| 1 | [[quoteright:272:[[Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_the_weather_4040.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:272:[-Yes, even aliens on official communications channels talk about the weather.-] ]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"Let us compromise\ |
| 5 | (Our hearts are not of leather):\ |
| 6 | Let us shut our eyes,\ |
| 7 | And talk about the weather."'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''Kate''', ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' |
| 9 | %% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes page. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | The ultimate in inconsequential neutral talk: the subject matter is the weather. Usually fictionally to [[ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject evade a more serious topic]] – out of dislike for it, especially the ElephantInTheLivingRoom, or because they might be overheard – or to depict characters as not knowing each other, or having nothing to say. May indicate a BanOnPolitics. Those who CannotSpitItOut often talk about the weather instead. It can also be the set-up for DispenseWithThePleasantries. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | The character who HatesSmallTalk will react vehemently. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Its TruthInTelevision nature keeps it alive. Characters can easily refer to the trope without breaking the fourth wall. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | This trope may provoke serious talk about the weather, which is invariably treated as a ''faux pas'', even if provoked. (When the characters actually need to talk about important weather conditions, it falls outside this trope.) |
| 18 | |
| 19 | See also SeinfeldianConversation. An obligatory trope for a WeatherReportOpening. |
| 20 | ----- |
| 21 | !!Examples |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime]] |
| 26 | * ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'': My Brother Is a Robeast |
| 27 | -->'''Pidge:''' I don't know what to talk about, how 'bout sports or the weather? |
| 28 | [[/folder]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 31 | * ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': Black Widow said that it was a nice day, and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMilesMorales Miles Morales]] protested that they are talking about the weather now. But, hey, it ''was'' a nice day! |
| 32 | [[/folder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 35 | * In Fanfic/TwilightSparklesAwesomeAdventure, at one point Admiral Awesome finds the President of Amarican in his tent. His opening line: “Hello Mr. President. Beautiful weather isn’t it?” |
| 36 | * In ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager'', Chakotay suggests to B'Elanna that she talk about "how boring the weather is now it's [[WeatherControlMachine controlled by Science]]." |
| 37 | [[/folder]] |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 40 | * An obligatory lampshade in ''Film/TheAvengers1998'' given that it's set in Britain and the BigBad has a WeatherControlMachine. |
| 41 | -->'''Father:''' Hello, Mrs. Peel, welcome back to The Ministry. Now we're going to have a talk.\ |
| 42 | '''Emma Peel:''' About the weather, how topical!\ |
| 43 | '''Father:''' It'll help pass the time.\ |
| 44 | '''Emma Peel:''' Time would pass anyway if you think about it logically! But then so few do think logically, or even anti-logically. Clockwise or anti-clockwise, tick-toc, toc-tick, see-saw, Margery Daw. It amounts to the same thing! After all, how do you know [[{{Doppelganger}} I'm the real Mrs Peel?]]\ |
| 45 | '''Father:''' [[SublimeRhyme How real do you feel, Mrs. Peel?]]\ |
| 46 | '''Emma Peel:''' I'll repeat the question, bypassing the weather, which, no doubt, being British, we'll return to in a moment. |
| 47 | * ''Film/CinderellaMan'' |
| 48 | -->'''Jim Braddock:''' Joe, did you come all this way just to talk about the weather? |
| 49 | * ''Film/TrialOfKitCarson'' |
| 50 | -->'''Bill Harmon:''' Take your time, Mr. Benton. There's been a lot of weather for your daughter and me to talk about. |
| 51 | * ''Film/GroundhogDay'': Mrs. Lancaster tries to make small talk with Phil by talking about the weather -- unfortunately, he's pissed off and he's a weatherman. |
| 52 | -->'''Mrs. Lancaster:''' There's talk of a blizzard.\ |
| 53 | '''Phil Connors:''' We may catch a break and that blizzard's gonna blow right by us. All of this moisture coming up out of the south by midday is probably gonna push on to the east of us, and at high altitudes, it's gonna crystallize and probably give us what we call snow. Probably will be some accumulation but here in Punxsutawney our high is gonna get up to about 30 today, teens tonight. Chance of precipitation about 20% today, 20% tomorrow. ...Did you ''want'' to [[SeriousBusiness talk about the weather]], or [[InvertedTrope were you just making chitchat]]? |
| 54 | * Used in ''Film/TheNakedJungle''. After several minutes of very awkward, one-sided conversation, there is a prolonged silence and then: |
| 55 | -->'''Joanna:''' Everything I say seems to make things worse. I'm trying not to irritate you.\ |
| 56 | '''[[{{Tsundere}} Leiningen]]:''' I noticed that. I find it irritating. |
| 57 | * Used in ''Film/SenseAndSensibility'', when Mrs Dashwood brusquely orders Margaret to "restrict her remarks to the weather". |
| 58 | ** When Edward appears at the end unexpectedly, Margaret actually does this. |
