Hint Dropping/Playing With

Basic Trope: One character tries to say something to another by means of hints rather than directly; the other character doesn't catch the hint.

"Alice: Wow, Charlie and Eve look so happy together. I wish we had something like that.
 * Straight: Alice wishes aloud that Bob would propose to her. Bob doesn't catch on and doesn't propose.
 * Exaggerated: Alice states, in no uncertain terms, that she wants Bob to propose to her. Bob doesn't catch on and doesn't propose.
 * Justified: Alice must drop hints because she lives in a society which would frown severely upon her being so forward.
 * Inverted: Alice makes an innocent remark, and Bob mistakes it for a suggestion.
 * Subverted: Alice becomes angry that Bob didn't take the hint and didn't propose. But, at the end, Bob mentions that he can take a hint, then drops to one knee; he was just waiting for the right moment.
 * Double Subverted: Bob, down on one knee, makes Alice a business proposal.
 * Alternatively, Alice had wished for "someone" to propose, and Bob did so; but it turns out Alice was thinking of Chad.
 * Parodied:

Bob [whispering]: Not so obvious, Alice -- it's only ten minutes into the show, I'm not supposed to figure out you like me yet.

Alice: Oh, right. Let me start over. *ahem* Wow, Charlie and Eve look so happy together. Have you ever thought about going out with someone?"


 * Deconstructed: Alice wishes aloud that Bob would propose; Bob doesn't take the hint and Alice becomes depressed and angry (see Played For Drama). The story, instead of painting Bob the bad guy, shows how Alice herself might be partly to blame, that maybe she could have avoided a lot of misunderstanding had she been more direct.
 * Reconstructed: ???
 * Zig Zagged: ???
 * Averted: Alice states, in no uncertain terms, that she wants Bob to propose to her; Bob does so.
 * Enforced: "Let's have Bob not take the hint! It shows that Bob isn't as sensitive and attentive as Alice, and it's funny!"
 * Lampshaded: "That was a hint, Bob."
 * Invoked: "I want to marry Bob, but I don't want him to think I'm trying to force him into it; I want it to come from his heart."
 * Defied: Alice wishes aloud that Bob would -- Bob interrupts her in midsentence and suggests she simply say what she wants, straight up.
 * Discussed: "Y'ever notice how you never seem to catch onto my hints, Bob?" "Yeah, I guess that happens."
 * Conversed: "It's like some silly Sit Com where the woman drops hints instead of telling her husband what she wants, and the dunce never gets it."
 * Played For Drama: Alice wishes aloud that Bob would propose. Bob doesn't take the hint and doesn't propose. Alice takes this as evidence that Bob doesn't pay much attention to her and that, by extension, he doesn't really care about her. Alice is shattered, her self-worth devastated, and she slips into depression.

I hear Hint Dropping is a nice place to visit, maybe we could go there sometime...