Description Cut

aka: Ironic Description Cut

Sweetheart thinks this trope should have "ironic" in its name.

A basic humor formula that goes like this:

Alice: Bob must be [description].
Bob: [immediately says or does something contrary to that description]

Different from Ironic Echo Cut in that it doesn't involve an echo. A subset of Hypocritical Humor and, much like it, depends on a Contrived Coincidence. Sometimes, there isn't even a cut involved.

Can be Played for Drama, if the cut is to a sufficiently somber scene.

The inverse of this is I Resemble That Remark!.

Compare Gilligan Cut, Anti-Climax Cut, Ironic Juxtaposition, Cutaway Gag, Hilarious in Flashback, Unreliable Voiceover, Who Would Be Stupid Enough?. Contrast Answer Cut.

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Examples:

• Live-Action TV

Advertising

• Some of the Jay Bush and Duke ads for Bush's Baked Beans use this, with Jay saying that Duke would never tell the secret family recipe and then cutting away to Duke's latest scheme to do exactly this. Some, however, don't even bother with the cut, with Duke's activities instead being more or less out in the open, but Jay being oblivious.

Anime & Manga

• In Darker than Black, when Mao is captured by Evening Primrose, he assures his fellow prisoner that his partner, being a Contractor, would certainly not be foolish enough to attempt to rescue him. Hei is doing just that.
• An omake in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga volumes, adapted into an episode of the 2003 anime, has this:
  Ed has requested a battle with the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang, in lieu of the regular assessment.
  Mustang: Come on, the Fuhrer knows it wouldn't be fair with me against the kid. I'd love to show off my valor, but there's no way he's going to allow it.
  [Cut to a meeting with the Fuhrer]
  Bradley: That sounds like a very interesting fight. I'm going to allow the battle assessment.
  • There's also a dramatic version in the 2003 anime. While Barry the Chopper is delivering a Breaking Speech to Alphonse, telling him that he's a soul created by Ed rather than his real brother, it cuts to Ed totally disproving Barry's argument by basing his entire argument on Al's essential humanity. If only Al had been in the room to witness it...
• In the medieval arc of Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Mikami and co. hide from Dr. Chaos' remote-controlled airplane's machine-gun fire. Except for the princess, who just stays there saying, "Dr. Chaos would not shoot at them". Cut to the doc smacking his control and screaming "Where the hell are you pointing at?!". And then the princess ducks for cover.
• Lyrical Nanoha:
  • The fourth Sound Stage of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS has the following, as Mariel talks with Subaru's father and sister:
    Mariel: Oh that reminds me, how's Subaru?
    Genya: She's as happy as she can ever be at Mobile Six.
    Ginga: I'm sure she's having the time of her life with her friends and comrades.
    (cut to Subaru and her fellow Strikers moaning in pain after a session of Training from Hell)
  • In Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, after Otto and Deed had just seen Micaiah slice a bus in four with an ordinary katana, they discuss how she'll likely be a difficult opponent for Vivio. However, they also believe that Vivio could still beat her since Vivio has completed her training against slashing weapons and besides...
    Otto: Sacred Heart is also working hard!
    (cut to Sacred Heart playing around with Asteon)
• Happens in Planetes when Cheng-Shin assures a friend that Hachimaki is a lot more subdued now than he was the last time they met. Guess who comes running past them playing space-ninja at that very moment?
• Episode 3 of Season 2 of The World God Only Knows has a visit from Elsie's fellow demon/classmate Haqua (The scene's pretty much identical in the original manga, by the way):
  Haqua: The age of barbarism has ended. We demons are rational, intelligent creatures!
  (cut to Elsie fangirling over fire engines)
• Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire: Ash, feeling confident, once bragged about how awesome his Pokémon are. Max, however, shows the audience how Ash's team are not exactly looking impressive at the time being, each one sporting a Balloon Belly and content to sleep lazily.
• Episode 7 of RahXephon:
  (the TERRA staff witness Ayato walking through a portal)
  Megumi: What's going on?
  Kim: I don't know. Maybe Dr. Kisaragi would know.
  Megumi: Yeah, it seems like he knows everything.
  (cut to the other side of the portal, where Itsuki Kisaragi is observing the RahXephon)
  Itsuki: Honestly, how does all this work?
• During Azusa's introduction in the K-On! manga:
  Azusa: I heard the recording of the live performance at last year's school festival. The guitarist was so awesome! I really admire her!! The level of this school's Light Music Club must be really high, right?
  (next panel shows Yui practicing in the club room)
  Yui: How do I play a C chord again?
• Bleach: Upon hearing Kisuke Urahara was once captain of the 12th division, Ichigo Kurosaki expresses surprise and awe that Urahara is such a great man, after all. The scene immediately cuts to an anime-only shot of Urahara suffering constipation in the bathroom while cursing Tessai's medicine.
• In Bokurano, a non-humorous example happens during Kako's battle, while he's running away from the enemy, which will result in the world's destruction if the time runs out. Moji realizes that someone has to somehow convince Kako that he has to fight, but considering that the pilots die after they win, he concludes that "No one can...". The next panel then shows Kirie, who proceeds to try to snap Kako out of it by making a snarky remark that Kako "sure (is) a fast runner."
• The Quintessential Quintuplets: At the end of the anime's first episode:
  Fuutarou: (I don't need to actually deal with all five of them. I just need to teach the ones that are in danger of failing.)
  (at the Nakano place)
  Miku: I wonder if Fuutarou knows.
  Ichika: I doubt he knows... that we transferred here because all five of us nearly failed.
• In Episode 9 of Persona 5: The Animation, the Phantom Thieves, having pulled off their second major heist and welcomed Yusuke into the group, decide to throw a welcoming party for Yusuke at Leblanc. Since Ren, the protagonist, is staying in the cafe's attic under the supervision of its owner, Sojiro Sakura (a.k.a. "the chief" or "Boss"), Ren needs Sojiro's permission.
  Morgana: It's gonna be up to you to convince the chief.
  Ren: I'm not sure he'll allow it.
  (cut to Leblanc)
  Sojiro: Sure, I'll allow it.
• A non-comedic example happens in The Summer You Were There. After Shizuku and Kaori go out to a festival together, Shizuku notices that she actually had a good time and hopes Kaori had a good time, too. It cuts to Kaori gasping for breath and violently coughing; unbeknownst to Shizuku, she has a chronic lung disease and pushed herself to the limit by coming to the festival.

Asian Animation

• In Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: Mighty Little Defenders episode 20, Weslie and Wolffy find Wilie by himself in the Fantasy Forest, Wilie explains he ended up there when he took the wrong plane to his new school, and Wolffy says that his mother must be worried sick about him. Cut to Wolf Castle, where Wilie's mother Wolnie is watching a cartoon on TV and laughing hysterically at it.
  Wolnie: This is hilarious! What a stupid little dog [referring to the character in the in-universe show]!

Comic Books

• Atomic Robo: The Free Comic Book Day 2010 issue is about tracking down believed-extinct terror birds. Naturally, one attacks them.
  Robo: This'll do it. [punches terror bird]
  Ten seconds later...
  Robo: [running away] Punching only makes them angrier!
  Lang: These are the least extinct birds ever!
• In the Team Superman oneshot, the Anti-Hero, who has captured Superman and then impersonated him to say he's leaving Earth forever, gloats to his captive that nobody on Earth could possibly have seen through his ruse. Cut to Lois Lane declaring "Clark's resignation was a fake, Supergirl. My husband's in trouble."

Comic Strips

• During a Calvin and Hobbes story arc in which the family returns from a trip to discover that their house was robbed, Dad says this must "really be scary for a little kid like Calvin." In the next panel, Calvin is grinning excitedly and saying to Hobbes, "Gosh, I can't wait to tell everyone at school how our house got robbed!"
  • Another time, Calvin complains about having to go to bed and says that he would rather stay up and do "something fun, whatever Mom and Dad get to do!" The next panel shows that Mom and Dad have fallen asleep on the couch.
• Garfield:
  • One strip shows Jon speaking to the readers about the good qualities of cats, while Garfield is acting the opposite way in the background.
  • This Christmas strip:◊
    Garfield: [typing on the computer] Santa, bring lots of presents to my house. I will have cookies.
    Jon: Ha! You can't bribe Santa!
    [cut to Santa looking at his computer, obviously mesmerized by Garfield's bribe]
    Santa: Ooooooooo, cookies.
• Peanuts:
  Lucy: Say, you don't think Charlie Brown will try to steal home, do you?
  Patty: Never! Not even Charlie Brown would do anything that stupid!
  Charlie Brown: (standing on third base) I wonder if I should try to steal home?

