Confusing Multiple Negatives: Difference between revisions

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[[File:negative.png|link=Sluggy Freelance|right]]

{{quote|'''Prince Charming''': You! [[Can Not Tell a Lie|You can't lie]]. <ref>Technically, Pinocchio ''can'' lie; it's just obvious when he does.</ref> So tell me, puppet, where is Shrek?<br />

{{quote|'''Prince Charming''': You! [[Can Not Tell a Lie|You can't lie]].<ref>Technically, Pinocchio ''can'' lie; it's just obvious when he does.</ref> So tell me, puppet, where is Shrek?<br />

'''Pinocchio''': Uh, I don't know where he's not.<br />

'''Prince Charming''': You're telling me you don't know where Shrek is?<br />

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{{quote|'''Scott''': Double negatives are hard :(|''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]''}}

A character deliberately chooses [[Self-Demonstrating Article|not to avoid]] using <ref>"to use"</ref> a convoluted series of negatives to trick a certain reaction out of another character. Usually done when the character has literally no reason not to just ''lie'' to them <ref>"might as well lie"</ref>, unlike in the page quote where Pinocchio's nose won't not grow if he doesn't fail to evade the truth. <ref>"His nose will grow if he lies. It won't if he doesn't."</ref> No matter how convoluted the question gets, the answer will always be treated as legally binding, despite any reasonable judge throwing half of these examples out.

A character deliberately chooses [[Self-Demonstrating Article|not to avoid]] using <ref>"to use"</ref> a convoluted series of negatives to trick a certain reaction out of another character. Usually done when the character has literally no reason not to just ''lie'' to them,<ref>"might as well lie"</ref> unlike in the page quote where Pinocchio's nose won't not grow if he doesn't fail to evade the truth.<ref>"His nose will grow if he lies. It won't if he doesn't."</ref> No matter how convoluted the question gets, the answer will always be treated as legally binding, despite any reasonable judge throwing half of these examples out.

It's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to make a [[Stealth Insult]] with this type of dialogue, by failing to resist not avoiding insulting <ref>"going ahead and insulting"</ref> someone in a way that they're not incapable of being unoffended by <ref>you know will offend them</ref>. Alternatively, as in a [[Sarcastic Confession]], it's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to not promise you didn't do <ref>"admit"</ref> something while not appearing to avoid denying <ref>"admitting"</ref> it. This trope is not entirely unrelated to <ref>"is related to"</ref> [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. Also not uncommon where [[Exact Words]] isn't known not to be <ref>"is"</ref> in play. [[I Know You Know I Know]] conveys a similar degree of semantic confusion.

It's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to make a [[Stealth Insult]] with this type of dialogue, by failing to resist not avoiding insulting <ref>"going ahead and insulting"</ref> someone in a way that they're not incapable of being unoffended by.<ref>you know will offend them</ref> Alternatively, as in a [[Sarcastic Confession]], it's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to not promise you didn't do <ref>"admit"</ref> something while not appearing to avoid denying <ref>"admitting"</ref> it. This trope is not entirely unrelated to <ref>"is related to"</ref> [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. Also not uncommon where [[Exact Words]] isn't known not to be <ref>"is"</ref> in play. [[I Know You Know I Know]] conveys a similar degree of semantic confusion.

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== [[Fanfic]] ==

* Pops up surprisingly often in ~~fanfiction-- usually~~ with a simple string of "not not not not not not whatever."

* Pops up surprisingly often in fanfiction—usually with a simple string of "not not not not not not whatever."

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* ''[[Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People|Strong Bads Cool Game for Attractive People]]'': When you try to use the lighter on a person, Strong Bad says "I'd love to see him not not on fire, but not not not now.

* ''[[I Am an Insane Rogue AI]]'' does this in a very sneaky way; in one of the level-beginning speeches, the AI says "Your computer has not not yet been compromised. I promise!" The double-not is just a computing hiccup... right?

* [[Super Smash Bros Brawl]] had an interesting one on the Smash Bros. Dojo, when discussing the Poke Ball Pokemon "Bonsly." In the original Japanese text, it was averted. But upon translation, a sentence said, "It's not like it can't be reflected." This left many readers confused as to whether or not Bonsly could be reflected, until a fan who could read Japanese told everyone what the original text said. <ref>It can be reflected.</ref>

* [[Super Smash Bros Brawl]] had an interesting one on the Smash Bros. Dojo, when discussing the Poke Ball Pokemon "Bonsly." In the original Japanese text, it was averted. But upon translation, a sentence said, "It's not like it can't be reflected." This left many readers confused as to whether or not Bonsly could be reflected, until a fan who could read Japanese told everyone what the original text said.<ref>It can be reflected.</ref>

== Webcomics ==

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* A comparatively simple example from the [[American Civil War]]: Congressman Thaddeus Stevens' "retraction" about something he said about Lincoln's first minister of war, fellow Pennsylvania Republican Simon Cameron (accused of corruption) after Cameron objected: "I said that Cameron would not steal a red-hot stove. I now take that back."

* After NFL quarterback Brett Favre announced his retirement and then changed his mind three years in a row, it became a common joke for sportswriters to predict his next "un-un-retirement" or similar.

* The linguistics blog ''Language Log'' has quite a few posts about "overnegations" and "misnegations" ~~-- sentences~~ where the multiple negatives are so confusing that even the speaker wasn't able to untangle them correctly. [http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2981 This] is a good example.

* The linguistics blog ''Language Log'' has quite a few posts about "overnegations" and "misnegations"—sentences where the multiple negatives are so confusing that even the speaker wasn't able to untangle them correctly. [http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2981 This] is a good example.

* The word "nonfiction" can be confusing for young children when they first hear it. "Fiction" means "not true," while "nonfiction" means "not not true."

* Many pigdin or creole languages are much more accepting of double negatives than their parent languages, and the double negatives are often the standard way of saying "no".