History Main / IHaveThisFriend

* The ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Harold the Butcher" has Harold shoplifting a ham from Green Meats, ruining it in the process. When he is brought to Rabbi Goldberg to confess stealing the ham from Mr. Green, Goldberg tells him a story about someone from his childhood who stole a vest from a tailor shop and had to work there for a period of time to learn how much work it takes to produce such a product and running a business. This friend may or may not have been the Rabbi himself, but it eventually gives him the idea that Harold [[WorkOffTheDebt works at the butcher shop to pay off the ham]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': Subverted in an episode. Lincoln goes to his sister Lori for advice on how to hook up a friend with a girl. Lori thinks that Lincoln has a crush on a girl, but in reality he is really trying to pair up two of his teachers.
* Lincoln does it again in the ''WesternAnimation/TheCasagrandes'' episode "The Horror-Scope!", in which he asks Ronnie Anne for advice about a friend who has a crush on a girl, both of whom are in a long-distance relationship. Since she's just received a prediction about finding love that day, she thinks he's about to confess his feelings for her until he clarifies he was talking about his actual friend Rusty.

* Subverted in ''Film/CabinFever''. [[MsFanservice Brunette bombshell Marcy]] is stuck in a remote cabin where some of her friends have caught a fatal flesh-eating disease and describes it ''[[SarcasmMode hypothetically]]'' as "like being on a plane that's about to crash. And all you'd want to do is grab the person sitting next to you and [[GreatWayToGo f--k the s--t out of 'em, because you're about to die, anyway.]]" [[CoitusEnsues Immediately cut to a shot of her literally grabbing the incredulous guy sitting next to her, throwing him down on the bed, and riding him like there's no tomorrow.]]

And yes, this trope is ''definitely'' TruthInTelevision. It is probably more common in real life than it will ever be in fiction. If you haven't pulled this trick yourself, you'll most certainly have met someone who did. Or, if you actually ''are'' referring to a friend, confront the automatic presumption that you aren't. To experience it instantly, go to a forum with a userbase primarily consisting of teenagers, open some threads about problems of a sexual nature, and it will not take you many minutes to find RealLife examples.

* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', the title character isn't even willing to use the "I have this friend" method -- Shippou ends up doing it for him, asking Kaede for relationship advice for "a dog I know," while Inuyasha, present for the whole conversation, denies that it has anything to do with him. HilarityEnsues, particularly given that Shippou provides visual aids. Visual aids he's so proud of that he later shows to the whole village, much to Kagome's embarrassment.

* ''LightNovel/OreSuki'': During the BeachEpisode, Joro runs into Sasanqua, who uses this trope to ask him how to approach and apologize to him, since she's ashamed of bullying him due to some gossip that was later proven false (and turns out she too has a crush on him).

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'' #58:

* Variation in that it's a fictional character rather than a "friend": in one of the final issues of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Creator/WilliamShakespeare is worried that, by making a deal with Morpheus, he's traded away his soul, and talks about damnation and devil's bargains with a priest he knows. The priest wonders why William is asking. He says it's because he's writing ''Theatre/TheTempest'', and his main character, Prospero, has dabbled in the dark arts, but Will would rather have him not damned by the end of the play.
* In one ''Franchise/GreenLantern''[=/=]''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' story, Speedy responds to Green Lantern wondering why anyone would use drugs by giving the hypothetical example of a young man whose father figure neglects him to go "[chasing] around the country." Which the heroes have, of course, been doing. Green Arrow is contemptuous of this hypothetical "sob story"... and then walks in on Speedy, his own surrogate son, shooting up.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'' issue #1, Cindy mocks a villain called Dragonclaw by saying it sounds like a Franchise/{{Pokemon}} and then asks "Is ''Pokémon'' still a thing?... Asking for a friend."

* ''Film/JaggedEdge'' Concerned that the client that she's defending for murdering his wife is indeed guilty, his lawyer goes to the presiding judge and discussed the situation in hypotheticals so as to maintain his confidentiality, which he's still entitled to.

In an interesting twist, when you do in fact have a hypothetical situation, or you actually are asking for advice for a friend, 9 times out of 10, whoever you're asking will [[CassandraTruth assume]] that you're [[WrongGenreSavvy using this trope]]. Another twist is to slip into first person before you're done describing the situation. Played for laughs, a character will describe the situation in third person and then ask for advice in first person. Played for drama, it may be made obvious that both sides are fully aware of the true nature of the situation but only feel comfortable speaking about it in third person.

