History Main / DistractingDisambiguation

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' season 1 episode 3, while fighting a villain named "The Black Raven", Yugo makes the point that all ravens are black. The team then immediately drops what they're doing in order to work on a better name for him, ignoring the feeble attempts of the Black Raven to remind them that they were about to fight.

Suptrope of TalkingIsAFreeAction. See also DiggingYourselfDeeper, which can happen in said disambiguation. Compare and contrast PoorCommunicationKills which can happen if talking is ''not'' a free action or if the disambiguation could kill if not corrected. Many times it happens because characters are DerailedForDetails.

'''[[CloudCuckoolander Jubal Early]]:''' Am I a lion?\\

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 2[[superscript:nd}} Edition has a spell that can cause Distracting Disambiguation: ''Leomund's lamentable belabourment''. The victims of this charm will start discussing with the caster on any topic of his choice, whether to agree or disagree, whatever the earlier situation. If the effect is prolonged, the creatures will continue arguing even if the mage walk away, and may end up either confused or enraged.

* In ''Film/RaisingArizona'', Gale and Evelle's bank robbery is thrown off the rails when the bank customers start nitpicking the brother's orders: "Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see..."
-->"'''[[BigShutUp SHUT UP!]]'''"

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 2nd Edition has a spell that can cause Distracting Disambiguation: ''Leomund's lamentable belabourment''. The victims of this charm will start discussing with the caster on any topic of his choice, whether to agree or disagree, whatever the earlier situation. If the effect is prolonged, the creatures will continue arguing even if the mage walk away, and may end up either confused or enraged.

'''Alya:''' So what; [[MrSeahorse a seahorse Miraculous is supposed to magically make anyone sans uterus capable of childbirth then]]?\\

-->-- ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0166.html strip #166]]

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* ''Film/TakeTheMoneyAndRun'': The bank tellers think that Creator/WoodyAllen's character's holdup note says "I have a gub." He spends some time correcting them that he has a gun.
* In ''Film/RaisingArizona'', Gale and Evelle's bank robbery is thrown off the rails when the bank customers start nitpicking the brother's orders: "Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see..."
-->"'''[[BigShutUp SHUT UP!]]'''"

* In ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', the title character pauses in the middle of a gunfight while rescuing a pinned down (female) police officer to ask for permission to touch her body since he has been coached on public relations in order to repair his tattered image. He explains that he would only touch her to rescue her, with no inappropriate connotations, and he then explains that it's not that he doesn't find her attractive, he just doesn't want to cross any lines. He calmly explains this under a hailstorm of bullets while the villains are loading up a rocket launcher.

* In ''[[Literature/TheSquiresTales The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf]]'', by Gerald Morris, one knight is threatening another and shouts, "I shall not rest until thou art cleaved in twain!" The other characters present (including the second knight, who doesn't really want to fight) start arguing over the proper past participle of "cleave".

* In ''Literature/SkinGame'', Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter are in a standoff and Carpenter says if the villains attack, he and Harry will fight to the death. Harry then clarifies that Michael means he and Harry will fight the ''villains'' to the death, not each other.

* Employed heavily in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', unsurprising as it is another Joss Whedon show:
-->'''Simon:''' ''[being held up at gunpoint]'' Are you [[TheEmpire Alliance?]]\\
'''[[CloudCuckoolander Jubal Early]]:''' Am I a lion?\\
'''Simon:''' What?\\
'''Jubal Early:''' I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well though, I have a mighty roar.\\
'''Simon:''' I said Alliance.\\
'''Jubal Early:''' Oh, I thought...\\
'''Simon:''' No, I was...\\
'''Jubal Early:''' That's weird.
* In the Volume 4 finale of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Sylar is holding Claire hostage and taunting her by listing all the members of her family he's going to kill, when:
-->'''Sylar:''' Papa Petrelli, Mama Bennet, Mr. Muggles... What's your brother's name again? Larry?\\
'''Claire:''' Lyle.\\
'''Sylar:''' Right. He's gonna die, too.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 2nd Edition has a spell that can cause Distracting Disambiguation: ''Leomund's Lamentable Belabourment''. The victims of this charm will start discussing with the caster on any topic of his choice, whether to agree or disagree, whatever the earlier situation. If the effect is prolonged, the creatures will continue arguing even if the mage walk away, and may end up either confused or enraged.
* Happens fairly frequently when two players disagree on a rule, especially in the middle of a big combat. There's a reason most games give advice to the DM to intervene with a ruling quickly.

