History Main / ConfusingMultipleNegatives

* On the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', Quackity attempts to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this in "The Official Manburg Hotel Building Permit", trying to trick [[ArcVillain Schlatt]] into [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext paying child support]] on top of scamming him out of his presidency. Schlatt, being a savvy businessman, [[GenreSavvy notices this]] and [[LampshadeHanging calls him out on it]], claiming that it was a predatory way of writing a contract.

* In the ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun'' sketch "Canadaman", the evil Jacques François passes out a petition regarding Quebec sovereignty. Everyone who tries to read it gives up and exclaims, "This petition uses ambiguous phraseology!"

* ''WebAnimation/OverSimplified'' When Hitler discusses Invading Poland with the Stalin
** Hitler: How about we both invade Poland and split it between the two of us, and I definitely won't not refrain from not betraying you sometime in the future.

** Even the official United States constitution can get like this, what with "no person who shall not have attained the age of [whatever] and who shall not have been a citizen for [x amount of years] shall be eligible to run for [whatever office]. Makes reading the article annoying.

--> '''Darren:''' You ain't got to right to search me.

---> !(state != "Colorado" && city != "Denver")
** It's confusing because "!" is the negative, so the line of code is saying "not the state is not Colorado and the city is not Denver", or, more simply, "the state is Colorado or the city is Denver"[[note]]NOT "and": Because an And statement is false if ''any'' of the arguments is false, the negation of an And is an Or[[/note]]. It'd be better to write it like this:
---> state == "Colorado" || city == "Denver"

* In Québecois (French spoken in Québec), it's customary to talk in double negatives for a wide variety of subject without being sarcastic. You feel not bad. It's not hot outside. Things are not far or not close. And your date is not ugly (and that's acompliment...really). For native speakers, it's not confusing, but for French-speaking individuals from other countries, it may sound overly complicated.

* ''Fanfic/TotalDramaComebackSeries'': This happens during the gross food eating challenge in Chapter 29.
-->'''Chris''': Okay, we're going to be a bit harsher now! You all are going to be forced to drink your next serving! Everyone, minus Ezekiel and... Harold, you must go gather a food item, then use the blenders in the kitchen; we got several set up, so you don't have to fight. Pour a glass for your opponent, who's name you'll receive now!\\
'''Chef''': Don't break my blenders, you little snot-nosed punks.\\

-->'''Juleka:''' "Besides, even if you don't win the gold in Crappy Parents, which I'm not convinced you don't, everyone has the right to complain."

-->'''Bizarro-Batman:''' "Ayup. Nobody left except us other Leaguers and Insiders, and about a whole bunch of million Bizarro-Loises."\\
'''Yellow Lantern:''' "Come to think of it, that not be so bad. Hey, Number One...s'pose we don't do nothing about Blue meanies, huh?"

* In ''Series/OnceUponATimeInSaengchori'' no one knows what Jo Min Sung is trying to say about Yoo Eun Joo. At all.

* In the Cave Cricket episode of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Kyon does this and lampshades it, asking himself how many negatives he just strung together (we counted 6).

* On the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'', Quackity attempts to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this in "The Official Manburg Hotel Building Permit", trying to trick [[ArcVillain Schlatt]] into [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext paying child support]] on top of scamming him out of his presidency. Schlatt, being a savvy businessman, [[GenreSavvy notices this]] and [[LampshadeHanging calls him out on it]], claiming that it was a predatory way of writing a contract.

-->'''Discovery and Incident Record''': Lack of police reports of "a polite unarmed dollar bill not shooting lightning bolts" on a path away from the Hudson River led to demobilization of MTF Pi-1. [[note]]Police reports of "a rude armed crab shooting lightning bolts" on a path toward the Hudson River led to mobilization of MTF Pi-1.[[/note]]

* An episode of Series/FullHouse features this back-and-forth leading up to this trope:

** First, while discussing Col. Mustards "midnight rendevouz"...

* Appeared once in ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy''. Casey [[http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=511 tries to trick the King of Sweden into leaving their couch]] by posing him a question with a ridiculous number of varied negatives. The king provides the correct answer without delay, once again proving that you should [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking never underestimate a king]]. Especially funny considering that the king of Sweden is not known to be the brightest bulb in the Christmas tree.

* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'': Prince Charming interrogates Pinocchio about Shrek's location since Pinocchio, of course, can't lie without giving away himself away. Pinocchio tries to twist the truth and worm his way out of the interrogation with convoluted, circular explanations without actually admitting any concrete information such as confirming whether or not he even knows where Shrek is. It seems to be working since Charming can't puzzle out the puppet's meaning, until eventually, Pinnochio's baffling multi-negatives frustrate the Three Little Pigs so much that one of them [[SayingTooMuch accidentally blurts it out]].

* Romance languages, including Spanish, French, and Portuguese. For example, the Spanish "No té ayudaré nunca" translates as "I won't never help you," where standard English would have "I won't ever help you." "No tengo nada" translates word-for-word as "I don't have nothing" (interpretation: "I don't have anything").

* ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} is a passenger on a steamboat (Brodax cartoon "Mississippi Sissy") when Olive (as a government agent) approaches him with an envelope:
-->'''Olive''': Take a letter.\\
'''Popeye''': I ain't no secretary!

* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'': Prince Charming interrogates Pinocchio about Shrek's location since Pinocchio, of course, can't lie.[[note]]Or rather, he ''can'', but he always gives himself away.[[/note]] Pinocchio tries to twist the truth and worm his way out of the interrogation with convoluted, circular explanations without actually admitting any concrete information such as confirming whether or not he even knows where Shrek is. It seems to be working since Charming can't puzzle out the puppet's meaning, until eventually, Pinnochio's baffling multi-negatives frustrate the Three Little Pigs so much that one of them [[SayingTooMuch accidentally blurts it out]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

** Also Brother Faith from the episode "Faith Off": "Now correct me if I'm incorrect, but was I told it's untrue that people in Springfield have no faith? Was I not misinformed?" [[note]]'''Brother Faith''': The answer I'm looking for is "yes."[[/note]]

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Sarge utilizes one of these, though more likely because he really thinks that way and is trying to emphasize his point and not because he's trying to confuse anyone.

* A linguistics professor is giving a public lecture in Glasgow, and explains that there are some languages and dialects where a double negative makes a positive, and some where a double negative is merely emphatic. But there are no known languages where a double positive makes a negative. And a voice from the back of the room says "Aye, right!"[[note]]"Yeah, right!" outside of Scotland[[/note]]
** Another punchline goes "Uh-huh. ''[[SarcasmMode Suuuuuuuuure.]]''"

* Wiki/TVTropes: The AntiAntiChrist trope to TheAntiChrist.

* In PhotoKano, when Kanon finds out Kazuya had yet to take any pictures with the camera his father gave him, she immediately says "Isn't that not a waste?" When Kazuya comments that there was one "not" too many in the question, she responds by throwing two more "not's" in for good measure.