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Kaguya and Shirogane seek advice from Kashiwagi and Ishigami, respectively, after an incident that happened while Shirogane was visiting a sick Kaguya. Both of them claim to be asking on behalf of a friend, but neither of the people they speak with is fooled. Ishigami lampshades it by saying that Shirogane is probably asking about himself, while Kashiwagi also realizes that Kaguya's asking about herself but doesn't say anything.

** Averted in chapter 193: later when Shirogane seek advice from Maki for Miko's situation. Since he specified the friend is in previous year and Maki knows Shirogane's love life is clearly not what he describes, she figures it's Miko.

* In the medieval bodice-ripper novel "''Enchanted''", the heroine tells her husband that a "friend" of hers was raped to explain her fears of consummating their marriage. Only after they finally do make love does she admit that there was no friend and that it's she who was assaulted.

* Chris [=LeDoux=]'s "Silence on the Line" is about a cowboy who calls his wife after his last rodeo. He says he's got this friend whose rodeo career left him unable to walk, and would like to bring him home with him, but the wife says no. The cowboy, crippled himself, goes to Mexico instead.

* Inverted in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23908072/chapters/57973972#workskin Outfoxed]]''. Alya tells Kagami about how she and Nino are both bisexual and are in an open relationship, with both having interests in sides partners. She also tells Kagami how it might be easier for the two of them if the couple were interested in the same person. Kagami figures out that Alya is convincing her to talk to Marinette and Adrien about entering a [[{{Polyamory polycule]] with them if they are as interested in her romantically as she is with them.

** Clark and Lex do about the same thing in an earlier episode as well.

'''Lex:''' Is this the old proverbial friend who happens to be you?
** Clark (truthfully) tells him it's Pete Ross in the very next line.

* A variation occurs on the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP''. While visiting Las Nevadas once, Tommy attempts to do this as "Trousers"[[note]]he was using an invisibility potion while wearing a pair of netherite leggings--for the record, in Minecraft, 'invis pots' doesn't make the armour a player is wearing invisible[[/note]], to talk about his trauma and various issues using epithets, e.g. referring to himself as "the protagonist". Quackity sees through it, but plays along and tries to help him anyway.

* In ''IWantToBeACuteAnimeGirl'', when Cheryl first 'appears', so to speak, her dad sits down for a talk, and she briefly pretends to be a stranger in order to ask about, well, Charon. Obviously in this case, it's just a veneer so that they feel more comfortable hashing things out.

* In ''[[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/i-want-to-be-a-cute-anime-girl/list?title_no=349416 I Want To Be A Cute Anime Girl]]'', when Cheryl first 'appears', so to speak, her dad sits down for a talk, and she briefly pretends to be a stranger in order to ask about, well, Charon. Obviously in this case, it's just a veneer so that they feel more comfortable hashing things out.

* In the ''Series/SonnyWithAChance'' episode "Sonny With A Chance of Dating", Tawni is jealous of Sonny dating a Mackenzie Falls co-star and claims that her best friend once dated him and ended up wearing poliester pants. Sonny correctly deduces that Tawni is that "friend".

--->'''Benny:''' ''(in a high-pitched voice)'' Vampire awkward!!!!

* In the ''Series/{{Sonny With A Chance}}'' episode "Sonny With A Chance of Dating", Tawni is jealous of Sonny dating a Mackenzie Falls co-star and claims that her best friend once dated him and ended up wearing poliester pants. Sonny correctly deduces that Tawni is that her "friend".

* Zigzagged in ''Fanfic/ServiceWithASmile''. Jaune uses it when asking Ruby for advice about how to deal with Cinder. Ruby goes to Oobleck about it, but he naturally doesn't believe that she really is asking for a friend. Then Pyrrha takes it UpToEleven by asking for saying she "has this friend who has this friend". At one point, Blake tries to do this, but Ruby, fed up with this trope, says "No! No, no, no! No, you don't have a friend who has a problem. You have a problem! [...] [[LampshadeHanging I'm sick and tired of all the dancing around. Why can't people just admit they have a problem? I know you have a problem. You know you have a problem. You know that I know that you have a problem. Just. Say. It! Argh!"]]

* ''Series/MyLifeIsMurder'': Alexa's doctor assumes this is happening in "Another Bloody Podcast" when she asks about cancer treatment. He starts to tell her about the dangers of using the internet for self-diagnosis. when she says it is not for her, he says "Oh, a 'friend'?" in a skeptical tone. However, she is actually asking because it is actually asking because it is relevant to the case she is investigating.