"Somebody oughta belt you in the mouth, but I won't. I won't. [punches] The hell I won't!"
— George Washington McLintock, McLintock!
The enemy is taunting you. He's making fun of your parentage and the size of your manhood. Nevertheless, you start walking away from the confrontation. Maybe you're severely outnumbered or maybe you just want to be the better man. After all, Jesus said, "Turn the Other Cheek." But maybe you have friends or lovers watching. Maybe the guy is taunting a fallen comrade. Maybe he starts making veiled threats to your loved ones. Suddenly you turn the other fist and strike, taking your enemy totally off guard.
Turning the other fist is sure to surprise your enemy and give you an edge in an uneven fight. It's one of the few dirty tricks a Hero can pull off because that moment of turning away seems to involve a deep moral conflict, even when it doesn't.
Related to I Surrender, Suckers and "Hey, You!" Haymaker. Not to be confused with My Fist Forgives You... usually.
Examples
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Film — Animated
- Toy Story:
Buzz Lightyear: I just want you to know that, even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet.
Woody: Oh, well, that's good.
Buzz: But we're not on my planet, are we?
Film — Live-Action
- In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Hermione Granger threatens bully Draco Malfoy with her wand then turns away, seemingly ending the altercation. She then whips around and punches him in the nose. This especially stands out because wizards rarely fight with anything but magic.
- McLintock! is the Trope Maker. John Wayne's character G.W. was briefly held at gunpoint by an upset new settler whose daughter has gone missing. After the distraction caused by the daughter and her new beau showing up, G.W. seizes the gun and after saying he won't do anything to the settler...he ends up giving the above page quote.
- Money Train plays with this. Foster brothers John and Charlie have made a tactic out of this. In a high stress situation where a fight is about to start, (usually with a coworker, boss, or someone else it would be a bad idea to start a fight with) one of the brothers will pretend to act as the peacekeeper/Only Sane Man by stopping his brother from throwing a punch, and then go ahead and do it himself. So, for example:
Charlie: (Goes to hit Jerkass fellow cop who is insulting him, then John stops him)
John: (Has back to Jerkass cop as he speaks) Charlie, you're not going to hit him!
Charlie: Why not?
John: Because I'm going to hit him! (John turns and lands a surprise punch on unprepared Jerkass)- And at the end Charlie holds John back from punching Patterson, who then does the expected thing... except John then holds Charlie back from hitting him...and then they say, "We both hit him!" (double punch out)
- In My Cousin Vinny, on the third encounter with the Big Pool Player who owes Marisa Tomei $200, Vinny is distracted and in a hurry, and waves the guy off as he, the Alabaman, taunts the New Yorker with the $200. Waves him off, waves him away, tackle. Vinny gets back up $200 richer, hardly breaking his stride.
- In She's the Man, Viola's ex-boyfriend Justin does this to Duke at the carnival.
- Star Wars: In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker seems to turn away from the Emperor's taunting, but suddenly swings back to force grab his saber and take a slash at the old fart. Darth Vader blocks him.
- The title character of Thor is almost persuaded to leave Jotunheim without a fight... until he gets called "princess".
Live-Action TV
- In The O.C., episode "The Model Home", Ryan laughs and half-turns from Luke before punching him.
- Star Trek: The Original Series' famous episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" features one by good ol' Scotty when a Klingon insults the Enterprise, hitting his Berserk Button.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: This is how Picard as a cadet started that fight with those Nausicaans that earned him a knife through the chest in Tapestry, after one of them said he had no guramba and calls him a coward for trying to turn away from a gaming dispute.
- Subverted in Torchwood: Miracle Day, where Gwen goes to pull this off, but Jack grabs her before she can punch the other guy.
- In the 2009 remake of V (2009), Tyler Evans turns away from some anti-Visitor protesters before swinging around to punch one in the face in order to impress Visitor Lisa, his love interest.
Webcomics
- In Nip and Tuck, Tuck gets in a Turn the Other Foot KICK here....
with some rather painful consequences.
