I Resemble That Remark

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Oh, I get it. Just because I Chinese, you think I build wall. That i' bullshit! I'm not stereotype, okay?! Just because I'm Chinese doesn't mean I go around building wall! I'm just a normal person like all o'you! I eat ahrice and drive ahreally slow, just like the rest o'you! I'm not stereotype!
—Tuong Lu Kim, South Park

A form of Hypocritical Humor: Alan makes a criticism of Bob. Bob denies this criticism, but does so in a way that validates the statement. This almost always overlaps with Not Helping Your Case if you're insistent the criticism doesn't apply to the point of justifying it for them instead and/or the criticism concerns a fairly significant character flaw.

Perhaps the most common criticism for this is being violent or short tempered, perhaps because it allows a response of comedic violence, but plenty of other criticisms are possible, including stupidity ("No I aren't!"), crudity ("Fuck you!"), inattentiveness ("Huh?"), vanity ("Oh thanks, you noticed!") and pompousness ("Moi?").

See also Description Cut for the inverse of this. Compare Not Helping Your Case, I Take Offense to That Last One, I Would Say If I Could Say, and contrast with Insult Backfire. The line itself (which is often attributed to Groucho Marx) is, of course, a play on "I resent that remark."

Examples of I Resemble That Remark include:

Anime and Manga

Konata: You still lose at life.

  • On an episode of Kaze no Stigma, Ayano's school is being haunted by a Screwy Squirrel pixie named Tiana that keeps playing pranks on her and her two friends (Kazuma, who is also there remains completely come watching the 3 girls run around) at the end the Tsundere throws a tantrum about the pixie and her cousin catches it for her and the two of them begin fighting like little kids. The other 3 comment about this but they both deny being like the other or being immature at the same time.
  • Kind of a Not Helping Your Case version from the anniversary strips of Azumanga Daioh. When seeing how Kaorin is mooning over Sakaki, Osaka manages to have a realization which escaped all the other characters, and asks Kaorin if she is gay. Kaorin angrily protests that no she isn't, the correct/preferred term is lesbian not gay, and no, she certainly isn't gay, because it wouldn't matter to her if Sakaki were a guy.
  • Monta from Eyeshield 21 is constantly compared to a monkey. He gets angry at the comparison and acts exactly like a monkey. "Who are you calling a woohee?!"
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh!, Rebecca complains about the fact Yugi is yelling at her.

Yugi: I'M NOT YELLING AT YOU!

  • In Bakuman｡, Mashiro lists the three qualities his uncle believes that a successful Mangaka should have, the first of which is believing that they are better than others.

Tagaki: Yeah, I’ve got that but then again, I’m not being conceited. I really do have the talent…
Mashiro: That’s what you call being conceited.

High Elf Archer: I don't know, I think that weirdo might be an exception.
High Elf Archer: "Is that so?" "That's right." "Goblins!" That's his entire vocabulary![1]
Goblin Slayer: Is that so?
(priestess does her best to stifle laughter, elf and dwarf don't bother to try)

Comic Books

Caesar: "Look at you! You have become decadent! All you think about nowadays is eating and sleeping!"
Senator (waking up): "What? It's lunchtime already?"

  • Astro City: Crackerjack laments that his on and off ladyfriend Quarrel is mad at him for flirting with other women... as he flirts with Nightingale.
  • Daisy Duck's reaction when her boyfriend told her she needs to control her temper. Sure, Donald is the same, but his reaction to Daisy suggesting him to improve was better than hers.
  • Monica's Gang: Monica overheard Jimmy Five telling Smudge she only settles things through force. She told him it was a lie and that he'd be hit if he didn't take it back.
  • In Wanted, Wesley Gibson tries to give an Even Evil Has Standards speech to psychotic hedonist Joker Expy Mr. Rictus. It doesn't work:

Wesley Gibson: Enjoy your goat fucking Mr. Rictus.
Rictus (indignant): I don't fuck goats, Mr. Gibson, I make love to them!

Fan Works

  • This exchange from Windows of the Soul, when Natsuki and Shizuru talk about Shizuru's father, whom Natsuki does not get along with.

