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Just the Introduction to the Opposites seems related, not sure if that covers it by itself. This kind of mixup, whether out of absent-mindedness, stupidity, drunkenness, or whatever seems like it could stand alone if we don't have it.
That's what I was thinking too. If it isn't already a trope all by itself, it probably should be. Now, what to call it...
If "scratch his watch" is a good name for it, then Steel Magnolias could serve as the Trope Namer, since "he didn't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt" was a line in that film.
Edited by BradyLady
.... or wind his butt.
Absent-minded professor locked his wife and kissed the door good night.
OK, the bills are washed, the turkey is paid, and the laundry is in the oven. What's next?
What trope is this?