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Ask a Stupid Question...

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I mean it could be niblings or godchildren...

Mr. Tweedy: What is it?
Mrs. Tweedy: It's a pie machine, you idiot. Chickens go in; pies come out.
Mr. Tweedy: Oh, what kind of pies?
Mrs. Tweedy: Apple.
Mr. Tweedy: [excitedly] My favourite!
Mrs. Tweedy: Chicken pies, you great lummox!

... and ye shall receive a stupid answer.

You know how obnoxious Captain Obvious can be. You just want to yell at them and say, "Any blind idiot can tell what's going on!" But then there are those idiots who think they can tell what is going on, but ask a stupid question just to verify.

This is not only when that question is asked, but to the frustrated individual this is their chance to strike back with a non-sequitur, either in a Deadpan Snarker retort or full-on Mind Screw confusion. A specific variation of Sarcasm Mode.

While examples on this page are of In-Universe instances of this type of exchange, this is certainly a staple of MSTing by pointing out where people are being oblivious to their dialogue (or being repetitive in them). For example: "This is a map to Hammunaptra." "The Hammunaptra?" "No, the one in Jersey."

Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" routine was dedicated to these exchanges. MAD also had a section called "Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions" written by Al Jaffee.

Of course, if you decide to avert the inevitable sarcastic retort by not seeking explicit confirmation that your friend with the house full of boxes is actually moving, nine times out of ten it will turn out (after a generous helping of Poor Communication Kills) that he is just having the house fumigated.

An attempt to maneuver someone into asking a stupid question for the purpose of delivering a snappy answer is What's a Henway? When the stupid answer is, in fact, correct, it's Don't Be Ridiculous. See Stupid Question Bait, Ridiculous Request Response, and Rhetorical Question Blunder for similar concepts, as well as You Answered Your Own Question (where the question somehow contains the answer, like "What's the number for 911?")

Keep in mind, not every case of this trope is one where the asker is being stupid. In fact, many of these “stupid questions” are more of a case of verification & politeness rather than idiocy. Think of it like this: Say you’re supposed to meet up with someone named Bob (you’ve never met him before and don’t really know what he looks like) and then once you meet him you ask him if he’s Bob, even if he fits every description you do know about him. Really, no one’s gonna fault you for asking since you just wanted to be sure, and it would be awkward/embarrassing if you start talking to someone and it turns out he isn’t Bob. If Bob gives a sarcastic or snarky response like “No. I’m Mickey Mouse!”, it really makes him look bad and potentially paints him as a Jerkass. For this reason, it's generally not a good idea to give a "Stupid Answer" to what you think is a "Stupid Question" in Real Life, since it's seen as incredibly rude rather than funny.note  And it might just get you into trouble, especially if done to an authority figure like a police officer or a teacher.

Also, there are cases, more so in conversations, where the subject simply is not as obvious as the responder thinks it is. This is often because of Ambiguous Syntax, being Oblivious to Hints, not getting sarcasm, the responder being (unknowingly) cryptic & vague, etc. Ultimately, whether the asker is foolish, the responder is being rude, both, or even neither is up to the work & the audience.


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    Does this folder contain Anime and Manga? 
  • Black Lagoon. Revy gets bailed out of a firefight by a Chinese woman with throwing knives and a man driving a Jeep. She immediately asks the man:
    Revy: Are you the getaway driver?
    Leigharch: No, I'm a fuckin' lawyer! What do you think?!
  • GTO: The Early Years: Eikichi is shocked at Saya Minazuki's bluntness when they first meet.
    Eikichi: Do I look like such a lame guy?
    Saya: You do.
    [...]
    Eikichi: What's a girl buying porno for? Yeah, what're you gonna use it for, huh? I dare you to tell me.
    Saya: Masturbation.
  • At the climax of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, a paramedic approaches Josuke, who has several pieces of wood sticking out of him and is bleeding badly, and asks him, "Are you one of the injured?". Oddly, Josuke actually shakes his head in spite of this, probably to keep himself from being taken away by the paramedics when they have Kira cornered.
  • In a case arc of The Kindaichi Case Files, Saki does this when he, Kindaichi, and Miyuki encounter a patron wearing a face mask at meal time in an inn where they stay.
    Saki: Senior, he came here to have dinner, but he kept his mask on. How is he gonna eat?
  • In Spy X Family, the Handler asks some university student terrorists, who are trying to start a war, if they have ever been killed, and one of them says "Obviously not, ya dumb broad!" Undeterred, she then asks them if they have ever experienced the horrors of war to point out that they have no idea what they're trying to do by starting a war.
  • From Toriko, right after the question being asked has just been stabbed and shot. In a subversion, it turns out the victim has a Healing Factor, so it's an easy fix.
    Komatsu: D-director Mansam! Are you okay?!
    Mansam: Kid...do I look okay to you?
    Komatsu: NOT AT ALL!