Shizuru: Otousama isn't an easy person to get along with. He has a difficult personality, because he is honest. In general, he's willing to imply anything he likes should he think about it.
Natsuki: Yep, he's a rude bastard. I've noticed that.
Natsuki's Narration: Shizuru laughed briefly, covering her mouth with her hand.
Natsuki: What's so funny?
Shizuru: Oh, nothing really. I was just going to say that the problem is, that you're the same as him. In that respect.
Natsuki: I'm nothing like that stuck-up bastard!

"...[Y]ou can call me Looney Toons."
"...Ruuni Tuunusu?" she struggled to pronounce the English.
I shrugged. "Code names. What can you do?"
"You told me you picked your code name yourself, sensei," Moon said with a naughty smile. She turned to Mikan and added in a conspiratorial whisper, "He's a very silly man sometimes."
"Hey!" I protested. "That's entirely accurate!"

Film

Castor: You watch your fucking mouth!

The Stranger: Do you have to use so many cuss words?
The Dude: What the fuck are you talking about?
The Stranger: OK, Dude. Have it your way.

  • Subverted in this exchange:

The Dude: You just wanted a sap to pin it on! And you'd just met me, and you thought, "Oh, a loser! Somebody the square community wouldn't give a shit about!"
Lebowski: Well, aren't ya?
The Dude: Well, yeah!

Archie: How very interesting. You're a true vulgarian, aren't you?
Otto: You're the vulgarian, you fuck!

Eros: [with disgust] Stronger. You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Jeff Trent: That's all I'm taking from you! [pistol-whips Eros upside the head]

  • A more serious version from The Rock. General Hummel (Ed Harris) has captured John Mason (Sean Connery) and is justifying his threat to launch poison gas at San Francisco.

Mason: I don't quite see how you cherish the memory of the dead by killing another million. And, uh, this is not combat. It's an act of lunacy. Frankly, General, sir, I think you're a fucking idiot.
Hummel: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
Mason: "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious", according to Oscar Wilde.
(Hummel rifle butts Mason)
Mason: Thank you for proving my point.

Phil "You are literally too stupid to insult."
Alan (smiling) "Thanks!"

"I'm not feminine? I'M NOT FEMININE!?" (kicks him in the face)

Wadsworth: We're trying to find out WHO killed him, and WHERE, and WITH WHAT!
Professor Plum: There's no need to shout!
Wadsworth: I'M NOT SHOUTING!
Wadsworth: ALL RIGHT I AM! I'M SHOUTING! I'M SHOUTING! I'M SHOUT--

  • Invoked earlier with Colonel Mustard:

Wadsworth: That sounds like a confession to me; in fact, that double negative has led to prove positive! I'm afraid you gave yourself away!
Colonel Mustard: Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests?
Wadsworth: You don't need any help from me, sir.
Colonel Mustard: [Angrily] That's right!

  • In Office Space, Tom says the following with an increasingly panicked and loud voice:

Tom: I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

Columbus: Are you one of those guys that always has to one-up everyone else's story?
Tallahassee: Hell no! I knew a guy once that was way worse at that than me.

  • In Rush Hour 3, a French taxi driver refuses to transport Carter because he believes that Americans are violent. Carter promptly threatens him with a gun.

Carter: Say you love America.
George: I love America. Please don't kill me.

Literature

  • Paraphrased from the Dragaera book Jhegaala—after the hero Vlad, a former assassin and gangster, has been mistaken for a thug: "I hate when people do that. It makes me want to break their legs."
    • Kiera the Thief makes a similar comment in Orca, to the effect that she hates when people think she's trying to steal their purses and how it makes her want to rob them.
  • From Alice in Wonderland:

"You never had fits, my dear, I think?" [the King of Hearts] said to the Queen.
"Never!" said the Queen furiously, throwing an inkstand at the Lizard as she spoke.

Pyp: You're too stupid to be craven.
Grenn: I am not.
Pyp: Are too. If we ran into a bear in the forest you'd be too dimwitted to run away.
Grenn: I would not. I'd run faster than you. ...Hey!

  • An early example: In Laxdæla saga (The Saga of the People of Laxárdalur), Þórðr accuses his wife Auðr of wearing breeches (i.e. being a transvestite) so that he can divorce her and marry Guðrún. When Auðr comes into Þórðr's bed-chamber to get revenge, she is wearing breeches.
  • In Spellsinger: The Day of the Dissonance, Mudge utters the following line when Roseroar comments on his bad language:

"I'll have you know, me elephantine kitten, that my language is as fucking refined as anyone's!"

