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Playing With / Euphemism Buster

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Basic Trope: Someone says a euphemism and somebody else says what it means.

  • Straight: Alice hits Bob in the penis. He then tells Charlie, "Alice hit me in my ... winkle." Charlie says, "You mean your penis?"
  • Exaggerated: Bob says a Hurricane of Euphemisms for several different things and Charlie then says "You mean ..." and says every one of their meanings.
  • Downplayed: Charlie does say "You mean your penis?" but whispers the word "penis" to be polite.
  • Justified:
    • Charlie is Culture Blind, The Ditz or is just asking for clarification.
    • Charlie knows Bob to have issues with the English language and asked to be sure it wasn't something from his mother's tongue.
    • Charlie is being rude.
    • Everyone present is an adult, so Charlie considers the use of euphemisms to be unnecessary and even maybe annoyingly childish.
    • Instead of saying something that personally embarrassing, Bob is instead making a threat against Charlie and is trying to play coy about it by invoking "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word. Charlie has no interest in playing along and wants him to just say it openly.
  • Inverted: Bob outright says "Alice hit me in the penis", but Charlie tells him not to say the word penis.
  • Subverted: When Charlie says, "You mean your—", Bob shushes him.
  • Double Subverted: "I was going to say 'penis'!"
  • Parodied: Charlie repeats Bob's euphemism verbatim, but only now is it treated as a problem.
  • Zig-Zagged: Charlie tries to say "You mean your penis?" several times but keeps getting interrupted.
  • Averted:
    • There are no euphemisms.
    • Bob says euphemisms but nobody busts them.
  • Enforced: "Viewers might wince at seeing Bob get hit in the bits, so let's throw in a joke to lighten the mood."
  • Lampshaded: "Gee, Charlie, I was trying to avoid saying that word."
  • Invoked: Charlie is trying to make Bob gets over his fear of using actual names.
  • Exploited: Bob's enemy learns Bob's confidential information through this habit of Charlie's.
  • Defied:
  • Discussed: "What's the point of euphemisms? If you say X instead of Y, someone else could just say 'you mean Y?' and defeat the purpose."
  • Conversed: "Why do these characters bother saying euphemisms if other people just say the words anyway?"
  • Implied: Bob is discussing a Noodle Incident to Diane and says "...and then Charlie said 'you mean your penis?'"
  • Deconstructed: Charlie offends Bob.
  • Reconstructed: But then Bob says, "Yeah, I guess I do mean my penis" and they laugh.
  • Played for Laughs: Cringe Comedy.
  • Played for Drama: Bob dies. Alice remarks that he's "pushing daisies" and Charlie says "You mean he's dead?"
  • Played for Horror: Bob uses a euphemism for a word that's a Brown Note, which causes no less predictable anguish when Charlie says it.

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