Line #203 Quotes/ObfuscatingStupidity


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
4	->''"Papa is not a stupid man. It takes calculation to decimate another human with a word. He measures others carefully. He only feigns being crude and dense."''
5	-->--'''Masaru "Kodama" Kodaka''', ''{{Manga/Bokurano}}''
6
7	->And I may not look like it, but I do pay attention to things that matter. [...] Don't underestimate me.
8	-->-- '''Kyon''', ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''
9
10	->''"I have pretended to be mentally retarded for seven years."''
11	-->--'''[[spoiler:Prince Parion]]''', ''[[Anime/SuperDimensionCenturyOrguss Orguss 02]]''
12
13	->''"A delightful magician begins his show by deliberately making a mistake in order to make his audience overestimate their abilities."''
14	-->-- '''[[spoiler:Jin Tachibana]]''', ''Manga/TalentlessNana''
15
16	->'''Soyogi:''' [[ManChild She's]] coming up? In that case, I'm going down.\
17	'''Nagi:''' You can't deal with her either, huh?\
18	'''Soyogi:''' Yeah... especially when she ''[[TricksterMentor pretends]]'' [[TricksterMentor to be a fool]].
19	-->--''Manga/UmiNoMisaki''
20	[[/folder]]
21
22	[[folder:Comic Books]]
23	->'''Firebrand:''' I always thought you were...I mean, the tabloid shows make you sound--\
24	'''Phantom Lady:''' Stupid? Vacuous? Sometimes I like to play it that way. I can read people better. If you present an image of ditziness, people don't think you realize what they're doing, and they say more than they would if they knew I had a degree in quantum physics...By letting down their guard, it gives me the extra edge over them.
25	-->--''ComicBook/{{Freedom Fighters\|DCComics}}''
26
27	->''Poor Josh. Sometimes I really hate doing these things to him-- But I've got an image to maintain as Klutzy-Clark Kent-- and I'd hate it even more if anyone ever saw through that image to the real me-- the anything but Klutzy Superman!''
28	-->-- '''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''', "ComicBook/FromEterniaWithDeath"
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Fan Works]]
32	->''"I must keep in mind that our Headmaster's 'batty old coot' act ''is'' an act; he's sharp as can be when things attract his attention. Getting too careless around him could be the last mistake I'll ever make."''
33	-->-- '''[[Franchise/HarryPotter Hermione Granger]]''', ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2439980/1/The_Girl_Nobody_KnowsASoliloquy The Girl Nobody Knows A Soliloquy]]''
34
35	->However... she found that people, including her great-grandmother, tended to unconsciously underestimate her when she played dumb, and Shampoo had a policy of exploiting every advantage she could get.
36	-->-- '''Shampoo''', ''Fanfic/HeartsOfIce''
37
38	->Because of her slight build, fine, angular features, and the almost childlike quality of her voice and mannerisms, Jean Grey was often underestimated by those who did not always see the strength, the iron will, that lay just beneath the delicate exterior. And although it made her angry not to be taken seriously, she had learned early on how to turn such a liability into an asset.\
39	Now, as she entered the Professor's study and closed the door behind her, unaware of his decision but preparing herself for the worst; she launched a pre-emptive strike, clasping her hands in her lap, crossing her ankles, biting her lower lip and casting her eyes down, looking for all the world like a lost little girl in desperate need of a hug. Charles would have to have a heart of stone to turn her over to Lilandra, or do anything else along those lines. Her demeanor would not seem false to him either, for she was not acting. She was simply allowing what was at the core of her to shine through her hard mantle of courage, and the deceptively fragile shell.
40	-->-- '''ComicBook/JeanGrey''', ''Fanfic/{{Risen}}''
41
42	->His name was Shinji Ikari, and he was a quiet, unassuming young man, who kept to himself, seemingly uninterested in the affairs of the world and the people in it around him. He often seemed to lack a spine, and would bend to the whims of anyone more powerful than he, lacking any self confidence or respect. He simply existed, ignorant of others, and they in turn ignorant of him.\
43	''It was a lie.''
