And Stay Out!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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You've Seen It a Million Times. Alice has had enough of Bob's crap. She tells him off, turns on her heel, and marches out of his life for good, announcing "I'm leaving" as she slams the door behind her. A moment later, Bob bellows "And Stay Out!

This is a Stock Phrase and the archetypal example of an entire range of behaviors which boil down to attempting -- usually unsuccessfully -- to save face by recasting a negative consequence of one's own actions as a deliberate positive effect, in a kind of Xanatos Gamit-after-the-fact. Unfortunately, such attempts are often immediately obvious for what they are, and will come across as the lame attempts to look good that they are. This is most frequently used a Comedy Trope, but can have its place in drama as well, where Bob's attempt to save face may involve something more (and/or more drastic) than just yelling at a person who's no longer there.

Note that an instance of this trope does not have to be based around a literal doorslam -- it can be any kind of attempt to save face in the wake of a disappointment or embarrassment. Typical phrases other than the trope namer shouted in moments like this include things like "No one walks out on me!", "You'll regret this!", and "You'll never work in this town again!" Sometimes the speaker is trying to convince anyone watching... and sometimes he's trying to convince himself.

Compare "You Can't Fire Me, I Quit!" Contrast Screw This, I'm Outta Here, which depending on the context, may prompt an instance of this trope.

Examples of And Stay Out! include:

Advertising

Anime and Manga

Comic Books

Fan Works

Film

Literature

Live-Action TV

Music

New Media

Newspaper Comics

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

Pinball

Podcasts

Professional Wrestling

Puppet Shows

Radio

Recorded and Stand Up Comedy

Tabletop Games

Theatre

Video Games

Visual Novels

Web Animation

Web Comics

Web Original

Western Animation

Other Media

Real Life