''Hannah:''' You had a strange childhood, Smic.
658* [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2000/fc01955.htm This]] ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' strip.
659* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': "[[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001982 You have a feeling it's going to be a long day.]]". Said day wouldn't end for ''[[WebcomicTime two and a half years]]''.
660* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' couples this with OhCrap in [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19980926 this]] strip.
661* ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'' science teacher and MadScientist, Wilhelmina Twigitt. Her unique charm, unlike those LargeHam types, includes diluting occasional outrageous events with words like [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/phone_numbers_and_twitters "seems" and "nearly"]].
662* One is used in the author's comments on ''Webcomic/EarsForElves''. After a long and unexpected hiatus, the webcomic updated with a page proclaiming simply, "Soon". The author pointed out in her blurb beneath the image that there was a subtle hint to be found.
663* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'':
664** There are a lot of these in [[FootnoteFever the footnotes]].
665--->'''Narrator:''' The Tinth-Philkra rosette, comprised of one natural world and two habitiformed worlds, eventually tripled the size of the Enireth biosphere, but not before creating a small tide problem. The phrase "small tide problem" is an Enireth epithet.
666** The artifact Oisiri was discovered by Gavcorps, and then stolen from them in a massive attack using brain-hacking, murder, and slaughter, that resulted in all but one of the civilians on the base dead, an EldritchAbomination unleashed, and multiple fleets fighting over the remains.
667--->'''Narrator:''' This operation, to quote one of the surviving principals (who wished to remain anonymous,) "could have gone better."
668* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' when [[http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0136.html Anakin is being tested for Jedi skills]], he says several disturbing things like "A cup, containing the blood of pointless sacrifice..." Mace Windu comments that they might need to talk to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan about it, to which Yoda says, [[LampshadeHanging "A master of understatement, you are."]]
669* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'':
670** [[http://xkcd.com/1133/ "Up Goer Five"]] is a diagram of [=NASA=]'s Saturn V rocket described with only the one thousand most commonly used words in English. Much of the high-tech machinery and catastrophic consequences from their misuse or malfunction are not everyday prose.
671--->If it [the thrusters] starts pointing toward space, you are having a bad problem and you will not go to space today.
672** [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/24/ "Model Rockets"]] from ''WhatIf'' has a similarly constrained bit of AltText.
673* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Noah and his guardian, Mr. Raven, are discussing Noah's schoolmate Grace. When Noah shares his theory that Grace is the one who killed [[PhysicalGod Damien]], Raven is [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2011-12-12 incredulous]].
674-->'''Raven:''' We're talking about the girl who ran out of my classroom crying after reading about World War II!\
675'''Noah:''' World War II ''was'' kind of a bummer...
676* In ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'', a little of this happens as Reynir gets told, then realizes on his own, that the food crate in which he hid was destined to a crew exploring the ForbiddenZone rather than the safe zone in which he was hoping to have a vacation of sorts. The fact that there is a high risk of a deadly disease to which he isn't immune in said ForbiddenZone only starts to describe the implications of him ending up there.
677-->'''Reynir:''' Umm... Iiiiii think I maybe got off at the wrong place.\
678'''Mikkel:''' Yes, I believe it's safe to assume as much.
679* ''Webcomic/{{Nebula}}'': Earth admits to Venus that Mars looks "a little rough" when she's just finished putting bandages over most of his face after it nearly cracked apart and the rest of his body is visibly injured in a similar manner. In this case, it's due to forced optimism rather than snark.
680* ''Webcomic/RiversideExtras'':
681-->'''Simon Emmett:''' ''[describing his decision to cut a 17-year-old's fingers off]'' That was... admittedly not one of my finer calls.
682* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
683** Played with in regards to a few diseases that make you [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation change colors]]. "Vericus Panteliax's Chromatic Death" is an inversion; it's weird and dangerous, but ultimately sounds worse than it is and is easily handled by a trained medical professional. However, it looks very similar to "Hogfarb's Resplendent Immolation," which is invariably lethal and results in your entire body going up like a torch (though there's a small chance you'll just melt).
