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Instantly Proven Wrong

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Monica: Sir, have you been drinking?
Jack: Of course not.
[cue his whiskey bottle crashing to the ground]

Instantly Proven Wrong is a comedic device where a character confidently asserts something, only to have reality swiftly and decisively contradict them.

This trope thrives on the rapid and often embarrassing exposure of the character's misguided belief, boast, or prediction. It's a quick turn of events, usually played for laughs or irony, as the universe or circumstances conspire to immediately reveal the falsehood in their statement.

A form of Hypocritical Humor. May result in an attempt of Verbal Backspace, Last-Second Word Swap, or Implausible Deniability.

Compare with:

  • Tempting Fate: The universe punishes a character, and as a side effect it proves them wrong. In this trope, being proven wrong (or a liar) is the punishment. Also Tempting Fate mostly applies to predictions (explicit or implicit) that characters make about their own futures. This trope can apply to a much broader range of statements.
  • Cue the Flying Pigs: A character makes a bet on a close-to-impossible outcome and is proven wrong.
  • Description Cut: The character remains unaware of the contradiction because it happens at another place that the scene cuts to.
  • Gilligan Cut: The proving wrong only appears instantaneous due to the narrative omitting intervening events.
  • Immediate Self-Contradiction: The contradiction is brought about by the character themself and not by outside forces.
  • Implausible Deniability: The exposure of some truth comes before the actual denial.
  • Joke and Receive: In this case, the character is instantly proven right, despite the statement being a joke or sarcasm.
  • Liar Revealed: The lie and its exposure are driving the plot while Instantly Proven Wrong is an inconsequential comedy element.

Examples:

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    Advertising 
  • Famous example involving a customer at a Chinese dry cleaner:
    Customer: How do you get your clothes so clean?
    Dry Cleaner: Ancient Chinese secret.
    [the dry cleaner's wife comes out of the back room]
    Wife: Honey, we need more Calgon!
  • An Israeli mineral water ad has a woman claim that she looks young thanks exclusively to said water. Then her son comes in and says her plastic surgeon is on the phone.
  • A series of Farmers' Insurance commercials include some examples of this, e.g. a driver moving his convertible away from perching birds only to have it filled with cement (and the birds crap on it anyway). Supposedly based on real claims Farmers' has paid.

    Anime & Manga 
  • The entire point of the "Instant Loss 2koma" format. Panel 1 - arrogant character taunts their opponent, insisting that they'll never lose. Panel 2 - arrogant character has lost. Frequently but not always of a lewd nature.
  • During the second chapter of Asteroid in Love, adapted as part of the first episode, Moe encourages Mira to speak to Ao and says "You know, what I always consider to be your best quality? You take action without over-thinking." But when Mira immediately runs to Ao's classroom and shouts into that class to invite Ao to have lunch with them, Moe has to correct herself:
    Moe: But then you take it too far!
  • Black Butler: In preparation for Sieglinde Sullivan's debut before Her Majesty the Queen, she is being prepared formal attire. Sebastian, in a separate room, considers that Sullivan's hair should be coiffed in formal style and that he "can rest easy on that, as Lady Sullivan already has long hair." Cue Sullivan being burst back into the room to reveal she has undergone an Important Haircut.
    Wolfram: What have you done to your hair!?
    Sebastian: So much for the formal style...
  • In Bleach, Gremmy manages to stop Kenpachi's sword from cutting him simply by imagining that his own body is as tough as steel, and assumes this means Kenpachi cannot cut him. Not a moment later, Kenpachi cuts him down with the same ease as if he were cutting flesh. As Kenpachi kindly points out, if steel is the hardest thing Gremmy can imagine, then he won't have any trouble at all, because there is nothing he cannot cut.
    Kenpachi: If you're as hard as steel, then you should've said so. I would've cut you as if I were cutting steel from the start.
  • In Death Note, after leading the law enforcement on a chase, Matt finds himself on a blocked off road, surrounded by Takada's bodyguards, who are all pointing guns at him. Feeling that it's only a bluff and that they'll want him for questioning, Matt gets out of his car and puts his hands up in surrender while cockily saying "You won't shoot...", and doesn't get to finish that sentence before the army immediately shows that, yes, they would shoot him.
  • Gundam: From After War Gundam X, there is this little moment when Garrod is trying to save Tiffa from the tyrannical Seidel Rasso. Garrod is effectively holding Rasso's super-weapon hostage by threatening to destroy it with the Satellite Cannon. Rasso is initially undeterred, since the Gundam X's Satellite Cannon has a huge cooldown time, but he didn't know the Double X had solved that issue:
    Seidel Rasso: Fools. Do they think such a childish threat will work? First, there is no way to fire the Satellite Cannon repeatedly...
    [gets interrupted by a crew member]
    Crew member: A second shot is coming!
    Seidel Rasso: What!?
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • In Diamond is Unbreakable, after learning of the Serial Killer terrorizing their hometown Koichi tries to convince Josuke and Okuyasu that they need to do something about it. Josuke replies that they're not just going to run into him like a taxi on the street, only for Koichi to get almost run over moments later by none other than Yoshikage Kira.
    • In Vento Aureo, when Team Buccellati are debating what to do regarding protecting The Don's daughter, the following exchange ensues:
      Giorno: ...Now the enemy knows that Buccellati's the one keeping the boss's daughter in hiding. The Boss is bound to direct us on where to go. I believe we should stay here and wait for further contact.
      Abbacchio: Nobody asked for your opinion, Giorno! Know your place! [getting in his face] And how do you know the Boss's gonna call us right away, huh? It might take days, or even weeks! Don't be so stupid!
      Mista: Buccellati! It's the Boss... he's got a message for you...!
  • Nagasarete Airantou: Suzu, Ayane and Machi are fighting an unidentified snow youkai who kidnapped Ikuto. Then Ayane recognizes its techniques and declares it must be Michiru! In that same panel next to her Michiru appears and is shocked at this revelation herself.
  • One Piece: When Morgans decides to write a Propaganda Piece that Luffy has taken Vegapunk hostage in Egghead, Vivi, who is hiding at his workshop, calls him out for writing up such lies about him. The next day, after Morgans taps into the communications of the Marine fleet surrounding Egghead, they learn that Luffy has indeed done exactly that (though they lack the proper context).
    Morgans: What the hell?! What's going on?!
    Vivi: Isn't that Luffy-san?!
  • Roll Over and Die: During Volume Three, Milkit is kidnapped by her former master Satils who has every intention of torturing her to death. While Milkit believes Flum will come to save her, Satils mocks this notion by telling her that Flum would not be able to find this hidden room they are in nor do would her "Master" have any interest in saving Milkit. A few minutes later, Flum breaks down the wall and saved Milkit.

    Comic Books 
  • Atomic Robo: The reborn Tesladyne is under stress because Robo brought back part of ALAN's programming and didn't tell anyone. As ALAN is getting introduced to the new recruits, Foley says that she's backing Robo in this because she thinks he's right:
    Foley: We have an obligation to treat him with respect and dignity because that's what he deserves.
    [walks into the room to find ALAN has his pants down]
    Student: Check out the ro—butt on ALAN!
    Foley: [Spit Take]
  • Elsewhere (2017): Amelia and D. B. are about to walk through the portal to return home as she says "help is just on the other side of that portal". We are then shown the POV of the other side of the portal, lots of United States soldiers pointing their guns at it.
  • The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips: Phil Brodsky shares the story of how he attempted to intimidate Tyler into giving up his gay relationship by beating his lover to a bloody pulp, explaining to Gil how it will teach him a lesson. Instead, it results in Tyler wrecking his car in a possible attempted suicide.
  • Immortal X-Men has Emma warn the rest of the Quiet Council to watch out for tests (some of them have recently been given tests by a Celestial). She says the tests could be "incredibly subtle and easily missed if we are—". She doesn't finish that sentence because a test begins right then and there, in the form of a massive demon who attacks Exodus.
  • Les Innommables: As the heroes are swimming back to shore, Tim sees a turtle and sees it as a good omen, since turtles mean there aren't any sharks in the area. A shark eats the turtle just after he says it.
  • in Marauders (2022) #21, at the Hellfire Gala on the sovereign mutant nation of Krakoa, Dr. Doom takes issue with Emma Frost's tone as she attempts to defuse tensions between him and Captain America. She remarks that he's acting as though mutants have conquered the planet. Almost immediately, a representative from the Shi'ar Empire approaches Frost to congratulate her and the rest of mutantkind for conquering Earth. Doom bursts into laughter and walks away, as Frost sheepishly attempts to correct the delegate.
  • My Little Pony: Nightmare Knights: In Issue 3, after blowing up a roulette stand as a distraction, Tempest confidently states that it's going to take hours for the casino's security to catch up to them due to the fight that doing this started. She doesn't quite manage to finish the sentence before casino security arrives and demands she stop and surrender.
  • From a The Punisher/Wolverine crossover, where Oswald "Napoleon" Zinn and a mook are reviewing security footage of Frank mowing through his gangsters:
    Mook: And he's coming after you.
    Napoleon: Maybe he's not after me personally.
    Frank: Napoleon, whoever you are, I want you to know that I'm coming to get you. Doesn't matter where you run. Doesn't matter where you hide. I'm going to get you.
  • Rick and Morty (Oni): Seconds after Rick tells Summer there's no such thing as ghosts, the ship they're on becomes flooded with them.
  • Nintendo Comics System, in the Super Mario Bros. story "Bedtime For Drainhead", Mario begins to dream and sleepwalk that he's Dirk Drainhead, his favorite comic hero. Hearing of his condition, Princess Toadstool decides that Mario needs to be locked up in his room. Luigi thinks it'll be no problem, since "There's no way Mario's smart enough to sneak out of that room." In the background, while they are talking, Mario has made a Bedsheet Ladder and has already got out of the castle.
  • Wonder Woman: Black and Gold: Right after Mac says I'm telling you, Hitler and his Ratzis are a hundred miles from here, a German tank shell comes through the wall he and his men are walking behind.

