History Main / CrocodileTears

** In "[[Recap/TotalDramaTortoiseRigamortis Tortoise Rigamortis]]", Julia weeps while guilt tripping Emma for killing a turtle to get her eliminated. However, the others instead vote for her because she proved to be a challenge threat.

The PsychopathicManchild can be prone to this.

Often a key part of a WoundedGazelleGambit, especially if [[BeautifulTears the tears make them look more attractive]]. Contrast StepfordSmiler. Compare MistakenForBrooding.

[[caption-width-right:350:You'd think after [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic eleven games]], they'd have learned by now.]]

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* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''

** In [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]], a Teddiursa pulls this by [[WoundedGazelleGambit framing Chikorita and Totodile for stealing food and beating it up.]] Actually, said Pokémon were trying to stop it. But when Teddiursa tries this with Bulbasaur, Ash and his friends don't fall for it this time.
** Also in the anime, [[spoiler:Shamus reveals he uses this tactic whenever he abandons a Pokémon so that they'll leave him alone.]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse,'' [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon Aquamarine]]'s design invokes this--she has a tear-shaped [[HeartDrive gem]] right under her eye, but she's actually a [[FauxAffablyEvil condescending]] JerkAss who [[HumansAreInsects treats humans like bugs]] and [[MeanBoss isn't much nicer]] to [[AntiVillain Topaz]], either.

* One ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' NonSerialMovie had a big-name actress use eyedrops to create fake tears (because she'd become such a BrokenBird that she was now an EmotionlessGirl).
* Quoted word for word in episode 37 of ''Motto'' ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi''. [[spoiler:In this case, Onpu was using these to try and lure out the fairies who had begun a rebellion and were refusing to leave the Recipe Diary and thus block progress.]]
* An episode of Anime/ParanoiaAgent features an Internet suicide pact between two men who are shocked to discover that their third member is a little girl. When they decide to leave her behind, she tries to guilt-trip them by crying, even though there are no visible tears.
* Kokinchan from ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}'' constantly uses these. As an added bonus, if other people are hit by her tears, they'll start crying uncontrollably. She's a little girl, so she uses these to get what she wants, or just to get other people to start crying. When her needs are satisfied, she'll stop crying at the drop of a hat.
* Kanna did this on her first day of school in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' in order to get [[LovableAlphaBitch Saikawa]] to drop her {{Tsundere}} act and [[IJustWantToHaveFriends become friends with her]]. She dropped the act when [[BigEater Saikawa offered her some candy]].
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'', Dio Brando sheds such tears while pretending to be remorseful over poisoning Jonathan's father. He tearfully begs for forgiveness in an attempt to lure Jonathan close enough to stab him with a hidden dagger. The tactic almost works. However, Jonathan's friend Speedwagon sees through Dio's trick and warns Jonathan in time. Dio is quick to drop the act once confronted.
** This act is pulled off again by Esidisi in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'' in an effort to get a cheap shot in on Joseph.
* A FillerVillain in ''Anime/FistOfTheNorthStar'', Galzus, used this as his defining act of cruelty, tricking his opponent into dropping their guard by claiming that he had a sister that Souther had kidnapped and then killing them. Naturally, Kenshiro wasn’t fooled (and by that time he’d already hit some of Galzus' power points, resulting in Galzus being blown up anyway).
* In the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' light novel ''Sig's Secret'', Witch acts surprisingly heartbroken over the girls deciding not to use one of her potions for the benefit of the cafe they're setting up. Amitie approaches Witch to cheer her up... but then Witch decides to start a puyo battle on Amitie out of nowhere.
-->'''Amitie:''' Are you kidding me!? All those tears were an act!?
* In ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'', Urumi uses these to manipulate adults, especially Uchiyamada.

* In ''ComicBook/InfinityWars2018'', Science Pete's tears of regret and remorse for attacking the Terrific Two are genuine, lowering the duo's guard. However, the Knight makes use of this to sucker punch Reed hard enough to entangle him with Ben.
* ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'': [[BigBad Dr. Wily]] — while [[FalselyReformedVillain pretending to be reformed]] — secretly orders the Robot Masters steal the energy crystals needed for [[DoomsdayDevice Gamma]] (which he disguises as a humanitarian project) as part of his larger evil scheme. When the heist happens, he makes certain to make a big show of "crying" about his chance at redemption being ruined to conceal his involvement.

* A downplayed and somewhat parodied instance occurs in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn''. When Poison Ivy has almost won and is about to use her potion which will turn everyone into plants or kill them, Harley, as a "nuclear option", wipes off her makeup and starts crying profusely. Leading up to this, Ivy realizes what she's gonna do and is freaking out about it as if Harley was about to vaporize her with a DeathRay or something. While Harley undoubtedly really ''was'' sad and upset, considering the circumstances, she does still say "works every time", when Ivy starts crying herself and gives Harley a huge hug, implying she's used this tactic to get her way a lot in the past.

