History Main / PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo

* In the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' adventure ''Literature/AStudyInScarlet'', the killer uses a variant to get revenge on the people who kidnapped his fiancee, [[TechnicalPacifist without directly killing them.]] He corners each victim and produces two pills, forcing the victim to choose one and he agrees to take the other. The twist is that he deliberately has no idea which is poison, but trusts in fate to punish the guilty. This breaks down when one victim refuses to pick (and instead attacks the perpetrator), forcing the killer to stab him.

* In the Creator/AgathaChristie short story ''Accident'', a man suspects a woman of being a murderer. Before he can be certain, he must take a drink she offers him. He waits for her to drink first; she hesitates before pouring her drink into a plant. Confident he's beaten the switcheroo, he drinks from his vessel [[spoiler:and promptly dies]].

** An early episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-4QaAbBKJI the exact same gag]], with Stuart Minkus as Urkel and Shawn as the bully.

* A recurring [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZOoKCOWlbs series of sketches]] on ''[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook The Mitchell And Webb Situation'' was of a servant trying to poison his sick master. In one of them, the servant suggests they should have drinks together, but the master quickly catches on and switches the glasses repeatedly until the servant loses track of the poisoned one. The servant then decides that they should have drinks later.

* A recurring [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZOoKCOWlbs series of sketches]] on ''[[Series/TheMitchellAndWebbLook The Mitchell And Webb Situation'' was of a servant trying to poison his sick master. In one of them, the servant suggests they should have drinks together, but the master quickly catches on and switches the glasses repeatedly until the servant loses track of the poisoned one. The servant then decides that they should have drinks later.

* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' features a subversion. After going through a long IKnowYouKnowIKnow, Vizzini [[LookOverThere distracts]] the Man In Black and switches the goblets, then carefully waits for his opponent to drink first (since presumably the Man In Black would try to weasel out of drinking if he thought he was about to drink from the poisoned cup). Turns out the Man In Black [[TakeAThirdOption poisoned]] ''[[TakeAThirdOption both]]'' [[TakeAThirdOption chalices]], revealing to Buttercup afterward that [[AcquiredPoisonImmunity he had built up a tolerance to the poison used]]. Ironically, ''both'' sides of his IKnowYouKnowIKnow were correct -- "I cannot choose the wine in front of you" and "I cannot choose the wine in front of me" -- even though he was only using them to fish for a reaction.

* A variation occurred in ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld''. Shawn and Cory decide to mess with Minkus's meal by placing a ton of salt and a huge amount of cream sauce inside Minkus's burger while he left the table. Minkus was apparently perceptive enough to suspect that the did it when he returned to the table, and then told them to look elsewhere while he lifted the plates up and down. Cory and Shawn likewise suspect he switched the plates, and do the same method to get it back to him, only to realize that Minkus had in fact faked them out, and that they ended up getting the messed with meal that was intended to be for Minkus.

* ''{{Nation}}'', by Creator/TerryPratchett: Half-averted, half-subverted. In order to prevent two men from killing the islanders (and after they had already killed one), Daphne gets them alone and poisons them with undiluted beer. Foxlip, the one who had killed, does ''not'' switch the cups as per the trope, instead having Daphne mix the drinks together so they all get the same. Like ''Princess Bride'', all the cups were poisoned. Unlike ''Princess Bride'', it wasn't that Daphne was immune so much as understood the trick to make the beer safe: Spitting into the beer to neutralize the poison, and singing the ritual beer song to count time it takes to work. Daphne did this right in front of the men and asked they do it too, knowing that they would never partake in "pagan mumbo jumbo." As a result, Foxlip drank and died. The other man survived only because of continued suspicion but was sent running soon after.

'''Cory''': Because he is, isn't he. ''(Shawn nods in agreement)''

* The 17th chapter of ''HunterXHunter'' has this. Two candles, a long one and a short one will be lit. Gon has to predict which one will last the longer. Everyone instantly thinks this is a trap-in-a-trap-in-a-trap etc., [[IdiotHero but Gon obliviously chooses the long one, reasoning that it should last longer because of its size.]]

* Nakamura, a science teacher in ''{{Nichijou}}'' who's interested in RobotGirl Nano tries to see if she's susceptible to tranquilizers by giving her drugged coffee... only to realize too late that she'd poured and drank her own coffee ''after'' putting the tranquilizers in the pot. Later, she prepares this trick again, only for her adding the tranquilizers to make the coffee cup overflow. She instinctively leans forward to drink the excess off the top and... [[EpicFail well...]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', you come across one of your assassination targets just as he's about to poison a political enemy. You can then switch their glasses and have the target drink his own poison.

* The GKChesterton short story "The Bottomless Well" uses exactly the same variant as ''Curtain'', with [[spoiler:a revolving bookcase to accidentally switch the cups]].

** In the book, all the brothers are GenreSavvy enough to only drink wine they themselves have poured from a sealed bottle. In the film, Primus refuses wine from Lamia at the inn, probably for that reason.

* Used in multiple ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' shorts. In one notable instance, Shemp and the villainess take turns distracting each other and swapping their wine glasses. The GenreSavvy villainess, however, simply taps the glasses together when it's her turn, causing Shemp to swap the glasses around again and give himself the poison.

** It also occurs in ''Outcast of Redwall''. Swartt convinces Bowflegg that the wine isn't poisoned by drinking some of it straight from the bottle. That's because the poison is actually smeared onto the rim of the goblet that Bowflegg drinks from. The trick is pulled at least once more, and is later subverted by a DangerouslyGenreSavvy fox who realized the trick (he's gotten rid of in a less direct way).

