History Main / WeDoNotKnowEachOther

* [[Creator/AgathaChristie Agatha Christie's]] ''N or M?'' has a retired (former British Intelligence) [[TommyAndTuppence couple]] going undercover at a hotel. Their respective cover stories were devised separately, so they could not act as though they knew each other.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance pull this at a mission in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' in order to gain Diaz' trust - and finally kill him off.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* Not quite a con, but the [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]] gang are being cautious, and not advertising that they know each other, when Belkar is in the arena [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0781.html here]]. Leads to him and V being able to insult each other by way of "introduction."
** And causing [[TheDitz Elan]] to cluelessly ask "What's your name, Roy?" after being "introduced" to him.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* In the manga ''Manga/{{Sanctuary}}'', the two main characters spend much of the time pretending to be strangers to each other, all the while assisting each other in their plan to shake up all social stratas of 90's Japanese society.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

* Aspects of both showed up in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Starfighters of Adumar]]''. Wedge Antilles, pilot and all-around hero acting as ambassador to a world believed to be very recently discovered, finds his old flame Iella from Intelligence there, looking at him without any visible recognition. When Wedge sends one of his pilots to talk to her, she asks how the pilots are doing. Later he confronts her and finds that the New Republic has known about this world for somewhat longer than he'd thought, telling him that she can't blow her cover. Later still he confronts her again, and finds that another reason is pain - they didn't break up so much as drift apart, and she'd never tried to bring them back together, and he'd moved on to other relationships, even though they hadn't lasted. She'd like them to both forget about it. [[spoiler: But Wedge loved her too.]]
* A tween-book titled ''Mom, You're Fired!'' involves the narrator, embarassed by her mother singing opera in public and "dressing like a Gypsy," lying to a new friend and claiming her mother is her babysitter. When she has her friend over, she asks to call her mother by her first name, on the excuse that it sounds more grown up, to try and preserve the lie. She eventually realizes that her mother is not as embarassing as another friend's mother, (whom she previously wished was her own mother,) but the narrative ends before we see her new friend's reaction to being lied to.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]

[[AC:{{Religion}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Book 5 of ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has the party (once again) get split. Tarquin ends up unknowingly reuniting them by hiring Roy and Belkar to be Elan's bodyguards. [[spoiler: Tarquin has figured out that they're part of an adventuring party, but he also figured he could use them to serve his purposes.]]
--> '''Tarquin:''' "Ha! Fantastic! Elan, this warrior is going to be guarding you from now on."
--> '''Roy:''' ''(winking)'' "Uh, hi. Nice to meet you."
--> '''Elan:''' "Hi! I'm Elan! What's your name, Roy?"
--> '''Roy:''' [[Main/{{Beat}} (beat)]] "Roy."

* ''LuckyNumberSlevin'': The audience isn't told until the end that [[spoiler: Slevin and Mr. Goodkat are actually working together in the same con]].
* ''{{Rounders}}'': Mike and Worm use this trope when they work together at the same poker table several times throughout the movie. [[spoiler:This backfires in a major way during their final game, where Worm gets caught cheating when dealing a winning full house to Mike, thereby pissing off a room full of New York state cops.]]
* ''ThePhantomMenace'' had a brief shot of someone on Tatooine who was nabbed by the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse and made into an [[AmnesiacDissonance ultra-conflicted]] Jedi named Quinlan Vos. He could have helped Qui-Gon and company, but he was infiltrating something or other and assumed the same of the other Jedi.
* Used in one of the western films in the ''{{Film/Trinity}}'' series, where the titular character Trinity and his brother Bambino pretend not to know each other so that they can cheat at cards. The scheme falls apart when a professional gambler accuses Trinity of cheating, which Trinity was doing by giving everyone at the table increasingly good cards, but his brother ended up with the best hand.

* In ''TheSookieStackhouseMysteries'', Eric often follows Sookie into the territories of other vampires. Since, as an important leader in his own territory, he is often not welcome elsewhere, he frequently assumes a false identity for that time.

* In the Literature/CharlieParkerSeries, Parker, Louis and Angel frequently travel separately to and from meeting points, particularly if there's a likelihood that somebody is going to die. They even go so far as to take separate rooms in the same hotel and spend their time there refusing to even look at each other.

