A type of
Room Shuffle where the adults need some alone time but there are kids in the room. The adults will disguise an attempt to make the kids go away as a game, an errand, or something like that. With a bit of luck, it'll work.
Despite the obvious
subtext in the explanation above, this trope doesn't only apply to sexual situations; G-rated examples include, but are not limited to, times when the adults need to talk about something the kids probably won't take too well (e.g. the death of a friend), or when they just need a break from playing with the kids.
Compare other types of
Room Shuffle. Can overlap with
Snipe Hunt.
Examples:
Comics
- Paige did something like this to Jason in FoxTrot. During a game of freeze tag, he was left "frozen" in the yard while she went inside to watch TV.
- Also happens with Peter sending Jason and Marcus out to play hide and seek so he can have some alone time with Denise.
Film
- Lampshaded in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Carol Marcus wants to have a private talk with Captain Kirk without her son David or the others listening in.
Carol Marcus: David, why don't you show Dr. McCoy and the Lieutenant our idea of food? [snip]
David Marcus: This is just to give us something to do, isn't it. Come on.
- While playing a game with the kids outside in Nacho Libre, Ignacio decides to talk to the hot new nun, Encarnacion.
Ignacio: OK kids, new game. *dropkicks ball* Go get it!
- Done by the titular hero in Rob Roy .
- Done in Life is Beautiful to save the life of the narrator as the panicking Germans are executing every concentration camp prisoner they can get their hands on.
Literature
- Happened in The Tamuli. Mirtai, a former slave, is telling her life-story as part of a 'ritual of passage into adulthood', and when she gets to a certain point, she asks the young princess Danae to fetch her some water, since all the talking has made her thirsty. Naturally, this heralds the beginning of a slightly more sordid part of her tale, which wasn't really appropriate for children. When one of the younger knights, a Chaste Hero if there ever was one, starts to flinch, she suggests that maybe he should go help Danae look for water. Of course, since Danae is actually a reincarnation of The Child-Goddess Aphrael, she knows exactly what's going on, could still easily listen in if she wanted to, and is unlikely to be shocked by ANYTHING humans get up to. So she basically just played along, returning with water just when the story left the naughtier subject-matter, while at the same time making it clear that she was well aware of why she'd been asked to go.
Live-Action TV
Western Animation