| 59 | * In ''Film/Paddington2014'', Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo listen to an instructional record in preparation for their trip to London. The narrator suggests talking about the weather when meeting strangers in the street. |
| 60 | * In ''Film/{{Holiday}}'', when Johnny first meets Julia's father, he greets him with, "We seem to be enjoying a relative absence of snow this winter." When Johnny comes over near the end to make things up with Julia, her father greets him with the same line. |
| 61 | * In ''Film/AdamAndPaul'', Adam tries to steal a woman's bag in a cafe. Paul unsuccessfully tries to distract the cashier by saying, "Having loads of weather at the moment, aren't we?" |
| 62 | * ''Film/OurManFlint'' also involves the villains having a WeatherControlMachine, but when Flint brings up this trope the FemmeFatale he's talking to cuts to the chase and invites him to her boudoir instead. |
| 63 | -->'''Gilia:''' [[TheAnticipator We were expecting you.]] |
| 64 | -->'''Flint:''' Well, here I am. Now, shall we talk about the weather? |
| 65 | -->'''Gilia:''' Of course. But not here. Personal matters require privacy. |
| 66 | -->'''Flint:''' Oh, you have some kind of place in mind...a [[SchmuckBait trap?]] |
| 67 | * At the start of ''Film/{{Moontrap}}'' (1989), a space shuttle pilot is bored and asks Mission Control about the weather back on Earth, only to gripe when he's told what a nice day for golfing it is in Florida. |
| 68 | [[/folder]] |
| 69 | |
| 70 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 71 | * In Creator/DianaWynneJones's ''Literature/CastleInTheAir'', one princess complains that a disadvantage of the castle is you ''can't'' talk about the weather. |
| 72 | * In ''Literature/TheMouseThatRoared'', the Grand Duchess discovers she can't even talk about the weather since different parts of the duchy want different weather. |
| 73 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'' |
| 74 | ** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', whenever Quirell is questioned on the subject of his turban, he goes pink and starts talking about the weather. Hagrid also does this whenever touchy subjects are evoked when he doesn't go mysteriously deaf. |
| 75 | ** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', Harry is dismayed to find himself talking about the weather while trying to flirt with Cho. |
| 76 | * In ''Literature/TheLastKnight'', Fisk comments that different classes of people have different kinds of small talk--nobles talk about horses, townsfolk talk about taxes, and farmers talk about the weather. |
| 77 | * In Creator/SpiderRobinson's ''Literature/{{Stardance}}'', when Charlie Armstead asked how Raoul Brindle had managed to see the previously unreleased videos of the Stardance, rather than tell the truth or flat-out lie, Raoul answered, "Large weather we're having." |
| 78 | * Creator/DaveBarry likes to use "We had some rain today, but it turned to sleet" as an [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny unfunny line which gets inexplicable laughs]]. |
| 79 | * In ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' at a dinner at the Opera House the diners talk about the ''cold'' weather to try and counteract the effects of Nanny Ogg's aphrodisiac chocolate pudding. |
| 80 | -->'''Mr Salzella:''' Wind, glaciers, icicles -\ |
| 81 | '''Mr Bucket:''' Not icicles! |
| 82 | ** In ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', Rincewind's default topic when talking to natives of Fourecks is to ask about the weather. What our favorite IneptMage hadn't quite figured out was that the "Terra Incognita" is locked in a perpetual drought, so innocent inquiries on when the last time it rained get him chased by angry mobs. |
| 83 | * Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'': Marianne complains about being expected to make small talk. |
| 84 | -->''I have erred against every common-place notion of decorum; I have been open and sincere where I ought to have been reserved, spiritless, dull, and deceitful -- had I talked only of the weather and the roads, and had I spoken only once in ten minutes, this reproach would have been spared.'' |
| 85 | * Creator/JasperFforde: |
| 86 | ** In ''[[Literature/ThursdayNext Lost In A Good Book]]'', the spectators at the trial in ''The Trial'' talk about the weather as well as about her case. |
| 87 | ** In ''Literature/TheLastDragonslayer'', Jennifer mentions this among the things the wizards could have talked about on the way to the job but didn't. |
| 88 | * ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': In Moose County, it is generally customary to spend a minute or two talking about the weather before moving on to more serious subjects. This is just considered simple politeness, even with two people who know each other quite well. |
| 89 | * In Creator/RickRiordan's ''[[Literature/TheKaneChronicles The Throne of Fire]]'', with Sadie and Walt in the desert, she starts the conversation with "Lovely weather." |
| 90 | * In Creator/PGWodehouse's ''Hot Water'' Blair Eggleston's timidity with women is such that face with an incense-filled studio holding a scantily clad princess lolling on a tiger skin, he would take the seat nearest the door and talk about the weather. |
| 91 | * In Creator/PoulAnderson's "Literature/TimePatrol", Manse observes that talking about crops and weather in Dark Ages England is much like twentieth-century Middle Western America. |