44	-->-- ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji''
45
46	->She was still moving at super-speed, too fast to be detected by the human eye. All she had to do was get her wig out of the tree, get dressed again, and get back to her room by bed check. Actually, she wanted some time before that so that she could get some studying done. She'd already read all of her textbooks all the way through the day she got them, but it looked suspicious if she didn't study.
47	-->-- ''Fanfic/AVeryKaraChristmas''
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films - Animated]]
51	->''"No one realizes they're being fooled because they're too busy laughing'' at ''the fool."''
52	-->--'''[[InnocentlyInsensitive Finn [=McMissile=]]]''' about '''Mater''', ''WesternAnimation/Cars2''
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]
56	->''"So let's cut the crap, shall we? This whole hungover, show-up-late, don't-know-which-way-is-up act--I'm not buying it. I trust you about as far as I can throw you."''
57	-->-- '''Lorraine Broughton''', ''Film/AtomicBlonde''
58
59	->''"You'd be surprised how interesting people become when they think you're ''really'' stupid."''
60	-->--'''Mr. Newberry''', ''Film/DisturbingBehavior''
61
62	->''"I can't tell if you're really motherfuckin' dumb, or really motherfuckin' smart."''
63	-->--'''Wendell Everett''', ''Film/TheGuard''
64
65	->''"No one is as dumb as I appear to be.''"
66	-->--'''David "Mo" Rutherford''', ''Film/TheStuff''
67
68	->''"He brilliantly lowers our expectations and then jumps without a chute. Remarkable!"''
69	-->--'''Lana''', ''Film/TheLibrarian''[[note]]While she continues to think this way, Flynn wasn't pretending. He ''is'' a genius, just a clumsy and chaotic one[[/note]]
70
71	->''"How do you know my dim-witted inexperience isn't merely a subtle form of manipulation used to lower people's expectations thereby enhancing my ability to effectively maneuver within any given situation?"''
72	-->--'''Dwight "Dewey" Riley''', ''Film/Scream2''
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	->'''Pollio:''' Do you want to live a long and busy life, with honor at the end of it?\
77	'''Claudius:''' Yes.\
78	'''Pollio:''' [[ApparentlyPowerlessPuppetmaster Then exaggerate your limp, stammer deliberately, sham sickness frequently, let your wits wander, jerk your head and twitch with your hands on all public or semi-public occasions. If you could see as much as I see, you would know that this was your only hope of eventual glory.]]
79	-->--''Literature/IClaudius''
80
81	->''"[...] if Colonel Creighton was a fool, he was so for a purpose. Fools are not given information that leads to calling out eight thousand men besides guns. The Commander-in-Chief of all India does not talk, as Kim had heard him talk, to fools. Nor, and this to Kim was conclusive, would Mahbub Ali's tone have changed, as it did every time he mentioned the Colonel's name, if the Colonel had been a fool. Consequently -- and this set Kim to skipping -- there was a mystery somewhere, and Mahbub Ali evidently spied for the Colonel much as Kim had spied for Mahbub. And, like the horse-dealer, the Colonel evidently respected people who did not show themselves to be too clever."''
82	-->-- ''Literature/{{Kim}}''
83
84	->''"A truly advanced being might realize it's best to approach lesser species in a nonthreatening way -- as a ridiculous-looking creature who comes across as a pompous jerk barely able to keep his foot out of his mouth. It puts you at ease, doesn't it, when you say, 'This Pollisand guy isn't so scary; he's not the swaggering supergenius the rest of the universe thinks he is.' You catch me making a few goofs, you throw my words back in my face, and after a while, you relax cuz you think I'm not smart enough to pull the wool over your eyes."''
85	-->-- '''The Pollisand''', ''[[Literature/TheLeagueOfPeoplesVerse Ascending]]''
86
87	->''"A certain combination of skill and ignorance is very effective, you do not suspect it, and you accede to it."''
