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** Of course the best part is that even the audience doesn't know yet.
** During the Magical World arc, {{spoiler|we find out that the layout of the world they are on is similar to the planet Mars, and that [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|"joke"]] that Chao made earlier really IS a [[Cassandra Truth]]}}.
* In ''[[Black Butler (Manga)|Black Butler]]'', some torturers tell Sebastian (who is a demon disguised as a butler) that he'd better confess or they'll hurt him. He admits that he was responsible for the Black Death, but since [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|that was 500 years ago]], they don't believe him.
* Kida does this ''for'' Mikado in ''[[Durarara]]'' when some of Mikado's classmates overhear them talking about {{spoiler|Mika}} staying at Mikado's apartment.
* In a filler episode of ''[[One Piece]]'',Zoro is captured by the Marines and questioned by an officer about how they infiltrated their base. He sarcastically tells them the truth- they dropped in from the sky with the help of a giant octopus balloon. The officer thinks he's mocking him.
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== Fan Works ==
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|NGE]]'' fanfic ''[[Taking Sights (Fanfic)|Taking Sights]]'' indicates that you have to be real careful what you tell Rei because she CAN read between lines (despite her emotionless nature)...
{{quote| '''Asuka:''' Look, boy and girls... men and women too... have rituals.<br />
'''Rei:''' Rituals?<br />
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'''Asuka:''' [[Visible Silence|...]]<br />
'''Rei:''' Am I... in error? }}
* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon Big Damn Hero]]'', when Kyon's mother asks him if he's stopped being a delinquent, he replies that he's skipped straight to {{spoiler|joining the [[Yakuza]].}}
** Kyon uses Sarcastic Confessions many more times in the same fic, including the following gem (to {{spoiler|Sasaki, the resident [[Agent Scully]]}}):
{{quote| {{spoiler|Let's see ... I have to have a conversation with past instances of several people, rescue an heiress from twelve boryokudan thugs, arrange for an alien artifact to be delivered, and ... hum, tomorrow is Tuesday, so I really should [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|study for that math test, too.]]}}}}
* In the ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' fanfic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4754499/1/To_See_You_Again To See You Again]'', when Yuriko's parents demand to know what's been going on for the past forty chapters or so, she says, {{spoiler|"[Kenshin] came through a [[Time Travel|time-warp]], and I'm the [[Reincarnation]] [[Reincarnation Romance|of his wife]]."}} plus {{spoiler|"I mean, he's not like a hundred and fifty!"}} Of course, this is exactly what happened. {{spoiler|Yuriko's father actually figured out it was the truth by the epilogue. He was cool with it}}.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' [[Peggy Sue]] fanfiction ''[[Oh God Not Again (Fanfic)|Oh God, Not Again]]'', Harry constantly tells the truth about how he knows certain things, stating specifically that no one would believe the truth anyway.
* In [[A Hero (Fanfic)|A Hero]], a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' cross [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]] fanfic, Dalek Sec introduces himself like so: "I AM AN IM-PERIAL-IS-TIC SPACE NAZI."
* At one point in the ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5491874/7/Ghost_Zone_Experience Ghost Zone Experience]'', Maddie angrily tells Danny (when he's in his [[Secret Identity|ghost form]]) not to swipe their ghost hunting equipment (again). After [[Beat|a moment]], he cheekily replies with "Yes, mother."
* [[Yet Again|A quick snippet between Yugito and A.]]
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'''Ray:''' There is for priests, there isn't for children. }}
** ''[[In Bruges]]'' applies this trope to other characters too. But since the movie doesn't take place from their perspective, the audience finds themselves on the ''receiving end'' of sarcastic confessions and are not sure whether the character is telling the truth or just being sarcastic.
* In ''[[Little Big Man (Film)|Little Big Man]]'', Jack Crabb tells General Custer in the final battle scene exactly what's going to happen if he charges forward. Crabb gives Custer the information because he knows that he won't be believed, and he isn't.
* In ''[[Practical Magic]]'', Sally Owens accidentally kills Jimmy Angelov with an overdose of belladonna, and then after she and her sister resurrect him as a homicidal revenant, she is forced to kill him ''again''. Later in the film, when lawman Gary Hallet asks her if she killed Angelov, she answers -- perfectly truthfully and with a flippant tone -- "Oh, yeah. A couple of times."
** It's also worth mentioning that the reason she was forced to do this was because she was under a spell that made her unable to lie.
