Basic Trope: You can tell something's wrong because someone is saying something they'd never say.
- Straight: Alice never compliments Bob, so he can tell she's in danger when she tells him he looks like he's been working out.
- Exaggerated: Alice has never said anything remotely nice to Bob, so he can tell she's in danger when she's slightly less of a shrew to him.
- Downplayed: Alice compliments Bob occasionally, but he can tell she's in danger when she goes overboard with it.
- Justified: Alice is in danger but can't communicate that exactly, so she relies on her Slap-Slap-Kiss relationship with Bob to do the trick.
- Inverted: Something Only They Would Say
- Subverted: Alice isn't in danger, she just decided to be nicer to Bob.
- Double Subverted: But after thinking it through, Bob realizes that Alice would never make that decision as she enjoys messing with him too much, so she must be in danger.
- Parodied: "Alice is totally in danger! I can tell because she called me a royal prick instead of a giant prick!"
- Zig Zagged: Alice compliments Bob, but it is then revealed she took a level in kindness, THEN it is revealed that was an excuse made by an impostor. THEN it is revealed the impostor is just a messenger sent by Alice, but THEN...
- Averted: Alice communicates danger in other methods.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "You NEVER say something that nice! What's wrong?"
- Invoked: Alice deliberately acts nice to Bob to cryptically warn him that she's in danger.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: "Hey guys...HELP!"
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Back to Out-of-Character Alert.