684** Mechanicsburg has been a haven of MadScience maniacs for hundreds of years, so they have a rather screwed definition of normal. It's not until Vanamode watches a little girl argue with her [[{{Mummy}} mummified great-great-great-grandfather]] about his [[YeOldeButcheredEnglish bizarre speech patterns]] that he begins to question it.
685--->'''Vanamode:''' I wonder if growing up here might make us a little... ''weird''.
686* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': In ''Breaker of Infinities'', the DarkestHour arrives when [[spoiler:Jagganoth's OneWingedAngel form overpowers both the Demiurges and the protagonists and flings them from orbit to the planet below, causing Allison and Cio [[{{Synchronization}} to lose an arm and an eye]], White Chain to go missing, Solomon David and Mottom being taken out of commision, Incubus being FlayedAlive (and somehow surviving), and Mammon being killed instantly. Jagganoth then follows them to the planet's surface and rips Mammon's head apart, claiming his Key of Kings and becoming twice as powerful]]. Incubus recovers just in time to behold the aftermath.
687-->'''Incubus:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck welp.]]
688* ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': There is a brief {{Flashback}} that shows [[https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/42 Rudy coming out]] as gay, with his dad calling the operator for a young priest and an old priest, and his mom crying badly. The page title? ''Slight'' Overreaction.
689[[/folder]]
690
691[[folder:Web Original]]
692* [[spoiler:"It's a bit late to hear this exactly from myself, isn't it?"]] This is the exact words from [[spoiler:Frelean Maleau]] in the beginning of ''Literature/ChaosFighters II-Chemical Siege'' after she [[spoiler:confessed her love to Enrei before she dies]].
693* ''WebOriginal/TwentyThousandTwenty'' has Juice describe [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball Georgia Tech's field in the Bowl Game]] as "a little bit longer" than usual. It's actually about a thousand miles long, stretching from the Canadian border to [[RegionalRedecoration where Florida used to be]].
694* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' story "Ayla and the Mad Scientist": Ayla is warning Lancer to keep Generator from getting sucked into a gravitational singularity and being horribly killed.
695-->'''Generator:''' That could be sorta bad.
696[[/folder]]
697
698[[folder:Websites]]
699* From [[https://outofcontextdnd.tumblr.com/ Out of Context D&D Quotes]]:
700-->"Yes, I did sense a little animosity when I got shot in the chest."
701* The entry for Isabella of France on ''[[http://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/isabella-of-france Rejected Princesses]]'' includes a footnote about the fate of Hugh Despenser, one of Isabella's more assholish lovers.
702-->Despenser was first dressed in a tabard with his family crest and paraded through town on the shittiest horse they could find. Then he was given a crown of nettles, had his skin roughly tattooed with biblical verses on arrogance and retribution, and dragged in a chest around town. Then he was stripped naked, half-hanged, and had his penis and testicles cut off –- which were then thrown into a large fire they’d built underneath him. He asked forgiveness of the bystanders, then let out a "ghastly, inhuman howl" and died. They split open his belly, cut out his heart and entrails, and tossed them in the fire. His head was cut off and sent to London, and his body sawn into quarters, each sent to the four next largest cities in England. He was not a popular man.
703* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
704** SCP-682 is [[OmnicidalManiac somewhat volatile]]. Its page is named "[[NighInvulnerability Hard-To-Kill Reptile]]".
705** The Foundation naming scheme is fond of this. SCP-313 is called a "Powerful Hand Dryer". When turned on, it emits a stream of plasma over four times hotter than the surface of the sun and proceeds to rocket around with enough force to drag a tank around.
706* Blog/TheSturgeonAwards refers to the infamous fanfic ''Agony in Pink'' as "not a very pleasant reading."
707* [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} TFWiki]] sometimes slips into this when [[LemonyNarrator its staff are feeling snarky]]. For example, one of the pages related to ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'' notes that the Wreckers are firing off entire mags of bullets that are [[TheUnfettered formally considered war crimes to use]], and then finishes that bullet point with "Those Wreckers, [[UnscrupulousHero such scamps!]]"