| 92 | * In Creator/WenSpencer's ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'', Nathan says that a first date, if not spent learning about each other, has small talk. Tinker mentions the heat. |
| 93 | * In an editorial for the Hartford Courant, Creator/MarkTwain wrote, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." |
| 94 | * Literature/SherlockHolmes |
| 95 | ** In "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons", Lestrade is at first reluctant to tell what's really on his mind, so he resorts to this. |
| 96 | --->''On this particular evening Lestrade had spoken of the weather and the newspapers. Then he had fallen silent, puffing thoughtfully at his cigar.'' |
| 97 | ** Invoked in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"; when the suspectedly murderous father of their most recent client bursts into 221B Baker Street and demands to know what his daughter told Holmes and Watson, instead of replying, Holmes starts loudly commenting on the weather. |
| 98 | ** In the ''Literature/DrWatsonAtWar'' series by Robert Ryan, Watson notes this trope has become a favorite topic again, but inverted in that everyone is hoping for bad weather to keep the German bombers and zeppelins away. |
| 99 | * In Creator/RobinMcKinley's ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', the person Sunshine comes the nearest to confiding the truth in is Yolanda, because when she talks about the weather or other chitchat, she not only doesn't ask what happened to her but doesn't even seem to be suppressing the desire to. |
| 100 | * In Creator/HilariBell's Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries novel ''The Last Knight'', Sir Michael and the lady talk about horses -- which, the narrator notes, is what nobles do when farmers would talk about the weather and townsmen taxes. |
| 101 | * In Creator/SeananMcGuire's ''Literature/OctoberDaye'' novel ''Ashes of Honor'', when Tybalt insists on speaking with Toby alone, she starts with "Nice weather we've been having lately.'' |
| 102 | * In Creator/DorothyGilman's ''Literature/TheClairvoyantCountess'', Mr. Faber-Jones learns his doctor has a heroic past and is struck by how, at his exam, the doctor will talk about the weather and gallbladders. |
| 103 | * In StephanieBurgis's ''[[Literature/KatIncorrigible A Most Improper Magick]]'', Angeline complains that she can not understand Sir Neville and Mr. Gregson's talk. Must she and her sisters talk about the weather? |
| 104 | * In Creator/MichaelFlynn's ''[[Literature/SpiralArm The January Dancer]]'', the Fudir calls Hugh his ticket out of there with as much emotion as if he were talking of the weather. |
| 105 | * The first essay in Creator/DavidFosterWallace's ''ASupposedlyFunThingIllNeverDoAgain'' tells much of the man's life story by relating it back to the horrible wind where he grew up. It's often a circuitous sort of connection, but he manages somehow. |
| 106 | * {{Discussed}} in the Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel ''Imzadi'' when Guinan mentions to Riker how the weather is a typical conversation starter--albeit far less useful in the vacuum of space. |
| 107 | -->"But look at that. Not much to say, is there? 'Hmm...looks like a vacuum today. And they predict more of the same for tomorrow.' You see the difficulty." |
| 108 | * In ''Franchise/StarWars: Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire: The Secret Academy'', Zare tries to have a secretive comm discussion with his mother, Tepha, but as soon as his father Leo shows up, they switch to talking about the weather on Arkanis because Leo is still a fully loyal Imperial and doesn't know about his son's activities. |
| 109 | * ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': In her prequel novel, a young Polgara finds herself completely unable to sustain a conversation with her soon-to-be brother-in-law Algar, who's famous for being TheQuietOne. When she resorts to talking about the weather, he points her toward an open window. |
| 110 | * At the end of ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety and the Prisoner's Dilemma'', all of the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society have mixed feelings because they're all moving to their own rooms in separate houses, though they'll all still be close together. Though their lives are free of the danger of the BigBad Mr. Curtain, who has been imprisoned, they've also lost some of the excitement of their secret missions. They agree to continue holding society meetings, though Constance isn't sure what they would have to talk about. Kate says she's sure they'll find ''something'' to talk about, and Constance asks "Like what? The stupid weather?" |
| 111 | -->''"Why not?" Reynie said, and he chuckled to himself, for just then he was feeling as happy as he ever had. "It's going to beautiful day, Constance. It's springtime!" And indeed, out along Mr. Benedict's fence, the roses were blooming.'' |
| 112 | * In the UsefulNotes/ColdWar thriller ''Literature/AnHBombForAlice'' by Ian Stewart, the protagonist and his Aboriginal guide discover the camp they are investigating in the Australian desert has armed guards who are speaking in Russian. When the Aborigine asks what they were talking about, the protagonist says they were just griping about how hot it was. |
| 113 | * ''Literature/TheMermaid'': While Amelia is staying in P.T. Barnum's apartment, she's expected to spend her free time sitting in the parlor with Barnum's wife Charity and make polite conversation about the weather, even though Charity rarely goes outside. |