Fan Works

• In Albus Dumbledore and the Harbinger of Magic several of the adults discuss Luna's seer gift.
  Sirius: Faith, Damian, I know that it seems odd we are putting all our eggs into Luna's basket. But she can walk down the [moving] grand staircase with her eyes closed, drive off the largest dementor horde in history and just over a week ago she foiled a kidnapping attempt that no one else knew was coming. I am not suggesting we don't help, but I don't think that I am overstating it to say that her gift has progressed to the point where there is nothing she cannot see.
  [cut to Luna and Hermione trapped in a cave-in]
  Luna: I can't see anything!
• Boldores and Boomsticks:
  • JNPR and CFVY fret that Team RWBY must be in terrible danger, as they were last heard from entering a portal to a world Grimm have flocked to in large numbers. The narration repeatedly cuts to RWBY enjoying their stay in the Pokémon world's Hawaii-based Alola.
  • Faba boasts to Salem about how his virus has completely wiped out all of Aether Foundation's database and they'll never be able to recover their experimental data. The scene immediately cuts to an IT guy saying the offsite backup will have everything restored in another couple hours, minus the last few hours of data which wasn't backed up.
• A Game of Cat and Cat: Extended a little. Agent Fireball shudders at the thought of the summoner's plans for evil. Cut to Soma and Mina (not the summoners) making s'mores and talking... and then finding Kazuya (the summoner) playing with his demon dog.
• This is a regular thing in Code MENT, usually in the form of Character A commenting on character B being smart — cut to character B doing something stupid.
• Danny Phantom: Stranded:
  • In "Forgotten", during a stakeout at Axiom Labs, Star suggests calling it a night and theorizes Vlad might be thinking Skulker's still trying to steal the nanobots. Danny asks if she thinks he's that stupid and the next scene shows Vlad still waiting for Skulker.
  • In "Entranced", as Vlad is about to spend "almost 10 hours of lovin'" with Alicia, he thinks nobody in the world is more miserable than him. The next scene shows Beatrice Traville still suffering the punishment set by Puck. Said punishment involves not having access to her family's wealth. A later moment portrays Vlad believing there's nobody even half as miserable as him. The next scene shows Colette at the hospital.
• A Darker Path: Tattletale and Coil analyse what they know about Atropos, and work out that she's probably going to hit Kaiser next, as she's just hit the ABB the previous night, the Merchants are clearly an afterthought, and nobody knows anything about Coil so she can't go after him. The scene cuts to Taylor deciding which gang leader to kill by playing a game of "eeny, meeny, miney moe". She ends up killing Coil.
• Dragon Ball Z Abridged has Roshi trying to figure out what insidious plot Cell is doing.
  Cell: [working on his arena] How did all these squares make a circle?! I just— No. No. It's fine. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me... It bothers me. It bothers me a lot! AND THAT ONE'S STILL GREEN!
• Dungeon Keeper Ami: From "A Small Deception":
  "It seems that Mercury lacks much of the viciousness of regular Keepers."
  [cut to Mercury torturing people in a bloody room. But, she actually didn't wound her captives and did it reluctantly.
• In Finding Goku, after Chi-Chi has died (and Goku having passed away some years beforehand), Goten is comforted by the thought that they are together in Other World. This immediately cuts to Baba informing Chi-Chi that Goku's trapped in Hell.
• Five Score, Divided by Four: "She must know exactly how this is possible."
  Tess: This is... impossible.
• How Mirqculous Should Have Ended: "Origins Part 2" opens with Marinette learning that her parents recognized her heroics the other day. As they point out, they're her parents, and "what kind of parents wouldn’t recognise their own child through an eye mask?" Jump across the city to Hawk Moth ranting, clearly unaware that his son is Cat Noir.
• If Wishes Were Ponies: In Book 1, after Dumbledore comments to Fudge that the resurrected Myrtle is "a friendless, dejected, lonely, lost little girl", the scene cuts to show her flirting with a wizard and laughing.
• In Manehattan's Lone Guardian, when Shining Armor expresses doubts over Celestia's choice for testing Leviathan's strength, the Princess states confidently that her proxy is training on a rooftop somewhere and getting herself into shape. The scene immediately cuts to a public aquarium, where the pegasus in question is having a staredown with a grouper.
• In the very first episode of Mirai Nikki The Abridged Series has Yuki watching an episode of School Days.
  Yuki: Wow, that girl sure is crazy and scary! It's a good thing nobody like that exists in real life!
  [cut to Yuno Gasai, who later becomes his homicidally-obsessive girlfriend]
  Yuno: I just traveled to a parallel universe and killed myself in order to take my own place! And I did it all for the sake of love.
  Yuki: Yup. Nobody like that exists at all.
• My Hero Playthrough: Izuku arrives late to the pool, only to find the boys and girls of Class 1-A are split up on opposite sides of the pool. He reluctantly joins the boys, only for them to try to draw him into rating the attractiveness of their female classmates. After he protests that the girls wouldn't do the same thing, the scene cuts to the other side of the pool, where the girls are playing "Boink, Marry, Goodbye".
• Not the intended use (Zantetsuken Reverse): At the end of Chapter 9: Death says the Belmonts are training, to motivate Dracula to train too, but instead, the Belmonts are playing video games, which is what Death was trying to motivate Dracula to stop doing.
• The Turning Red fanfic The Panda Chronicles has a chapter explaining how Tae-young joined 4*Town. Near the end, he expresses worry that the fans won't like him. Cut to Abby flipping out with joy when she finds out that 4*Town now has a member who's Korean like she is.
• Pokémon Reset Bloodlines: After Ash has a battle with the twins Elwood and Aideen, they shake hands and notice how Ash's hand seems full of some sort of sand, and they warn him he should look out for that so he doesn't hold Serena's hand that way. Aideen then says "Somewhere in Kalos, Serena is smiling and doesn't know why". Cut to Serena, at a waiting line in a pharmacy and definitely not smiling.
• In Origins, a Mass Effect/Star Wars/Borderlands/Halo Massive Multiplayer Crossover, Cortana insists that "I doubt someone would make that up" only to check sensors and confirm that, in fact, the claim made had in fact been fabricated.
• The (Questionable) Burdens of Leadership of a Troll Emperor: One of the Goa'uld System Lords remarks on the mysterious attacker's cunning in how he chooses to raid their planets. The story immediately cuts to Naruto asking Akitsu to pick a number between one and fifty in order to pick his next target.
  • When Naruto and Xanna decide to go on vacation, the Tok'ra try to stop them, only for Naruto to casually reply it'll be fine and it wasn't like Ra was going to kill himself while they were gone. Naturally, the story cuts to Ra just before his death when he realizes that in empowering the human's nuclear bomb, he'd functionally killed himself when they teleport it to his ship.
  • Many chapters later (and roughly six hundred years in-universe), Daniel Jackson ponders how to make sure Jack O'Neil doesn't offend "two people who took their dignity very seriously". The very next scene is said people and Akitsu having a water gun fight with guns that shoot ice cream (which they then lick off each other).
• Lampshaded in Saint Seiya Abridged:
  Shun: (facing Gemini saint) Let's Hope Seiyar and Shiryu don't meet the same difficulties.
  (cut to Seiyar and Shiryu facing another Gemini Saint)
  Seiyar: I have the awkward feeling that someone just said something in total opposition with our current situation.
• Shadows over Meridian: When Rosetta tries to explain to Quinn her romantic interest in Tyrian during Chapter 24, Quinn snarks that even as they speak, the madman is likely doing something that's either stupid, dangerous or both. As Rosetta asks if that's not an exaggeration, the scene briefly cuts to Tyrian who's planning to bathe Jade's sleeping shadow snake Onyx before Quinn deadpans in response to Rosetta that if anything, she's underestimating Tyrian.
• In Chapter 10 of The Silver Raven, after she has to leave Nero home alone while she goes to a coven meeting, Lilith assures herself that it'll be alright since their house is magically protected and it isn't like Nero to sneak out by himself. The next scene is Nero sneaking out of the house to go fight demons by himself.
• Sword Art Online Abridged has a moment where Kirito's reluctant to take a rest from his quest to rescue his wife.
  Leafa: Look, if it makes you feel better I can stay online while you log out. Get yourself a snack.
  Kirito: I dunno... I'm pretty worried about Asuna...
  (cut to a dropped walkie-talkie in a dark corridor with flickering lights)
  Voice on Radio: Bravo, come in! Do you have visual on the prisoner?! I repeat, do you... oh lord... IT'S IN THE VENTS!!
  (inhuman snarls and sounds of carnage)
• The Twilight Child: After hearing from Spike about a lopsided duel that Trixie was in, Twilight Sparkle remarks that she's glad nopony in her family is that crazy. The scene immediately cuts to Cadence stealing Shining Armor's helmet and teasing him about it.
• A Very Potter Musical is fond of these when it comes to Snape.
  Dumbledore: There's no way that Severus Snape is, was, or ever shall be a servant of Voldemort.
  [cut to Snape]
  Snape: All hail Voldemort!
• Viridian: The Green Guide gives this delightful example:
  Eraserhead: Vigilantes gaining public notoriety is never a good thing. It goes straight to their heads and they end up putting themselves in even more danger to impress their fans. The kid is probably soaking up his fame as we speak.
  [cut to Izuku]
  Izuku was freaking out.
• The Western Sky - Series 2:
  • Andy and Sally find themselves in Fable and are eating lunch in the pub in Bowerstone when trouble starts.
    Andy: I bet no one else is having problems like this.
    [cut to Harry and Prue facing a large crowd of Stormtroopers in LEGO Star Wars]
  • A frightened fifth year coming into her Whitelighter powers early blocks the Hogwarts hospital wing with an impenetrable shield.
    Sally: I don't envy [Hermione] - dealing with a human time bomb....
    Harry: I'm sure she'll figure it out. Smartest witch, remember?
    [cut to near the hospital wing]
    Viktor: That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
• In The Western Sky - Series 3 two CLOWN agents create a diversion so the rest can sneak into a MIMES base.
  Sirius: So how do you think it's going?
  Dora: I'm pretty sure they're having a ball.
  [cut to the four other agents confronted by three dozen armed guards]
• Wrong Mask ends chapter one with Adrien remarking that Marinette doesn't seem like "the sneaking-around type". Chapter two opens with this:
  For the third time in six days, Marinette was sneaking out of her bedroom to see a boy.
• Xenophilia: In The Xenophile's Guide to Equestria, after Twilight writes to Celestia about the possible relationship building between Rainbow Dash and Lero and the betting pool Applejack has started on them, Celestia ends her response with, "This is a delicate situation, which I am sure you and your friends shall handle with same tact and sensitivity that I and my sister would surely display." Immediately afterwards, Twilight gets a letter from Luna, who asks to bet ten bits on successful consummation within a month.