708[[/folder]]
709
710[[folder:Web Videos]]
711* ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'':
712** "Freeze ray needs work."
713** "That's... not a ''good'' sound."
714* The Creator/DougWalker sketch "How I Quit My job" ends on one. This after having played "Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra", ripped open his shirt revealing "I QUIT!" written on his chest, and leaving to the end of {{Music/Queen}}'s "Bohemian Rhapsody" while being chased out of the building (and through the parking lot) by security:
715-->"What have we learned today, boys and girls? Boys and girls, we have learned that ''that'' bridge has officially been burned."
716* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick: "Here's the thing about rape: it sucks."
717* ''WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID'': The boys [[spoiler: break Damsel out of the institution, but are caught by a security guard. Jeff bodily tackles him to give the others time to run]]. As Evan says, "That escalated quickly."
718* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'':
719** Linkara at the very start of his review of ''Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu''.
720--->''"[[spoiler:Missingno.[='=]s]] a legend in game glitches and in particular Pokemon history...and apparently in some parallel universe, it spawned off into some kind of outer god that intends to consume and absorb all reality in every dimension. And it's also standing outside my door. Yeah, it's been a bit of a day."''
721** In the 200th episode, this happens:
722--->'''Linkara:''' If there's a single story that has hung over this show since the first episode, it's ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''.\
723''[this is followed by nineteen clips of Linkara referencing/talking/complaining/raging about ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', which wraps up with him looking at an image of the book and growling ''"I hate you!"'']''\
724'''Linkara:''' Yeah, I think I might have brought it up once or twice.
725** Occurs again in the 300th episode.
726--->'''Linkara:''' You know, in three hundred episodes you may have picked up that I'm not particularly fond of Creator/FrankMiller.\
727(Next comes eighteen clips of Linkara talking about Frank Miller, including how he's gone insane, is a misogynist as well as generally creepy and that his writing and directing is terrible).\
728'''Linkara:''' [[SarcasmMode I know, I've been very subtle about it, but it's there]].
729* WebVideo/TVTrash: "So, yes. I'm not thrilled." Said after he blew his top over ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'' and the crossover with ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''.
730* In ''Series/{{Noob}}'', Sparadrap refers to the reason for which Master Zen stopped playing as him doing "something silly". What actually happened was that Sparadrap got Master Zen angry enough to make him throw his computer out the window. While an old lady was under said window. It's a little hard for Master Zen to play from jail, apparently.
731* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplCJo5FU2s developer commentary]] of the ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' fan game ''VideoGame/OneNightAtFlumptys'' explains the reason the player is even at the eponymous Flumpty's: Flumpty has kidnapped them and they are trapped in his nightmarish fun house. Success means you live to see another day. Failure means that [[EyeScream your eyes are pulled out of your head and fried]]. Why does the egg-abomination Flumpty do this? Because he's bored and wants to make friends by playing a game with them. The problem is that the game tends to involve terror, anxiety, and people dying horribly. As explained by the creator himself:
732-->'''Jonochrome:''' In my mind, the story of this game is that Flumpty kidnaps you and wants to play a game with you, and if you survive, you become best friends. [{{Beat}}] Flumpty does not have the best social skills.
733* ''WebVideo/{{Oxventure}}'': One episode of the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign has Egbert, ''ThePaladin'', awkwardly describe the whole thing in the previous episode where they burned down a town as "Not our finest moment."
734-->'''[[TokenEvilTeammate Prudence]]:''' We're heroes!
735* ''WebVideo/MapMen'':
736** In "Who Owns the South China Sea?", which covers the conflicting territorial claims of six countries surrounding said sea, Mark tells us, "Analysts agree that this sticky sea situation is set to continue for at least hours."
737** "What will the world look like in 250 million years?" showcased a map of the Earth from 180 million years ago, "before the second ''and'' first world wars."
738[[/folder]]
739
740[[folder:Western Animation]]
741* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Having your planet blown up could ruin your whole week!