| 114 | * In ''Literature/TheSpeedOfDark'', Lou notes that it's polite to say something about the weather to cashiers, even if the person in front of you has already said something similar. |
| 115 | [[/folder]] |
| 116 | |
| 117 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 118 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': Used as [[SpySpeak a code for a much more serious matter]] in "Z'ha'dum": |
| 119 | -->'''Sheridan:''' Good. And when I see you next, if everything is set... we'll talk about the weather. |
| 120 | * In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', Sheldon has a list of safe topics he and Amy can talk about when they're driving to the aquarium, and this is one of them. She convinces him to disregard the list and just say what's on his mind but regrets it when he asks if she's had "coitus" with any of the men she's dated since they broke up. |
| 121 | * In the 1978 British comedy ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah'', the characters insist on doing this even though they're orbiting above the Earth in a space station. |
| 122 | -->'''Fanshaw:''' Well there was obviously an awful lot of weather going on over England, only there was so much cloud we couldn't see what it was. |
| 123 | -->'''Cunliffe:''' [[SarcasmMode It's scintillating this, isn't it?]] We haven't got any weather of our own, so we have to talk about somebody else's! |
| 124 | * ''Series/TheCrown2016''. PlayedForDrama in "Act of God". When the [[FogOfDoom Great Smog of 1952]] is enveloping London, the refusal of Winston Churchill to address the matter shakes public confidence and causes a crisis in his own party. |
| 125 | -->'''Winston Churchill''': Sometimes we have sunshine. Too much sunshine, and they call it a drought. Then we have rain. Too much rain, and they call it a deluge and find a way to blame us for that too. It's an [[TitleDrop act of God]], Bobbety. It's weather! And for better or for worse, we get a great deal of it on this island. |
| 126 | * In ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "Boo!", Martin has had a heart attack and doesn't want Ronee to know. Ronee {{lampshade|Hanging}}s that she HatesSmallTalk with her elderly mother - which prompts Martin to engage in it himself, trying to avoid the subject of his "cardiac event". |
| 127 | -->'''Martin:''' No. So, uh, good weather over there in Spokane?\ |
| 128 | '''Ronee:''' God, no. It rained the entire time. I basically just sat there and made boring small talk with my mother. God, I hate [[LampshadeHanging small talk]].\ |
| 129 | ''[awkward pause]''\ |
| 130 | '''Martin:''' Oh, tell me. Rained here some, too.\ |
| 131 | This continues for some time 'til Ronee figures out something's wrong. |
| 132 | * Lampshaded on ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' after an awkward post-breakup conversation: |
| 133 | -->'''Lorelai:''' Yeah, it was just awkward, and neither of us knew how to act.\ |
| 134 | '''Sookie:''' I'm sure it seemed worse than it really was.\ |
| 135 | '''Lorelai:''' Uh, no. We hit the weather in the first minute.\ |
| 136 | '''Sookie:''' Well, it ''has'' been unseasonably warm... |
| 137 | * ''The Heavy Water War'': A German officer in charge of the Uranium Group muses how every conversation with the wives (or mistresses) of Party officials starts with them saying how they know nothing about physics but find it interesting, before going on to the weather and other trivial matters. |
| 138 | * ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': According to Bruce in "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E5AVileHungerForYourHammeringHeart A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart]]", only two dozen people attended his funeral, and because they didn't have much to say about him, they ended up chatting about the weather instead. |
| 139 | * In ''Series/KimsConvenience'', Mr. Chin, Mr. Mehta, and Mr. Kim are shocked by a flirty message the latter's received from a secret admirer in the convenience store's Google reviews, and they are all sent into a panic when Mrs. Kim walks in. Trying to act like nothing happened, Mr. Mehta starts talking about the weather. All he can muster, though, is, "The weather! My god! It's... everywhere." |
| 140 | * In ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', Terry Jones' housewife is trying to keep Michael Palin's 'Poet Inspector' from leaving the house and makes a comment about it being a nice day. Palin replies with a detailed weather forecast, even flipping down a weather chart from the wall. |
| 141 | * ''Series/SesameStreet'': The song "Hace Calor" is about this trope and how it's a good way to break the ice when you're too shy to talk to someone. |
| 142 | * In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E16StarshipMine Starship Mine]]" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Captain Picard and Data share a turbolift as the crew prepares to offload to Arkaria while the ''Enterprise''-D undergoes a baryon sweep. Data comments that it's been "quite a day" and that change of routine can be [[SpockSpeak invigorating and provide a welcome diversion after a long assignment.]] After he continues that he understands that Arkaria has some very interesting weather patterns, Picard asks if he's alright, and he explains that he was "attempting to fill a silent moment with non-relevant conversation," or in other words, making small talk. Picard suggests that perhaps it was a little too non-relevant. |