  • In X-Wing: The Bacta War Booster Terrik is trying to negotiate with the New Republic to keep a Star Destroyer he captured. The New Republic's agent tells him the New Republic can't let someone other than them or their allies keep a ship with enough firepower to slag a planet. Booster retorts that he should just use it to conquer a random world and declare himself a New Republic ally before his daughter tells him that's exactly what the New Republic is afraid of.

Live-Action TV

Man: [to Dick] You look capable of violence!
Dick: [raising a chair] I'll show you who's capable of violence!!!

  • Another 3rd Rock example:

Sally: All the men I've been with are strong and decisive and you're neither of those things.
Leon: Well, I can be... maybe... probably not...

Brent: [After Oscar tells Emma that Brent is "turning the gas station into a movie theater"] Bearing in mind Dad does have a tendency to overstate things.
Oscar: I've never overstated anything in the entire history of the planet!

Tim: (reading a question from a personality quiz) Are you the kind of person who jumps into decisions without properly considering all the available options?
Lee: (firmly) No.
Tim: Hang on, it's multiple choice.

  • Subverted in the first sketch with Gustavo the Euro Guy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Gustavo complains that Americans are too violent and promptly gets punched out. When Conan points out this proves his point, the guy who punched him out replies "No worries, mate - I'm Australian!"
  • In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of Werewolf:

Yuri: You callin' me a psychopath?
Crow (as Yuri): I'll kill your whole family if you call me that again!

  • Keep in mind that Yuri immediately attacks the guy who called him a "psychopath", prompting Mike to quip:

Mike (as Paul): I'm sorry, clearly you're not a psychopath; my mistake.

Ted: He treats me like a little child, Mary. He bosses me around as though I were ten years old.
Mary: Ted, that isn't true. He may boss you around, but he doesn't think you're a kid. He respects you as a mature adult.
Ted: (whining) Then why won't he let me go to the circus?!!

  • A non-verbal example from The Muppet Show: In the lead-up to a sketch involving Horny Vikings, Kermit describes them as "cruel, heartless, Scandinavian Marauders". The Swedish Chef comes up and hits him with a frying pan, leading Kermit to change his description to "quaint, old world charmers".
  • In Coupling, Patrick provides a subverted that "only" proved half the remark:

Patrick: What kind of illness was I supposed to have?
Sally: I don't know. Whatever it is that connects a limp dick with a limp brain!
Patrick: There is no connection between my dick and my brain!

Lindsay: I'm a "combative, entitled princess?" I'm going to hire someone to kick your ass for that!

Niles: Don't you DARE call me irrational! You know that makes me crazy!

  • In "Look Before You Leap," Daphne protests the accusation that she's whiny with a high-pitched "I don't whiiine!"

"Computer games don't affect kids. If Pacman had affected us as kids we'd be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music."

  • In Friends, after Joey gets offended that Monica and Chandler didn't ask him for a character reference letter:

Monica: Sorry Joe, we didn't think you were so much... with the words...
Joey: Wha-huh? Hey! Whoa, I'mean, tchhh!
Chandler: Clearly, we were wrong.

  • In an another episode:

Joey: He made Rachel cry!
Monica: Rachel always cries!
Rachel: That's not true! (Starts to cry.)

Frasier: So now you're saying that I'm redundant, that I repeat myself, that I say things over and over again!

Sally: You are an ass!
The Devil: I am the dark lord of asses!

Elliot: Todd, face it. You're gay, and overcompensating for it.
The Todd: Oh yeah? Well if I'm gay, how come I work out so much?

Giles: Um, Anya, while, while I completely trust you uh, uh, to take care of the inventory and the money, um... dealing with people requires a certain, uh... finesse.
Anya: I have finesse! I have finesse coming out of my bottom! I can completely lie to the health inspector. I can, you know, distract him with coy smiles, and, and bribe him with money and goods.

