A character giving a long and involved explanation or speech glances over and notices his audience is distracted and busy doing something else, or just deliberately waiting until the speaker shuts up. This mostly tends to happen when the
Big Bad is all excited about telling his "evil" plan, only to find out that nobody cares or being interrupted and attacked.
Named for the typical gag shot of this trope, where the ignoring characters sit down and have some tea.
In America!, you're likely to hear
Chirping Crickets instead.
Examples
Anime and Manga
- Happened on a semi-regular basis in The Slayers.
- Also occasionally happens on Pokemon, usually when Team Rocket are reciting their motto.
- In one case, the main characters even twigged that they could use this time to rescue the 'mons.
- In an early episode, Meowth makes a threatening monologue towards Pikachu, then finds that his fellow Team Rocket Pokemon (Koffing and Ekans) are ignoring him and having a tea break.
- In an very early episode, A battle comes down to Ash's Metapod (coccons capable only of hardening themselves to defend from attacks) and his opponent's. In the middle of this stalemate, the camera cuts to Misty in a bathing suit getting some sun. Those must have been some really dedicated trainers to not notice a girl changing clothes right next to them.
- Hey, Pokémon battles are Serious Business. And Brock wasn't introduced until the next episode.
- In a recent episode featuring Team Galactic, they easily set up and execute their counterattack in the length of time necessary for Team Rocket to deliver the motto.
- Kakashi's typical response to Gai's impassioned declarations of rivalry is to glance up from his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and ask "Hmm? Were you saying something?"
- In a recent episode of Zettai Karen Children, Mio called a Long Transformation Sequence Tea Time.
- An episode of Ouran High School Host Club had the St. Lobelia girls making an impassioned speech... pan to the Host Club sitting on the couch, utterly bored. One of the twins is playing on a Nintendo DS.
Live Action TV
- In the Frasier episode "Ask Me No Questions," Frasier is speaking to Martin, who gets up, leaves the apartment to fetch the paper, and returns just in time to absent-mindedly agree with whatever Frasier had been talking about, all without Frasier realizing. Later, the same thing happens when he's speaking with Daphne (she goes to catch up with friends and buy some coffee). Frasier is completely oblivious.
- Doctor Who, "The Planet Of The Ood". When Donna steps out of the TARDIS and sees the awesome snowy vistas of the Oodsphere, her first impression is that it's bloody freezing. The Doctor encourages her to see the wider picture, appreciate the incredible views, consider how amazing it is that an average woman from Chiswick who was getting up, working, coming home, watching telly and going to bed is now traveling across space and time to land on alien worlds...and finds she's gone back into the TARDIS to get a coat.
Video Games
- Kael'thas Sunstrider. Players died because they didn't realize he'd finally finished his speech and had started attacking them again.
- In Shadow Hearts: Covenant, one of the villains is giving a monologue about how the party is doomed, etc. However, he's doing this while sitting on a floating pillow, leading to the party discussing how the pillow floats. When he finishes, Yuri has only one question: "Where can I get one of those pillows?"
Webcomics
WesternAnimation
- [1] During half a minute of stock footage (noted by fans to be generally annoying), the bad guy manages to climb a construction site to get away.
