Implied Death Threat: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"{{smallcapssmall-caps| We're a lot alike, you and I. You tested me. I tested you. You killed me. I—oh, no, wait. I guess I haven't killed you yet. Well. Food for thought.}}"''|'''[[G La DOSGLaDOS]]''', ''[[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Portal 2]]'' Propulsion Gel trailer (and [[Dummied Out|cut line]])}}

This trope is [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]: A character threatens to kill another, but without actually using the words "[[I'll Kill You!|I'll kill you]]." Usually involves the use of an analogy or a hypothetical question. This often allows the maker of the threat to be a [[Karma Houdini]], since he can claim he never ''really'' threatened the target. Often the person making the threat will avoid naming the threatened person directly. If the threat is made against the other person's family or against his property, that's [[Shame If Something Happened]].

{{quote| '''Earl:''' Student driver, huh? *pulls out his gun* Lesson 12: Man with gun. Get your ass up out the car.}}

* In ''[[Ice Age]]'', [[Big Bad|Soto]] does this twice to Diego, his second-in-command charged to bring back a baby so he can eat it alive. When Diego loses it over the falls, Soto snarls at him, "You'd better. Or you can serve yourself as a replacement." He even sends an [[Implied Death Threat]] by proxy when he sends two of his sabres to warn Diego to bring back the baby or "don't come back at all!" Something that hints at certain death for Diego, since the tigers pretty much ''use'' each other to survive, at least in Soto's pack.

* One is shown early in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Pyramids|Pyramids]]'':

{{quote| A noble blood flows through my veins.<br />

== Live -Action TV ==

{{quote| '''Jade:''' If someone was pushed off this catwalk and hit the ground really hard, do you think they'd live?<br />

'''Cat:''' Why are you asking that?<br />

{{quote| '''Ducky''': I can't wait to weigh your liver.}}

== Tabletop RPG Games ==

* In ''[[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Portal 2]]'', when you meet up with GLaDOS again, she says: "Look, we both said a lot of things that ''you're'' going to regret." She then continues along this line in later chambers, with her "real surprise, with ''tragic consequences''," her "solution to both our problems [...] that honestly works out great for ''one of'' both of us" and her announcement that she has learned to discard things that "are just [[You Are Fat|taking up space]]". And just when it seems that she couldn't lay it on any thicker, in Chapter 8, {{spoiler|Wheatley}} gets a turn, with a triumphant [[Don't Explain the Joke]] thrown in:

{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Wheatley}}:''' You [...] are going to love this big surprise. In fact, you're going to love it ''to death''. Love it until you're dead -- until it kills you. I don't know if you're picking up on what I'm saying here...<br />

'''{{spoiler|1=GLaDOS}}:''' Thanks, we get it. }}

{{quote| '''Llednar''': ...This reeks of foul play. If you weren't a judge... ''(summons allies and begins to fight)''}}