* In the Creator/LaurelAndHardy short ''Film/BigBusiness'', the heroes get into an argument with a homeowner, which eventually leads to Stan and Ollie wrecking the homeowner's house while he destroys their car. After a policeman puts a stop to things, Stan and Ollie burst into tears. [[EverybodyCries The homeowner and cop start crying in sympathy]], and the cop lets Stan and Ollie go. Then Stan and Ollie start laughing, revealing that they were faking tears. The cop sees this and chases after them as the film ends.
* In ''Film/FoolishWives'', Count Sergius, a liar, con artist, and all-around dirtbag, decides to fleece Maruschka the maid of the two thousand francs that are her life savings. To convince her that he's in a crisis and needs the money, he actually dribbles drops from a finger bowl onto the tablecloth, to make it look like he's crying.
* ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' - Mr. Lebowski summons The Dude to his mansion and gives him the job of delivering [[spoiler: bogus]] ransom money to the kidnappers of his trophy wife. He sits by the fireplace in solemn tears, telling The Dude "Strong men also cry", [[spoiler: masking the fact that he's pulling a scam, using foundation money for the ransom and keeping it for himself.]]
* ''Film/TheLittleDrummerGirl'' (1984). Charlie weeps when told that the terrorist she's pretending is her lover is dead. Those interrogating her aren't impressed, pointing out that she's an actress and has therefore been trained to cry on cue.
* One of the scam victims in ''Film/{{Hustlers}}'' gets badly injured. Destiny takes him to the hospital, screaming desperately in tears and hysterics for someone to save her "husband." The paramedics tend to him, and the second their backs are turned she drops the act and drives off.
* A viral ad for ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' is a Weyland Industries advertisement for their David 8 android. It shows that androids aren't quite capable of convincingly faking emotions like sadness.
-->'''Narrator:''' David, what makes you sad?\\
'''David:''' War... poverty... cruelty... unnecessary violence. ''[two tears on cue]'' I understand human emotions, although I do not feel them myself. This enables me to be more efficient and capable and makes it easier with my human counterparts to interact with me.

* ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind''. Scarlett cries these to manipulate Ashley into coming to work for her, which he doesn't want to do, as he feels emasculated by her offer. He continues to resist, but when his wife Melanie, who adores Scarlett, enters and sees her crying, she blasts Ashley for upsetting her and unilaterally declares that he'll accept her offer. Ironically, in the corresponding scene in the book, her tears were real, but she still uses them to her advantage.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Sansa remarks how convincing [[MagnificentBastard Littlefinger]] is when feigning grief and a GuiltComplex to boot when discussing the death of [[spoiler: his wife Lysa Arryn (whom he personally murdered)]] to Nestor Royce.

* One of Creator/TomHolt's near-interchangeable protagonists at one point remembers how, when left to play with a young cousin, the little rodent would at the first hint of boredom burst into tears and run out crying "Mummy, he hit me!" Since most of Tom Holt's protagonists are {{Butt Monkey}}s and/or [[TheChewToy Chew Toys]], this is pretty much standard.

* In ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', [[spoiler:Squealer gives a tearful eulogy for Boxer after the latter gets sent to the knacker, and says that he was at Boxer's side during his last moments. At one point, he casts suspicious sideways glances to check if the other animals are seeing through the lie]].
* ''Les Larmes de Crocodile/Crocodile Tears'', by Andre François, is pretty much a bilingual gruesome warning story for kids about what happens if you believe a crocodile when it's crying. With cute little cartoon illustrations.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'': As seen in the page quote above, this is in Dudley's playbook.
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'': No one knows for certain how much of a part (if any) Barty Crouch, Jr. played in assisting the Lestranges in torturing the Longbottoms. Because of this, when Crouch Jr. is seen begging for his life when his father viciously disowns him and sentences him to Azkaban, it's hard to say whether it's for real or it's just an act to make his father look even worse in the eyes of ''The Daily Prophet''.
* ''Literature/GirlsDontHit'': Joss can cry on command when necessary to deceive people.

* Referenced by Creator/WilliamShakespeare in a couple of plays, including ''Theatre/{{Othello}}''.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Dark-types have a reputation for using dirty tricks, with moves like Sucker Punch. True to form, there is a dark-type move called Fake Tears that lowers the enemy's Special Defense stat when used.

* Tracy from ''[[Creator/AdamCadre I-0]]'' can do this.
* Rise in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', lampshaded by Chie.
* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', after Harley Quinn has been recaptured, she sits in her cell sobbing pitifully with her face buried in her hands. However, she occasionally looks up to make sure that Batman is still looking at her, and Detective Vision reveals that her heart rate is still registering as 'Calm'.
* During ''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'' Elizabeth realizes Booker has been deceiving her about escaping to Paris and is really taking her to New York to be used in paying off his debts, she starts crying somewhat abruptly. Booker approaches her, clearly about to apologize- and then a noticeably dry-eyed Elizabeth knocks him out with a wrench.
* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'': Bad Girl has an attack that utilizes this. At any point during her boss fight, she will stop and cry on the floor. If the player attacks her while she is fake crying, she will attack the player with her bat with such a savage attack it might as well be a one-hit kill (though the player can survive if it has almost full health). However, she isn't faking all the time, she is, after all, fighting you while blindingly drunk, and if both of her hands are on her face, she is genuinely crying, but if she has one hand in her face and another in her weapon, it's a trick.

