History Main / CannotConveySarcasm

* Dr. Clef from ''WebOriginal/SCPFoundation'' makes it impossible to tell whether he's lying or not, or whether he's even serious or not.

--->'''Homer:''' There's still the little matter of the whereabouts of your wife.\\

--->'''Homer:''' And maybe I'm talking like this because I can't stop! Help me, Lisa! I have serious mental problems!

--->'''Teen 1:''' Here comes that cannon ball guy. He's cool.\\

* EDI from MassEffect2.

-->'''Oz:''' I can see why you'd be upset. Oh, that was my sarcastic voice.\\

* The Internet comes standard with sarcasm filters built into HTML protocol, rendering it highly possible that offhand flippant comment you thought was the height of clever LampShadeHanging insulted everyone who read it. Detecting sarcasm in text requires the reader to rely on wording and context alone, and a conversation between strangers provides a lot less context than one between friends. It might be related to the rampant ''overuse'' of ''italics'' to make something seem more outstanding or ALL CAPS SPEAK TO SUGGEST YELLING.

-->'''Homer:''' There's still the little matter of the whereabouts of your wife.\\

-->'''Homer:''' And maybe I'm talking like this because I can't stop! Help me, Lisa! I have serious mental problems!

-->'''Teen 1:''' Here comes that cannon ball guy. He's cool.\\

* Dr. Clef from ''SCPFoundation'' makes it impossible to tell whether he's lying or not, or whether he's even serious or not.

* One sketch on ''SoRandom'' features "Possibly Sarcastic Skip", who was born with a disease that makes him soundsarcastic all the time. The sketch is spent trying to determine when he is and isn't being sincere.

The {{inver|tedTrope}}sion of SarcasmBlind, it's when due to a character's demeanor it's hard for others to distinguish if they are being sarcastic. In this case it's not that someone doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm, it's that someone doesn't understand how to properly use it, despite knowing exactly what sarcasm is. Often they have to alert others that they are in SarcasmMode. May overlap with InsultBackfire and is closely related to SarcasmFailure.

!!Examples:

* Every so often Sheldon from the ''BigBangTheory'' says something sarcastic but does it without much inflection. In one episode Penny wants Sheldon to apologize to Leonard. When Sheldon refuses, Penny invokes this trope by telling Sheldon to apologize sarcastically. Sheldon agrees, and Leonard never realizes Sheldon is trying to be sarcastic.
* Anya Jenkins from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' perhaps? She is very inept handling human relationships and behaviour, so it is hard to tell for the Scoobies whether she is being sarcastic, just unknowing - or plain insulting.
** Oz, the extremely-DeadpanSnarker from [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]].
-->'''Oz''': I can see why you'd be upset. Oh, that was my sarcastic voice.
-->'''Xander''': You know, it sounds a lot like your regular voice.
-->'''Oz''': I've been told that.
* And maybe GLaDOS from ''{{Portal}}''. Her being a robot doesn't help.
** She might not have the intonation, but given that most of her sarcasm is the variety you would expect from a bratty six-year-old it isn't exactly difficult to make out. At least in the sequel she is promoted to teenager-level bitchiness.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FobvIYd0BHU&feature=related Bowser's reaction]] to Mario and friends forgetting to invite him in [[MarioParty Mario Party 7]]

* Abed from ''{{Community}}'' (possibly) subverts this twice: Once where he goes out of his way to use sarcastic inflection when being sincere about the importance of inflection, and again where he lets the group know he's about to begin a sarcastic diatribe before doing so, and closes with 'Sarcasm over'.
* Inverted in ''TheSimpsons'' episode "Bart of Darkness":
-->'''Homer''': There's still the little matter of the whereabouts of your wife.
-->'''Maude Flanders''': Uh, I'm right here.
-->'''Homer''': Oh, I see! Then I guess everything's wrapped up in a neat little package!
-->[after a pause]
-->'''Homer''': Really, I mean that. Sorry if it SOUNDED sarcastic.
** Played with in "Bart Has Two Mommies", after [[SarcasticConfession telling Marge that]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bart was kidnapped by a monkey]]:
--> '''Homer''': And maybe I'm talking like this because I can't stop! Help me, Lisa! I have serious mental problems!
* Every so often Brennan and (at one point anyway) Zack from ''{{Bones}}'' (on the off chance that they'd actually use sarcasm.)
* Robin and her date have a misuderstanding in ''HowIMetYourMother'' in which he turns up in a Halloween costume while she doesn't, as her sarcasm didn't come across in their online conversations.
* Dr. Clef from ''SCPFoundation'' makes it impossible to tell whether he's lying or not, or whether he's even serious or not.
* [[InvertedTrope Inversion]]: There was an old commercial for ''Starburst'' where a man asked a woman if she wanted a Starburst and she sarcastically replied something like "Yeah, sure I would." He asked her why she had to be so flippant and she sarcastically told him that she has a speech disorder which makes everything she says sounds sarcastic. He got annoyed and walked away, after which she maintained the sarcastic tone and lamented to herself how this speech disorder sucks.
** Also a sketch from ''TheKidsInTheHall'' where Dave Foley's character has the same speech disorder.
* Discussed in [[http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=168 this]] ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics'' strip, in which T-Rex worries that people can't tell when he's being sarcastic. (And then repeats that worry in a sarcastic tone.)