    Does this folder contain Comedy? 
  • While the overall premise of Bill Engvall's recurring "Here's Your Sign" routine is that stupid people should be issued signs advertising the fact to wear around their necks, his experiences in encountering people who qualify often take this form.
    • For example:
      Bill: [to gal at lost luggage counter] Yes, ma'am, you lost my luggage.
      Lost luggage clerk: Has your plane landed yet?
      [Beat]
      Bill: I said, "No, princess, I'm having an out-of-body experience!" [beat] "I was just checkin' on it. Here's your sign."
    • And this classic:
      Random Guy: [points to a buck's head mounted on Bill's wall] Ya' shoot that deer?
      Bill: [beat] Aw, no — he tried to run through the wall and got stuck. Here's your sign.
    • And who could forget:
      Sheriff's deputy: "You get your truck stuck?"
      Bill: And God bless this trucker, without missing a beat he goes, "No, I was delivering this overpass, and I ran out of gas!" Here's your sign.
    • Bill himself is not immune to this trope. When his son said he was going to play a song from Harry Potter on the piano:
      Bill: Oh cool, the movie?
      Bill's son: Nope, the book! Here's your sign.
  • Eddie Izzard, in response to someone asking why he always wore women's clothes, answered, "They're not women's clothes, I bought them, they're mine!"note
  • In Brian Regan's I Walked on the Moon, during the hospital segment:
    Nurse: How are you doing tonight?
    Brian: ...I'm on a gurney. You got any painkillers or something? This is killing me.
    Nurse: How would you describe your pain?
    Brian: ...It's killing me. [Beat] I don't know if you remember that part.
  • Jeffrey Ross gives a few awesome examples when telling a story about his great aunt (affectionately nicknamed "Aunt Tique"), who passed away at the ripe old age of 104. When he called a cousin to break the news, he got the question "How did she die?!"
    Ross: Uhhhh, her chute didn't open! She was trampled at OzzFest! Her Harley flipped over on the Jersey Turnpike... She scored some bad crack; we found her in Newark... She died in childbirth... [to the audience] You wanna know how she died, for real? She turned 104, whole family got together, we took a vote... and we shot her.