    Fan Works 
  • Anger Management: At the beginning, Lynn tries to say her injury isn't severe, only to barely be able to walk when she gets up.
  • When Roman is being escorted to interrogation in BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant, the guard escorting him comments that he isn't all that popular in Ebony Bastion prison, given the number of Spiders members jeering at him from their cells. Roman grumbles that it's a prison and no one's popular with anyone... only to immediately be met by the cheers of his annoying fanbase, much to his displeasure.
  • The Bugger Anthology: Jack Robertson decides to support the Daleks because they're "powerful, intelligent creatures"... while two factions of Daleks are fighting each other and saying "pew pew" as they fire their guns.
  • A Darker Path: After Taylor announces Kaiser's death, an unnamed member of the Empire 88 insists she's lying and that "The E88 will outlast everyone" in Brockton Bay. Two posts later, Victor posts that Kaiser is most definitely dead and the entire leadership of the E88 is getting out of Brockton right the hell now and that all other villains should do the same. Except Lung, Victor's certain he can take Atropos.
  • In A Different Type of Inspiration, a designer tells Marinette and Alya to be quiet when Gabriel Agreste is about to announce the competition winner and says "I don't even know why he even allows kids to enter these things. Heaven knows that they would never win. They're just wasting his time." Guess whose name is announced five seconds later.
  • In the climax of the Facing the Future Series story "Royal Occupation", after Princess Aragon's dragon form has been pumped with the power of the Scepter of Fey, his sister Dora Mattingly, knowing she wouldn't stand a chance against him, instead used the scepter and her amulet to turn Danny and Sam into dragons to fight him. Aragon laughed at her attempt, saying that she was only able to pass on the transformation to one of them. Much to his shock, however, it does work on both Danny and Sam. It's implied to be a result of the mysterious bond the two of them possess.
  • In Fate/Sunny Order, Artoria tries to argue to Medea that, despite Mordred, she still qualifies as a good parent since she helped raised Ritsuka and Kana. Cue both of them crashing into Medea's temple and fighting because Kana encouraged Blackbeard to become an Otaku... and Artoria encouraging their fighting skills.
"Use your legs, Ritsuka!" Saber screams, standing on her chair. Ritsuka sputters and flails and is smashed into the sand again. "No, YOUR legs!"
  • Several times in If Wishes Were Ponies, Dumbledore will make assumptions about Harry, Muggles, and the Equestrians that are wildly inaccurate, only to be proven wrong a few chapters (or even a few paragraphs) later. A few examples:
    • He assumed that Twilight would simply agree with him that it would be best to wait until summer to take care of the basilisk because he's Albus Dumbledore and everyone instantly trusts him. So he's shocked when Twilight immediately states that she's pulling Harry and the CMC from the school, saying that Princess Celestria would never allow children to stay in such a dangerous place.
    • He assures Twilight that the Chamber of Secrets can't be accessed because there's simply no way for anyone but the Heir of Slytherin to get in. She asks Fawkes to teleport him there, and he sees the Chamber (and the basilisk) for himself.
    • Downplayed in that it isn't instant: he believes that Harry Potter is happy to be at Hogwarts... only to realize over the course of the fic that Harry was left with an abusive foster family that no one tried to remove him from, and that the Equestrians saved his life. As a result, he trusts no adults but ponies, likes no humans except children (and ponies turned human), intends to leave the Wizarding world behind as soon as he graduates, and he's only attending Hogwarts at all because the Princesses themselves asked him to.
  • In Let Me Warm Your Heart, Narcis denies to Heike that he's hungry. However, he's immediately given away by his stomach rumbling.
  • In A Loud Among Demons, after being forcibly transported into Hell itself, Millie tries to ensure the panicking Lincoln that Hell became a much better place following Lucifer's takeover. Cue the sounds of explosions, gunshots, fighting, profanity, and sensual moans coming from outside the I.M.P. office.
  • In A Mother's Touch, Himika Akaba looks down on Yoko Sakaki in her mom jeans and bringing store-bought sushi for a meeting regarding the buy-out of You Show Duel School, thinking Yoko is nothing but a lowly housewife. Cue her learning that Yoko is not only co-owner of You Show but a former sukeban who kicks ass and takes names.
  • Naru-Hina Chronicles Mini-sodes: With some help from Hinata and Lee, Naruto tries to find Naruko, his female clone. The Uzumaki comments that she could easily stay hidden for as long as she wants and that they'll never find her. However, this is immediately followed by some guy mentioning to someone else that Naruko is making an impromptu bikini contest. Both Naruto and Hinata are stunned to hear that, while Lee exclaims "Or we could follow those people!"
  • On Trial: The warden of the prison Cassandra ends up in is trying to reassure the Queen and Rapunzel that everything is perfectly fine. Two seconds later a guard runs in saying that Cassandra is dying and might not live to see her execution. The Queen shuts everything down right then and there.
  • OSMU: Fanfiction Friction:
    • In Chapter 4, Oscar reassures Oswald and qualms his fears of being teleported while naked or teleported and stripped of his clothing. He does this by asking him if he would be using Precinct 13579's showers if they could teleport agents to random places. Sure enough, directly after he says that, the showers teleport him, Oswald, Oren and Owen to the lab.
    • The same chapter also has this trope occur twice in rapid succession. Once the showers are teleported from the Lab to their rightful place and everyone finishes getting clean, Omar tries to cheer Oswald up by saying that no one saw him naked. Cue Ori and O'Duffy walking by and giggling at Oswald. Omar tries again by adding an addendum of "at least no girls saw you". Cue Oksana smirking at Oswald as she walks by (who, funny enough, ends up becoming his unexpected Blind Date in the next chapter).
    • In Chapter 17, Orla gives a warning to The Book of Ashes, telling it that she's prepared for whatever it throws at her. What she wasn't prepared for was for the book to create an illusion of its mother that feels and acts real, treats Orla as though she's her long-lost daughter, and then stabs her in the back with sudden talons.
  • In The Panda Chronicles chapter "Sick Day", Jesse hopes T is feeling okay after finding that Z and Tae-young are both sick. Cue T coming in, drenched in fever sweat and questioning the presence of imaginary monkeys.
  • A few of the characters that save the player in the Project Arrhythmia custom level collection The Peer Gyntening will reassure them that the ghost attacking them has been stopped, only for the ghost to kill them immediately afterwards. Perry says Shade can't escape just before she escapes, Chad says everything is safe before getting his hands torn away by Max, and Field is shot dead by Bond seconds after saying his shield is inpenetrable.
  • Pokémpanions: New Year's Eevee: Machoke falls asleep standing up immediately after insisting he's not tired.
  • In Project Delta, after the asari see Jane beating the training room with the safeties disabled, a girl named Nomila claims she must have been cheating. Jane proceeds to demonstrate her skills to Nomila personally. She does go easy on her, but that's still five cracked ribs.
  • In Retold The Second Year, Neville's grandmother says that she doubts there'll be any trouble with Gilderoy Lockhart in Diagon Alley. This is immediately followed by a furiously-fighting Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley flying out of Flourish and Blotts, closely followed by an equally-combative Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley.
  • Riding a Sunset: Wheeljack swears that his experiment won't blow up this time...and then it blows up. Ironhide, who puts out the fire, is not amused.
  • In the Miraculous Ladybug fic Rolling Stone Wedding , Lila tells her usual lies, this time about how she was at Jagged Stone's wedding and what a big and lavish party it was. Right then, Marinette produces a magazine that shows the wedding was a small, private event, and starts recounting her own experiences there.
  • Runaway Wind: Larxene is certain that Naminé is completely secure in Castle Oblivion and brags about it to the Organization as a whole. Cue Vexen coming back from his trip to inform everyone that she has completely vanished.
  • In NSFW RWBY Kink: Mama's Boy, when the heroes are discussing how Jaune keeps attracting MILFs, Weiss states the idea is nonsense. Yang mentions how Weiss's mother is also into it, prompting Weiss to make an angry retort - only for Nora to move to the next slide of her presentation, which indeed shows Weiss's mother being very forward with Jaune.
  • After putting up with Player's antics in Saved for Memories, Professor Maelstrom tells him he is not as adorable as he thinks he is. Cue Dr. Bellum and Coach Brunt arriving and cooing over him, with the former literally squealing.
  • In the Miraculous Ladybug fic Serendipity, Marinette says that Adrien's alter ego has "a jealous streak" and Adrien thinks that he's not jealous at all. Then he walks past a statue carved by Theo, a guy who got akumatized a few years back because Adrien falsely claimed to be dating the girl they both loved. Adrien reconsiders his self-assessment.
  • Seventh Endmost Vision: Tifa thinks to herself in Chapter 27, as she enters Elmer's weapon shop, that if she was lucky, he wouldn't even remember her. His very first words to her reference her first visit, where she broke his nose.
  • Shadows over Meridian: In Chapter 20, Jade and Metalbeak are talking and Jade suggests that Elyon's soldiers camped by the Mogriff nesting ground will try and do something stupid soon (namely attacking even though they were just routed by Jade's Shadowkhan). Cue a Mantis-Khan revealing to its Queen that the soldiers have in fact retreated.
  • In Sudden Showers, when Izuku's classmates wonder if he got a girlfriend, Bakugou insists no girl "would ever want anything to do with that damn nerd". Cue every girl in Class-1A promptly saying they'd date him in a heartbeat.
  • Tattered Capes Under a Shattered Moon: Watts yells out "Aha! I've got it!" while trying to get the Paladin back under control. It immediately explodes, seemingly taking him with it.
  • In the eleventh chapter of What a Strange Little Colt, Thunderlane reassures Rainbow that Gabriel will be alright. This is directly followed by Cloudchaser frantically bursting in to tell Rainbow he isn't.
    Rainbow whipped her head around to look at Thunderlane. "Or, uh, maybe he's not alright?" He offered up the most pathetic, awkward grin she had seen on a stallion in a long time, which was really saying something. "Oops?"
  • In Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion, the Grand Moff explains that he put a secret research installation in the middle of the Maw black hole cluster because not only would nobody suspect a lab to be there, even if they did they couldn't reach it without the route, not even by accident. Cue the Millennium Falcon doing its legendary Kessel Run and streaking by the Maw Installation completely by accident.

    Films — Animation 
  • In the introductory scene of Aladdin with the merchant, he tries to give a sales pitch but is foiled by circumstances.
    Merchant: Look at this. Yes! Combination hookah and coffee maker. Also makes Julienne fries! It will not break! [taps item on table] It will not... [item falls apart] It broke.
  • In The Amazing Maurice, Maurice is very dismissive of Malicia's attempt to open the door of the Rat-Catchers Guild with a Hairpin Lockpick, saying that he has seen real thieves in action and they use tools far more complicated than that. No sooner has he finished saying this then Malicia opens the door, which Maurice dismisses as mere luck.
  • Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion. Ceramix, the chief of a village visited by the Armorican Gauls, after several faux pas from his men and their druid showing they've been adopting lots of Roman habits, swears by Jupiter — ahem — by Belenos that nobody is more Gaulish than them... then just on cue, his fake mustache falls off.
  • Big Hero 6:
  • In Hercules: After struggling with a one-headed Hydra that swallows him whole, then having cut his way out from inside the Hydra, Hercules staggers out covered in green slime, saying "See Phil? That...that wasn't so hard." However, the Hydra grows three heads with each cut.
  • In Inside Out, when Riley arrives at the new place in San Francisco, Joy wants to calm everybody down but her soothing tactics are immediately torpedoed by reality.
    Joy: Guys, you are overreacting. Nobody is dying.
    Disgust: A dead mouse!
  • Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie: On their first outing, Cat Noir proudly boasts to Ladybug that nothing can sneak up on him thanks to his super senses. He's doing that just as the massive Gargoyle is rising right behind him. Cat Noir doesn't notice the monster's presence until he accidentally sticks the tip of his staff into the Gargoyle's nostril by gesticulating.
  • Lilo & Stitch: While on trial, Dr. Jumba insists that all his genetic research has been only been theoretical, and he has not been creating new lifeforms. Cue the council bringing out Experiment 626 as evidence.
    Jumba: I would never, ever... [sees 626] ...make more than one.
  • In Megamind, when Roxanne Richie finds his hideout, Megamind is sure she won't figure out where the secret entrance is. Cue her noticing a doormat that says "Secret Entrance" and her walking through a holographic wall.
    Megamind: Minion!
    Minion: [Meekly] I kept forgetting where it was.
  • In order to soothe the terrified kids in the opening scene of Moana, Tui exclaims "There are no monsters!" But then he accidentally touches a column which leads to scrolls with painted monsters unraveling all around the room. Cue a Mass "Oh, Crap!" by the little ones.
  • This happens in Disney's Peter Pan when John is explaining to the lost boys the strategy they should use to fight the Indians, while all of them except for Michael are oblivious to the fact that the Indians, disguised as trees, are using the exact same strategy against them.
    John: Now remember, the Indian is cunning, but not intelligent. Therefore, we simply surround them, and take them by sur— [John is pulled into the fake tree behind him] —PRISE! [Indians attack]
  • Upon being forced to act as lookout during the potion heist in Shrek 2, Donkey rambles on about his supposed intelligence... while completely oblivious to the guard behind him.
    Donkey: Y'know, in some countries donkeys are revered as the wisest of all creatures... especially us talking ones!
    Shrek: [Noticing the guard] Donkey!
  • Sing: Buster leaves his bicycle with the valet at the fancy restaurant, claiming "It may look old, but it's a classic." Before he even enters the restaurant the bike falls apart, leaving the valet holding the handlebars while the rest of the bike lies on the ground.
  • In the climax to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the fight against Doc Ock ends abruptly in this manner, just as she charges Miles, Peter, and Gwen.
    Gwen: Buckle up, this is gonna take a while.
    [Doc Ock gets blindsided by a flying truck]
    Gwen: Welp, never mind.
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie: During the first act, the brothers watch a TV news report informing that the center of Brooklyn is flooded. Mayor Pauline tries to assure everyone that the situation is under control and the leak will be fixed soon, only for a water geyser to erupt behind her, causing her to smile nervously at the camera.
  • Vivo: When Gabi mopes about how only Vivo understands her, her mother snaps that, "Vivo is in Cuba." Cue Vivo immediately smacking into their windscreen.
  • Wreck-It Ralph:
    • While Ralph wails on a jawbreaker to vent his rage, Vanellope points out that jawbreakers can't be broken. Ralph cracks it in half before she can even finish her sentence.
    • As Ralph asserts Calhoun that the Cy-Bug died in the swamp, a swarm of Cy-Bugs burst out of the ground.
  • Happens four times in Zootopia.
    • Officer Clawhauser has just walked in on Chief Bogo using a Gazelle app, whose music is still playing.
      Clawhauser: Is that Gazelle?
      Bogo: NO!
      Bogo's phone: I'm Gazelle, and you are one hot dancer.
    • Bellwether tells Nick and Judie that she feels well-appreciated by her boss Mayor Lionheart. Then the intercom beeps and we hear Lionheart shouting "Smell-wether!" in a commanding voice. Bellwether plays it down by saying it was a "fun little name he likes to use".
    • When Judy and Nick find the Nighthowler lab in an old train engine, Judy tries to commandeer the engine to take it to the police as evidence.
      Nick: You're a conductor now? Listen, it would take a miracle to get this rust bucket going! [Judy starts the engine] Well, Hallelujah.
    • And then played with after the train chase sequence...
      Judy: [Following a fiery crash] Maybe some of the evidence survived...
      [massive explosion that incinerates the train]

