Book and Switch: Difference between revisions

 

At least, they ''would'' think this except they [[Genre Savvy|aren't idiots]]. Inevitably the switch is discovered and the character executing it is embarrassed. And we all learn a valuable lesson - this character wants people to think he's smart, but he's really either a geek or an idiot. Usually the former for sympathetic ones, the latter for non-sympathetic ones.

 

Often the hidden book comes from the [[Porn Stash]].

 

{{examples}}

== [[Advertising]] ==

* A [[Self-Deprecation|self-deprecating]] in-house ad for ''Heeb: The New Jew Review'' shows an Orthodox Jewish man hiding a copy of the magazine behind an issue of ''Barely Legal''.

* The smart sister in ''Heart of Valor'' by L.J. Smith is reading another book inside her algebra book during math class, her teacher knows but can't call her on it because she's getting all the questions right. She reflects that he'd probably be less annoyed if he knew the book she was hiding was a ''trigonometry'' textbook.

 

* ''[[The Odd Couple]]''- during a rehearsal for "Scrooge", one of the characters (Speed) is hiding porn underneath his script and is sort of not paying attention to the rehearsal. He is suddenly asked to read for the part of Scrooge. But he thinks they want him to read the porn. He balks, saying he would be embarrassed. He's coaxed into reading and begins reciting a passage from the porn, to which a very surprised Felix says, "Charles Dickens never wrote that".

* One sketch of ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'' had the inverse of the usual: a man bought a Daily Mail and "Hot Chicks XXX", then hid that he was reading the Mail by hiding it in the porn.

* One strip of ''[[Frazz]]'' has child genius Caulfield hiding Shakespeare inside his primary reader book. Which is not a good thing to do on read-aloud day.

* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' does this on quite a few Sunday editions; Calvin always hides a comic book inside his textbook.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* On ''[[American Dad]]'', when Stan Smith finds out that his son is a geek, he has a [[Heroic BSOD|massive breakdown.]] But at one point, he finds a copy of [[Brand X|Playhouse]] under Steve's bed, and he breathes a huge sigh of relief. Then he opens it up, and there's a textbook inside. The breakdown resumes.

* ''[[South Park]]'' has Stan Marsh, who's on a Food Network Frenzy, hide a cookbook under a Playboy magazine

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]