    Does this folder contain Comic Books? 
  • The French comic Agent 212 has the titular beat cop on the scene of a grisly murder. The commissioner tells him to draw a Chalk Outline around the body. The squeamish 212 asks "Who? Me?", the commissioner replies "Yes, you. I'd have asked His Holiness the Pope, but he was busy this morning."
  • An Archie Comics one-shot featured Moose asking these sorts of questions. It was titled, "D-uh! Really Dumb Questions!" It even featured the classic "What's the number for 911?" line.
    Random guy: Actually, I'm not an only child! I have an identical twin brother!
    Moose: Really? What does he look like?
  • Buck Danny: On seeing Sonny emerge on deck with a hat festooned with hooks and lures, five fishing rods, and a huge basket...
    Buck: Is he going fishing, do you think?
    Tucker: No, he's going fishing!
    Buck: Really! I could have sworn he was going fishing.
  • Disney Ducks Comic Universe: In one Uncle Scrooge story, a Beagle Boy attempts to rob Scrooge's house and runs afoul of McDuck's Battle Butler;
    Beagle Boy: Are you okay?
    Beagle Boy: (Beaten up and thrown into the air) No, I'm flying to break the monotony!
  • One Judge Dredd story sees Dredd trying to figure out where Walter, his house robot, is getting the money for various gifts from. It turns out he's moonlighting as a cabby. At the end of the story, Dredd is curious why anyone would hire Walter... only to find the dispatcher has the same speech impediment Walter does. Dredd then quotes the trope title verbatim.
  • JLA Classified #2:
    Squire: Are you really Batman?
    Batman: No, I'm Goldfish man. Can't you tell?
    Squire: Oh, it's like that is it.
  • Long Ago And Far Away: When Jason and one of his allies are riding through the haunted forest, this conversation occurs.
    Ally: Why do they call it the haunted forest?
    (Beat)
    Jason: Why do you think it's called the haunted forest?
    Ally: 'Cause it's... haunted?
    Jason: Congratulations, you get a pellet.
  • Spider-Man: In The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee & Ditko). Betty Brant, the Daily Bugle secretary, asks Peter Parker how he got his arm sprained (she knows it couldn't have been volleyball, which was the explanation he gave Aunt May). He says it happened "while I was fighting the Vulture for dear life".
    Betty: Oh well! Ask a silly question!
    Peter: So let's stick to the volleyball story, okay?
  • Superman:
    • The Superman Adventures: In Issue #53, upon realizing Granny Goodness is behind the trap for him, Mister Miracle says "Ask a silly question, get a silly villain!".
    • In Superman vs. Shazam!, Captain Marvel is trying to stop the Brooklyn Bridge from falling when he sees Mary Marvel flying towards him. When he asks what she is doing there, Mary answers "Don't ask dumb questions, brother mine!"
  • Shows up in a few Tintin stories, usually involving Professor Calculus, who is not only deaf but apparently Sarcasm-Blind as well.
    Calculus: Tell me, Captain, was that a fish jumping out of the water just now?
    Captain Haddock: No, it was a grand piano!
    Calculus: Ah, I didn't think it could have been a fish...
  • Welcome to Hoxford has this doozy asked of the criminally-insane Ray Delgado.
    Pack Alpha: Are you insane? Oh, right.

    Does this folder contain Comic Strips? 
  • Most likely the earliest example: Rube Goldberg's Foolish Questions.
  • Garfield
    • When Jon first meets Liz:
      Jon: By the way there, doc, what's your name?
      Liz: Liz.
      Jon: Gee, what a pretty name. Is that short for Elizabeth?
      Liz: No. It's short for lizard.
    • In another strip:
      Jon: Are you going to sleep all day, Garfield?
      Garfield: Let me check my social calendar. Let's see... There's high tea with the Queen of England tomorrow, but nothing today. [falls asleep]
      Jon: Ask a stupid question...
    • An odd example in this exchange:
      Jon: Think we should order pizza tonight?
      Garfield: [cue giant face-splitting grin]
      Jon: That was a stupid question.
      Garfield: Ah-ah-ahhh...there are no stupid questions!
  • Don't Some People Ask the Biggest Fool Questions? uses this trope extensively. In one example, Gerald is building a dog house:
    Man walking by: Hello, Gerald, building a dog house?
    Gerald: No, I'm up in a balloon milking a chicken.
  • In the original Thimble Theater comic strip that introduced Breakout Character Popeye, Castor Oyl and Ham Gravy are looking for a sailor who can take them to Dice Island.
    Castor: You there! Are you a sailor?
    Popeye (who is standing on the dock obviously dressed as a sailor with an anchor tattoo on his arm): Ja think I'm a cowboy?
    • During the Pool of Youth arc, Castor goes to confront Toar, an immense man. Toar socks Castor so hard that he goes flying right over Popeye's head.
    Popeye: Ahoy, Castor, did somebody hitcha?
    Castor (Sporting a blackeye): No, you sap! I'm the man on the flying trapeze!