    Films — Live-Action 
  • 1776: Just as John Adams is extolling the condition of the Continental Army ("Never has training been more spirited, never have spirits been higher"), a courier arrives with a message from General Washington describing the deplorable condition of the army, the raucous behavior, disrespect, and general unsuitability of the average colonial soldier.
  • 2012: The "unnamed" governor of California gives a press conference confidently announcing that the worst of the earthquakes are over.. only for the roof to cave in on him and Los Angeles to be completely destroyed in a mega-quake.
  • Czech comedy Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet
    • The famous American detective Nick Carter travels to Prague to meet the local inspector about a case. Following conversation occurs as they ride down the street in a carriage:
      Nick Carter: I assume my arrival has been kept strictly secret!
      Inspector: But of course!
      Paperboy: The most famous American detective's in Prague!
      [Inspector looks embarrassed]
    • Later, the villain announces to a round of friends that the American detective won't be able to make it to their place, as he wrongly assumes his henchmen took care of him. Cue, Nick Carter's visit card arriving on a servant's tray.
  • In The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha tell Fearless Leader, falsely, that they've killed Rocky and Bullwinkle, making him think he's invincible. But he's no sooner gotten through boasting that no one can stop him than Karen and Rocky burst in to do exactly that. (Although they don't exactly manage to do much in the way of stopping him; it's Bullwinkle, who has gotten separated from the group and doesn't arrive until later, who actually makes it possible to defeat the Pottsylvanians.)
  • In Ask a Policeman, Sgt. Dudfoot is being interviewed about Turnbottom Round's reputation as 'the village with no crime'. While the interviewer accepts that there may be no major crimes, he asks what about minor crimes, like drunkenness. Dudfoot claims there is no drunkenness in the village but is immediately drowned out by extremely loud drunken singing from the street. Dudfoot tries to pass this off as the church choir practising. On being told that Constable Harbottle is in charge of traffic, the interviewer asks about traffic offenses, like speeding. Dudfoot says there is no speeding in Turnbottom Round, but is drowned out by a car going past at 100 miles per hour. This time he says it is the doctor on his way to an emergency case.
  • In Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin is repeatedly called out for his ownership of a Swedish penis-enlarger pump while he's picking up his belongings after the unfreezing process. This embarrasses him in front of Vanessa Kensington and causes him to resort to failed attempts at denial.
    Clerk: One Swedish-made penis enlarger pump...
    Austin: That's not mine.
    Clerk: One credit card receipt for Swedish-made penis enlarger, signed by... Austin Powers.
    Austin: [To Vanessa] I'm telling you, baby, that's not mine.
    Clerk: One warranty card for Swedish-made penis enlarger pump, filled out by... Austin Powers.
    Austin: I don't even know what this is. This sort of thing ain't my bag, baby.
    Clerk: One book: "Swedish-made Penis Enlarger Pumps and Me: (This sort of thing is my bag, baby.)", by... Austin Powers.
    Austin: Ah.
  • In Big Trouble, Jack is questioned by Walter and Monica.
    Monica: Sir, have you been drinking?
    Jack: Of course not.
    [his whiskey bottle crashes to the ground]
  • In Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Mike Shiner insults Riggan saying that most people don't care about him as an actor. Cue a fan of Riggan's approaching from behind asking to be photographed together with him.
  • Caddyshack II: After Jack buys the majority of Bushwood Country Club, Chandler and Claudia visit to see how much has changed. When the interior of the main building is exactly the same as before, they talk about how Jack owning the club won't be so bad. As soon as they go outside, they see that Jack has turned the country club into an amusement park.
  • A classic example from Casablanca exposing gambling activities at Rick's Café:
    Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
    Louis: I am shocked — shocked! — to find that gambling is going on in here!
    Emile: [Handing him a stack of bills] Your winnings, sir.
    Louis: Oh thank you very much. [Shouting to casino patrons] Everybody out at once!
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Edmund is first seen trying to enlist in the army. Since he's underage, he's trying to pass his Aunt Alberta's identification (which doesn't have a photo on it) off as Albert A. Then Lucy comes up and calls him by name.
  • In Deadpool, Wade insists to the X-Men that no one has been hurt during his Roaring Rampage of Revenge (while on a highway littered with the corpses of the guys he's killed on said rampage). The instant he says that the splattered body of a goon he killed toward the start of the movie falls to the street behind him.
  • In Die Hard, while Hans is making it clear to the hostages what their situation is, he tells them that his people are in charge and they've left nothing to chance. Cue an elevator arriving with a dead terrorist in it and the message "Now I have a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho."
  • Elf: Walter tells Emily that Buddy thinks he's a Christmas elf. She says she's sure he doesn't actually think that, only to open the door and find that Buddy has filled her apartment with Christmas decorations. Downplayed in that this doesn't actually prove that Buddy thinks he's a Christmas elf, but it does support Walter's claim.
  • A serious example in the film version of Glengarry Glen Ross. Roma, a Shady Real Estate Agent, constructs an elaborate lie to assure to his client that their contract hasn't been filed yet and could still be amended. Then in comes his boss announcing that the contract was approved and the check has been cashed at the bank. Roma tries to resolve the awkward situation by claiming to his client that he didn't know about this.
  • The Fifth Element: Korben Dallas, fleeing from the cops after Leeloo has crash-landed into his taxi, breathes a sigh of relief and notes that "if they don't chase you after a mile, they don't chase you." Immediately, four cop cars rise up behind him. "Maybe it's two miles."
  • Get Smart: Max tells 99 not to worry, no one knows they're dating. Then Da Chief casually walks past and says "Yes we do." (Given that they work for a spy agency, it's not exactly surprising.)
  • Shin Godzilla sees the Prime Minister give a press conference about the crisis Godzilla caused and to assure people that he couldn't come onto land and survive. Right after he assured people everything would be okay, he's told the creature had come onto land and is waddling through Kamata. Then again, he was told to only give known facts and that it could come on land, so the egg on his face is all on himself.
  • In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, FBI Director Tom Manning is trying to perform a Gas Leak Cover-Up of the events in the auction house when, the next floor up, Hellboy's pyrokinetic girlfriend/partner Liz sets off an explosion that blows Hellboy out a window and into plain view of the reporters.
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: While watching the German convoy, escorted by a tank, Henry expresses some concern, to which Indy assures him they're well out of range. Then the tank fires a shell that destroys a car some distance behind them.
  • Johnny English:
    • The eponymous bumbling hero often proves too confident...
      Pegasus: Everything in order, English?
      Johnny: I think you'll find that it's more than just in order, sir. You are now entering the most secure location in the whole of England.
      [huge explosion in the background]
    • Way too confident:
      Johnny: [leaning against a button on the wall] You are young, miss Campbell, and inexperienced. What you have forgotten is that—
      [cut to the hall below where the villains are assembled]
      Johnny: [over the microphone he has accidentally switched on] —nobody knows we are here.
  • The Lord of the Rings:
    • In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli declares that he won't be caught easily, because he has "the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox." A split second later, he sees elves pointing drawn bows at him less than half a meter away, and Haldir claims that he was breathing so loudly that they could have shot him in the dark.
    • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
      • Saruman and Wormtongue discuss Helm's Deep, saying it would take tens of thousands of soldiers to make it fall. Wormtongue argues that there is no such force just as the two step out into the balcony of Isengard, where Saruman addresses his newly formed massive army of Uruks.
      • Sam claims that the knot he tied in the elvish rope he received from Galadriel in the first film won't come undone in a hurry... right before the rope unties itself.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Iron Man: Pepper finds Tony trying out the first prototype of his repulsors, calling it a flight stabilizer and assuring her that it's not a weapon and completely harmless. Then he tests it and ends up propelled backward, while what's in front of him is destroyed.
    • Ant-Man: When Scott arrives at the roof of the Avengers Compound to steal a component for one of Hank's devices, Falcon shows up on the roof in response to Scott triggering one of the sensors. Hank and Janet demand him to abort but Scott refuses, citing that the Avenger can't see him.
      Sam Wilson: [looking down at Scott] I can see you!
      Scott: He can see me. [proceeds to enlarge himself]
    • Thor: Ragnarok:
      • On Sakaar, after Bruce Banner finally turns back to himself after two years locked as the Hulk, Thor promises Banner that he's never gonna have to think about the Hulk again. Cue them running into a street festival celebrating the Hulk, the champion gladiator of the planet.
      • At the end, as the protagonists are watching Asgard being destroyed by Surtur, Korg tries to comfort the Asgardians by commenting that as long as the foundations are holding up, they can always rebuild the place. Then the whole planet blows up before their eyes, and Korg meekly concludes, "Now those foundations are gone. Sorry."
    • In Avengers: Infinity War, Tony Stark promises Pepper that there would be no more surprises... moments before Doctor Strange portals in to recruit Tony in the fight against Thanos.
    • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: When Strange asks America how she paid for a pizza in a new universe they're in, she claims that food is free in most universes and it's weird that it isn't in Strange's. Before she can go on though, the vendor angrily catches up to her and demands she pay.
  • Only just averted in Midnight. At midnight, when Helene is about to reveal Eve as an impostor, the arrival of Tibor Czerny (the husband of Eve's assumed persona) is announced which renders Helene's theory untenable, forcing her into silence.
  • In The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, when Norval breaks into the bank.
    Norval: You have to know exactly what to do or else... it'll set off the alarm.
    Old Kockenlocker: Can you do it?
    Norval: Yes.
    [cue the alarm going off as Norval opens the safe]
  • In The Princess Bride, Westley notices several Rodents of Unusual Size sneaking up on him and Buttercup but denies their existence because he doesn't want her to panic. Immediately after he says that, one of the oversized rats attacks them.
  • In The Producers, after the delighted theater patrons pour into the bar where Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom are drinking, raving about the show and how much they loved it, Max tries to reassure himself and Leo that there's no indication it's their show being talked about.
    Bialystock: Take it easy, don't panic. There are a lot of plays on this street. They are not necessarily talking about Springtime for Hitler.
    Patron: I never in a million years thought I'd ever love a show called Springtime for Hitler!
  • Python: Deputy Louis tells John, when he's arrested as a murder suspect (he's innocent), that he's staying in jail and won't get Off on a Technicality, and that Louis is the law around here. The sheriff comes in just in time to hear that speech, delivers the news that John is free to go and reminds Louis that he's the law around here.
  • Ready Player One: iRok is asked how long the Orb of Osuvox's forcefield will last. After pretending to count it up, iRok replies 10,000,000 years. Then the field collapses due to internal sabotage.
  • In A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die!, Eli is telling the townsfolk that the Confederate mortar is out of range when a shell explodes in the street behind him. He then amends his statement to "almost out of range".
  • In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as Tom and Maddie run up to Super Sonic, Knuckles stops them and holds them back, telling them he's no longer the Sonic they once knew. Sonic then proceeds to use his god-like power... to create a chilli dog, enjoy its taste, then summon one for Knuckles... which lands on his face.
    Knuckles: Okay, he's exactly the Sonic you once knew.
  • The Amazing Spider-Man Series: Implied in The Amazing Spider-Man when Peter Parker comes home and Uncle Ben demands to know why he didn't answer his phone. Before Peter can speak, his phone rings, disproving any story of it being unable to do so.
  • Star Wars:
    • The Empire Strikes Back: Yoda tells the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi that he thinks Luke Skywalker is too impatient and isn't ready to be trained as a Jedi. Luke immediately protests that he is ready and can become a Jedi... while trying to get up, forgetting in his excitement about the low ceiling of Yoda's hut, and banging his head as a result.
      Yoda: Ready are you?
    • The Last Jedi: Luke Skywalker, after greeting his "old friend" R2-D2, tells him that he's not coming back, and that "Nothing can change my mind." That is, until R2 displays to him the holographic recording of his sister Leia asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help, from all the way back to A New Hope.
      Luke: That's a cheap move.
  • At the beginning of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Raphael has a "turtle-tantrum" over the Turtles' isolated lifestyle; "Nobody appreciates us, nobody sees us, [starts yelling] nobody even knows we're alive down here!" At which point April O'Neil, the Turtles' first human friend who let them hide in her apartment from the Foot in the last two movies, shows up to deliver some gifts to them.
  • Wag the Dog: After having not taken his meds, Willie Schumann becomes more unhinged than usual and tries to rape a farmer's daughter, leading to her father chasing him around with a shotgun. Conrad, Stanley, and Winifred, who have been forced to escort Schumann in order to keep up their ruse, run after them, and after a while Stanley declares that Schumann is okay ...and then a gunshot goes off, causing Stanley to retract his statement.
  • The Wizard of Oz: Immediately after the Wizard's Huge Holographic Head threatens Dorothy and company, Toto accidentally exposes him for the humbug he is.
    Wizard: Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
  • In X-Men: Days of Future Past, at the Peace Conference Dr. Bolivar Trask states that his mutant detector could not work in that very room.
    Trask: If I turn it on, the system couldn't even activate in here.
    [Ping!!! device activates — surprised looks all around]
    Trask: Unless there's a mutant.

    Jokes 
  • An Urban Legend has an English teacher declare that while double negatives may convey their opposite meaning, no double positives will ever mean the opposite of what they say. Cue one student saying "Yeah right".note 

    Literature 
  • In one of the Alice, Girl from the Future books, Alice, on a planet taken over by Space Pirates, attempts to pretend in front of them that she has no idea what's going on. Right as it seems to be succeeding, a note arrives from her friend (a resistance member she helped yesterday) notifying her he's okay.
  • Discworld:
    • Combined with The Tape Knew You Would Say That in Thud! after a historical recording proves that a major facet of dwarf life is completely wrong:
      "For the enemy is not Troll, nor is it Dwarf, but it is the baleful, the malign, the cowardly, the vessels of hatred, those who do a bad thing and call it good. Those we fought today, but the wilful fool is eternal and will say—"
      "This is just a trick!" Ardent shouted.
      "—say this is a trick."
    • Ponder Stibbons once tries to explain to the faculty that a magical experiment he is about to perform is as safe as crossing the street. It certainly isn't his fault that there is a six-cart pileup just outside after he said that.
  • Dream of the Red Chamber: During one of Granny Liu's visits with Grandmother Jia (the matron of the wealthy Jia household) and several maids showing her some sights, they come across a path with mud covering some of it. Grandmother Jia suggests for Granny Liu to walk the cleaner part of the path with them, but Granny Liu declines, stating that, as a Country Mouse herself, she's done it many times already and is therefore adept at walking through muddy roads. Barely a few steps unto the muddied part of the path, however, Granny Liu slips on the mud and falls on her backside, causing many a maid (and Grandmother Jia as well) to burst out laughing while Granny Liu herself awkwardly acknowledges how quickly this trope applies to her.
  • Dresden Files: In White Night, Harry invokes this when he's listening in on a meeting of the White Court of Vampires. Madrigal Raith (the villain of the book) argues to Lara that he wouldn't be able to be taken to task for the recent string of murders he and his conspirators had committed against magic practitioners in Chicago due to the White Council of Wizards being too weak and distracted with the ongoing war with the Red Court to do anything about it. Harry decides that's a great moment to make a Big Entrance and demand retribution as a Warden of the White Council for crimes against his people.
  • In the early going of The Kraken Wakes, the powers-that-be try to calm public fears by issuing Blatant Lies about the cause of a passenger ship sinking: it wasn't hostile undersea aliens, it was metal fatigue! Mike tells Phyllis that people will probably buy it... only for their friend Tuny to immediately sneer at the idea. Though she's Right for the Wrong Reasons, blaming the Soviet Union.
  • Isaac Asimov's "Living Space": Alec Mishnoff explains how their houses are almost certainly going to encounter alien life, and he's worried about when it'll happen. Department Head Berg is in the middle of telling him how ridiculous the idea is when Bill Ching calls in to report three-eyed tentacled aliens have been sighted.
  • In Mansfield Park, Mrs. Norris is aghast to hear that her niece Fanny is to dine at the parson's house and goes on a long screed about how it's only because the Miss Bertrams aren't around, that the invitation is entirely undeserved, that she'd better keep her mouth shut and not embarrass the family, and that she is absolutely not going to have the carriage. Then Sir Thomas walks in to ask Fanny what time he should have the carriage ready for her.
  • The Overstory: A Played for Drama example when Adam thinks to himself that, no matter what the studies show, he will make sure his knowledge of cognitive biases actually makes him a better person. Seconds later, he proceeds to do nothing when his professor has a heart attack, an example of the Bystander Effect.
  • Roys Bedoys:
    • In "Can You Lick Your Elbow, Roys Bedoys?", Roys says that licking one's elbow is "easy peasy", but then tries it and has trouble.
    • In "Look Before You Leave, Roys Bedoys!", Roys says he never forgets his backpack, only for Loys to instantly reveal that he did forget it.
  • Spy School: In the fourth book, Cyrus refuses to believe that it's only a coincidence that Ben's best friend from before spy school just happens to be on vacation at the same ski resort where the mission is happening and that neither of them planned it, declaring such coincidences don't happen. Alexander speaks up, saying that actually something like that did happen to him once when he ran into his third-grade teacher on a mission in Istanbul while disguised as a nun.
  • In the A Song of Ice and Fire book A Storm of Swords, Jaime is rather flippant about his capture by Vargo Hoat, reasoning he's way too valuable to hurt or maim. He soon finds out he's wrong, and Hoat has a particular hobby he loves to inflict on his prisoners.
    "The Goat wants me to piss my breeches and beg his mercy, but he'll never have that pleasure." He was a Lannister of Casterly Rock, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, no sellsword would make him scream. Sunlight ran silver along the edge of the arakh as it came shivering down, almost too fast to see. And Jaime screamed.
  • When the Storm Came: Bob Lewis goes outside after the storm first clears. Shortly after he says it is safe to come out, the skies rumble and become dark again.

