Duplicate Trope: Verbal Backpedaling

In theory, Verbal Backpedaling is supposed to be distinct from Verbal Backspace by being more plot relevant. In practice, they are both used identically, but Verbal Backspace is older and healthier. Merging them seems like the simplest solution.

Verbal Backpedaling Found in 80 articles, excluding discussions. Since January 1, 2012 this article has brought 436 people to the wiki from non-search engine links.

Verbal Backspace Found in 892 articles, excluding discussions. Since January 1, 2012 this article has brought 1,362 people to the wiki from non-search engine links.

Merge with Verbal Backspace and modify Verbal Backspace's description as needed, if anything from Verbal Backpedaling's description needs to be carried over.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 3rd 2019 at 11:43:16 AM

As written the tropes differ in the following way:

• Verbal Backpedaling: somebody is caught out saying something true yet compromising and thus changes the phrasing to something (similar sounding) untrue. The goal is to conceal your true motive.
  • Example: "They're taking the point. Time to blow it— them up. I meant them."
• Verbal Backspace: something said turns out factually wrong by contrary evidence prompting the speaker to correct themselves (often saying the exact opposite). Used to play up the comedy arising from the contradiction.
  • Example: "I am the champion of ass-kicking, you arrogant nutjob."
    (looks over and notices his opponent is winning a fight against three copies of himself)
    "...Ok, maybe I'm the runner-up. That's alright, I can live with being second".

These are similar looking concepts with different narrative purposes worth keeping separately, IMO.

That said, the pages could use some reworking:

• The comparisons done on each page are not doing a good job at contrasting the tropes.
• The page quote and laconic of Verbal Backspace are nor aligned with the description.
• The concept of Epanorthosis mentioned on Verbal Backspace also applies to Verbal Backpedaling. Both are about immediate self-corrections. It's the context that makes the trope.
• Examples may have to go through a clean-up if misuse is detected.

Edited by eroock on Jan 5th 2019 at 8:26:01 PM

If what divides them is just the purpose, I'd say just merge them. Correcting yourself can be done for more reasons than just those two.

Maybe merge with a soft-split between different types of verbal corrections?

I'm not a big fan of soft splits, as they usually end up with fifty different "types" on the page and nobody knows where to put anything.

^ Any example of that?

You're exaggerating.

Names to Run Away from Really Fast is the only one I can find right now; it's not like we have an index for them. Religion is Magic used to be like this, but a TRS thread consolidated them all.

Yes, but not as much as you'd think. Names to Run Away from Really Fast has 27 subpages because the soft-splits got big enough to need their own pages. Those are distinct from the actual subtropes, which are hard split.

Robot Names has several soft-splitting as well. Someone like R. Daneel Olivaw is put into Robo- something, but could also fit under human names.

While I'm in favor of merging, I'm not in favor of a soft split.

Clock is up with no progress; closing.