History Main / TheUnHug

* Whenever Sheldon Cooper from ''TheBigBangTheory'' attempts physical contact of any sort, it is incredibly awkward. This goes double for hugging.

%%

[[quoteright:317:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3x08-Britta_Troy_hug_138.jpg]]

* Between Parker and Jules in ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}''who have something of a father-daughter relationship. Parker wanted to congratulate Jules on a job well done and Jules wanted to thank Parker for coaching her through the negotiation. Parker extended his hand for a handshake while Jules attempted to pull him in for a hug. They end up having a bit of an awkward moment when they settled for a hug, with Jules quickly leaving afterwards and Parker remaining frozen in place.

* ''GravityFalls:'' "Awkward sibling hug?"

* Happens in the SyFy miniseries ''{{Alice}}'' between The Mad Hatter and Alice, as Alice is leaving Wonderland.

* ''{{Monk}}'': When Monk's brother Ambrose is first introduced, the somewhat estranged siblings try to hug. This doesn't go well, partially due to the fact that both of them suffer from SuperOCD, and they end up AirHugging.
* In the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' finale, the potential future Picard is flashing forward to establishes that he and Dr. Crusher married and divorced, and when they meet, they have a hard time deciding if they're going to hug or shake hands.

Alice and Bob open their arms. They lean in and... fake to the left, flinch backwards, bump arms, cringe, and back away.

Sometimes, hugs are [[CooldownHug psychologically helpful]], [[SecurityCling natural]], [[GroupHug heartwarming]] or at very least, [[CryIntoChest cathartic.]] Other times, the chemistry's off, elbows keep bumping, or both participants instantly want to back out. Can be used to to highlight a complete lack of sexual tension, relationship problems, embarrassment, intimacy issues, any number of things, really. The important part is that the hug is incredibly awkward. This does ''not'' indicate that the characters are not emotionally close--frequently, examples of this trope occur between two people who just hate physical closeness.

The characters may actually succeed in wrapping their arms around one another, but immediately break apart from acute embarrassment.

Can overlap with ManHug, where men develop a special way of hugging to keep this from happening out of embarrassment. Also see AirHugging. Maybe the natural result is NoHuggingNoKissing is violated.

!!Examples:

[[AC:Film]]
* At the end of ''MeanGirls'', Janis and Damien's hug is this.
* Several examples in [[Film/HarryPotter the Harry Potter films]]:
** At the end of ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', Hermione runs up to Harry and gives him a big hug, and then turns to Ron, who holds out his arms a little bit. They end up shaking hands instead of hugging.
** In ''Deathly Hallows: Part 2'', Voldemort attempts to hug Draco, who just sort of stands there. It's obvious that Draco just wishes he weren't there at the moment and that Voldemort has absolutely no experience with giving hugs.
* A one sided example In Film/LordOfTheRings, Aragorn hugs Haldir.

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]
* ''{{Psych}}'': At a big party for Lassie, Lassiter and Juliet exchange an utterly awkward but completely sincere hug.
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Liz and Jack should ''not'' attempt to hug without extreme circumstances.
* On ''{{Firefly}}'', Zoe and Mal have a "highlighting lack of sexual tension between close friends" variant.

-->'''Arthur:''' Noooo.
* Happens in the SyFy miniseries ''{{Alice}}'' between The Mad Hatter and Alice, as Alice is leaving Wonderland.
* On ''Series/DoctorWho'', in the episode "The Parting of the Ways", when the Doctor says goodbye to Lynda as she's heading off to help defend the space station.
* ''{{Monk}}'': When Monk's brother Ambrose is first introduced, the somewhat estranged siblings try to hug. This doesn't go well, partially due to the fact that both of them suffer from SuperOCD, and they end up AirHugging.
* In the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' finale, the potential future Picard is flashing forward to establishes that he and Dr. Crusher married and divorced, and when they meet, they have a hard time deciding if they're going to hug or shake hands.
* Whenever Sheldon Cooper from ''TheBigBangTheory'' attempts physical contact of any sort, it is incredibly awkward. This goes double for hugging.
* The ''WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' are so dysfunctional they have trouble hugging. Harper even lampshades it.

* ''GravityFalls:'' "Awkward sibling hug?"

[[AC:TruthInTelevision]]

* Happened hilariously on ''Series/Merlin'': Merlin saves Arthur's skin again and after Arthur reluctantly apologizes, Merlin goes in for a hug. Arthur steps back, hands out, and says "Noooo." Merlin tries to explain and he gets all embarrassed.