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': In a dark DoubleSubversion of the "both chalices are poisoned" variation, Maester Cressen poisons a glass of wine, which he insists on ''sharing'' with his intended target, Melisandre, believing that [[GenreSavvy she would not drink unless he drank as well]] and willing to die for his cause. She [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy is fully aware of the ruse]] and tries to convince him to throw the wine away, but ultimately consents to share the drink with him. It turns out that she's [[CrazyPrepared magically immune to most forms of poison]].

* ''Series/{{House}}'': Played almost-straight when House buys two coffees, grinding up amphetamines in one to give to Wilson. Being GenreSavvy, House offers the clean one to Wilson, who suspiciously declines House's offer and takes the drugged one from his desk.

* A variation occurred in ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld''. Shawn and Cory decide to mess with Minkus's meal by placing a ton of salt and a huge amount of cream sauce inside Minkus's burger while he left the table. Minkus was apparently [[GenreSavvy Genre Savvy]] enough to suspect that the did it when he returned to the table, and then told them to look elsewhere while he lifted the plates up and down. Cory and Shawn likewise suspect he switched the plates, and do the same method to get it back to him, only to realize that Minkus had in fact faked them out, and that they ended up getting the messed with meal that was intended to be for Minkus.

* {{Inverted}} in the fantasy film ''[[{{Shrek}} Shrek 2]],'' when Fiona's father the King brings two cups of tea into Fiona's room, one of which he had spiked with a love potion as part of a ploy to get her to marry Prince Charming. After talking for a bit, Fiona reaches for one cup, but the King nervously tells her to drink the other, making up a transparent excuse about one of them being decaf. Fiona obliges, having no reason to be suspicious of her father. At the movie's climax, it's revealed to the audience that the King had actually changed his mind at the last second, instead giving Fiona the untainted cup.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}} VCR Mystery Game'': This happens multiple times during the dinner scene. It reaches the point were no one ends up eating anything at dinner as no one is sure what has been poisoned and what hasn't.

* A rumor to the origins of toasting is thought to contain this trope. It was more a sign of trust (similar to handing a weapon business end pointed at you to someone) that your drinks could accidentally slosh and mix, and both men would come out of it in good health. Whether it is TruthInTelevision or not is heavily debated.

* Chespirito has done it as the Chapulin Colorado and in historical or mythical sketches

* In ''Series/PoliceSquad'' a woman poisoned one of two drinks. It worked, but I'm sure she drank the one with the poison with it. This may have been on purpose; after all, ''Series/PoliceSquad'' was famous for never letting a go by without a joke, and packed tons of subtle jokes in-between the over-the-top sight gags.

* Done openly in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': the serial killer has two identical bottles of pills, one poisonous and one completely harmless, and forces his victims at gunpoint to choose one while he takes the other. [[spoiler: Sherlock realizes the gun is fake and is about to simply walk away, but the killer challenges him into playing anyway. However, before they can actually take the pills, Watson shoots him, and we never do find out which was which.]]
** Assuming the killer was telling the truth a variation is created. [[spoiler:No matter how clever Sherlock is he cannot figure out where the poison is because the killer doesn't know and has just been lucky.]] Naturally Sherlock ''doesn't'' believe him and gets sucked in.

* Played with in the 1997 ''PrinceValiant'' film. The villain spikes Princess Ilene's goblet with some kind of potion (love potion, sleeping potion... wasn't made clear). Ilene distracts him, switches goblets, and pours candle wax into his goblet. The villain get suspicious and switches them back. He drinks first, and as he chokes on the wax, Ilene escapes.

* ''SaturdayNightLive'': Steve Martin, always eager to protect his status as hosting the show more times than anybody else, once did a skit where he attempted to maintain his status by poisoning Tom Hanks before he could tie the record, by slipping poison from his ring into Tom's whiskey. A series of switcharoos took place, before Tom Hanks pulled a fake switcharoo. Steve Martin, now suspecting that, decided to throw out the whiskey and order champagne, which he again poisoned. After another couple switcharoos Tom resolved the issue by punching Steve in the jaw. Only then did Steve find out that this was only Tom Hank's fifteenth time hosting, meaning he was still one short of tying Steve. Both of them felt very foolish.

* ''FoxTrot'' had a variation with salt in milk, between Jason and Peter with multiple switches and some alleged fake switches, culminating in the line "We're trying to figure out which of us should be throwing up right now." Turned out Paige had somehow gotten the salt.
* A ''{{Garfield}}'' strip has Jon Arbuckle suggesting that he and his date drink from each other's glasses... on the grounds that his last date tried to poison him.

* In RobinHobb's ''Literature/{{Farseer}}'' trilogy, [=FitzChivalry=] ostensibly poisons his "victim"'s glass, and gives him his own. He later takes a few sips of that unpoisoned glass, before noticing, a little too late, that [[spoiler:the ''bottle'' had been poisoned by the EvilPrince. He barely survives, the victim doesn't]].

* Unintentionally ([[AmbiguousSituation probably]]) occurs in the movie of ''RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', where it turns out that [[spoiler:Akio]] [[SlippingAMickey slipped a drug into]] [[spoiler:his sister Anthy's]] drink, and when he thought she was unconscious proceeded to rape her, only to realize later that she was awake the entire time. He responds by [[spoiler:stabbing her, and then falling out the window to his death]] due to losing his coordination from the effects of the drug.

* ''ThePrisoner'' - Number Six is made to believe his aggressive behavior has been neutralized by ultrasound brain surgery - he comes to realize it had been staged and he was being kept passive with drugs, at which point he switches his drugged tea with a cup the scientist in charge is taking with him.