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Films — Live-Action
Gyro Captain: [watching Max salvage a shotshell, and pop open the empty chamber to load it] Empty! All this time...! That's dishonest, LOW! Hey, hey, how do I know THAT one's not a dud?
Max: [shoves the barrel in his face] Find out.
Max: [shoves the barrel in his face] Find out.
Westley: Now, I'll need a sword eventually.
Inigo: Why? You can't even lift one.
Westley: True, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it?
Inigo: Why? You can't even lift one.
Westley: True, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it?
Literature
The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. "Make it evil," he'd been told. "Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sort of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with."
— The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, on the Kill-o-Zap gun
Sergeant Jackrum: How can you protect yourself by carrying a sword if you don't know how to use it?
Maladict: Not me, sir. Other people. They see the sword and don't attack me.
Sergeant Jackrum: Yes, but if they did, lad, you wouldn't be any good with it.
Maladict: No, sir. I'd probably settle for just ripping their heads off, sir.
Maladict: Not me, sir. Other people. They see the sword and don't attack me.
Sergeant Jackrum: Yes, but if they did, lad, you wouldn't be any good with it.
Maladict: No, sir. I'd probably settle for just ripping their heads off, sir.
Live Action TV
"There's a saying in interrogation: Violence perceived is violence achieved."
— Michael, Burn Notice
"Y'know, where I'm from, that weapon is the difference between life or death. You pull it out, you better be ready to use it. It's not for show."
— Frank Castle, The Punisher (2017)
"This
... [lifts a staff weapon] is a weapon of terror. It's made to... intimidate the enemy. [throws staff weapon away] This [lifts the P-90] is a weapon of war. It is made to kill your enemy."
... [lifts a staff weapon] is a weapon of terror. It's made to... intimidate the enemy. [throws staff weapon away] This [lifts the P-90] is a weapon of war. It is made to kill your enemy."— Colonel O'Neill, Stargate SG-1
O'Neill: Okay, look. This all obviously isn't your... forte. So why don't you put that gun down, before you get hurt...? (reaches for the desk drawer he's standing behind)
Joe: Don't come any closer!
O'Neill: (casually) I know your gun isn't real. However... (pulls gun out of drawer) Mine is~!
Joe: Oh God! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're right, it's just a toy! (drops fake gun) Please don't shoot me!
O'Neill: ...I'm not gonna shoot ya.
— Stargate SG-1, Citizen Joe
Tabletop Games
"A Mech as powerful as possible, as impenetrable as possible, and as ugly and foreboding as conceivable, so that fear itself will be our ally."
— Aleksandr Kerensky, describing the design goals for the Atlas assault mech from BattleTech
Video Games
The power of this mine is not in its use, but in the possibility of its use. It's a potent explosive, yet small enough to be hidden in a trunk. It could go almost anywhere in London. You never need let it explode. It's enough that people know it could.
— Retrieving the Unexploded Mine, Fallen London
Webcomics
Schlock: I made a matching pair of sawed-off multicannons.
Kevyn: Schlock, the entire length of the barrel is an integral part of a multicannon. Plasma couplings and aperture controls are gone, there's no autotracking... those weapons are now a menace to anything standing within a hundred meters of you.
Schlock: Perfect. I'm going for intimidation value, here.
Kevyn: I'd be more comfortable if you strapped grenades to your chest.
Schlock: Sounds like I cut the barrel in just the right place, then.
Kevyn: Schlock, the entire length of the barrel is an integral part of a multicannon. Plasma couplings and aperture controls are gone, there's no autotracking... those weapons are now a menace to anything standing within a hundred meters of you.
Schlock: Perfect. I'm going for intimidation value, here.
Kevyn: I'd be more comfortable if you strapped grenades to your chest.
Schlock: Sounds like I cut the barrel in just the right place, then.
Ebbirnoth: Look sharp, and look tough. Your weapons ain't just for show, but they do need to show.
Nick: What about TAG, an' the tanks? They've got bigger, scarier guns than us. Shouldn't they be doin' the showin' off?
Ebbirnoth: They will be, but not everybody is smart enough to know that a weapon the size of a house is actually a weapon.
Nick: I'm smart enough to know that.
Ebbirnoth: Good point. But I don't want to get shot just because I didn't believe anyone could be dumber than you.
Nick: What about TAG, an' the tanks? They've got bigger, scarier guns than us. Shouldn't they be doin' the showin' off?
Ebbirnoth: They will be, but not everybody is smart enough to know that a weapon the size of a house is actually a weapon.
Nick: I'm smart enough to know that.
Ebbirnoth: Good point. But I don't want to get shot just because I didn't believe anyone could be dumber than you.
Sykes: He's just a boy! He ain't gonna do no-
Sheriff: Nobody move! None of you!
Sykes: But-
Sheriff: Frank Sykes, you shut your damn mouth! And if you want to see your Mary again you'll think twice before condescending to that boy when he's got a rifle in his hand!
Sheriff: Nobody move! None of you!
Sykes: But-
Sheriff: Frank Sykes, you shut your damn mouth! And if you want to see your Mary again you'll think twice before condescending to that boy when he's got a rifle in his hand!
Western Animation
Loan Shark: Sir, if you're calling me a liar, you'd better be holding something stronger than an umbrella.
Hank Hill: Nine-iron.
Loan Shark: ...Y'all have a nice day.
Hank Hill: Nine-iron.
Loan Shark: ...Y'all have a nice day.
—King of the Hill, "Texas City Twister"
