Alice cites a statistic of some sort. Bob, however, believes this is untrue and asks Alice to give one example of this statistic. And Alice gives an example.
Occasionally, she will give more than one. Bob may say "Alright, enough already!" or "I said one!" Sometimes Bob will move the goalposts and ask for more than one afterward. Or, perhaps, a more Genre Savvy Bob will ask for more than one from the get-go, which is more likely (but not guaranteed) to stymie Alice.
Alternatively, Alice says "Um... there must be a million!" in a desperate effort to cover up the fact that she can't actually think of any.
May lead to a list of Everything Except Most Things.
Has nothing to do with Title One.
This is a recurring pattern in media? Name one example.
open/close all folders
Fan Works
- In Supernatural fanfic dean winchester is not a nicholas sparks protagonist
Dean tries to excuse his five-minute long Cas-ogling trance as "nature gazing." Sam doesn't buy it:
Sam: Name like, one plant ever, Dean.
Dean: Oak. Maple. Marijuana. - No Mouth But Some Serpent's:
James: Remus. There are so many things that you don't understand, so many things that have to come true.
Remus: Name one.
James: You know about the prophecy. - Freedom and Not Peace:
Harry: But most of the tasks I have are ones that only I can do. Either because of strength of magic, or because they're serving people who will only trust me.
Millicent: Name one.
Harry: My duties as vates, for instance. Most of the magical creatures won't see or converse with anyone but me. - In A Day Trip To Grimmauld Place Hermione refuses to tell Harry the distraction she arranged for Umbridge so he has plausible deniability when they go back to Hogwarts.
Sirius: You can tell me though. I can definitely keep a secret, can't I Moony?
Remus: Were you not the one who spilled to the whole school that James and Lily were dating after they specifically told you to keep quiet about it?
Sirius: That doesn't count Moony, that was news the school deserved to know. I've kept loads of other secrets.
Remus: Name one.
Sirius: I never revealed the secret about being an animagus.
Remus: You were constantly telling everyone that you were a dog, they just never took you literally. - In Foundations a dying Romilda makes Harry give a Deathbed Promise to find a good home for her four-year-old son.
Hermione: There are other options, you know. Lots of options...
Harry: Name one.
Hermione: Well, you could... look, Harry, I'm not for a moment suggesting you should, or are in a position to, raise someone else's child. But you have to remember that you always have a choice. - Lines Crossed:
Hermione: Have you ever heard of a wizards or witch turning themselves purposely into a bat!?
Ron: Yeah. Loads of times.
Hermione: Name one.
Ron: I... I'm... I'm going to bed! - Attraction:
Tracey: I take it one of the Gryffindors upset you?
Daphne: They're all insensitive gits!
Tracey: Now, you know that's not true. Just because they're brave and brash doesn't mean that all of them are insensitive...
Daphne: Name one! No, wait... why am I asking you? You'll just go into another one of your 'Gryffindors are so noble and bold' rants! - The Turning of the Tide:
James: What are you talking about, Marie fulfils all her responsibilities.
Sirius: She does, name one then. Has she united or tried to repair the broken bond between you and Charlus? Has she proposed any new business ideas or any new investment ideas so that it could benefit the Potter wealth? Has she made herself known in the political circles, tried to establish herself as a powerful individual belonging to a powerful house? - The Weight Of The Ring On His Finger:
Harry: Snape's been here for sixteen years or so.
Ron: I'm not sure who's argument you agree with, mate. That's a point in favour for both. Snape is a Death Eater yes, but he's also the absolute worst professor in the place.
Hermione: He's not the worst.
Ron: Name someone worse.
Harry: Lockhart. Umbridge. Quirrell. Do you want me to keep going? - In Unprecedented Competition Ron gets into an argument with Hermione about how liberal the Weasleys are.
Hermione: I bet some of your family's best friends are Muggles. Go on, name one!
- Goblets, Goblins, and Godparents:
Hermione: We-ell, it's true that there have been dark wizards who are parselmouths - like You-Know-Who. But Salazar Slytherin himself was a parselmouth, and I don't think anyone would call him dark. And there have been light wizards who are parselmouths, too.
Ron: Yeah? Name one.
Hermione/Neville: Paracelsus./Harry Potter. - The Trouble With Polyjuice:
Harry: There are many wizards more powerful than Voldemort, Tom.
Tom: Name one Harry Potter. Name one wizard that doesn't flinch at the mere mention of the great and powerful Lord Voldemort!