88	-->--''Literature/LesMiserables''
89
90	->''"We must be so intelligent that he does not suspect us of being intelligent at all."''
91	-->--'''Hercule Poirot''', ''Literature/TheMysteriousAffairAtStyles''
92
93	->''"Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with the inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can."''
94	-->--''Literature/NorthangerAbbey''
95
96	->''"Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about. Why should I disillusion them?"''
97	-->--'''Charles Wallace''', ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime''
98
99	->She drummed her fingers against the table, crossing one leg over the other.\
100	"She plays it up well, the clumsiness and the slurring, but no matter how much hard liquor she puts away she's never been more than tipsy."\
101	"You think she's deceiving us," William frowned.\
102	"I think she's playing it up for her audience," Thief replied. "Isn't that what [[TheBard Bards]] do?"\
103	"She's a heroine," the Swordsman eventually said. "That much can't be faked. Why would she bother to trick us when she's on our side?"\
104	The other Callowan passed a hand through her short hair, ruffling the tomboy cut as an uncomfortable look settled on her face.\
105	"When we left for Summerholm, there were five heroes in our band," the heroine said. "And we all knew going in that one of us would die to the Warlock -- monsters like that don't go easy. [[LawofNarrativeCausality It couldn't be you, because you have a mirror on the other side. Hunter was meant to be your right hand, ill-suited as he was to the role. You needed me to get into the city and to get out afterwards]]. That left..."\
106	"Almorava and Simeon," William finished. "Your point?"\
107	"Both of them are bumblers," Thief spoke quietly. "There was a redundancy. But how much of an impression did Conjurer make, compared to the Bard? He barely talked while she was always in the background, larger than life, drinking and badly strumming her lute."
108	-->-- ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil''
109
110	->''"There was always something like that, Lawrence was realizing. Parson would make some mistake, be labeled an idiot for it, and then everyone would forget. Or at least, Lawrence would. Only in retrospect did it become clear that most of those "mistakes" had since been vindicated in some way."''
111	-->--''Literature/TheZombieKnight''
112
113	->''"I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. ... You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!"''
114	-->--'''St. Paul''', ''Literature/TheBible'', [[Literature/BookOfCorinthians 2 Corinthians 11:16-19]]
115
116	->"Joffrey and his mother say I'm stupid."\
117	"Let them. You're safer that way, sweetling. [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Cersei]] and the [[MagnificentBastard Imp]] and [[TheSpymaster Lord Varys]] and their like, they all watch each other keen as hawks, and pay this one and that one to spy out what the others are doing, but no one ever troubles themselves about [[UpperClassTwit Lady Tanda's daughter]] do they?"
118	-->--''[[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire A Clash of Kings]]''
119
120	->''"I don't think you're half as dumb as you act, Dox. And you might not even be as dumb as that."''
121	-->-- '''Literature/JohnRain''', ''Winner Takes All''
122
123	->''"Did you plan for this? I've been following you on and off since all this began. You're very obviously stupid and incompetent but somehow things have ended up going your way, right? [[CruelPlayerCharacterGod The Deleters]] only [[DemonicPossession take over]] the most skilled and noble adventurers. So, if you want to survive as an adventurer and avoid [[EmptyShell the Syndrome]], you have to put on a facade of incompetence and creepiness when you're secretly a devious little prick who knows exactly what they're doing. And that's you, isn't it?"''
124	-->--'''Jim,''' to '''Slippery John,''' ''Literature/{{Mogworld}}''
125
126	->''"She ''does'' think about things. When her mind is really working, she could, if led, to think of you-- even I suspect, somewhat fondly. I ''suspect''. I don't know. But when she slides back into herself, I mean into the girl who spends two hours a day curling that beautiful hair, it's as if the thinking Galinda goes into some internal closet and shuts the door. Or as if she's in hysterical retreat from things that are too big for her. I love her both ways, but I find it odd."''