* [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'' mainly uses them to manipulate the courtroom into looking the other way when you catch her lying her head off on the witness stand.

* Name-dropped but not used in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', when Killer Croc (the show's version is an actual [[LizardFolk crocodile-man]] rather than a guy with a really bad skin condition) reveals his plan to flood the city's financial district to make robbing jewelry stores easier. Batman mentions the death toll, Croc says he'll shed a crocodile tear for each and every victim.

* Bloo does this to Wilt in the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' episode "Cuckoo for Coco Cards."

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' "Let's see... One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. So there's ten of you, and one of me. What's a poor girl to do?!"

->Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying -- it had been years since he'd really cried -- but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him whatever he wanted.

* Bella from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' pulls these on Jacob after Leah stands up to her on his behalf. [[UngratefulBastard Jacob immediately sides with Bella and vilifies Leah for upsetting her.]]

** In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', Blue turns on fake tears when confronted by Ho-oh.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Poison Ivy is very convincing at this in her debut episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison "Pretty Poison."]] Acting like Harvey Dent's grief stricken girlfriend after he ends up mysterious poisoned and comatose following their dinner date. We later learn she did it via [[DruggedLipstick a goodnight kiss.]]

** In [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]], a Teddiursa pulls this by [[WoundedGazelleGambit framing Chikorita and Totodile for stealing food and beating it up.]] Actually, said Pokémon were trying to stop it. But when Teddiursa tries this with Bulbasaur, Ash and his friends don't fall for it this time.

* ''Fanfic/SixTimesAiProtectedHerGroupmatesAndOneTimeTheyProtectedHer'': A more karmic version of this occurs; Lily encounters a teenaged boy who bullies her over being the sole trans girl amongst a group of idol singers. Her groupmate Ai appears and tells off the teen, in front of his mother at that, and Lily decides to shed some crocodile tears to make herself look even more hurt.

* A downplayed and somewhat parodied instance occurs in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn''. When Poison Ivy has almost won and is about to use her potion which will turn everyone into plants or kill them, Harley, as a "nuclear option", wipes off her makeup and starts crying profusely. Leading up to this, Ivy realizes what she's gonna do and is freaking it out about it as if Harley was about to vaporize her with a DeathRay or something. While Harley undoubtedly really ''was'' sad and upset, considering the circumstances, she does still say "works every time", when Ivy starts crying herself and gives Harley a huge hug, implying she's used this tactic to get her way a lot in the past.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]], after the Doctor gets Donna to her wedding reception (which her family and friends have decided to hold without her, to her annoyance), everyone begins demanding to know how she pulled her disappearing act at the wedding. Donna bursts into fake tears to get them to shut up, and casts a knowing wink towards the Doctor while she "cries" into Lance's shoulder.

** In "The Great Game" he pretends to be a grieved friend when speaking to a victim's wife [[spoiler: purposely getting things wrong about her husband to get her to reveal information by contradicting him]]. Once he has his information, Sherlock instantly drops the act and wipes away his fake tears as he and John leave.

* In ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', Joseph's brothers sing "There's one more tear in my eye" in the song "One More Angel in Heaven," their account of Joseph's [[DeathFakedForYou "death."]] In most productions they accompany the song with copious fake tears.

** In "[[Recap/TotalDramaSearchAndDoNotDestroy Search and Do Not Destroy]]", Heather commences her scheme to break up Trent and Gwen by fake crying on the Dock of Shame. Trent reaches out to console her over whatever has her wailing, at which point she maneuvers her way to tearfully relaying how cruel Gwen's been to her and that she's been saying awful things about Trent too. Trent doesn't know what to think, but doesn't dismiss Heather's claims.

** Duncan and Alejandro cooperate to break down Courtney's defenses in "[[Recap/TotalDramaPicnicAtHangingDork Picnic at Hanging Dork]]". While Alejandro flirts with her, Duncan opens the flood gates to make Courtney believe that he still has feelings for her and thus that flirting back with Alejandro doubles as payback for Duncan's cheating. In a confessional, Duncan explains that fake crying is a trick he learned young and has a lot of experience with to make things go his way.

* [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'' mainly uses them to manipulate the courtroom into looking the other way when you catch them lying her head off on the witness stand.

* ''Webcomic/MySisterSuprema'': When Randy and Cecelia's father [[https://www.arkhaven.com/comics/superhero/my-sister-suprema/what-did-you-do sees the wreckage]] that Randy's machine and Cece's SuperStrength has caused, Cece starts fake crying and tells him it was a lightning strike. Her trauma is so convincing, her parents let her [[SkippingSchool skip school]] the next day.

->''"Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying -- it had been years since he'd really cried -- but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him whatever he wanted."''