Films — Animation

• Disney:
  • In Cinderella, the Grand Duke sarcastically describes the king's hopes for the ball ("Suddenly he stops! He looks up! Alone, there she stands!") which play out perfectly as the Prince first sees Cinderella.
  • A Goofy Movie:
    • When Pete is talking to Goofy about his upcoming camping trip, and Goofy says that Max wouldn't go for that kind of thing.
      Pete: I don't know, Goof. Something's wrong when a kid won't spend time with his parents. For all you know, he's runnin' around with some gang and stealin' stuff and causin' riots, and...
      Goofy: Oh, Max is a good kid. He'd never get mixed up in somethin' like that.
      (cut to Max in the principal's office following his stunt at the assembly)
    • When the families meet at the campground, Pete tells Max that PJ must be loafing around in the RV. Cut to PJ buffing the floors and dusting the trophies while singing and dancing.
    • A variation with an inanimate object being described—Pete tells Goofy that the extension cord to the RV is tiny and unnoticeable before ordering PJ to bring it in. PJ enters the room carrying an enormous pile of tubes so heavy he visibly strains under their weight.
  • An Extremely Goofy Movie: After Bradley disses PJ and Bobby, Max defends them by calling them "serious athletes." Immediately afterward Bobby is shown putting spoons and straws all over his body while PJ acts self-conscious and gives him a mortified look. However, in this case, Max is actually right and the behaviors only appeared to be contrary to the description.
  • After the party in Wreck-It Ralph:
    Gene: Of course he's not serious.
    (Cut to Ralph talking to Tapper)
    Ralph: I've never been more serious about anything in my life.
  • Frozen:
    • The film starts off with Anna and Elsa's parents closing the gates of their castle and never coming out due to Elsa's abilities to conjure ice and snow. When they finally prepare to open up again years later, we hear a couple of townspeople discussing how beautiful and elegant the princesses must be. Cuts to Anna fast asleep, with fantastically bad bedhead, snoring, drooling on the pillow, with a lock of hair in her mouth.
    • While Anna is singing "For the First Time in Forever" she bumps into Hans's horse right after a line about nothing standing in her way.
  • Pocahontas:
    Ben: We're havin' loads of fun, right? Look at us! No gold, no food, while Ratcliffe sits up in his tent all day, happy as a clam!
    (Cut to Ratcliffe panicking over not finding the gold he was looking for.)
    Governor Ratcliffe: I'm doomed!
  • Aladdin:
    Aladdin: Someday, Abu, things are going to change. We'll be rich, live in a palace, and never have any problems at all.
    (Cut to the inside of the palace.)
    Prince Achmed: I've never been so insulted!
  • A heartwarming variant in Robin Hood (1973):
    Maid Marian: Oh, I've been away so long. What if he's forgotten all about me?
    (fade to Robin wistfully thinking about her)
• In the beginning of Asterix and the Vikings, the narrator describes Asterix's village as a place where its Gauls share mutual respect, harmony, and admiration. Cut to the villagers having one of their frequent fish-fights. (Of course, since this is Asterix, this pretty much is the Gauls sharing mutual respect, harmony, and admiration.)
• Near the beginning of Chicken Run, after her husband voices his suspicions that the chickens are up to something, Mrs. Tweedy has this to say:
  Mrs. Tweedy: They're chickens, you dolt! Apart from you, they're the most stupid creatures on this planet. They don't plot, they don't scheme, and they are not organized!
  (Cut to Ginger banging a gavel, trying to bring a rowdy meeting to order)
• In Madagascar when Alex and the others find that Marty had left the zoo for the "wide open spaces" of Connecticut.
  Alex: He's probably out there lost and cold... confused. Poor guy.
  (cut to Marty calmly strutting down the NYC sidewalks to the tune of "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees)
• In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Mr. Mackey believes that he has gotten his students off of their swearing habits, which they acquired from watching the movie Asses of Fire.
  Mr. Mackey: You can take the rest of the afternoon off for personal reflection, m'kay? Find your own constructive way to better yourself, m'kay?
  (cut to the kids at the movie theater watching the movie again)
• Pixar:
  • Toy Story: After sending the army men out, Woody says, "Come on! They're not lying down on the job." Cut to the army men (one having been crushed), kicked off to the side by Andy's mom, and not able to get up until she's walked away.
  • Around halfway through A Bug's Life, when a bird attacks the circus bugs, Flik, and Dot, Slim and Heimlich lure the bird away from the others, only for the latter to get stuck in a crack in the ground as the bird closes in.
    Atta: The caterpillar's using himself as LIVE BAIT!
    Mr. Soil: How brave!
    [Cut to Heimlich as he screams in terror]
  • Near the beginning of Monsters, Inc., as Mr. Waternoose gives some scaring trainees a pep talk.
    Waternoose: I need scarers who are confident, tenacious, tough, intimidating. I need scarers like... like... James P. Sullivan.
    [cut to Sulley fast asleep in bed]
  • At the beginning of the Monsters University companion short Party Central, the Oozma Kappa brothers are disappointed that nobody's come to their party.
    Squishy: This is gonna be the worst night of our lives.
    [Mike and Sulley burst in]
    Mike: This is gonna be the best night of our lives!
  • Near the beginning of The Incredibles, during the newsreel detailing the Super Registration Act and how supers are forced into civilian identities.
    Narrator: Where are they now? They are living among us. Average citizens, average heroes, quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world a better place.
    [15 years later; cut to Mr. Incredible stamping "DENIED" on a customer's insurance claim]
  • At the beginning of Cars 3:
    Lightning: Okay, let's see what you've got!
    Bobby: Woohoo!!
    [Jackson Storm appears, overtakes the other racers, and wins the race]
• Early on in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), a pony comments on how Twilight must be super chill... only for us to see her having one of her famous freak-out moments.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: When Peter B. Parker talks about his marriage with Mary Jane, and their subsequent divorce:
  Peter: But I handled it like a champ.
  [cut to Peter curled up and crying in the shower in his Spider-Man costume.]
• Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero uses this in the same manner as the below example from "Pretty Poison", only with Commissioner Gordon describing his daughter Barbara.
  Dick: Where's Barbara?
  Jim: You know my daughter. She's probably still getting ready.
  [Cut to Batgirl fighting some thugs who were previously attacking a defenseless girl.]
  Jim: My little girl. You know, Dick, there's no one sweeter in the world.
  [Cut back to sweet little Batgirl as she punches out one of the thugs attacking her.]
  Jim: You've got plenty of competition. Lots of guys are after her.
  [Cut to the thugs running away from Batgirl.]

Films — Live-Action

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective:
  Melissa: Is Ace in trouble?
  Emilio: Don't worry. If there's one thing I know, it's that there's nothing Ace can't handle.
  [cut to Ace sobbing while being held at gunpoint]
• Amadeus: Salieri is describing his delight when he sees the Emperor yawning during the premiere of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro:
  Salieri (narrating): And Mozart was fortunate that the Emperor yawned only once. Three yawns and the show would close that very night. Two yawns and it might last a few days. One yawn, well...
  [cut to Mozart and younger Salieri in Salieri's studio]
  Mozart: Nine performances! That's all it got! Just nine performances!
• In Back to the Future Part II, after Doc and Marty arrive in 1955, Doc gives some money to Marty to get some 50s clothes as a disguise, instructing him to get "something inconspicuous" as he leaves. The next scene shows Marty sporting an obvious Blues Brothers-esque hat and sunglasses combo with a leather jacket.
• Casino. Ace Rothstein, the Las Vegas casino manager for the Chicago mob, loses his gaming license. The head of the mob talks to a middleman about telling Ace to lay low and keep quiet about the situation. Cut to Ace Rothstein hosting his own glitzy late night talk show in the casino and challenging the gaming commissioner to a debate on it.
• Cherry Falls: After Sandy doubts boys are as clueless at sex as Cindy claims, the scene cuts to Ben and his friends in their van, debating how many holes a vagina has.
• Description and reality clash at least thrice in Die Hard:
  • When the villains crash the Christmas party and shoot in the air, John comments he can only hope Agyle heard the shots from the garage and is contacting Police. Cut to Agyle in his limo, listening to loud music and chatting to some girl on the phone.
  • A Black Comedy scene later when the psychologist predicts on TV that the hostages are currently going through stage where "a strange sort of trust and bond develops" between them and the terrorists, and the scene cuts to the office building where the villains drag Ellis' body out and the hostages are heard wailing in the background.
  • When the FBI cut the power to the building unknowingly allowing the crucial phase of Han's plan to succeed by opening the final lock on the vault, one of the agents muses that the terrorists are "probably pissing their pants". Cut back to the villains inside the vault and grinning like kids on Christmas morning as they start to steal all the money and the various treasures, all while "Ode to Joy" plays.
• Played for drama in District 9:
  Piet Smit: You know Wikus. He never was very strong.
  [cut to Wikus fighting off his captors and breaking free]
• In Enchanted, when asked about Edward's stepmother, Giselle says this.
  "I've never met Edward's stepmother but I've heard she's lovely."
  [cut to Narissa entering the human world, all dark and ominous]
• In The Fifth Element:
  President Lindberg: Is that your idea of a discreet operation?
  General Munro: Don't worry sir, I know my man. He'll calm things down.
  [cut to Korben Dallas as he shoots a dozen Mangalores]
• In Five Weeks in a Balloon, Professor Fergusson says that he's heard that reporter Donald O'Shea is a "pleasant, inoffensive young lad". Cut to Zanzibar, where he's causing havoc freeing a slave.
• In Goosebumps (2015), Zach tells the class that they have to buy Stine time to write, but not to worry because he's a very fast writer. Cut to Stine, punching up the story on a typewriter...
  Stine: The night was cold... ... No, cold was the night...
• A Hard Day's Night - Ringo ducks out of the theatre just before show time to have some fun on his own. The band manager dreads his cutting loose on "wine, women and loose living" once he gets a taste of it. Cut to Ringo in a dreary little pub trying to eat a stale sandwich that's threatening to poke him in the eye.
• In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hermione is nagging Harry to find a date to take to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party.
  Harry: I'll just ask someone I like. Someone cool.
  [cut to shot of Luna "Loony" Lovegood, Hogwart's resident Cloud Cuckoo Lander, in a sparkly silver dress which looks like a Christmas tree, waiting for Harry in the hallway]
  Luna: I've never been to this part of the castle! At least while awake. I sleepwalk you see. That's why I wear shoes to bed.
• Hellboy:
  Tom Manning: Let me tell you - let me tell you something about the Bureau of...
  Television Host: Paranormal Research and Defense.
  Tom Manning: ...of Paranormal Research and Defense: there is no such thing.
  [cut to establishing shot of BPRD headquarters]
• In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf describes Radagast the Brown as a great wizard, the watcher and protector of the forest. Slam cut to Radagast, a doddering old man covered in bird poop and dirt.
• Occurs in Hot Rod. While Rod is unconscious, one of his friends comments that he must be having a profound out-of-body experience. Cut to Rod, dressed in white and in a white, cloudy place...where he witnesses a fight between a giant taco and giant grilled cheese sandwich.
• In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Dr. Jones attempts to bluff his Nazi captors:
  Indy: Brody's got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see him again. With any luck, he's got the Grail already.
  [cut to a crowded marketplace in the Middle East, Marcus Brody wearing bright suit and white hat, sticking out like a sore thumb]
  Brody: Uh, does anyone here speak English? Or even ancient Greek?
  • Later, when the Nazis aren't around and Jones is in a more candid mood, he says that Brody "once got lost in his own museum".
• From Iron Man:
  Obadiah Stane: You know, the best thing about Tony is also the worst thing: he's always working.
  [cut to Tony throwing dice at a Craps table]
  Tony Stark: Work it!
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Justice's friend asks why Jay was kissing her hand.
  Justice: Maybe he just has manners!
  [cut to Jay outside the store, screaming at a random girl]
  Jay: YO BABY, EVER HAD YOUR ASSHOLE LICKED BY A FAT MAN IN AN OVERCOAT?!
• Jurassic Park: Tempting Fate by saying "We'll be all right as long as they can't open doors". Cut to a raptor doing so, with some difficulty.
• In Lethal Weapon 2. Murtaugh is trapped on his toilet with a bomb underneath set to explode if he gets up. His partner Riggs goes to call the bomb squad:
  Murtaugh: Riggs! Let's try to keep this quiet, okay?
  Riggs: Hey sure! [zips his lips] Trust me.
  [cut to complete chaos outside his house with sirens wailing, lots of policemen, firemen, medics, and a crowd of onlookers]
• Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels:
  Harry: I don't care who you use, as long as they're not complete muppets.
  [cut]
  Gary: Shotguns? You mean, like, guns that fire shot?
• In Lost in Space, a news reporter asks Professor John Robinson how his children feel about the upcoming family space mission. He replies with a smile, "They couldn't be more excited." Cut to Penny, angrily protesting, "This mission sucks!"
• Played for Visual Pun in The Man from Hong Kong. The Australian detectives keep asking where the title character has got to, and decide he must be doing something innocuous. "I guess he's having lunch" (Cut to the hero fighting in a restaurant). "I guess he's hanging around somewhere." (Cut to the hero flying a hang glider into the Big Bad's lair).
• Me, Myself & Irene:
  Jamaal: He may have advanced delusionary schizophrenia with involuntary narcissistic rage, but he is a very gentle person!!!
  [cut to Hank headbanging to The Dwarves' "Motherfucker"]
  Hank: MOTHERFUCKER, I'M A... MOTHERFUCKER, I'M A...
• In Midnight in Paris, Inez's parents wonder what Gil, their daughter's fiancé, really does when he takes late-night walks through the streets of Paris. Since Inez has gone dancing with friends, her father comments that they know he isn't dancing. Cut to Gil dancing the Charleston in 1920s Paris.
• When Julia tries to talk with Luther while diffusing a nuclear bomb in Mission: Impossible – Fallout:
  Julia: So... How's Ethan?
  Luther: Oh you know, same old Ethan.
  [cut to Ethan desperately trying to evade gunfire from Lark's helicopter]
• Roger & Me:
  • A pretty depressing one. Roger Smith, who the film criticizes for laying off 30,000 General Motors employees and devastating the town of Flint, Michigan, gives a speech on Christmas Eve on how the holiday brings out the generosity and warmth in everyone. We cut back and forth between this speech and a bunch of families being evicted from their homes on Christmas.
  • Used again with Moore talking about how The Newlywed Game was "Wholesome family entertainment". Cut to host Bob Eubanks (whom Moore also notes is a returning son of Flint 'made good', meant to give a Rousing Speech about how things will get better again) making an extremely inappropriate joke about Jewish women.
• The Santa Clause: Scott and his son have pulled into a Denny's to eat.
  Charlie: I don't want to eat here.
  Scott: What are you talking about, everybody loves Denny's, it's an American institution!
  [cut to the restaurant, packed with a party of Japanese business men.]
• In Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed:
  Daphne: They must be running around, helpless and terrified.
  [cue Scooby and Shaggy coming down the elevator, happy and satisfied]
• From Scotland, PA:
  Pat McBeth: You know, the most important thing is that we carry on [Duncan's] legacy. You know, keep his name alive!
  [cut to construction workers tearing the "Duncan's" off the front of the restaurant while Joe and Pat McBeth look on, smiling]
• In Slaxx, Harold, the CEO of Canadian Cotton Clothiers, is hyping up the Super Shapers, his company's new thermally-activated jeans that mold to any body shape, in a presentation to the employees at the boutique. Meanwhile, Jemma is getting torn in half by a possessed pair of Super Shapers in the bathroom.
• In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Kirk gets wrongfully imprisoned in a Klingon mining colony. Spock, on the Enterprise, tells the crew, "If I know the Captain, he is well into planning his escape." Cut to Kirk brawling with a huge alien while the other prisoners cheer them on.
  • Although, given the way that Kirk often falls backwards into crisis resolutions through random serendipity, this kind of thing may be exactly what Spock meant. Spock does have a wry sense of humor, and Kirk's avenue of escape does open up as a result of this fight.
• Stuart Little 2:
  Stuart: Don't worry about Snowbell, he wouldn't hurt a fly.
  [cut to Snowbell catching a fly]
  Snowbell: [burps] Oh, those flies really repeat on ya.
• A variation in Vera Drake: one scene ends with one of Vera's patients saying that "men don't understand anything." Cut to Susan getting a legal abortion by lying to her psychiatrist, after she was coached on what to say by her male physician.

