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Cutting the Knot (view source)

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{{quote|"''Ask any fighter: A hammer is just a really heavy set of lockpicks.''"|''[[DM of the Rings (Webcomic)|DM of the Rings]]''}}
 
Here at [[TV Tropes]], [[Aesop|we don't advocate violence]]... [[No Except Yes|we're just saying it works]] [[Family -Unfriendly Aesop|and we highly suggest using it!]]
 
The hero has only a limited amount of time to do something, be it rescue, [[Dungeon Bypass|transport]], [[Percussive Maintenance|repair]], or simply [[Outrun the Fireball]], but has a problem. Namely, a very complicated problem that would need time to solve, time the hero definitely doesn't have. After trying (or not trying) in vain to solve the problem the technical way, the hero just shrugs it and [[Take a Third Option|Takes A Third Option]], namely, by getting rid of the problem altogether, often through violence. When the smart character is trying to get a way around it and the dumb character resorts to violence, the dumb character is often [[Too Dumb to Fool]]. When the [[Leader]] tramples over objections to prevent [[Divided We Fall]], this often comes into play.
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Heroes who make a habit of doing this may boast that [[We Do the Impossible]].
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
== Myth And Legend ==
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** He has a similar reaction to cursed swords with the equivalent of [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]].
* Whenever [[Batman]] battles The Riddler, he'll often beat his riddles using either this Trope or [[Take a Third Option]], essentially bypassing various [[Xanatos Gambit|Xanatos Gambits]] by winning in ways his enemy didn't expect.
* The section of ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'' that shows [[Big Bad|Herr Starr's]] background and [[Start of Darkness|turn to villainy]] includes a bit where, as part of his training in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSG_9 GSG 9], Starr is confronted a [[Sadist Teacher|sadistic unarmed combat instructor]] known for beating new recruits viciously. In front of the class, the instructor demands to know how Starr would defeat him in hand to hand combat as an obvious prelude to inflicting such a beating on Starr. Starr responds by [[Combat Pragmatist|shooting the instructor in the leg]] and saying that he never intends to be unarmed. GSG decided that it showed [[Crazy Awesome|innovation]], and it was one of the things that caught [[Ancient Conspiracy|The Grail's]] eye.
 
== Film ==
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== Web Comics ==
 
* In ''[[Eight 8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|8-bit Theater]]'', in a mystic castle, Fighter is subjected to the trial of sloth, wherein the trial monster attempts to get Fighter to overcome his reliance on stagnant sword skills, and instead use his brain in combat for once. Fighter promptly slaughters the monster, stating that his brain told him that it was faster that way.
** [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/12/04/episode-359-flawless-victories/ Obstacle course? Mo' like ka-boom course.]
** Black Mage makes a reference to the [[Trope Namer]] when confronted with a sealed, metal door with a confusing riddle on it.
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== Web Original ==
* ''[[Doctor HorriblesHorrible's Sing -Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'': Captain Hammer, when faced with a complex electronic device controlling a van, punches it so it breaks. This just stops Dr Horrible from controlling it, leaving a fast moving, out of control van that almost kills someone before Horrible can stop it. [[Jerkass|Not that Hammer even notices.]]
* When confronting the [[Temple of Doom|Temple of All Dooms]] in ''[[Journey Quest]]'' Glorion seems intent on traversing the whole dungeon this way.
* [[Whateley Universe]] example: in "Boston Brawl 2", the Necromancer creates a horrific rip in time-space that the mages try to magically repair. Instead, Bladedancer just slices through it with Destiny's Wave.
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* ''[[Batman the Animated Series]]'': This is often how Riddler's complex puzzles and deathtraps are solved.
** His debut episode involves a re-creation of a video game maze, which Batman [[Dungeon Bypass|bypasses]] by hacking the controls of the flying guardian; later, when faced with a robot minotaur, Bats orders the same guardian to ram it.
** In "What is Reality?", he lures the heroes into a virtual reality simulation by trapping Commissioner Gordon's consciousness inside it. When they get to the center, they discover that their goal is inside a [[Lawyer -Friendly Cameo|Baxter's box]]. Batman's solution? Turn his hands into hammers and break the damn thing, [[Brick Joke|referencing an earlier comment by Robin:]]
{{quote| '''Robin''': You're looking at the guy who solved the Baxter's box in 37 seconds. Of course this time, I don't have a hammer.}}
* Xanatos of ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'' attempts to do this towards the end of the ''City of Stone'' arc. In order to save the city, Xanatos and Goliath need to get a password for Demona. Demona is locked in combat with her [[Arch Enemy]], the [[Anti -Villain]] MacBeth. Goliath attempts to talk the two into stopping, and only succeeds in getting both of them to attack him. Out of patience, Xanatos tells Goliath "If they won't listen to reason, take them both both down. We'll sort it out after", and shoots at both with a laser. It doesn't work because Xanatos [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy|somehow manages to miss them from about three feet away]].
* In ''[[Phineas and Ferb (Animation)|Phineas and Ferb]]'', one of the puzzles in "We Call it Maze" is to guess how many jelly beans are in a jar. While the duo and Baljeet attempt to solve the problem mathematically, Buford's solution was to eat all the jellybeans, then type the number zero. And it ''worked'', too.
{{quote| '''[[Bollywood Nerd|Baljeet:]]''' Okay, technically that was correct, but you did not show your work!<br />
'''Buford:''' [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|I will in about twenty minutes.]] }}
* In the beginning of one episode of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|Xiaolin Showdown]]'', the four monks-in-training are tasked to get a stuffed toy dog at the end of an obstical course. Clay, closer to Earth cowboy, upon noting that the course is shaped like a circle, with the start and finish right next to each other, simply turns around snatches the dog off its pedestal. This comes up several more times in the episode, where the moral is, "Simple solutions to complicated problems"
* In the second season premiere of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]], the new villain Discord sets out to corrupt the heroes while they find to powerful Elements of Harmony. When he gets to [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|Fluttershy]], he tries to convinces her how her friends think she's helpless and it should make her mad. However, she openly admits her flaws and says that they try to help improve her. Frustrated at this unwanted outcome, Discord stops with the mind games and simply brainwashes her forcefully.
* In ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', [[The Question]] is looking at a locked glass door to a building with a key card lock. After a few seconds of inspecting the lock, he simply walks off screen for a few seconds, comes back with a potted tree and uses it to smash through the glass door and calmly walks in. Seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzlz_3NWKZI&feature=related here].
* A [[Monster of the Week|Supervillain of the Week]] on one episode of ''[[The Batman (Animation)|The Batman]]'' had Bats and four scientists tied up in a sort of game show, whose object was to stump the supervillain or get dumped into acid. The scientists ask difficult science and math questions; the supervillain answered them all easily. When it was Batman's turn, he simply asked the supervillain "What is the true identity of the Batman?" Apparently the supervillain never thought to take Batman's costume off.
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