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[[quoteright:266:[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nickthinking.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:266:[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 "Any leads...?"]]]]

->''"All you have to do is tilt your head to the left, close your eyes, and let your mind soar like an eeeeeagle."''
-->-- ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', J.D. [[LampshadeHanging hanging a lampshade]] on his day dreaming pose.

A specific type of CharacterTic. When Bob is sitting deep in thought, trying to solve a difficult problem, the writers will often provide a tic as a visual shorthand. This move is unconscious, and its main purpose is to underline just how perplexed and frustrated Bob is. Expect to see it happen very often during homework, tests or really tough relationship issues.

Stock variants include:

* Twirling his fingers and pen, sometimes biting it in annoyance.
* Drumming his fingers while staring absent-mindedly.
* [[StrokeTheBeard Stroking his chin or scratching his beard in wonder]].
* Playing with his hair locks.
* Tapping on his lips or chin impatiently with his fingertips.
* Biting his lip, sometimes accompanied by a "tsk" sound.
* Clicking his tongue impatiently.
* Sitting in the ThinkerPose.
* Scratching the top of his head in confusion.
* [[HandyFeet Scratching one leg with the toes of the other foot]].

Often accompanying it, especially if he isn't alone, will be someone else getting progressively more annoyed by it and finally yelling at him to "Stop that!"

