History Main / HesitationEqualsDishonesty

** Also in "Schisms" when Data asks Geordi La Forge what he thought of his poetry reading, when Gerodi pauses Data immediately points out that his hesitation suggests that he's trying to protect his feelings and also points out that as an android, [[TinMan he doesn't have any.]]

* Invoked by Adlai Stevenson II during [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar The Cuban Missile Crisis]], when he demanded that Valerian Zorin, the Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations, say whether or not they were installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba. In this case, invoking the trope for someone being asked a question ''in a foreign language'', making for a darkly humorous play of this trope despite the serious topic.
-->'''Stevenson:''' Don't wait for the translation, answer 'yes' or 'no'!"[[note]] Stevenson was justified, in that he knew Zorin knew English well enough that he could answer the question without it being translated into Russian.[[/note]]
** The Soviets were in fact placing nuclear missiles in Cuba, but Zorin refused to answer the question. Unfortunately for him, Stevenson had brought surveillance photographs of the missile sites.

* Averted on ''Series/LieToMe'': characters point out that prepared lies generally cause people to answer ''more quickly'' because they have already prepared their story for questioning. The way to catch these people is to ask them to repeat their story ''backwards'': your average liar won't bother to practice enough to get this right, but someone telling the truth will obviously be able to draw on their memory to answer. It's also mentioned, however, that hesitating is [[RealityIsUnrealistic a way to make people think you're lying]].

* Pick a crime drama, any crime drama... Sometimes seems you can't go two episodes without this trope being the '''only''' reason a cop or prosecutor declares someone to be lying, no matter how logical or reasonable what the suspect says is.

* Averted in ''Film/InsideMan''. When Madeline White confronts Arthur Case, asking him if it was true that he used to work for the Nazis in WWII, he hesitates for about four seconds... then smiles and says "Yes." Either he was a truly honest man, who was old and had nothing to lose, or he realized that hesitating that long before lying about it would make it obvious that he was lying.

** Also in "Schisms" when Data asks Geordi La Forge what he thought of his poetry reading, when Gerodi pauses Data immediately points out that his hesitation means he's trying to protect his feelings and also points out that as an android, [[TinMan he doesn't have any.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''

* Downplayed in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Future Imperfect." Every time Riker asks someone a question there is a slight pause before they answer. It's so subtle that the audience might not notice it on first viewing, and Riker himself seems to take it as the person not knowing how to word an answer to a sticky question. It's when the very blunt and logical Data takes unnecessary pauses even for math problems that Riker realizes something's up. [[spoiler:Riker turns out to be in an elaborate holo-simulation, and the pauses are the computer needing a moment to generate the proper response.]]

* Mostly inverted in ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A good rule of thumb in this series is the more straightforward someone seems to be, the bigger the lie they're concealing. Nadeko is hesitant and lacks self-confidence, and her "big secret" is that she likes Araragi ([[ObliviousToLove secret only to Araragi, really]]); on the other hand, Suruga is quite forthright with her sexuality but no so much [[spoiler:with her violent hatred towards Araragi for "stealing" Senjogahara from her.]] As it turns out, her provocative teasing of Araragi is probably [[spoiler:a ploy to get Araragi to forget about Senjogahara, even if that means potentially having to seduce him.]]

* During the Mahora Festival StoryArc of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Haruna flatly asked Yue if she got jealous when the former kissed Negi. When Yue tried to deny that accusation, Haruna noted that she took a fraction of a second too long to answer and that the old Yue would have smacked her for being an idiot immediately. Busted.

* ''Fanfic/FivePetalsNaruto'': Naruto gets knocked unconscious in the Forest of Death, causing him to miss a LOT of dramatic developments, such as Sakura [[ForWantOfANail pushing Sasuke away from Orochimaru]] and [[TakingTheBullet winding up with the Cursed Seal]]. Upon waking up to the aftermath of several of their fellow Leaf-nin genin pulling BigDamnHeroes moments, he naturally asks what happened while he was out cold. Sasuke hesitates long enough that everyone else present [[LampshadeHanging immediately realizes]] that he's about to lie.