* In ''[[Red Eye (Filmfilm)|Red Eye]]'', there was a minor case of this. Jackson Rippner is very unhappy about his [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|meaningful name...]]
{{quote| '''Lisa:''' That wasn't very nice of your parents.<br />
'''Jackson:''' No! That's what I told them! Right before [[Self-Made Orphan|I killed them]]. }}
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* In ''[[Night Hawks]]'', the [[Big Bad]] is flirting with a girl when she asks him what he does for a living.
{{quote| "I'm an international terrorist wanted for bombings all over the world, and a lady-killer."}}
* In ''[[Closer (Film)|Closer]]'', Larry ask Alice (while she works as his stripper) what her real name is, and spends a good amount of money on it. She tells him it's Jane Jones. That being a rather unusual name, he doesn't believe her of course. At the end of the movie, we see her passport ...
* In ''The Accidental Golfer'', Bruno at one point is asked by his wife who just called him. He says truthfully that it was his lover. "Haha." his wife sarcastically answers.
* In ''Road to Perdition'' a waitress asks Michael Sullivan and his son what they are doing in the middle of nowhere. Michael Sullivan Jr answers that they are bank robbers in an innocent voice. She treats this as a joke and doesn't look into the string of bank robberies following the gangster and his son across America.
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'''Jack Sparrow:''' Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't believe the truth even if he told it to you. }}
** In ''On Stranger Tides'', Angelica tells Jack the truth about her being Blackbeard's daughter, but in such a way that he thinks she tricked Blackbeard into believing a lie.
* [[Show Me Love]]: Elin mixes this with [[Not Listening to Me, Are You?]] and adds in a pile of [[Coming Out Story|"Really needs to say this aloud to another person."]]
{{quote| [She and her mother is watching TV. Her mother is engrossed in the show.]<br />
'''Elin:''' [Out of the blue] Mom, I am a lesbian. I am a homosexual.<br />
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== Literature ==
* Happens a few times in Terry Pratchett's ''[[Discworld]]'' books.
** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents|The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents]]'', Malicia (the mayor's daughter) is an avid "storyteller" with a flair for the dramatic, insisting that every ordinary aspect of life in general has some sort of fairytale-themed supernatural basis. Of course, by this point nobody in town ever believes anything she says, so when the adults of the town finally stop carrying the [[Idiot Ball]] and go looking for the bad guys (for the wrong reason, of course) and question her and Keith, it leads to this little gem:
{{quote| Malicia rolled her eyes. "All right, yes," she said. "They got here and a talking cat helped us to feed them poison, and now they're locked in the cellar." The men looked at her. "Yeah, right," said the leader, turning away. "Well, if you ''do'' see them, tell them were looking for them, okay?" Malicia shut the door. "It's terrible, not being believed," she said.}}
** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Going Postal|Going Postal]]'', Moist Von Lipwig often states the truth of what he is as a criminal, and what he does, but in such a way that everyone takes it as him being heroic... and the only one who believes him (and who didn't know beforehand) not only forgives him for what he did that hurt her personally, but also enjoys watching him when he's in the midst of his latest scheme. Oh, and is his fiancée.
*** In Making Money, when this same phenomenon suddenly becomes tremendously inconvenient, he laments that he must have some dual superpower, to allow little old ladies to see right through him, but like what they see.
** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Hogfather|Hogfather]]'', Twyla's parents asked her governess Susan why she's going into the basement with a poker. Susan answered that Twyla thought she heard a monster in the basement. The parents then assumed that Susan was going to pretend to beat up a monster to assure Twyla that it was safe. They thought the bent poker was a nice touch...
* At the end of Patricia Briggs' ''[[Mercy Thompson|Mooncalled]]'', when asked about a large bruise, Jesse explains that her father had killed the one who gave it to her and it's laughed off, the questioner unaware that her father is the alpha of the local werewolf pack and really did kill the guy. Later, Mercy is asked about her broken arm.
{{quote| I remembered Jesse's method of telling the whole truth, and said, "I got knocked into a bunch of wooden crates by a werewolf while I was trying to rescue a young girl from the clutches of an evil witch and a drug lord."<br />
"Ha-ha," he said in the exact same tone as I'd given his joke. "Must have been something stupid if you won't tell the truth." }}
* Subverted in [[GKG. K. Chesterton]]'s short story "The Worst Crime in the World", in which [[Father Brown]] accompanies a lawyer to visit the father of Captain Musgrave. The priest's niece is considering marriage with the captain, while the lawyer's firm is considering lending him money, so they're interested in his character (and whether his father is on good enough terms with him to leave him money). The father says that while he will leave his son the estate, he will never speak to him again, because his son committed "the worst crime in the world". {{spoiler|In fact, the captain had murdered his father just before they arrived, and was passing himself off as his father during the conversation.}}
* San does this in ''Zen and the Art of Faking It''.