742** From "Jimmy on Ice"
743--->'''Jimmy:''' I must have made a ''tiny'' miscalculation.\
744[''zoom out to reveal that Jimmy caused'' '''''a second ice age''''']
745* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
746** In "Francine's Flashback", Stan mentions that the last time he [[ForgottenAnniversary forgot his and Francine's anniversary]], he got onto a big fight with her. And by "big fight", he meant a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown so bad, it became an episode of ''Series/{{Cops}}''.
747** In "Fart-Break Hotel", Stan makes Roger eat Francine's okra dinner even after Roger states okra gives him a bad case of gas without elaborating. The following night, the family is forced to evacuate the house when Roger's okra-induced farts fill the entire building, threatening to suffocate everyone. The hazmat team that gets called in tells Stan that whatever Roger produced is off-the-charts toxic, requiring a week to sanitize the house.
748* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' Kestrel accidentally killed Mrs. Fieldmouse and her reaction to finding out was "How embarrassing!" This was played completely seriously.
749* A meta-example from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', if the storyboard writers are any indication: "The Lich King is Not Funny"
750* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
751** It gives us this gem:
752--->'''Sokka:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext My first girlfriend turned into the moon.]]\
753'''Zuko:''' That's rough, buddy.
754** In "The Drill," after the Fire Nation's massive, incredibly expensive superweapon/siege-breaker is completely destroyed, Mai sums things up for the Fire Nation.
755--->'''Mai:''' We lost.
756* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', [[ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} Kree Pluskommander Mahr Vehl]] explains to Ant-Man that they need to open up a KillerRobot, in order to deactivate the [[EarthShatteringKaboom planet destroying bomb]] at its core.
757-->'''Ant-Man:''' Easier said than done, I take it.\
758'''Mahr Vehl:''' I enjoy your species' gift for understatement.
759* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'':
760** "[AIDS] stinks."
761*** [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/609-captain-planet Hitler was a dork!]]
762** "In some countries, the government [[UnusualEuphemism recommends]] [[PopulationControl that a couple only have two children]]"
763* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':
764-->'''Odd:''' We-we can't be devirtualized.\
765'''Ulrich:''' The scanners must be offline. What is going on around here anyway?\
766'''Odd:''' I have no idea, but we've got a real problem.\
767'''Ulrich:''' That's the understatement of the year.
768* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': "Operation: E.L.E.C.T.I.O.N.S."
769-->'''Wilson:''' Someone has to count the votes, and The Delightful Children promised me a slice of their birthday cake next year if I... fudged the results a little.\
770'''Numbuh One:''' ''Fudged!?'' They weren't even ''on the ballot!''
771* From ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' after Jimmy lands in a sewer:
772-->'''Sarah:''' Ew, Jimmy! You stink!\
773'''Nazz:''' That's putting it ''mildly.''
774** And in TheMovie
775--->'''Nazz:''' [[spoiler: Dude, Eddy's brother is a real jerk]].
776* In the ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' episode "You Camp Take It with You", Peg describes an entire steak as "much too big a bite" for their small dog, Chainsaw.
777* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''
778-->'''Lucius:''' You may sweat a tad.\
779'''Jimmy:''' You don't say ''[wrings his arms like a towel, causing a waterfall of sweat]''
780* ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'':
781** In the series finale, [[spoiler:the Secret Society has accidentally resurrected ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s ArchEnemy, a GalacticConqueror with a planet's worth of fanatical followers and a ([[PhysicalGod rather justified]]) [[AGodAmI god complex]]]]. What does ComicBook/LexLuthor say about this?
782--->'''Lex Luthor:''' We have a little problem.
783** After Superman's apparent death in "Hereafter", Wonder Woman explains Batman's absence at the funeral: "He doesn't handle loss very well."
784* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In one episode, Mr. Cat mentions giving Quack Quack a "teeny" electric shock. When he actually administers it, Quack Quack is reduced to SweepingAshes and Kaeloo angrily reminds him that he said it would only be a small one.
785* ''WesternAnimation/NotWithoutMyHandbag'':
786** When Auntie comes BackFromTheDead:
787--->'''Niece:''' But Auntie, you've been dead and buried for six months!\
788'''Auntie:''' Well, I have been [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction feeling a bit off-color lately]].
