History Main / PacingATrench

* In the Creator/LaurelAndHardy film ''Block Heads'', [[TheFool Stan]] takes his commanding officer's orders to remain in the trench for as long as possible far too literally -- [[TheRemnant he stays there long after the war is over]], dutifully performing his patrol every day. When he finally learns that the war ended 20 years earlier, his patrol route now has a knee-deep rut.

** In ''WesternAnimation/ILoveToSinga'', as Owl Jolson was being born, the PanickyExpectantFather was outside pacing around that formed into a rut.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy's daily routine became so ingrained that he was literally stuck in a rut-- a rut that he himself engraved through the school's linoleum floor because he does the exact same routine every day.
** Another episode has Timmy running in circles as an angry mob approaches him in his treehouse. At the end, the trench is almost as tall as Timmy.

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': The Creator/AlfredHitchcock spoof "The Last Hungry Cat" has Sylvester pacing nervously, thinking the law will be on him for eating Tweety.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ILoveToSinga'', as Owl Jolson was being born, the PanickyExpectantFather was outside pacing around that formed into a rut.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': Whenever Scrooge [=McDuck=] is in a rough situation, he goes to the Worry Room. He had often paced so much in that room that he's in at least a few feet inside the floor. In one extreme case, only his hat was visible above the floor.

* Used in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUuKyPJFhqo this Chokotoff commercial]]. An explorer is offered the daughter of a jungle tribe's chieftain as his wife. Since he doesn't want to marry her, but knows that openly refusing will mean certain death, he asks for one chokotoff the time to think about it, which he is granted. By the time he finally finishes his chokotoff, the tribe members who were dancing around him [[UpToEleven have dug such a deep trench]] that he can simply step over them and leave the village.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In the episode "For the Ed, By the Ed", where Eddy tries to sabotage Plank in the race for the "King of the Cul de Sac", Eddy tells Ed to find ways to "put some dirt" on Plank. In the next scne Eddy walks into a rut, implying that it took a while for Ed to put some dirt, both literally with dirt, and figuratively with a photograph.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy's daily routine became so engrained that he was literally stuck in a rut-- a rut that he himself engraved through the school's linolium floor because he does the exact same routine every day.
** Another episode has Timmy running in circles as an angry mob arroaches him in his treehouse. At the end, the trench is almost as tall as Timmy.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the episode "It's About Time", Twilight Sparkle, while trying to find time to make next months's schedule, paces around a statue and eventually digs a groove on the ground though her pacing.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the episode "It's About Time", Twilight Sparkle, while planning for next year's plans, paces around a statue and eventually digs a groove on the ground though her pacing.

When a character waits for someone or thinks about something really important for them, they will normally pace through the room while doing it. Maybe they will walk back and forth across a room, or maybe they will walk in a circle. That's normal.
But some characters tends to really like doing it. They walk so much through the same path that they actually wear off the floor, if left enough time you might find them in a literal trench made by their own feet. Hopefully the plot might call them before they [[DiggingToChina end up in China.]]

This is normally a comedy trope to show that the characters has been thinking about their problem so much, and so concentrated, that they haven't noticed [[VisualPun they have dug themselves into a hole.]]

%%[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worry_room_the_secret_of_atlantis.png]]]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In the Creator/LaurelAndHardy film ''Block Heads'', [[TheFool Stan]] takes his commanding officer's orders to remain in the trench for as long as possible far too literally - [[TheRemnant he stays there long after the war is over]], dutifully performing his patrol every day. When he finally learns that the war ended 20 years earlier, his patrol route now has a knee-deep rut.

* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'':
** ''Alpine Climbers'' has WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck chasing a baby goat around a rock, only for the goat to [[GoneBehindTheBend step right out and watch Donald go in circles]]. After the cartoon goes to somewhere else, it cuts back to Donald ''still'' going in circles, only by then, he's created a circular trench around the rock.
** At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Ugly Duckling|1939}}'', the father duck is pacing in a trench while waiting for his mate's eggs to hatch.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': The Creator/AlfredHitchcock spoof ''The Last Hungry Cat'' has Sylvester pacing nervously, thinking the law will be on him for eating Tweety.

'''Sylvester:''' Why don't you shut up and mind your own busin... ''(falls through the floorboards as a result of said pacing)''

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worry_room_the_secret_of_atlantis.png]]]]

-->'''Hitchcock:''' If you keep pacing like that, you'll wear a groove in the floor.
-->'''Sylvester:''' Why don't you shut up and mind your own busin... ''(falls through the floorboards as a result of said pacing)''

-->'''Sylvester:''' Why don't you shut up and mind your own buis... ''(falls through the floorboards as a result of said pacing)''

* In ''The Aeronaut's Windlass'', first book of the ''Literature/CinderSpires'' series, the brothers of the Temple of the Way have worn grooves into the stone floor with their accustomed paths.

This is normally a comedy trope to show that the characters has been thinking about their problem so much, and so concentrated, that they haven't noticed [[VisualPun they have dig themselves into a hole.]]

!Examples:

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the episode "It's About Time", Twilight Sparkle, while planning for next year's plans, paces around a statue and eventually digs a groove on the ground though her pacing.

Revisiting a (stub) [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=bcdjivuvybgde6vdnj1h5kij draft]] that I did years ago, and trying to expand it from [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=czyk3dwy72z5qhix6hlk3060 another draft]], whose title and description seems chairs-y.

Administrivia/RollingUpdates
Administrivia/NeedsABetterDescription; Unless I have the consensus to say so, Administrivia/NoLaunchingPlease.
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Will start an IP thread after launching.
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When a character waits for someone or thinks about something really important for them, they will normally pace through the room while doing it. Maybe they will walk back and forth across a room, or maybe they will walk in a circle. That's normal.
But some characters tends to really like doing it. They walk so much through the same path that they actually wear off the floor, if left enough time you might find them in a literal trench made by their own feet. Hopefully the plot might call them before they [[DiggingToChina end up in China.]]

This is normally a comedy trope to show that the characters has been thinking about their problem so much, and so concentrated, that they haven't noticed [[VisualPun they have dig themselves into a hole.]]
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