History Main / CrypticConversation

** Doctor Strange, a massively powerful {{Seer}} and TimeMaster (thanks to [[spoiler: the fact that the Time Stone transformed him to ensure Thanos' defeat]]) and therefore immensely knowledgeable, tends towards these. This is partly because he's a TricksterMentor with a side of [[EccentricMentor eccentricity]] [[StealthMentor on the sly]], partly because he rather enjoys being cryptic because [[TheGadfly he]] knows ''exactly'' how infuriating it is. However, he's not shy of giving very detailed and explicit instructions if the situation merits it - this is usually a sign that something serious is going on.

%%* The Dungeon Master, of the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' cartoon.

* Tia Dalma from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' really loves conversing in that way.

** Conversations between mortals of various stripes and Elves apparently tend to go like this a lot. After trying unsuccessfully to get useful information out of Gildor near the beginning of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', Frodo tells him, "And it is also said, 'Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.'" Gildor replies that Elves tend to be cryptic because they believe giving clear advice one way or the other is dangerous, and it's best for people to figure things out for themselves.

* 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 TheTrickster, was going for this exactly and is delighted that it was so vague.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'', if you believe Obi-Wan Kenobi's story that Darth Vader killed Luke's father was, as he put it, "True FromACertainPointOfView."

%% * All Immortals in ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' (Nyx, Kalona and, to a degree, Rephaim) are prone to a mixture of this plus FromACertainPointOfView.

** Doctor Strange, a massively powerful {{Seer}} and TimeMaster (thanks to [[spoiler: the fact that [[spoiler: the Time Stone transformed him to ensure Thanos' defeat]]) and therefore immensely knowledgeable, tends towards these. This is partly because he's a TricksterMentor with a side of [[EccentricMentor eccentricity]] [[StealthMentor on the sly]], partly because he rather enjoys being cryptic because [[TheGadfly he]] knows ''exactly'' how infuriating it is. However, he's not shy of giving very detailed and explicit instructions if the situation merits it - this is usually a sign that something serious is going on.

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Taylor has one with [[spoiler:Glaistig Uaine]], who uses the metaphor of actors in a play to drop hints about the plot.
** Tailor gets called out for doing this with a villain by one of her teammates, [[AudienceSurrogate who doesn't know what she's talking about talking about either.]]
--->'''Cuff:''' You're doing that crazy mastermind thing again.\\
'''Taylor:''' Which crazy mastermind thing?\\
'''Cuff:''' Where you talk to the other masterminds and one of you leaves something unsaid, and the other knows what that thing is without asking.

* 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.

* ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'' has a long conversation between Cazaril and Ista that begins this way:
-->'''Cazaril:''' Do you see anything ''odd'' about me, Lady?\\
'''Ista:''' I see only with my eyes, now. I've been blind for years, you see. ''You'' see?\\
'''Cazaril:''' Yes.\\
'''Ista:''' I thought so. There is a look about one who sees with ''those'' eyes.

* Weber & Ringo's novel ''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.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: Someone appears to be lying, but there choice of words make what they say true to some extent.

* WordSaladHorror, when the dialogue goes from "cryptic, but still capable of being interpreted" to "ominous nonsense."

!!Examples

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'' strip, Peter and his girlfriend have a CrypticConversation over the phone; the last panel shows his brother Jason listening in and musing that his spying may have gotten a bit obvious.

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/BlindChance'' has an extremely puzzling phone conversation between Witek, the protagonist, and his dying father. The film then plays three different versions of events, in which Witek [[ButterflyOfDoom makes different choice based on his reflection on said conversation]]. The ambiguity is even stronger in original version, due to difference in grammatical structures between Polish and English (and makes it near-impossible to fully capture in translation the perplexive nature of what the dying man said).

** The Jedi in general in both the films and the EU tend to do this, but Yoda is indisputably the master, just about everything he ever says are cryptic.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]], the Doctor explains why he doesn't give out a proper name thusly.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Go ahead, have a chat with River. [[CloudCuckoolander Good luck.]]
* And 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]].

[[folder:Tabletop RPGs]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* WesternAnimation/TwelveOunceMouse is basically made of this.
* The Dungeon Master, of the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' cartoon.