Also see FingerTenting, PuttingOnMyThinkingCap. Can be TruthInTelevision.
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!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'': L bites his nails, particularly the nails on his thumb. While Near plays with his hair.
* ''Literature/{{Hyouka}}'''s Houtarou Oreki has a habit of playing with his forelock when he's thinking particularly hard about a case.
* [[BrilliantButLazy Shikamaru]] in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' sits with his hands splayed and opposing fingertips touching. In a way, it's his way of announcing that [[LetsGetDangerous he's getting serious]].
* Izuku Midoriya in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' mumbles his thoughts out loud while tapping his right index finger against his chin when he's not busy scribbling notes down.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} used to [[https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GteyZsquqfU/V-648nGhCPI/AAAAAAAAr6s/J6v5lI4evZoVU8Ric2HEj4WzRZBbWDTPwCLcB/s1600/3mil%2Bann.jpg put her finger to her mouth]] as she puzzled out some conundrum in early issues of ''Comicbook/ActionComics''. That quirk that has been seen every now and then even in modern comics.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} often grasps his chin when he ponders something. In ''Comicbook/KryptoniteNevermore'' he does this as he wonders about an astronaut's sudden sickness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''Literature/TheRavenCycle'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39678582 For Me to Know and For You to Find Out]]'', the main character's psychic mother Maura Sargent has a penchant for scratching her ankle with the toes of the other foot whenever she's having a vision or just lost in thought.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': Multiple:
** Whenever facing a problem, Pooh, being not to so bright, tends to lightly tap his head and repeat "Think, think, think" while rocking back and forth.
** While he's thinking, Tigger makes a bizarre facial expression with his mouth. Kind of like he has chewed an idea in his mouth and he's deciding if it tastes good or not.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AdeleHasntHadHerDinnerYet'': Nick Carter (America's [[GreatDetective greatest detective]] who investigates a mysterious case in Prague) often folds his arms and put fingers on his lips or face. He sometimes points out that he's deep in thoughts or "investigating intensively" when he's disgruntled that police commissioner Ledvina is not as invested in the case as he is.
* ''Film/AkeelahAndTheBee'': When spelling words Akeelah often pats her hand on her leg in a constant beat. Upon spotting this, her teacher recognizes this as a rhythm technique and starts having her learn words according to a rhythm so that she'll remember them better.
* ''In Film/TheBigSleep'', Philip Marlowe tugs on his earlobe when he's concentrating.
* In ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'', Boris has a tendency to fidget with his pen and click it when mulling something over. This turns out to be a ChekhovsGun later when he has one of 007's pens [[spoiler:which is actually a mini-bomb]] in hand while thinking.
* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' Gollum frowns when pondering over a riddle, then his face lights up with an idea, but, disliking the idea, he frowns again. You can just see his split personalities battling it out in his facial expressions as he ponders.
* Gladys Glover, in the film ''Film/ItShouldHappenToYou'', needs to take off her shoes in order to think clearly.
* In ''Survivor Style 5+'', the commercial director blinks her eyes rapidly when she's coming up with a new idea.
* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'':
** Shemp would often start going into spasms when he tried to think, and might request Moe to bonk him in the head to help get the thought to come out.
** Curly, on the few occasions where he tried to think, would start banging his head against the wall. Then, seeming to have an epiphany, he'd exclaim "I got it!" When asked what he got, he'd reply "A terrific headache." Other times, he would stare off in space for a few moments, before turning to Moe and saying "I try to think but nothing happens."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': When trying to concentrate or when lost in thought, the Fourth Doctor will often run his fingers through his hair or stroke his nose. This gets ribbed at in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E1Castrovalva "Castrovalva"]], where the newly-regenerated Fifth Doctor attempts to run his hands through his own hair while thinking, only to disappointedly discover that it's much shorter and straighter now.
* A ''Series/DoctorWho'' related sketch has a bit where the BBC head of programming and the producer who is pitching ''Doctor Who'' to him are thinking and both drum their fingers to the "da-da-da-da" tune of the ''Doctor Who'' theme.
* ''Series/YoGabbaGabba'': The Gabbas tend to scratch their heads whenever they think, especially Brobee. Muno often strokes his chin whenever he thinks.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Whenever he's having one of his [[CutawayGag fantasies]], J.D. tends to tilt his head to the left.
* Rodney from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' starts snapping his fingers rapidly whenever he's having an epiphany.
* Commander Data in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' will sometimes cock his head sharply to one side when he's doing some deep calculation.
* In a Season One episode of ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', Max is shown needing to tap his foot and poke his cheeks with his tongue to focus on his textbook. Justin finds it distracting, and starts a slap fight. In the final season, Max scrunches up his face to make his "Thinking Face."
* Bridge Carson, the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and Green Ranger of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', does a full handstand when he wants to do some serious thinking. He claims having the blood rush to his head makes him think better. His ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'' counterpart Sen-chan also shares this habit, which the narration constantly refers to as his "thinking pose".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/DocSavage'': The eponymous character is known for making an eerie trilling sound when in deep thought.
* ''Literature/ErastFandorin'': From "Special Assignments" onwards, the eponymous detective acquires a habit of grabbing his jade rosary beads and telling them in silence while contemplating.
* In H.G. Wells ''Literature/TheFirstMenInTheMoon'', Cavor's Thinking Tic of making odd noises while he's thinking is the whole reason he and Bedford even meet. Cavor has the habit of walking past the cottage Bedford lives in, while contemplating his experiments. He unconsciously sings as he walks, and the singing disturbs Bedford's attempts to write, to the point that he asks Cavor to either stop or to walk somewhere else.
