Other Stock Phrases: Difference between revisions

* "How do I know I can trust you?" "You don't." Common in an [[Enemy Mine]] situation.

* "How do I know you'll keep your word?" (Alternately, "How do we know he'll keep his word?") The obvious question the hero(es) should be asking (and often do) in a [[Hostage for McGuffin]] or similar situation. The most common response is more or less equivalent to the one Khan gave in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'': "Oh, I've given you no word to keep, Admiral. In my judgment, you simply have no alternative." "What choice do we have?", or "You don't" are alternate versions. In dramatic terms, this means that the hero now has karmic permission to use any kind of trickery on the villain necessary to regain the advantage.

* "How hard can it be?" and/or "What could possibly go wrong?": Whenever a character comments on the apparent easiness of a task, it [[Tempting Fate|almost invariably]] turns out to be stunningly difficult. Suddenly things as simple as buying milk become epic quests or even life-or-death experiences. See all of the tropes in [[Tempting Fate]], such as [[Retirony]].

** Sometimes used satirically after listing a series of incredibly difficult and/or obviously fatal tasks. "We just have to sneak into a guarded fortress at noon, find the one person we're looking for, and convince them to betray the love of their life. How hard can it be?" Occasionally this is not intended satirically, to illustrate that the speaker is either clueless, arrogant to the point of insanity, or [[Just That Good]].

* "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up and..."

** There's no record of any carnival talker (''not'' "barker") ever yelling "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up!" The "cant" was always ''much'' more elaborate, which is part of why the talker was the best-paid man on the lot.

 

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