History Main / AccidentalTruth

It looks like a character is going to get caught out in a lie that they told, but then they're unexpectedly saved - they didn't know it, but what they said was correct all along, or has become correct quickly enough that they're safe. Maybe it's just a lucky coincidence, or maybe one of their friends quickly and quietly arranged things to save them, but either way, they've avoided having their lie exposed.

* In one episode of ''AbsolutePower'' (the original radio version), Archie hires Prentiss [=McCabe=] to embarrass the Prime Minister, who's been getting a bit too full of himself lately. Martin makes up a story about the PM making plans to abolish the monarchy and set himself up as President. Turns out such plans were discussed, albeit not as a serious proposal... and Archie wrote up the document, making him the obvious scapegoat when the government goes into damage limitation mode.

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* At the beginning of ''LesMiserables'', Valjean is caught after stealing the bishop's silver, and makes up the story that the bishop gave it to him as a present. The skeptical policemen take him to the bishop, and the bishop surprises both them and Valjean by confirming the story and adding more valuable gifts on top. Cue HeelFaceTurn.

** Also "think you can hide a broken heart" when Jen has [[spoiler: King Iblis']] broken heart behind her.
** "Life is behind you" by Abaddon when [[spoiler: Lewis]] sneaking up behind Jen. A double dose because [[spoiler: Lewis ''is'' Jen's life, as far as she's concerned.]].

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Manga and Anime]]
* In episode 26 of ''{{Nichijou}}'', the girls decide to celebrate Nano's birthday on little more than a whim of Yuuko. They even go so far as to buy her a cake. Nano's simply left wondering how her friends knew it was her birthday.
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* In Webcomic/TheFancyAdventuresOfJackCannon, Angel calls the titular Jack "the toughest guy in the universe" early on, before any action had occurred. She wasn't very far from the mark.

* There's a pretty brutal version of it in ''The Wall'' by Jean Paul Sartre. A political prisoner is given the choice between execution or turning traitor and giving the location of a collaborator. At the last moment, he delays the execution by making up a location. The army searches...and it turns out the collaborator was there the whole time. He is killed, and the man goes free.

* In TheFancyAdventuresOfJackCannon, Angel calls the titular Jack "the toughest guy in the universe" early on, before any action had occurred. She wasn't very far from the mark.

* At the beginning of LesMiserables, Valjean is caught after stealing the bishop's silver, and makes up the story that the bishop gave it to him as a present. The skeptical policemen take him to the bishop, and the bishop surprises both them and Valjean by confirming the story and adding more valuable gifts on top. Cue HeelFaceTurn.

* An interesting variant, where the character never learns he was telling the truth, in the Smallville episode "Harvest". The TownWithADarkSecret attributes their health and vitality to HumanSacrifice, but the sheriff tells Clark it's down to the [[GreenRocks Blue K]] in the water. It is.
* Played with in an episode of BurnNotice - Michael goes to a lot of trouble FramingTheGuiltyParty as being an undercover cop, only he hid the fake evidence a little too well, and the guy's boss almost doesn't find it. At the last moment, he finds... different evidence. Turns out the guy ''was'' an undercover cop; cue OhCrap moment.

* Similarly, ''The Rainmaker'' and the musical version ''[[OneHundredTenInTheShade 110 in the Shade]]'' end with Starbuck's promise of rain in twenty-four hours coming true after he admitted it was all a con.

* Used in TalesOfTheAbyss. The party needs to head to Chesedonia to find out [[spoiler:if Largo is really Natalia's father by asking her wet nurse]]. Jade tells [[spoiler:Natalia]] that the rest of the party heard a travelling Scorer was reading false prophecies in Chesedonia. Guess what they find when they get there. Jade even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades it,]] saying "It seems our lie has become the truth."

* An episode of ''ILoveLucy'' has Lucy and Ethel running a raffle to raise money for "Women Overseas Aid," a charity they make up on the spot on the basis of, "We're women, we want to go overseas, and boy do we need aid." Eventually they figure out that doing such a thing is illegal, but just as they collect all the money, a representative from the ''real'' Women Overseas Aid organization shows up to collect their generous donation.

* ''TheMusicMan''. Professor Harold Hill cons the citizens of River City into paying for uniforms and instruments with the promise that he'll train their children into a band. He does so using a "think" system which couldn't possibly work, but in the end the children learn to play anyway and he's saved from being punished.
** Subverted in some performances, where it is shown that the children can't really play at all, but the community adults find them so cute that no one notices.

** He's also surprised when he is able to say that he really wanted to see his son that day. "How 'bout that, I do."

* Happens in ''ElGoonishShive'' when Susan [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-06-27 tells her mother that Justin is gay]] so that she won't mind him staying the night. Turns out he is.

** It appears that Susan told two accidental truths in one night, as what she herself called a ridiculous claim has turned out to be a medical condition. Officially speaking hair ''does'' [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-11-19 spontaneously change color]].

* In ''{{Neverwhere}}'' by NeilGaiman, our protagonist pretends to have a key the antagonists want, unknowingly he does actually have the key, they just don't believe him.

* AlanDeanFoster's StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel ''Splinter of the Mind's Eye''. Luke Skywalker is given a small container but is not told its opening combination. When he's captured, he pretends the container is his. His captors test him by asking him the combination: he is forced to bluff and say "It's open". They try it, and it works: it was open.

* In ''LiarLiar,'' Jim Carrey is occasionally surprised at what he's "allowed" to say while cursed to tell the truth. For instance, he asks for a toilet break...