Literature

• Honor Harrington: Inverted in The Short Victorious War, when a pair of Peep battlecruiser squadrons accidentally runs into a Mantie dreadnought. First we see the watch officer on the dreadnought (a communications officer and a self-proclaimed tactical ignoramus) order his ship to swing around to port simply because the starboard sidewall came up first, and then we cut to the flag deck of the battlecruiser squadron:
  Admiral Pierre swallowed a groan as the dreadnought snapped around and her sidewall swatted his broadsides contemptuously aside. He'd never seen a ship that size maneuver so rapidly and confidently. She'd taken barely ten seconds to bring her sidewalls up and get around—her captain must have the instincts and reactions of a cat!
• In The Dinosaur Lords, Jaume muses with relief that no matter what's happening in the Empire, at least Melodía is safely out of danger in neighboring Ovda - just before the book cuts to Melodía fighting desperately for her life in Imperial lands of Providence.
• In Ptolemy's Gate from The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Bartimaeus reminisces about his meeting with Kitty Jones in the previous installment. He expresses some fondness for her, even though she had no love for djinn.
  "Whatever she was doing, I hoped she was keeping out of trouble." ... Chapter 4: Kitty - The demon saw Kitty the moment she moved. A wide mouth opened in the featureless head; double rows of teeth descended from above and rose from the lining of the jaw...
• In The Martian by Andy Weir, two of the Mission Control types wonder how traumatized the main character has been by being stranded alone on Mars, and what he's thinking at the moment. It turns out that he's thinking:
  How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense.
• Modesty Blaise novels:
  • In A Taste for Death, Modesty and Stephen idly wonder how Willie is doing on his vacation in America. Modesty notes that it's the middle of the night over there and says he's probably in bed. Cut to Willie, wide awake, in the middle of trying to evade a gang of kidnappers.
  • In The Night of Morningstar, Modesty is attacked and injured while out on the town with her friends Dinah and Stephen. A bit later, there's a scene where Stephen and Modesty discuss the possibility that whoever was behind it will try again, and Stephen anticipates having to put some effort into convincing Dinah that Modesty will be all right. This remark is immediately followed by a cut to Dinah telling Modesty's sidekick Willie that she has confidence that Modesty can handle herself and anticipating that Stephen is going to need reassurance.
• Whateley Universe: From Have Your Self an Evil Little Christmas (Part 1):
  those brats have absolutely NO IDEA that I’m on their tail.’
  [On the train]
  “Special Investigator for Department of Paranormal Affairs,” Nephandus guessed. “Part of a three-man shadow. His partner is probably on the train in the car ahead of us, and the third man is following the train in a helicopter. They’ll rotate positions in Manchester or Concord, to keep us from getting suspicious.”

Theatre

• Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto: When Angelo tells Cesare his name, Cesare thinks it's weird, as he's not very angelic (Angelo tends to go around saying things that get him in trouble, and Cesare has already had to rescue him a few times). Cesare then thinks, "There's a castle called that in Rome, in the Vatican." Going into a church, he continues. "If God's kingdom exists on Earth, it should be in Rome, where the pope is. It should be, but..." Cut to Roberto explaining to Angelo all the complex connections between the cardinals who want to kill each other (including, of course, Cesare's father). Then cut to said cardinals, in Rome, in the Sistine Chapel, threatening each other.
• In Villains Tonight!, after gloating that not even Pain and Panic can screw up delivering the villains' invitations, it cuts to them lounging around at Ursula's Under the Sea Lounge, complete with fizzy drinks.

Video Games

• In the opening cutscene of Full Throttle, Malcolm Corley walks into a bar to meet the bikers that drove past him (and in the leader Ben's case, over him). When his advisor Ripburger gets tired of waiting in the car, he suspects Corley's "boring them to death with some tale of the glory days." Cut to Corley finishing such a tale which, judging by the laughter all around, was anything but boring.
• Halo Wars has the Arbiter (no, not that Arbiter) mopping the floor with resident Sergeant Rock John Forge.
  Arbiter: Like the rest of your race, weak and undisciplined.
  (cut to Spartan Red Team kicking Elite Honor Guard ass in a way reminiscent of 300)
• At the end of the Netherbattle DLC in Disgaea 4, the gang learns that Artina is still on collection duty. Artina assures them that this time the money won't go to waste. After all, what's Flonne going to do, use it to build another giant robot? Cut to Flonne planning to do exactly that.
• A trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, has a voiceover reading Thomas Wayne's will. In it, he pleads with a young Bruce to use his inheritance to help Gotham, and not to waste it all on "fast cars, outrageous clothes, and the pursuit of a destructive lifestyle". Of course, at the same time, we're treated to shots of the Batmobile (fast cars), the adult Bruce putting on his Batsuit (outrageous clothes), and beating the crap out of Mooks while Two-Face shoots grenades at him (destructive lifestyle). Hey, at least he's helping Gotham. File this one under Take a Third Option, maybe?
• In the anime prologue of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, Alhbi tells Maya that Princess Rayfa is a very nice person. The camera instantly changes to Rayfa condemning an innocent woman of a crime with her Divination Séance.
  Defendant: But I know I didn't do it!
  Rayfa: How dare you! Are you saying that my insights contain an untruth? You insolent criminal!
• Overwatch: In the animated short "Honor and Glory", Reinhardt, in his early years in Overwatch, apparently wasn't the best in his team.
  Balderich: Reinhardt! Get back to your team!
  Reinhardt: They're just slowing me down! Besides, they're fine.
  (Cut to two soldiers cowering behind a wall, gunfire whizzing above their heads)
  Soldier: Where is Reinhardt!?
• The protagonists of The Alliance Alive, exhausted and sweaty from climbing a mook-infested tower, wonder whether Matilda (who pulled a You Shall Not Pass! earlier) is okay. Cut to Matilda, looking completely unruffled as she leads her fellow Dragon Riders into an aerial battle that is infinitely cooler than what the protagonists are doing.
  Matilda: Glory to the Dragonguard!
• The trailer for World of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King has ironic narration from King Terenas about his son, Arthas:
  Terenas: I watched with pride as you grew into a weapon of righteousness. (Arthas takes Frostmourne from its scabbard) Remember: Our line has always ruled with wisdom and strength. And I know you will show restraint when exercising your great power. (Arthas cracks open a mountain to summon a giant frost wyrm)
• The intro to Steamworld Heist has the narrator declare that Piper Faraday was engaging in a raid to drive off her rivals "and, of course, it all went according to plan", followed immediately by a cut to Faraday falling in via a hatch and declaring "Blast! This did not go according to plan!"