Harry: Dumbledore. Everybody knows that Voldemort was scared of Dumbledore. He's also done his worst to try and destroy my life and I will continue to deny giving him the satisfaction of being scared of him. - From Always to Forever:
Snape: There are a great many reasons why I cannot ask Aurora to marry me right now.
Harry: Yeah? Name one.
Snape: We've only had one date, and that was promptly ruined by men trying to kidnap her last year. - Strange Potter:
Dumbledore: Dr. Strange. Severus has risked his life and welfare to provide information to Voldemort's inner circle. His actions saved many.
Dr. Strange: Name them.
Dumbledore: I'm sorry?
Dr. Strange: Name someone his actions saved. [Silence] So he's not as valuable as you believe? - In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry and Hermione argue about whether dragons can be classified as monsters.
Harry: Giant, winged, fire-breathing lizards, sounds like a monster to me.
Hermione: But they're beautiful!
Harry: Monsters can be beautiful.
Hermione: Name one. - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
Harry: Actually, dripping blood on a dragon is probably still safer than chocolate cake is around you.
Ginny: There are things I like more than chocolate cake!
Luna: Name one.
Ginny: Harry's tongue in my mouth.
Film
- In Undercover Brother, they're discussing what party a prominent black general might run for President under. One character suggests he might go Republican:
Conspiracy Brother: Name one thing the Republican party has ever done for us!
Smart Brother: They're the party of Lincoln. He freed the slaves.
Conspiracy Brother: Okay, name two things lately! - Monty Python's Life of Brian: "Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the freshwater system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
- Brought peace.
- Oh, peace? Shut up!
- Brought peace.
- Major League (in the commercial but not the movie) and its sequel (in the actual movie):
Jake: That ball wouldn't have been out in a lot of parks.
Ricky: Name one.
Jake: Yellowstone. - In The Santa Clause 2, Lucy, Scott's ex-wife's daughter by her current husband and to whom Scott is an Honorary Uncle (correctly) thinks he's Santa because he owns a reindeer. He tries to dissuade her by saying plenty of people own reindeer, and she challenges him to name five. He can't, but covers by saying that all of those people live in Finland, and he can't pronounce their names (neither Lucy nor the reindeer are convinced by this).
- Dr. Dolittle: Used when the good doctor and his dog Lucky try to convince a suicidal tiger that there are popular tigers in pop culture.
Tiger: Okay. Name one.
Dolittle: ...
Lucky: How 'bout Tony?
Dolittle: ...Tony the cereal tiger?
Lucky: What? I didn't hear you come up with anything. - Cars: "When was the last time you cared about something except yourself, hot rod? You name me one time, and I will take it all back."
- The Guru has a moment where some Indian guys are debating if any of them can become famous in America, with the more cynical member demanding to know if there's any who've made it already. One of them enthusiatically says "that guy from The Simpsons!".
Literature
- In Stephen Manes' The Obnoxious Jerks Frank suggests inviting Leslie to join the Obnoxious Jerks. Joe disagrees and Frank argues that it's because she's a girl.
Joe: Okay. Have it your way. Because she's a girl. Did you ever hear of a group like ours—like the Lords—like fraternities and sororities—that was girls and boys together? Name one.
Live-Action TV
- Acapulco H.E.A.T. episode "Code Name: Frame-Up"
Mike Savage: Who'd want to work with you?
Ashley: I can think of lots of people.
Mike: Name one.
Ashley: Mike Savage.
Mike: You got me there, didn't you. - Beverly Hills, 90210 episode "Beach Blanket Brandon"
Scott Scanlon: Name one thing fun about Oklahoma.
David Silver: I'll betcha not one girl there has ever met a California stud before. - Bewitched episode "A Change of Face"
Samantha: He's got very good features.
Endora: Name one.
Samantha: Well, he has a nice firm jaw. - The Big Bang Theory:
Leonard: [to Sheldon, when he's freaking out about Penny's unsanitary chair] You do this all the time. You fixate on some crazy idea and then blow it way out of proportion.
Sheldon: Name one time I've ever done that.
Leonard: [gives him a disbelieving look, as do Raj and Howard] How about when you put GPS trackers in your garbage because you were convinced North Korean spies were stealing your doodles? The chicken nuggets that you were sure were human nuggets? The strangely-shaped cloud that was following you around town? The time you put my shirt on by mistake and were sure you started growing again!
Sheldon: [Beat] I said name one. You really need to work on your listening skills. - Boy Meets World
Gloria: Name one thing you got me that ever made me feel special.