* On ''DoctorWho'', in the episode "The Parting of the Ways", when the Doctor says goodbye to Lynda as she's heading off to help defend the space station.

* In the film version ''CatOnAHotTinRoof'', Maggie hugs her husband, Brick. Brick instinctively raises his arms to hug her back... then lets them down and tells Maggie to let go.

Alice and Bob open their arms. They lean in. They . . . fake to the left, flinch backwards, bump arms, cringe, and back away.

Sometimes, hugs are [[CooldownHug psychologically helpful]], [[SecurityCling natural]], [[GroupHug heartwarming]] or at very least, [[CryIntoChest cathartic.]] Other times, the chemistry's off, elbows keep bumping, or both participants instantly want to back out. Can be used to to highlight a complete lack of sexual tension, relationship problems, embarassment, intimacy issues . . . any number of things, really. The important part is that the hug is incredibly awkward. This does ''not'' indicate that the characters are not emotionally close--frequently, examples of this trope occur between two people who just hate physical closeness.

The characters may actually succeed in wrapping their arms around one another, but immediately break apart from acute embarassment.

Can overlap with ManHug, where men develop a special way of hugging to keep this from happening out of embarassment. Also see AirHugging. Maybe the natural result is NoHuggingNoKissing is violated.

* At the end of ''{{Mean Girls}}'', Janis and Damien's hug is this.
* Several examples in the Harry Potter films:

* A one sided example In {{Lord of the Rings}}, Aragorn hugs Haldir.

* ''Series/{{Thirty Rock}}'': Liz and Jack should ''not'' attempt to hug without extreme circumstances.

* Happened hilariously on ''{{Series/Merlin}}'': Merlin saves Arthur's skin, AGAIN, and after Arthur reluctantly apologizes, Merlin goes in for a hug. Arthur steps back, hands out, and says "noooo." Merlin tries to explain and he gets all embarrassed.
* Happens in the {{Sy Fy}} miniseries ''{{Alice}}'' between Hatter and Alice, as Alice is leaving Wonderland.
* On ''{{Doctor Who}}'', in the episode "The Parting of the Ways", when the Doctor says goodbye to Lynda as she's heading off to help defend the space station.
* ''{{Monk}}'': When we are first introduced to Monk's brother Ambrose, the somewhat estranged siblings try to hug. This doesn't go well, partially due to the fact that both of them suffer from SuperOCD, and they end up AirHugging.
* In the ''{{Star Trek}}'': TNG finale, the potential future Picard is flashing forward to establishes that he and Dr. Crusher married and divorced, and when they meet, they have a hard time deciding if they're going to hug or shake hands.
* Whenever Sheldon Cooper from ''{{The Big Bang Theory}}'' attempts physical contact of any sort, it is incredibly awkward. This goes double for hugging.
* The ''{{Wizards of Waverly Place}}'' are so dysfuntional they have trouble hugging. Harper even lampshades it.

* The so-called "Christian Side Hug," where people hug from the side to avoid possibility of genital contact. Urgh.
** That's not really a Christian stereotype. Lots of people have awkward sidehugs.
* Two words: Hover hand. What, two words not enough? It's putting your arm around somebody's shoulders, but let your hand hover awkwardly just above their shoulder. Usually indicates lack of confidence.

* ''{{Thirty Rock}}'': Liz and Jack should ''not'' attempt to hug without extreme circumstances.

NeedsAnIndex

* Two words: Hover hand. What, two words not enough? It's putting your arm around somebody's shoulders, but let your hand hover awkwardly just above their shoulder. Usually indicates lack of confidence.

* Happened hilariously on ''{{Merlin}}'': Merlin saves Arthur's skin, AGAIN, and after Arthur reluctantly apologizes, Merlin goes in for a hug. Arthur steps back, hands out, and says "noooo." Merlin tries to explain and he gets all embarrassed.

Can overlap with ManHug, where men develop a special way of hugging to keep this from happening out of embarassment. Also see AirHug. Maybe the natural result is NoHuggingNoKissing is violated.

Can overlap with ManHug, where men develop a special way of hugging to keep this from happening out of embarassment. Maybe the natural result is NoHuggingNoKissing is violated.

* At the end of ''{{Mean Girls}}'', Janis and Damien's hug is this. Reasonable, considering how one or both of them is gay.