Web Animation

• Dungeon Dynamite: "I, Ocho Octavius, and my associate, Apophis the Meteor Knight, shall take down the wicked Economancer. Nothing shall get in our way— This magic barrier is in our way."
• In The Most Popular Girls in School, Episode 50:
  Mr. McNeely: And lastly, uh, Shay, where are your parents [for the Parent-Teacher Conference]?
  Shay: Oh, well, um, um, my mom couldn't make it.
  Brittnay: Ha!
  Shay: She had a big business meeting.
  Jayna: [Jayna is shown sleeping, snoring, then momentarily wakes up] Squeezits!
• Red vs. Blue:
  Simmons: Any minute the blues are going to come over that hill yelling, "Charge!!!"
  Church: RETREAT!!!
• In Frederator Studios' Nebulous, the ship stops on a planet with a fast food restaurant, and Shea tells Kale that "A little road food won't kill you", before cutting to him being defibrillated on. It turns out the planet's atmosphere is made entirely of grease.
• OverSimplified: In The Second Punic War, just before the Battle of Trebia, one of the exhausted Roman infantry tells their consul, Longus, that it's too cold to fight. Longus berates him by sarcastically asking, "Oh, I'm sorry, did you think war would be fun? Sitting around a nice, hot campfire, playing truth or dare with your friends? WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!" The scene then cuts to the Carthaginian camp, where the Carthagian soldiers are doing exactly just that: sitting around a nice, hot campfire, playing truth or dare.
• Stupid Kids: Bazsi asks Tony Macflane if the hitmen of Nova TV follow them, Tony Macflane replies they are too dumb to even drive a truck. Right then they are seen to drive a truck.

Webcomics

• Played with in the Mario/Pokémon fancomic Bad Things Will Happen. There's one at the beginning of Chapter 5, but through the narration:
  Narration: Now, let's go see what our brave heroes are doing!
  [Scene cuts to an empty hallway]
  Luigi and Soul: [Skid around the corner, then start running away] AAAAAAHHH!!!!!!
  Narration: Ah, forget it...
• The Order of the Stick does this often. Understandable, given that the surprises that come with warfare lead to a lot of splitting up and improv, and the characters' thought patterns vary so widely that the plan is going to go off the rails sooner or later.
  • One of the earliest examples features three in a row as Roy speculates about the upcoming battle and the fate of a kidnapped ally.
  • There's a triple example at the end of the first major Story Arc, as Elan lists the group's (as far as they know at the time) victories.
  • There's this one, where the evil-opposites team has just learned about the protagonists' new quest.
    Nale: The knowledge that the fate of the entire multiverse hinges on their every action must be a terrible burden, haunting them constantly.
    [cut to...]
    Durkon: Who's up fer Parcheesi?
  • Along those same lines, there's this one.
    Roy: Xykon cares for nothing but your complete and total—
    [cut to...]
    Xykon: YAHTZEE! Yes!
    [cut back]
    Roy: —destruction.
  • When Tarquin kills Nale, he walks away saying that anyone who's ever known Nale would at least entertain the idea of killing him. The next panel shows Sabine, who watched her boyfriend get killed, pissed as all Hell.
  • In the prequel book Good Deeds Gone Unpunished:
    Daigo: [Hinjo]'s a great guy, but he's also a tireless foe of Evil who won't rest until every supernatural threat on this island has been vanquished forever.
    [cut to Hinjo and his wolf relaxing]
    Hinjo: Belly rub!!!
  • And here, Belkar notices that he has the urge to say "Hopefully, the others have had an easier time than we have!", which makes him and Haley realize that the others are probably in trouble. Sure enough, we then see just how much trouble the others are in.
  • In #1224, Roy and Elan talk about how O-Chul and Lien would understand that the Order can't come to their rescue, followed by a cut to Lien hoping for a rescue:
    Roy: —but the paladins would understand that we need to put saving the world ahead of rescuing them.
    Elan: I guess you're right, Roy. They are all noble and selfless like that.
    [Cut to O-Chul and Lien chained up somewhere]
    Lien: I think the key thing here is that help is on the way.
• Darths & Droids:
  • This strip. The author even mentions this page in The Rant.
  • Also this one and the one that follows. Let it be known that Yoda (or "Darth Sain") is far more of a Cloudcuckoolander at this point of the comic than he is in the movie.
• Subverted with a lampshade in this Irregular Webcomic! strip; the author references this page in the footnote which says: Herein subverted.
  • Played straight here, where DMM's Author Avatar confidently predicts that for tonight's game session, he will come up with something cleverly original on the fly. Cut to the game and the characters finding themselves having been carried to a faraway land by tornado, with their building landing on an evil witch.
• Used for a throw-away gag in Schlock Mercenary:
  Cop: That Evvi-bot is a miracle of modern science, Griz. Holographic imaging, multi-band spectroscopy, five nines of non-destructive observation, and at the end of five minutes it can hand you a verdict.
  Evvi-bot: Attempted suicide! ...Oh, wait... The victim is dead. Lemme think about this one.
  • Of course, a bit of a subversion in that technically "attempted suicide" is fairly accurate.
  • Somewhat adorably, here:
  He escaped into the river and he looks like a giant turd. Waste-water is a logical place to look. Besides, he's a criminal. Dark places for dark souls.
  [Their target is sitting under a tree in a park, with a little girl buying a balloon in the background.]
  • Later, in the Delegates and Delegation arc, Murtaugh is talking about how Dr Bunnigus will serve as Schlock's moral compass, while the doctor is telling Schlock that just in case, he should be ready to eat any troublesome intruders so as not to leave any evidence.
• xkcd: The female character tries to talk the male one out of challenging Nathan Fillion to an electric skateboard race because he's Captain Reynolds:
  Megan: He has his own life to live, and I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is indulge a fan by playing Mal for him.
  (cut to Nathan standing in front of a mirror wearing Mal's coat)
  Nathan: Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am. Ahem. Name's Captain Reynolds, ma'am.
• Subverted with a healthy helping of Lampshade Hanging in Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures. Alexsi is being reassured that Dan can do a good job of showing off the Lost Lake Inn in her absence. Cut to Dan (disguised as Alexsi)...doing a good job of showing off the Lost Lake Inn in Alexsi's absence.
  Critic: I must say, this place is very charming!
  Dan (as Alexsi): What did you expect? Comedic irony?
  • Played straight again, when Mab and Pyroduck were sent to get a cake:
  Wildy: You don't think they're going to the moon?
  Jyrras: Of course not. There are no bakeries on the moon.
  Mab: Stardate... today! We have learned that there are no bakeries on the moon!
• Subverted in a different fashion in Dominic Deegan. Suyan imagines that Donovan is being welcomed by whatever orcs found him with open arms. Cut to just outside the cave where Donovan is being held, where Donovan is screaming for mercy. Then cut to inside the cave, where a completely unharmed Donovan is faking it while his interrogator is telling him to pretend to scream for mercy.
• Erfworld: Here◊, Parson goads Ansom into striking before he's ready by claiming that his (imbecilic) overlord Stanley is superior to Ansom's royal status (a sensitive issue with Ansom) due to Stanley's possession of a divine artifact. Cut to Stanley chocking a subordinate in frustration.
• Gigantic example of this trope appears in The Wotch, here, where Jason explains all the reasons why the others' scheme will not work, only to be immediately proved wrong on all counts. "Okay, so I suck."
• This episode of Everyday Heroes, where both characters speed towards each other thinking "As long as I don't run into any trouble..." ("Did anyone else just hear a crash?")
• Freefall: Florence looks at the Asimov.
  • Done again much later, with Florence concluding that she has to assume very dedicated and experienced programmers are helping with Gardener in the Dark...while the final touches on automating its release are being done by a pissed-off intern, who is fired immediately after finishing. Perhaps fortunately, Mr Kornada is not a man who knows how to get the best from his workers.
• This El Goonish Shive: Squirrel genius works in mysterious ways (particularly while mopping)
  • Grace seems to attract these:
  A plan that hinges on grace passing for Elliot is doomed. She's far too bubbly and upbeat.
  Grace: I hate everything. [She's reading a book titled 1,001 Depressing Historical Facts''.]
• This strip of Snowflakes.
  Every day outside this orphanage is a day of warm sunny bliss, where every day your new parents hug you and kiss you and tell you how great you are.
  Two hundred miles south...
  [A girl drags a plow through a field.]
  Farmer: PLOW FASTER!
• This is one of the more common forms of humor in Wapsi Square. This strip is a good example.
• In Tales of the Questor, Quentyn uses an "arcane racconan art" to gather intelligence on the dragon.
• For a webcomic built entirely around this trope, see Basic Instructions.
• Manly Guys Doing Manly Things: Malachite tries a plan to lure the Sailor Scouts in, but Brainwashed Tuxedo Mask says they are not idiots. The following panel proves Brainwashed Tuxedo Mask wrong.
• In one Electric Wonderland comic, Trawn invites Natasha to visit the Home Base of her newspaper staff. She says the other members must be "humming along", but unbeknownst to her, they're engaging in a recreational battle.
• Dangerously Chloe has this when the resident Cassandra is rationalizing her Cassandra Truth.
• Skin Horse:
  • Pedantic talking dog Sweetheart invokes the trope (and TV Tropes) by name in the 2014-10-11 strip, which does also illustrate it.
  • And again, when Tip says that other humans might still be unaffected by the suddenly-nationwide Weirdness Censor "but they'd have to be exceptional. Cut to Jonah Yu in his Tinfoil Hat, and with a jar stuck on each hand because "I, uh, had trouble with some mayonnaise."
• In Orbit, Earth finally get out of his funk at being stuck in the solar system and commenting that "The universe isn't that great." cuts straight to Comet racing through the galaxy, exclaiming how great it is.
• This page of Girl Genius ends with Anevka saying that even if Tarvek does know about the slaver engine that works on Sparks, he's not just going to hand it to the Other. The next page opens with him doing exactly that.
• Dinah the Aspie Dinosaur #92:
  Dinosaur 1: It says here she's autistic. Did you know??
  Dinosaur 2: What? Nah, it must be a mistake. She was so friendly and engaging!
  (Meanwhile, at home...)
  Dinah: (laying on the floor dizzily) (System—failure... Capacity—exceeded... Begin—attempted—recovery—)
• In Recursion, one of Jade's pilots comments on how brave Jade is in the face of her impending crash and probable death. Meanwhile, Jade herself is screaming an Atomic F-Bomb.
• Sleepless Domain: When Heartful Punch encounters Undine alone on patrol one night, she assumes that her team must have broken up — not knowing that most of her team had in fact been killed in action. When HP finds out what happened the following day, she spends a page beating herself up over how Innocently Insensitive she had been, and insists that Undine must hate her for it. Cut to Undine at her locker, wondering if the school cafeteria has turkey for lunch.
• Sunstone: While talking to a friend Lisa is gushing about Ally's virtues, as we see her gaming at home while she acts the opposite from them all.