Harley: Tires. Steel belted. - Cheers episode "Someday My Prince Will Come"
Sam Malone: There was only one reason why you ever went out with me and that was because of my looks.
Diane Chambers: Not entirely.
Sam: Yes entirely. Name one other reason why anyone would go out with me? Come on, name one. You can't, can you?
Diane: [mockingly] No Sam, I can't. - In the Corner Gas episode "Lacey Borrows":
Oscar Leroy: Horror movies are stupid. Name one good horror movie you've seen.
Brent Leroy: I can't.
Oscar: See? They're all stupid.
Brent: No. I just haven't seen one.- Also:
Oscar: Give me one good reason why I can't build my own coffin.
Emma: Okay.
[Montage of shoddy woodworking projects Oscar has done]
Oscar: ...I said one reason!
- Also:
- From Drake & Josh:
Josh: There are more important things than kissing girls.
Drake: Name two.
Josh: [sadly] I can't! - Extras episode "Orlando Bloom"
Keith Chegwin: Black people aren't funny.
Andy Millman: Black people are funny, Keith.
Keith: Name one black person that's funny.
Andy: I can name you loads of black people that are funny... Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy.
Keith: British.
Andy: Don't change the rules halfway through. - Firefly episode "War Stories"
Mal: [about Zoe] There's plenty orders a'mine that she didn't obey.
Wash: Name one!
Mal: She married you! - Frasier: Roz says she doesn't want to sit with Niles, as he always has some snide remark to make.
Niles: Name one!
Roz: Well, last week, you told me my bedroom was easier to get into than a community college.
Niles: [sheepish grin]...I was hoping that would be the one you'd name. - Friends
Phoebe: You name one woman that you broke up with for a real reason.
Chandler: Maureen Rosilla.
Ross: "'Cause she doesn't hate Yanni" is not a real reason.- When Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother of triplets, he wants to name one of the babies Joey or Chandler:
Joey: You gotta pick Joey! I mean, name one famous person named Chandler.
Chandler: Raymond Chandler.
Joey: Someone you didn’t make up!
- When Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother of triplets, he wants to name one of the babies Joey or Chandler:
- Homicide: Life on the Street
Det. John Munch: Name one miracle that's happened in your lifetime.
Det. Stan Bolander: How 'bout the fact that I haven't killed you yet? - Hollyoaks
Declan: Name me one band with two singers.
Steph Dean: The Beatles.
Declan: Apart from The Beatles.
Steph: Oasis. Oh, and Abba!
Declan: Do we look like Abba? - In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode covering the film Hobgoblins, what starts as Crow's counterpoint to the film's portrayal of females turns into a conspiracy-ladden documentary where he wonders whether women even exist in the first place.
Mike: Y'know, Crow, you do know women, what about Pearl?
Crow: [Beat] Okay, so one woman exists, does that mean all women exist?
Mike: [to camera] We'll be right back.
Crow: Name me one other woman, go ahead!
Mike: Well, I... [trails off into confusion] - NCIS
Caitlin Todd: Hmm. Well, I hate to break it to you, Tony, but Gibbs can be wrong sometimes.
Anthony DiNozzo: Name one.
Caitlin: The man's been married, like, four times. - NewsRadio episode "Movie Star"
Dave Nelson: I'll have you know that a lot of intellectual people watch television.
Lisa Miller: Oh, really? Name one.
Dave: Dave Nelson. - Press Gang
Kenny: There are lots of people I don't like. [snip]
Lynda: Name one. [snip]
Kenny: Oh, I don't like Mr. Cavendish the maths teacher.
Lynda: Well, nobody likes him, he's a half-dead, senile, old psychopath!
Kenny: Oh Lynda, he's not that bad. - In Red Dwarf a depressed Lister, who has recently lost his right arm, challenges the others to name someone who lost an arm and went on to lead a normal life. They readily give an answer – Horatio Nelson – but then Lister says "Name five." The other answers they end up giving are much less convincing: the Venus de Milo (a statue), Vincent van Gogh (despite Lister pointing out he had one ear), "that one-armed guy from The Fugitive" (a murderer), and Lister himself.
- Stargate SG-1:
Gen. Hammond: Are you saying Colonel O'Neill has, somehow, regressed more than 30 years overnight?
Dr. Jackson: Stranger things have happened.
Teal'c: Name but one.
Dr. Jackson: Well, there was the time he got really old, the time he became a caveman, the time we all swapped bodies...