* {{Koan}}
** IceCreamKoan

* MathematiciansAnswer
* MetaphoricallyTrue

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness

* VaguenessIsComing - [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doom]] is upon us! Beware the beast with two backs. ''He'' will knock three times! No, not the same ''he:'' %% DOCTOR WHO FANS: Please don't change it to "knock four times", this wasn't intended to be a reference.
* YouKnowTheOne - Pronouns like "it", "them", "he", etc. Usually italicized or quoted. The cryptic conversation will rarely if ever speak using actual nouns, much less proper names.

--->'''The Doctor:''' Do you know like we were saying, about the earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world is turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it... the turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world. And, if we let go... That's who I am. Now forget me.''

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The Hybrids in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' are the CPU of the Cylon Basestars. They all speak in surreal phrases which mix ship status reports, poetry, quasi-biblical verse, and ominous prophecy on current events. Of course, they're insane, so it's not like they have a choice in delivery. However, the eldest Hybrid was scarily lucid, and gave pretty concrete prophecy and warnings.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "Rose", the Doctor explains why he doesn't give out a proper name thusly.
--->'''The Doctor:''' Do you know like we were saying, about the earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world is turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it... the turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world. And, if we let go... That's who I am. Now forget me.''
** "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" had the MadOracle Dalek Caan in this role.
--->'''Dalek Caan:''' He is coming. The threefold man... he dances in the lonely places...
* Pretty much every line in ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
** ''Lost'' ''is'' this trope.
** But no scene in ''Lost'' better demonstrates this trope than the opening of the season 5 finale, in which [[spoiler: Jacob]] and a currently unnamed man casually discuss the usage of human beings as pawns in some kind of battle of wills on the island.

* ''Series/{{Skins}}'': In season 2, Cassie exchanges one with her teacher during her final exam. It ends with them dancing on ''Funkytown''.
* Oma Desala in ''Series/StargateSG1''.
** Pretty much anything to do with the Ancients or other Ascended beings, as evidenced by [[spoiler:Daniel when ''he'' got ascended for a season]], to name one example.
** This appears, on some level, to be because of the "rules" of being Ascended, which includes not being able to directly interfere, which probably extends to just spitting things out.
** Lampshaded when he uses one of Oma's particularly confusing statements ("If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago") to test a fake version of Oma taken from his memories: since he never figured out what the hell Oma was talking about, the fake Oma didn't know what it meant either.
--->'''O'Neill:''' No, I'm all for subtlety but that is downright ''encrypted''.

