Glove Snap - Television Tropes & Idioms

I see you shiver with antici... *SAY IT!* -pation.

When the Mad Doctor is ready to "operate", this almost always includes shoving his hands into big latex gloves with a (usually upward) thrusting motion while tugging on the back of the glove with the other hand; then there's a loud snap at the end when the back of the glove is released. Pretty much a Mad Doctor and Medic staple, and also pretty common in cartoons. Usually meant to inspire fear or to startle; usually part of the Creepy Physical.

Compare Gloved Fist of Doom. Also see Ass Shove, which frequently uses this as a family-friendly suggestion.

Examples:

Comics

Dilbert has a comic where Dilbert opens a package, and by doing so agrees to a full cavity search at any time. Enter woman with the glove snap.

Film

The infamous glove-snapping scene in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Latex glove snap done by a fearsomely large nurse in Armageddon.
Implied in one scene in Kung Pow! Enter the Fist:
Master Tang: As you know, I am a man of special needs. One of you will now receive... the Fist of Fury!
(cut to students looking anxious)
Master Tang: Prepare... the long rubber glove. (sound of latex snapping) Eeny... meeny... miney... moe... I wonder where... my glove will go...
Undercover Brother. One of Mr. Feather's minions does this repeatedly, greatly to Mr. Feather's annoyance.
Fletch. A proctologist does this before giving Fletch an examination, as shown here.
Jim Carrey's Count Olaf does this in his herpetologist disguise in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Rush Hour 3 - The two protagonists have been detained by security in a French airport.
Chris Tucker: Can we go now?
Detective: *Glove Snap* this will just take a moment.
"This" turns out to be a cavity search...
Jackie Chan: Oh shit!
The Mad Doctor in The Rescuers Down Under does this. "All right, girls, let's snap to it!" *snap* Oh! That smarts..."
Played for Laughs in Wayne's World, when the Big Bad is being "searched for drugs".
Judge Doom does this before putting a toon shoe in "the Dip."

Live-Action TV

In The X-Files, Mulder accuses Scully of enjoying doing this.
Tony of NCIS; though it's more comedic than sinister.
NCIS Los Angeles has used it for comedic affect, even more so in that it was the Geek that did the snapping.

Video Games

The Medic in Team Fortress 2 does it◊ with his Syringe gun taunts.
"Anuhza successful procedure!"
"Woops! Zat was not medicine."
"Did zat sting? Sorry!"
"Zat, vas doctor-assisted homicide!"
- He also does it in the Meet the Medic video, before he and the Heavy return to the battlefield.

Web Comics

The second strip of Schlock Mercenary, seen here. (The threat of the expected exam is subverted.)
In Narbonic, during the Professor Madblood and the Lovelace Affair storyline, Helen has quite a mad-sciencey one.
In Skin Horse, Remy gets an ideal glove snap after dramatically opening his collection of scalpels.

Western Animation

Cyborg does this once in Teen Titans, on Beast Boy's suggestion that they "check" Robin to see if he's a robotic duplicate. Naturally, Robin's terrified and screams out that he's real.
Dr. Drakken definitely did this in Kim Possible.
The Peter Griffin's doctor in Family Guy does this just before giving him a prostate exam.
The town doctor does this at one point in Rango.
Happens a couple times in American Dad One early episode has Stan being overly paranoid about some new neighbors of Iranian (but born American) decent, and holds a block party in order to please Francine as well. When Bob Memari bends down to look into the soda cooler, Stan puts on the glove, and Bob notices.
Stan: What? It's a quirk, indulge me.
- It become a Running Gag in another episode when Roger constantly puts one on in order to offer someone else a hand job.