    Live-Action TV 
  • In Agent Carter, after Peggy and Jarvis kidnap Mr. Hunt, a Mook who'd made an attempt on their lives, they return to the Stark estate, with Hunt in the trunk, to find Chief Sousa waiting for them. Since this was an unauthorized (and very illegal) mission, she tries to keep him from finding out, even when knocking from the inside of the trunk starts.
    Peggy: We... caught a possum on this property earlier this morning. Vicious little creature.
    Hunt: [From the trunk] Let me outta here!
    Peggy: Or I have a man stashed in the boot.
  • Arrested Development:
    • In episode "My Mother, the Car", Michael claims that his mother is frail right before she bursts through the locked balcony door.
    • Episode "Fakin' It" has Michael discover a secret room in the model home filled with body-building magazines, themselves filled with muscular men. Tobias enters and has a conversation with Michael where he admits the magazines are his. He says they're from a body-building phase he'd gone through (rather than using them to ogle the men) and he hasn't touched them in years. He then opens one and we hear a talking magazine ad for a new television show.
    • In "Whistler's Mother", Michael asserts the board that he has no business contact with his father in prison but is immediately proven wrong by his assistant:
      Michael: My dad in no way is talking about business from prison.
      [knocking on the door and an assistant entering]
      Assistant: Excuse me. Your father's calling from prison. He wants to talk about the land deal you made with his brother.
  • Babylon 5: Early in the fourth season, after Sheridan has seemingly died on the Shadow homeworld of Z'Ha'Dum, some of the League ambassadors try to rally a protest against Delenn's plan to attack Z'Ha'Dum full-on, claiming that no one who goes to Z'Ha'Dum comes back, just as Sheridan walks up and stands right next to them. The wind promptly goes out of their sails.
  • Better Call Saul: Chuck secretly tapes his brother Jimmy confessing to him about altering the Mesa Verde documents. He then intentionally has the information "leak" to Jimmy, then lets his business partner Howard, and his private investigator Dave, wait at his house for Jimmy to inevitably come to destroy the tape and implicate himself. Chuck tells Howard that Jimmy will most likely attempt to sneak in after nightfall because he "knows his brother". Not even five seconds after saying this, they all hear Jimmy angrily knocking on his door, demanding to be let in.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In "Lie to Me", the gang encounters a club full of Vampire Vannabes. Angel, an actual vampire, says these guys are just a bunch of idiots who have no idea what vampires are really like, from the way they act to the way they dress. A few seconds later, Angel gets annoyed when one of the members brushes past in the exact same outfit that Angel is wearing.
  • One time on Cheers, Carla didn't believe that a customer was waiting for friends. They immediately arrived.
  • In Chernobyl, Anatoly Dyatlov is in the middle of insisting to his bosses that the reactor absolutely did not explode and is not putting out harmful levels of radiation when he promptly projectile vomits from his severe radiation poisoning.
  • Columbo: At the start of "Murder, a Self-Portrait", Columbo brings his dog at a dog show dedicated to Basset hounds. While chatting with the owner of a multi-prize winner, the Lieutenant gushes over his own dog, saying he would win any prize for cuteness since he's the most adorable and faithful dog ever — just as Dog starts growling and bites his hand, the only time he's ever done so. It's later theorized that Dog was upset and jealous from the presence of all the other Basset hounds.
  • Conan: In the sketch "Batman Wants to Join the Marvel Universe", as Batman (Conan O'Brien) is trying to convince the Avengers to let him join them...
    Batman: Come on, having the Dark Knight join Marvel is a win-win! Seriously, name one thing about batman that isn't totally cool...
    Robin: WASSSUUUUUP!
  • In Doc Martin episode "To the Lighthouse", Penhale, while piloting a boat on an emergency call out, confidently boasts that the rocks are nothing to worry about because he "know[s] these waters like the back of my hand" and less than five seconds later smashes the boat right into them.
  • Doctor Who:
    • "The Face of Evil": The Doctor assures the fugitive Leela that if the rest of her tribe are preparing for battle, it's unlikely they'll spare anyone to search for her. Then two arrows hit the tree right in front of him.
      The Doctor: [Not changing his tone at all] On the other hand, I could be wrong about that.
    • "The Empty Child": In the opening scene, the Doctor tells Rose that the tracking of a mysterious, dangerous object is perfectly safe. Cue the TARDIS's control panels exploding.
    • "School Reunion": When Rose attempts to call an ambulance after seeing one of the kitchen staff get injured after having some mysterious oil spilled on her, another woman tells her there's no need, as the injured woman will be all right. Cue a scream and billowing smoke from the other room. "It's fine. She does that."
  • The funniest moments of Steve Harvey's Family Feud episodes is when Steve will hear an outlandish answer from a contestant, mocking them on how ridiculous the answer is... and then it's on the board. Cue Steve just standing in shock before tearing up/throwing away the answer cards and storming off the stage.
  • Forever: In "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" Henry vehemently insists that there's no real connection between the two victims. Lucas immediately walks in and declares that he's found a connection between them.
  • In season six of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Uncle Phil tells Geoffry that boys the age of Geoffry's son don't play with toys. Cue Will walking in and instantly grabbing the Transformers Geoffry bought, claiming he's "been looking for Razorbeast since October" and happily playing with them.
  • In the seventh season of Game of Thrones, the Lannister forces are preparing to meet Daenerys' Dothraki horde bearing down on them. Recognizing the severity of the situation, Bronn urges Jaime Lannister to fall back and get to safety. Ever the Frontline General, Jaime refuses, grimly insisting, "We can hold them off." Cue the Mighty Roar of Daenerys' dragon, and one hell of an Oh, Crap! from Jaime.
  • Gilligan's Island: In "Beauty is as Beauty Does", the Castways hold a Beauty Contest, with each of the older three men backing a different woman. When Mary Ann's soft-shoe dance is ruined by a glue puddle, the Professor accuses Mr. Howell of sabotaging her. (The Skipper had been onstage helping him with the phonograph, making Mr. Howell the likeliest suspect.) Mr. Howell denies it...and promptly gets his gluey hand stuck to the Professor's suit.
  • An episode of I Love Lucy has her shoot a commercial for a medicine called Vitameatavegemin. While she pours a small amount into a spoon, she claims "It tastes just like candy." She then takes the spoonful and makes a face that indicates it tastes terrible.
  • In the Dark:
    • Murphy tells Jess and Max to just give the money they stole to the cops and accept protection as "not all cops are bad." She then learns how the cops are going to let Dean skate on killing Tyson as if nothing happened. Murphy races to stop her friends from trusting the cops again.
    • Josh and Gene decide to skip part of Murphy's trial in Season 4 as "nothing will happen." Cut to the trial as a witness not only accuses Murphy of killing her brother but reveals she and Max slept together to a stunned Leslie, who then quits the case.
  • Murdoch Mysteries: In "Murdoch and the Cloud of Doom", under the threat of a deadly gas attack, the constables are lent some gas masks by the local firefighters. They voice serious doubts that those can protect them at all — they are conceived as a safeguard against smoke, not lethal poison gas, and are in a poor state to boot. Thus Crabtree tries to reassure his colleagues by putting on one of the masks and telling them they'll be perfectly safe... just as his mask's tank drops from its tube.
  • On one episode of My Name Is Earl, we find out that Earl and Joy once sold an Alleged Car to a man. Earl tries to right this wrong only to find out that the experience left the man bitter and pessimistic about society and seemingly plans to kill everyone. Earl tries to change his mind by showing him that people can be nice. Unfortunately, he tries to track down the car and finds that everyone who's owned it did the same thing as Earl and Joy. He later gets Darnell to pretend he was the last owner who sold the car for scrap used to build a playground. In the narration, Earl says that he thought karma would forgive this falsehood. But then the car that was supposedly scrapped drives by.
  • In one episode of NUMB3RS, David and Colby are trying to arrest an armed terrorism suspect in a garage that the terrorists had been using to build a bomb. David tries to point out to the suspect that he knows better than to fire a gun in a bomb lab, only for the suspect to do exactly that even as David is mid-sentence.
  • The Nutt House: Just after Reginald tells the immigration agent that the Nutt House only employs "red-blooded American workers", a Japanese painter comes in and talks to him in Japanese.
  • Odd Squad:
    • At the end of "Life of O'Brian", Olive boasts that she knows a lot about laser chicken eggs and assures Otto and Oscar that the egg she bribed O'Brian with isn't close to hatching. Sure enough, the egg begins to hatch, and everyone is quick to retreat.
    • In "Hold the Door", Otto is quick to laugh off Oscar's intentionally quiet remark about the Princess Room being the most dangerous room in Odd Squad. He's quick to change his tune when four robot princesses come marching towards an unsuspecting Ori, who is admiring a birdbath.
    • In "Bad Lemonade", Olive lets her ego get the better of her and smugly tells Odd Todd that there's no way she nor Otto would drink anything made by him. In the middle of her sentence, the ex-agent motions over to Otto as the agent grabs a cup of lemonade and drinks it.
      Otto: What? It's free.
    • The plot of "High Maintenance" kicks off when, after hearing O'Mary's and Obby's suggestion that he and Olympia should switch jobs for a day, Otis shuts them down and says that Oprah would never agree to it...only for the Director to have all four of them switch uniforms and departments and state that she would definitely agree to it.
    • At the climax of "Agent Orchid's Almost Half Hour Talent Show", Otis assures Orchid that Olympia — who had been so busy gathering performers for the eponymous show that she forgot to think of something for herself to do on stage — will think of something to perform. A couple of seconds later and Olympia, stricken with stage fright, gives a tiny "meep" of desperation.
    • This trope is a Running Gag in "The Voice", with Olympia and Otis believing that a villain is the culprit behind the theft of Oprah's voice, confronting that villain, and finding out that they're not the culprit at all.
    • A hilarious example occurs in "Dr. O: Party Time, Excellent". When Olympia hands out Dr. O masks for other agents to wear and declares that they're not creepy, Oona looks at hers and remarks that it's creepy... which is then negated by her putting on the mask anyway.
    • In "Shapely University", Otis agrees to Omaha's suggestion that they, along with Olympia and Olena, call their respective Directors to figure out who gets the case, stating that they'll resolve the conflict in a civilized manner. Unfortunately, said Directors see the conflict as a chance to compete with each other, with little regard for their employees.
    • In "Slides and Ladders", a lost Oswald begins checking various rooms in the hallways of the Mobile Unit van in order to find a way back to the bullpen. He enters the Cave Room, stating that "there's no harm in checking". A second later, the growl of a caveman is heard, and Oswald races back out with the caveman on his tail as he screams, "There's harm in checking!"
    • "Raising the Bar" opens with Omar and Opal doing work at the table in the bullpen when Omar starts to tell Opal a joke, but is interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the van door. This exchange then happens:
      Omar: I think someone's knocking on our van door!
      Opal: That's impossible, Omar. We're flying through the clouds!
      Postal Worker: [Outside] Can somebody open the door?!
      Opal: I stand corrected.
    • In "Substitute Agents", Olanda tells Oxley that she's happy being in the Maintenance department, stating that she doesn't like the danger that comes with being in the Mobile Unit department. Oxley argues that there's no danger in being a Mobile Unit agent. As the pair step into the van, they find that the Van Computer's alarm is going off.
      Oxley: Okay, maybe there's a little danger.
  • In "Funeral" of Peep Show, Toni declares "I don't waste my life looking for a man to fill a dad-shaped hole" just as her new much older boyfriend arrives.
  • In the Saturday Night Live sketch "Three Sad Virgins", Pete Davidson invites Martin, Ben, and John — the writers of Please Don't Destroy, a web comedy group that now writes for the show — to appear in a rap video with him. They eagerly accept, only to discover that the song is about how pathetic and miserable they are. When the trio protests, Pete assures them that they're just playing characters and it's not actually about them. Then the next verse starts:
    Pete: Their names are Martin, Ben, and John! / And they work at the show that I'm on! / They just don't have any swag! / They're tall and weird and sad!
  • Scrubs: The Janitor invents the "knife-wrench", which is exactly what it sounds like. He declares that it is "Practical and safe!" ...and immediately accidentally stabs himself.
  • In "Sarek" from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Worf chats with Riker about writing up Ensign D'Amato for insubordination as the two walk to Ten Forward. Riker comments that tempers seem to be a little frayed on the ship lately, but Worf says that he hasn't noticed. They enter Ten Forward and discover a full-on Bar Brawl in progress.
    Worf: I see what you mean.
  • The Stick Stickly special "Oh, Brother" had Stick lampshade how dreaming about a long-lost twin is a crazy idea right before his mom tells him about his long-lost twin brother.
  • Temps de chien: In the second episode, Antoine says that he saved plenty of animals and that he will save plenty more today. He then stands up from his couch, only to accidentally step on one of his dog's paws. This causes the dog to run away while feeling pain, Antoine's son calling his mother, and Antoine himself exclaiming "I didn't notice him!"
  • Timeless: After going back to World War II Germany, Wyatt and Lucy are found out by Ian Fleming, who begins berating them for their sloppy espionage, saying they couldn't stand out more if they tried. Cue Rufus coming in. At the sight of a black man in Nazi Germany, Fleming just says, "I stand corrected."
  • Top Gear (UK):
    • One challenge had the guys go to an auction to buy a few cars. After Richard and Jeremy buy their cars, they criticize James for not buying one. He tells them there are plenty of cars left. The auctioneer then says they're bringing up their last car of the day.
    • When Richard takes the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6 to Saudi Arabia for a test drive, this happens to him three times in rapid succession. While he's driving down a road, he says that the six-wheeled SUV has more wheels than anything on the road. He's then passed by a Nissan Patrol with eight wheels. He then backtracks and says it's the biggest Mercedes on the road. He's then passed by a monster truck with a Mercedes sedan body. He backtracks again and says it's bigger than any SUV on the road unlike the army Jeep in the distance. Then he gets closer and discovers the Jeep is actually gigantic.
  • On What We Do in the Shadows, the group is called before the Vampire Council in the second season finale for killing the Baron and several other vampires. Nandor admits that Guillermo, who had just quit as their familiar, was responsible for killing the Baron, but then claims that he killed him in response. The Council then laughs this off, saying that Guillermo couldn't possibly be capable of killing vampires as he's just a familiar. They then demonstrate by having a kid playing Guillermo and showing him easily held back by a vampire. They're unaware that Guillermo is actually there and hiding backstage. Just after the portrayal of himself as incapable of harming a vampire, Guillermo bursts into action and massacres the Council.

