The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Parodied in ''[[Osmosis Jones]]'': Some cops go a sleazy bar, and the lead one announces, "We can make this easy... or hard." One cop behind him will apparently settle for otherwise, saying "Or, somewhere in between. Like, semi-easy, or medium hard," causing the lead cop to admonish him. "You don't get to say that!"

* ''[[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]''

{{quote|'''The Colonel:''' You can break easy mustang, or you can break hard.}}

* Inverted in ''[[Back to the Future (film)|Back to The Future]] Part II''. Biff's [[Mooks]] say this to Marty -- "the easy way" is being knocked on the head.

* ''Chain Lightning''

* In the 45-minute video ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters]'', a young man is threatened by a Maryland State Trooper to either "make it easy on himself" by consenting to a search of his car, or he can "make it hard on himself" (by refusing). They show two versions of the event: the guy stands on his rights, refuses the search, and gets only a traffic ticket; the guy lets the cop search, with him and all of the passengers in the car end up going to jail for possession of drugs. (Doesn't mention if he still gets the traffic ticket for which he was pulled over.)

* Variant in ''[[The Colour of Magic (film)|The Colour of Magic]]'' T.V. adaption; it features a part in which Rincewind and Twoflower are hiding under a sacrificial pyre from {{spoiler|wizards from the [[Wizarding School|Unseen University]] attempting to drag Rincewind back.}} They tell him that he can go the easy way or the very easy way. The easy way being that he comes out and goes along with them, the very easy way being that they light the pyre with him still under it.

 

== Literature ==

* Played with a few times in ''[[Discworld]]'' books.

** In the same book, another easy way turns out to involve using wolves to pull a sled.

{{quote|"I want it stopped. And I want it stopped the hard way."

"You want me to kill all the inquisitors? Right!"

"No. That's the easy way. I want as few deaths as possible." }}

{{quote|'''Granny Weatherwax:''' And the hard way's hard, but it's not half so hard as the easy way.}}

** Invoked in all but name, also from ''Carpe Jugulum'':

'''The Count:''' And that's what you call justice, is it?

'''Granny Weatherwax:''' No, that's what I call mercy. }}

* ''[[Tortall Universe]]'': Jokingly used by the friend of Beka (both of them are Provost's Guards, or protopolice) to get her to come to a breakfast. Quickly followed by [[I Always Wanted to Say That]].

 

== Live-Action TV ==

{{quote|'''Jack:''' Conan, this is important to me. So, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way.}}

* ''[[The A-Team]]'', episode "Steel".

'''Barney:''' What's the hard way? Security roughs me up and tosses me out?

'''Ellen:''' No. That's the easy way. The hard way is that I slap the crap out of you myself. }}

 

== Music Videos ==

* At the start of "Honey," [[Mariah Carey]], playing a captured spy, gets this choice.

 

== Video Games ==

* Played with in ''[[Serious Sam]]'', when adressing a group of baddies in a cutscene.

{{quote|'''[[Badass Normal|Sam]]:''' We can do this the hard way, or my way. [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|They're basically the same thing.]]}}

 

== Web Animation ==

* In episode 4 of the semi-interactive Flash cartoon ''3|Way'', to deal with some mooks you are given the choice between "the easy way... or the ''sleazy'' way." The easy way is violence; since this is a pornographic series, you can guess what's the sleazy way.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'': When the Butanian dragons refuse to side with Riboflavin against Voluptua, his response is, "[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100525.html A pity. I guess I'll have to do this the messy way after all. And I must admit... that will be more fun!!!]" He then starts blasting everything in sight with a [[BFG]].

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' had a [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-05-06 discussion on which way things will go]. Kevyn thinks the easy way is usually mined, Petey thinks it's an optimistic view.

 

== Western Animation ==

 

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[[Category:Stock Phrases]]

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