I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A type of [[Room Shuffle]] whereby a character volunteers some random reason for leaving a room, so that the remaining characters can talk amongst themselves. Usually of the mundane "Well, I'm off to work," "I think I'll call it a night," "Gotta use the head," "[[Going to the Store]]" type of comment, rarely related to the plot. The British equivalent would be "I have to see a man about a horse (or dog)". If the character is [[The Ditz]], a [[Bad Liar]], or simply ''desperate'' to get away, they may come up with a less plausible excuse, like "I think I hear my mother calling me" or "I need to take my goldfish to the vet." Particularly desperate and / or dimwitted characters might even [[Buffy-Speak|come up with either something absolutely nonsensical]], or might just abandon the whole 'reason' part of the reason ("I have to go over there, for... some reason." or "I have to go be somewhere else") When a character wants the remaining characters to [[Lampshade Hanging|know what they are up to]], they'll often go with a blatantly transparent "I have a thing with a guy" excuse.

 

Sometimes said character needs to convince additional characters to follow them out, suggesting they [[Talk About That Thing]].

[[Go Look At the Distraction]] is the inverse of this, where the character says something intended to make the hearer leave the room. Can be used to [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone]].

 

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In ''[[School Rumble]]'', there is an episode where Eri, Mikoto, Akira, and Takeichi Fuyuki plot to have Tenma and Karasuma go out to eat curry. They suggest that all six of them go, but as they are on their way, they all make excuses to duck out, [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone|leaving Tenma and Karasuma alone.]]

* In ''[[FAKE]]'', one kid tells Bikky "I gotta go home and feed my mongoose." Another says he has to help his sister with her homework. Given the kid's intelligence, Bikky finds the two equally implausible.

* [[Bleach]] plays with/subverts this; when everyone but Orihime want to leave class to stop hollows/arrancar/whatever the enemy of the ark is, they give excuses that could work if it was the first time (the teacher dosen't seem to mind, though). Orihime tells everyone the truth (not in a [[Sarcastic Confession]] way) about exactly what she's going to do, but since she imagined herself as a robot before she got spiritual powers, [[Lethal Chef|enjoys making horrific amalgamations of foodstuff]], and is just a general [[Cloudcuckoolander]], no-one believes her and thinks it's her imagination going crazy once more.

* ''[[Medabots]]'': When Ikki, Erika and Metabee pretended to be students of Rosewood Academy to sneak in there and the doorman asked why they weren't wearing their uniforms, the told the spilled caviar on it and their butler would bring them later. (It was a school for rich kids) The Screws tried the same excuse but their leader ruined it by stating they spilled caviar on their butler.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

{{quote|'''Dixie:''' Oh my - just look at the time! Gotta go - I've got kids on the stove!}}

* Clark Kent does this a lot when looking for excuses to disappear and change into [[Superman]]. Fortunately, his disappearances often lead to him hitting a news story jackpot on whatever weird shit is going down in Metropolis, and just makes him seem like a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]].

 

* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', after Yuki teleports Kyon into her apartment with the intention of {{spoiler|letting Haruhi having a make out session with him and record her doing that}}:

{{quote|'''Kanae:''' We have to take care of that ... thing in the kitchen, right Asahina-san?}}

** Spike after Twilight catches him [[Right Behind Me|calling her a total nerd]].

{{quote|'''Spike:''' Oh!? You're back Twilight! I-um... uh... I was just on my way to... um... organize those awesome books my intelligent and smart friend reads! Uh... later!}}

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In the film ''[[The Wedding Planner]],'' self-appointed matchmaker Penny must contrive a reason to abandon the leads at a movie. "I just remembered that I promised my friend's brother's godmother that I would help her change her fax cartridge because she's going out of town tomorrow...on an African safari!"

* Ian Hawke does this in a cruelly apathetic fashion in ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'' flat out stating he is going to pretend he has a lunch to go to.

* ''[[Dirty Work]]'': "I have to go...lift weights. ''[[Lampshade Hanging|What]]?!''"

* In ''[[Better Off Dead]]'', Lane uses one of these to get away from a tenacious paperboy.

* In ''[[National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation]]'' this is played more or less straight by Rusty, who isn't making up excuses to allow his parents to talk, he just wants the hell outta the situation. "I gotta get to bed. I still gotta brush my teeth, feed the hog, still got some homework to do, still got those bills to pay, wash the car..."

* In ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'', we see a [[Wheel of Fortune]] -esque wheel of various flimsy excuses in Scott's head, and the needle [[Heads-Tails-Edge|lands on the line between]] "I have to pee" and "Who, her?" and he ends up saying "I have to pee on her."