Gen. Hammond: Thank you, Dr. Jackson, I get the point. - In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Civil Defense," Quark challenges Odo to name a more devious Ferengi than him. Odo responds with Grand Nagus Zek, Daimon Tye, Quark's brother Rom, his uncle Frin, his cousin Gaila...
- Star Trek: Enterprise: "Terra Nova."
Trip: Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions.
T'Pol: Name one.
Trip: [Beat] History was never my best subject. - Invoked in Yes, Prime Minister:
Hacker: If he does say that lots of people want to know the answer to that question, say, "Name six." That'll fix him. He'll never be able to remember more than two.
- Roseanne:
Roseanne: I got plenty of reasons to dump you.
Dan: Name one.
Roseanne: You're a compulsive list-maker.
Dan: Name two.
Roseanne: Shut up. - An early Supernatural episode:
Dean: I love kids!
Sam: Name three children that you even know. [Dean scratches his head, Sam walks off]
Dean: I'm thinking!
Radio
- In the John Finnemore's Double Acts episode "The Wroxton Box", Percy tries to downplay the fact he's taking a train to Oxford as entirely normal. Alec challenges him to name one time he's done it before. He comes up with one ... only it was years ago.
Alec: All right, name another.
Percy: Well, if you're going to be like that, we'll be here all day.
Alec: You see, I'm not sure we would. - LBC presenter James O'Brien, a fierce critic of Brexit, often receives calls from pro-Brexit individuals who are, putting it mildly, coming unarmed to a battle of wits. They will often complain about the supposed many instances of Corruption within the EU, or mention the notion that soon Britain will be free of onerous EU rules, to which this trope is O'Brien's inevitable response. After which, typically, no onerous rules are cited, no instances of corruption are recalled, and the caller tries to plough on regardless, only to be hauled up short with a repeat of the demand to name one single instance of the thing they are complaining about. But can one single example of this be provided? Will these suffice?
Stand-Up Comedy
- George Carlin, after wondering why when it's a human it's an abortion, and when it's a chicken it's an omelette, posits that "chickens are decent people", then challenges the audience:
Name six ways we're better than chickens! [Beat] See, nobody can do it! Y'know why? 'Cuz chickens are decent people!
Video Games
- In Sonic Colors, after Dr. Eggman claims Sonic hasn't foiled all of his plans, Cubot asks him to name one, which Eggman is unable to do.
Web Animation
- A variation on the phrase from Spiderman 3: How It Should Have Ended
Spider-Man: This is my third movie ... You think they're gonna kill me off? No! Look, do you know of any movies where they kill the title character off at the end?
Eddie Brock: Donnie Darko. Old Yeller. Romeo and Juliet.
Spider-Man: Yeah, I didn't think so!
Web Comics
- One Exterminatus Now strip subverts it. Lothar asks Virus and Harry to give them five reasons they should help them out. They start to answer, then after a beat ask why five. Lothar says because it's less likely they can come up with that many reasons.
Web Original
- Variation: in Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction, Washington asks the Red and Blue teams to name just one thing that ever happened to them that wasn't preceded by a call to command, or getting a new team member or piece of equipment. The difference here is that no one says anything, because nothing ever did happen.
- In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Abridged, Jotaro notes that the reason Dio's so mean is because he doesn't have any friends.
Dio: I got friends... I got lots of friends.
Jotaro: Oh, yeah?
Dio: Yeah!
Jotaro: Oh, really?
Dio: Yeah! Yeah, that's right!!
Jotaro: Okay, name one.
Dio: I can name seven!! There's... there's Stan... and... and Gavin... Muhammad... another Muhammad... Bro Josh... Robocop...
Jotaro: [interrupts] You're not friends with Robocop.
Dio: [angry] Yes I am! It says so on Facebook!!
Jotaro: Facebook doesn't count!
Dio: Yes it does!! - From the Bum Review of The Secret Life of Arrietty while Chester A. Bum is pretending to be two separate people:
Every time a character goes through an operation they always come out okay.
Not always.
Name five!
Okay. [counts on hand] Shut the hell up, Bitch.
Western Animation
- Family Guy
- From "Ocean's Three and a Half":
Brian: Wow, a song named after a girl. There aren't a million of those already.
Stewie: Name twenty.
Brian: Rosanna, Roxanne, Michelle, Alison, Sarah, Angie, Brandy, Mandy, Gloria, Cecilia, Maggie May, Jessica, Nancy, Barbara Ann, Billie Jean, Layla, Lola, Polly, Helena, Jenny from the Block.