    Podcasts 
  • In Soylent Scrooge Fred's cheeriness and asking why anyone would be miserable on Christmas is answered by Bob Cratchit crying over his ill son and miserable life.

    Puppet Shows 
  • A Running Gag as Grover reads his congratulatory poem for Kermit in The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street. It's first double subverted when Grover claims Kermit has ears, a nose, and teeth, which Kermit clearly does not have, but then a montage plays showing Kermit in possession of all the above characteristics. Grover decides bringing that up wasn't the best choice and amends his poem. He continues by saying that Kermit never gets angry or yells; cue montage of Kermit yelling, mostly at Grover. Grover hastily amends his poem again and moves on to something he's sure is actually correct.
  • Dinosaurs: The Candid Camera Prank Show Within a Show Don't Lift That Heavy Object! features a guy dropping a piano on his foot and yelling "Smoo!" When his son is shocked, he says "Well, it's not like we're on television or anything!" Cue him noticing the camera, which prompts a "Holy smoo!"
  • Fraggle Rock: Gobo, reading about Fraggles and their poise in Uncle Matt's book, gets interrupted by Red crashing in.
    Uncle Matt: [voiceover] Fraggles naturally have physical prowess and a dancelike grace...
    [Red, swinging on a vine, immediately falls into Gobo and Wembley's room]
    Gobo: Oh, hi, Red.
  • In The Great Muppet Caper, upon hearing that Kermit was having a date with Lady Holiday (actually Miss Piggy), the residents of the Happiness Hotel start gossiping about it, to Kermit's embarrassment. Fozzie tries to make him feel better by assuring him it wouldn't go outside the room. A second later, a news reporter comes in:
    News Reporter: Here is a Muppet News Flash! Kermit the Frog to date Lady Holiday! Details at eleven!
  • Following conversation from A Muppet Family Christmas:
    Kermit: Outside? Fozzie, it's too cold to go outside.
    Fozzie: It's not cold.
    Kermit: It is cold!
    Fozzie: It's not cold!
    [the door opens and the snowman comes inside shivering]
    Snowman: Can I come in and warm up?
    Fozzie: [with a vague dismissive gesture] Okay, so it's cold.
  • The Muppet Movie: In the "Movin' Right Along" musical number, Kermit tells Fozzie, "You take it, you know best." Fozzie then immediately comments that he's never seen the Sun come up in the West, meaning that he not only doesn't "know best", he's in fact driving in exactly the wrong direction.
  • In the Elton John episode of The Muppet Show, Sam the Eagle expresses a dislike for Elton, particularly his outrageous, flamboyant costumes. He's also affronted when Kermit claims that Mozart wore high heels, wigs, and silk stockings. He ends up eating his words (and hat) when Scooter comes along and shows a painting of Mozart wearing period high heels, silk stockings, and a powdered wig.
  • Muppet Treasure Island: During the song "Professional Pirate", Long John Silver begins addressing "misconceptions" about pirates, how they'd never stab you in the back (someone falls dead a split second later with a knife in his back) or lie or cheat (as one of them picks another's pocket).

    Roleplay 
  • Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues:
    • Benedict tries to tell himself that the Mass Super-Empowering Event was all just a bizarre shared hallucination. Hyeon immediately points out the gaping hole in the wall that was left by the event.
    • Another example with the two is when Hyeon tells Benedict that his pet squirrel can't just go and find something weird just because he commands it to. The squirrel in question then hops up and does exactly that, finding a blood trail for them to follow.
    • When discussing how they're supposed to find Benjy after he fled the school, Michal moans that he's probably lying low somewhere and they'll have no chance of finding him. Barbra then turns around her phone to show a website where a sighting of Benjy is the front-page article.

    Sports 
  • At one point during Super Bowl XXXI, as the Green Bay Packers were getting into position on a first down, one of the TV commentators remarked on how the Packers, trailing the New England Patriots 14-10 near the start of the second quarter, were really struggling to make plays, particularly on first downs, and "can't really do anything against [the Patriots'] defense". Almost the instant the last word left his mouth, the ball was snapped to Favre who proceeded to connect with Antonio Freeman for an 81-yard touchdown, putting the Packers up 17-14. From that point on, the Packers ruled the day, holding the lead for the rest of the game and ultimately defeating New England by a score of 35-21.
  • In 2005, MLB's New York Mets were playing the crosstown rival Yankees when relief pitcher Dae-Sung Koo, who had never previously batted in his entire professional career, stepped into the box against Randy Johnson, one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Fox Sports' Tim Mc Carver wasted no time criticizing Koo, saying "I'm just going to go out on a limp and say, thus far this young season, this is the biggest give-up at-bat....". Those words had only just left his mouth when Koo hammered a deep shot into centre field for the only hit of his career.
  • Happened, quite hilariously, to commentator Tim Daggett at the 2008 USA Women's Gymnastics National Championships. He led up to Chellsie Memmel's vault by explaining that as Chellsie was coming back from injury and pacing herself in the run-up to the Olympics, she had only vaulted a Yurchenko full the previous day of competition, and how, while she was capable of more, he would be totally shocked if she did anything but play it safe because she "wasn't ready" for bigger and both she and her coaches knew it. He was just winding up this spiel when Chellsie not only busted out an upgraded — and very impressive — Yurchenko 1.5 vault, but flawlessly stuck the landing.
    Al Trautwig: Excuse me, Mr. Daggett?
  • As a motorsports commentator, Murray Walker made a habit of this. Very frequently, he'd state that something would happen "unless I'm very much mistaken". This would immediately be followed by that something not happening and Walker commenting "I am very much mistaken!" Murray once lampshaded this habit: "I don't make mistakes. I make prophecies which immediately turn out to be wrong."
  • On December 21, 2021, Russian figure skating coach and former pair skater Alexei Mishin stated that during his lifetime no one will do a quadruple axel well. Five days later, at the Japanese National Championships, Yuzuru Hanyu jumped a quadruple axel. He two-footed the landing, but did not fall, and the jump was duly recorded as an underrotated quad axel (rather than an overrotated triple axel) on his score sheet. At the time, it was the best quad axel attempt on the record. Hanyu proceeded to announce immediately afterwards that he would participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics in order to perfect his quad axel. However, it wasn't Hanyu who ended up the first to perform a fully ratified quad axel... it was 17-year-old American Ilia Malinin, who did it on September 14, 2022 at the lower-level U.S. Classic in Lake Placid, New York.

    Theatre 
  • In The Matchmaker, Horace Vandergelder refuses to condone a relationship between his niece Ermengarde and the artist Ambrose. He tells Ambrose that he's sent Ermengarde away and Ambrose will never find out where she's gone; immediately, a maid comes in and announces that Ermengarde has just finished packing and recites the full address of where she's being sent so Vandergelder can confirm the luggage is labeled correctly.

    Video Games 
  • In Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse, after the Cable-Car Action Sequence Shears ensures Kat that nothing's really got broken. Cue the cable car's door falling off.
  • Doom:
    • At the end of the tutorial of Doom, while the Doom Slayer is riding an elevator Samuel Hayden tries to explain through the intercom that while he takes full responsibility for everything that's happened it was all done for the good of humanity. The Doom Slayer looks down at his feet to see a desiccated corpse, proceeds to crack his knuckles while physically trembling with rage and smashes the intercom.
    • In Doom Eternal, the Slayer needs a fast way to get to the center of Mars to access the only portal to Sentinel Prime so that he can kill the final Hell Priest. And fortunately enough, he's currently one portal away from the BFG-10000, a gigantic Wave-Motion Gun that Samuel Hayden designed as part of the anti-demonic defense grid of Phobos. You can guess the rest.
      Samuel Hayden: You can't just shoot a hole into the surface of Mars!
      VEGA: The portal is ready.
      Mission Objective: Shoot a Hole in Mars.
  • In Far Cry: New Dawn, Ethan Seed is telling the villagers of New Eden that their founder Joseph Seed, who left to the north years ago, is never coming back, so they must continue living without him... except, just when he tells them this, the Captain walks through the crowd bringing Joseph himself with them, and Joseph promptly derails his son's speech and resumes command of the cult himself, telling New Eden that they must ally with their neighbours at Prosperity against the Highwaymen. Needless to say, Ethan's not happy to see his father back.
  • Final Fantasy:
    • In Final Fantasy X-2, Logos and Ormi has the Gullwings watch a sphere recording that they had made. Part of the sphere was recorded pointed straight at Yuna's butt. Logos insists Ormi recorded that part, but Ormi then walks by in the background.
    • In Final Fantasy XIV, the player, the Warrior of Light, and some of their allies are confronting a captured villain in her cell, the Echo gives you and one of your other allies a vision about their Freudian Excuse. When confronted about this, the villain claims a few "stolen memories" would never allow them to understand her pain, at which point her artificial Echo shows her the Warrior of Light's memories, at which point she is utterly broken by the fact that the person she fought has experienced so much pain and betrayal and still not broken under all the tragedy.
  • In Mortal Kombat 1, Johnny Cage was talking with Kenshi about the latter's backstory with the yakuza before his doorbell rings. Johnny assumes that the police are there to take Kenshi away; in reality, Liu Kang and the Lin Kuei seek his audience.
    Johnny: [hears the doorbell ring] And that's Malibu's finest. [answers the door and sees his new guests] What in the actual fu—
    Liu Kang: Good evening, Johnny Cage.
  • Wheatley from Portal 2 has a moment of this.
    Wheatley: I'm guaranteeing you, 100 percent, that it's this way.
    [enters a hallway]
    [immediately comes back out of the hallway]
    Wheatley: It's not this way.
  • Sonic Adventure 2 has a rather subtle version. "The Supernatural", the background music to Shadow's final Dark Story level, is sung from his perspective and contains the line "Nothing is unpredictable to me, nothing can surprise me". In the cutscene straight after the level, the very first thing Shadow says is: "You never cease to surprise me, blue hedgehog".
  • Star Trek: Resurgence: In "What Lies Beneath," Tylas warns Rydek about "invisible" motion detection beams... that are clearly visible as blue lasers.
  • In the trailer for Star Wars Battlefront II:
    Stormtrooper: [over a radio] Sector is clear.
    [enter Maul]
    Stormtrooper: NOT clear! Not clear!
  • In World of Warcraft, Belmont sends the player and the corpse of Crowley with a valkyr back to Sylvanas, mentioning he'll find his own way back now that the worgen have lost their scent, saying he might even beat them back. As soon as the valkyr rises to the top of the cliff, a couple dozen of elite worgen are shown waiting.

    Visual Novels 
  • In Double Homework, when Dennis lands on the yacht for the party, and insists that the protagonist couldn't make it because he'd rather play video games in his room, the protagonist shows himself. Dennis still tries to keep up the charade of what he has just said.
  • Minotaur Hotel: Of the Not What It Looks Like Variant. After Luke tells you that you and Asterion look like a "Lesbian Couple", you tell him that what's between him and you is not romantic, and they're just friends. Immediately afterward, Asterion asks if you can brush his fur again. The reaction Luke gives is hysterical.
  • At the start of Remy Chevalier's first season in Queen of Thieves the heroine — newly arrived in Paris and no little starstruck — remarks with enthusiasm on the sight of the Eiffel Tower. Remy agreeably comments on the landmark's beauty, only for Nikolai to dryly point out that Remy hates the Eiffel Tower and has said so for years. It's a humorous moment, but it also sets the tone for the route by making it clear the heroine can't necessarily trust in Remy's sincerity.

