Alice says something Betty finds shocking. "What?!" Betty asks indignantly. Alice, The Ditz, repeats word for word what she just said, mistaking the indignance for not having heard. If they're particularly unlucky, this might continue for some time.
Compare Rhetorical Question Blunder.
Examples:
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Fan Works
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series:
Kaiba: Now go Obelisk! Attack Yugi directly!
Yami Yugi: Not so fast Kaiba!
Kaiba: Go ... Obelisk ... Attack ... Yugi ...
Films — Animated
- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: When the show would normally use a Lame Rhyme Dodge:
Mr. Garrison: How would you like to go to the principal's office?!
Cartman: How would you like to suck my balls?
Mr. Garrison: WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!
Cartman: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Actually, what I said was...(produces a megaphone) HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUCK MY BALLS, MR. GARRISON? - Zootopia: Nick's response to Chief Bogo when he tries to take Judy's badge. Downplayed in that Nick knows exactly what he's doing and draws out his second response to show his contempt for Chief Bogo's unfair attempt to cut short Judy's 48-hour deadline.
Nick: Ah, no.
Bogo: What did you say, fox?
Nick: Sorry, what I said was nooo!
Films — Live-Action
- Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me:
Austin: [giving a massage] How does that feel, baby?
Girl: Mmm, lower!
Austin: [deeper voice] How does that feel, baby?
Live-Action TV
- California Dreams: This happens when Jake reacts in shock to his father telling him that he's the new school janitor early in the episode "Mop N' Pop".
Jake: What?
Mark: [loudly] HE SAID HE'S THE NEW JANITOR!
Jake: [stares at Mark with an annoyed Death Glare] I heard him. - Friends: Phoebe Buffay does it all the time. Given that Monica is Ross's brother, she is rightfully offended by Rachel's statement.
Rachel: Ross's mom once told me I was like the daughter she never had.
Monica: What?!
Phoebe: (loudly) She's like the daughter she never had. - The Golden Girls: Rose Nylund does it frequently:
Stan: We're being audited.
Dorothy: What?!
Rose: (loudly) He said you're being audited. - Have I Got News for You:
- Paul Merton has done lots of those. "Lower" (when guessing at a number) made him use a deeper voice, "nearer" made him lean in, etc.
- When he comes close to giving the correct answer but not close enough, the then host, Angus Deayton, says "More precisely?" Paul Merton repeated exactly what he had just said but slower and with much more careful diction.
- There was this exchange from a different episode:
Alexander Armstrong: What would happen if we decided to shut down all the UK's power stations tomorrow?
Paul Merton: It'd go dark at night.
Alexander Armstrong: More sinister even than that.
Paul Merton: It'd go dark at night! Bwahaha!
- Night Court: It was used multiple times in one episode and always at Christine. Oh, and the last one came from a radio broadcast.
- Life On Mars: There's the double act of Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt:
Sam: If the kidnapper's still at large we might be able to lure him out.
Gene: How?
Sam: That note was a cry for justice.
Gene: And I ask again, only slightly louder, HOW?!!! - Taxi: Used in one episode, when Reverend Jim was taking the test to get a driver's license ...
Jim: Psst! Bobby! What does a yellow light mean?
Bobby: Slow down.
Jim: What, does, a, yellow, light, mean?
Bobby: Slow down!
Jim: What ... does ... a ... yellow ... light ... mean?
Bobby: Slow down!!
Jim: Whaaaat ...... dooooeeeess ...... aaaaa ...... yeeellllllooowww ...... - The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour:
Tommy: Mom liked you best!
Dick: You lower your voice!
Tommy: (ridiculous low monotone) Mom liked you best.
Video Games
- Army Men: Sarge's Heroes:
Tan Soldier: Colonel Grimm and the Sarge have escaped our forces and captured a blue intelligence officer and...to make matters worse, Sarge found one of our portals.
General Plastro: What!?
Tan Soldier: Colonel Grimm and Sarge have escaped -
General Plastro: I heard you! It was a rhetorical "what"! - Cyberpunk 2077: Talking gun Skippy lacks concepts of rhetorical questions:
V: "Skippy"? Seriously?
Skippy: Increasing volume by 66%. NAME—
V: I'm not deaf!
Visual Novels
- Pizza Game: Occurs during Kiane’s pizza date with Mr. Arimnaes:
Mr. Arimnaes: One pepperoni pizza please, and hold the bitching
Keenarnror: what did you just say to me?!?
Mr. Arimnaes: Oh, was I not loud enough? I said HOLD. THE. BITCHING.
Web Animation
- Mastermind: Subverted. When the Mastermind screams "WHAT?!", it is not because he is angry at someone, but because he wants them to repeat what they said.
Mastermind: No, seriously, I didn't hear you the first time. No, I'm not being funny. I didn't hear a word you said. It was like I was in my own zone, blanked out and never came back.
- RWBY: During their field trip to the ruins of Mountain Glenn, Oobleck sometimes confuses Team RWBY with his idiosyncratic style of speech. When he instantly corrects his estimation for how long it will take them to find a lone Beowolf's pack due to the pack appearing in front of him, Weiss asks "What?" in confusion. When he adds the warning that the Grimm have spotted them, she exclaims "What?!" in alarm. However, Oobleck misunderstands her reaction and repeats his warning at top volume straight into her ear.
Dr. Oobleck: Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from their pack for months... and there's the whole pack.
Weiss: What?
Dr. Oobleck: And now they've seen us.
Weiss: What!?
Dr. Oobleck: AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!
Western Animation
- Flying Rhino Junior High: Used as a Running Gag between The Phantom and Raticus:
The Phantom: What did he/she say????
Raticus: He/She said that...
The Phantom: I HEARD HIM/HER!!!!! - Star Wars: The Clone Wars: In "Storm Over Ryloth", after being informed that scans reveal Anakin is the only lifeform aboard the Defender Tuuk gives a disbelieving "What?" that causes the droid to start repeating its report verbatim before Tuuk cuts it off as he realizes it's a trap.
- A gem from the Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon:
Dr. Wily: What do you mean, he escaped?
ProtoMan: Escaped, as in departed, vamoosed, beat feet...
Dr. Wily: I KNOW what the WORD means!