127	-->--'''Elphaba''' to '''Boq''' about '''Galinda''', ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''
128
129	->Perhaps the greatest indignity was having to pretend that we didn't know things that we'd learned in [[MagicLand Fillory]]. I still remember falling over laughing watching Fiona, [[MasterArcher the great huntress of the Queenswood]], laying it on thick at the archery range, getting tangled up and finally sitting down on her bum trying to string a bendy little schoolgirl's bow.
130	-->--'''Rupert Chatwin,''' ''[[Literature/TheMagicians The Magician's Land]]''
131
132	->'''[[spoiler:Lara Raith]]:''' You've made me the cat's-paw for you, Dresden. While making me think I had the advantage of you. You've played me at my own game, and ably. I thought you capable of nothing but overt action. Clearly I underestimated you.
133	->'''Harry:''' Don't feel bad. I mean, I look so stupid.
134	-->--''Literature/BloodRites''
135
136	->''"[...] Hulking, thick-necked, blunt and vacant face. [...] [Scytale]'s surface shouted stupidity, but the eyes betrayed him. They laughed at everything they saw."''
137	-->--''Literature/DuneMessiah''
138
139	->'''Erin:''' Come on! [[NobodysThatDumb I’m not stupid enough to cause trouble!]]\
140	'''Lyonette:''' That’s not what Wall Lord Ilvriss said. He said—\
141	'''Erin:''' That I acted like an idiot?\
142	'''Lyonette:''' Uh, well, he was [[{{Jerkass}} a bit ruder than that]]. But yes. Erin, you can be a bit aimless. I just think that—\
143	'''Erin:''' (eye roll) Lyonette, that was the point.\
144	'''Lyonette:''' [[FlatWhat What?]]\
145	'''Erin:''' Of course I acted like an idiot! We were in ''huge'' trouble and there I was, in another city getting yelled at by some very angry—and very heavy—[[DraconicHumanoid Drakes]]! I bet you they would have thrown the book at me, but I pretended everything was [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections Ilvriss]]’ idea and that I had no idea what was going on!\
146	'''Erin:''' (taps nose) You see Lyonette, there’s one good way to make angry people less angry at you and that’s to pretend to be as stupid as they think you are. Like [[UglyAmericanStereotype a dumb Human tourist]].\
147	'''Erin:''' (pitching voice higher and giving PuppyDogEyes) "Oh, I just happen to have [[PortalDoor a magical door]], [Captain]! What’s that? It’s illegal? Well, no one told me. And hey, you can’t take my door!"\
148	'''Erin:''' (dropping fake voice) And then, while they’re all laughing at you behind your back, you move your knight to F7 and wipe the smug looks off their faces! Hah!
149	-->-- ''Literature/TheWanderingInn'', [[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/07/17/5-02/ Volume 5.02]]
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
153	->''"I never run around in the bushes in a ski mask when I'm breaking in some place. Somebody catches you, what are you gonna say? You wanna look like a legitimate visitor until the very last minute. If you can't look legit, confused works almost as well. Maybe you get a soda from the fridge or a yogurt. If you're caught, you just act confused and apologize like crazy for taking the yogurt, nothing could be more innocent."''
154	-->--''Series/BurnNotice''
155
156	->'''Mrs. Scarlioni:''' My dear, I don't think he's as stupid as he seems.\
157	'''Count Scarlioni:''' My dear, nobody could be as stupid as ''he'' seems.
158	-->--''Series/DoctorWho'', "City of Death"
159
160	->''"An unintelligent enemy is far less dangerous than an intelligent one, Jamie. Just act stupid. Do you think you can manage that?"''
161	-->--'''The Second Doctor''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Dominators"
162
163	->''"You have the mouth of a prattling jackanapes, but your eyes tell a different story."''
164	-->--'''Sharez Jek''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Caves of Androzani"
165
166	->'''Davros:''' Still you play the fool.\
167	'''Twelfth Doctor:''' Well, by now that should make you nervous.
168	-->--''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Witch's Familiar"
169
170	->''"Calm down. Do what I do. Empty your mind."''
