"Well, your story is VERY compelling, Mr. Jackass, I mean, Simpson..."
— Police Chief Wiggum, The Simpsons, "The Springfield Files"
On the one hand there's the Freudian Slip, where a character means to say thing A but says thing B by accident, likely because B reflects on what is really on their mind.
But in this case, a character says thing B on purpose, and "pretends" (whether as a matter of deceptive intentions or just sarcastically) that it was an accident. Basically, this is for when a character wants to openly express the kind of thing that a character who makes a Freudian Slip is trying to keep to themself.
Compare *Cough* Snark *Cough*, which is often used for similar purposes. Also see Malicious Misnaming.
Examples:
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Films — Live-Action
- In Bruce Almighty, Bruce's reaction to discovering his rival has taken the job he wanted; "Evan Backstabber... Bastard... Baxter!"
- Moulin Rouge!; Nini outing Satine and Christian to the Duke ("Why would the courtesan go for the penniless writer? Whoops! I mean sitar player!").
Live-Action TV
- Rachel (and then later, Ross) trying to flirt their way out of a ticket, in one episode of Friends. Note that Ross is flirting with a male police officer too. Which could work out in some cases, but doesn't here.
Rachel: Here you go, Officer Handsome.
Officer: It's Hanson.
Rachel: Whoops, my mistake.
[later]
Ross: Here you go, Officer, uh, Pretty.
Officer: It's Petty.
Ross: Whoops. [nervous giggle] - Babylon 5 has Bester use this to reveal that Talia Winters was dissected by the Corps. Whether this was true or not is never made known.
- The Nanny:
- In "Maggie the Model", Fran attempts to let Maggie down easy after Maggie bombs as a potential model:
Maggie Sheffield: But Chloe said...
Fran Fine: I know what Chloe said, but we'll cross that bitch when we get to it. - In "Close Shave", after Maxwell gets food poisoning from C.C.'s home-cooked food:
C.C.: He's trying to say we have to go out to a meeting.
Niles: So, then Miss Badcook [C.C. glares at him] forgive me, Babcock won't be poisoning you this evening?
- In "Maggie the Model", Fran attempts to let Maggie down easy after Maggie bombs as a potential model:
Web Original
- From this
video from The Amazing Atheist:
General betray us — sorry, REALLY big frog in my throat there — General "Petraeus..."
Western Animation
- In one episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, people kept accidentally calling Principal Goodvibes "Mr. Good[noun]." Eris, however, seems to be doing it maliciously, culminating in her cheerfully saying goodbye to "Mr. Good-You're-An-Idiot."
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In "Make New Friends But Keep Discord", Discord learns Fluttershy has chosen someone else as her plus-one to the Grand Galloping Gala. Angry, he makes a passive-aggressive remark about "excluding" the teacakes from their next tea party which he claims "just slipped out".
- The Simpsons: In "The Springfield Files", Chief Wiggum "accidentally" calls Homer "Mr. Jackass" instead of "Mr. Simpson" after Homer tries to report an alien sighting.
Real Life
- Cicero used this in his speech in defense of Caelius, who had been accused of several crimes by his ex-lover Clodia. Clodia was the sister of one of Cicero's bitterest political enemies, and it was rumored there was a Brother–Sister Incest relationship among the siblings. In his speech, Cicero said at one moment: "And, indeed, I would do so still more vigorously, if I had not a quarrel with that woman's husband — brother, I meant to say; I am always making this mistake."
- During the Civil Rights Movement, speakers on television sometimes said Martin Luther King's name by replacing "King" with a racial slur, then correcting themselves. It was obviously this trope in action.