I Can Explain: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Argit:''' No, please buddy! Don't kill me! I can explain!

'''{{spoiler|Evil Kevin}}:''' Explain WHAT?

 

A character with a guilty conscience reacts to the appearance of an authority figure with a cry of "Wait! I Can Explain!" and launches into an explanation of how whatever-it-was wasn't their fault.

 

{{examples}}

* Subverted heavily in ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'', where {{spoiler|Verbal's attempts to evade giving information to the police turn out to be an elaborate strategy to get the police to believe him when he actually does provide (wrong) information}}.

* Subverted in ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]'' when Pepper walks in on Tony apparently being molested by robots:

'''Sullivan''': Hey, I can explain that! }}

 

 

* A primary [[Catch Phrase]] on ''[[Get Smart]]'' subverts this: "I can explain ''nothing''!"

* Almost a [[Catch Phrase]] for Major Nelson on ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', to the point where he once said, "I'm not sure what I did, sir, but I'm positive I have an explanation for it."

** Also, Don Ramón once told his daughter Professor Jirafales was coming to visit him. Her immediate reaction was loudly pleading him not to believe anything Professor Jirafales says. Don Ramón asked her what he'd say and she realized she spoke too much.

 

 

* Parodied in ''[[Nebulous]]'', where Nebulous's underling's try to explain their attempted [[Dying Declaration of Love]], but Nebulous simply shrugs the explanation off, saying "if you got drunk and indulged in foreplay, I'm sure you had a damn good reason."

* In practically every episode of ''[[Navy Lark]]'', CPO Pertwee is caught out ... exclaims, "I can explain!" ... and often does.

 

* ''[[Annie]]'', the musical: Shortly after Annie's attempt to escape from Miss Hannigan's orphanage, a woman arrives and announces that she has been sent to talk to Miss Hannigan by the orphanage's board of directors. Miss Hannigan is in full self-justifying flight before the woman has a chance to explain that actually she's just come to see about borrowing one of the orphans.

 

* The trailer for ''[[World of Warcraft]]'''s newest raid instance, Ulduar, has Rhonin meeting the human king Varian. However, Rhonin had also invited Thrall and Garrosh to meet with him. Problem is, Thrall and Garrosh show up earlier than expected and when the Varian and Thrall see each other, Rhonin reacts this way. This troper thought he sounded as if he was caught cheating on his wife.

 

* In ''[http://tmi-comic.com/ Too Much Information]'', when Ace (who occasionally [[The Ace|live up to his name]]) is making out with a strappin' scottish lass on the doorstep, and her grandmother walks in on them, his quick "I can explain!" is answered by a dry "Be fun tae see ye try..." before the [[Cool Old Lady]] reveals that she's got no objections whatsoever.

* In [[Kevin and Kell]], Corrie [[Averted Trope|narrowly avoids falling into this twice]] regarding her being a sheep disguised as a wolf. When [http://www.kevinandkell.com/2000/kk0909.html Fiona mentions that she knows her secret]. Corrie assumes that Fiona knows her true species, and is about to remove her wolfskin when Fiona tells her that she actually "knows" that she's Ralph's daughter (which turns out to be true, unbeknownst to either). Later on, [http://www.kevinandkell.com/2002/kk0110.html when the power goes out at a slumber party], Fiona and Rhonda tell her she's hiding something, but before she can articulate an answer, they say that she's wearing ''Bruno's sheepskin'', (he sometimes wears her on his back, but later wears a skin made out of her wool).

* ''[[Not Invented Here]]'': Desmond and Owen are caught in the middle of a wooded area, in a motor home, wearing hazard suits, surrounded by cough medicine containers. Fortunately, Desmond's explanation is taken as truth.

 

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': Danny's response after the strange events of the [[Free the Frogs]] episode? "I can explain... actually, I really can't."

** Or, when his family (mostly Jazz) comments on his odd behavior, Danny's Response is "ITS A LIE, [[Blatant Lies|I'M NOT]] [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|A GHOST!]]" Thankfully, Jazz just figured he'd gotten a girlfriend.

* In [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]] just after his treasonous plot against the Sultan has been revealed, Jafar tries saying "All this can be explained." I would like to know exactly ''how'' he was going to explain all of this.

 

* ''[[The Onion]]'' riffs on it [http://www.theonion.com/articles/philandering-string-theorist-can-explain-everythin,5040/ with a pun].

* A high-rated comment from [http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=TDhJdGwPPx0 a YouTube upload] of the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1/E03 The Ticket Master|"The Ticket Master"]]:

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Phrases]]