** [[Nosy Neighbor|OLD LADY]]: You again! What are you doing this time? [[Deadpan Snarker|SAN]]: (poking around in a sandbox) I'm looking for [[Keeping Secrets Sucks|a place to hide]] my coat, gloves, and sneakers because [[Living a Double Life|everyone at my school thinks]] I'm a [[The Stoic|Zen master]]. Is that okay? OLD LADY: Sure. Just try not to hide them behind my invisible flying saucer, alright?
* In [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]]'s ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' (the first [[Miss Marple]] novel), {{spoiler|two characters give implausible confessions shortly after the murder, apparently in mutual attempts to shield each other}}. In fact, they are telling the truth but are not believed.
* Another [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]] example: In ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'', the heroine, with the help of a doctor, decides to fake a car wreck in order to gain entrance to what she believes is the murderer's house. The results in the following exchange:
{{quote| '''Passerby:''' I say, has there been an accident?<br />
'''Doctor:''' No, the lady ran her car into the wall on purpose. }}
* At the end of [[Sherlock Holmes|"The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"]], [[Inspector Lestrade|Lestrade]] comes and gives Holmes a description of one of the men seen fleeing Milverton's residence the night he was murdered. Holmes laughs at the vagueness of the description and declines to take the case. "Why, that might even be a description of Watson..." {{spoiler|They witnessed his murder by a noblewoman of high standing, having broken in for information in the first place.}}
* In ''[[Artemis Fowl (Literature)|Artemis Fowl]]'', the fairies can't enter a human dwelling unless they've been invited. In a scene in the third book, Artemis sarcastically asks [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Jon Spiro if he thinks Artemis is going to get the C Cube back with the help of his fairy friends. Spiro laughs and tells Artemis that he can bring all the fairy friends he wants, giving Holly and the rest access to the building. Juliet later gets Holly permission to enter another building by adopting a "little girl" attitude and asking "Can I bring my invisible friend?"
* Partially subverted in ''[[The Sword of Truth]]''. A nondescript man shows up at the Wizard's Keep and declares, "I am an assassin, sent by Emperor Jagang, to kill Richard Rahl. Could you direct me to him please?" As would probably happen in real life, the guards aren't sure whether to believe him or not, but they '''do''' assume that this guy is trouble somehow and treat him as a threat. The subversion is that his aim was to be taken prisoner and taken inside the Keep, which is what happens; at which point, he reveals that he is a wizard and starts kicking people's asses in an endeavour to do exactly what he said he would do. They beat him, but with difficulty.
* In Simon Hawke's ''[[Time Wars]]'' book ''The Zenda Vendetta'', one of the main characters is impersonating the protagonist of ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'', who is supposed to be impersonating the kidnapped king of Ruritania. The king's fiancée comments that he's been acting strange and jokingly asks what he's done with the real king. The impostor replies, with perfect honesty, that the king has been locked up in Zenda Castle as part of a plot by his half-brother, and she tells him not to joke about something like that.
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* ''The Shaman Laughs'', by James D. Doss. {{spoiler|The perpetrator confesses directly to the police under the guise of helping them with their investigation.}}
* Subverted in ''Into the Thinking Kingdom'', where Simna when captured mentions something about his captors. When they ask how he knows he sarcastically says "A little bird told me" which is just a saying. His captors freak out, as it turns out they actually have birds that are basically thought reading parrots, and they start to think that Simna is actually an extremely perceptive and dangerous person.
* In ''[[Night World]]'', Quinn talks to some girls at a death-themed club he frequents that he might be from another world, or that maybe he isn't human. When [[Action Girl|Rashel]] says that she came to the club to find darkness while [[Dressing Asas the Enemy|flirting with him]], he laughs, "And you found it!" Lampshaded:
{{quote| That's right, Rashel thought. Make fun of them by telling them a truth they won't believe.}}
* In ''[[The Alchemist (Literature)|The Alchemist]]'', when guards ask the eponymous Alchemist what the egg and bottle of liquid in his possession are, he replies that they're actually the fabled Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life, and they share a good laugh. He later explains to the young protagonist that he could tell them the truth because only wise men can recognize truth in front of them.