171	-->--'''Grace King''', ''Series/HowToRock'', "How to Rock a Good Deed"
172
173	->''"As for being half-witted, well, what can I say? Except that I have survived to middle age with half my wits while thousands have died with all of theirs intact! Evidently quality of wits is more important than quantity!"''
174	-->--'''Claudius''', ''Series/IClaudius''
175
176	->''Rule 15: Acting stupid is often smart.''
177	-->--''The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition'', ''Franchise/StarTrek''
178
179	->''"And that fat pig, Prince Prinny! He plays the fool so he may better play the game!"''
180	-->---'''Stuart Strange on [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover Prince George Augustus Frederick]]''', ''Series/{{Taboo}}''
181
182	->'''Leslie:''' You know, Columbo, you're almost likeable in a shabby sort of way. Maybe it's the way you come slouching in here with your shopworn bag of tricks.\
183	'''Columbo:''' Me? Tricks?\
184	'''Leslie:''' The humility, the seeming absentmindedness, the, uh, homey anecdotes about the family, the wife, you know?\
185	'''Columbo:''' Really?\
186	'''Leslie:''' Yeah. Lieutenant Columbo, fumbling and stumbling along. But it's always the jugular he's after. And I imagine that, more often than not, he's successful.
187	-->--''Series/{{Columbo}}''
188
189	->''"Why don't we stop pretending that I'm brilliant and you're simple for one moment?"''
190	-->--'''Ward Fowler''', ''Series/{{Columbo}}''
191
192	->'''Grand Maester Pycelle:''' ''[Wheedling and grovelling]'' Your son did conspire to keep me from my rightful place in the [Small Council] Chamber, as well as affronting my dignity in other ways--\
193	'''Tywin Lannister:''' In my absence, my son was acting Hand.\
194	'''Pycelle:''' But ''you'' are the Hand ''now'', my lord.\
195	'''Tywin:''' But I have not revoked the acting Hand's decree.\
196	'''Pycelle:''' Oh, my Lord, I-I, I must say, this is, I, most surprising--\
197	'''Tywin:''' Perhaps he had it right. Perhaps in the black cells, you truly found your level.\
198	'''Pycelle:''' ''[Hurt]'' Oh, my Lord, you-you-you cannot that! I-I-whu-I-I-I-\
199	'''Tywin:''' ''Stop it''. Am I the only one to see through this performance? Is it possible that so many can be so stupid for so long?\
200	''[Pycelle stands up straighter, all traces of the ineffectual, doddering and spluttering old sycophant of mere seconds ago disappearing, and smirks]''\
201	'''Pycelle:''' ''[Confident]'' There are times when I have trouble believing it myself.\
202	'''Tywin:''' Then why do you bother?\
203	'''Pycelle:''' Oh, so many flowers, my lord. Each wanting to grow the tallest, bloom the brightest. And one by one, sooner or later, [[TallPoppySyndrome they all get plucked]]. I don't want to be the tallest, or the brightest. I only want to remain in the garden, until my time comes to return to the dirt.\
204	'''Tywin:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Well, thank you for your poetic candor]].
205	-->-- ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Season 3 deleted scene[[note]]by a mildly interesting quirk, Pycelle in this scene is played by the same actor who played Count Scarlioni, who was so quick to see through the Fourth Doctor employing this trope in the ''Doctor Who'' quote above.[[/note]]
206
207	->'''Justin:''' Alex, you know you can't reveal magic.\
208	'''Max:''' Even I know that. That's why I just make people think I'm dumb. So if I slip up they'd figure, "Ah, that kid's an idiot." I slip up all the time so...who's dumb now?
209	-->-- ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Music]]
213	->''Day after day,\
214	Alone on a hill,\
215	The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still\
216	But nobody wants to know him,\
217	They can see that he's just a fool,\
218	And he never gives an answer,\
219	But the fool on the hill\
220	Sees the sun going down\
221	And the eyes in his head\
222	See the world spinning 'round...''
223	-->--'''Music/TheBeatles''', "The Fool on the Hill"
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
227	->''The wise man knows when to play the fool. You know when to blabber out what you know and when to hold your tongue. You know that something is amiss at [[MageTower Ceoris]], and you intend to learn what it is without being slain.''