Web Original

• Used in episode four of Kickassia:
  The Cinema Snob: Look, I'll have a talk with the Critic, see if any of this is true.
  Paw: What if he suspects us going behind his back?
  The Cinema Snob: He won't suspect us. I'll put it very delicately.
  (cut to him and the Critic)
  The Cinema Snob: Everybody thinks you're nuts.
• In The Awkward Compilation, Lester verbally sets the scene for his first encounter with dream girl Steph by explaining he was reading "a very intellectual book". Cut to him reading The Legend of Zelda manga in the computer lab.
• We're Alive: From Chapter 3:
  Saul: Whatever, Michael would have done the same thing.
  Angel: Well he's not here now. He's probably back at the Tower surrounded by ladies.
  (cut to Michael and the other Tower residents besieged by zombies)
  Michael: Shoot that bitch in the face!
• Todd in the Shadows.
  • In his review of a Kelly Clarkson song, Todd deems her career lull as evidence that "there just isn't a market for a pop star who wasn't supermodel-hot or rail-thin making an album full of bitter breakup songs." And then Adele appears and Todd goes "Oh, wait"
  • While reviewing Van Halen III, Todd goes "Who in 1998 was going to listen to a dinosaur cock-rock band that started in the goddamn '70s?" Cue one of the year's hits, Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing".
• To Boldly Flee:
  Obscurus Lupa: Be discreet.
  Todd in the Shadows: Don't worry, they'll never see me coming.
  [cut to]
  Todd in the Shadows: [loudly banging on the door] HEY! NOSTALGIA CHICK! LINKARA! ARE YOU TWO DOING ANYTHING EVIL OR SUSPICIOUS IN THERE!?
• Used for drama in Demo Reel, as a scared, dying, abandoned Donnie tells the camera Rebecca and Tacoma must have been the only ones worried about him when he was missing. Cut to the two of them drinking, flirting and having the best time.
• Outside Xbox: Jane, in one Show of the Week episode, claims to have been "succeeding" at Dead Space 3.
  Cue montage of Isaac Clarke being killed messily
  Jane: Succeeding like a winner.
• TB Skyen: Skyen talks about going to fight the Capra Demon in the appropriate Boss Designs of Dark Souls episode, intercut with sepia-toned clips from later in the episode of his character getting mauled.
  Present!Skyen: I believe I'm looking for the Capra Demon this time around, which I have heard many good things about...
  Future!Skyen: OH FUCK-
  Present!Skyen: ...how easy and simple...
  Future!Skyen: [dies]
  Present!Skyen: ...it is to beat that particular boss, like, you pretty much just cruise through it with no problem at all...
  Future!Skyen: [undignified weeping]
  Present!Skyen: ...so I'm looking forward to having something that I can just breeze through...
  Future!Skyen: [close-up on his health bar going down 80% in two seconds]
• The Weather: A variant occurs in "Hey Girl". After being told not to drink all the tequila before the bridal shower starts, the scene immediately changes to the main character making some margaritas.
• Used to illustrate the writing issues in Fifty Shades Freed by Dan Olson of Folding Ideas. When Anastasia describes Christian as "a man of honour" who "treat(s) people well", Dan slots in a montage of Christian lying to her about getting rid of a loaded handgun, throwing tantrums at Ana over tiny, insignificant things and openly describing himself as a sadist who gets off on punishing women who look like his birth mother, then ends with a repeat of the "you treat people well" line just to underscore the absurdity.
• Played for Drama in CollegeHumor's "Grease Dilemma" sketch - when Danny and the rest of the T-Birds begin to suspect that Kenickie is a rapist, he blows them off with "I didn't do nothing, okay, I swear!". Cut to Rizzo breaking down in tears.
• Played for Horror in the Analog Horror short MEAT PRODUCT: LIFE MEAT, which is about a meat substitute made with no meat called "Life Meat". As the narrator describes how much healthier it is than regular meat, the short immediately cuts to a Dead-Hand Shot of someone after eating Life Meat, followed then by a commercial stating that Life Meat has been recalled after an outbreak of an unknown pathogen.
• The season seven trailer for Jet Lag: The Game features Sam saying of Ben, "He's got a big brain." It then immediately cuts to Ben with his hand stuck in a vending machine.
  Ben: Oh my hand's trapped again.

