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troperville

A Stock Phrase that uses an analogy to make a point. Someone has tried to make a point about something; in response, someone points out something obvious that contradicts it in this fashion:

"Nothing can possibly go wrong. We're in love!"

"So were Romeo and Juliet."

Often makes correct use of something commonly used in an Analogy Backfire and/or lampshades Tempting Fate. Thus, it is usually the territory of the Genre Savvy and Deadpan Snarkers.

Super Trope to Hitler Ate Sugar. Hitler Ate Sugar is supposed to argue that doing something is evil because someone else who was evil did it, too. So Was X is supposed to argue that someone or something could be incorrect or just as dangerous as something else (the X).

Examples

Comic Books

In Watchmen, an astonished Nite Owl doesn't understand how Ozymandias could be involved with the nefarious plot against costumed superheroes, when he's such an incredibly good person as well as a vegetarian. Rorschach points out that Hitler was a vegetarian, too.
In the Judge Dredd Spin-Off The Simping Detective, Jack Point lights up a cigar in Sector Chief Daveez's office and makes it clear that he knows Daveez played a significant role in a criminal case he was investigating and covered it up. Daveez responds by grabbing Point by his jacket lapels and threatening him to drop the case, the exchange ends,
Daveez: ...And smoking's still illegal, creep.
Jack: (points to the martini glass on his desk) Yeah. Heh, so's alcohol.

Film

In Johnny Mnemonic, Johnny insists that trying to make a deal with the evil corporation is a good idea, explaining that they'd be willing to make a deal because they're corporate.
Jane: So is the Yakuza.
In Matilda, Miss Honey tries to show Miss Trunchbull how smart Matilda is:
Miss Honey: She can multiply large numbers instantly in her head.
Miss Trunchbull: So can a calculator.
In Stripes, when thinking of how to rescue their platoon from Czech soldiers:
Russell Ziskey: Do the words "Act of war" mean anything to you?
John Winger: I have a plan.
Russell: Great. Custer had a plan, too.
Dogma:
The Metatron: I am to charge you with a holy crusade.
Bethany Sloan: For the record, I work in an abortion clinic.
The Metatron: Noah was a drunk, and look what he accomplished—and no one's asking you to build an ark!
Played for Laughs in Soap Dish:
David: I was under orders.
Celeste: So was Hitler! Oh, no, I don't mean Hitler, I mean the other guy.
David: Himmler? Hess?
Rose: Eichmann?
David: Eichmann.
Celeste: Yes! Eichmann! That's you!

Literature

From P.G. Wodehouse's "Honeysuckle Cottage":
"Don't do it." said Mr McKinnon, a stout bachelor. "You're too young to marry."
"So was Methuselah," said James, a stouter.

Live Action TV

From an episode of the last season of Monk, where the prosecutor is worried the Suspect of the Week will walk:
Stottlemeyer: Relax, the guy is clearly guilty.
Prosecutor: So was OJ.
From Lost:
Hurley: Do not open that! There's dynamite and it's mega-unstable.
Richard: I know that.
Hurley: Well, so did Dr. Arzt. And I was wiping him out of my shirt two days later.
From The Jeffersons, during one of the many times George brags about his wealth:
George: I worked my way from the bottom up to the top!
Helen: So does a gopher!
Doctor Who, "Robot":
The Doctor: Never cared much for the word "impregnable." Sounds a bit too much like "unsinkable."
Harry: What's wrong with "unsinkable"?
The Doctor: Nothing. As the iceberg said to the Titanic.
Harry: What?
The Doctor: Gloop, gloop, gloop, gloop, gloop, gloop, gloop.
- The same metaphor was revisited in the new series, "End of the World":
  Jabe: This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha Class. Nothing can go wrong.
  The Doctor: Unsinkable?
  Jabe: If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate.
  The Doctor: You're telling me. I was on board another ship once they said that was unsinkable. I ended up clinging to an iceberg. It wasn't half cold.

Web Original

From the Marvel/DC Harry Potter Parody:
Professor X: You're the chosen one.
Spiderman: Yeah, so was Anakin Skywalker! And look how well that turned out!

Real Life

Seen on various message boards:
Hemlock is both natural and organic.
- From comedian Matt Kershen:
Heroin is natural. Nicotine is natural. A pack of wild wolves is natural! Natural doesn't mean safe!

Some of My Best Friends Are X

alternative title(s): So Is X

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