I Broke a Nail: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

[[Stock Phrases]] of the [[City Mouse]], [[Fallen Princess]], [[Rich Bitch]], [[Alpha Bitch]] or, more stereotypically, the [[The Smurfette Principle|token woman]]. Sometimes used by the [[Action Girl]] after a particularly grueling fight in which this is the only injury she is concerned about. In any case, the character is [[Always Female]] unless it's a deliberate play on the trope. The phrase is, of course, used to show off how petty she is, especially if it's used in the face of more pressing concerns. It may also be a [[Berserk Button]] for her.

 

This is mostly a [[Discredited Trope]] nowadays. [[Most Writers Are Male]], and as such, it took a long time for women to get across that broken nails actually ''hurt,'' and ''that'' is usually why they're crying. When nails break, they tend to take a bit of skin with them... a bit of skin that has a cluster of nerves within. And of course then there's bleeding and the risk of infection. So while it's not life-threatening, it's still a legit nuisance. Nowadays, it's used more as a joke than anything. Often an [[Action Girl]] will punch a Mook pretty hard, and as he hits the ground, she'll jokingly whine, "Damn, I broke a nail, now you have to pay."

 

* ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]'': Count D, a ''male'', breaks a nail once. He proceeds to bandage his ''whole'' hand.

* ''[[Ludwig Revolution]]'' doubly subverts this: The title character, Prince Ludwig (obviously male), who is always pictured to pay a lot of attention to his looks and is directly said to be incredibly vain, breaks his nail while shooting at a monster {{spoiler|(his love interest)}} in order to save his male servant. ''The servant'' starts screaming: "Prince, you broke your finger nail! It's bleeding!" To which the Prince replies: "Who cares about one or two nails..."

* In ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'', Faye, expecting a fight, once pulls on a pair of gloves specifically to avert this trope.

* The dub of ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' gives spoiled brat Mimi this line in one episode.

 

* In the course of ''[[Secret Wars]]'', when all of Marvel's greatest heroes were transported out of the galaxy for an [[Bloodless Carnage|apocalyptic war of good and evil]] when the winsome Wasp discovered a broken nail [[Coming in Hot|after a space-ship dogfight]]. "... and there isn't an Emory board for a million light years!"

 

* ''[[Sailor Moon Abridged]]''. <s>Serena</s> Victoria broke a nail ''through her glove'' after transforming to Sailor Moon.

* ''[[Legend of Zelda the Abridged Series]]'' Shiek refuses to help Link in any of the temples because that would risk them breaking a nail.

 

* Used by Georgette in Disney's ''[[Oliver and Company]]''. Which is slightly weird, considering that she's a ''dog''.

** Not that weird. Dogs feel quite a bit of pain when their nail. Think about it. If, when a person breaks a nail, a small bit of skin goes and it hurts a little, when a dog breaks a nail, as they're quite deeply rooted in their paws, they must be in agony. Try looking at a dog's paw when one of it's nails are chipped. It won't even like that.

** [[Fridge Logic|She's a Kryptonian under a yellow sun.]] Her fingernails should be practically indestructible, so some impresive forces were at work there, and that's very possibly the only actual injury she took in that whole ordeal.

* Vala Mal Doran in ''[[The Ark of Truth|Stargate: The Ark of Truth]]'': "Look at my hands, all right? They are raw and bleeding. I've broken every nail. We've been out here in the scorching heat for days. I haven't showered!"

* ''Ladybugs'': "Get those nail-breakers! Get those nail breakers!"

* ''DOA: Dead or Alive'': "Perfect. Broke another nail."

* ''[[Troop Beverly Hills]]'': "The parents here are so self-involved. [[Hypocritical Humor|Shit, I broke a nail!]]"

* This is done to a lesser extent in the movie ''[[Lost in Space]]'' where Dr. Smith attempts to smuggle himself on board the ''Jupiter Two'' in a crate. The crane abruptly stops, causing him to fall over and immediately afterwards he glances at his nails and makes an annoyed little sound.

* In the action movie/porn film ''[[Barb Wire]]'', after having a hand to hand to guns to stiletto heels to groin fight and killing a whole crapload of men, Barb Wire (played by Pamela Anderson) looks at her hand, on which is a broken nail:

 

* In ''[[Geronimo Stilton]], Secret Agent'', Stilton is trying to distract his [[Sitcom Nemesis|archrival]] Sally Ratmousen, but the only thing that works is when he tells her she has a broken [[Hold Your Hippogriffs|pawnail]].

* "From The Diary Of A New York Lady" by [[Dorothy Parker]]:

 

* In ''[[The Facts of Life]]'', Blair punches another girl for insulting Jo. She later says "I broke a nail for you!" as if that were more of a sacrifice than getting in trouble for decking someone in school (which, for Blair, it is).

* ''[[That's So Raven]]'': Raven has a vision, at a highly inopportune time, of this happening to Chelsea. When it comes true, Chelsea claims, "I don't even care," but Raven's new telepathic friend says, "Yes, you do."

* ''Australian Gladiators'': "Ouch! I broke a nail! Gotta stop punching those brick walls."

'''Ginger:''' I broke one twice. }}

* At the start of the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' episode "Urgo", the team set off on an apparently dull mission and Jack comments that "It's all fun and games until someone breaks a nail."

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'': Buffy uses this when trying to get the attention of Giles, who is preoccupied {{spoiler|because he just learned in a prophecy that ''Buffy will die tonight''}}.

** Cordelia has also used this more than once.

* Myrtle Urkel says this trope after falling down from Eddie's window in a ''[[Family Matters]]'' episode.

 

* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'': This turns out to be the reason Sgt. Louise Lugg mauled a guy so badly while playing American football. The trope is played straight (it's not a very recent strip) and she's shown "emotionally" crying over it; the comic in general repeatedly plays with her combination of masculine aggressiveness and feminine sensitivity.

 

* In the old PC game ''Battle Chess'', the Queen says this during her tutorial after defeating another piece.

* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' EVA's medical history shows a long list of cuts, blows, gunshot wounds, and one broken nail.

* The Witch class from ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' will occasionally say this after taking damage.

* [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Renee]] from ''[[Mana Khemia]]'' refuses to help Tony fight Flay at the beginning of the game because she just had her nails done, and she doesn't want to ruin them.

 

* In ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', Odd makes fun of Sissi in his amateur movie ''Natural Grandeur'' by showing her as a giant and dubbing her as saying "Oh no, I broke a nail!" in a distorted voice.

* Shego in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' did this ''once'', in an episode where she was under the effects of [[Emotion Bomb|a device that controlled her emotions]]. She would never cry ''at all'' otherwise, certainly not over something like a broken nail.

* In a ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' take on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", where the Bear family lives in an ultra-modernized home, Mama Bear has a gadget (similar to an electric pencil sharpener) that instantly repairs any nails she breaks.

'''Blitz:''' I broke a nail. }}

* The [[Alpha Bitch]] from ''[[Beverly Hills Teens]]'' falls down a balcony and shouts: "It's broken! It's broken! My nail!" Later we learn that she also broke her leg...

 

* A woman named Lee Redmond grew her fingernails out for thirty years to a length of two-and-a-half feet each, breaking the record for longest fingernails. In 2009, she was in a terrible car crash. She sustained severe injuries and broke off all of her nails. Upon finding out, she was devastated. [[World Half Full|She later discovered it was easier to manipulate objects without her giant talons]].

 

[[Category:Women Are Delicate]]

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Phrases]]

[[Category:Discredited Trope]]

[[Category:Hand Tropes]]