Western Animation

• American Dad!: In "Poltergasm", Klaus stays at a beachside hotel and breaks his back, and leaving him unable to move and be driven insane by the video loop on the TV's information channel.
  Klaus: Stay calm, Klaus. The maid'll be here soon. She'll get you your back pills and you'll be good to go.
  (cut to outside the room, where the maid complies with the "Please Do Not Disturb" sign on the door)
• Angela Anaconda: In "Yellow Book Road", a panicking Bunny Manoir laments that her husband is worried about her disappearance. Cut to him sleeping in his seat at the living room, not seeming to be that upset.
• Animaniacs (1993): In "Temporary Insanity", the Warners are working as Mr. Plotz's secretaries while his regular secretary is out sick. Dot is tending to the phone and putting everyone on hold. When Yakko asks why, she explains that Mr. Plotz is very busy, and can't be disturbed. Cut to Mr. Plotz in his office complaining about how bored he is and wondering why he hasn't had any calls.
• Arthur:
  • In the episode "Dad's Dessert Dilemma" Mr. Read introduces the episode from his garage kitchen by acknowledging that the viewer was probably expecting to see Arthur. He says Arthur is not there because he must be doing his homework. Cut to Arthur cramming his face full of cookies in the house kitchen.
  • In "D.W.'s Imaginary Friend" D.W. tells Nadine that Arthur really likes her and even hung a picture she drew on his bedroom wall. Cut to Arthur indifferently ripping up the picture and discarding it.
• A frequent source of humour in Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • After Aang and Toph are kidnapped by Xin Fu:
    Toph's Mother: (crying) Poor Toph — she must be so scared...
    (cut to...)
    Toph: You think you're so tough?! Why don't you come up here so I can smack that grin off your face?!
  • From the fourth episode when Zuko sees the erratic path the Gaang is taking to the North Pole:
    Zuko: He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering.
    (cut to...)
    Sokka: (to Aang) You have no idea where you're going, do you?
• Used multiple times in succession in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Pretty Poison".
  Pamela Isley: Shouldn't we wait for your friend?
  Harvey Dent: Bruce? Nah, he's always late. He probably got hung up on business.
  (cut to Batman hanging onto a helicopter full of escaped convicts)
  Pamela: I hear he's rich.
  Harvey: Yeah, Bruce runs around in a high-class crowd.
  (cut to Batman chasing a convict)
  Harvey: But he still manages to get his kicks.
  (cut to Batman kicking the criminal)
  Harvey: There's nothing we don't know about each other.
  (cut to Batman threatening the crook)
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold has this during an argument about how well heroes treat their sidekicks.
  Aqualad: We're tired of being treated like second-class superheroes!
  Green Arrow: I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. I've always treated Speedy well!
  (flashback to Green Arrow and Speedy atop a pool filled with crocodiles)
  Green Arrow: Quick, retrieve my bow from that crocodile pit!
• The 80s The Berenstain Bears series' adaptation of "Too Much Birthday" has such a scene; Mama Bear imagines her idea of a birthday party for Sister Bear, "with a small cake, a small guest list with just a few close friends, and a few modest decorations." As she says those, we see Papa and the cubs imagining a gigantic birthday cake, a huge crowd of guests, and the outside of their tree house decorated lavishly.
• Big City Greens:
  • In "Tilly Tour" after Tilly shows Gramma a "cratigeon", they think Cricket and Bill are sorry they missed this and are probably still at home watching TV. Cut to Cricket and Bill floating helplessly through the flooded bathroom.
  • In "Blood Moon" after the family escapes to the basement, Bill remarks, "Well, at least we all made it outta there." Cut to Gloria, who's been left behind, being surrounded and attacked by the zombie farm animals.
• In the Big Hero 6: The Series episode "Fan Friction", Honey Lemon insists that Momakase will not be able to outrun Go Go. Cut to Go Go being outrun and saying "She outran me!"
• Bob's Burgers: In "Best Burger", Louise claims to the proprietor of Fig Jam that because he's chasing them and has left the shop unattended, it's probably being looted as they speak. Cut to a guy calling out to see if anyone's there, then leaving money on the counter and saying that he loves the store.
• In "Return to Tender" on Care Bears & Cousins, the bears are talking about Wonderheart riding on the Cloud Clipper with the cousins. Tenderheart makes a comment about her possibly not being ready for all of the new sights she'll see. Quick cut to Wonderheart having the time of her life. Repeat three times as it becomes increasingly obvious that Tenderheart is really missing her, while Wonderheart is having a great time and clearly doesn't have any homesickness... yet.
• In Central Park, Season 1 "Dog Spray Afternoon", after Owen and Molly stop the "Shart" tagger that was hired by Bitsy to vandalize the park, Birdie tells the audience that Bitsy was surprisingly cool about it. Cut to the outside of Bitsy's balcony as we hear Bitsy squawking like an apoplectic crow.
• In an episode of Dexter's Laboratory, both Dexter and Dee Dee are punished by being sent to spend the evening in each other's respective rooms. Dexter worries that Dee Dee will wreck his lab like she always does and tries to investigate by making a stealth suit. Turns out Dee Dee took a nap for the entire punishment, and Dexter wrecked Dee Dee's room trying to make the suit. He's sent out to the doghouse, where he comments that at least he knows the dog won't wreck his lab. Cut to the dog doing exactly that.
• In "Best Ever Babysitter" on Dinosaur Train, Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon talk about how they're sure everything's fine with their kids because they all get along with the babysitter Kiera so well. Cut to the kids nearly overwhelming Kiera with their arguing about what activity they want to do.
• In one Donald Duck cartoon, The Trial of Donald Duck, a French restaurant takes Donald to court for not being able to pay for his meal (his own picnic food that he brought in with him, no less), which comes out to $35.99, and all Donald has is a nickel. The attorney for the defense says that Donald took his situation with grace and restraint. Cue Donald throwing one of his trademark temper tantrums.
• In Drawn Together Captain Hero complains that all Xandir ever talks about is saving his girlfriend. Cut to three flashbacks featuring Xandir:
  "Hey, where are the paper towels?"
  "Oh no, I think my watch broke."
  "Grapes are fun!"
  • Another episode has the characters trapped inside a van, with some taking refuge inside Toot's dead body. Spanky mentions that it makes no sense to just bring characters back to life, which Ling-Ling agrees on... even though he died and was eaten earlier.
• DuckTales (1987): In "Too Much of a Gold Thing", when Scrooge launches a flare to signal Launchpad and get him to come for help.
  Scrooge: There's no way that idiot can miss that.
  (cut to Launchpad being held underwater by a snake)
• DuckTales (2017): The first episode has two such setups:
  • Near the beginning, in which Donald reluctantly leaves his nephews at his uncle Scrooge McDuck's mansion while he goes to a job interview, to their great elation.
    Donald: It's only a couple of hours.
    Dewey: A couple of hours with the most exciting duck in the world!
    (cut to Scrooge, long retired from adventuring, in the middle of a dull financial meeting)
  • And later, when the boys refuse to believe that their uncle used to be Scrooge's sidekick before their falling-out.
    Dewey: Uncle Donald has never done anything cool.
    Webby: What?! Donald Duck is one of the most daring adventurers of all time!
    (cut to Donald in a waiting room, preparing for his interview, before having a scuffle with an uncooperative stapler)
• In The Fairly OddParents! episode "A Mile in My Shoes", when Cosmo and Wanda apologize that their mandated trip to Fairy World means they won't be able to teleport Timmy to school, Timmy says that he'll be okay as long as his dad didn't do anything stupid to his car. Cut to Timmy finding his dad in the process of converting the car into a Humongous Mecha to compete with the Dinklebergs when they did the same thing.
• On Family Guy, Meg asks her mom how she got blueprints for the D'Amico house.
  Lois: Your mother has her ways. She has her ways.
  (flashback to office visit)
  Lois: Can I have the blueprints to the D'Amico house?
  Clerk: (handing them to her) Sure. Here you go.
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: In "Squeeze the Day", the friends spend a day at the beach and intentionally leave Bloo behind because they knew he'd ruin their day if he came, though Mr. Herriman begins to worry about the consequences.
  Mr. Herriman: Though I shudder to consider what kind of chaos he's causing all by himself!
  (cut to Bloo lying down on the couch and watching TV)
• Futurama:
  • In "A Fishful of Dollars", the newly-rich Fry buys an ancient can of anchovies because he wants to eat them, not realizing that the fish oils in the can are extremely rare and valuable in the future. Corrupt Corporate Executive Mom and her sons mistake him for a shrewd businessman who plans to start his own oil company and muscle them out of the market.
    Walt: This Mr. Fry must be a mastermind of the highest order!
    (cut to Fry in his underwear, watching Sanford and Son in the dark)
  • In "My Three Suns", Fry is in trouble and needs Leela's help, but they had just gotten into a nasty fight beforehand. Amy says they should go to her since she's not the type that holds a grudge, before cutting to Leela beating on a punching bag with Fry's picture taped to it.
  • In "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", Bender finds out people will pay for romance, and muses about having a deviously clever plan. Cut in mid-sentence to him being fined five hundred dollars for pimping.
  • From "Love and Rocket":
    (The Planet Express ship is upset over Bender breaking up with it)
    Leela: Aw, calm down. I'm sure Bender is taking this just as hard as you are.
    (Cut to Bender happily singing while lying in a hammock.)
    Bender: Bender is great! Oh, Bender is great! Bender, Bender, Bender!
  • Possibly the best-known example of the series is a heart-breaking cut involving Fry's dog Seymour, from "Jurassic Bark":
    Fry: I'll never forget him, but he forgot me a long, long time ago.
    (cut to Seymour waiting for Fry for twelve years)
• Gargoyles:
  • Xanatos says "Pay a man enough, and he'll walk barefoot into Hell." Cut to a demolition crewman wearing huge robotic boots, walking through the not-at-all-hellish courtyard of Castle Wyvern.
  • The verbal debate between Macbeth and Margo Yale in "The Journey" is full of these. While Macbeth defends the Gargoyles, Margo goes on about how they are just mindless beasts, which follows a scene that completely contradicts what she claims.
    Margo: I've seen these beasts up close. They're monsters! (cut to Goliath carrying Elisa as they try to escape a copter)
    Margo: We can't take any chances! Our children are not safe! (cut to baby Alex playing with Lexington and Bronx)
    Margo: Surely Mr. Macduff isn't going to pretend that these, creatures, have human thoughts and emotions! They're beasts! Animals! (cut to Broadway and Angela sharing a romantic moment, then Brooklyn catching sight before sadly walking off in dejection)
• Gravity Falls: In "Fixin' It With Soos", Soos says he's fixing a cuckoo clock Stan broke by accident. A flashback shows Stan whacking it with a baseball bat and saying things like "Stop making that noise!"; "I hate you!"; and "This is definitely not an accident!"
• Green Eggs and Ham: In "Here", bean-counter Michelle comments that she wouldn't let her daughter E.B. go near Guy's latest invention that just blew up, saying that she's "very fragile", before cutting to her doing something dangerous.
  Narrator: E.B.'s not so fragile. If her mom only knew that she's luring a Pandog with cheese-stuffed bamboo. Mom would have a conniption; "No pets is the rule!" But E.B.'s not listening, 'cause...
  E.B.: A pet would be cool!
• In Hercules: The Animated Series episode "Hercules and the Parents Weekend", a monster captured some of the parents. Adonis' Dad said he was probably taking "swift and decisive" action. Cut to the next scene showing Adonis decided to have himself crowned the next King of Thrace.
• House of Mouse: In the short "Pluto's Penthouse Sweet", after Mickey leaves Pluto home alone while goes out with Minnie, Donald and Daisy.
  Mickey: Gosh, I feel kinda bad leaving Pluto all alone.
  Minnie: Aw, he'll just wait on the porch. He won't miss us at all.
  (cut to a devastated Pluto throwing a hysterical fit)
• Jimmy Two-Shoes:
  Jimmy: Your dad's a reasonable guy. I'm sure he'll understand.
  (cut to Lucius)
  Lucius: HOW MANY SCOOPS IS THIS?
  Samy: Seventeen, sir.
  Lucius: AND HOW MANY SCOOPS DO I ALWAYS GET?
  Samy: Eighteen, sir.
  Lucius: RELEASE THE LIONS!
• Kaeloo: In Episode 79, the main four are pirates. Olaf, who is also a pirate, gives them the chance to split up into two teams and buy items from his store to help them find a treasure, and the first team to find the treasure not only gets to keep it, but will be crowned the "Emperor of Pirates". Kaeloo and Quack Quack take useful items such as a lantern and a compass, while Mr. Cat asks for a lawn chair, a magazine with a pin-up, and a bottle of rum. Stumpy (who is on Mr. Cat's team) is certain that being The Smart Guy, Mr. Cat has some sort of amazing plan to get there first. Scene cut to Mr. Cat, drunk off his ass, sitting on the lawn chair while singing loudly and looking at the magazine, while Stumpy carries him on his back.
  Stumpy: This isn't exactly what I had in mind.
• Looney Tunes: In the short The Bashful Buzzard, a mother buzzard ponders how her dopey son Killer is doing while he's out looking for food.