* Same principle in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', again with ''D&D'' rules. Minmax once [[http://goblinscomic.com/comic/07302005 stalls a fight against a bunch of demons]] because he had won initiative, and then they start arguing whether he'd drawn his sword beforehand or not.
* In ''Webcomic/GastroPhobia'', a tense hostage moment is ground to a halt by Phobia trying to say the name of the netherbeast, Klgwtzlpx... Krgbblfts... Krteskyblts... Krflksywlts... Krghxltlps... [[TheUnpronounceable KRPHXYZWLPS]]! (the Z is silent).
* Happens very shortly in ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', because [[https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-286-aaaand-scene/ Maxima is too professional to get easily distracted]] (unlike Sydney), especially when it TakesTenToHold Vehemence.
-->'''Sydney:''' Riddle for you, how do you beat a guy who's got all the yang locked up? Oh right, your throat is still crushed. OK, I'll answer for you.\\
Turns out you've got the same weakness as every guy! A fabulous pair of yings!\\
'''Dabbler:''' Booya!\\
'''Sydney:''' OK, cool it Jiggles, you don't have to flaunt them all the time.\\
'''Maxima:''' Yins.\\
'''Sydney:''' What?\\
'''Maxima:''' It's yin yang, not ying yang.\\
'''Sydney:''' Are you sure?\\
'''Maxima:''' Sydney, tell me you have a plan or else I'm ashing his brain.\\
'''Sydney:''' Oh, right.

** We get, in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'' a discussion on whether the female version of "Head Honcho" would involve the term Honchette, Honchessa, or Honcharina.
** In the same book, some monster-hunters discuss whether saving Ankh-Morpork is worth it because they're "only" being offered fifty thousand dollars instead of the StandardHeroReward, and they get hung up on exactly ''what'' Vetinari would be offering them half of (he ain't a king! Well, half his Patrimony or whatever) and whether he could give them his aunt in Pseudopolis or, hilariously, his little dog, as a replacement for the nonexistent princess.

** And even then, the wizards are in a league of their own. In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', they respond to being threatened by a god ("Begone, lest I visit you with boils!") by pointing out that visiting someone with cake is a lot better than boils, provided it's not sponge. Hilariously, the god they're being threatened by is [[AbsentMindedProfessor just as easily distracted]].

* In ''Webcomic/GastroPhobia'', [[http://gastrophobia.com/index.php?date=2013-08-14 a tense hostage moment]] is ground to a halt by Phobia trying to say the name of the netherbeast, Klgwtzlpx... Krgbblfts... Krteskyblts... Krflksywlts... Krghxltlps... [[TheUnpronounceable KRPHXYZWLPS]]! (the Z is silent).

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[[quoteright:303:[[Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leagueofsuperredundantheroes16.jpg]]]]

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* Same principle in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', again with ''D&D'' rules. Minmax once [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/07302005/ stals a fight against a bunch of demons]] because he had won initiative, and then they start arguing whether he'd drawn his sword beforehand or not.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Pick a strip, ''any'' strip. They become GenreSavvy to their tendency to do this and point out that their method of dealing with threats is to bicker, argue semantics, stall with Fighter, hurt each other, bicker some more and ''then'' implement a brilliant {{plan}} from out of nowhere.

-->'''Aly:a''' You have ''crossed the line''. [[InTheNameOfTheMoon And in the name of...uh...l-love and justice]]--\\

* Same principle in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', again with ''D&D'' rules. Minmax once [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/07302005/ stalled a fight against a bunch of demons]] because he had won initiative, and then they started arguing whether he'd drawn his sword beforehand or not.

[[folder:Web Original]]

** To say nothing of a certain, unexpected, Spanish Inquisition....

'''Haley:''' Relax, [[TalkingIsAFreeAction speaking is a free action]].