* Military recruiters. Hesitate for any reason, and they automatically assume you're a liar.
* Ever hesitated to answer a question your mother asked you? She'll automatically assume that the worst answer must be true regardless of the answer you do end up giving.
* Police interrogations, similar to the military recruiters example above. Most reasonable people would give you a few moments to ponder the question "where were you last night between 20:00 and 23:00?" as it's information you wouldn't usually keep accurate tabs on unless you ''knew'' it would be important later. Unfortunately, the end goal of an interrogation is to coerce a confession - [[DiggingYourselfDeeper and any detail that pushes things in that direction is to the interrogator's advantage.]]
** Statement analysis of the things said by many criminals have noted that they often repeat the questions that they have been asked--"Where was I last night?", "What time did I leave?", etc. This is because they are sensitive questions and repeating them allows the person to hesitate and think of an answer without making it obvious that they are doing so.
*** These analyses will also note that people won't simply say "Yes" or "No". For example, Bill Clinton's infamous--and indeed, false--denial of his affair with Monica Lewinsky was "I did not have. . . ", rather than just "No, I didn't.", essentially putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the lie.
*** Even written statements can display this, with analysts noticing extra space between falsehoods and none between truthful comments.

* This trope is likely part of why [[LonersAreFreaks introverted people are often distrusted by extroverted people]]. As [[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/302696/ this article]] says, an introvert usually thinks before he/she speaks, while an extrovert tends to speak as he/she thinks. Because saying their thoughts aloud right as they come is natural for an extrovert, they assume that anyone who doesn't do that is trying to hide something.

* UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins was asked in an interview if he could "give an example of a genetic mutation or evolutionary process which can be seen to increase the information in the genome" -- a question that, he later said, "would only be phrased that way by somebody who doubts that evolution happened." He famously paused for eleven seconds before answering, and the tape was used by creationists to claim that evolutionists don't have all the answers. Dawkins explains he had actually just realized that the documentary being filmed wasn't what he thought it would be, and was trying to decide whether to [[GetOut throw them out]] or not. His full, non-"soundbite" answer can be read [[http://www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/the-information-challenge/ here]].

''[later]''\\

'''Dean:''' ''[long pause]'' Every now and then. Is this helping?\\

'''Dean:''' ''[pause]'' I wouldn't say a lot. Sometimes. If you needed a little help.

* ''Fanfic/TheRoadHomePastSins'': From "Kitchen and Garden", when Discord lies, he pauses, since DramaticIrony means that the audience knows he's lying, while Fluttershy only assumes:
--> “How is everypony doing by the way?” Fluttershy asked. “I trust they reached the Crystal Empire safely.”\\
“Oh, yes, of course. They’re lounging by the crystal pool sipping crystal-coladas right now.”\\
Fluttershy arched an eyebrow, unable to ignore the fact that the sculpture’s cheerful bouncing had paused for a moment when it answered. “Now Discord, you aren’t going too far, are you?”

* In the ending scene of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', Marty asks Doc if he and Jennifer become "assholes" in the future and the Doc says they both turn out fine. The sequel establishes the RetCon that Doc was lying to protect Marty from the AwfulTruth. In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'', the refilmed version of that scene (refilmed to [[FlashbackWithTheOtherDarrin accommodate the Jennifer swap]]) has Doc hesitate before answering Marty's question.

Performance-based works will often use this trope even when the audience knows that the character is lying to avoid a SeamlessSpontaneousLie. If the character tells a lie without any indication of effort, they'll suddenly look like master manipulators, which might be out of character. The trope can also be used on the assumption that ViewersAreMorons. If the character's delivery doesn't scream "lie," the audience might get confused and think that either the character believes what he just said or that his statement is actually true.

Expect a {{Tsundere}} to engage in this. Every time they deny having any feelings for his or her object of affection, they will repeatedly stutter and hesitate. Often said object of affection [[ObliviousToLove will not understand the implications]] of such hesitation.