  • Done seriously on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Eliot's son Dicky was caught using the Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique on a man he suspected was responsible for the disappearance of his friend, causing Eliot to take him into the station and make a complaint. When Richard responded that he was not the first member of his family to act that way, Eliot attacks his son in the middle of the squad room, both proving Richard's point and showing why he got the Fan Nickname Unstabler.
  • Kelly from Misfits is repeatedly accused of being a Chav[2] and she eventually responds to this by screaming at another girl: "If you call me that one more time I'll kick you so hard in the c*nt your mum will feel it!"
    • Also, when Nathan's father calls him a "wanker", Nathan responds by being snarky and rude, and then blithely attacking someone with a stapler (although many viewers considered this a Crowning Moment of Funny, as he was kind of proving his father's point).
  • From Monty Python's Flying Circus:

"Dear Sir, I am writing to complain about that last sketch about people falling out of high buildings. I myself have worked all my life in such a building, and have never once--WHAAAAAAAA!!!"
"I would put a tax on all people who stand in water!"

  • In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", Kirk berates McCoy for not telling him about an alert. After the former leaves the latter alone, McCoy says "If I jumped every time a light came on around here, I'd end up talking to myself."
  • In Will and Grace, any time someone would throw an insult toward Karen, she would respond this way. One time, when Grace accused her of being racist, she responded: "I may be a lot of things. A homophobe? Sure. Distrustful of Spaniards? Who isn't? But I am not a racist."
  • M*A*S*H had a scene in which Winchester snidely referred to Hawkeye and B.J. as "pack wolves." Their response was more or less, "Pack wolves?! I've never been so insulted!" and then they started growling and barking at him.
  • iCarly:

Kid Sam is beating up: I'm sorry!
Sam: Sorry for what?
Kid: For saying you're aggressive!

  • Married... with Children: When Marcy asked Steve why Al calls her a chicken, her stance did resemble a chicken's.
  • Right after Community's Jeff Winger denies that he's inconsiderate:

Annie: *sneezes*
Passerby: Gesundheit.
Jeff: I didn't sneeze.

  • In a meta example, many "current affairs" shows satirized by The Chaser's War on Everything aired 'responses' to the criticism... which ended up proving all the Chaser team's criticisms completely right.
  • Played with in House:

Cuddy: Are you being intentionally dense?
House: (making a stupid face) Huh?

Music

  • N.W.A.'s "Fuck tha Police" alternates between protesting unfair police attention due to being black and the usual rap refrain of boasting about crime. This is likely done on purpose, e.g. to draw attention to how even the most public of examples of police brutality towards black people who didn't "deserve" it are used to pathologize and polarize the entire race.

Newspaper Comics

  • In Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin rants about how violence on television doesn't have any effect on the watcher, and concludes with "I'd like to shoot the idiots that think this stuff affects me."
    • Calvin also ranted about a television show which made no sense. When Hobbes remarked that it was targeted at the average American's fifteen-second attention span, Calvin's response was only, "You're still talking about that?"
  • In Garfield:
    • When Jon is on the phone with a woman:

Jon: I'm immature?!! Well excuse me, miss poopie head! (puts the phone down and sucks his thumb)

  • Jon having a conversation with Garfield:

Jon: Why don't you ever listen to me?
Garfield: Huh?
Jon: Why don't you ever agree with me?
Garfield: That's not true.
Jon: Why don't you show me any respect?
Garfield: I do... bonehead.

Paige: Mom, can I go see Interview With a Vampire?
Andy: No.
Paige (crying): WAAAAAAAAAAH WHY NOT????
Andy: Because it's rated R and you're not old enough.
Paige: Cmon, I'm mature.

  • In another strip, Jason and Peter are discussing a study about how video games make kids violent... and then mention how much they want to strangle whoever wrote that.
  • There was a Bloom County strip which said something to the effect that men with facial hair tend to be more violent than those without. The next strip had a rebuttal from a fellow with a big mustache, who said the equivalence made him "so mad I could strangle a manatee in the nude!"
  • Dilbert here has CEO jumping into this one.
  • In a Peanuts strip, Lucy is offended when Charlie Brown claims she isn't perfect. She storms home, rants about it to Linus, and:

Linus: So I suppose you hit him, huh?
Lucy: Rats! I knew I forgot something!