* Unsurprisingly for a show about a gang of long-con operators, this happens all the time in ''{{Hustle}}''.
* ''MissionImpossible'', being a con game series, uses this nearly every episode.

* This was spoofed in ''TheTick'' episode "The Tick vs Pineapple Pokopo," where our heroes keep blowing the secret, but the EvilMinions are too stupid to notice.

* In ''LawnDogs'', a woman who had just been making out with Trent later avoids him at a party, due to his outsider status.

* Aspects of both showed up in ''[[XWingSeries Starfighters of Adumar]]''. Wedge Antilles, pilot and all-around hero acting as ambassador to a world believed to be very recently discovered, finds his old flame Iella from Intelligence there, looking at him without any visible recognition. When Wedge sends one of his pilots to talk to her, she asks how the pilots are doing. Later he confronts her and finds that the New Republic has known about this world for somewhat longer than he'd thought, telling him that she can't blow her cover. Later still he confronts her again, and finds that another reason is pain - they didn't break up so much as drift apart, and she'd never tried to bring them back together, and he'd moved on to other relationships, even though they hadn't lasted. She'd like them to both forget about it. [[spoiler: But Wedge loved her too.]]

* In the Literature/CharlieParkerSeries, at Sam's baptism while Angel and Louis are acting as Sam's godfathers, Angel wears a suit so horrendous that fashion-conscious Louis spends the entire day pretending to have no idea who he is, even when Angel is standing next to him and talking to him.

* In ''Literature/{{Huge}}'', [[spoiler: Chloe]] spends half the season pretending [[spoiler: Alistair]] is not her brother, since she resents him being at a camp she previously considered her sanctuary.

* In an example that fits both types of the trope, when Dr Ethan Pierce first appeared on ''ShortlandStreet'' he and Dr Brooke Freeman pretended not to know each other, even though they had been lovers for years. Brooke felt that Ethan was an embarrassing reminder of her past and was already dating another man, while Ethan decided to go along with the ruse so that he could also date other women as well as use Brooke as a spy to gain a professional advantage at the hospital that they both work at.
* In a Season 3 episode of ''GossipGirl'', Blair bumps into Dan and Vanessa and insists on this trope. Though she then backtracks when she [[spoiler: realises how easily Dan is fitting into college life and asks him to be her date for Georgina's party]]

* In ''Literature/TheBible'', Peter denies knowing Jesus when he's brought to trial the night before the crucifixion, making this OlderThanFeudalism. And it was just a few hours after Peter said he would never do such a thing. And Christ being all-knowing, insisted he would, and he did. Peter was facing trial and horrible, [[Main/IncrediblyLamePun excruciating]] death rather than embarrassment, but still...as soon as Peter realized what he did, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he was horrified]].

* In ''[[DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] denies knowing [[ChildhoodFriends Tifa]] [[EasyAmnesia when she asks]] because they were summoned on opposing sides.

* In ''{{Daria}}'', snotty Quinn is terrified that having Daria as a sister will endanger her social status -- so the two must pretend not to be sisters. In a late episode, Quinn finally softens and admits this to her friends. Her main rival tries to make a big stink over it, but the others, Stacy and Tiffani reply, "[[EverybodyKnewAlready Oh, we knew. We were just being polite.]]"

* In a recent Season 3 episode of ''GossipGirl'', Blair bumps into Dan and Vanessa and insists on this trope. Though she then backtracks when she [[spoiler: realises how easily Dan is fitting into college life and asks him to be her date for Georgina's party]]

* In Literature/TheBible, Peter denies knowing Jesus when he's brought to trial the night before the crucifixion, making this OlderThanFeudalism. And it was just a few hours after Peter said he would never do such a thing. And Christ being all-knowing, insisted he would, and he did. Peter was facing trial and horrible, [[Main/IncrediblyLamePun excruciating]] death rather than embarrassment, but still...as soon as Peter realized what he did, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he was horrified]].

* In [[DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] denies knowing [[ChildhoodFriends Tifa]] [[EasyAmnesia when she asks]] because they were summoned on opposing sides.

* In an example that fits both types of the trope, when Dr Ethan Pierce first appeared on ''ShortlandStreet'' he and Dr Brooke Freeman pretended not to know each other, even though they had been lovers for years. Brooke felt that Ethan was an embarrassing reminder of her past and was already dating another man, while Ethan decided to go along with the ruse in order so that he could also date other women as well as to use Brooke as a spy to gain a professional advantage at the hospital that they both work at.