| 143 | * In ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', Vyvyan resorts to this trope when he borrows yet another cup of sugar from the same neighbor he's been borrowing them from all morning. |
| 144 | -->'''Vyvyan:''' Well, if you like snow and being ''really'' cold, it's a nice day. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 148 | * In Music/AnneMurray's "It's All I Can Do", the narrator invokes weather chat as a means of distracting from the intense emotion felt when meeting a former lover by happenstance. |
| 149 | -->"You'd think by now those old feelings had died\ |
| 150 | But it only takes just one look in your eyes...\ |
| 151 | And it's all I can do, to talk about the weather\ |
| 152 | To keep myself together, when I'm falling apart..." |
| 153 | * Music/GreatBigSea's "How Did We Get From Saying I Love You" is about two people whose relationship has devolved into awkward pauses and discussions about the weather. |
| 154 | * Music/{{REM}}'s "Pop Song 89", a song mocking pop music's banality, has the following chorus: ''Should we talk about the weather?/Should we talk about the government?'' |
| 155 | * Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever Amen" has as part of the chorus: ''"As long as old men sit and talk about the weather/As long as old women sit and talk about old men."'' |
| 156 | * Music/{{Erasure}}'s "Chains Of Love" bemoans the loss of this as people became more impersonal in general: |
| 157 | -->''Do you remember? There was a time\ |
| 158 | When people on the street were walking hand in hand in hand\ |
| 159 | We used to talk about the weather, making plans together, days would last forever'' |
| 160 | * Music/TearsForFears: In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHiG-43Fzg Head over Heels]]", Roland Orzabal's character wants to chat about the weather with his LoveInterest as an excuse to be near her. |
| 161 | -->''I wanted to be with you alone\ |
| 162 | And talk about the weather'' |
| 163 | * In a Casting Crowns song, the singer speaks of "talkin' bout the rain" instead of witnessing to his friend, which he knows he should be doing. |
| 164 | * "So Much to Say" by Dave Matthews Band, describing suppressing emotional depth under meaningless small talk. |
| 165 | -->''Keep it locked up inside, don't talk about it\ |
| 166 | Talk about the weathe-e-e-e-errrrr.'' |
| 167 | * Music/BuiltToSpill's "The Weather" has a more romantic take on the idea. |
| 168 | -->''And the wind and snow and the rain that blows\ |
| 169 | None of those would matter much without you...\ |
| 170 | And as long as I'm talking with '''you'''\ |
| 171 | Talk of the weather will do.'' |
| 172 | * Jewel's "Foolish Games": |
| 173 | -->''You stood in my doorway, with nothing to say\ |
| 174 | Besides some comment on the weather.'' |
| 175 | * "Strange Weather", a song written by Music/TomWaits but originally recorded by Marianne Faithfull: |
| 176 | -->And all over the world\ |
| 177 | Strangers talk only about the weather\ |
| 178 | All over the world\ |
| 179 | It's the same, it's the same |
| 180 | * The Weakerthans' song "Plea From a Cat Named Virtue" features a cat trying to encourage her depressed owner to interact with other humans for a change: |
| 181 | -->And talk about the weather, or\ |
| 182 | How the weather used to be.\ |
| 183 | [[/folder]] |
| 184 | |
| 185 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 186 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'': Dogbert teaching social skills to engineers. After going over the rules ("Loud, Simple, Smiley"): |
| 187 | -->'''Wally:''' ''HEY, HOW ABOUT THAT LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM, HUH?''\ |
| 188 | '''Dogbert:''' Good, but this time just say "weather". |
| 189 | * In ''ComicStrip/PricklyCity'', when Carmen is upset about having told BlatantLies, and Winslow doesn't want to talk about it. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 193 | * Referenced but averted in ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace''; in the wake of the various ecological disasters that punctuated the 21st century, the weather has become one of the most controversial subjects you can choose for conversation. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 197 | * In the Creator/GilbertAndSullivan operas: |
| 198 | ** In ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', the sisters feign this in order to get as close as propriety permits to [[LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone Leaving The Two Lovebirds Alone]]. Conveniently, their rapid-fire patter chorus about how beautifully blue the sky is and how it may pour tomorrow fades to background levels whenever Frederick and Mabel are singing. |
| 199 | ** ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'', Robin CannotSpitItOut to Rose so he talks to her about the weather instead. |
| 200 | * ''Theatre/MyFairLady'': When Eliza went to Ascot, Professor Higgins instructed her to stick to the weather as one of her topics of discussion. The vocal exercises Higgins gives her just happen to be about the weather - which makes for some awkward moments with the Ascot crowd, but that's by far the least awkward part of the particular conversation. Freddie even compliments her on being so 'awfully clever', particularly when Higgins explains it away as 'the new small talk'. |
