History Main / BackingAwaySlowly

For instances where a person slowly backs away from a wild or aggressive animal, see NiceKitty. When a person enters a room, sees another person in a compromising position, and immediately closes the door again, that's SorryToInterrupt. Contrast WalkingBackwards, which is where a person backs right ''into'' a monster or trap.

* In ''Film/CoolCatSavesTheKids'', a man can be seen in the background leaving his house, before seeing a man dressed as a cat shouting at some kids about why Graffiti is wrong and backing away.

* ''FanFic/{{Historys Strongest Shinobi}}'': When Naruto guilt-trips Ma Kensei to go see his daughter Renka, Naruto sticks around just long enough to see how happy Renka is at seeing her father before he silently exiting the buidling. Later on when Renka confronts him on this and asks why he left, Naruto admits that he felt like a third wheel intruding on their private moment only for Renka to point he didn't have to leave and how she's a little annoyed that she had to hunt him down just so she could thank him for bringing Ma Kensei to her.

--> ''"It doesn't matter how far you run, you won't ever get away," he heard her saying.

* In ‘’Film/Cool Cat Saves The Kids’’, a man can be seen in the background leaving his house, before seeing a man dressed as a cat shouting at some kids about why bullying is wrong and backing away

* On the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGenerationEpisode'' "Conspiracy" Picard starts to do this when he realizes that Starfleet has been infiltrated by worm eating aliens. Riker shows up behind him and convinces hims to stay for dinner.

** Played UpToEleven in "The Sweetest Apu", when Homer catches Apu having an affair at the Kwik-E-Mart and walks backward all the way to his house. The scene is repeated at the end, when Homer spies on Apu and Manjula having sex in their apartment and hops back home on his stilts.

* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': In the elevator, Egon activates Ray's proton pack and ''attempts'' to back himself and Peter away... ''but they're in a cramped elevator, so there's nowhere for them to go.''

* In the ''{{Series/Friends}}'' episode "TOW the Lesbian Wedding", everyone except Rachel, who was sitting down, does this when Phoebe claims that she was possessed by a massage client who died on the table.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

** In "Call of the Cutie," a recurring background character known as Dr. Hooves slowly backs away from Apple Bloom when she gets a bit pushy while selling apples.

The Backing Away Slowly trope occurs when a character slowly moves away from another character whose words or actions are making them feel awkward, embarrassed, or weirded out. They're not necessarily acting out of ''fear'' -- [[WalkingBackwards there's a separate trope for that]] -- so much as trying to discreetly remove or distance themselves from an uncomfortable situation before it gets even ''more'' uncomfortable.

** In the episode "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder," Homer goes into Lisa's room and offers to help with her homework, when Lisa says he can help her find words where "y is the bowel," [[BookDumb Homer, not understanding what she said]], backs out of her room.

* ''Fanfic/{{Quizzical}}'': From ''Thweet Geniuth'''''s'' ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/72475/19/thweet-geniuth/and-the-winner-is-reprise "And The Winner Is..." Reprise]]'':

-->'''Warden:''' Right. I believe this is the part where I back away slowly.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect''

-->'''EDI:''' [[RunningGag That was a joke.]]

* ''WebVideo/AuralnautsStarWars:'' In "Attack of the Phantom Past", Darth Vader chews out his daughter Leia for [[CallingOutForNotCalling not phoning him to let him know she was still alive]] (he thought she'd been killed when Laser Moon blew up). Boba Fett walks into the room shortly after Leia--then as the family argument gets awkward, he slowly walks backwards, the way he came.

* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': At the end of the second part his review of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Spoony is singing [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} "A Whole New World"]] when Dr. Insano walks in to tell him that [[Creator/{{Linkara}} Mechakara]] has stolen Neutro, sees him singing, and slowly backs away.

'''Katara:''' Both?! (''Turns on Aang in a rage'')[[SuddenlyShouting I'M COMPLETELY CALM!!!]]\\
'''Aang:''' I-I can see that. (''Quietly exits stage right'')

--> '''Marge:''' What are you doing? Why are you frosting that old throw pillow?
--> '''Homer:''' I could ask you the very same question.
--> '''Marge:''' Uh, should I just back out of the room?
--> '''Homer:''' Would you?
--> ''[Marge backs out of the kitchen.]''

''([=SpongeBob=] slides away)''

-->I'm just gonna back away slowly and come back when there's less weird shit.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Such a moment occurs in "Arrgh!".
-->'''Patrick:''' I'm so loyal, I haven't bathed in weeks!\\

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', this is one of the player's options at finding [[ItMakesSenseInContext Sten and the dog barking at each other]].

* After EDI [[spoiler: gains an android body]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Commander Shepard can talk to her on the bridge. After he/she inquires whether the new experience could be distracting, EDI says that she only forgets to recycle the ship's oxygen when she finds something ''truly'' interesting. The Commander gets a horrified look and slowly backs away.

* "The Great Money Caper," has this exchange:

** * In "Homer the Moe", Bart inexplicably begins digging a hole in the backyard. When Lisa asks him why, he claims he's [[InsaneTrollLogic making a hole for more digging]], causing her to back away from him.