* [[Stanislaw Lem]]'s ''Peace on the Earth'' contains "history" of weapon design in the beginning of the third millenium. It was published separately with preface claiming that the text is secret document in future, and the author found no better way to hide the document than to publish it as Sci-Fi.
* [[Barbara Hambly (Creator)|Barbara Hambly]]'s ''[[Literature/The Windrose Chronicles|Dog Wizard]]'': When a wizard from another world is exiled to San Francisco and joins a dojo to keep up his sword fighting skills, he explains that his technique may be a bit unique as he is a wizard in exile from another world.
* In ''[[Young Wizards|DeepWizardry]]'', Nita reacts to a question from her little sister about where she and Kit have been all day with, "Turning into whales." {{spoiler|Subverted in that said little sister connects the dots with some other weirdness that's been going on, and her suspicions are not allayed in the slightest.}}
* Bit of an inversion in ''[[Dangerous Liaisons (Literature)|Dangerous Liaisons]]'': Valmont was having an affair with a woman whose bedroom was placed between her husband's and her lover's rooms. When she tried to go back to her room the door was locked. Valmont convinced her to scream loudly, then he broke down the door, letting her run into bed while pretending to the husband and lover that she had been screaming for some minutes before they heard her pretending that she woke up and thought there was an intruder. She was able to truthfully claim that she had never been so terrified.
* Alden Nowlan's poem "Fair Warning", where the author is detailing his imprisonment of his brother, explains why the poem exists:
{{quote| ''I could confess to<br />
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== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'':
** Used by {{spoiler|Cordelia}}, right to Angel's face, stating how she caused the entire first half of the season as a sarcastic confession.
** Inverted by Angelus, who uses a sarcastic denial of guilt to torment his friends. He's discovered drinking a dead person's blood, and declares that it [[Not What It Looks Like|isn't what looks like]]. It isn't--he just found the corpse after it was killed by [[The Mole|the same mole as in the above example]], and was feeling peckish.
* Sometimes used in ''[[Bones]]'', confusing Dr. Brennan.
* In ''[[Alias Smith and Jones (TV)|Alias Smith and Jones]]'', Heyes and Curry find themselves accidentally impersonating two of the agents who are supposed to catch them. Another agent realizes they're not who they say they are and asks their real names. Heyes promptly says, "Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry", and the agent assumes they just don't want to tell him who they really are.
* In the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'', Tyrol is afraid at one point that he might be a Cylon sleeper agent; {{spoiler|the priest, Cavil,}} assures him that he is not. When Tyrol asks him how he knows, {{spoiler|Cavil}} sarcastically replies "because I'm a Cylon, and I've never seen you at any of our meetings." Of course, no one takes it seriously at the time... but then he's revealed to be a Cylon in the very next episode. Savvy viewers start suspecting it from that line alone, since Chip Six made the same joke earlier.
** {{spoiler|At the end of season three, Tyrol actually is revealed as a Cylon. So Cavil wasn't right after all. Of course, the final five explicitly are said to be not like normal [[Artificial Human|humanoid models]], and the others are explicitly not even supposed to think about them, so Cavil really ''hasn't'' seen them at the meetings.}}
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** In ''Hard Out'', Michael is trapped on an island with a bunch of nasty mercenaries, so he pretends to be a superior in their chain of command. When he's asked why they should believe his story, he pulls this on them: "oh, you think we're lying, smart guy? You think we're intruders who just ''landed'' on this island with heavily armed troops, we walked right up to you, just to tell you you have a broken comlink?" Yes, in fact. (He left out merely the part where the comlink is broken because he just destroyed it.)
*** Later in that episode, he pulls the same line as in the previous example: "For all we know, a team of highly-trained operatives could be after those files, ''right now''!" (Indeed there are, and they're talking to one of them.)
* A variant (sarcastic ''Denial'') occurs in the ''[[Blackadder (TV)|Blackadder]] The Third'' episode "Nob and Nobility". Having killed [[The Scarlet Pimpernel (Literaturenovel)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]], Blackadder tells Prince George that the ''real'' Pimpernel would never admit his identity, so the Prince's enormous postal order belongs to someone who has been to France and rescued an aristocrat but, when asked "Are you the Scarlet Pimpernel?", replies "No sir. Of course not." George quickly realizes that Blackadder has (supposedly) been to France and rescued an aristocrat, and asks if he is the Scarlet Pimpernel. Blackadder replies, completely truthfully, "No sir. Of course not."