| 201 | * ''The Arcadians'': Two love birds get very close to declaring their feelings for one another when a crowd of strangers comes along. Of course, one cannot discuss emotions in public, so they are forced to discuss the 'Charming Weather'. Twice. |
| 202 | * In ''Theatre/{{Carousel}}'', Julie and Carrie, friends as young women, are meeting again for some gossip. Carrie is in the middle of telling a racy story about the ChorusGirls she saw while on a visit to New York City--but then Julie's own daughter enters the room, causing Carrie to invoke this Trope mid-sentence: |
| 203 | -->'''Carrie:''' She threw her leg over a fence like this-- ''[as she is swinging her leg over the chair, she sees Louise and hastily puts her leg down]'' ...and it rained all day! |
| 204 | * Jack in ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' tries this and is promptly called on it. |
| 205 | * Oscar derides Felix in ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' for contributing only a weather report to a conversation. |
| 206 | [[/folder]] |
| 207 | |
| 208 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 209 | * You can overhear several conversations in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' about the weather. Considering its the middle of a snowstorm in a Gotham winter, and the speakers are typically pulling outdoor guard duty, it fits. |
| 210 | * This is one of the possible conversation topics on dates in ''VideoGame/KittyPowersMatchmaker''. It's quite easy to pull off - as long as you noticed whether it was raining or not when your client arrived at the restaurant, nobody will get upset - but it's also not going to impress anyone. |
| 211 | * In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', as the rest of the Phantom Thieves are trying to bond with Futaba, Makoto proposes talking about food or the weather. While the latter would be a somewhat fitting topic, considering that Tokyo is in the middle of a heatwave, Futaba, being a shut-in, hasn't been out much and doesn't know about the weather. |
| 212 | * This is one of the options for interaction topics in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' at the Trainer Lodge. The trope is averted sometimes, though, as some trainers ''do'' like to talk about the weather (Lillie because she enjoys going outdoors after her CharacterDevelopment, Raihan because he likes to mess with the weather as part of his battle strategies). |
| 213 | * In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'', the first time that you greet a character each day often brings about a comment about the weather, which varies depending on the person you're talking to and how the weather affects their day-to-day activities and work. |
| 214 | * One bit of EnemyChatter overheard in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'' has one guard scolding the other for being distracted by falling snow, and the other replies [[FirstSnow he's never seen snow before.]] They go on to discuss where they're from and the kind of weather their hometowns get, giving you an ample opportunity to slip by unnoticed. [[WhatMeasureIsAMook Unless you want to be the asshole who killed a man right after he saw his first snowfall]]. |
| 215 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Alphys at one point rambles about how Undyne once called her to talk about the weather... before getting hit with the confusion that there is no weather in the Underground, so why was Undyne calling her? It's implied that Undyne [[ShipTease just wanted an excuse to talk to Alphys at all]], but Alphys has such a low opinion of herself that the implications fly right over her head. This doesn't prevent [[spoiler:Asgore]] from playing the trope straight in the game's final chapter, trying to take both his and the player's minds off the impending fight to the death. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3FutureRedeemed'' has Matthew attempt to get ShrinkingViolet Nikol out of his shell by talking about how the weather for today looks great. A dryly notes that it actually looks like it's going to rain soon. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 220 | * In ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative'', after talking for the first time with Tokiko at great lengths about achieving Moksha, this is one of the options Ryuki has in order to end the conversation and leave. The flavor text indicates that Tokiko must have felt frustrated that Ryuki even said that to her. |
| 221 | * In ''VisualNovel/ArcadeSpirits'', your character wants to change the subject from Naomi, Gavin, and Francine's upcoming auction by talking about how nice a day it is to go out for a drive...and then [[CueTheRain it immediately starts raining]]. |
| 222 | * In ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', [[GenkiGirl Haruka]] and [[NoSocialSkills Rin]] end up doing this in one scene because Haruka feels awkward around Rin since she's so noisy and Rin isn't very good with people she doesn't know very well. |
| 223 | * In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', Dr. Grey's HairTriggerTemper is apparently set off by inaccurate weather predictions, so Phoenix decides not to talk about the weather with him. |
| 224 | [[/folder]] |
| 225 | |
| 226 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 227 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', Digger's response when Murai says the statue had actually held the god, that night. |