    Does this folder contain Fan Works? 
  • Angry Harry and the Seven: In chapter 14, after Sirius Black is brought out of Azkaban for a trial and exonerated, a reporter asks him, "Are you happy to be free, Lord Black?" Sirius responds, "Don't you think that's quite the idiotic question?"
  • Calvin & Hobbes: The Series references this:
    Thunderstorm: Well, when you ask a bonehead question...
  • In Chrysalis Visits The Hague, the lawyer protagonist that his case worker, Lyra Heartstrings, neglected to mention something rather important about herself:
    Lyra: I... should have probably told you a lot shooner, huh?
    Estermann: Oh no, no. You could have waited until Christmas and broken it to me under a mistletoe. Of course you fucking should have!
  • In the Lucifer (2016) fic "City of Sin", other characters treat Dan as this when he's investigating the disappearance of Malcolm Graham and asks for Chloe's whereabouts when she's just confirmed that she last saw Malcolm shortly before she was shot in her apartment;
    Lucifer: Chloe undoubtedly has an alibi for any point in… 'whoever you said went missing's' disappearance. Unless you think she kidnapped him after being shot multiple times?
  • While the exact answer isn't given, when John in A DIC-less SI asks his magic map (which provides directions to answers for any questions you ask it) how to get Rei pregnant, it apparently tells him to have sex with her. When he clarifies he wants to know how to help Shinji get Rei pregnant, the map tells him to jiggle Shinji's balls while he has sex with Rei.
  • In Dragon Ball Z Abridged, after Perfect Cell kicks Krillin through a plateau.
    Trunks: Krillin, are you all right?!
    Krillin: [pained whimper]
    Trunks: Do you need a Senzu Bean?
    Krillin: [pained whimper]
    Trunks: You're right, that is a stupid question.
  • Dying of the Light: Buffy contacts Giles when she discovers that head Watcher Quentin Travers has betrayed Sunnydale to the demons of the Hellmouth.
    Buffy: Quentin's giving the orders, they...
    Giles: Hold on! Quentin? Quentin Travers?
    Buffy: No, Quentin Tarantino!
  • The End of the World (FernWithy): In The Golden Mean, when Thresh's sister sneaks into District 12 with a rebellion message and reports that District 8 (which she stopped at on the way) just "Blew its stack."
    Ed Mellark: Are you saying they're rebelling? Already?
    Winnow: No. They're having fireworks. And picnics. And hardware sales. What game did you think you were playing.
  • Family:
    Harry: Sue? You come to watch the game?
    Susan: No, Potter, Hermione and I are here to help the elves clean the castle.
  • In chapter 38 of Harry Potter And The Rune Stone Path, in the immediate aftermath of Harry Potter violently preventing an attempted gang rape on Daphne Greengrass, Professor McGonagall asks her "Are you alright?" While wrapped in a conjured sheet to salvage her modesty, bleeding from her forehead and earlobes, and barely able to stand, Daphne snaps back "Do I look alright?"
  • The Keys Stand Alone: The Soft World:
    • John deliberately invokes this trope at the beginning, when the Nigh-Invulnerable Paul has just dropped several hundred feet and crashed through the ground into an underground chamber:
      John: I know this is a silly question, but are you okay, Macca?
      Paul: Don't be daft, of course I'm okay.
    • None of them suffer fools gladly, as Spectrem found out when he asked a stupid question of George.
  • My Hero Academia: Unchained Predator: After patching Miruko up from her injuries sustained by Wolfram and Curator, Hawks asks the Slayer if his actions were entirely justified to paint the whole island red with blood. VEGA shows all of the Saber's crimes and atrocities. Hawks concedes the point but still thinks the Slayer went too far.
    • When All Might asks that same question in Chapter 21, the Slayer looks at him with a mix of anger and disbelief, before stomping a dead Saber's head into paste.
  • Never Had a Friend Like Me: In Chapter 4, when Norm appears in Amanda's room with an extra large box of pizza:
    Amanda: Hi, Norm. Did you bring pizza?
    Norm: (dryly) No, I ordered a bucket of fried chicken. Extra flat. Of course it's pizza.
  • In Of Eagle and Lion McGonagall takes Hermione and Harry to Diagon Alley.
    Tom: Another pair of youngens?
    McGonagall: No, Tom. I'm training midgets to take over Hogwarts.
  • Opheliac: When Sokka asks Azula if she's doing well in the mental facility.