Theatre

  • Played for drama in The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill. The main character attempts to prove that just because he's poor doesn't mean he's a brute, and tries to do this by beating up the girl he thought insulted him. He gets killed by an ape instead.
  • A variation from the musical New Girl in Town, where Marthy and Chris are singing about their friendship:

Marthy: A guy said you ain't fit for pigs, down Larry's bar.
Chris: What'd you say?
Marthy: I said, "Yes, you are!"

Stanley: "...and they treat me like sh--
 Bertha: "Stanley, dammit, don't cuss on Christmas!"

Video Games

  • The title character of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney catches himself doing one of these at one point - the Judge says "I'm not sure we could reasonably expect Mr. Justice to do anything delicately", and Apollo thinks "Hey! Why I oughta...take a deep breath and calm down."
  • At the end of the first TV spot for Left 4 Dead, Francis shouts, "I'll see peace back on Earth if I gotta murder every one of these animals with my own bare hands!" This can also be heard in the game under certain conditions. The in-game version of the line replaces "animals" with "bastards".

"For Chrissake, Francis, don't take God's name in vain."

Dr. Nefarious: To think, Lawrence, they said I was insane. But we'll see who's insane when my ameboids destroy all the life on this planet!
Lawrence: Yes, sir, that should clear things right up.

  • In one bit of inter-party dialogue in Knights of the Old Republic, Mission asks Bastila if she ever uses the Force for "fun", like making somebody trip if they're annoying her. Bastila acts highly offended and calls the idea "childish", which gets Mission angry enough to start insulting her. Bastila trips her with the Force mid-insult, turns away, and smugly denies she has any idea what Mission is talking about.
  • Locke of Final Fantasy VI reacts to a merchant calling him a thief (instead of a treasure hunter) by... stealing his clothes. That's showing him, Locke!
  • The Thraddash of Star Control II revere force to the point that they have semi-regular rebellions which attempt to overthrow the current "Culture" and install themselves as the new Culture. Among the history you can learn from them is the story of Culture 14, who believed that this system of violent revolution set the Thraddash's cultural and technological evolution back 500 years each time. They were wrong, as demonstrated only 10 years after they came to power, when the next revolution only set them back "two, three hundred years tops".

Web Comics

Tycho: It says here you made 'Crude sexual references a number of times throughout a Mech Assault match'.
Gabe: Oh, yeah? Well, his mom gives lousy head! ...I mean, that guy's a fucking liar.

  • 8-Bit Theater has a plotline where the Light Warriors face their inner demons:
    • Red Mage's inner demon would not leave until Red Mage conquered his hubris. Red Mage denied his hubris in the most arrogant way possible, including adding humility points to his character sheet while saying things like...

Red Mage: Let this sheet bellow unto the heavens themselves that Red Mage is the most humble man to walk upon Earth! EVER!
Demon: Literal adherence to a law means little without respect for the spirit of that law.

... and then there's Fighter's trial, where he must learn to solve problems with his brain as well as his swords, which he does by following his brain's advice and slicing his inner demon into little pieces.

Ken: THAT'S FER SAYIN' I WASN'T AGREEABLE!

  • Ghastly's Ghastly Comic: Bobby protests to a time-traveller from the 1970s that gay people in the twenty-first century "no longer feel the need to conform to the stereotypes society has used to keep us segregated and ashamed". His boyfriend F'ga, a bright pink tentacle monster, promptly bursts flamboyantly into the room, singing showtunes at the top of his lungs.

"So you was sayin' 'bout twenty-first century homos?"
"F'ga doesn't count. I don't think he knows it's the twenty-first century."

"Goddamnit, I've been flummoxed by someone with the IQ of a herring."
"Herrings are pretty birds so I'll take that as a compliment."

  • The Order of the Stick prequel "On the Origin of PCs" has Roy saying that he thinks wizards put too much faith in magic; his father Eugene immediately proves his point by saying that magic is perfect and all-powerful.
    • In this comic, Chaotic Good(ish) Haley points out that lawful types have a tendency to make other people agree with them... or else. Lawful Good characters Roy and Durkon immediately tell her that this is absurd and to stop with the crazy talk. Even Elan sees the hypocrisy.
  • In the Anti-Heroes Webcomic:

Aldran: I'm not manipulative.
Lana: Well, I dunno, you can be a bit-
Aldran: I said "I'm not manipulative."
Lana: Okay, okay, you're not. Jeez.