* Parodied in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' where a generic evil genius is giving vague commands to his minions until one of them objects on the basis that it's confusing. And brings up the time they spent months actually ''hoping'' a guy would have an accident instead of [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident arranging one]].
** Yeah, here we are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0KmNVZs-VI
* [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Darmok, and Jalad... at Tanagra]]
** 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.
* Go ahead, have a chat with [[Series/{{Firefly}} River.]] [[CloudCuckoolander Good luck.]]
* And 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]].
* Happens annoyingly in the second season of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', when it's revealed that Agents Mack and Bobbi joined Team Coulson with a secret agenda of their own that they only talk about in vague terms. At one point, Bobbi is unsure about keeping her ex-husband Hunter out of the loop, and Mack gives her a nonsensical speech that ends in "...Maybe in the next world, we can all be friends again." Even if you [[RewatchBonus rewatch the episode]] knowing [[spoiler: Mack and Bobbi are part of secret faction within SHIELD that seeks to unseat Coulson as Director because they distrust him after he was resurrected with alien blood]], Mack's speech STILL makes no sense.
* In ''Series/Merlin2008,'' TricksterMentor Kilgarrah loves this trope, always promising Merlin that "you will discover in time, young warlock," or somesuch.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* 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 [[IncrediblyLamePun theoretical physicist]] the figure out the meaning of their word play.
* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', you can carry one with a shady individual in one of the eponymous city's inn. The only way to end it is to acknowledge that you have no idea what you are talking about. The rogue expresses surprise, with a hint of respect, that you were able to fake the conversation for so long and then disappears, never to be seen again...
* Subverted hilariously in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. The PC is performing contract kills for an assassin guild. She or he corresponds with a messenger from the guild who constantly speaks in cryptic messages. By choosing the correct dialogue options and acting confused as to what the messenger means, the PC can eventually frustrate the messenger enough that he says (and I paraphrase), "Yes, yes, you kill the target, you get the reward!" Whereas before, he only alluded to it.
** Played straight with Flemeth. Practically every conversation with her has her speaking in riddles and chiding you for acting like you understand what she's truly talking about. She gets no better when dealing with Hawke in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''.
** Similarily, the [[TakenForGranite petrified]] oracle Eleni Zinovia is incredibly cryptic. In the Mage origin, Jowan dismisses the statue's prophecies as nonsense.
** [[IdiotSavant Sandal]] occasionally utters these in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. "One day, the magic will come back, all of it. Everyone will be as they once were. When ''he'' rises, all will see." [[spoiler: It doesn't appear to foreshadow anything that happens in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', but perhaps someday we'll see...]]
* 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.
* ''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.
** Especially where Namine erases Sora and his friends' memories of their time together with her, the only remaining evidence being a cryptic line written in Jiminy Cricket's journal "Thank Namine" and "We must return to save them from their torment". The answer to the last line becomes a major focus of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded''
** 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.
* 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.
* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'':
-->'''Atton:''' Just so you Jedi know, the whole "cryptic routine" isn't mysterious, it's just irritating. If you really can see the future, you should be at the pazaak table.\\
'''Exile:''' But to know the future, one must know yourself.\\
'''Atton:''' What was that, some kind of joke? That's what I'm talking about. 'Jedi Talk.' You two should start your own little Jedi Academy.\\
'''Exile:''' But to teach, one must be willing to learn.\\
'''Atton:''' All right, all right! Cut it out, I get it, I get it. The last Jedi in the galaxy, I get the comedian who runs around in his underwear.
** Played entirely straight with Kreia. ''Everything'' she says is open for interpretation, half-true, entirely true (but told in a misleading way), or heavily layered with her unique blend of Jedi and Sith ideas. Fifteen years after the game's release it's ''still'' a topic of debate as to what she knew or what her true motives were.
* 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.
* In ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', the gods (when the player speaks with them) are extremely fond of this, hinting and alluding without actually saying. Since the player [[spoiler:finds out a secret about them that makes them much less impressive]] at the end of the game, most of them drop this in the sequel, ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternityIIDeadfire''. Rymrgand still keeps it up, even to his fellow gods, because [[spoiler:he figures out what Eothas is up to well before any of his fellow deities, and supports it for entirely different reasons than Eothas is doing it]].
[[/folder]]

* Tia Dalma from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' really loves conversing in that way.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'', if you believe Obi-Wan Kenobi's story that Darth Vader killed Luke's father was, as he put it, "True FromACertainPointOfView."
** The Jedi in general in both the films and the EU tend to do this, but Yoda is indisputably the master, just about everything he ever says are cryptic.
* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''
** Kirk and Spock try to have one of these so that Spock can inform him that the ship is much less damaged than Khan had thought without letting their eavesdropping enemy know. However, the code is so ridiculously transparent that one has to assume Khan had an IdiotBall stuck in both ears not to realize.
** Kirk and Spock later mention that The Book (Starfleet regulations) specifies that they shouldn't openly discuss their plans when they think their communications were compromised. It was an incredibly obvious code to Kirk and Spock, but then it ''had'' to be for Kirk to catch on and go along with it. Khan has only been around either of them for a few hours, years in the past, and couldn't be expected to realize when they are hint-hinting at each other.
** 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.]]
* ''Film/BlindChance'' has an extremely puzzling phone conversation between Witek, the protagonist, and his dying father. The film then plays three different versions of events, in which Witek [[ButterflyOfDoom makes different choice based on his reflection on said conversation]]. The ambiguity is even stronger in original version, due to difference in grammatical structures between Polish and English (and makes it near-impossible to fully capture in translation the perplexive nature of what the dying man said).
-->'''Father''': I wanted to tell you this, because you might not make it on time[[note]]To his father's deathbed[[/note]]. You don't have to do anything.
-->'''Witek''': I don't have to do anything in what way?
-->'''Father''': In any way.
* 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]].

* ''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 YouTube video titles.

** The best case may be [[http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mc/mc20010829c this]] Mintiper's tetrastich. It ostensibly speaks about the beauty of the forest, for those in the know hints at a weird magical artifact, and "mantle" as an elven type of personal magical defences in ForgottenRealms. With a straight, but obscure reference to the matter at the end. Also may be misinterpreted as a reference to ''another'' artifact and comparison with elven royals who tend to practice [[TooMuchForManToHandle High Magic]].

* Carim Gracia of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' 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.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], ''requested'', and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002785 here]] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':

* ''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.]]

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] 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.