228	-->--Roleplaying Hints for '''Biturges, A Fool For All To See,''' ''[[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Vampire: The Dark Ages]] - House Of Tremere.''
229
230	->''Minotaurs sometimes pretend to be lost in a battle rage, leading their opponents to underestimate their cleverness.''
231	-->--''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' card [[https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/126/furious-bellow Furious Bellow]]
232	[[/folder]]
233
234	[[folder:Theater]]
235	->''"It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish."''
236	-->--''Theater/PrometheusBound''
237	[[/folder]]
238
239	[[folder:Video Games]]
240	->''"I'll show you the truth."''
241	-->--'''"Tobi"''' activating his [[SuperMode Awakening]], ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2''
242
243	->''Oh, did I win?''
244	-->--'''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach]]'''[='=]s infamous victory quote from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''
245
246	->'''Granny:''' Oh, Tortus. I've already had lunch.\
247	'''Anju:''' Grandmother...I am Anju! Tortus was my dad... And you haven't had lunch yet!\
248	'''Granny:''' I've already had lunch. Now be quick and take that away.\
249	'''Anju:''' Not eating is bad for you. Please eat...\
250	'''Granny:''' Didn't I say that I already ate lunch, Tortus?!? Impossible child!\
251	'''Anju:''' Then don't eat my food. I give up...\
252	'''Granny:''' Whew.\
253	'''Anju:''' Whew?\
254	'''Granny:''' Er... W-W-Whewwwould you like me to read you a story?
255	-->--''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]''
256
257	->''[[GeniusBruiser Letho]] [[OutGambitted played us all!]] [[TheMagocracy We]] were decieved by his [[FaceOfAThug dull face and sluggish stare]].''
258	-->-- '''Sile de Tanserville''', ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings''
259	[[/folder]]
260
261	[[folder:Webcomics]]
262	->''"I don't know why I even bother pretending to be [[ValleyGirl a ditz]], it's not like you actually listen to a word that comes out of my mouth."''
263	-->-- '''Dame Lettuce''' ponders the futility of this trope, ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest''
264
265	->''"How big of a dumbass do you think I think you are?"''
266	-->-- '''Kit''' not buying it, ''Webcomic/TheDreadful''
267
268	->'''AC:''' :33 < then look like a fool!\
269	'''AC:''' :33 < but don't be one
270	-->-- '''Nepeta Leijon''', ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''
271
272	->''"I've always found that declaring something at Customs makes it much easier and faster to get through. The people who declare nothing tend to be the ones pulled over for complete luggage inspections, whereas if you say you're carrying a bag of jelly babies and a wooden souvenir elephant, the Customs officers just look at you as though you have no idea what you're doing and wave you through."''
273	-->-- '''David Morgan-Mar''', commentary for ''WebComic/IrregularWebcomic'' [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2481.html #2481]]
274
275	->''"It's great how all these morons think ''I'm'' the one who's too naive."''
276	-->-- '''Revolver Ocelot''', ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound''
277
278	->'''Tarquin:''' Remember, Nale: Who knows that you know is just as important as knowing in in the first place.\
279	'''Nale:''' But you look like a fool for being ignorant!\
280	'''Tarquin:''' So what? Better to look the fool than be one.
281	-->-- ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
282
283	->'''Agatha:''' But she's ''completely useless'' -- at least... she ''seemed'' useless... oh dear.\
284	'''Tarvek:''' I can't ''believe'' it! The Order has ''obviously'' been planning this for ''years'' -- and you ''completely underestimated'' the girl they groomed to be the ''Heterodyne''?\
285	'''Agatha:''' You ''obviously'' haven't met her.\
286	'''Gil:''' ''Oh, yes he HAS!'' Your fake Heterodyne is ''Zola la Sirène Dorée''.\
287	'''Tarvek:''' What?! No, that was that ''idiot'' from the island of the --\
288	''[BeatPanel]''\
289	'''Tarvek:''' She ''is'' good.
