Clutching Hand Trap: Difference between revisions

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This is a [[Comedy]] trope in which when you grab the contents of a jar, your hand winds up getting stuck, because of the way you have a grip on it.

The difference between this and [[Hand in ~~The~~ Hole]] is with [[Clutching Hand Trap]], the victim does it on their will, since they both want what's inside, and know what's inside. Example, when [[Bratty Half-Pint]] wants a cookie from the cookie jar. [[Hand in ~~The~~ Hole]] is when the victim is being an [[What an Idiot!|idiot]] and has no idea what's in there but is inserting their hand anyway.

The difference between this and [[Hand in the Hole]] is with [[Clutching Hand Trap]], the victim does it on their will, since they both want what's inside, and know what's inside. Example, when [[Bratty Half-Pint]] wants a cookie from the cookie jar. [[Hand in the Hole]] is when the victim is being an [[What an Idiot!|idiot]] and has no idea what's in there but is inserting their hand anyway.

This trope can come with [[An Aesop]] about greediness if the character is unable to get their hand out of the jar because they're holding too much food.

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== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[Strangers ~~On a Train (Film)|Strangers On~~ a Train]]'', Bruno, a remorseless murderer, gets his arm stuck in a drainage hole by the sidewalk. This is played for suspense, as it helps buy time for Guy to finish his scheduled tennis match ( {{spoiler|Bruno arrives at the tennis match anyway}}), though it does have Alfred Hitchcock\'s trademark dark humor.

* In ''[[Strangers on a Train]]'', Bruno, a remorseless murderer, gets his arm stuck in a drainage hole by the sidewalk. This is played for suspense, as it helps buy time for Guy to finish his scheduled tennis match ( {{spoiler|Bruno arrives at the tennis match anyway}}), though it does have Alfred Hitchcock\'s trademark dark humor.

* ''[[~~Saw (Film)|~~Saw]]'' typically goes the [[Hand in ~~The~~ Hole]] route, but in ''Saw II'' had a more seriously played case of this with a glass case containing a syringe of antidote the characters needed for poison they'd been given. One character on the tail end of the poison's effects discovers the glass case, sticks her arm in and, due to the entry being lined with blades, can't get the arm back out causing her to bleed to death trying.

* ''[[Saw]]'' typically goes the [[Hand in the Hole]] route, but in ''Saw II'' had a more seriously played case of this with a glass case containing a syringe of antidote the characters needed for poison they'd been given. One character on the tail end of the poison's effects discovers the glass case, sticks her arm in and, due to the entry being lined with blades, can't get the arm back out causing her to bleed to death trying.

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* In ''[[~~Scrubs (TV)|~~Scrubs]]'' Turk has gotten his hand stuck in an ice dispensing machine (during Carla's labor), apparently this latter also happened to Leonard the [[Fridge Horror|Hook-Handed]] Security Guard. Another time, he got stuck in a candy machine because he wouldn't let go of the candy. When Carla asked why JD wasn't mocking him, he revealed that he also had his hand stuck, in a glass coffee pot [[What an Idiot!|(because he dropped a penny inside)]].

* In ''[[Scrubs]]'' Turk has gotten his hand stuck in an ice dispensing machine (during Carla's labor), apparently this latter also happened to Leonard the [[Fridge Horror|Hook-Handed]] Security Guard. Another time, he got stuck in a candy machine because he wouldn't let go of the candy. When Carla asked why JD wasn't mocking him, he revealed that he also had his hand stuck, in a glass coffee pot [[What an Idiot!|(because he dropped a penny inside)]].

* One iteration of [[Saturday Night Live|Celebrity Jeopardy]] featured Tom Hanks, flanderizing himself into a bumbling idiot, fall to this trap while trying to get a pickle out of a jar that came from...[[Hammerspace|somewhere]].

{{quote| '''[[Will Ferrell|"Alex Trebek"]]''': "Just let go of the pickle."<br />

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* This happened to Socrates in the ''[[Adventures ~~From the Book of Virtues (Animation)|Adventures From~~ the Book of Virtues]]'' episode "Moderation", when he tries to take a cookie out of the jar Zach gave him.

* This happened to Socrates in the ''[[Adventures from the Book of Virtues]]'' episode "Moderation", when he tries to take a cookie out of the jar Zach gave him.

* The idiot customer with the Pringles can in ''[[Clerks the Animated Series]]''. Dante subtly points this out by pouring the remaining Pringles into his hand while telling the customer that "sometimes you just need to let those hard-to-reach chips go."

* Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in ''[[The Simpsons (~~Animation~~)|The Simpsons]]'' when Homer got both of his hands stuck in two different vending machines while trying to get a free can of soda and a candy. They think they have to cut his arms off in order to free him, but then they discover that he's still holding onto the can of soda & candy inside the machines.

* Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' when Homer got both of his hands stuck in two different vending machines while trying to get a free can of soda and a candy. They think they have to cut his arms off in order to free him, but then they discover that he's still holding onto the can of soda & candy inside the machines.

** His hands weren't even stuck, he just wouldn't let go of the immovable can/packet.

* ''[[The Critic]]'''s Jay Sherman got his ''head'' stuck in a honey jar a la [[Winnie the Pooh]]. Someone even took a photo of it.

* On an episode of ''[[~~SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|~~SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', Mr. Krabs gets his claw stuck in a sink drain because a dime fell into it, and he couldn't get his claw out unless he let go.

* On an episode of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', Mr. Krabs gets his claw stuck in a sink drain because a dime fell into it, and he couldn't get his claw out unless he let go.

* ''[[Cat Dog]]'': Cat got both of his hands stuck in a pickle jar. Since he was also about to be on a date, he had Dog substitute his arms for him in a suit.