| 228 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'', [[http://endstone.net/comic/11-27-endstone-looks-like-sunny-day/ after waking up in the woods and realizing how compromising it looked, they awkwardly talk about the morning's weather.]] |
| 229 | * ''Webcomic/FauxPas'': Randy is trying to teach Cindy to understand human. Unfortunately, he's very innocent, while the humans like to talk about sex. He's always telling her that they're talking about the weather. |
| 230 | * In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', when Lindesfarne's estranged adoptive mother Angelique shows up at her graduation, Lindesfarne indignantly asks if Angelique came to talk about [[BreadEggsMilkSquick the weather, a few other topics that qualify as small talk or the way Angelique abandoned her.]] |
| 231 | * ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'': As discussed in [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/07/31/automata-page-two "Automata, Page Two"]], even automata do it, or so Carl says: |
| 232 | --> '''Detective Regal:''' You're telling me you guys talked about the weather. |
| 233 | * In ''Webcomic/TheSpecialists'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/comic/page-137/ Henry, taking Agnes's presence as evidence of interest in him, says that she surely didn't come out to talk about the weather.]] |
| 234 | * ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'': Darren thinks you can get to know people this way. |
| 235 | * In ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'', [[http://xkcd.com/1324/ this trope is hard on weather geeks]]. |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 239 | * On the Japanese learning site ''[[http://www.erin.ne.jp Erin’s Challenge!]]''’s video clips, when Erin, a new [[ButNotTooForeign half-Japanese]] foreign exchange student, is introduced to her new classmate [[PluckyComicRelief Kenta]] by her new friend and his close friend Saki, he feels very awkward speaking to her and clumsily talks about the rain. Saki chides him for it and tells him to make proper conversation. |
| 240 | * ''WebVideo/{{UNHhhh}}'': Episode 142 is "The Weather", with the two hosts introducing the episode talking about how since they've talked about every other subject matter possible, they'll now talk about the weather. The episode proceeds to talk about the weather in LA, how drivers are terrible in the rain there, comparing to their home states weather, etc. |
| 241 | -->'''Katya:''' We've talked about everything. We scoured and searched the material world, the metaphysical world, look at the material, we really have talked about everything, so we've been reduced to small talk, the weather. |
| 242 | * In ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqXwpKwNOm4 Ace Attorney but AI tries to create dialogue and improves!]]'', Gumshoe, who's accused of killing Phoenix, claims he was talking about the weather prior to the murder. Of course, things get [[MindScrew rather strange]] in the following exchange, as is par for the course with AI Dungeon. |
| 243 | -->'''Gumshoe''': I was talking about the weather.\ |
| 244 | '''Judge''': Prosecutor, what does the witness mean?\ |
| 245 | '''Edgeworth''': He's talking about the weather. It's also a metaphor.\ |
| 246 | '''Judge''': What?\ |
| 247 | '''Edgeworth''': A metaphor is where one thing is literally another thing. In this case, we're literally talking about the weather. It's a code. |
| 248 | [[/folder]] |
| 249 | |
| 250 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 251 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': ''WesternAnimation/AbraCatastrophe'': |
| 252 | -->'''Cosmo:''' I'm terrible at small talk! Ask me about the weather!\ |
| 253 | '''Timmy:''' Uh, How's the Weather?\ |
| 254 | '''Cosmo:''' [[NonSequitur Jeff!]] (''shakes Timmy violently'') See what I mean?! |
| 255 | * In their first meeting in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', this is how child psychologist Dr. Bliss lures Helga into talking to her with a list: |
| 256 | -->'''Dr. Bliss:''' We can keep it light. We can talk about the weather or sports, or your classmates. We can talk about... Arnold.\ |
| 257 | '''Helga:''' ARNOLD! |
| 258 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E12DiscordantHarmony "Discordant Harmony"]]: Which freaks Fluttershy out, because OOCIsSeriousBusiness: |
| 259 | --> '''Discord:''' What particularly nice weather we're having. |
| 260 | * ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' managed to take even ''this'' trope up to eleven. When the boys are hit by Doof's Dull-And-Boring-Inator in "Phineas and Ferb Interrupted", Phineas goes on a minute-long spiel about yes, how the weather is nice, although barometric readings would suggest otherwise. Did you know barometers have two scales? Of course, now you can simply look up the weather on the Internet, [[OverlyLongGag but then you wouldn't be able to calculate where the sun is in the meridian and...]] |
| 261 | * In "Snow Show" from ''WesternAnimation/LlamaLlama'', none of the kids are allowed to talk with Llama Llama about their snow sculptures because he's the judge. So when Luna Giraffe encounters him, she comments on how they're having "nice weather" which results in a bemused "I guess" from him because it's a gray, cloudy winter day. She says it looks like it might snow, but they won't talk about snow because then they might talk about snow sculptures, which just isn't allowed. |