290	-->-- ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''
291
292	->'''Violetta:''' Shut up! There's no way I'll ''ever'' believe you're ''anything'' but a ''worthless fool!''\
293	'''Tarvek:''' Well, yes, that ''was'' the idea, now ''wasn't it?''
294	-->-- ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''
295	[[/folder]]
296
297	[[folder:Web Original]]
298	->''"When you are considered dumb, or at least not a threat, people stop looking to [[TallPoppySyndrome undermine your abilities.]] It's natural for anybody in the work environment to feel threatened by a new hire, a lateral hire, or a superstar colleague. We all have our insecurities. The more you can pretend not to know as much as you do, and the more you can include other people in your successes, the better you will be."''
299	-->--''[[http://www.financialsamurai.com/are-you-smart-enough-to-act-dumb-enough-to-get-ahead/ Are You Smart Enough To Act Dumb Enough To Get Ahead?]]''
300
301	->''"While he's said to be as dumb as UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, one key difference makes him ''more'' dangerous -- he knows how to break your jaw, because he takes advantage of his opponents' ability to underestimate him; the [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Lone Star State]] is a graveyard of people who were undercut by the man they felt was too moronic to do such a thing."''
302	-->--'''''Rational Wiki''''' on Rick Perry (R)
303
304	->''"Did you honestly think that I was that half witted? I merely pretended to be an idiot."''
305	-->-- [[spoiler:'''Taco''']], ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity''
306
307	-> ''"Uh, Your Majesty, [[StealthInsult you do know we were only]] ''[[StealthInsult pretending]]'' [[StealthInsult to be retarded]] on that bridge, right?"''
308	-->-- '''Klumph''', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mUOymWLCqE Donkey Kong Country Abridged - Episode 1 - Big Dumb Day]]''
309
310	->''"Neither one of you is as dumb as you lead on to be."''
311	-->--'''Barret Wallace''', ''WebAnimation/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged''
312	[[/folder]]
313
314	[[folder:Western Animation]]
315	->''"That's when it hit me. I realized that if I let him think he was smarter than me, I could make him do anything I wanted."''
316	-->--'''Grandpa Phil''' on dealing with Nazis, ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold''
317
318	->'''Mr. Mxyzptlk:''' If you can make me say, spell or otherwise reveal my name backwards then I'll split, until our dimensions come into alignment again in... oh, three months, give or take.\
319	'''Franchise/{{Superman}}:''' I can't even say your name forwards - how am I supposed to say it backwards?\
320	'''Mr. Mxyzptlk:''' No, dope, ''you'' don't have to say it, you have to get ''me'' to say it!\
321	'''Superman:''' Say what?\
322	'''Mr. Mxyzptlk:''' [[OutGambitted Kltpzyxm!]] Gosh, you're thick! Now, for the last time... [[OhCrap ah, nuts!]] (''vanishes'')
323	-->--''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''
324
325	->''"[=SpongeBob=], you can't always expect my usual brand of stupidity. I like to mix it up, keep you on your toes."''
326	-->--'''Patrick Star''', ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', "The Card"
327
328	->''"And I nearly risked revealing everything to get it. My infiltration into the Berkian world. Years of building trust. Behaving as if I was some buffoonish fop!"''
329	-->--'''[[spoiler:Trader Johann]]''' to Viggo and Krogan, ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'', "Sins of the Past"
330
331	->''"I was double-crossed by the one man I assumed was too stupid to even single cross!"''
332	-->--'''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'''
333
334	->''"I'm not really a dumb blonde, I just perpetuate the image to be less intimidating to others."''
335	-->-- '''Cissy Rooney''', ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn''
336	[[/folder]]
337

Context Quotes / ObfuscatingStupidity