Stealth Insult: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

== Comic Books ==

* In ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', the gangster, Ally is hired by the new police chief, Creedy.

{{quote|Ally: Yer predecessor, Mr Almond wouldna' have had time fer a man like me, a verra superior man, Mr Almond. Now you sir, you're not superior. Quite the reverse, in fact.}}

* In the comic version of ''[[300]]'', Leonidas and the remaining Spartans are surrounded by Xerxes' army after they were betrayed by the Spartan {{spoiler|Ephialtes}}. Leonidas tells him, "May you live forever" before taking his last stand. This phrase may sound oddly complimentary until you realize that living forever in Spartan culture, as opposed to dying gloriously in battle, is a dishonorable fate.

 

* In Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', the Sultan insults ''himself'' in a very subtle way. He is wondering why Jasmine can't choose a suitor to marry, then adds 'Her mother wasn't nearly so picky.' It may take the audience a little while to notice the self-deprecation.

* In Disney's ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'', Bagheera delivers a sharp one when Baloo is trying to make himself look like someone who can be trusted to raise Mowgli (see page quote).

* In Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', Belle casually calls Gaston "primeval". It's only a stealth insult because [[Book Dumb|Gaston]] has no idea what primeval means.

* In Disney's ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperors New Groove]]'', Kronk remarks that one would think [[Spoiled Brat|Kusco]] would have turned out better, in response to [[Evil Chancellor|Yzma]] stating that she practically raised him. It's not entirely certain if Kronk even ''intended'' this to be an insult, given he's [[Dumb Muscle]].

* In the comedy film ''[[Liar Liar]]'', [[Jim Carrey]]'s character, who has been cursed to tell the truth for one day, is forced to tell his coworkers ''exactly'' what he thinks of them (not very complimentary thoughts, to say the least), but manages to save himself from disaster by [[Sarcastic Confession|affecting a mocking tone of voice]], thus convincing his coworkers that his insults are [[The Roast|only outrageous jokes.]]

* ''[[Time Bandits]]''.

'''Wadsworth:''' You don't need any help from me, sir.

'''Col. Mustard:''' That's right! }}

 

== Literature ==

{{quote|'''Sybill Trelawney''': Everything went pitch black and the next thing I knew, I was being hurled headfirst out of the Room!

'''Harry Potter''': And you didn't see that coming? }}

* ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' is good with these: in the later books of the series, most Gatherings consist almost entirely of the Clans taking jabs at each other in this manner.

{{quote|"I am pleased to hear that you are getting so much use out of a piece of land prey-poor by ThunderClan standards."}}

{{quote|'''Sgt. Colon''': I know something about seaweed, sir.

'''Vetinari''': You do?

* [[Jeeves and Wooster|Bertie Wooster]] calls out [[The Jeeves|Jeeves]] on the way he says "Well, sir," and "Indeed, sir?"

{{quote|'''Bertie''': "The impression I retain after hearing you shoot it at me a couple of times is that you consider me to be talking through the back of my neck, and that only a feudal sense of what is fitting restrains you from substituting for it the words 'Says you!'"}}

 

== Live-Action TV ==

{{quote|'''Helen:''' But I don't have any funny lines!

'''Jennifer:''' Don't blame your tools. }}

* Major Burns in ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|Mash]]'' is a frequent target, except for those times when people insult him to his face. Two examples:

{{quote|'''Burns''': Wasn't your nose broken?

* [[Mad Men]]'s Pete Campbell gets off a [[Crowning Moment of Funny|pretty awesome one]] in S3 when he assures his old college buddy that his idea for a national jai alai league is "exactly [[The Gambling Addict|my]] [[Impoverished Patrician|father's]] sort of investment."

* [[House]]: when House tests candidates for his team at the beginning of the 4th season, one of the candidates's theories is shot down by Foreman. When House confirms that the candidate's idea was actually good, the candidate subtly looks at Foreman and gets some dust out of his eye... with his middle finger.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

'''Pig''': ''Ohhh'', thank you!! Thank you!!