* A tween-book titled ''Mom, You're Fired!'' involves the narrator, embarassed by her mother singing opera in public and "dressing like a Gypsy," lying to a new friend and claiming her mother is her babysitter. When she's has her friend over, she asks to call her mother by her first name, on the excuse that it sounds more grown up, to try and preserve the lie. She eventually realizes that her mother is not as embarassing as another friend's mother, (whom she previously wished was her own mother,) but the narrative ends before we see her new friend's reaction to being lied to.

* In the manga ''Manga/{{Sanctuary}}'', the two main characters spend much of the time pretending to be strangers to each other, all the while assisting each other in their plan to shake up all social stratas of 90's Japan society.

* Not quite a con, but the ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'' gang are being cautious, and not advertising that they know each other, when Belkar is in the arena [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0781.html here]]. Leads to him and V being able to insult each other by way of "introduction."

* Not quite a con, but the [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]] gang are being cautious, and not advertising that they know each other, when Belkar is in the arena [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0781.html here]]. Leads to him and V being able to insult each other by way of "introduction."

* ''MissionImpossible'', being a con game series, uses this nearly every episode.

* Used in one of the western films in the ''Trinity'' series, where the titular character Trinity and his brother Bambino pretend not to know each other so that they can cheat at cards. The scheme falls apart when a professional gambler accuses Trinity of cheating, which Trinity was doing by giving everyone at the table increasingly good cards, but his brother ended up with the best hand.

* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''Literature/BrothersOfTheSnake'', after he worked with the Damocles squad of Space Marines on a mission on Ceres, the Inquisitor Mabuse meets up with them at a coronations. He draws off their leader to alert him that he is passing as a trader and not as an Inquisitor.
* Creator/AgathaChristie's ''N or M?'' has a retired (former British Intelligence) [[TommyAndTuppence couple]] going undercover at a hotel. Their respective cover stories were devised separately, so they could not act as though they knew each other.

* Bowen and Draco pull this scam on villagers in ''Film/DragonHeart'', which Draco attacking a village and Bowen pretending to slay him.

2. The characters have been captured by a hostile party, and are attempting to keep their friendship secret from their captors. One may be charged with a crime, and is trying to keep suspicion off the other.


!!Examples

----
2. One character denies knowing another because they think the association would reflect badly on them. This might be [[PlayedForDrama a matter of life and death]], for example if the person being blanked is an official {{unperson}} and the one doing the blanking is scared of a visit from StateSecurity. In a TeenDrama or SoapOpera, however, it's more likely that one character is just embarrassed to be seen in public with the other, and demands that they pretend not to know each other.

!!Examples

----
1. A spy mission or con game is in progress. If this is the first time some of these characters have appeared on the show, the audience might not be told that the characters know each other either.

* In ''{{Daria}}'', snotty Quinn is terrified that having Daria as a sister will endanger her social status -- so the two must pretend not to be sisters. In a late episode, Quinn finally softens and admits this to her friends. Her main rival tries to make a big stink over it, but the others the rival, replying, "[[EverybodyKnewAlready Oh, we knew. We were just being polite.]]"

* In Literature/TheBible, Peter denies knowing Jesus when he's brought to trial the night before the crucifixion, making this OlderThanFeudalism. And it was just a few hours after Peter said he would never do such a thing. And Christ being all-knowing, insisted he would, and he did. Peter was facing trial and horrible, [[Main/IncrediblyLamePun excruciating]] death rather than embarrassment, but still...

* In ''{{Huge}}'', [[spoiler: Chloe]] spends half the season pretending [[spoiler: Alistair]] is not her brother, since she resents him being at a camp she previously considered her sanctuary.

* In ''{{Daria}}'', snotty Quinn is terrified that having Daria as a sister will endanger her social status -- so the two must pretend not to be sisters. In a late episode, Quinn finally softens and admits this to her friends. Her main rival tries to make a big stink over it, but the others the rival, replying, "[[TheNotSecret Oh, we knew. We were just being polite.]]"

* In ''{{Daria}}'', snotty Quinn is terrified that having Daria as a sister will endanger her social status -- so the two must pretend not to be sisters. In a late episode, Quinn finally softens and admits this to her friends, who reply, "[[TheNotSecret Oh, we knew. We were just being polite.]]"