  Mama: I wonder where my darlin' little Killer is? Maybe he's a-bringing home a-something big, no?
  (cut)
  Killer: (singing) I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee...
• Milo Murphy's Law: Cavendish is utterly convinced that Milo is fiendishly scheming against him:
  Cavendish: Just look at him over there, plotting our demise.
  (Cut to Milo enjoying some fast food with his friend Zack and their respective dads.)
  Milo: I sure love cheese fries!
  (Cut back to Cavendish and Dakota.)
  Cavendish: Oh, this is not over, Milo Murphy. Not by a long shot.
  (Cut back to Milo.)
  Milo: They're fries with cheese!
• In "Secret Frog" from Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, Spiderus comes into the Hollow Tree shouting about a new frog family in Sunny Patch and sowing fear. He then describes how he had an encounter with one of the frogs and how he faced it bravely, "Horrible as it was, I stared that frog right in the eye!" Cue flashback...
  Spiderus: (sobbing, covering his eyes) Is it... is it gone?
• Molly of Denali: In "Have Canoe, Will Paddle", Molly tries to ask Mr. Patak to coach her and the others on how to canoe, saying that he's a perfect fit. Then it cuts to Mr. Patak saying that he is not a perfect fit.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot: In "Escape from Cluster Prime", when Jenny meets Vega and her group of friends before cutting to one of Vexus' attack ads against her.
  Jenny: (thinking) Finally, a place where I'm accepted as a friend.
  (cut to the ad, showing a freaky illustration of Jenny)
  Announcer: This is the enemy! Traitor to the robot species and monstrous defender of the human world!
• Phineas and Ferb: The (intended) Grand Finale "Last Day of Summer" has Candace saying "Wow, I guess now that we're gone, Mom and Dad don't remember having children. They're lives must be so empty right now." And the next scene shows their Mom and Dad dancing.
• Pinky and the Brain has Brain trying to prove he's really a mouse (with the excuse that he was turned into one in a freak accident at work).
  Lawyer: In your experience with other mice, would you say that they are intelligent?
  (cut to Pinky, trying and utterly failing to control Brain's human suit, and making a mess in the process)
  Brain: No.
• The Powerpuff Girls (1998) episode "Octi Evil" has the narrator commenting on a quiet evening at the Utonium household. This is followed by Blossom angrily shrieking "SHUT UP, BUTTERCUP!!!" as she and Buttercup lock horns with each other.
• In The Problem Solverz episode "Zoo Cops":
  Horace: I've got the perfect plan.
  Lidget: I bet your plan isn't a master plan.
  Horace: Oh, it is. It uses one of the most cunning, stealthy Problem Solverz you'll ever meet.
  [cut to Alfe breaking items and a shelf loudly crashing to the floor]
  Alfe: Uhhh... this thing just, like, broke.
• Raw Toonage had Cro-Magnum PI (a caveman Private Detective):
  "Just what I needed, another beautiful woman in my life. I did everything I could to get rid of her."
  (cut to the caveman getting her a chair, brushing his teeth, and getting his hair done)
• The Rocko's Modern Life ad "How to Tell if Your Dog is Brainless" has Rocko try to defend Spunky with contrasting clips being shown similar to the Garfield example above.
• In the Rugrats episode "Runaway Angelica", Drew sends Angelica to her room for playing in his study and assumes that she's mature enough to handle her punishment.^note This is a three-year-old he's talking about.
  Drew: Well, I did it. I actually did it. I disciplined Angelica.
  Charlotte: I hope you weren't too hard on her.
  Drew: Oh, no. Our daughter's a fairly mature girl. I think she'll take it well.
  (cut to Angelica trashing her room)
  Angelica: IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S! NOT! FAAAAAAAIR!!!
• The Simpsons:
  • Invoked intentionally by Homer in "Homer Vs. Patty and Selma":
    Marge: He's a complicated man.
    (Homer pokes his head out of a window and smashes a plate over it)
    Homer: Wrong!
  • "Brother's Little Helper":
    • When Bart runs away from home, Marge is panicking and says "He must be feeling so helpless and scared!" Cut to Bart driving a tank through the town, smashing everything in his path while gleefully singing the famous lyrics of "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac.
    • Marge is incensed that Principal Skinner wants to put Bart on an antipsychotic drug, saying that he's not "some hyperactive monster". They then look out the window to see Bart chanting in cheerleader garb.
  • This scene in "Bart's Comet":
    Homer: It's times like these I wish I were a religious man.
    Reverend Lovejoy: It's all over, people! We don't have a prayer!
  • In "Brother from Another Series" Sideshow Bob is released from prison much to Bart's dismay.
    Bart: Don't you see what you've done! Sideshow Bob hasn't reformed, he's pure evil! Oh, if only you knew what he was thinking.
    (cut to Sideshow Bob in car)
    Bob: (thinking) I hope they still make that shampoo I like.
  • In "Marge vs. the Monorail", when Cobb says that he hopes the monorail has a good conductor, it cuts to Homer trying to open the monorail door with a wire hanger.
  • In "I Love Lisa", Lisa bemoans that in order to get tickets to a Krusty show, her parents would have to be a part of Springfield's cultural elite. Cue Homer walking in, brushing his teeth with a toothbrush he found in Flanders' trash.
  • In "Burns' Heir", Homer is forced to do the miserable job of industrial chimney sweep, but comforts himself by acknowledging that his bosses have to work even harder. Cut to Mr. Burns in a top hat, smoking a cigar and eating chips in a bubble bath.
  • "Raging Abe Simpson" has a bit where Burns hires an assassin to kill Grampa. The assassin claims that killing a man is "intricate and precise as a well-played game of chess." Cut to him bursting into the retirement home with a machine gun and firing full-auto, destroying the room and missing every shot.
  • In "Secrets of a Successful Marriage", Marge kicks Homer out of the house after he crosses one line too many, and she later invites the Lovejoys over to discuss the matter.
    Homer: Oh, good! Reverend Lovejoy will make Marge take me back. He has to push the sanctity of marriage, or his God will punish him.
    (cut to inside the living room)
    Rev. Lovejoy: Get a divorce.
    Helen: Mm-hmm.
    Marge: But isn't that a sin?
    Rev. Lovejoy: Marge, just about everything is a sin. (picks up a Bible) You ever sat down and read this thing? Technically, we're not allowed to go to the bathroom.
• South Park:
  • "Make Love, Not Warcraft" has a scene where someone kills the boys' online characters in about ten seconds. Stan surmises that "Whoever he is, he must be one tough badass." Cut to an overweight nerd◊ who obviously spends too much time at his computer.
  • "Casa Bonita":
    Cartman: Kyle, when have I ever ripped on you for being a Jew?
  • A similar scene in "Quest for Ratings" when Cartman wonders how Kenny can betray him by working on Craig's show after he's always been supercool to him. Cue flashback where Cartman gloats about doing a news show which Kenny can't be on because he's poor.
  • "Hooked on Monkey Fonics": "I wonder how Cartman's getting on with his home schooling?"
  • In "Cartmanland" Cartman buys his own theme park so he can have it all to himself. Stan reassures Kyle that Cartman is probably already sick of being in the park alone, wondering how someone can enjoy the rides without other people. Cartman is then shown in the park alone, still enjoying the rides without other people.
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • In "Nature Pants", SpongeBob gives up his life and friends to live in the wild with the jellyfish. At one point, he stumbles upon a picnic set up by Sandy and Patrick in an attempt to convince him to come home. When SpongeBob refuses:
    Patrick: I miss you! Sandy misses you! Even Squidward misses you!
    (cut to Squidward in his house laughing and dancing to party music)
  • In "SB-129", Squidward hides from SpongeBob and Patrick in the Krusty Krab's meat locker. After they leave, Squidward discovers that he accidentally locked himself inside.
    Squidward: Oh, well, someone will realize I'm gone and come looking for me. I'll be out of here in no time.
    (cut to the following time card)
    Narrator: 2,000 years later...
    (cut to Squidward frozen alive)
  • In "Can You Spare a Dime?", when SpongeBob has an unemployed and homeless Squidward stay at his house and it becomes apparent that Squid is starting to treat him like a slave.
    Gary: Meow.
    SpongeBob: (gasp) Gary! Squidward is not a freeloader! And he would never take advantage of me!
    Narrator: Three weeks later...
    SpongeBob: (tired) He's just having a hard time getting his confidence back. (drops)
    Narrator: Many months later...
    SpongeBob: (even more tired) I'm sure he's close to a breakthrough. (drops)
    Different Narrator: So much later, that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one.
    SpongeBob: (pulls himself on the floor toward Gary)
    Gary: (mockingly) Meow, meow, meow.
    SpongeBob: I KNOW HE STILL ISN'T LOOKING FOR WORK! DON'T RUB IT IN!
  • In "Doing Time", SpongeBob is worried that Ms. Puff has become "completely institutionalized" and frets that she's forgotten about what life is like outside of prison. It then shows a random fish going through his workday looking as miserable as any inmate.
    Wife (off-screen): Coming to bed honey?
    Fish (with the same blank expression): Yes dear...
• Star Trek: Lower Decks:
  • "Strange Energies": Right after Tendi says that Boimler is "probably having the time of his life" on the Titan, we see him on the bridge, screaming in confusion and terror as the ship evades the Pakleds firing on them by flying into a black hole.
  • "Kayshon, His Eyes Open":
    • Tendi again assumes that Boimler's having a great time on the Titan. Cut to Boimler once again freaking out during a battle with the Pakleds.
    • After being told by Starfleet command that she micromanages too much, Freeman trusts that Lt. Kayshon is doing a fine job without her needing to check in. Cut to the away team, specifically Kayshon being cradled after having been transformed into a puppet.
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil: In the first episode, Star is bestowed the Royal Magic Wand and the Queen tells her to use it responsibly.
  Star: Don't worry Mom, I can handle it.
  (cut to the kingdom up in flames)
  King and Queen: She can't handle it.
• Steven Universe:
  • "So Many Birthdays": Steven walks by Onion, wistfully talking about how "innocent" he is, right before Onion pries open an arcade machine with a screwdriver to steal the tickets.
  • "Back to the Kindergarten": On their way to check on the plants they planted at the Kindergarten, Amethyst remarks "The Kindergarten looks better than ever!" Cut to Steven, Peridot, and Amethyst finding their field of sunflowers dead and slumped over.
• Superman: The Animated Series:
  • Leslie Willis states her disdain for Superman:
    Leslie: First, he's never around when you need him.
    (Superman arrives Just in Time to save a falling construction worker)
    Leslie: Second, everything's just so darned easy for him.
    (Superman grabs a falling crane, which judging from his reaction is heavy enough to strain even him)
    Leslie: And third, all he cares about is himself.
    (The crane breaks away, and Superman races to catch it before it falls on the people below.)
  • In "The Main Man", Professor Hamilton muses about the "great achievements" and "brilliant minds" to be found in civilizations on other worlds. Cut to Lobo in a seedy alien bar letting loose a loud belch.
• From the Sushi Pack episode "But is it Art?":
  Ikura: Maguro, how'd you ever get that museum director to put up Tako's paintings?
  Maguro: We had a meeting of the minds.
  (cut to Maguro in the director's office, brainwashing him)
  Maguro: You will hang Tako's paintings. You will hang Tako's paintings.
  Director: I will hang Tako's paintings.
• Total Drama Island (2023): After reaching the second finale, Caleb finds out that the eliminated players on his side aren't rooting for him per say, they just want Julia to lose. Priya assures him that the third finalist's (Wayne) team is likely of the same mind. Cut to Team Wayne, who cheer on their player with genuine gusto.
• Happens a couple of times on Transformers: Animated. For example:
  Megatron: No Autobot would be foolish enough to fire on their greatest weapon.
  (cut to Sentinel Prime in the Council chamber, bashing his desk with a fist)
  Sentinel Prime: I say we fire on Omega Supreme!
• Visionaries had Ectar assuring the local residential committee that the soldiers of New Valoric are a well disciplined and non-rowdy bunch. Cue Witterquick crashing into the room and landing onto the meeting table.
• In "The Great Missing Potato" from Wallykazam, Wally explains that he and Norvill have to get past a goblin guard in order to get to the wishing potato.
  Wally: He's big and he's strong and he's...
  Wally and Norville: Bobgoblin?!^note Bobgoblin is a runty little recurring goblin antagonist on the series.
• Work It Out Wombats!: "Secret Tunnels": The wombats need to retrieve the third Winnie the Wizard book before the crabs are finished reading the first two. Malik assures that they must be slow readers. Cut to the crabs immediately finishing the second book.

Real Life

• An unfunny example from a documentary on the Cold War, regarding the use of mercenaries by US-aligned factions in the conflict in Angola.
  Holden Roberto, FNLA President: Among the mercenaries were some very fine soldiers. Kalin for instance. I've seldom seen such a good soldier. He had phenomenal courage.
  [cut to John Stockwell, CIA Task Force]
  John Stockwell: He was a psychopath. A raving psychopath. And a couple of men near him were psychopaths.

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