** In the Christmas special the Elizabethan Blackadder performs a double bluff wherein he confesses truthfully to Lord Melchett (Stephen Fry) that the queen is thinking of beheading anyone who tries to give her a present, knowing that he'll think it to be a lie and decide to give her one. (This leads to the hilarious line, "Baldrick, you wouldn't know a subtle plan if it got naked, painted itself purple, and danced around on top of a harpsichord singing "Subtle plans are here today!") The plan backfires when the queen changes her mind and ends up demanding a present from Blackadder, who of course doesn't have one, but he gets it to backfire *again* in his favor when he tricks Melchett and the queen into signing a death warrant for Melchett and persuades her to let him inherit all of the things she promised Fry's character in exchange for his gift.
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''. House was taken away by the CIA, and when he called Dr. Wilson, Wilson (at least initially) [[Cassandra Truth|didn't believe him]]. Dr. Cuddy (their boss) asks Wilson where House is, and she [[Cassandra Truth|doesn't believe Wilson, either]]. At the end of the episode, Cuddy asks House where he's been, and tells him he better not say it was the CIA or she'll give House and Wilson extra clinic hours. House then had to come up with an alternative explanation Cuddy will actually believe. Unfortunately, Cuddy wouldn't believe that House would be willing to be hired for a day by a rich guy with a sick child, stating that it's actually ''more'' plausible that House was with the CIA (and they get the extra clinic hours).
** Used straight in the episode "Top Secret", where Foreman almost catches Chase and Cameron having sex at the workplace while they should be watching over a patient. When he later inquires what they were doing, Chase comes with a quick and shady excuse that just seems to make the exposing of their naughty deed inevitable. At this point Cameron tells the truth, which Foreman just grimaces over and drops the subject.
{{quote| '''Foreman:''' ''(laughs)'' [[Ho Yay|House would do Wilson before you'd do Chase.]]}}
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'''Nate:''' Yes. Come on, man, who better?<br />
'''Chuck:''' Who better indeed. }}
* In a ''[[3rd Rock From the Sun|3rd Rock from the Sun]]'' episode where Sally, Tommy and Harry broke into Mary's house and decided to stay even after Officer Don showed up:
{{quote| '''Suzie Martin:''' Hi, you must be Mary Albright.<br />
'''Sally:''' Uh... yeah. Otherwise I'd be this strange person that broke in and was hanging around even though the police told me to leave. }}
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** And in a flashback to his first date with Rita, she says his sister has been telling her all about him, and he jokes, "You mean she admitted the fact that I'm an ax murderer?"
*** Actually, that's not ''exactly'' a confession. He uses a big knife.
* In ''[[Primeval]]'', after a mammoth has ravaged the M25 Motorway, this exchange occurs between [[Butterfly of Doom|Jenny]] and an [[Intrepid Reporter|intrepid reporter]]:
{{quote| '''Reporter:''' I've seen the pictures. That thing is too big to be an elephant.<br />
'''Jenny:''' Do you know what? You're right. It's actually a mammoth.<br />
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* On the ''[[Taxi]]'' episode "Crime and Punishment", Louie has been embezzling money from the company, and when this money is discovered to be missing, he attempts to frame Jeff in hopes that the whole thing will blow over without incident. Alex, who all along suspected that Louie was covering his own crime, threatened to turn him in if he didn't himself. Louie confesses in private with their manager, who immediately breaks down laughing in disbelief, and even drops charges against Jeff because of how ridiculous he find the idea of Louie committing this theft. When Alex arrives to ensure that Louie confessed, they both partake in hilarity over his "alleged" dishonesty, with Louie even pretending to steal a piece of office equipment on the way out.
* ''[[Dollhouse]]'': Paul Ballard, who's been in the role of [[Agent Mulder]] all season with regard to the Dollhouse, invokes it deliberately when he tells the perfect truth to FBI agents summoned by a fake report of a terrorist threat: there is no threat, but they're standing in front of the Dollhouse and he can show them everything. As he expected, they leave in disgust.
* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'': While visiting a film studio with Tobias, Maeby ducks into an empty office to use the phone. She's found by an employee:
{{quote| '''Jeff:''' Sorry, is this your office?<br />
'''Maeby:''' No, I'm just sitting behind someone else's desk, pretending these are my kids. }}
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* In ''[[The Office]]'', a series of suspicious mouse-clicks and taps leads Dwight to believe that Jim and Pam are talking about him behind his back in Morse code. Jim says, sarcastically, that yes, new parents Jim and Pam used their very limited time and money to learn Morse code specifically to mess with Dwight.