    Web Animation 
  • DEATH BATTLE!: "Heihachi Mishima vs. Geese Howard" has Geese attempt to drag Heihachi into the volcano when the former threw him into it via a lightning ki strike. He then said his Pre-Mortem One-Liner as he prepares to kill him but Heihaichi manages to punch him back down onto a stalagmite before he gets melted by the lava. Even worse, his opponent was mostly fine as he climbs out of the volcano.
    Geese Howard: YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM DEATH!
    [Geese propels himself back towards Heihachi in the attempt to kill him, unaware that Heihachi was prepared for it]
    Heihachi Mishima: BACK TO HELL WITH YOU!
    [with one electrified punch, Heihachi manages to impale Geese onto the stalagmite to ensure that Geese doesn't escape before he gets consumed by the lava]
  • Helluva Boss:
    • In "Seeing Stars", Blitzo has to tell Stolas his daughter stole his grimoire and teleported to "who-the-fuck-knows-where". He has just enough time to say "That went better than I thought" before:
    • In "Exes and Oohs", Moxxie's ignorant and homophobic father Crimson reveals he had retractable dildos planted in his house's walls. When Moxxie protests that nobody of any sexuality would find that appealing:
      Blitzo: [from the next room over] HA! There's dicks in the walls! Oh, that's fucking hilarious!
  • 50 Ways to Die in Minecraft: A Running Gag of someone saying "There is no X in Minecraft!", followed by them getting killed by that exact thing. Also doubles as Tempting Fate. For example:
    Redstone Ned: There are no trucks in Minecraft! [Gets run over by a truck]
  • Red vs. Blue: In season 8, after they try dropping a giant crate on Tex:
    Tucker: I can't believe that worked!
    [Tex lifts the crate]
    Tucker: Oh fuck, that didn't work!
  • DaThings: In one of the 'Postman Tap' YTP's, Mrs Goblins laments that the water is being turned off, but jokes that they can't turn off the lemonade. Two seconds later, she laments that they're going to turn off the lemonade.

    Webcomics 
  • Archipelago: Snow and Steller, the commanders of Raven Army, have conflicting views on how to break a siege, with Steller in favour of an oldie-but-goldie tunnel. So he has his people dig while Snow's attempting to worm his way in with dream magic. And what happens when Steller comes to gloat about how his method is better?
    Snow: [calmly] Attempting to break in by force is silly and a waste of time.
    Steller: You're wrong! We've already found the way in, and now it's only a matter of time before—
    Soldier: [enters] Um, sir, the diggers have run into a problem. They've tunneled down twenty feet and hit metal. They can't dig any further. The lab must be mostly buried under the ground, and all of it is made from the same magic... resistant... I... I think I'll be going now.
  • Awkward Zombie: When Phoenix asks Edgeworth if he is a Steel Samurai fan, Edgeworth coldly denies it. Unfortunately for him, Phoenix can see lies in the form of Psycho-Locks, five of which spring up immediately.
  • El Goonish Shive: Susan is telling Nanase that Tedd has become very responsible with his transformation technology. Cue Tedd opening the door while transformed into a catgirl, causing Susan to amend her opinion to adequately responsible.
  • Furry Experience: As Vikki drags Ronnie to a Mormon institute, Ronnie is trying to tell her how all the students inside will be chattering away with their self-righteous gossip, until they open the door to dead silence.
    Vikki: God heard you and made them shut up.
    Ronnie: You hush.
  • Girl Genius:
    • Old Man Death, explaining about Maxim trying to get his hat, notes that Jägers are no good at being subtle, so he can always "see 'em coming two streets away". Unbeknownst to him, Maxim is currently hiding in his barrel of pickled herring, and assuming he's being called out, bursts out with an indignant exclamation. Old Man Death is forced to admit that sometimes a Jäger can surprise him.
    • Agatha wants to break in a Parisian dress shop, since they are barely clothed and supposed to go to a costume party. Dimo objects, as according to him you should only loot from defeated enemies. Agatha counters that it's not like she's going to battle a horde of socialites on the way. Cue a horde of well-dressed socialites turning the corner and coming at her with hostile intentions, to Agatha's dismay.
      Zeetha: Wow! You can find anything in Paris!
    • Gil doubts the Dreen's supposed ability to predict the future, as one recently told him he'd be going to Paris, and he has no reason to go there. Cue an officer entering to tell him they're about to land there.
    • Princess Neena, disguised as a steward, try to join the expedition to Mechanisburg as a stowaway... sorry, "surprise freelance member". She begs Agatha and Zeetha to not tell her mother, and that everything will be OK as long as Dr. Rakethorn doesn't see her... not realizing he's standing right behind her.
      Neena: It'll be fine, as long as Doctor Rakethorn doesn't see me.
      Rakethorn: Oh, "steward"... won't your poor me some tea?
      Neena: AIEEE!
  • Gunnerkrigg Court: After telling Kat she'll have to go to jail and getting a very angry response from Annie, the interpreter rushes to reassure them:
    Interpreter: Oh! Don't worry, it's not a physical jail! It's more like... a state of having your mind permanently restricted so you can't cause trouble. [...]
    [Saslamel says something]
    Interpreter: Oh... Saslamel says it's a physical jail, too.
  • In a strip of It Sucks to Be Weegie!, Luigi denies knowing Daisy, only to be found out when she calls him by his name.
  • In Jupiter-Men, Quintin declares that he's pretty much mastered his Elemental Shapeshifter abilities to Jackie right before accidentally reeling a soda can into his head.
  • In Kevin & Kell, when Hare-Link has to lay someone off, George points out that Candace is the most expendable employee. Kevin protests that her work on the telephone is valuable, at which point, Candace, likely oblivious to the fact that her job is about to be cut, cheerfully informs Kevin that she doesn't have to do as much work recently. After Candace leaves, Kevin, with chagrin, comments that "her timing could have been better".
  • Let's Get Divorced!: Han-gyeol and Baek-hui go to meet his grandfather in Chapter 19. He reassures her that his grandfather is too old to hear about her embarrassing viral video, only for him to instantly recognize her as "the stormy-kick girl".
  • A Miracle of Science: After their crash-landing on Mars, Caprice reassures Benjamin that he's on the safest planet in the Solar System. Immediately, debris from their landing slams down behind her. "Second safest." WHAM! "Among the safest." WHAM! "Forget I said anything." As Benjamin points out afterward (and Caprice admits he's right), the Martian hive-mind clearly knew that debris was incoming, and had to have done it on purpose as a joke.
  • The Order of the Stick:
    • During the fight between "Darth V" and Xykon, after being hit by a superb dispelling spell and getting woozy from Tsukiko's mind fog, the soul splices inside Vaarsuvius' head reassert their presence: "Do not worry! We are still here!" "Even epic magic cannot break our—" That is, until Xykon smashes the elf with a big piece of masonry, breaking their concentration. Ganoron and Jephton's spirits immediately leave, belying their false reassurance.
    • At the Godsmoot, while the High Priestess of Odin is announcing the order of the day for the meeting, Roy is ignoring her words and arguing with Wrecan that he should go looking for Belkar before he'd cause trouble. He even adds "...there's nothing anyone can say that will stop me from—" just as the Lady of Odin concludes that the gods are going to vote on whether they should destroy the world or not. This shuts up Roy real fast.
  • Poison Ivy Gulch: Marshal Art brings in someone for public intoxication. The suspect swears he is as "sober as a judge", only to find the local judge drunk on either moonshine or cider.
  • Rusty and Co.:
    • When entering an exclusive neighborhood that forbids adventuring parties, Stabitha insists that she arrived alone. Cue Mimic, Tarta and Anti-Madeline entering from behind and landing on top of her.
    • Dorilys seriously misjudges Blood Bath the Derro strongman when facing him in the treasure room. "As long as he's using that chest for cover, he's stuck in one place—" Cue legs bursting out of the bottom of the chest, and Blood Bath bull-rushing Dorilys hard enough to bend her shield.
    • At the start of Level 12, Malevolus is uncharacteristically bold before his cousin the "Princess", knowing she isn't the real deal but Roxy in disguise to cover for the ruler's disappearance. He even allows himself a sarcastic remark, "You're the only princess we have!", not realizing that the true Princess just walked right behind him.
  • Schlock Mercenary: Professor Hambt posits that a species in exile for over 70 million years might turn their minds into something unrecognizable. And thus...
    Professor Hambt: New theory: I'm completely wrong.
  • Spooky: While grocery shopping in Sakhmet, Komo asks if he can ride on Echo's back during the return trip. Echo says that Unis would never let anyone ride them, only for Prince Jazan to ride by on a Uni.
  • Springaling: At one point, Springtrap states that if God really was listening to the Puppet's prayers, he would've received a sign. A pigeon flies into the office immediately after he says this, leading to his displeasure.
    Springtrap: A DOVE? Really? How Old Testament can you get?!
  • Downplayed in Stand Still, Stay Silent. As the author points out in her comment on the page, people should not be leaning on vehicle wing mirrors in the first place. However, the mirror in question chooses to break off right after someone comments that the old vehicle to which it is attached is probably sturdier than it looks. Later in the same chapter, an old bridge decides to start breaking down after that same person comments that it must be quite well-maintained to still be standing.

    Websites 
  • A quote on bash.org:
    <YuFFie> SO U HACKING ME THEN HUH
    <YuFFie> WElL I GOT NEWS FOR U MISTER I GOT MORE FIREWALL POWERS NOW SO IM SECURE AND IM USING WINDOWS 98 SO IM REALLY SECURE FROM HACKERS LIKE YOU SO YOU BETTA JUST GIVE UP CUZ U GOT NO HOPE MISTER.
    * YuFFie (~mirc@3B942731.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net) Quit (Quit: Owned.)
    * YuFFie (~mirc@3B942731.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net) has joined #
    <YuFFie> HELP MY MOUSE IS MOVING BY IT SELF

    Web Videos 
  • Bart Baker: In Bart's parody of "Can't Remember to Forget You", Shakira claims she's best friends with Rihanna. Two lines later?
    Rihanna: I really don't know who Shakira is. I honestly thought this was a Kesha video.
  • Critical Role's Mighty Nein campaign has one that is disproven by the Vox Machina campaign. In the Vo arc, Viridian claims after regaining her memories her family doesn't drink. Cue a fan video of her child Keyleth going on pub crawls and getting plastered on several occasions.
  • Dragonball Z Abridged:
    • Vegeta scoffs at his more pragmatic son Trunks' idea of giving Goku a healing senzu bean to help him fight in his battle against Cell. Vegeta angrily tells Trunks that Goku is fighting for his Saiyan pride and would never accept that senzu bean, and that he'll keep fighting until it kills him. At that exact moment, Goku cheerfully tells Cell he's giving up, sending Vegeta into a shocked fury.
    • In another episode, Trunks brings the team to the spot Goku will touch down on when landing back on Earth. Trunks says Goku should be arriving any moment now and after a few seconds Vegeta says Trunks is wrong and has been lying about everything. The second he finishes speaking, Goku's pod lands right where Trunks said it would.
      Vegeta: ...That could be anyone.
  • In the Epic Rap Battles of History bout between Stalin and Rasputin, Stalin calls himself the "Pride of Lenin". Two lines later?
    Lenin: [Absolutely outraged] I HAVE NO PRIDE FOR YOU, WHO RUINED EVERYTHING MY REVOLUTION WAS DOING TO STOP THE BOURGEOISIE!
  • Freshy Kanal: Trump's final line in his rap battle against Mr. Burns is mocking how Burns is so physically weak, Trump's "hair" can stand better against a breeze, only for it to fall off immediately after Trump says this.
  • The Funniest Minecraft Videos Ever: At the start of the "Without Leaving the End" video, Tommy claims that "we're safe here", before immediately dying to an End Slime.
  • The Game Grumps have an almost uncanny ability to do this. Arin in particular, because he has a habit of talking from a place of authority but often is going in blind to a new game or playing one he hasn't touched in years. This leads to events like where he matter-of-factly declares that the ghosts in Super Mario World don't cover their faces like they did in Super Mario Bros. 3... quite literally one full second before a massive ghost skanks onto the screen covering its face, confidently declaring a helicopter can't see him in Dead Rising because "he's in the shadows"... and it completely rocks him the second he's done speaking, and chastizing Dan for searching for secrets in Super Mario Bros. because "he's never gonna find one"... right before Dan finds a Star before even advancing the screen.
  • John Wolfe:
    • When he's playing Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, he is being chased by The Principal of the Thing and escapes by hitting him with some BSODA. Then, after running around for a little bit he starts talking about how he escaped the principal... and is interrupted by the principal sneaking up on him and sending him to detention.
      John: I think maybe the principal just forgot about me. That's weird. That's really weird. I mean, I got him with the energy drink and now he–
      Principal: 15 seconds. Detention for you.
      John: OH WHAT?! NOOOOO!!!
      Principal: You should know better.
    • When playing At Dead of Night, he's trying to figure out how Jimmy works when searching a room for the hiding player. Sometimes he'll just leave, sometimes he'll hide in the bathroom for a Jump Scare, and sometimes he'll return to patrolling the hallway. John thinks he has it figured out, pointing out that since a small icon is grey instead of red it must mean it's safe... and is immediately jumped by Jimmy from the bathroom.
  • Life SMP: Inverted in Season 2, Last Life SMP. On Day 2, upon noticing that her husband, Joel was down to two lives, Lizzie goes to Tango to bet one of her lives on Joel being the first Red Name on the server, believing that Joel would get himself killed in trying to kill others as the Boogeyman. After placing her bet and contemplating her decision on the way home, Joel manages to rid himself of the Boogeyman curse after killing Scott, but is killed by Pearl right afterward, proving Lizzie's prediction that he would get himself killed while trying to kill others right, and earning Lizzie four lives from the gamble.
  • In The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lizzie spends most of the first episode complaining about her mother's obsession with finding wealthy husbands for her daughters, saying "It's not like we're all going to put our lives on hold because some rich single guy dropped from the sky." Cue Lydia bounding into her room to excitedly tell her that a rich family just moved into their neighborhood and happen to have a son who's single.
  • Played up to the max in this video about strange things that National Football League players have been seen doing during a game. After one entry about running back Eddie Lacy eating something that was mistaken for a hot dog but which Lacy later claimed was just a pack of sunflower seeds, the video narrator remarks at length about how silly the misconception is because "you would never see an NFL player ever, ever eat a hot dog during a game. You would never see that... There's literally no-one that would ever eat a hot dog during a game." After this spiel, he moves on to the next item in the list: "[Quarterback] Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog."
  • The Nostalgia Critic:
    • In a running gag, the Critic will cite an often ridiculous hypothetical or cliché scenario that at least didn't happen, only for the screen to cut to exactly that. For example, during his review of North, he commends the movie for at least getting a Native American to play an Eskimo and not resorting to a cheap stunt such as putting someone like Kathy Bates in Brown Face... only to see that the film did exactly that.
    • In his review of Last Action Hero, upon seeing a baffling cameo appearance by Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick as their characters from Basic Instinct and Terminator 2: Judgment Day:
      Critic: You know, movie, I'm not sure if you know this, but, um... cameos have to make sense. Just because those two people were in movies doesn't mean it necessarily makes sense to have them in your movie. I mean, it's like having a cartoon cat running around all over the place— [it turns out to actually be in the movie] WHAAAAA?! What the hell is that?! Are you serious? Why is there a cartoon cat there?! That doesn't make any sense!
      [a clip from the movie plays: Jack Slater explains, "He's supposed to be back on duty. He was only suspended for a month."]
      Critic: No, movie, no! There's no reason a cartoon cat should be there! It's like saying... Little Richard's in the movie! [indeed, he is; the Critic pauses to think up more out-of-place cameos] Jean-Claude Van Damme. [he's in it, too] Jim Belushi. [also true] MC Hammer. [ditto] Humphrey Bogart! [Deliberately Monochrome and all] Chevy Chase and Damon Wayans walking side by side— [do we need to spell it out?] What is going on?!! Why are there so many pointless random cameos?! Am I in The Twilight Zone? I mean, movie, just because you can have someone in your film doesn't mean you should! It's like having— [finally shuts himself up, having learned his lesson] Nope! No! If I mention that person's name, they might spontaneously jump out of somebody's anus! Let's just keep watching the movie and be done with it.
    • In his review of Scooby-Doo, his past self argues that a satire is automatically funny, only for the screen to display posters for several of Seltzer and Friedberg's movies. This ends up backfiring as the Critic's past self is unfamiliar with them since they're made after his time period.
  • Search for Sandvich: Right after the Sniper declares that he's by himself in the Stanley Hotel, the Administrator chimes in.
    Sniper: Well, it looks like it's just me. On my own. One man. Alone.
    Administrator: Don't die all at once.
    Sniper: Well, except her of course.
  • The Spiffing Brit: Leading to some Corpsing: During his first escape attempt in Prison Architect, the Spiffing Brit points out that if you tried legging it the instant you left the bus, you'd get grabbed by the guards before you could escape... only to instantly escape, prompting him to break into laughter.
  • On Steam Train, we get this golden moment from their playthrough of King's Quest V:
    Dan: This is the rope we just got out of, so let's take that.
    Ross: It's actually a chain.
    Narrator: Graham bent over and picked up the sturdy rope from the stone floor.
    Dan: Or it's a rope.
  • Steve Reviews' video on Ringing Bell, right after Chirin has killed the wolf.
    Steve: After the Wolf is defeated, the sheep see Chirin's heroic act, and hail him as a hero!
    (Cue the sheep slamming the barn door on Chirin.)
    Steve: ...Oh.
  • Sword Art Online Abridged: When explaining why Kayaba did everything he did after his plans were foiled, Kirito and Asuna ask why he became Heathcliff. Kayaba tells them he couldn't really just back out now after trapping them all and getting thousands killed, but he felt he had to do something to help the players, as despite his previous outburst he didn't want to hurt anyone. Kirito rebukes his over this, reminding him he killed a guy a few minutes ago for mildly sassing him. Asuna adds "And, y'know, us." Kayaba sheepishly admits he is not the picture of grace under fire and tries to victim blame the mafioso, before finally admitting he was also trying to buy time to get the feds off his back while he figured out a way out of the mess he made, but never managed to.
  • Ultra Fast Pony:
    • The Cold Open of "Batshy Crazy" features Applejack planning to kill Fluttershy. When she gets caught in her plans, she tries to deny everything and gets immediately proven wrong each time.
      Twilight: And since Fluttershy is our friend, we're going to help her out of this problem, instead of just killing her.
      Applejack: Well, of course, Twilight! I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way.
      Apple Bloom: Hey, Applejack! I found your shotgun that you said you wanted to murder Fluttershy with, just like you specifically told me!
    • Early on in "A Sombra Affair", Twilight panics that Sombra's going to kill everybody. Shining Armor claims that Sombra might not kill them... only for Sombra to yell, "I'm gonna kill y'all with crystals!"
      Shining: Well, I guess I was wrong.
  • Vision of Escaflowne Abridged loves this trope.
    • When Hitomi shows Van her Magic: The Gathering card deck...
      Van: You should be careful with those. I hear the ink is spiked with hallucinogens so you trip out while you play.
      Hitomi: That's just an urban legend.
      [image on the card comes to life and swirls around her]
      Hitomi: Oooh, shinyyy...
      [shortly later]
      Hitomi: Okay, but Count Chocula and his army of Jewish werewolves need to stay here.
      Van: Urban legend, riiight...
    • When Hitomi and Merle are sick and Van brings them medicine...
      Hitomi: Aw, he pretends to be a self-absorbed jerk, but he really does care about...
      Guard: Raise the alarm! The Zaibach are invading!
      Van: Oh, thank God! I was about to go insane from boredom back there!
      Merle: You were saying?

