Gagging on Your Words

When a character acts as if the words they are trying to say are so repugnant or alien to them, that they are almost physically incapable of saying them at least the first time around. This results in them biting out the words through gritted teeth or slurring and stuttering on the words a few times before finally saying it properly. Possibly followed by a command that they should enjoy hearing that because it's the last time they ever will.

Reasons for Gagging on Your Words may be a prideful or arrogant character finally breaks down to admit the hero did a good job. Or someone who never apologizes, finally does and the experience doesn't agree with them.

Related to Cannot Spit It Out, Angrish and Emotionally Tongue-Tied. Often used in conjunction with Dumbass Has a Point and I Can't Believe I'm Saying This. May be a Crowning Moment of Funny if the situation is really hammed up.

Advertising

 * An ad for Miller Lite has a man stumbling over the words "I Love You" to his girlfriend (after she said it to him) but has no trouble saying "I'd love one" to a waitress asking if he'd like another.

Anime and Manga
"Vegeta: "Every fiber of my being wants to puke at once when I say this, but I need your he...I need your he-e-e-el..." Gohan: "You need our help?" Vegeta: "That, yes.""
 * Midori no Hibi: Seiji is incapable of saying "I love you" to Midori, even as a throwaway and joking way.
 * Dragonball Z Abridged: In Episode 19:


 * Taken Up to Eleven in One Piece when Sanji has no choice but to admit that his poorly-drawn Wanted poster is, in fact, him. This is such a monumental effort for him that it results in Blood From the Mouth before he can finally get the words out.
 * Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series: In episode 55 when has to express his love towards his sibling.

Comic Books

 * In Phil Foglio's comic adaptation of Myth Adventures, Aahz has a problem with the word "give".

Film
"Otto: Oh, I'm so very, very, very ssssssssssssSUCK YOU!"
 * Valentine in Mirror Mask attempting to apologize to Helena: "If I were to say... s... s... so... something apologetic... it would reflect my feelings in this matter." (Valentine's inability to say, "I'm sorry," is something of a running joke in the film.)
 * In Liar Liar, Jim Carrey's character is physically incapable of lying. Even in writing. This culminates in the scene where he tries and fails to say that a blue pen is, in fact, red.
 * Otto in A Fish Called Wanda has a big problem with apologizing.

"Harry: He killed my parents, didn't he? The one who gave me this. You know, Hagrid, I know you do. Hagrid: First, and understand this, Harry, 'cause it's very important. Not all wizards are good. Some of them go bad. A few years ago there was one wizard who went as bad as you can go. And his name was V-...his name was V-... Harry: Maybe if you wrote it down? Hagrid: No, I can't spell it. All right. His name was Voldemort. Harry: Voldemort? Hagrid: Shh!!"
 * In Nanny McPhee, Colin Firth's character stumbles over when referring to Selma Quickly.
 * Played for Drama in Harry Potter when Harry asks Hagrid about the person who gave him his scar.

Literature
""The air ducts are not as big as all that," said Morriss. Bigman swallowed painfully. It cost him a great deal to make the next statement. "I'm not as big as all that, either. Maybe I'll fit.""
 * From Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus:

"And thus it was that on election day, October 8, 1968, the voters went to the polls and elected, as leader of the greatest nation that the world has ever seen, President Richard Milhous N... President Richard M... President R... Please don't make us do this."
 * Dave Barry Slept Here:

"Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude."
 * A Christmas Carol: Scrooge meets two horrible, twisted children, Ignorance and Want:

Live-Action TV
"Fonzie: I was wr....I was wrrr....I was wrrrr....What I'm trying to say is that I wasn't exactly right."
 * Happens hilariously in Scrubs when Cynical Mentor Dr. Cox finally tells JD that he's a good doctor. He looked like he was going to throw up.
 * The season 8 finale (originally intended to be the series finale) has Doctor Cox admit that JD is a better doctor than most doctors he's ever met, without stumbling and with lots of conviction. When he finds out that JD was actually listening when he said it, he looks like he's going to be sick.
 * Happy Days: Fonzie is physically incapable of saying he was wrong.

"Lister: (holding up a banana) What is it? Kryten: It's an orrr... it's an orrr... Lister: It's an orange! Come on, say it! This. Is. An orange!"
 * He's not the only one. One strip of Sherman's Lagoon showed Megan was incapable of admitting her normally dull-witted husband was right.
 * Jon Stewart does this, a recent example was when he said he... gag... liked Bill O'Reilly. Often involves faking that you just threw up in your mouth.
 * Stephen Colbert from the spin off The Colbert Report, has also done this a few times. He once gagged on thinking about saying "Speaker Pelosi".
 * An episode of Saturday Night Live back during Bush's presidency (the first one) had Dana Carvey's version struggling to say that he was going to have to raise taxes.
 * In Red Dwarf, Lister's attempts to teach Kryten to lie and insult people end up like this.

"Steven: Elyse, my vocabulary develops very slowly. It took three years for me to say "President N-N-Nixon.""
 * On Family Ties, Steven suffered from this:

Recorded and Stand Up Comedy

 * Richard Pryor once did a stand-up bit about a black activist who had great difficulty spitting out the word "white".

Theater

 * In the Broadway version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, this happens to the Beast when he tries to use the word "please".

Web Comic

 * This Penny Arcade strip, wherein Gabe attempts to swallow his previous bile so he can buy a Play Station 3.

Western Animation
"Chachi: Did mom leave because of me? Fonz: Look Chachi, I don't really know who your mom is. But by leaving you she was wr-wr-wr.... She was wr-wr-wr... She was a bitch!"
 * Pinky and The Brain: At one point, Brain asks Pinky how the former can be more like the latter, noting "...the words are hot in my throat..."
 * On SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward has a hard time saying "I'm sorry" to SpongeBob. So hard, in fact, that at one point his head explodes.
 * Buttercup of The Powerpuff Girls has this problem sometimes when she has to apologize.
 * In The Chipmunk Adventure, Brittany can't bring herself to say she was wrong, and changes the subject instead.
 * In Dan Vs. "The Dentist," it takes Dan great effort (he actually starts sweating from the strain) to say "Thank you," to Elise.
 * He has a much easier time in "Ye Olde Shakespeare Theatre."
 * Family Guy has a Shout-Out to Happy Days, when Peter establishes the church of the Fonz. Brian tells him that what he is doing is wrong and after stumbling on the word, Peter explains he can't say it because everything is right when you worship the Fonz.
 * Another reference appeared in Robot Chicken's "The Pursuit of Happyness Days".