He Didn't Make It/Playing With
Basic Trope: Uttered to lessen the emotional impact of one character's death.
- Straight: After escaping from the Elaborate Underground Base, Bob is mortally wounded by pursuers while Alice escapes with the stolen MacGuffin. Charlie follows after her and when asked about Bob, sadly shakes his head: "He Didn't Make It..."
- Exaggerated: Characters avoid talking about Bob's death at all, until Alice demands to know what happened; Charlie replies "He didn't..."
- Justified: Alice was Bob's lover and Charlie wants to dampen the shock of the news upon her.
- Inverted:
- Alice is killed before Charlie and Bob can catch up with her. "We didn't make it in time..."
- Bob promised Alice "That he's gonna make it." Saying that he didn't make it was one of the worst things Charlie could have said.
- Subverted:
- Charlie believes he saw Bob die and tells Alice Bob didn't make it. A few heartbreaking moments later, Bob calls them to inform that he's Not Quite Dead yet.
- "He didn't make it...but he says he'll be here tomorrow."
- Double Subverted: ...but dying.
- Parodied:
- "I didn't make it. Twenty effing times in a row!"
- "He's not dead yet!"
- Every character death is treated like this.
- Deconstructed: After being told this, Alice angrily bursts out at Charlie to spare her the circumlocution before starting to cry.
- Reconstructed: Charlie said it that way because he couldn't bare to say he died any more than he felt she could bare to hear it.
- Zig Zagged: Charlie tells Alice that Bob didn't make it. She berates him for using euphemisms before bursting into tears. Then Bob contacts them telling he's alive. However, they don't make it to him before he succumbs to his wounds. Alice then proceeds to use the exact wording to explain Bob's absence to his parents. But his mother doesn't get the euphemism (or pretends not to) until her husband breaks it down:
- Averted: "He's Dead, Doris."
- Enforced: Never Say "Die".
- Lampshaded: "I couldn't very well say 'Your boyfriend croaked' to her, could I?"
- Invoked: "She was his girlfriend. Let's not be too blunt about it..."
- Defied: "Couldn't you word it milder, moron?!" "Death is always death, regardless of how you put it."
- Discussed: "When he said Bob didn't make it, I didn't understood at first. But then it hit me..."
- Conversed: "Have you noticed how they tend to use a lot of euphemisms in kids shows?"
- Plotted A Good Waste: The story begins with Charlie telling Alice that Bob didn't make it. The rest is a satirical George Carlin-like treatise of overuse of euphemisms in modern society.
- Played For Laughs: No Longer with Us
- Played For Drama: Despite Charlie's diplomatic efforts, Alice is traumatized by them and bursts into tears whenever anyone uses similar wording, even on unrelated matters.
Um, about that...y'see...the link, well...HeDidntMakeIt.
Didn't make what? The banana bread?