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A character makes a statement, then immediately adds that they actually mean the exact opposite of what they said. Usually shows up in comedies. May be used as a form of [[Don't Explain the Joke|pointing out sarcasm]].
 
Compare [[Dissimile]] and [[Ha Ha Only Serious]]. See also [[No Except Yes]], where a character prefers to use a different word to mean the same thing, and [["No" Means "Yes"]], where people assume a person is doing this, but they aren't.
 
A reminder: when the topic is sex, [[Rape Tropes|no means no]].
 
{{examples}}
 
== Film ==
* In ''[[Alone in Thethe Dark (Film2005 film)|Alone in The Dark]]'', a man says that three characters have nothing in common, except growing up at the same orphanage. That's... a pretty big thing to have in common.
** That may be because he was talking to a man from the same orphanage, who brought him their files from that same orphanage, in which case the same orphanage thing was already known and he meant 'nothing else in common'.
 
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
 
* A [[Garfield]] strip had this exchange:
{{quote| '''Jon''': I can't go out tonight, Liz.... I have a terrible cold. Don't worry, though. Garfield's taking good care of me.... [''Cut to Garfield laying on the table in front of Jon''] as in NOT!<br />
'''Garfield''': Can't you breathe in the other direction? }}
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Subverted by Niles Crane in ''[[Frasier]]''.
{{quote| '''Niles:''' Her lips said "no", but her eyes said, "Read my lips."}}
* In the ''[[Castle]]'' episode "One Man's Treasure," Alexis tells Beckett, "I know my dad can sometimes be a handful, and by sometimes I mean all the time."
* Used myby Mark Lamarr on [[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]], usually along the lines of "...I like ''x''. I ''say'' like, I mean tolerate. I ''say'' tolerate, I mean (Description of elaborate torture he'd rather be put through rather than have anything to do with ''x'')"
 
== Music ==
* The Living End has a song called ''Short Notice'' with lyrics like:
{{quote| ''I said I wanna, I wanna see you<br />
''I really meant I wanna, I wanna leave you<br />
''I said I wanna, I wanna touch you<br />
''I really meant I wanna, I wanna punch you }}
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Spider -Man: Shattered Dimensions]]'' [[Deadpool]], filming his battle with [[Ultimate Spider -Man]] as a TV show, unleashes his army. "And by army I mean production assistants. And by production assistants I mean interns. And by interns I mean fans."
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
Line 42 ⟶ 41:
* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Cartman's Incredible Gift," the police come to Cartman, who has (supposedly) gained psychic abilities, and offer to pay him to help them catch a killer. Cartman replies, "I'm afraid that my powers are not for sale. And by that, I mean that they absolutely ''are'' for sale."
* Lionel Hutz from ''[[The Simpsons]]'':
{{quote| "I accidentally ran over his dog. And by accidentally I mean repeatedly, and by dog I mean son."}}
** [[Leonard Nimoy]] introduces ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "The Springfield Files" with, "The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all [[Based on a Great Big Lie|lies]]."
** This...
{{quote| '''Homer:''' I have to go do some serious thinking.<br />
'''Bart:''' I think dad meant "do some serious ''drinking.''"<br />
'''Lisa:''' [[Deadpan Snarker|That's what I assumed.]] }}
** In "Kill Gill Vols. 1 & 2", Marge has trouble saying no to freeloader Gil and when she finally gets the guts to, he's gone. Which leads to this...
{{quote| '''Homer:''' Hey Marge! Want $1000?<br />
'''Marge:''' ''NO!'' I mean yes.<br />
'''Homer:''' Too late. ''(burns the money)'' }}
* Doctor Doofenshmirtz does this about [[Once an Episode]] on ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', usually when Perry bursts in to foil his evil scheme of the week.
{{quote| '''Doofenshmirtz:''' Ah, Perry the Platypus! What an unexpected surprise... and by unexpected I mean ''completely expected''!}}
** Also, Major Monogram once said he wanted to approve Perry's request for a vacation but there was a small problem. He admitted that by "small" he meant "big" and by "approve" he mentmeant "reject".
* Used in an episode of ''[[Maryoku Yummy]]'', with [[Deadpan Snarker|Baburu]] commenting on Hadagi's latest scheme: "I can see this is going to be fun. And by fun, I mean no fun at all."
* ''[[Futurama]]'', "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings": "You may have to metaphorically make a [[Deal Withwith the Devil]]. And by devil, I mean Robot Devil. And by metaphorically I mean get your coat."
* A literal case happened in ''[[King of the Hill]]''. Peggy was once asked to teach German and she answered "Nein", thinking it meant "Yes". As she related this to her niece, Peggy said she had lost an opportunity because of that.
* Pushed to the extreme by Sasha in [[Titan Maximum]]:
{{quote| '''Sasha:''' We thought you’d given up on us. And by ''We'' I mean ''I'' and by ''thought'' I mean ''hoped'' and by ''given up'' I mean ''died'' and by ''on us'' I mean ''in a fire'' and by ''period'' I mean ''disappointed ellipses''.}}
* ''[[The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]'' episode "Hairicane" had Chet Ubetcha playing with this trope. When it seemed the Air Force would defeat the hairicane, he announced "We're saved!". Then the hairicane defeated the Air Force, prompting Chet to say "And by saved, I mean ''doomed''!"
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Language Tropes]]
[[Category:By No I Mean Yes{{PAGENAME}}]]
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