-->'''Alya''': You have ''crossed the line''. [[InTheNameOfTheMoon And in the name of…uh…l-love and justice]]-
-->'''Chlorokill''': Why are you a pea''cock''?
-->'''Alya''': I will punish… wait, what? Wait… what do you mean ''why am I a peaco''-
-->'''Chlorokill''': You’re a girl, right?
-->'''Alya''': I-I don’t see how that’s your business. But yes, I am a-
-->'''Chlorokill''': Well then why aren’t you a peahen? Pea''cocks'' are male.
-->'''Alya''': …okay-
-->'''Chlorokill''': So why aren’t you a pea''hen''?
-->'''Alya''': I…I don’t know. Why are ''you'' a barky green plant monster?
-->'''Chlorokill''': Evil butterfly did it. Don’t change the subject.
-->'''Alya''': I don’t know: why is this so important to you?
-->'''Chlorokill''': Laws of secondary sexual characteristics don’t just change because magic is involved.
-->'''Alya''': So what; [[MrSeahorse a seahorse Miraculous is supposed to magically make anyone sans uterus capable of childbirth then]]?
-->'''Chlorokill''': Now you’re confusing biological makeup for superficial indicators of sex.
-->'''Alya''': Well if it’s so superficial why do you care so much?!
-->'''Chlorokill''': Because your costume is ''wrong''!
-->'''Alya''': Oh my god you are ''such'' a nerd! And this is coming from someone who just quoted ''Anime/SailorMoon'' as part of her threatening speech.

** We get, in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'' a discussion on whether the female version of "Head Honcho" would involve the term Honchette, Honchessa, or Honcharina. In the same book, some monster-hunters discuss whether saving Ankh-Morpork is worth it because they're "only" being offered fifty thousand dollars instead of the StandardHeroReward, and they get hung up on exactly ''what'' Vetinari would be offering them half of (he ain't a king! Well, half his Patrimony or whatever) and whether he could give them his aunt in Pseudopolis or, hilariously, his little dog, as a replacement for the nonexistent princess.

** And even then the wizards are in a league of their own. In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', they respond to being threatened by a god ("Begone, lest I visit you with boils!") by pointing out that visiting someone with cake is a lot better than boils, provided it's not sponge. Hilariously, the god they're being threatened by is [[AbsentMindedProfessor just as easily distracted]].

* This happens quite a few times in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in the midst of the BuffySpeak and general chitchat among heroes, villains, and between them.
** One season 7 episode, "Conversations with Dead People", has Buffy stop her fight with a newly risen vamp when it turns out he was a Sunnydale alumnus who'd had a crush on her. They spend the rest of the episode commiserating, and he even gives her therapy to get through her emotional troubles with Spike! Eventually, they fight and she dusts him.
--->'''Webs:''' Oh, my God!\\

(''he desperately wipes and edits it'')\\

-->'''Simon:''' (''being held up at gunpoint'') Are you [[TheEmpire Alliance?]]\\

[[spoiler:'''Tarquin:''']] No. The etymologies are unrelated. [=*kaTANG!*=] (''disarms Elan'')

'''Hak Foo:''' I ''said'', "Minnow--" (''gets body-slammed across the room'') "What was that last part?"

* In ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', the title character pauses in the middle of a gunfight while rescuing a pinned down (female) police officer to ask for permission to touch her body since he has been coached on public relations in order to repair his tattered image. He explains that he would only touch her to rescue her, with no inappropriate connotations, and he then explains that it's not that he doesn't find her attractive he just does not want to cross any lines. He calmly explains this under a hailstorm of bullets while the bad guys are loading up a rocket launcher.

** We get a discussion on whether the female version of "Head Honcho" would involve the term Honchette, Honchessa, or Honcharina.

* In ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', the title character pauses in the middle of a gunfight while rescuing a pinned down (female) police officer to ask for permission to touch her body. He then explains that it's not that he doesn't want to, because she's very attractive, but he wouldn't want it to be inappropriate contact. He calmly explains this under a hailstorm of bullets while the bad guys are loading up a rocket launcher.

-->'''Chlorkill''': Now you’re confusing biological makeup for superficial indicators of sex.

-->"[[AsymmetricDilemma And anyway, you're a villain.]]"

!!Examples

* ''Film/TakeTheMoneyAndRun'': The bank tellers think that [[Creator/WoodyAllen a character's]] holdup note says "I have a gub." He spends some time correcting them that he has a gun.

* ''MeetTheSpartans'' does this straight, complete with TalkingIsAFreeAction.

* In ''[[TheSquiresTales The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf]]'', by Gerald Morris, one knight is threatening another and shouts, "I shall not rest until thou art cleaved in twain!" The other characters present (including the second knight, who doesn't really want to fight) start arguing over the proper past tense of "cleave".
** [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Actually]], it should be the past participle.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 2nd Edition has a spell that can cause Distracting Disambiguation: "Leomund's Lamentable Belabourment". The victims of this charm will start discussing with the caster on any topic of his choice, whether to agree or disagree, whatever the earlier situation. If the effect is prolonged, the creatures will continue arguing even if the mage walk away, and may end up either confused or enraged.