{{quote| '''Jim:''' ''(later, in interview)'' Yep, that's ''exactly'' what we did.}}
* In the ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' episode "The Beginning of the End," King Uther orders the execution of a young druid boy, Mordred. Merlin and Morgana notice he's been injured, and hide him in Morgana's room. When Prince Arthur comes into the room to look for the kid (he's doing a city-wide search), he and Morgana share this little gem of an exchange:
{{quote| '''Arthur:''' As much as I'd like to stay and talk, the sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be finished.<br />
'''Morgana:''' Well, I'll save you the trouble.<br />
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'''Morgana:''' In my experience you don't need any help looking like a fool. }}
** In "The Darkest Hour", Merlin tells Arthur "You have no idea how many times I've saved your life". Arthur's response is that when he's king, Merlin can be his court jester.
* Happens on ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]'' when Brian is trying to figure out if Joe slept with Alex (whom both the brothers have been pursuing).
{{quote| '''Brian:''' Joey, you're my brother. Just tell me. Whatever you say, I'll believe it.<br />
'''Joe:''' All right. I didn't sleep with her.<br />
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'''Peter:''' Fine. Don't tell me. }}
* In Season Two of the US ''[[Big Brother]]'', "Evil Doctor Will" Kirby started out the game by literally telling ''everyone'' that he was untrustworthy, and that his strategy would be to lie, cheat, and steal from ''everyone else'' in the house, and backstab any so-called allies he might have as soon as there was profit to be had in betraying them. Everyone thought he was hilarious. Of course, this is exactly how he played the game and walked away with the prize.
* [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]: In the series 3 episode "Second Skin", the crew has to infiltrate Cardassian space, sneak onto Cardassia Prime and rescue the kidnapped Major Kira from the jaws of the Obsidian. Since they need his help, they take Garak with them but he's supposed to be confined to crew quarters until they reach Cardassia. Odo drags Garak onto the bridge for lurking suspiciously around some phaser banks to be given a reprimand by Sisko. Garak sarcastically tells them that he was merely going for a walk because the quarters are making him feel claustrophobic. No-one believes him but the whole incident, including the length of the exchange caused by his sarcastic "lie" does the job of getting him onto the bridge and then keeping him there long enough for trouble with Cardassian checkpoints to occur in his presence so he can step in and solve the crisis before it gets out of hand. Then, in series 5, it's finally revealed that Garak was telling the truth about suffering from claustrophobia: he has a very acute form of the condition that utterly debilitates him when it flares up.
 
 
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* At the climax of the film/play ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', Mortimer uses sarcasm combined with [[Refuge in Audacity]] to convince the police captain that his old aunts are crazy when they casually confess to having thirteen bodies buried in their cellar. It helps that they've just signed papers committing themselves to a mental institution.
* In ''[[Pygmalion]]'', Henry Higgens is successfully (if secretly) passing off Eliza as a Duchess at a grand Ball; when he himself is asked his opinion of her, he says she's just a poor flower girl.
* In the musical version of ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (Theatretheatre)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'', Sir Percy announces that he's the Scarlet Pimpernel in the middle of the royal ball, much to the amusement of all present.
 
 
== Video Games ==
* The ''[[Tales Series(series)]]'' likes this one. At least once every game, one of the characters will reveal their tragic and touching emo backstory with fanfare... and then, having elicited sympathy from the rest of the party, they'll proceed to claim they were "just kidding".
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] IV: Oblivion'' features a quest where you have to kill everyone at a party, [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]] style. When you introduce yourself, one of the conversation options is "I'm an assassin, sent to kill you.", which just earns you a laugh -- "Well, I'm glad someone has a sense of humour about this event." -- and immediately maxes out her disposition toward you.
* In ''[[Fahrenheit (2005 video game)]]/Indigo Prophecy'', at one point either Carla Valenti or Tyler Miles goes talk to Lucas Kane about the murder case. Then they show him a composite sketch of the killer (said sketch's accuracy depending on the player's actions earlier). The only way to avoid raising suspicion is an option marked "Joke" where he says, "That could be a lot of people I know. Heck, it could even be me!"
* Iori Yagami from ''[[King of Fighters]]'' sarcastically claims that despite his violent tendencies, Orochi blood, and generally being a [[Jerkass]], he hates violence. The fandom is torn as to whether or not his comment was sarcastic.