* Sten from ''DragonAgeOrigins''. He's extremely stoic and does not seem to make jokes. However you can, at one point, tell him you recognize his jokes and you think he's funny, and he'll become much friendlier towards you as a result.

** Sarcasm is nearly impossible to convey in text in general. The Internet is more noticeable in that sarcasm is more abundant, but when it appears in text, it can be hard to tell how genuine they're being.

* Discussed in [[http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=168 this]] ''DinosaurComics'' strip, in which T-Rex worries that people can't tell when he's being sarcastic. (And then repeats that worry in a sarcastic tone.)

The [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of DoesNotUnderstandSarcasm, it's when due to a character's demeanor it's hard for others to distinguish if they are being sarcastic. In this case it's not that someone doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm, it's that someone doesn't understand how to properly use it, despite knowing exactly what sarcasm is. Often they have to alert others that they are in SarcasmMode. May overlap with InsultBackfire and is closely related to SarcasmFailure.

* The Internet comes standard with sarcasm filters built into HTML protocol, rendering it highly possible that offhand flippant comment you thought was the height of clever LampShadeHanging insulted everyone who read it. It might be related to the rampant ''overuse'' of ''italics'' to make something seem more outstanding or ALL CAPS SPEAK TO SUGGEST YELLING.

* IRL this happens a lot in the form of text since there is no official way to convey sarcasm via text. The "tongue in cheek" emoticon :P or the snark (.~) are widespread but by no means universal.

* Another example of this trope is Abed from ''{{Community}}'', where this is (possibly) subverted twice: Once where he goes out of his way to use sarcastic inflection when being sincere about the importance of inflection, and again where he lets the group know he's about to begin a sarcastic diatribe before doing so, and closes with 'Sarcasm over'.

* Dr. Clef from ''{{SCP Foundation}}'', perhaps? It's impossible to tell whether he's lying or not, or whether he's even serious or not.
* [[InvertedTrope Inversion:]] There was an old commercial for ''Starburst'' where a man asked a woman if she wanted a Starburst and she sarcastically replied something like "Yeah, sure I would." He asked her why she had to be so flippant and she sarcastically told him that she has a speech disorder which makes everything she says sounds sarcastic. He got annoyed and walked away, after which she maintained the sarcastic tone and lamented to herself how this speech disorder sucks.

* Sten from DragonAgeOrigins. He's extremely stoic and does not seem to make jokes. However you can, at one point, tell him you recognize his jokes and you think he's funny, and he'll become much friendlier towards you as a result.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FobvIYd0BHU&feature=related Bowser's reaction]] to Mario and friends forgetting to invite him in MarioParty7

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FobvIYd0BHU&feature=related|Bowser's reaction]] to Mario and friends forgetting to invite him in [[Mario Party 7]]

** She might not have the intonation, but given that most of her sarcasm is the variety you would expect from a bratty six-year-old it isn't exactly difficult to make out. At least in the sequel she is promoted to teenager-level bitchiness.

** Played with in "Bart Has Two Mommies", after [[SarcasticConfession telling Marge that]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bart was kidnapped by a monkey:

-->'''Homer''': Really, I mean that. Sorry if it SOUNDED sarcastic.

* IRL this happens a lot in the form of text since there is no official way to convey sarcasm via text. The "tongue in cheek" emoticon :P is widespread but by no means universal.

** Also a sketch from [[The Kids In The Hall]] where Dave Foley's character has the same speech disorder.

* [[InvertedTrope Inversion:]] There was an old commercial for ''Starburst'' where a man asked a woman if she wanted a Starburst and she sarcastically replied something like "Yeah, sure I would." He asked her why she had to be so flippant and she sarcastically told him that she has a speech disorder which makes everything she says sounds sarcastic. He got annoyed and walked away, after which she maintained the sarcastic tone and lamented to herself how this speech disorder sucks.

* And maybe GLaDOS from ''{{Portal}}''. Her being a robot doesn't help.

* IRL this happens a lot in the form of text since there is no official way to convey sarcasm via text.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLc8RIdRzio Sarcasm 101 with Matthew Perry.]] They know what sarcasm is but they don't all quite get how to do it.

-->'''Homer''': [''sarcastically''] Oh, I see! Then I guess everything's wrapped up in a neat little package!

examples: