History Main / CrypticConversation

** Also relies on Spock's [[JustForPun pointed]] reference to Lt. Saavik, whom Khan has never met and only seen on the Reliant's viewscreen the one time he visually communicated with Kirk (and given Khan's obsession with revenge on Kirk, it's likely he didn't even notice her.) Saavik's penchant for quoting regulations is what Spock was referring to, something Khan had no possible way of knowing. It's actually a pretty brilliant verbal code, especially given it was [[IndyPloy entirely made up on the spot.]]

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]]: During the Doctor's conversation with River at the end, he's left baffled because she talks in mystery terms to avoid [[{{Catchphrase}} spoilers]].

* Subverted in ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', where Dalinar thinks he's receiving these kinds of answers from what turns out to be essentially a prerecorded message, asking it questions and taking whatever it says next as a cryptic response. This causes him to mistake with tragic results the advice "Yes, act with honor and honor will aid you." for an answer to the question [[spoiler: of whether he should trust [[TheStarscream Sadeas]]]], to which the correct answer is a resounding no.

* Yuki and Itsuki have one of these in the first episode of ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. Predictably, [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] [[LampshadeHanging calls them on it.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Iroh's teachings to Zuko often come in cryptic statements. When trying to figure out what Iroh would say in a situation where he wasn't present, Zuko says [[IceCreamKoan something cryptic and vaguely profound]]...and unfortunately can't understand ''that'' either.

** Though TNG has many examples of this (The Samaritan Snare and Rascals immediately spring to mind), Darmok might not qualify. The alien species were speaking quite plainly, it is just that they speak a different language, built around a radically different communications phenotype.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' employs this trope several times over the course of the series, especially in regards to [[BonusBoss bonus bosses]] and secret endings that hint towards the next sequel.

** Doubly so in the [[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Final Mix]] versions. The fact that there's a BonusBoss known by fans as the "Enigmatic Man" should be proof enough of this.

* Although not intentionally vague, about half of everything anyone said in the first season of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' was misunderstood by the other person because of their own preconceptions, usually leading to paranoia and literal PoorCommunicationKills.
* Quon from ''Anime/RahXephon'' speaks like this more often than not... the meaning of the terms she absently throw around in reference to the hero and his HumongousMecha do not become clear untill the end of the series, but along the way, others 'in the know' makes occasional use of them, creating sinister suggestions of their true importance.
* Yuki and Itsuki have one of these in the first episode of ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. Predictably, [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] [[LampshadeHanging calls them on it.]]
* Carim Gracia of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' has the ability to magically create prophecies that turn out to be pretty vague thanks to the fact that they come in poem form, can be interpreted in many ways, and are written in the dead Ancient Belka language, adding even more ambiguities due to translation and mistranslation. Thanks to these factors, she considers them as useful as a fairly accurate horoscope.

* Used and abused extensively in both ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/{{xxxHOLiC}}'', most often delivered by Yuuko, Fai and Fei Wang. It took more than ''twenty'' volumes of hearing people referring cryptically to Fei Wang's ''"wish"'' before it was revealed what it actually was. Another dragged-out example are the constant allusions to how "Syaoran is the person closest to Watanuki".
** Even the {{Exposition}} is typically given via CrypticConversation; you need to wait a while longer (sometimes ''months'') to get more exposition to explain the cryptic parts of the last batch. Even when everything is said outright, [[MindScrew its still somewhat hard to comprehend]], giving the impression of this trope on occasion even when things are being said outright.
* Lampshaded in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' when Kurama says something akin to "Oh, I see. It must be... that." and Yusuke responds that he is going to start charging him money every time he is vague.

* Justified in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Homura refuses to explain herself because [[spoiler:she already tried, in many previous timelines. [[CassandraTruth No one believed her]], and it mostly made things worse]]. Her first chat with Madoka is a completely straight example, with Homura implying that some vague disaster will befall Madoka's friends and family if she "changes herself." But it soon becomes clear that she specifically wants her to not become a MagicalGirl, and she reveals exactly why this would be bad once Madoka is in a position to believe her.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is infamous for this, with any plot-related conversation involving Gendo or [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE]] being the greatest offenders. Incidentally, it is far from the most {{JustForFun/Egregious}} example in anime; unlike, say, ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', these conversations never resort to the cheap trick of vague pronouns or adjectives; the characters involved talk frankly about the subjects at hand... it's just that the viewers won't understand what these things ''are'' until [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt they happen]], [[MindScrew if then]].
* ''Manga/{{Gilgamesh}}'' has some of this starting in the second episode. There are several sentences that are mostly composed of ellipses ("Debt collectors...?" "The contract for me... my organs... my sister... ...") At the beginning, since you've seen some of it, you can infer the lines not said, but the same can't necessarily of the characters, and in some cases is frustrating to the viewer.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': When Inuyasha fails to master Tessaiga's new absorption power, Sesshoumaru saves him with Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru cryptically tells Inuyasha he's failing to understand the point of a sword. However, despite one-shotting the enemy by following Toutousai's cryptic advice to "grow in strength", Sesshoumaru also fails to master his own new power. [[spoiler:Inuyasha needs to learn that swords cut things, no matter what power they possess; Sesshoumaru needs to learn warriors should only fight when motivated by the strength of their compassion.]]
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': In ch. 46, [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertholt, and Ymir]] have multiple conversations right over the head of Eren (and the audience), throwing out tantalizing hints while ignoring requests to explain themselves.

* In Chapter 32 of ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant'', when Rachel brings Ragna and Ruby to her realm to explain things to them, she does so in an awfully vague manner that irritates the two. When Ragna calls her out on it, she explains that giving them the full story would potentially be costly to both themselves and those around them, as the secrets she keeps are very dangerous. Ruby snarks that she also does it for fun, which Rachel doesn't deny.

* Creator/DavidMamet movies are famous for their stylized and often cryptic dialogue. In ''Film/{{Spartan}}'', naturalistic speech is used only when the main character is speaking [[SpySpeak code phrases]].

* Weber & Ringo's novel ''[[Literature/PrinceRoger We Few]]'' has a two-page conversation consisting of mixed allusions, metaphors, indirections, and double meanings. On the surface, it's about a meat supplier trying to get a contract with the Home Fleet. The subtext is that 1) the [[RightfulKingReturns Prince]] has returned, 2) he is neither [[TookALevelInBadass the useless playboy people remember him as ]] nor the [[TheEvilPrince villain]] that the [[EvilChancellor current powers]] are painting him as, 3) the [[AristocratsAreEvil current powers]] have [[MindControl turned the Queen into their puppet]], 4) he is preparing to overthrow them, 5) he has support among some of the other fleets, 6) part of the plan involves assassinating the admiral of the Fleet, and 7) he is requesting that, once that happens, the Home Fleet support him or, at the least, stand aside.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' begins with Corwin/Corey having conversations with his sister and brother about things ''they'' know all about, and he has no memory of... and yet he [[RefugeInAudacity still manages to make them think he's fully aware of everything and perhaps knows more than they do, and takes over control of the situation]].
* On Literature/{{Darwath}}, this is [[TheArchmage master wizard Ingold Inglorion's]] favorite method of teaching wizardry. His [[TheApprentice apprentice Rudy Solis]] gets a full dose of it during their journey to the Wizards' City of Quo in ''The Walls of Air''.
* In Mad Magazine's spoof 'Doone' 'Duke Leto' rules that until the end of the crisis they will converse only in complete sentences. To the relief of his mentat who was about to call a time out to find out what they were talking about.
* Ayatani Zweil in Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/GauntsGhosts novels is so prone to this that Gaunt wonders why they have kept him on as chaplain.
** In the same universe, the same author also came up with Glossia in the ''Eisenhorn'' and ''Ravenor'' books, which was a coded language based entirely around metaphor. Examples phrases include "Thorn wishes aegis, rapturous beast below,"Aegis, arising, the colours of space," and "Rose thorn, abundant, by flamelight crescent." Some of it can be guessed at, the rest... not so much.

* Robin Goodfellow from ''Literature/AnElegyForTheStillLiving'' loves these.
-->“I want to say that I dislike you, but I find that I cannot.”\\
“We know each other too well for dislike. There's only hate between us now.”\\
“I never saw you before today.”\\
“Aye. And how long's today, then? The lives we tell ourselves are the ones we begin to believe.”\\
“Do you mean the lies we tell ourselves? I did not lie about it.”\\
“Not you sir. No. You would never lie. Why, I can't imagine what came over me, to even suggest such a thing as that. That you would lie? Absurd.”\\
“You...”\\
“Me?”\\
“What?”\\
“Me what?”\\
“To be frank, I doubt I have understood any word that's come from you since we met.”\\
“Frankly, Frank, if I made any more sense I'd go mad. Then they'd call me wise.”\\
“Who would?”\\
“They!”
%% * All Immortals in ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' (Nyx, Kalona and, to a degree, Rephaim) are prone to a mixture of this plus MetaphoricallyTrue.
* The Oracle in ''[[Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore Voices]]'' gives its prophecies in odd, {{Koan}}-like fragments: short phrases like "broken mend broken" and "to keep bees from apple blossoms." Naturally, this has historically allowed the people asking the question to interpret the meaning to support the thing they already wanted to do, sometimes with disastrous results.

* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', the two [[spoiler:Grey Angels]] have this conversation. It's not cryptic to them, and they didn't intend it as such, being alone during the conversation, but the reader knows very little of what they know and the subject of their discussion, so all the conversation conveys to the readers is that matters are getting grim indeed.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': For no discernible reason, [[DeadPersonConversation StarClan]] is often cryptic when speaking to or giving prophecies to the Clans. This is lampshaded by Jayfeather in ''Shattered Sky'' when their advice for defeating Darktail is "the Clans must remember their names", and he complains about [=StarClan=] always being vague.
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', where Dalinar thinks he's receiving these kinds of answers from what turns out to be essentially a prerecorded message, asking it questions and taking whatever it says next as a cryptic response. This causes him to mistake with tragic results the advice "Yes, act with honor and honor will aid you." for an answer to the question [[spoiler: of whether he should trust [[TheStarscream Sadeas]]]], to which the correct answer is a resounding no.

** Yeah, here we are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0KmNVZs-VI

* A lot of TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms sources used this.

* Yeesha of VideoGame/MystV and VideoGame/{{Uru}} is the queen of this.
* The Vortigaunts from VideoGame/HalfLife2 may qualify here, although it doesn't always take a [[{{Pun}} theoretical physicist]] the figure out the meaning of their word play.

* Taken to truly absurd levels with the [[OmniscientCouncilofVagueness Gazel Ministry]] in ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', who spend hours upon hours discussing whether this or that character has helped or hindered their plan that they exhaust a thesaurus alluding to without actually describing.

* Used constantly in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' by [[TricksterMentor Jubei]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rachel]]. {{Lampshaded}} just as much by Ragna:
-->'''Ragna:''' I have no freaking clue what you're saying. Can you speak in human for me?
* It's more of a "cryptic monologue", but [[spoiler:Tezkhra]]'s thoughts in ''VideoGame/TheReconstruction'' often take the form of this, making vague references and trailing off before anything important is revealed.
* Ulysses of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' speaks entirely in metaphorical terms with heavy use of symbolism in his language. For example, he tends to refer to NCR and Caesar's Legion as the Bear and the Bull, the animals depicted on their respective flags.
* The Praetorian Resistance in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' communicates entirely in a metaphor- and symbol-ridden argot that is difficult at best to decipher. One Resistance contact with whom players may interact is so deep into their lingo that he is all but incomprehensible -- despite the fact that he's handing out mission assignments.
* The "End Poem" in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has two disembodied voice saying seemingly meaningless things yet feel meaningful.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI:'' Altair is always on the end of these and is clearly shown as being irritated by it. He eventually calls Al-Mualim out on this.
-->'''Altair:''' ''[very agitated]'' You speak in circles, master! You praise me for being observant then tell me not to be! What is the aim of this?!
* At the ending of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' final boss skirts around this; laying out quite simply how all the various factions in the AlienHierarchy came to exist but being overly vague as to why they exist or why they attacked Earth in the first place. Perhaps it's a SequelHook.
* Everyone is cryptic in ''VideoGame/Persona2''. Including your own party members, who will wax introspective in minor conversations. The protagonist only avoids this by never talking.

* A lot of what White Face says in ''VideoGame/{{Imscared}}'' seemingly does not make a whole lot of sense. It is coherent, but it has little to no context or provocation, such as its excessive apologizing.
* In ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective'', Agent [=McScream=] (the protagonist's evil double from the DarkWorld) speaks almost entirely in vaguely ominous utterances.

* Between levels in ''VideoGame/BombChicken'', you're taken to a room with a giant statue of a bird, and treated to a cryptic quote from an unknown source. They don't really make much more sense once you reach the end of the game. [[spoiler: The source of the voice is apparently the final boss -- a horribly mutated chicken that also lays bombs.]]

* Most characters from ''[[VideoGame/DrownedGod Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages]]'' speak like this by default, usually in metaphors and allusions to history, with many of them outright trying to deceive you. One of the biggest themes of the game is the covering-up of history, which the player must discover the truth behind by digging through every breadcrumb of story the game throws at you. Some characters like [[ISeeDeadPeople Baphomet]], [[TheUnintelligible The Relic Hunter]], and [[EnfantTerrible Horus]] are especially prone to this.

* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', [[TricksterMentor Taliesin]] talks to [[WanderingMinstrel Leon]] about the Laws of the Andain by using riddles because he feels every Andain must figure out the laws and the true meanings behind the words themselves with no outside help.

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' Annie once asks [[PhysicalGod Coyote]] what the Court is, and he replies "It is man's attempt to become God." Coyote immediately [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by asking [[TheDragon Ysengrim]] if it's a sufficiently cryptic answer, to which Ysengrim replies "Very cryptic. It barely answers anything at all." and Annie appends that it just raises more questions. Coyote of course, being a TricksterGod, was going for this exactly and is delighted that it was so vague.
* {{Invoked|Trope}}, ''requested'', and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002785 here]] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
-->'''John:''' do you think that instead of telling me exactly why that is with a clear explanation, you can give me a series of really coy riddles about it and then sort of giggle?\\
'''Nannasprite:''' When you pass through the first gate, everything will change. You will find the place where the constellations dance beneath the clouds. And then your true work may begin. Hoo hoo hoo!\\
'''John:''' i suddenly understand everything!
* ''Literature/AshAndCinders'' heavily indulges in this trope. It frequently happens whenever Orym and Thavian share a scene. [[https://talesfantastic.wordpress.com//2016/07/13/13-the-confrontation/ There's even an entire chapter devoted to one of them.]]
* Blog/RainbowDashReadsHomestuck parodies this; an asker asked something with a lot of *spoilers* so Rainbow replied with *spoilers*.
* Shortly before the main plot of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'' gets underway, DreamWeaver Paollo tries to send Credenza a warning about the BigBad and his plans. When she has no clue who or what he's talking about, he expresses his frustration with the trope:
-->'''Paollo:''' Darnit, what's the point of being omniscient when ''no one else is''?
* At the beginning of ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'''s chapter 2, Heru and Oziris are shown talking briefly in manner just clear enough to let us know that Oziris is aware of what's going on, but not nearly enough for us to figure out why recent events are bad news.
* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where Tarquin notes that the fact that his team is ''not'' speaking cryptically in regards to [[spoiler:Malack's vampirism]] means that it's highly likely that the protagonists already found out about it.
* Kor Icomb of ''Literature/SkiesUnbroken'' tends to have these with a supernatural being known as Lady Luck. Compare and contrast CosmicPlaything.
* ''ARG/{{Camdrome}}'': A lot of Camdrome's answers are very cryptic and vague, and much of his replies come in a coded fashion featuring simple sentences, if any words at all. Later on in the game a trapped player using Camdrome's account was only able to discuss their situation through the use of Website/YouTube video titles.

* DelightingInRiddles

* RiddleMeThis

** ''Twin Peaks'' is ''CrypticConversation: TheShow''. There have been entire books written about what a large portion of the dialogue actually means. Also this gets ramped UpToEleven in ''Twin Peaks: The Return''.

-->''Good conversation''\\

* A mentor or erstwhile ally (or just a taunting villain) will show up [[IHaveTheHighGround on a roof]] or unreachable area, and talk literally and figuratively down to the hero about coming events.

* ''Anime/{{Gilgamesh}}'' has some of this starting in the second episode. There are several sentences that are mostly composed of ellipses ("Debt collectors...?" "The contract for me... my organs... my sister... ...") At the beginning, since you've seen some of it, you can infer the lines not said, but the same can't necessarily of the characters, and in some cases is frustrating to the viewer.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'': When Inuyasha fails to master Tessaiga's new absorption power, Sesshoumaru saves him with Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru cryptically tells Inuyasha he's failing to understand the point of a sword. However, despite one-shotting the enemy by following Toutousai's cryptic advice to "grow in strength", Sesshoumaru also fails to master his own new power. [[spoiler:Inuyasha needs to learn that swords cut things, no matter what power they possess; Sesshoumaru needs to learn warriors should only fight when motivated by the strength of their compassion.]]

* The Vortigaunts from VideoGame/HalfLife2 may qualify here, although it doesn't always take a [[IncrediblyLamePun theoretical physicist]] the figure out the meaning of their word play.

* If you’re ever in ''Series/FraggleRock'', ask [[TricksterMentor Cantus the Minstrel]] for advice. He’ll freely give it, but you’ll have to FigureItOutYourself. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by frustrated fellow minstrel [[OnlySaneMan Murray]], and an exasperated [[ActionGirl Red Fraggle]].