Sadly, belief in this in RealLife makes things even more difficult for those of us who aren't perfect communicators. FridgeLogic ''should'' indicate that the guy with the perfectly rehearsed story is probably lying his ass off (or is extremely well-spoken, but there's a noticeable difference between the two), rather than the guy who occasionally pauses to collect his thoughts. Also, anything from being very anxious/suffering a panic attack (which can be induced in some situations where the truth is demanded -- for example, the mere ''presence'' of police officers is a massive trigger for some forms of anxiety and panic) to being sleepy, drunk/high, or simply unsure and ''wanting'' to tell the truth but not sure of what the "truth" is can lead to hesitation and even confusion. Subtrope of YouCanAlwaysTellALiar. Compare SeamlessSpontaneousLie.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' following the reveal that [[spopiler: Julia's "message spell" is actually Eugene using an illusion to get past Roy's refusal to accept his help]], you can go back and see that [[spoiler: every time "Julia" has to get into details about how the spell works, or talk about her own life rather than what Roy needs to do, there's a pause]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' has an odd [[{{Retcon}} retroactive example]] with Obi-Wan in ''Film/ANewHope'', who has a slight hesitation before telling Luke that his father was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader, instead of telling him that Anakin and Vader were one and the same. When the line was uttered in 1977, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness it was originally intended]] that Vader and Anakin were going to be two different people and the line was to be taken entirely at face value, but then [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack the sequel]] came out and [[LukeIAmYourFather made the mother of all reveals]], with [[Film/ReturnOftheJedi the following film]] then having Obi-Wan's ghost reveal that his original answer [[MetaphoricallyTrue was spoken from "a certain point of view"]]. As none of this was planned during the filming of ''A New Hope'', the hesitation in Obi-Wan's voice was just a fortunate touch thanks to Creator/AlecGuinness' acting, helping smooth the moment as retroactive foreshadowing.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Obi-Wan in ''Film/ANewHope'' has a slight hesitation before telling Luke that his father was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader, instead of telling him that Anakin and Vader were one and the same. Though, when the line was uttered in 1977, it was originally planned that Vader and Anakin were going to be two different people. And in a way, it was still MetaphoricallyTrue after the change, especially after the events of the ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' series.

* VideoGame/{{Iji}} when lying about [[spoiler:the surviving Tasen in a PacifistRun]]. According to WordOfGod, this was to make it obvious to the player that she was lying, rather than [[WelcomeToCorneria saying the same line regardless of the facts]].

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* Mostly inverted in ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A good rule of thumb in this series is the more straightforward someone seems to be, the bigger the lie they're concealing. Nadeko is hesitant and lacks self-confidence, and her "big secret" is that she likes Araragi ([[ObliviousToLove secret only to Araragi, really]]); on the other hand, Suruga is quite forthright with her sexuality but no so much [[spoiler:with her violent hatred towards Araragi for "stealing" Senjogahara from her.]] As it turns out, her provocative teasing of Araragi is probably [[spoiler:a ploy to get Araragi to forget about Senjogahara, even if that means potentially having to seduce him.]]
* In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', Megu asks Ao if Moe is getting along with the girls from the club, and Ao pauses as she thinks of all the embarrassing things [[LovableSexManiac Moe]] did with them. Ao says, "I think she's fine," with an aside that Moe is "having a lot of fun," but Megu skeptically says "[[LampshadeHanging That pause just now...]]"
* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', during Chapter 275, Fujiwara pauses a long-time before making the [[BlatantLies bald-faced lie]] that [[spoiler:she chose to be campaign speaker for her friend and kohai Iino's opponent in order to test Iino, rather than because she lost a game of mahjong. It only works because Iino is rather gullible, especially when it comes to Fujiwara.]]

