Confusing Multiple Negatives: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Prince Charming''': You! [[Can Not Tell a Lie|You can't lie]]. <ref>Technically, Pinocchio ''can'' lie; it's just obvious when he does.</ref> So tell me, puppet, where is Shrek?<br />

A character deliberately chooses [[Self-Demonstrating Article|not to avoid]] using <ref>"to use"</ref> a convoluted series of negatives to trick a certain reaction out of another character. Usually done when the character has literally no reason not to just ''lie'' to them ,<ref>"might as well lie"</ref>, unlike in the page quote where Pinocchio's nose won't not grow if he doesn't fail to evade the truth. <ref>"His nose will grow if he lies. It won't if he doesn't."</ref> No matter how convoluted the question gets, the answer will always be treated as legally binding, despite any reasonable judge throwing half of these examples out.

It's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to make a [[Stealth Insult]] with this type of dialogue, by failing to resist not avoiding insulting <ref>"going ahead and insulting"</ref> someone in a way that they're not incapable of being unoffended by .<ref>you know will offend them</ref>. Alternatively, as in a [[Sarcastic Confession]], it's not impossible <ref>"possible"</ref> to not promise you didn't do <ref>"admit"</ref> something while not appearing to avoid denying <ref>"admitting"</ref> it. This trope is not entirely unrelated to <ref>"is related to"</ref> [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. Also not uncommon where [[Exact Words]] isn't known not to be <ref>"is"</ref> in play. [[I Know You Know I Know]] conveys a similar degree of semantic confusion.

* Pops up surprisingly often in fanfiction-- usuallyfanfiction—usually with a simple string of "not not not not not not whatever."

* [[Super Smash Bros Brawl]] had an interesting one on the Smash Bros. Dojo, when discussing the Poke Ball Pokemon "Bonsly." In the original Japanese text, it was averted. But upon translation, a sentence said, "It's not like it can't be reflected." This left many readers confused as to whether or not Bonsly could be reflected, until a fan who could read Japanese told everyone what the original text said. <ref>It can be reflected.</ref>

* The linguistics blog ''Language Log'' has quite a few posts about "overnegations" and "misnegations" -- sentences—sentences where the multiple negatives are so confusing that even the speaker wasn't able to untangle them correctly. [http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2981 This] is a good example.