Nogg: Krep is our pilot from planet Flimboulx. He's very bad tempered and I'd advise avoiding him.
Krep: What?! You are such a suppositorial dipshit, Nogg.
Nogg: You can see my point.

Jake: Pardon me but do i SOUND like some trollycar bellwether toiling in the heart of the mustache belt from the ruff n tumble year of nineteen aught nine???

Web Original

  • Acts of Gord: In Acts of Gord, Book of Annoyances, Chapter 23, a reporter asks Gord (owner of a videogame store) for a quote for the front page of the newspaper, pertaining to videogame violence and its impact on society. Gord replies, "Video games don't make people more violent, and I'll kill anyone who disagrees." After a dramatic pause, the reporter replies that he doesn't think they can print that.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series has Mako.

Mako: I am not a freaky fish guy! And I will harpoon anyone who says otherwise!

  • Also, from episode 46:

Melvin: If you're done fighting with your girlfriend we have a card game to play!
Florence: He's not my girlfriend!
Marik: You tell him, honey!

Washington: Quit bickering! You guys are the most immature soldiers I have ever met!
Grif: Yeah well, your face is immature!

  • In Kickassia, a reporter tells Angry Joe that people think he's gun crazy. Joe demands to know who said that, and shoots the camera.
  • From The Spoony Experiment review of Phantasmagoria 2: "I'm not crazy! I'll kill anyone who says I am!"
  • Encyclopedia Dramatica's article on atheists has a "butthurt" banner claiming that the article generated more offended rants and vandalism than any other article on religion - the discussion page had an atheist demanding that the banner be removed because atheists don't take offense to people not agreeing with them.
  • News site Reddit has recently been working to dispel allegations of rampant misogyny among its userbase. Around the same time that drama was playing out, the Cool Chick Carol meme was created. Lampshaded on at least two of the samples, though.
  • Gamergate as a whole was rife with instances of this.
    • The "cultural warfare" began in earnest when, in response to accusations of corruption over 48 hours, over a dozen (officially) unaffiliated video game websites published editorials proclaiming some variant of "gamers are dead", without referencing or citing a source editorial. While the initial accusations were of questionable legitimacy and a reach at best, the blatant lockstep and willingness to smear their target audience proved the presence of collusion beyond a shadow of a doubt in the eyes of many. It's worth noting that said collusion wasn't all that new or all that unnoticed, but had never been publicized in such a manner prior to the controversy taking off.
    • Atomic Think Tank (one of the Green Ronin forums) had a poster comparing hysteria over Gamergate to the 1980s Satanic Panic. The moderator's reaction was a mix of hysterical "don't you dare!!!" and an equivalent of "the satanists abducted and almost sacrificed a Damsel in Distress, but I won't tell you any verifiable details [nor mention reporting this to the local law enforcement, which I would do if it was real]". Of course, the comparison itself would eventually prove to age even worse for reasons that hopefully should not have to be stated in this article.

Western Animation

Leela: Be careful. Many robots are stupid and violent.
Bender: I wish I was stupid and violent. Then we'd see what's what -- I'd pound their face in!

Fry: They said I was stupid, but I proved them!

Dwight: I heard alcohol makes you stupid.
Fry; No I'm... doesn't!

Prof. Farnsworth: And Fry, you've got that brain thing.
Fry: I already did.

Kent Brockman: Scientists say they're also less attractive physically and while we speak in a well-educated manner, they tend to use low-brow expressions like 'oh yeah?' and 'c'mere a minute.'
Homer: Oh yeah? They think they're better than us? Bart! C'mere a minute!
Bart: You c'mere a minute.
Homer: Oh yeah?

  • Another Simpsons example:

Smithers: Frankly sir, the people see you as something of an ogre.
Burns: Why, I ought to club them and eat their bones!