'''Rat''': ''(to Goat)'' The best insults are the ones that look like compliments. }}

 

== Tabletop Games ==

{{quote|''The real advantage of being a zombie gamer? No one notices the stench.''}}

 

** Another notable example is ''[[Hamlet]]'', where the titular character made many of these comments, most notably urging his then-girlfriend Ophelia, "[[Get Thee to a Nunnery]]". ("Nunnery" was slang for "brothel" at the time.)

** Hamlet calls Polonius a "Fishmonger". When he was corrected, he responded with regret that Polonius was not so honorable a man. It seems to fit in with Hamlet's "antic disposition," but fishmonger is thought to be period slang for "fleshmonger." In other words, he's saying that Polonius is lower than a pimp.

{{quote|'''The poets''' ''(with mouths crammed full):'' Exquisite! Delicious! }}

* ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' has both Stanley and Blanche firing these off at one another at certain points. One memorable moment is when they talk about horoscopes, with Blanche under the assumption that Stanley is an Aries (forceful and dynamic) while Stanley scoffs at Blanche's sign being Virgo the Virgin (in which she's the opposite).

 

== Video Games ==

* Used in [http://megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=234 this] ''[[Megatokyo]]'' strip, when Seraphim insults Asmodeus by saying "My partner's far sexier than you are", and he's still smiling because he thinks he's still up there. Little to his knowledge, the partner is [[Baldur's Gate|Boo]].

* In ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'', a black market weapons dealer is trying to sell to Serron and Iki Piki. He says that a new weapon is a quantum leap above its predecessors. Iki Piki says that "quantum leap" [[You Keep Using That Word|actually means]] the smallest possible unit of change. When the dealer doesn't understand, Iki Piki says that his brain is obviously a quantum leap above primordial protoplasm. The dealer responds with "flattery will get you nowhere"

* When she needs to find a secret passageway in ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Agatha muses that they just need to “Think like a diabolical, paranoid, amoral megalomaniac.” Cue [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|Tarvek]] finding it [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101124 right off the bat].

* ''[[Bobwhite]]''. [http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20090429 Ivy's response to Marlene's film] comes across like she was trying to compliment Marlene but was insulting anyway.

'''Marlene:''' Okay, no talking during the movie. }}

* Probably accidental example: the conclusion of "Abbygate". When ''[[Ctrl+Alt+Del]]'' creator Tim Buckley apologized for "accidentally" plagiarizing another artist's work ([http://forums.somethingawful.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=777097 compare]) the original artist was extremely gracious (him returning from a tropical vacation where he proposed to his girlfriend probably helped) and hoped Buckley's "little webcomic" becomes successful in the future. ''CAD'' [[Webcomics Long Runners|has been running since 2002, is still running as of 2018, and is one of the best-known web comics on the internet]].

 

* [[Acts of Gord]], [http://www.actsofgord.com/Annoy/ Book of Annoyances], [http://www.actsofgord.com/Annoy/chapter03.php Chapter 3];

{{quote|'''Gord:''' I'm sorry, I'm afraid I subscribe to the theory of intellectual osmosis. As such, I must now cease our conversation and move away from you before my intelligence begins to drop. Good day.}}

{{quote|''[[The Prophecy (film)|The Prophecy]]'' featured a pragmatic Lucifer (played by [[The Lord of the Rings|Viggo Mortensen]]) who has the angelic habit of perching atop things like a bird. Satan {{spoiler|saves the main cast from an evil Gabriel, who was on a rampage against mankind. His own selfish motives being "we don't need another hell up there"}}.

* Which is almost repeated in ''[[Constantine]]'', down to the name of {{spoiler|the rebel angel}}. However, ''The Prophecy'' could have been based on or inspired by the ''Hellblazer'' series. }}

 

== Western Animation ==

{{quote|'''Brad:''' "Mom and dad said I watch you good they'll let me take my driver's test again!"

'''Kick:''' "...Fifth time's the charm." }}

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dialogue]]

[[Category:Insult Tropes]]

[[Category:Oh Great a Snark Index]]