    Western Animation 
  • The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In "I Dream of Jimmy", Jimmy journeys into Carl's dreams to help him deal with a recurring nightmare. Jimmy ends up having to do something wildly out of character to convince Carl he's dreaming and wake him up, and resorts to kissing his rival, Cindy Vortex. In the waking world, the episode ends with Carl assuring Jimmy he wouldn't tell anyone about what happened... only for Cindy to barge in, slap Jimmy, and shout "Not even in his dreams, Nerd-tron!"
  • The Amazing World of Gumball: In "The Allergy", Mr. Small claims the crystal in his hands is unbreakable, then in the middle of the sentence, drops it and it breaks in half. He picks up the two pieces, claiming them to be two unbreakable crystals.
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force: In "The Cloning", the Aqua Teens' newest cloned TV breaks down and begins displaying disturbing footage of them. When Meatwad says something's wrong with it, Frylock denies it only to see the TV gushing blood.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender:
    • "The Blue Spirit": A pair of lookouts are reading a wanted poster for Aang, which describes him as being able to create tornadoes and run faster than the wind. One of them decries it as Firelord propaganda. Cue Aang racing by faster than the wind.
    • "The Deserter": When the Fire Army officer assures Zhao that the festival went off without a hitch, a burning beam crashes down behind him.
  • Blake and Mortimer: Towards the end of "The Secret of the Swordfish", just as Olrik declares that The Empire has won the war with the flag planted on the Resistance's base, Blake emerges from the water in the Swordfish and proceeds to completely destroy the Empire's fleet.
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers: In "An Inside Job", as the Planeteers are making camp, Wheeler notices Linka is having trouble with setting up her tent. He offers to help her out, but she refuses, saying she can handle it herself. A moment after Wheeler leaves, the tent ends up collapsing right on top of Linka.
  • Central Park:
    • In Season 1 "Live It Up Tonight", Birdie tells the audience that one of the benefits of being a narrator is he could do his job from anywhere. He uses the gazebo he's standing in as an example of a place that's dry and safe until a swarm of bats enters the gazebo and swarms around him.
    • In the Season 1 finale "A Fish Called Snakehead":
      • When the Tillermans sees a mother duck and her duckling enter the lake, Molly and Cole are certain that they'll be fine because they think there's probably no snakehead in the lake and the jogger who spotted it is crazy until one of the ducklings is dragged down in the water. Luckily, the duckling is able to resurface and the mother duck and her ducklings get out of the lake. They're now certain there's a snakehead in the lake.
      • When Owen thinks Dick Flake is going to catch the snakehead before him, Paige reassures him that he won't and he's a blowhard until Dick shouts out he caught it. It's subverted later on when she discovers Dick lied and bought an already dead snakehead to claim he caught it.
  • In one episode of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, a pair of bank robbers, Fry and Spud, attempt to use a diner as a cover to tunnel into a nearby bank. Unfortunately, their efforts are stymied due to the Rangers (who were under the impression they were just a pair of mediocre cooks and were trying to help them) continuously leaving behind batches of Monterey Jack's cheese chowder, which keeps drawing in the cops. At one point, upon seeing two pots of chowder, Fry tries to assure Spud that the cops have been eating the stuff for two days straight and have probably had enough of it by now. A second later, he hears chants of "Chowder! Chowder!" coming from the dining area.
    Fry: [flatly] Better wash some bowls.
  • In "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words" from Dragon Tales, the group is getting assistance from a doodle fairy to help Ord find giggle flowers. The doodle fairy draws a picture that they finally identify as a knuckerhole.
    Zak: I know every knuckerhole in Dragon Land and I can tell you positively, absolutely, there isn't another knuckerhole anywhere near herrrrrrrrre! [he and Wheezie fall into the hole]
  • In one Droopy short, Droopy participates in a bullfighting match with a prize being anything the winner wants in Mexico. Droopy comes out on top and bashfully states his desire: to be with a beautiful Spanish starlet who was featured on a magazine. The official laughs and says there's no way she'd go with him. The scene cuts to Droopy on her lap in a dressing room, the starlet mockingly saying "Oh, no?" to the camera before petting Droopy.
  • DuckTales:
    • In the DuckTales (1987) episode "Where No Duck has Gone Before", Courage cuts off Launchpad's appeal about returning to Earth, saying they never go home before encountering aliens. Launchpad says aliens don't exist — and then the Kronk ship appears.
    • DuckTales (2017):
      • In the first episode, Scrooge makes a Badass Boast while dressing up for a diving expedition, including putting on a heavy helmet.
        Scrooge: I'm Scrooge McDuck! I made my name being tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties! And I made my money square, on my own! No nephews, no family! No-one helped me then and I don't need help now, and—!
        [the weight of his diving helmet gives way, sending him rolling into some objects]
        Scrooge: Beakley, a little help?
      • Later in the episode, after crashing a press conference with the real Jewel of Atlantis (long story), Scrooge has this to say about the ruby Glomgold's presenting:
        Scrooge: That bauble? Sure, it's nice, but it's obviously super cursed.
        Glomgold: NO IT'S NOT[Gets grabbed by a massive sea monster] AGH! CURSE YOU MACDUUUUUUCK!!
      • In the last episode, Huey and Louie find a loophole in the Papyrus of Binding to save the day.
        Huey: Bradford, your contract is flawed!
        Bradford: What?! Impossible! I worked on it for 30 years! Went over it with the finest-tooth combs!
        Louie: According to this, Scrooge can be with his family as long as he doesn't adventure!
        Huey: But family is the greatest adventure of all!
        Bradford: That's... the Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard. There's no way that—
        [the contract disintegrates]
        Bradford: No! NOOOOOO!
  • In "Baby Steps" from Elinor Wonders Why, Ari's father tells him that he could have used padding when he was younger to keep him from falling down. He poo-poos the idea, saying that he never falls down, then immediately trips over a stick.
  • The Fairly OddParents!:
    • In "Foul Balled", Chester tells Timmy not to mention his last name in public, telling him it's not safe to be a McBadbat because his father was the worst baseball player ever.
      Timmy: Hah, come on! I'm sure nobody takes the game that seriously!
      [cue an offscreen explosion, followed by a mailbox reading "McBadbat" falling into the shot]
      Timmy: Isn't that your mailbox?
      Chester: NOT AGAIN!
    • In "Totally Spaced Out", Timmy gets off the school bus, happy that he's going to spend this weekend with his parents. When he gets home, he finds out that his parents a going away on a business trip to a five star resort.
  • In the Family Guy episode "Love Thy Trophy", when officials from the Department of Child Disservices come to take Stewie away, Lois is enraged and wants to disprove their claims, which are immediately torpedoed by Peter's actions off-screen.
    Lois: How dare you! This is a wonderful home!
    [cue a gunshot going off in the distance]
    Peter: [shouting off-screen] Quagmire, you rat bastard! Come near my fence again, and that'll be your head!
  • In the opening of "Franklin in Charge" from Franklin, Mr. Turtle is leaving for a trip to Uncle Snapper's and Mrs. Turtle is trying to make sure he has everything he needs. He tells her that he's only going for a couple days and didn't forget anything.
    Harriet: [jiggling a pair of keys] Daddy keys!
    Mr. Turtle: Oh. I won't get too far without those, will I?
  • Futurama:
    • In the episode "The Route of All Evil", Cubert accuses the crew of using Bender as a still for brewing beer. Bender immediately calls out "Lies! Lies and slander!", then burps out some suds.
    • "The Duh-Vinci Code" has Fry disappointed by his friends' understandably low opinion of his intellect. Just as he's consoling himself by recalling that he has "street smarts", he steps off the curb and gets hit by a bus.
    • In "The Bots and the Bees", when Planet Express's new vending machine gives birth to a baby robot that looks like Bender, Bender refutes the possibility that he's the robot's father. Until it says:
      Baby Robot: Wipe my tiny, metal ass!
      Bender: Aww, crap.
  • One episode of The Get Along Gang has the kids trying out to become junior news reporters. Portia attempts to audition for weatherman only to have this repeatedly happen to her. She forecasts a bright and sunny day just before a storm begins. She then claims that the storm will then ease off. It intensifies instead. She keeps insisting that the storm will ease off, but it keeps getting worse. She finally says that the storm will last all day. The storm instantly ends. Portia walks away with her tail between her legs.
  • In "The Lucky Egg" from Guess How Much I Love You, Bluebird has two eggs of her own and agrees to adopt another, much larger egg that Little Nutbrown Hare and Little Field Mouse found that they call "the lucky egg". All three of them hatch at the same time. One day, Little Nutbrown Hare and Little Field Mouse take Big Nutbrown Hare to see the chicks. The proudly praise the bluebird chicks for their singing but say that the lucky chick doesn't sing, that he's very quiet. In response to this, the lucky chick lets out a big, loud caw.
    Little Field Mouse: And full of surprises!
  • In Harley Quinn, Harley is griping to Poison Ivy about how she needs a crew in order to be an effective super villain. Ivy tries to convince her that not all super villains need a crew, and uses Dr. Psycho as an example as he is at that moment, live on the news fighting Wonder Woman. But just 30 seconds later, Psycho gets pissed and calls Wonder Woman the "C" word, creating a national scandal. Harley then uses that as an example saying that a crew would have told him to use the "B" word instead.
  • House of Mouse: In "Donald Wants to Fly", Donald is ashamed that he cannot fly like other birds and decides that he's a donkey, declaring "Donkeys can't fly!" At that moment, Burrito, a donkey with wings, flies overhead.
    Donald: Aw, nuts!
  • Kaeloo:
    • In Episode 110, Mr. Cat explains to Kaeloo, Stumpy and Quack Quack using a slideshow that vampires don't exist. While he's still talking, Quack Quack gets bitten by a vampire bat and turns into a vampire.
    • In Episode 215, Mr. Cat attempts to convince the population of Smileyland that the apocalypse is coming and they're all in danger. Kaeloo tells him that people aren't as stupid and he thinks they are and that they won't believe him, but the scene immediately cuts to everyone but Kaeloo panicking about the upcoming apocalypse.
  • King of the Hill: In the first episode, a social worker, believing that Hank is an abusive parent, visits the Hill residence and asks Peggy about her husband.
    Social Worker: Mrs. Hill, would you say your husband has a bad temper?
    Peggy: Who, Hank? No, Hank is as gentle as a lamb.
    [Hank bursts in, totally stressed out, and sees Bobby tossing a softball against the wall]
    Hank: Dang, no more bouncing that ball!!
    [Hank grabs the ball and throws it out the window, nearly hitting the social worker]
    Peggy: Hank, we have a visitor.
  • In "Ground House Rules" from Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, Betty Beetle comments that her grandbugs are all on their best behavior. Gus agrees that they're "quiet as larvae". Immediately Dragon and Bounce are heard shouting and shown gallivanting through the room, Dragon riding Bounce and calling "Giddyup, horsey!" They then knock against the table, spoiling the adults' card game.
  • Molly of Denali:
    • In "Cry Wolf," Walter says that there is no one except himself, Molly, the birds, and the sky. Just then, the bushes rustle and the Kratts show up.
    • In "Heat Wave," Midge thinks that her fan can still work after falling. She stands corrected when it doesn't.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • In "A Bird in the Hand", Princess Celestia declares that she "cares deeply about the well-being of all creatures". Her pet bird instantly begins having a coughing fit. Turns out the bird is doing it on purpose as a joke.
    • When Applejack and Rarity find Rainbow Dash at the spa, she protests that she's just there for a "deep tissue sports massage". Then one of the spa ponies comes up and apologizes for the wait on her "pampered muzzle massage and indulgent hooficure".
    • In "Rarity Takes Manehattan", Applejack and Rainbow Dash are discussing musicals, with Rainbow commenting she finds them ridiculous because nopony would randomly burst into song in reality. Queue Rarity bursting into song. Rainbow's stunned look in the background says it all.
    • In "To Change a Changeling", Trixie proudly proclaims herself "The Great and Unscareable Trrrrixie!"... just before a nearby rock turns into a hissing changeling, sending her screaming in fright and cowering behind Starlight.
  • P.C. Pinkerton: In "Rain Rain Go Away", P.C. Pinkerton is telling a kid that it's harder for cars to stop when it's wet. Immediately after, a cat is crossing the street, and a car screeches to a halt right before hitting it.
  • A Pup Named Scooby-Doo:
    • In the first episode, Shaggy turns to his friends for help after his bicycle gets stolen. Freddie comments that he's proud to see Shaggy handling the situation like a man. It then reveals that Shaggy is on the ground throwing a temper tantrum.
    • One of show's most famous running gags is Freddie always accusing Red Herring of being the Monster of the Week, only to be proven incorrect. At first, Red is usually a genuine suspect or has a motive for committing the episode's mystery, but as time goes by, the connection between him and the crime becomes more and more tenuous until it's non-existent. When that happens, Freddie's accusation fell into this trope — immediately after he says that Red is the culprit, something occurs (like a phone call or telegram) to announce that Red is out of town or otherwise engaged, and thus couldn't have done it.
  • Ready Jet Go!:
    • In the episode "Jet's First Halloween", Mindy wants to see a witch fly across the moon on a broom. Mitchell insists that there's no way a witch could fly across the moon, and immediately afterward a witch does fly across the moon. Although, its really just Jet in disguise.
    • In that same episode, Sean says that for once, he doesn't feel space-sick. Immediately after saying this, he starts to feel sick (complete with his tummy gurgling right on cue).
  • The Real Ghostbusters: In "Camping It Up", the Ghostbusters find a Sasquatch/Bigfoot while on a camping vacation. When it's time for bed, Slimer asks where Bigfoot will sleep and Ray suggests the woods. Egon backs him up, saying Bigfoot prefer being at one with nature to civilized comforts ...and is promptly interrupted by the creature snoring. Bigfoot had fallen asleep in his fancy tent offscreen.
  • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: After Adora uses her princess powers to defeat a giant bug, Glimmer — not trusting any agent of the Horde — takes the sword off her and insists that they need to make sure she never does that again.
    [cue giant bug going berserk].
    Bow: [grabs sword] Do it again! Do it again!
  • Shrek the Halls: As Donkey pesters Shrek about Christmas, Shrek (who has never celebrated it before), insists that nobody around the swamp cares about it. At that moment, Fiona comes out with their babies and gushes over how excited she is for Christmas, forcing Shrek to try and put together a celebration to please them.
    Shrek: Donkey, will you get it through your thick head?! No-one here gives a hoot about Christmas!
    Fiona: [Walks out the door] A white Christmas! Oh, how perfect. And it's our first one together as a family. Isn't this exciting?
    Shrek: Uh... Oh, yeah! How 'bout that?
    Donkey: Ahem, Princess, I think there's a little something Shrek needs to tell— [Shrek silences him]
    Shrek: Don't ruin the surprise for her, Donkey.
  • The Simpsons:
    • "Rosebud": Burns is negotiating with Homer over the reward for finding his childhood toy, Bobo the teddybear;
      Burns: Naturally I can't afford to pay you much of a reward because I'm strapped for cash. [the ceiling above gives way and a heap of money and jewels fall around him, including a crown on his head] As you can see, this old place is falling apart.
    • "Homer the Vigilante":
      • When Marge complains about Homer and his vigilante team bringing firearms into the house, Homer tries to convince Marge that they're responsible adults who are able to handle firearms in a responsible way... only to be interrupted by several accidental discharges behind him.
      • After the people decide the Springfield Cat Burglar is not so bad after all and want him released from jail.
      Chief Wiggum: Oh, sorry folks. Gee, I really hate to spoil this little love-in, but Mr. Malloy broke the law. And when you break the law, you gotta go to jail.
      Mayor Quimby: Uh, that reminds me, er, here's your monthly kickback.
      Wiggum: You just... you couldn't have picked a worse time.
    • In "Girly Edition", Bart and Lisa become reporters at their school news station. Lisa tries a train story, standing next to some railroad tracks: "The old Union Pacific doesn't come by here much anymore..." Cue heavily labelled "Union Pacific" train going by for a very long time. Watch the scene here.
    • "Itchy & Scratchy Land":
      • As the Simpsons approach the titular theme park, the helicopter pilot declares it "the amusement park of the future, where nothing could possi-bligh go wrong." Upon recognizing his mispronunciation, he notes it's "the first thing that's ever gone wrong." It won't be the last.
      • Professor Frink is informing park staff that the Itchy and Scratchy robots will "eventually turn against their masters and run amok". But he adds that "According to my calculations, the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours." Immediately, all the robots start attacking the humans. Frink says in a slightly embarrassed tone, "Oh. I forgot to Carry the One."
    • In "King-Size Homer":
      Ralph: I heard your dad went to a restaurant and ate everything in the restaurant and they had to close the restaurant.
      Lisa: Hey, my dad may have gained a little weight, but he's not some kind of food-crazed maniac.
      [Homer drives by in a stolen ice-cream truck, vigorously stuffing his face]
  • In one episode of South Park, Jesus is interviewed and assures the audience that the conflict between the government and the farmers has been under control. Cue an explosion in the background.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants:
    • In "Rock Bottom", SpongeBob tries to assert his place in line for a bus pass only to find other "people" got there before him and he becomes 329th (then 333rd) in line.
    • In "Born Again Krabs", SpongeBob sticks up for Mr. Krabs to save him from the Flying Dutchman, wagering his own soul that Mr. Krabs is indeed generous. Within the next few minutes, Krabs proves just how cheap he is by agreeing to trade SpongeBob to the Dutchman for all the change in the Dutchman's pocket (a mere 62 cents) without hesitation or batting an eye.
    • In "Stuck in the Wringer", after SpongeBob gets stuck in a wringer (and thanks to Patrick, he's supposedly trapped in it forever), he bemoans that his life is ruined, but Patrick gives him a Rousing Speech that he can carry on with his life in spite of it. Turns out, however, that Patrick was wrong and SpongeBob really is incapable of doing anything while caught in the thing.
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: In "Much Ado About Boimler", when Tendi introduces the artificial dog she created, Rutherford says, "Just to be clear, this is a normal dog, and she's messing with us." The dog then twists itself into a vaguely spider-like form and climbs the walls.
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars: In "The Gungan General", Obi-Wan and Anakin both ask Dooku if his escape route is safe. Directly after he assures them it is and they open the door, they find themselves face-to-face with a wall of heavily armed pirates and end up shoved back in their cell.
  • Star Wars Rebels:
    • In "Relics of the Old Republic", as Kanan and the crew are finishing a mission, they check in with Hera on the Ghost, who notes that there's been no sign of the Empire. About three seconds later, an Imperial Star Destroyer pops out of hyperspace.
      Hera: Ugh, just had to say that.
    • In "Stealth Strike", Ezra stuns Kanan and Rex when they come to rescue him (since both were disguised as stormtroopers), and when they wake up, he tries to tell them they were knocked out in a big fight with Imperials, but they both fought well. They seem about to buy it until Chopper plays a holo of Ezra stunning them.
  • Steven Universe:
    • "Barn Mates": Peridot's attempt to fix her fractured relationship with Lapis ends when she asks Lapis "What do you want me to do?" and Lapis answers "Leave." Once Peridot stoically accepts this and walks off, Steven enters a big What the Hell, Hero? speech, ending with him dramatically saying that Peridot's never coming back again. Cue Peridot screaming in holy terror as she runs toward them, away from a spaceship that's suddenly appeared from Homeworld.
      Steven: Oh. She's coming back again.
    • In "Back to the Kindergarten", Peridot laments that nothing will ever grow in the Kindergarten, not even this flower. Subverted when it turns out she was right the first time; the flower is actually part of a corrupted Gem that tries to eat her.
    • "Change Your Mind": At the end, the Off-Colours finally arrive on Earth. Stepping off their ship, Rhodonite proclaims "No more Diamond Authority!" ...only to see the other recent arrivals at Beach City: Blue, Yellow and White Diamond (and Steven). Her reaction is "Welp, we're cracked." Fortunately, things actually aren't as bad as she might think.
    • In the same episode, Peridot boasts about how well they repaired some ships... at which point part of one falls off.
  • TaleSpin: In one episode Baloo decides to go do the one thing left he wants to do: fly across the Bearmuda Trapezoid. At the end, Rebecca is assuring him that she knew he'd come back and never doubted him for a moment, right before another pilot comes in asking about the job she had listed for Baloo's replacement.
  • Many instances in Teen Titans with Beast Boy, like the time he swears Mad Mod will never hypnotize him ever again and is then immediately hypnotized.
  • In the Halloween Special of What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Daphne suspects Velma's cousin Marcy to be behind the attacks of the Scarecrows and the Ghost of Hank Banning (mainly because she dislikes Marcy for getting too close to Fred and acting catty towards her) and asks where she was before she met the gang at the town square. Marcy explains she was working her part-time job at the mall and even shows them the security footage to prove it. Daphne doesn't believe the girl in the footage is Marcy at all, declaring it's not her before a guy outside the camera's field of vision calls out Marcy's name and the girl turns her head in response, leaving Daphne embarrassed. It turns out Daphne was right about Marcy being the culprit, albeit not for the reason she thinks. She even still believes that the girl in the security footage isn't Marcy until Velma corrects her.
  • Work It Out Wombats!: In "Zoom in Zadie," Mr. E thinks that no one will show up to help him. Cue Super and Malik arriving to help him.