* In ''[[Shallow Hal]]'', Mauricio sees Hal dancing with three unattractive women in a dance bar and decides to "rescue" him:

{{quote|'''Mauricio:''' "Hey, Hal, it's ten o'clock. We have to go do that thing. You know, at the place."}}

 

== [[Literature]] ==

** Then when she turns out to have been eavesdropping the whole time, she cheerfully explains that the stone wasn't ''that'' interesting.

* In [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', Tom Bertram ([[Values Dissonance|rudely]]) sits down next to the heroine, Fanny, making it clear he doesn't want to dance. Cue his mother coming over and asking him to play cards with her and his aunt. Tom, unfortunately, must decline because he was just about to dance with Fanny.

* The protagonist of ''Please Remove Your Elbow from My Ear'', desperate to get off the phone with his crush before he makes a fool of himself, makes a fool of himself when the best excuse he can come up with is that his cat's head is on fire (he doesn't own a cat). Played with in that [[Dramatic Irony|she's crushing on him too]], specifically ''because'' [[Geeky Turn On|he says weird things all the time]].

* In one of the original [[Winnie the Pooh]] stories, Piglet absolutely has to go and do... something... that only he can do... and that has to be done right now!

 

* ''[[Who's The Boss?]]'', "The Prodigal Son In Law": Jonathan asks Mona to help him with his homework as an excuse for the two to go upstairs, so that Tony can talk to Samantha about a family relative who has been sent to jail.

* ''[[Keen Eddie]]:'' Various versions of this were used by Insp. Monty Pippin, as an excuse to escape the room after Eddie sasses their scary, Dracula-esque boss. It never works for him, though.

'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Jade]]''': (getting up) There's no guy. }}

* ''[[Community]]'': In the episode "Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy" Jeff, ever the pragmatist, dismisses himself with "Oh hey, is that a reason to leave?"

* On ''[[What About Brian]]'', Adam uses this to get out of an embarrassing moment (it just got out that {{spoiler|Adam secretly slept with Brian's sister}}):

{{quote|'''Adam:''' ''(looking at his phone)'' I gotta take this.

'''Dan''': Oh! Right! Right!}}

 

* Terri Clark's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ScBNkXaJk I've Got Better Things To Do] is this mixed with a healthy dose of [[Take That]].

* Rawlins Cross's [http://rawlinscross.bandcamp.com/track/itll-have-to-wait It'll have to wait] also a line like:

* In an early ''[[Pogo (comic strip)|Pogo]]'' strip, Simple J. Malarkey in preparation for eating Pogo tries to tie him to a chair on the excuse that it's "earthquake weather," but Pogo hurries off claiming that he "left the children on the stove."

* Jon Arbuckle of ''[[Garfield]]'' was always hit with these when he asked certain women onto dates. At least, [[Relationship Upgrade|until Liz finally accepted him.]]

* In ''[[Adam At Home]]'', Laura escapes a [[Motor Mouth]] by [http://www.gocomics.com/adamathome/2012/01/22 saying her llama is double-parked].

 

 

* In ''[[Mamma Mia!]]'', when Donna suddenly sees all three of her ex-boyfriends who could also be the father of her daughter she stammers something about cleaning out her handbag and hides. If I recall correctly, the exes aren't surprised ("Typical Donna!").

* At least one translation of ''[[Lysistrata]]'' has a woman claiming to be going into labor as her excuse to leave, using a bronze helmet under her clothes as her "baby". Lysistrata proceeds to point out that she wasn't pregnant the day before.

'''Marian:''' There's no jelly on the stove, Mama.

'''Mrs. Paroo:''' Well, I'll ''put'' some on. }}

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* In ''[[Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal]]'':

{{quote|'''Skid McMarx''': Hey uhh..dudes...I uhh..forgot to feed my goldfish.}}

* Quoth you, in an [http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Deep_Inside_Ronald,_Baby_%28Pool%29 adventure] in [[Kingdom of Loathing]]: "I wish I could, but my grandmother's on fire, so I'll just be going."

 

== [[Web Animation]] ==

* There is a ''[[Resident Evil]]'' [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/64772 parody] in which Brad, upon hearing about the killer zombie dogs, says the following: "Well, I just remembered that I left the, uh, oven on in the, uh, helicopter, and... [[Go Look At the Distraction|LOOK! BEHIND YOU!]] [[Monkey Island|A THREE-HEADED MONKEY!]]" He then proceeds to dash off, followed shortly after by the sound of a helicopter taking off.

** Subverted, in that Brad is trying to distract Wesker so he can flee. Wesker doesn't look away. Brad flees anyway.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

"Come on, V. And bring the cat, just in case."

"[[Dull Surprise|Huh]]."}}

* '' [[Wapsi Square]]'': [http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fair-enough/ a whole string before she announces she just does have to go]

* An extremely unsubtle example in [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1156.php this] ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures|DMFA]]'' strip. Not only does Wildy stare at her wrist while not wearing a watch, she claims to be in a hurry because "It's leaving o'clock!"