[{{beat}}]\\

'''Eric Northman:''' ''[getting into Jessica's space]'' That is between me and Bill.\\

'''Jessica Hamby:''' ''[intrigued]'' A spell? What kind of spell?\\

'''Eric Northman:''' ''[getting in Jessica's face]'' Again? What do you mean in Spanish again?\\

'''Eric Northman:''' Where is Bill?! If you will not tell me, I will force him to tell me. ''[He pushes Jessica away and begins marching towards the stairs, intending to tear the house apart looking for Bill]''\\

''[Her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide as he turned back to her. He took several slow and deliberate steps back to her, his eyes locked on hers. Oh, how he wished he had the ability to glamour other vampires.]''\\

'''Jessica Hamby:''' ''[tearing up]'' The witches, they erased his memory, he doesn't remember anything.\\
'''Eric Northman:''' What? When did this happen? ''[He backed up a step, giving her a little space, sure he had broken her sufficiently to get the answers he needed.]''\\

'''Eric Northman:''' And what exactly does that mean? Why does his staff not realize he is gone? ''[It clicked into place, Jessica must have convinced the staff Bill was "busy" and to send the calls to her. Eric was again finding himself impressed with Jessica's abilities. But that did not get his question answered.]''\\

''[Eric's amusement was short lived. He had his own problem with the witches to deal with, and he was done playing games with Jessica.]''\\

'''Jessica Hamby:''' ''[stammering]'' He's.... He's at...\\

''[Sarah can feel her palms starting to sweat and tries to play dumb]''\\

'''Sarah Corrigan:''' I—I, um— ''[Matt increases his hold on her throat just slightly — not painful, but undeniably threatening]''\\

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

* Inverted in ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers''. The man interrogated in the opening scene has a detailed and coherent alibi that he's able to stick to even under repeated rounds of questioning. This tips the interrogator off to the fact that it's a story he's spent time memorising, whereas someone remembering from an actual memory would probably start forgetting details, getting things mixed up and begin hesitating due to stress and tiredness.

* ''Literature/HerculePoirot'':
** In ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'', when Poirot mentions to Hector [=MacQueen=] the letter naming Daisy Armstrong, the secretary interrupts his own reply. Poirot deduces that [=MacQueen=] is involved with the cover-up. (In this case, however, [=MacQueen=] didn't so much hesitate as he did start a sentence, stop, and change the sentence.)
** {{Subverted}} in ''The Hollow'' which involves [[spoiler:a group of people trying to cast suspicion on themselves in order to cover for the real murderer. This leads them to try all sorts of tricks to convince Poirot that they're lying when they're telling the truth, and telling the truth when they're lying]].
* Both played straight and averted in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. While pauses do often hint at lies, several characters, especially Sam Vimes, note that instant responses are even less honest.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** A fairly realistic example in ''Literature/GhostStory''; Butters and Daniel are impersonating Wardens to try and intimidate a low-level warlock, and it seems to work until he asks them why they don't have the Wardens' trademark swords, at which point Butters hesitates and their cover is blown. It's pointed out later that had Daniel and Butters immediately responded ''or'' completely ignored the question as below their concern, the bluff might have worked. Butters was not an experienced liar, he had not had much time to work out the cover story, he was under a lot of stress at the time, and the warlock in question had some sort of very weak innate telepathy and was exactly the sort of impulsive person who would not stop to consider whether there might be an innocent reason for the hesitation. There actually ''was'' an innocent explanation for a Warden not carrying a sword ([[spoiler: the person who forged them was trapped in another body that lacked her former magical talent]],) but the warlock was too low down in the magical food chain for this information to have reached him yet, and was able to see through the lie when someone who was better informed would not have thought it odd that the imposters had no swords.
** Harry hesitates in ''Literature/FoolMoon'' when it's revealed [[spoiler: that one of his apprentices was connected to the werewolf they were chasing]] causing Murphy to think he was withholding information.
* In ''[[Literature/AuntDimity Aunt Dimity and the Lost Prince]]'', Lori and Bree return to Skeaping Manor to ask the curator for the home address of Amanda Pickering. Their conversation starts off pleasantly enough, but the curator Miles Craven falls silent when Lori makes the request, then puts her off with protestations about confidentiality. It turns out that Miles knows [[spoiler: Amanda has left to join her husband in Australia]], and is a [[BadLiar lousy liar]] who [[CannotKeepASecret can't keep a secret]].
* In the ''Literature/{{Temps}}'' story "Leaks", a scientist experimenting on a paranorm whose only power is to channel other people's beer into his own glass, and insists it won't work on anything non-alcoholic, asks him "Would, ah, light ale provoke the desire sufficiently?" As the "ah" suggests, the bottle he's holding turns out to contain cold tea.
* This is inverted when Literature/DoloresClaiborne is questioned about her husband's death. She deliberately hesitates a second before answering anything because she knows answering immediately will indicate that she's too practiced and prepared.