    Azula: I'm great. I just love it here in the madhouse, where I'm not allowed to bend and everyone flinches at the sight of me, and where I can't even get a decent cup of tea because I'm supposed to be recovering from some kind of terrible disease of the mind. I'm so glad to be here, where I'm not a menace to society. And that freedom nonsense just wasn't for me anyway.
    Sokka: I get it. No need for sarcasm. It was just a question.
    Azula: It was a stupid question. Of course I'm not doing well. Idiot.
    Sokka: I'm not an idiot. I was trying to be nice.
  • In The Power of the Press Hermione shakes Harry awake shortly after discovering some interesting information.
    Hermione: Were you sleeping?
    Harry: No, I was examining the insides of my eyelids for defects.
  • Power plays:
    Lilith: Then where did you go?
    Harry: The restricted section of the library.
    Tracy: What were you doing there?
    Daphne: Looking for Dumbledore's chocolate frog card collection. What do you think we were doing?
  • Raising Harry: La Vida Muggle:
    A.J.: Goin' ridin'?
    Harry: Nope, just thought I'd see if I could saddle all the horses just to see how long it took.
  • In Prodigy James is asleep in his truck after a long day at work.
    Catherine: Tired, James?
    James: No, I was doing a rather unknown form of yoga...
  • Near the end of Resident Evil Abridged, Rebecca avoids being shot by Wesker by falling down and pretending to be dead. So when Chris finds out she survived and asks why she didn't help him fight the Tyrant, she plainly replies:
    Rebecca: Playing O-possum means feigning death 'til ALL the danger's passed, Chris.
  • These Are The Names (link here) has some fun with this when the peacekeepers come to investigate some of the Mentors they (correctly) suspect of rebel activity, and find them gone. Brutus (who has no clue about the Rebellion) invokes this when they ask where Haymitch took Johanna.
    "Oh come on. He's got a little girl who follows him around like a little puppy. What do you think he's showing her, the art museum? Oh, I know, the library." He makes an unpleasant face. I doubt he's covering for Haymitch. I'm pretty sure Brutus actually believes that Haymitch is off seducing a sixteen year-old girl. But whatever he's doing he's keeping the peacekeepers occupied.
  • This Bites!:
    • In Chapter 32, when Commander Drake asks if Vice Admiral Jonathan is alright after a meeting with Cross, Jonathan dryly reminds him that he is a Vice Admiral whereas Cross is a member of a rookie crew and not a terribly strong member at that.
    • In Chapter 80, when CP9, now Jormungandr, shows up to help Luffy:
    Luffy: What the hell are you three doing here?
    Jabra: We're here to walk orphans to school and pick blueberries for peace, what does it look like we're doing here, nitwit?! We're saving your dumb ass!
  • Through a Looking Glass, Darkly: Jack provides some choice answers.
    Jellybean: Did you have that on you the entire time?
    Jack: No, I teleported back to the Looking Glass while we were running from the Jabberwock and stole it then.
  • Twelve Red Lines has one in Chapter 17:
    Kuromarimo: Yo Boss, you want me'n Chess to take care of 'em?
    Wapol: No, I want you to sit there and have a tea party. Of course I want you to take care of them!
  • In the Kim Possible fic "The Twists and Turns of Love," when Kim and Ron are giving a press conference after the Diablos incident, after they confirm they're now dating Kim informs the attending press agents that she and Ron are off to prepare for a date so any further questions will be directed to Rufus. Naturally virtually nobody has any idea what to say to a naked mole rat at first, although someone eventually asks "What does synthodrone taste like?", to which Rufus just answers "Blech!"
  • In The Web of The Spider-Man, Peter has this conversation with a guard who is Pinned to the Wall by the Vulture's Flechette Storm.
    Guard: [sees Peter trying to pull out the Vulture's feather] What the Hell do you think you're doing you lunatic?
    Peter: I'm using the Power of Archimedes!
    Guard: Fucking... what?
    Peter: [adjusts his glasses] You know... Archimedes? Great Classical Mathematician and Engineer? Torque? H-He said that if he could stand in the right place with a long enough lever he could... [gets a blank stare] This... probably isn't the time or place for this, is it?
    Guard: Gee, ya think?!
  • Where in the World Is Harry Potter? (link here):
    Dumbledore: Are you threatening me?
    Snape: No, I just have my wand pointed at you for you to admire it.
  • Zorua Trainer: In Chapter 45, after Ash and Gary run ahead to one of Cinnabar's local battlefield from the ferry and Ash's gang takes a bit to catch up:
    Ash: Do you guys want to watch?
    Karen: No, we just really wanted to go for a run.

    Does this folder contain Animated Films? 
  • In The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, Toaster and the other appliances encounter a famous satellite after arriving on the titular planet:
    Toaster: It's Viking One!
    Kirby: The satellite?
    Viking One: No, Viking One the bagel. Of course the satellite!
  • Casper's First Christmas: Early in the film, the Ghostly Trio pick on Snivel, stealing his whistle and blowing on it, only to learn too late that blowing it summons Kibosh.
    Fatso: Kibosh, the evil, vicious, cruel, mean-spirited king of all ghosts?!
    Stretch: No – Kibosh, the country-and-western singer!
  • From Chicken Run, when the pie-making machine is first introduced, Mrs. Tweedy snarks at Mr. Tweedy's questions about the pie machine. Provides the page quote.
  • Hercules gives us this awkward exchange upon meeting Megara for the first time (who is currently being held up by a centaur):
  • In the movie version of Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who!, Morton shows up to warn Horton about Kangaroo sending Vlad the eagle to snatch the clover, and the following exchange happens:
    Horton: I know two Vlads. Is it bad Vlad, or the bunny Vlad that makes the cookies?
    Morton: Yeah, Horton, she's sending you a bunny with cookies. I think we can assume it's the bad Vlad!
  • In Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Diego fends off gulongs to protect the laboring Ellie
    Diego: My paws are burning, baby! They're burning! I got a tip-toe! Tippy-toe! Tippy toe!
    Ellie: Excuse me, Twinkle Toes! Giving birth here!
    Diego: Oh, right! Sorry. You okay?
    Ellie: "Am I okay? Am I okay?!" Do you even know anything about childbirth?!
    Diego: Uh... no, not really. But Manny's on his way here right now.
  • It's really easy to miss, but in The Incredibles, Helen has just discovered her kids on board the plane. She asks, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You left Jack-Jack alone?!"
    Violet: [brightly] Yes, Mom, I am completely stupid. [normal voice] Of course we got a sitter! Do you think I'm completely irresponsible? Thanks a lot!
    • Later on, when they are flying in a makeshift rocket that Helen has to hold together:
      Bob: How ya doin', honey?
      Helen: DO I HAVE TO ANSWER?!
  • Inside Out: When Anger plants the idea for Riley to run away back to Minnesota, Fear questions how they'll travel. When answering, Anger is first sarcastic, saying they'll go in an elephant.
    Anger: Well, why don't we go down to the elephant lot, and rent an elephant?
    Fear: Hey, that sounds nice.
    Anger: WE'RE TAKING THE BUS, NITWIT!
  • In Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, the titular character asks quite the stupid question upon being told that he will be the official playmate to Princess Camille:
    Nemo: Wait a minute. This princess is a girl?
  • In Mickey and the Beanstalk, Mickey tries to calm down Donald when the latter is furious that he traded their cow for "magic" beans.
    Mickey: If you plant these beans in the light of a full moon, you know what'll happen?
    Donald: Yes! We get more beans!
  • In Shark Tale:
    Oscar: (inside Lenny's mouth) Don't. Swallow.
    Lenny: Oscar?
    Oscar: No, it's Pinocchio... OF COURSE IT'S ME...