    Real Life 
  • During the American invasion of Iraq, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf went on television to proclaim that American troops were stalled outside of Baghdad and killing themselves by the hundreds. As he insists that there are no American tanks near Baghdad, the sound of American tanks firing as they advance up the streets can be heard in the background.
  • In this infamous SAG Awards interview, a pair of reporters ask Mayim Bialik if she's ever been approached by fans who assume that she can do calculus because she plays a nerd on The Big Bang Theory. After a brief moment of being taken aback, Bialik comments that she does, in fact, know how to do calculus... because she has a doctorate in neuroscience. Bialik famously took a long hiatus from acting to get her advanced degree. You can practically see the reporters turning red as she politely schools them. ("You may not have known that?")
  • The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have two noteworthy examples:
    • After the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese cabinet was in the middle of discussing how to react, and speculating that that atomic bomb was probably the only one that the US had, when they received news that a second bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki.
    • Tsutomu Yamaguchi was best-known as the only person confirmed to have survived both atomic bombings.note  After narrowly surviving the bombing of Hiroshima while suffering serious burns, Yamaguchi returned to his hometown of Nagasaki and returned to work on the morning of August 9th despite still being injured. Reportedly, he was describing the incident to his supervisor, but the supervisor dismissed Yamaguchi's story as absurd even saying that he must have only imagined that a single bomb could have destroyed Hiroshima... and moments later, the second atomic bomb was dropped and destroyed Nagasaki.

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Commercial Free Sam & Max

The titular duo tries to inform the viewers that the entire episode will have no commercial breaks, to better assist their viewing pleasure. These announcements were, of course, cut short at every opportunity, first, just before the second act of the episode, and second, how the episode ended.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (13 votes)

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