* In ''Literature/FracturedStars'', [=McCall=] deactivates her illegally obtained android Scipio and hides him in a closet in a locked cabin. She tells Dash that the empty cabins are "for work or, uhm, storage." Dash immediately guesses that she's hiding something illegal in one of the "storage" cabins.

--> "Is Sha Miara a Monarch in disguise?"\\

-->'''Jeff:''' You probably just [[PersonAsVerb Britta'd]] the test somehow.
-->'''Britta:''' Wait. Are people using my name as a verb to mean "make a tiny mistake"?
-->''{{beat}}''
-->'''Jeff:''' Yes.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}''

* Pick a crime drama, any crime drama... Sometimes seems you can't go two episodes without this trope being the '''only''' reason a cop or prosecutor declares someone to be lying, no matter how logical or reasonable what the suspect says is.

* [=RPGs=] with a CharacterAlignment system, such as ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' or ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' sometimes allow the exact same words to be spoken as truth or lie, only differentiated by a "<Lie>" tag. With no tag, opinions and claims are assumed to be the character's genuine belief, and alignments will adjust accordingly.
* Girl Stinky of ''VideoGame/SamAndMax'' does this constantly. [[spoiler:[[RedHerring Typically when she's actually being honest]].]]

* ''VideoGame/InThe1stDegree'' definitely plays this straight. When you question the defendent Tobin and pin him about the phone message of him threatening Zack, he says "I was trying to...''persuade'' Zack to withdraw the claim." He's lying, you know it and the prosecutor you're playing as knows it.

* At the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest The 11th Hour]]'', you are finally able to complete your mission of saving Robin, and she even declares that she loves you... in a very restrained fashion. [[spoiler:This is because she has accepted Stauf's deal to be put in charge of her own television network.]]
* ''Everyone'' in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' invokes this at several points. In the demo trial, when Makoto's accused of being the murderer, he stutters from shock. Leon leaps on this, insisting that proves he's responsible. Lampshaded by [[spoiler:Mukuro-as-]]Junko's shocked question: "Seriously?! Stuttering makes you suspicious?!"

* Parodied as well in ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', when Daffy accuses Porky of this due to his [[PorkyPigPronunciation stutter]] when trying to get out of paying a littering fine. No one buys it.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy's parents become convinced he's stealing when he can't immediately answer their questions about a recent string of robberies. Of course, he ''is'' lying, but it's because he's covering the existence of his fairies.

* Mostly inverted in ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A good rule of thumb in this series is the more straightforward someone seems to be, the bigger the lie they're concealing. Nadeko is hesitant and lacks self-confidence, and her "big secret" is that she likes Araragi ([[ObliviousToLove secret only to Araragi, really]]); on the other hand, Suruga is quite forthright with her sexuality but no so much [[spoiler:with her violent hatred towards Araragi for "stealing" Senjogahara from her.]] As it turns out, her provocative teasing of Araragi is probably [[spoiler:a ploy to get Araragi to forget about Senjogahara, even if that means potentially having to seduce him.]]

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder]]", after Paul inquires about the nature of Lestat's relationship with Louis, Lestat hesitates for a full seven seconds before he can formulate an answer. 1910 was a very homophobic era, so Lestat can't reply truthfully that he has been wooing Louis these past few months.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In the first episode, after Paul inquires about the nature of Lestat's relationship with Louis, Lestat hesitates for a full seven seconds before he can formulate an answer. 1910 was a very homophobic era, so Lestat can't reply truthfully that he has been wooing Louis these past few months.