History Main / YouCanAlwaysTellALiar

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E22AllHellBreaksLoosePartTwo "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two" (S02, Ep22)]], Dean, who is usually a ConsummateLiar, can not meet Bobby's eyes.

* ''FibberMcGeeAndMolly'': If somebody's wife always calls him "Fibber" rather than by his given name, you'd be wise to take notice.

* Every character in the ''PokerNightAtTheInventory'' games have tells that range from the subtle (a really slight head shake or humming to a particular song) to the blatantly obvious (shouting "Yes!" after being dealt a hand, or slamming their head on the table. Repeatedly.).

* Once on ''Series/{{Mash}}'' the guys realized that Winchester whistled louder when he was bluffing in poker.

* Jack Dalton had a tell on ''Series/MacGyver''.

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* In ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', Sylvester is an expert on human socialization, and can often tell when people are trying to lie to him (usually when they try to conceal their tells) but just as often relies upon ''telling'' people that he knows they're lying and watching their response to determine if they actually are.

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* Olive in ''PushingDaisies'' answers questions with questions when she's hiding something; Ned has a facial twitch.

* Every character in the [[PokerAtTheInventory]] games have tells that range from the subtle (a really slight head shake or straightening their tie) to the blatantly obvious (shouting "Yes!" after being dealt a hand, or slamming their head on the table. Repeatedly.).

* ''LANoire'' used high definition and detailed facial software to make it so the players could better guess if the person they are speaking to is lying to them.

* In the 2006 ''Film/CasinoRoyale'', Film/JamesBond observes that Le Chiffre's eye twitches when on a weak hand and deduces that it's his tell. Unfortunately, after he explains this to TheMole, Le Chiffre fakes it to lure Bond into losing his cash.

* In ''CaseClosed'' they bring up a supposed CIA method of lie detection - bringing the target's face uncomfortably close to their own, checking their pulse and iris at the same time.

* In the ''DoctorWho'' Christmas episode, "The Snowmen", Silurian Lady Vashtra does this when she questions Clara about her interest in the Doctor, ordering Clara to respond to her questions with single-word answers. In her own words, "Truth is singular. Lies are just words, words, words." Clara remarks on this when Vashtra explains at length on how the Doctor has turned his back on humanity by saying simply, "Words."

* The British panel game ''WouldILieToYou'' has this as part of its gimmick. Savvy guests have tried to block or mask their tells for fear of giving something away (one pulled out a pair of sunglasses; another tried to do several at once).

Common tells include heart-rate and respiration changes, shaking hands, changes in voice level, sudden and inappropriate displays of confidence or aggression, flushing or blushing, eye ticks, "subtle" glances toward things that the person wants to keep hidden, not meeting the eyes of a questioner, and so on. Some characters have [[PinocchioNose different symptoms]].

* In the 2006 ''Film/CasinoRoyale'', JamesBond observes that Le Chiffre's eye twitches when on a weak hand and deduces that it's his tell. Unfortunately, after he explains this to TheMole, Le Chiffre fakes it to lure Bond into losing his cash.

* The Russian mobster, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Teddy KGB]] in ''{{Rounders}}'' played with his oreos as his "tell", as the main character noticed mid-game.

* In ''{{Daredevil}}'', Matt Murdock uses his superhumanly acute hearing to listen to people's heartbeat, and thus can tell when they are lying. He has been fooled on occasion, though, when the person he's talking to is such a practiced liar that they don't have a reaction to it. And in one case, he was fooled because the liar had a pacemaker.

* [[AceAttorney Apollo Justice]] can tell when a person is lying due to his bracelet tightening in reaction to the tics because [[spoiler:it's made of a special alloy that causes it to expand/contract to a perfect fit on a person wrist due to body heat. Because the bracelet is a perfect fit, it appears to vibrate when a nervous tick is appearing. But what is really happening is that Apollo is sub-consciously aware of the liar's tensing-up. This causes Apollo to tense causing a mini-tell of his own, the muscles in his arm start to twitch and because the bracelet is just tight enough it appears to be reacting.]] Ironically, Apollo's ability is very realistic (not to mention scientifically plausible) in contrast to Phoenix's obviously unrealistic magatama. Trucy has the same ability because [[spoiler: she's Apollo's half-sister]], which makes her an excellent poker player.

* In the 2006 ''Film/CasinoRoyale'', JamesBond observes that Le Chiffre's eye twitches when on a strong hand and deduces that it's his tell. Unfortunately, Le Chiffre was doing it intentionally and waiting for him to rely on it...

* In ''LiarGame'', Akiyama instructs one of his teammates about this in the third round of the game. It's a cover for what he's really trying to accomplish, and tells have nothing to do with his actual plan.
** Also features in the second revival round. Fukunaga apparently betrays Team Akiyama by telling Nao's opponent that she has a tell: she blinks twice whenever she lies. Nao's opponent uses this information to wipe the floor with her...but it's all a ruse, one planned by ''[[TheDitz Nao]] [[TheMessiah herself]]'', and as soon as her opponent is feeling overconfident, Nao lures her into a trap that instantly reverses the situation.

* Referenced in MassEffect2; [[MadScientist Mordin]] mentions that Salarian body language gives two different instinctive reactions when they're concealing something; one reaction is for when they're concealing something embarrassing or harmful to themselves, and one is for when they're concealing something harmful to the other person. He explains that it is virtually impossible to fake these reactions convincingly, and consequently seeing the first reaction incites Salarians to try and find out what the secret is, while seeing the second usually causes them to back off.

* Jack Dalton had a tell on ''MacGyver''.

* In the ''DoctorWho'' Christmas episode, "The Snowmen", Silurian Lady Vashtra does this when she questions Clara about her interest in the Doctor, ordering Clara to respond to her questions with single-word answers. In her own words, "Truth is singular. Lies are just words, words, words."

* In ''The Space Merchants'' by FrederikPohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth, the protagonist Mitch Courtenay and his estranged wife, Kathy, each know the other's "Tell". This is a hint about how much they know and love each other.