** This is implied to be genuine. He holds a deep hatred towards his father for making him what he is today; his initial hostility towards Kyo stems from the their clan rivalry, and Iori figured that killing Kyo (his father's intention apparently) would end his suffering.
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* Used in ''[[X-Change|X-change Alternative]]''. When the protagonist's parents are on the phone and questioning him about why his voice sounds so odd, the player can choose to either lie or just admit his situation. The latter results in him snapping and explaining how a bizarre drug turned him into a girl, laughing insanely all the while and making no attempt to hide his lighter voice. Not only do they assume it's some elaborate joke, it's also the only way to deflect their suspicion.
* ''[[Alpha Protocol]]'' has a scene where the main character meets [[Hot Scoop|Scarlet]] for the first time. They engage in small talk, and when she asks what you do for a living, one option is to admit you're a spy, which Mike does [[Deadpan Snarker|in his usual tone of voice]]. Naturally, she doesn't believe you.
* Arcade Gannon from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' will joke with you that he used to be a militant fascist if you ask about his past. {{spoiler|He used to be a member of the Enclave.}}
** Ends up being a slight subversion. Arcade never was {{spoiler|an actual member of the Enclave. The Enclave collapsed when he was still a child.}}
** You can also inform Yes Man that you are the Courier who he was [[Right in Front of Me|just bragging about having helped set up his/her capture and "death" by shot to the head]]. He starts laughing and assumes you're joking since you "still have a head". Once you claim you're serious [[Oh Crap|he stops laughing]].
* From the last case of ''[[Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]'' : {{spoiler|"Surely, you aren't going to suggest I was responsible for poisoning her father, too?"}}
** And from Case 4 of ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' when {{spoiler|Calisto Yew says she is not Cece Yew's sister}}.
 
 
== Web Comics ==
* On the ''[[Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|Schlock Mercenary]]'' forums, someone once made a joke to the effect "The author'll have to {{spoiler|[[Apocalypse How|blow up the Milky Way]]}} next to top himself." The author responded, "[[Sure Why Not|Hey, I should write this stuff down!]]" A year or two later...
** Kevyn{{spoiler|'s time-clone}} managed to pull one off [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20100724.html here] by [[Crying Wolf]].
* Basic premise of the Comet, the tabloid newspaper for which our protagonists work in ''Scandal Sheet!'' As Detweiler, the editor-in-chief, puts it, "We operate on two principles. First, that the most artistic way to lie is to tell the truth so unconvincingly that people are sure you are lying, and second, the best place to hide a needle isn't a haystack -- it's a [[Needle in A Needle Stack|big pile of other needles]]." As it turns out, {{spoiler|the Comet actually employs a sasquatch named Phil and regularly gets information from a vampire named Samantha. They consider it their role in life to protect the rare and endangered supernatural beings of the Earth from being discovered and exploited by others. As such, most of the stories in the paper are made-up crap, but some of them are true -- no journalist with any self-respect at all will pursue them, though, since it's well-known that once it's been in the Comet, it can't possibly be correct.}}
** [[Men in Black (Filmfilm)|So, Agent K was right about tabloids?]]
* Haley of ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|The Order of the Stick]]'' uses a variant of this [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0129.html here,] where she tells the truth entirely, but everyone assumes she's lying, which she takes advantage of for profit.
** Why, that's a [[Batman Gambit|Batman]] [[Sarcastic Confession|Confession]]!
* ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]'' [http://samandfuzzy.com/archive.php?comicID=838 here].
* [http://www.crfh.net/d/20090215.html This strip] of ''[[College Roomies Fromfrom Hell]]!!!''
* Invoked in ''[[Erfworld]]'', Summer Update 22:
{{quote| '''ChrlsNChrg:''' There's an interesting principle at work, here.<br />
Line 412:
But if I charge them what the information is worth, then they'll buy it.<br />
'''LordHamster:''' In both senses. }}
* Aggressively invoked in [http://shortpacked.com/comic/book-1-brings-back-the-80s/04-roomies/a-49/ this] ''[[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|Shortpacked]]'' strip.
* Done accidentally in ''[[The Wotch]]'', in [http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2003-06-02 this comic]. Jason is trying to keep Ivan off the trail and outright lies to him. When Ivan calls his bluff, Jason tells the truth. Then Ivan decides that Jason was lying the ''second'' time, and goes along with what Jason said the ''first'' time, when he was outright lying.