* Sir Denis Nayland Smith of the ''Literature/FuManchu'' books tugs on an earlobe when thinking--even if he's in disguise at the time.
* Mediochre of the ''Literature/MediochreQSethSeries'' thinks best when playing the piano. As a result, when a piano is not available, he tends to start visibly playing an ''imaginary'' piano. In addition, he also has a tendency to twist his fingers into his hair when thinking particularly urgently.
* Literature/HoratioHornblower ''paces'' up and down when deep in thought - on a quarterdeck for preference, but anywhere of sufficient length will suffice. On one occasion he did so while staying at an inn, to the annoyance of the occupant of the room below him.
* Whenever Archie Goodwin sees [[Literature/NeroWolfe Nero Wolfe]] close his eyes and start pushing his lips in and out, he knows Wolfe's brain has just gone into overdrive. It's the only time Archie knows for sure that Wolfe is working, and he never interrupts it.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'''s Violet Baudelaire ties her hair up with a ribbon when she starts thinking about her next invention.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* [[WrenchWench Avril Mead]] from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' will often stare at her hand and run her thumb over her pointer finger when contemplative.
* CluelessDetective Hildibrand of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a rather [[LargeHam hammy]] thinking tic. Twisting to the right at the hip, bending his knees to tilt his body at an angle, Hildi flexes his arms and simultaneously points to his head while his eyes are closed in thought. If inspiration strikes, he splays his hands with a smile on his face.
** The detective's [[CloneDegeneration low-poly clone]] Brandihild in ''Endwalker'' gets his own: He mimes sitting in a chair drinking a cup of tea, with one leg crossed over the other, which is accompanied by the world around him fading away, showing mathematical equations floating around him in a void.
** The players have their own in the form of the /think emote, which varies depending on race and gender.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': Sora tends to cross his arms across his chest when he's thinking, typically accompanied by tilting his head to the side while looking down. Aqua does something similar, though she props her left arm up on her folded right one and places a hand over her mouth.
* Haruka from ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster'' tends to look up and to the right or left whenever she's in thought. Fans ran away with this and created the "Nonowa" meme as a result.
* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series, Liara T'soni comes to adopt a standing-up variant of the ThinkerPose. It's most noticeable in ''Mass Effect 3''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Most major ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' characters have a thinking sprite that is used whenever they're pondering something. Phoenix holds his chin in one hand, Maya looks up and to her left, Edgeworth crosses his arms, Apollo pokes his forehead, Mia covers her mouth, Athena fiddles with her earring...
* Seeing that the series is about murder mystery and class trial, ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' has a lot of this especially for the main trial leaders. Asahina crosses her arms while glancing up to her right, Hinata and Komaeda put their index finger on their chin, Nanami scratches her chin while looking up like she's wondering. Kirigiri got a special mention; her angry pose is the same as her thinking pose (crossing her left arm under her chest while her right arm propped over it), just with a different expression. She only uses that pose when the situation is utterly ridiculous but nevertheless is the truth, as if she's trying so hard to think but it could never make sense.
* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', Rena once lampshades that when Keiichi is thinking deeply about something stupid, he will often bend his head backwards and [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud start speaking his thoughts without realizing it.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'': Caine drums his finger against his thigh when he thinks up the Gloink quest to get Pomni off the topic of the exit doors.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Radic from ''Webcomic/MurphysLaw'' has a habit of holding her chin when in thought.
* Most characters in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' will raise an index to their faces when thinking aloud.
* In ''Webcomic/RealmOfOwls'', [[https://realmofowls.com/comics/mystery-property the detectives have their hand on their chin]] so much that it is practically a part of being professional.
* Terry from ''Webcomic/UncommonAnimals'' [[http://uncommonanimals.thecomicseries.com/comics/4 bites her lower lip]] when she's thinking.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' has a tendency to pucker his mouth when he's thinking something over.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Grampy from ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' wore a mortarboard with a light bulb on top as he thought of ideas. When he had an idea, he'd break into a happy dance.
* All 3 of the human characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'' have one of these. Matt plays with a yo-yo, Inez stands on her head and Jackie paces (usually prompted by her stating "Make room! I gotta pace!"). Interestingly none of these are perceived as annoying by those around them and the trio often does their own tics side by side while trying to work out their problem of the day.
* WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat's famous tic of walking back and forth with his hands behind his back.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' Dipper has the irritating habit of clicking his pen when thinking.
* ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'': Og, when in deep thought, usually sits down while flicking his nose ring until he hits on something.
* When asked what he thought of something, Mr. Horse from ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' would rub his chin with his hoof and pucker his lips saying "Hmm...", before inevitably replying "No sir, I don't like it."
* ''WesternAnimation/SkullIsland2023'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandExpedition Irene]] frequently puts her hand to her chin when she's thinking.
* Obi-Wan in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' frequently rests his elbow on his arm and strokes his beard when he is thinking.
* WesternAnimation/TomTerrific would go through bizarre movements whenever he would think of an idea. Smoke would blow out of his thinking cap (a huge funnel) when he did come up with an idea.
[[/folder]]
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