789** In the end:
790--->'''Auntie:''' Walking the earth as a living corpse is probably in rather questionable taste.
791* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': Darrell's response to Ernesto going totally insane and burning himself alive in a factory incinerator: "Well, that was weird".
792* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': [[BigBadWannabe Cassandra's]] favorite way to self-criticism:
793** In "Great Expotations", after Cassandra has been callously treating Varian though abuse just because the boy has a PrecociousCrush on her, she says:
794--->Ok, so I could have been a little nicer earlier...
795** In "Beyond the Corona Walls", Cassandra resumes [[HeadbuttingHeroes her relationship with Eugene]] as this:
796--->Rapunzel, we all know that Eugene and I don't always agree on everything...
797** But "Once a Handmaiden" takes the cake, when Cassandra resumes her [[VillainousBreakdown decisions of the last year]] as this to [[TheConscience Owl]]:
798--->Oh, I know I had been not the nicest person lately...
799* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': A worker at a nuclear power plant accidentally wipes his mouth off with a contaminated napkin, causing [[NuclearMutant tentacles to sprout from his face]]. His response? "Hm. Well, that's no good."
800* In the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' episode "[[Recap/ReadyJetGoS2E12WhoMessedUpTheTreehouseFactOrFiction Who Messed Up the Treehouse?]]", everyone thinks they only left a little bit of trash in the treehouse. However, the treehouse is an utter mess, making this an understatement.
801* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' has all of Mainframe infected with a bug that turns everyone and everything to stone; that is, except for Hexidecimal's lair, since it was her bug to begin with. Bob, the only one immune to the bug, storms Hexidecimal's lair and, via zipline, ''kicks her right out of her throne.''
802-->'''Hexidecimal:''' Funny. I sense a presence.
803* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', after Rick learns that in his most recent blackout he single-handedly killed Worldender's army to the last man and converted his base into a "reckoning" for the Vindicators.
804-->'''Rick:''' Welp, it's official. I had too much to drink last night.
805* In season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', Jack encounters Ashi, an AxCrazy LaserGuidedTykeBomb completely obsessed with "undoing the evil that is [Jack]" who worships the BigBad Aku as a god.
806-->'''Jack:''' You are very troubled and very confused.
807* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
808** "Adolf Hitler was a very, very naughty man."
809** '''Kyle:''' There's something wrong with Cartman.
810* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E20ZeroHourPartII Hour"]], [[spoiler:Kanan has managed to anger [[PhysicalGod the Bendu]] so much that he's indiscriminately attacking Rebel and Imperial forces alike with Force lightning. After the ''Ghost'' has been hit:]]
811-->'''Hera:''' This is your ''friend?!''\
812'''Kanan:''' I... might've made him angry.
813* In the ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' episode "Mach One For The Gipper", Baloo and Wildcat try to escape from a bad situation by tying an experimental jet engine to the Sea Duck and using it to boost out of there. Unfortunately, the engine's thrust isn't terribly powerful. Then Wildcat looks at the setup.
814-->'''Wildcat:''' Oh, here's the problem! There's a kink in the hose!\
815''Holds up a section of hose that's not so much kinked as tied in an elaborate knot.''
816* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS1E6Nevermore Nevermore]]", Beast Boy and Cyborg get involved in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind between Raven and Trigon. Beast Boy wants to know exactly what they're up against.
817-->'''Raven:''' Let's just say I have issues with my father.
818* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'':
819-->'''Arthur:''' I'm worried about the Tick. I don't think falling 4,000 feet and getting hit by a subway train did him any good.
820* The theme song of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' pretty much gives it away.
821-->''We're tiny and toony''\
822''We're all a little loony''
823* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'':
824** In "Crab Quakes," Super says that there's not much on her to-do list, then reveals a fairly lengthy list of things she has to do.
825** In "Zoom In Zadie,: Quique says that Mr. E is struggling just a little bit painting squares. He says this while [[{{Manchild}} Mr. E is throwing tantrums]].
826[[/folder]]
827
828----
829->[[SelfDemonstratingArticle This site has a few tropes.]]

Top