History Main / CouldSayItBut

* In the first episode of

* In an ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}}'' special, Brigadier Alysande Stuart explains to Excalibur that she has no right to give them orders as to how to deal with the current crisis, but if she ''did'', these are the orders she would give them. They take the hint.
* In a '70s ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' arc, Reed Richards [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu bluffed Galactus into leaving the Earth alone]] with a fake Ultimate Nullifier. After Galactus left, the Watcher, who was bound by his code of ethics to never interfere with other living beings, revealed that he had telepathically entered Reed's mind to prevent Galactus from sensing his plan, claiming he was simply observing the event from Reed's point of view. As he left, he added "Can one help it if one's mere presence brings about a more desired outcome? Can one?"

* In the finale of the six-part ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' story "The Assassin Nation Plot", ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/SilverSable tried to get security clearance for Spidey on a mission they believed would lead them to the mastermind behind the plot, using plans obtained from a captured mook, but a general at the Pentagon wouldn't allow it, as Spidey's identity couldn't be confirmed. Partially through the story, Spidey found them and told them he believed the plans given were a ruse to distract them; however, Cap wasn't able to defy orders to check on that. He did, however tell Spidey where the mook's cell was, saying "Maybe I'll ''re-question'' him later". Then he and Silver left him alone. (In ''the Pentagon'', no less.) Spidey didn't know whether that was Cap's way of making an informal suggestion or not, but he took the opportunity, and it paid off.
* The comic book series of ''Series/TheXFiles'' had an example of this combined with SteppingOutForAQuickCupOfCoffee. Scully was doing an autopsy on a person who died under seemingly miraculous circumstances. A woman and her crippled child came to the hospital and asked to see the body of the "saint."

* In the ''Manga.{{Bleach}}'' fanfic ''Important Insignificance'', Ukitake cleverly does this for Ichigo and one of his friends when they needed to go to Hueco Mundo for a rescue. (Not ''that'' rescue, a different one.)

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* In the episode of ''Series/PennAndTellerBullshit'' about multilevel marketing companies ([=MLMs=]), they at one point appear in front of a backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza, dressed in stereotypical {{Ancient Egypt}}ian costumes, arguing with their lawyer over not being able to call [=MLMs=] "the name everyone knows it by" -- that is, a PyramidScheme. Saying that would actually be a criminal accusation subject to legal action by the companies in question, so they can't explicitly come out and use the word, but they sure as hell ''imply'' it as hard as they possibly can.

* [[LemonyNarrator Lemony Snicket]] sometimes does this when narrating in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.

* Boneclaw Mother pulls this late in ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}''.

* A variant can be seen [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/8/16/ here]] on ''Webcomic/PennyArcade''.

* [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/going-to-let-you/ This]] (NSFW) strip of ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' involves Shelly failing to understand that someone is doing this to her.

* [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/pakistani-intelligence-announces-its-full-cooperat,20681/?utm_source=recentnews This story]] in Website/TheOnion.

->''"Alright, listen closely. I'd '''like''' to help you ''[hands his client a notepad and pen]'', but I '''can't'''. I'd '''like''' to tell you to take a copy of your policy to Norma Wilcox on -- ''[taps notepad urgently]'' Norma Wilcox, W-I-L-C-O-X -- on the 3rd floor, but I '''can't.''' I also do '''not''' advise you to fill out and file a WS-2475 form with our legal department on the 2nd floor. I would '''not''' expect someone to get back to you quickly to resolve the matter. I'd like to help. But there's nothing I can do."''

Sometimes used as an insult, especially in politics. For example, "I refuse to stoop to the level of calling my opponent a corrupt, greedy slimeball."

* In ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'', Tom Hagen and Frank Pentangeli have a hypothetical conversation about what happens to people that try to upset the balance of power, which in no way is a reference to [[spoiler:Frank entering witness protection and about to testify about the Corleone Family activities to a Senate committee, then balking when he sees a member of the Corleone family walk into the hearing with Frank's brother, who ''was'' still in Italy...]]

* ''Film/JohnWick'' depicts a world where professional assassins live in a secret society with its own code and rules. The owner of an underground hotel that caters to these assassins, Winston, holds himself to this code as much as he does anyone else. [[spoiler: For that reason, despite sympathizing with John and knowing the location of a man with whom John has a personal vendetta, he calls up John to explain that the "Code" forbids him from telling John that a "certain helicopter is being fueled at a certain helipad for a certain someone".]]

* Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses:

* After [[Literature/HarryPotter Sirius Black]] is freed from Azkaban in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056867 The Shower Slip]]'', Dumbledore denies him access to Harry due to Petunia's hatred of magic. After thinking about where he should live after being healed, Professor [=McGonagall=] mentions that Surrey, specifically Privet Drive, would be a good place to raise children. Sirius catches on almost immediately.

* Francis Urquhart, or Underwood in [[Series/HouseOfCardsUS the American remake]], uses this as his CatchPhrase in ''Series/HouseOfCardsUK'': "You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment." In the American series, this is later used by his political rival, eliciting an expletive from Underwood. [[PrecisionFStrike THE only real expletive]] Underwood uses in the entire show, no less. In RealLife British politics, [[{{Defictionalization}} saying what you want to say by saying you couldn't possibly say it]] is known as "Urquhart's Avoidance".

** On a meta level, the site's "anonymising" of workplaces sometimes comes across like this, such as "[[https://notalwaysright.com/the-biggest-space-is-between-their-ears/82990/ I work]] at [[Ride/SpaceMountain a certain mountain based sci-fi rollercoaster]] in [[Ride/DisneyParks a magical themed park run by a mouse]]". Or [[https://notalwaysright.com/border-ing-on-love-for-donut-holes/82470/ this]] post about heading to Canada for [donut holes], which square-brackets "[donut holes]" every time, to make it absolutely clear that this unnamed Canadian coffee shop franchise calls them something else.

* Early in ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'', when Issei is hellbent on rescuing Asia, Rias firmly tells him that even though a Pawn like him could promote behind enemy lines, like at the church Asia was being held in, that wouldn't be enough and he certainly shouldn't go ''alone'', before stepping out with Akeno. Kiba points out to Issei that even an example demarcation counts, and he and Koneko should just go with him. [[spoiler:The person Rias was decieving here was Issei, to maximize his willpower when that was the only thing he had going for him. She and Akeno actually went to the exact same place, neutralizing the guards before the others got there.]]

** On a meta level, the sites "anonymising" of workplaces sometimes comes across like this, such as "[[https://notalwaysright.com/the-biggest-space-is-between-their-ears/82990/ I work]] at [[Ride/SpaceMountain a certain mountain based sci-fi rollercoaster]] in [[Ride/DisneyParks a magical themed park run by a mouse]]". Or [[https://notalwaysright.com/border-ing-on-love-for-donut-holes/82470/ this]] post about heading to Canada for [donut holes], which square-brackets "[donut holes]" every time, to make it absolutely clear that this unnamed Canadian coffee shop franchise calls them something else.

* On Website/NotAlwaysRight, when this [[https://notalwaysright.com/she-should-be-made-to-stand-facing-the-wall-for-a-bit/262057/ writer]] asked what would happen to their coworker:
--> '''HR:''' I can't discuss the punishments and actions taken against ''former'' employees.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Mad-Eye Moody would like to tell Harry how to win the first challenge in the Triwizard Tournament, but Dumbledore would frown upon it, so he just gives Harry some "good, general advice" that helps Harry figure out how to win. Moody pulls a similar trick with the second challenge as well: he gives Neville Longbottom a book about rare magical plants, including gillyweed, which gives people the power to temporarily breathe underwater (the second task is rescuing loved ones from the merpeople who live in Hogwarts's lake). When that isn't enough, Moody has a loud conversation with Professor [=McGonagall=] about whether any of the champions will try using gillyweed, knowing full well that Neville is close enough to hear and will doubtlessly give Harry the hint.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'':
** Bob circumvents his insurance company's obstructive attitude by using this method to help his customers, as demonstrated by the page quote. He even whispers "Pretend to be upset" to the old woman as she leaves.
** For his part, when Bob is being dressed down and asks his boss if he's saying that they ''shouldn't'' help people, Mr. Huph answers, through clenched teeth, "The law ''requires'' that I answer 'no'." These kinds of people are very common as in real life, and there are many insurance companies that will try everything they can to avoid having to pay out an insurance claim.

-->-- '''Bob Parr''', ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'':