{{quote| ''Jason:''' Wow, I'm more clever than I thought.}}
* Pulled twice in ''[[Captain SNES]]''. Both comics have "The Best Lie" in the title (with the first following with "is the Truth".) [http://www.captainsnes.com/2005/05/28/485-the-best-lie-is-the-truth/ The first time], Alex convinces [[Lufia|Daos]] that he put up a powerful mental shield so that Daos could not see his greatest fear, when, actually, his greatest fear (Evil Otto from ''Berzerk'') looked like something that Daos didn't consider remotely terrifying (a blinking smiley face.) [http://www.captainsnes.com/2008/09/16/569-the-best-lie/ The second], [[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Bass]], after having already bluffed Amon into believing that he could achieve great power in the desert, admits (in a nervous tone) that he lied previously and was trying to trick Amon.
{{quote| '''Bass:''' In fact, I'm doing it right now!}}
* ''[[Last Res 0 rtRes0rt]]'' has Jigsaw Forte [http://www.lastres0rt.com/2009/03/ask-a-stupid-question/ pulling this one off:]
{{quote| '''Jason:''' Tell me where Daisy went already! You should know!<br />
'''Jigsaw:''' Sure, because we all know I'm a mind reader. After this we're planning a magic act. Think you'd look good in sequins? }}
Line 426:
 
== Web Original ==
* ''[[SkippysSkippy's List (Literature)|Skippys List]]'' has examples:
{{quote| 199. I should not confess to crimes that took place before I was born.}}
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfAvN6rXdkM From] ''[[Superman: theThe Animated Series]]'', "[[Lobo|The Main Man]]":
{{quote| '''Lois:''' I'm confused, Kent. See, I've lived in Metropolis most of my life and I can't figure out how some yokel from Smallville is suddenly getting every hot story in town.<br />
'''Clark:''' Well, Lois, the truth is, I'm actually Superman in disguise and I only pretend to be a journalist in order to hear about disasters as they happen, and then squeeze you out of the byline.<br />
Line 454:
* Tuddrussel from ''[[Time Squad]]'' used this in "Ivan The Untrainable, when Larry asked him about strange events from last few days.'''Tuddrussel''': Are you accusing me of smuggling Ivan The Terrible on board the satellite? Cause that's just crazy! Oh what, do you think I smuggled him under my shirt before we zapped back, and then locked him in the storage and fed him on table scraps? I mean come on!". He did it.
** Later in "Out With The In Crowd", Larry and Tuddrussel try to hide Otto from fellow officers J.T. Laser and Lance 9 Trillion, they nervously laugh him off saying- "Well he's certainly not an orphan we've borrowed from the Twentieth century."
* In ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', [[Big Bad|Vlad]] does this a lot, particularly in [[The Movie]], where he several times admits he's a diabolical supervillain, takes a pause, and then joins in the laughter at that [[Villain Withwith Good Publicity|utterly ridiculous idea]].
* Hilariously inverted in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Ladder to Heaven." God catches Saddam Hussein building a "chocolate-chip cookie factory" and, suspecting that the dictator is actually building a nuclear weapons plant, calls him out on it. Saddam immediately denies it, whereupon God comments that "it looks like a weapons plant to me." "Come on, God," Saddam argues. "If I were really gonna do that, I wouldn't make it ''look'' like a weapons plant. I'd make it look like [[Irony|a chocolate-chip cookie factory, or something!"]] "Well, I guess you're right," God admits, and then God leaves - causing Saddam to smirk and mutter: "Stupid asshole...."
* On an episode of ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'', a robbery attempt goes sour when the cops show up. A woman known to the crooks as "Sally" angrily demands to know who called the police. When no one owns up to it, she shrugs and says "Well, I guess it was me!" It was. "Sally" was actually Detective Elisa Maza in disguise.
* Inverted (and combined with [[Crying Wolf]]) in the [[Regular Show]] episode "Grilled Cheese Deluxe". After an episode of competing to see who was the better liar, Benson demands to know what happened to mangle his sandwich so. Rigby excitedly gives a garbled, but truthful, explanation of the rather fantastic events between Benson discovering the theft of his first sandwich, and the current one being placed in his hands; Benson chews him out for lying. Mordecai, worn out and frustrated, drops a much shorter and more plausible lie, and Benson says, "There. Now wasn't it so much easier telling the truth?"
* In [[Pinky and The Brain]], this was how the Brain got out of being asked too many uncomfortable questions by nosy humans
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