  • Yet another Simpsons example: When Homer is called slow at a poker game, he takes so long to mentally process the remark that by the time he spits out his indignant denial, everyone else has left except for Lenny—it was his house they were playing at, and he was getting a midnight snack when Homer finally responded. It almost happens again in the same episode.
  • "I've been called a greasy thug, too. And it never stops hurting. So here's what we're gonna do, we're gonna grease ourselves up real good, and trash that place with a baseball bat!"
  • On one of the show's DVD commentaries, Simpsons writer Al Jean refers to this kind of gag as a "Stan Daniels Turn", named after the late writer/producer Daniels, of Taxi and Mary Tyler Moore Show fame.
  • "Me fail English? That's unpossible!"
  • Moe, attacking a Homer-shaped mannequin with a baseball bat:

Moe: Now who's a sociopath?! Huh?!

  • Homer (again):

"Oh, Lisa, you and your stories: Bart's a vampire, beer kills brain cells. Now let's go back to that... building... thingie... where our beds and TV... is."

Ned: You ugly, hate-filled man!
Moe: Hey, hey, I may be ugly and hate-filled, but I... uh... what was the third thing you said?

  • From "Marge Gets a Job":

Homer: I won't sleep in the same bed with a woman who thinks I'm lazy! I'm going right downstairs, unfold the couch, unroll the sleeping ba-...uh, good night. (*zzzzz*)

Marge: Your problem is, you never think of anyone besides yourself!
Artie: Marge, I think about a lot more than just moi!
(Imagines a nightclub with can-can dancers who look like him, singing his name repeatedly, and an audience who also looks like him, applauding.)
Artie: Oh... my... God...

Toph: You're not my mom, and you're not their mom.
Katara: I don't act that way. What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom?
Aang: Well, I...
Katara: Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk!
Aang: Yes, ma'am!

  • And in the second season:

Aang: Okay, you both just need to calm down and...
Katara: Both? I'M COMPLETELY CALM!!

  • In a similar vein:

Iroh: Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?
Zuko: I DON'T NEED ANY CALMING TEA!

Wooldoor: I don't feel comfortable doing that.
Captain Hero: Would you feel more comfortable if I broke your arm in three places and then wrapped it in $100 bills?
Wooldoor: Are you threatening me... or bribing me?
Captain Hero: What an insulting accusation! Take that back before I tear out your spleen and then drive you to the hospital in your brand new car!

Dad: Asperagus defeated [the Minotaur] using the head of Medusa, a creature so ugly she could turn men to stone with just one look.
Phineas: Kinda reminds me of Candace.
Candace: (making a face like Medusa's) It does not look like me!

  • Played with in Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy when Double D reads off the "Lackadaisycathro Disease," which is pretty much a description of himself.

Ed: That sounds resembling!
Eddy: It sounds like sock-head, bonehead!

  • Family Guy: In "Stewie Kills Lois", Peter is on trial for allegedly shooting and killing Lois while on a luxury cruise. When being questioned in court, the following exchange occurs:

Lawyer: Have you ever struck your wife?
Peter: Only in front of my kids, to assert my status as dominant male of the pride.
Lawyer: Are you a violent man?
Peter: [edgily] What are you, a wise guy? 'Cause I don't wanna deal with wise guys!
Lawyer: No further questions. [hurries off]
Peter: You son of a bitch! If I had a gun on a boat, I'd shoot you!

Bugs: Are you sure you're ready to take your driver's test?
Lola: Does a red light mean go?

Jester: Cosmo's so stupid, if his brains were dynamite he wouldn't have enough to blow his nose.
Cosmo: I'm not stupid! And I could prove it if you'd just let me out of the box! But come on— (He poofs out of the box, hits it with a hammer, and then poofs back in)
Cosmo: —even Houdini couldn't get out of this thing!

  • In an episode of Regular Show, Rigby makes a profile for Mordecai on a dating website. Mordecai complains that the way it's written ("Likes: Goofing off, video games, grilled cheese") makes him sound like a loser, and Rigby responds, "Hey man, don't put that on me, it's all true!"
  • Barely subverted by Dr. Psycho in the Harley Quinn cartoon:

Harley: Exactly! We need a nemesis. Lex Luthor has Superman, Sinestro has Green Lantern, Psycho has his own inability to refrain from using the C-word...
Dr. Psycho: My nemesis is Wonder Woman, that cu- Uh, okay, I see what you're saying.

