History Main / OnlyALighter

* ''Series/MASH'': One episode featured a sleazy chopper pilot who paid Korean children to scavenge for metal in minefields and such which he turned into sourveniers for GIs. One of the novelties he made from the scrap was a pistol lighter, which he claimed was his biggest seller. He tried passing it off as a gift for one of his "suppliers" who'd been injured by a mine explosion, much to the disgust of Hawkeye and {=BJ=}.

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'': The third episode involves a Statue of Liberty cigarette lighter that is not mistaken for something else, but is used to show (since she knows what it is) that one particular character has been secretly trespassing.

* The 1997 ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' has an inversion: Lyle shoots at George with a pistol that he ''thought'' was a novelty lighter.

* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' movie features a lighter shaped like a ''grenade'' at one point.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' comic, Catwoman's fixer Zed had a pistol shaped cigarette lighter that nearly caused him to get shot on one occasion.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' #171, the Riddler uses a pistol lighter to trick Batman into attacking him when he is not actually doing anything illegal.

* ''Film/TheReturnOfThePinkPanther'': Chief Inspector Dreyfus has a pistol cigarette lighter. It looks identical to his pistol. This results in a Running Gag where he mistakes his lighter for his pistol, or vice versa. When François sees it before Dreyfus lights himself a cigarette, after informing Dreyfus that Clouseau is to be reinstated as a detective, we get this exchange:
-->'''François:''' Sir?!\\
'''Dreyfus:''' What? ''[looks at pistol-shaped lighter]'' Oh, it's a birthday gift from my wife.

* The film ''Zombie Spring Breakers'' features local gangster Karl occasionally threatening people with a gun only to reveal that it is actually a lighter as he leaves them to get killed by zombies; [[spoiler:in his final scene, he kills himself by accident when he mixes the two up and shoots himself in the head while trying to light a cigarette]].

* An inversion in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': the titular gun is a working cigarette lighter as well as an ''actual'' gun when not being used to shoot.
* In ''Film/{{Innerspace}}'', the hapless store clerk protagonist has to deal with a customer who pulls a "gun" out of her purse when she gets annoyed with him only for it to turn out to be a lighter.

* The first episode of ''Series/BlackBooks'' has a subplot where Fran is going slowly mad trying to figure out what a bizarre object she bought to sell in her shop is. At the end of the episode, Manny wanders into her shop and immediately identifies it as a novelty cigarette lighter.
* On a ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/JustShootMe'', Nina scares some carolers by pulling out her pistol lighter. She later gives it to Jack as a present, and it gets him in trouble when he gets caught in an illegal immigration sting (long story).
* In the ''Series/TopGear'' Middle East special, when the cast are passing through a tense border check, one of the guards finds a lighter in Richard Hammond's car that is shaped like a rifle round, and is understandably pissed off by the carelessness of bringing such a thing.

* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Richard Chubby, the owner of Club Chubby, used to carry an automatic and an identical looking squirt gun filled with vodka that he used to use to freshen up patrons drink. There was more than one instance when he got the guns mixed up and shot a patron's glass. Chubby died some time later after doing vodka shots from the squirt gun, but accidentally using the real gun instead of the one with vodka in it.
* Similar scenario happens in an episode of ''Series/HappyDays'' where a sheriff, who has a vendetta for the Fonz, proceeds to pat him down, and finds what appears to be a switch-blade. He's about to arrest him before Fonzie reveals that it's actually a novelty comb.

* An NPC in ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' points a gun at [[PlayerCharacter Bernard]], but to the latter's surprise it's only a cigarette lighter. Is the current picture above. [[spoiler:Replacing it with a BangFlagGun is necessary to obtain an unlit cigar from him.]]
* A cigarette lighter shaped like a gun (engraved by a local mob boss, no less) plays a semi-important role in the second episode of Creator/TelltaleGames's second ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' game ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame''.

* WesternAnimation/MrMagoo has a gun lighter in the cartoon "Magoo's Express". He shows it to a lady who, unbeknownst to him, is an Eastern Bloc spy trying to get the MacGuffin he acquired by mistake.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** During the musical number in the episode "420", a DEA agent uses a gun-shaped lighter to light a Jamacian's joint.
** Apparently, Vladamir Putin has a lighter that looks like a AK-pattern rifle.