| 262 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Parodied in "Kevin Party". Steven is trying to chat up Connie after seeing her for the first time since their fight in "Dewey Wins", but he's so nervous it comes out as "Nice weather you're wearing." |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 266 | * The Website/JollyRogerTelephoneCompany is a company that provides bots that are designed to waste the time of telemarketers. These bots will sometimes talk about the weather as a means of said time-wasting, as [[https://youtu.be/A-DubAMIZi8?t=265 heard here]], for example. |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 270 | * Many British folk are a permanent example of this and many foreign and native observers have tried to rationalise their apparent obsession with the weather, to the point where anthropologists have subjected to serious study. It's true that that Britain itself [[UsefulNotes/BritishWeather is in a temperate climate with an active gulf stream leading to very changeable weather]], but there's also a general preference not to discuss personal matters ''or'' controversial ones ("politics, religion or [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} The Great Pumpkin]]") with strangers, if only because just about everything is SeriousBusiness to someone in Britain. As has been remarked, the two nationals pastimes of the British are talking about the weather and arguing. This doesn't leave you with many options. Basically, when a British person complains about the weather, it's their way of stating either "I want to talk to you", or "I don't want to talk to you, but I have no choice." |
| 271 | ** Said anthropologists have also noted that many Brits, particularly the English, are actually quite shy and it serves as a non-controversial icebreaker that can be more or less universally agreed upon. |
| 272 | * In Brittany, the region of France immediately south of Britain (and similar enough that the name was originally translated as Lesser Britain, in contrast to Great Britain), it is the de facto icebreaker, for similar reasons to Britain itself: the weather tends to change three times a day, so it's really something worth keeping track of. |
| 273 | * Norway. Norwegians actually treat weather even more as SeriousBusiness than the British, the difference being that an Englishman can begin a conversation by casually mentioning the weather, but only a Norwegian would actually follow the topic and ''discussing it''. No wonder, when generations of Norwegian depended on the sea for survival, mostly through fishing. The weather could be a question of life and death (North Norwegian storms are still referred to by the male gender, by the way). This also had significance for the farmers, because of harsh climate. |
| 274 | * In Japan, it's customary that, if you have an important matter to discuss with a boss or co-worker, one should first talk about something trivial before going into more serious matters. Weather is often the topic. |
| 275 | * A persistent stereotype about Winnipeg, Manitoba is that two Winnipeggers, no matter where in the world they meet, or how long it's been since either has been back home, will inevitably ask one another what the weather was like in Manitoba when they left[[note]]And then complain about how cold it was[[/note]]. |
| 276 | * On the Internet, complaining about the weather in your area will most likely turn into MiseryPoker, with [[ValuesDissonance others from regions of worse weather chastising you for complaining about weather they consider everyday or paradise compared to what they have to deal with]]. |
| 277 | * In Minnesota, the climate is bizarre enough that every season on the calendar can occur within days of each other[[note]]It's not unknown for snow to fall as early as October and as late as May[[/note]]. As such, weather is a common topic. |
| 278 | * Ohio really isn't all that different - there's a common saying in Ohio that "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change." Mentioned in [[https://www.wdtn.com/weather/if-you-dont-like-the-weather-just-wait/1094014696 this article]] from a local news station which describes how an April snowfall on a Sunday was followed by a Tuesday with temperatures in the 70s and possible strong thunderstorms. |
| 279 | * Enforced by the German Green party's slogan in the 1990 election. It's a played with version in that it looks like the trope outside of the parenthesis but is inverted inside them. |
| 280 | -->"Everybody is talking about Germany [the unification]. We're talking about the weather [global warming]." |
| 281 | * This became a flaw for Nazi Germany during World War 2 when it came to their Enigma machine which encoded messages to and from their U-boats out in the Atlantic. Every morning at 6 AM, the Kreigsmarine HQ would send out a standardized message to their U-boats that would include the weather forecast. This combined with the knowledge that the Engima machine, which used a letter-substitution scheme to encode, would never substitute a letter for itself (e.g., a "G" in the encoded message would never be a "G" in the actual message), meant that codebreakers at Bletchly Park could use a phrase that would be expected to be in the message like "''Wetterbericht''" (weather report) and look to see where that word might appear in the encoded message by eliminating any position where any letters matched -- it helped to cut down the amount of time needed to crack a given day's code settings and thus enable the UK to decipher all of the messages encoded by Enigma that day. |
| 282 | [[/folder]] |
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