  • SpongeBob SquarePants:
    • "New Student Starfish" has Patrick make a crude drawing of Mrs. Puff during a lesson and then show it to SpongeBob:

SpongeBob: [look at the drawing and gasps] Big Fat Meanie? Patrick, you can't do that! She's the teacher!
Mrs. Puff: What about the teacher?
[SpongeBob screams, then shivers and bites his lip in fear as Mrs. Puff sees Patrick's drawing of her.]
Mrs. Puff: (suddenly resembling the drawing) As if I really look like this!

  • At the end of one episode of Darkwing Duck, there's this exchange between Megavolt and Quackerjack when the two villains are on prison work detail:

Quackerjack: Why don't you learn to relax, Sparky?
Megavolt: Stop calling me that! And I am relaxed! I AM COMPLETELY RELAXED!!

Dr. T'Ana: Chief Medical Officer's Log, Stardate who the [Profanity Censor] cares? So get this, Peanut Hamper - am I saying that right? Stupid name - bugged out in the middle of a big battle. But I gotta admit, she was an impressive, talented surgeon. Skilled Ensigns are hard to come by, FOR SOME [Profanity Censor] REASON I INTIMIDATE THEM!

Orko: Of course, when you're like me, you never make a mistake!
Teela: Orko!
Orko: Uhm, I think I'll disappear...
(Loud "POOF!" and Teela disappears.)
Orko: Oops! I made a mistake...

Real Life

  • Violent riots and other forms of protest by Muslims in response to caricatures of prophet Muhammad and other portrayals of Islam as violent are commonly cited as examples of this trope. Of course, there's always more to those stories: the Qu'ran has a commandment that forbids the use of graven images, and many Muslims err on the side of extreme caution with this - such that it's not uncommon for them to take offense at any depictions of prophet Muhammad, offensiveness or lack of notwithstanding. As such, it's not hard to imagine that this tendency is purposely exploited, though the question of "by whom?" is one this page is not suited to answering.
    • It becomes especially ironic when the people behind the portrayals, criticisms and caricatures are Christian-adjacent in nature - Alexius I had Pope Urban II sanction various Crusades against the Muslims alongside other churches of the time in response to Muslim raids on territories that they had taken through their own bloody conquest.
  • "Comics writer Mark Sable was detained and intensively questioned by the TSA for carrying a script for an upcoming comic book about a writer who is detained and intensively questioned by the TSA". If the script within the comic was itself about a comic writer stopped and interrogated by the TSA, the recursive nature of the meta-humor would have exploded the TSA's collective heads all at once.
  • Comic author John O'Farrell had an extract from his book Things Can Only Get Better in which he parodied lefties in the early eighties as being totally humourless published in the Guardian. Next week, the letters page of The Guardian was full of outraged lefties complaining there was absolutely nothing funny about lefties in the early 80s.
  • Surrounding The Godfather were Italian-Americans who cried that the film had Unfortunate Implications. They decided to respond by stealing the crew's equipment, sending death threats (and trying to act on them), and generally being shitheads.
  • In Germany, Jewish journalist Henryk M. Broder once commented that Polish culture was based on alcoholism and antisemitism. As he said, he got many angry letters from drunken Polish patriots who threatened him.
  • Johnathan Lee Riches, famous for filing lawsuits against nearly everybody and nearly everything (including such targets as "Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party") once filed an injunction against the Guinness Book of World Records to prevent it from naming him the world's most litigious man - a record Guinness stated that they don't even keep track of.
  • Used in Barack Obama's speech at the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner: "For example, some people now suggest that I am too professorial, and I would like to address this head on, by assigning all of you some reading that will help you draw your own conclusions."
  • The McLibel case. In response to claims that McDonald's is an unethical business, the company hired private detectives to spy on peaceful protesters and break into their offices.
  • King George II (1683–1760) of England once assured his subjects that despite coming from the German House of Hanover, "I have not one drop of blood in my veins dat is not English."
  • Facebook once came under fire by Prager University for censoring a video posted to their FB page covering... the subject of censorship. Not helping the case is PragerU's own history of blatant misinformation and a tendency (shared with many American conservatives) to treat pushback to dubious claims as "censorship", making this a likely case of Right for the Wrong Reasons.
  1. ↑ She missed "I see."
  2. ↑ For non-UK residents: "chav" is a derogatory term given to young, working-class people who dress in a certain way, and are perceived as crude, anti-social and aggressive (a common backronym is "Council Housed And Violent")
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