* ''Return of Film/ThePinkPanther'': Chief Inspector Dreyfus has a pistol cigarette lighter. It looks identical to his pistol. This results in a Running Gag where he mistakes his lighter for his pistol, or vice versa. When François sees it before Dreyfus lights himself a cigarette, after informing Dreyfus that Clouseau is to be reinstated as a detective, we get this exchange:

Compare CouldntFindALighter, where the thing being used to light a cigarette or similar doesn't look like a lighter because it ''isn't''.

* Similar scenario happens in an episode of ''Series/HappyDays'' where a sheriff, who has a vendetta for the Fonz, proceeds to pad him down, and finds what appears to be a switch-blade. He's about to arrest him before Fonzie reveals that it's actually a novelty comb.

* In ''Series/{{Batman}}'' episode "Hi Diddle Riddle", the Riddler uses a pistol lighter to trick Batman into attacking him when he is not actually doing anything illegal.

* The first episode of ''Series/BlackBooks'' has a subplot where Fran is going slowly mad trying to figure out what a bizarre object she's been given as a gift is. At the end of the episode, Manny wanders into her shop and immediately identifies it as a novelty cigarette lighter.

* Fairly early in ''Film/WeirdScience'' Someone pulls out a pistol and it turns out to be a lighter. Later on it somehow gets replaced ... with a pistol.

* ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/MetroLastLight'': [[PlayerCharacter Artyom]] carries a lighter that looks like (or is possibly made from) a bullet, used to read the [[DiegeticInterface journal which displays the current objectives]] in the darkness of the metro tunnels. It can also provide light in situations where the proper flashlight would be too dangerous.

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* ''Return of Film/ThePinkPanther'': Chief Inspector Dreyfus has a pistol cigarette lighter.It looks identical to his pistol. This results in a Running Gag where he mistakes his lighter for his pistol, or vice versa.When Francois sees it before Dreyfus lights himself a cigarette, after informing Dreyfus that Closseau is to be reinstated as a detective, we get this exchange:
-->'''Francois''': Sir?!
-->'''Dreyfus''': What?(looks at pistol-shaped lighter) oh, it's a birthday gift from my wife.

* The kid from ''Film/Jungle2Jungle'' is given a mission by his tribal elder to steal fire from the Statue Of Liberty, and is disappointed to learn that its torch isn't real. At the end of the film his American dad gives him a novelty lighter that looks like it.

* An inversion In ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', the titular gun is a working cigarette lighter as well as an ''actual'' gun when not being used to shoot.

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* WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy: During the musical number in the episode "420", a DEA agent uses a gun-shaped lighter to light a Jamacian's joint.

--> '''Todd:''' Is that just your gun-shaped lighter or your lighter-shaped gun?
--> '''[=BoJack=]:''' Busted! It's just a lighter! '''*BANG!*''' Shit, I guess it's my gun. Then what did I do with my lighter? And what did I give to that baby?

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* ''Series/ThePretender'': In the episode "Scott Free" Nick threatens to shoot Jarod with a gun, but when he pulls the trigger it's revealed to be a lighter.

* In WoodyAllen's {{Mockumentary}} ''Film/TakeTheMoneyAndRun'', [[StupidCrooks Virgil Starkwell]] is seen at one point stealing a gun from a pawn shop and get in a shootout with the police soon after only to realize that the "gun" that he just stole is a cigarette lighter.

There may be some ''actual'' toys or guns that look exactly like it, causing a character to mix the two up.In the latter case, this can easily be either PlayedForLaughs or PlayedForDrama, [[BaitAndSwitch depending]] [[ShootHimHeHasAWallet on the]] [[AccidentalMurder situation.]]

A cigarette lighter designed to look like something else, such as a toy ... or gun in which case it may become a WeaponForIntimidation.

A cigarette lighter designed to look like something else, such as a toy or gun.

* An NPC in ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' points a gun at [[PlayerCharacter Bernard]], but to the latter's surprise it's only a cigarette lighter. Is the current picture above.

[[quoteright:275:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dott_gun_lighter.jpg]]

* An NPC in ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' points a gun at [[PlayerCharacter Bernard]], but to the latter's surprise it's only a cigarette lighter.Is the current picture above.