* In [http://www.thewotch.com/?date=2007-06-28 this comic] of ''[[The Wotch]]'', the heroes are at the mall, and Jason is present [[Gender Bender|as Sonja]]. Katie and Wolfie walk by Sonja and do a [[Double Take]] upon realizing who she really is, and Katie gets into an argument with him/her over how abnormal this is. A minute later, [[Bad Liar|Robin]] approaches with drinks, and Katie turns to him and demands, "Robin! ''You'' don't turn into a girl frequently for kicks, ''do'' you?" Robin immediately finds pressing business elsewhere: "Oh, gosh, I, uh, forgot straws! I'll just be off to get them..." [[Don't Explain the Joke|The drinks already had straws in them.]]

* ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'': [http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0180.html "My, look at the time! I need to go find my Keys."] Oddly, he really does...

 

** The speaker is a paladin [[GMPC]], and the protagonists need to utilize the [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]].

* ''[[Wedding Peach Abridged]]'': "Hmmm ... got to think of a lie."

{{quote|'''Ringo''': I need to go … uh … put out a fire … in the bathroom.}}

* When [[The Nostalgia Chick]] showed up on [[Todd in the Shadows]]' doorstep trying to get him to review ''Crossroads'' with her, he tries to get out of it by saying, "Yeah, I gotta go wash the dog...the fish...so...", but he gets dragged into it anyway.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Chickening-out version: the ''[[Horrible Histories]]'' animated program featured a smart-mouth jerk attempting to get out of Grecian-style wrestling by claiming to have sprained his ''oesophagus''.

{{quote|'''Leela''': Oh, I completely forgot, I left my apartment on fire!

'''Bender''': As for me, I'm late for my L.S.A.T.'s

'''Fry''': And I can't take life anymore! ''(smashes out through the window, [[There Was a Door|and promptly smashes back in through another]])'' }}

** In another episode, an [[Alternate Universe]] version of Leela admits to using excuses involving things like ghosts or "sweaty boot rash" to reject Fry (now her husband)'s advances. This causes the regular Fry to remark "So that's why you you said you had to meet that ghost!"

{{quote|'''Leela''': Uh, excuse me, I have to...someplace.}}

{{quote|Fry: I'll be right back. I have to go check this comet for anarchists!}}

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' "Overdue" Ron, likely remembering Kim wouldn't fall for the [[Fake Static]] brushes her off with:

{{quote|"Oh no, Dad's locked in the garage, better get him out before he runs out of... clothes!"}}

{{quote|'''Richard''': This coupon for the Olive Garden expires at midnight!

'''Patty/Selma''': You're not holding a coupon!

* In the "Baloney and Kids" short in ''[[Animaniacs]]'', one of the kids' excuses to leave was that she had to iron her bed.

** However, given how goodie-two shoes both kids were, including said girl saying she wishes she could marry school, its entirely likely that this was true.

{{quote|'''Grim:''' I, uh... I have to meet somebody.

'''Billy:''' I left the iron on.

* In ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter Griffin once backed out of a phone call with his wife by playing a recording of his wife telling him to take out the trash.

** Lois does this too after Peter gets plastic surgery making him a buff physically fit man, to the point she isn't even able to make a complete sentence.

** Possibly played with also in "Boast Busters", when Spike makes a somewhat panicked exit after declaring that Twilight is the most magical unicorn in Ponyville while standing beside his crush Rarity who is also a unicorn, not giving an even remotely reasonable explanation but exclaiming: "Oh, um...*cough* Hey, Rarity...I...MUSTACHE!" immediately before darting off screen.

** In "Look Before You Sleep," both Rarity and Applejack try to get out of Twilight's slumber party (or rather, spending time with each other) by suddenly remembering pressing engagements. Rarity's is plausible but vague, but Applejack's is simply, "I'm powerful late for...something."

{{quote|'''Mumm-ra''': Oh! Wow! Um... Mrs. Mumbletipeg needs to go masturbate. I mean um... uh... see... uh... Mrs. Mum... What I meant was, Mrs. Mumbletipeg... Fuck it, I'm gonna go masturbate. }}

* ''[[Camp Lazlo]]'': Raj says "Well, I'm off to get some chutney" when he sneaks off to his secret hot spring.

* In ''[[Ugly Americans]]'', Callie desperately tries to find a reason to explain what her sister Lilith would be taking over for her without revealing that she was originally supposed to be betrothed to Twayne.

* On ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', when Beezy needs to get out of being in Lucius' marching band, he says that it's for [[Bad Liar|"a really good reason I can't think of right now"]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Inane Blabbering]]

[[Category:Room Shuffle]]