On the one hand there's the
Freudian Slip, where a character means to say thing A but says thing B by accident, likely because B reflects on what is really on their mind.
But in this case, a character says thing B on purpose, and "pretends" (whether as a matter of deceptive intentions or just sarcastically) that it was an accident. Basically, this is for when a character wants to openly express the kind of thing that a character who makes a
Freudian Slip is trying to keep to himself/herself.
Compare
*Cough* Trope *Cough*, which is often used for similar purposes.
Examples:
Live-Action TV
- Rachel (and then later, Ross) trying to flirt their way out of a ticket, in one episode of Friends.
Rachel: Here you go, Officer Handsome.
Officer: It's Hanson.
Rachel: Whoops, my mistake.
(Later)
Ross: Here you go, Officer, uh, Pretty.
Officer: It's Petty.
Ross: Whoops. (nervous giggle)
- Babylon 5 has Bester use this to reveal that Talia Winters was dissected by the Corps. Whether this was true or not is never made known.
- In The Nanny episode "Maggie the Model", Fran attempts to let Maggie down easy after Maggie bombs as a potential model:
Maggie Sheffield: But Chloe said...
Fran Fine: I know what Chloe said, but we'll cross that
bitch when we get to it.
Film
- In Bruce Almighty, Bruce's reaction to discovering his rival has taken the job he wanted; "Evan Backstabber...Bastard...Baxter!"
- Moulin Rouge!; Nini outing Satine and Christian to the Duke ("Why would the courtesan go for the penniless writer? Whoops! I mean sitar player!").
Web Comics
Web Original
Western Animation
Real Life
- Cicero used this in his speech in defense of Caelius, who had been accused of several crimes by his ex-lover Clodia. Clodia was the sister of one of Cicero's bitterest political enemies, and it was rumoured there was a Brother-Sister Incest relationship among the siblings. In his speech, Cicero said at one moment: "And, indeed, I would do so still more vigorously, if I had not a quarrel with that woman's husband - brother, I meant to say; I am always making this mistake."