Stewie: Name six more.
Brian: Sherry, Laura, Wendy, Maria, Peggy Sue, Minnie the Moocher.
Stewie: Name five more.
Brian: Tracy, Jean, Jane, Mary Ann, Eleanor Rigby.
Stewie: Go fuck yourself.- From "Fresh Heir":
Brian: Look, Carter. I suppose you're entitled to do what you want, but, you know, I'm just saying if it were me, I would give all the money to charity.
Carter: Oh yeah? Which charity?
Brian: Well, there are just so many that do such great work.
Carter: Name just one.
Brian: Um... well, you know. Poor... Green... Whale... Guns... Books?
Carter: You are such a fraud. [Cut to a green whale holding a gun and a book]
Whale: Why won't anyone help us? - In "The Most Interesting Man in the World", Peter becomes an Insufferable Genius and replaces the family TV set with a bookshelf, claiming reading is more enriching than watching TV. Brian attempts to talk literature with Peter to sound smart but he couldn't even name one book he's read when Peter calls his bluff.
Brian: Finally another reader in the family. You know these are some of my favorite books and authors.
Peter: Oh? What are you reading right now?
Brian: Um, I'm actually between books right now.
Peter: Yeah? What was the last thing you read?
Brian: Well, eh, I'm actually re-reading a lot of stuff.
Peter: Yea? Like what?
Brian: Umm, the classics... you know... going back to the basics really. [chuckles nervously] Words on the printed page. Thank you Steve Guttenberg. [knocks on the bookshelf] What is this, oak?
- The Simpsons
- From "Lisa's Sax":
Homer: Marge, name one successful person in life who ever lived without air conditioning.
Marge: Balzac!
Homer: No need for potty mouth just because you can't think of one. - Also from "Bart the Lover":
Homer: Can you believe it!? Pretty soon, I'll be able to quit my job and live off the boy!
Marge: What? Name me one person who's gotten rich by doing yo-yo tricks!
Homer's Brain: Donald Trump? ... No. Arnold Palmer? ... No. Bill Cosby! ... No.
Homer: D'oh! - From "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings":
Marge: You miss way too many precious moments in the children's lives.
Homer: What?! Name 12.
Bart: Well, just this week, there's been field day, picking me up from the airport...
Lisa: And the Father/Daughter Dance...
- From "Lisa's Sax":
- Daria:
Upchuck: You'll be back. They all come back.
Jane: Name two.
Upchuck: ....I could! - From the Futurama episode "Less Than Hero":
Leela: Are you crazy? We have to keep our secret identities secret.
Fry: From everybody?
Leela: Especially from everybody.
Fry: Give several reasons why.
Leela: For one, superheroes cause a lot of collateral damage, and we don't wanna get our butts sued.
Fry: Or do we? No, I guess not.
Leela: Also, if our identities get out, every crook in the city will be after us. Or, God forbid, our loved ones.
Bender: Superking has no need for loved ones. [kicks an orphan who asks him for an autograph] - In The Magic School Bus episode on recycling:
Phoebe: But Wanda, think about all the good things that recycling does.
Wanda: Okay Phoebe, name three.
Phoebe: Well, um, I just know there's lots! note - In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik challenges Sonic to name one mistake he's made. Sonic names two: Scratch and Grounder, who pop out when they hear their names being called. Robotnik concedes the point.
- In Aqua Teen Hunger Force Shake and Meatwad are reminiscing. Frylock asks them if they remember the time he saved their asses. Shake says "Name one time! One!". Cue a montage of Frylock saving them dozens of times set to Andrew W.K.'s "Party Party Party".
- In an episode of Rugrats, Chuckie is complaining about his red hair, but Tommy tries to cheer him up saying lots of famous people have red hair. Chuckie says, "Name one." Tommy has to think for a second before finally saying Bozo the Clown. Chuckie isn't satisfied with that answer.
- South Park had the exact same setup but managed to back up the claim by mentioning Ron Howard as a good example of a celebrity redhead...then failing to list anyone else.
- In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "She's All Yak", Yona the yak causes a disaster at the Fetlock Fete. When she's confronted by Sandbar, who accompanied her to the Fete, she calls herself "Worst Pony Ever".
Sandbar: That's not true.
Yona: Really? Sandbar, name two ponies worse than Yona.
Sandbar: Cozy Glow and Sombra.
Yona: Okay, Sandbar right. They worse.
Okay, okay, we get the picture! Only asked for one...