    Does this folder contain Live-Action Films? 
  • In Alien, Kane wakes up after he has just spent the last several hours in a coma with an alien creature on his face.
    Parker: How are you doing?
    Kane: Terrific. Next silly question.
  • Analyze This:
    • This exchange:
      Paul Vitti: I couldn't get it up last night.
      Ben Sobel: You mean sexually?
      Paul Vitti: No, I mean for the big game against Michigan State. Of course sexually!
    • From the sequel:
      Jelly: Can you handle [a gun]?
      Ben: What, you mean shoot it?
      Jelly: No, twirl it like a fuckin' baton.
  • From Animal House: "You guys playing cards?"
  • Occurs when Captain Peacock spots Mr. Humphries in his swimming gear in Are You Being Served?:
    Captain Peacock: Been for a dip?
    Mr. Humphries: Well, I haven't been sitting in the cocktail bar with this lot on.
  • There's one in the opening minutes of Avengers: Age of Ultron, though the tone is more resigned dread than sarcastic.
    HYDRA Mook: It's the Avengers!
    Baron Strucker: Can we hold them?
    HYDRA Mook: Sir... it's the Avengers.
  • In Back to the Future Part II, when Old Biff's grandson Griff walks in and demands Old Biff, who he calls "Gramps", to finish waxing his car:
    Marty: Are you two related?
    Old Biff: [taps Marty on the head with his cane] Hello?! Hello?! Anybody home?? What, you think Griff just called me Grandpa for his health?!
  • The Dude of The Big Lebowski is a master of this.
    Treehorn's Thug: [holding a bowling ball] What the fuck is this?
    The Dude: Obviously, you're not a golfer.
  • Black Panther (2018): When Everett Ross wakes up in Shuri's lab when recovering from being shot:
    Ross: Is this Wakanda?
    Shuri: No, it's Kansas.
  • In Cockneys vs. Zombies, Katy looks over a garden fence and spots yet another zombie herd in the group's path:
    Katy: Fuck.
    One of the brothers: What? What is it?
    Katy: Leprechauns, what'd you think?
  • Die Hard:
  • In Doctor at Sea, when Trail sees Archer dressed up smartly:
    Trail: Going ashore, Second?
    Archer: Well, I'm not dressed like this to go down to the engine room.
  • In Eve of Destruction, a counter-terrorist expert Jim McQuade is recruited by a scientist to hunt down a nuclear-armed android. At one point the scientist asks McQuade what his speciality is. Before telling his military credentials, McQuade snarks, "My specialty is a spinach lasagna in a tomato-basil sauce."
  • In Ex Machina, Nathan and Caleb discuss Ava's programming as a female android;
    Nathan: Caleb, what's your type?
    Caleb: Of girl?
    Nathan: No, salad dressing!
  • An interviewer in First Man asks Neil if he'll be "affected" by the recent death of his daughter during the training program. An annoyed Neil responds by saying it'd be unreasonable to assume it wouldn't have an affect on him.
  • In Freddy vs. Jason, as the main characters run screaming from the house after Jason's first attack, Deputy Stubbs pulls up:
    Stubbs: You kids need some assistance?
    Gibb: [thrusting her blood-soaked hands in his face] WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK!?
  • The Full Monty: Gaz asks his friend Dave to "borrow" a jacket for a funeral from the store where he works:
    Dave: What colour?
    [beat]
    Gaz: Orange.
    Dave: Orange?
    Gaz: Black! For fuck's sake.
  • In Gung Ho: "Want some ice cream? Haagen-Dazs!" "Eat shit and die." (Beat) "Are you having your period?" "STOP THE CAR!"
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cedric walks up to Harry and greets him with "How are you doing?", right after witnessing other students bullying Harry. Harry's response is a heavily sarcastic "Spectacular."
  • His Girl Friday:
    Reporter: What, Hildy, you still here?
    Hildy: No, I'm in Niagara Falls.
  • In Bruges, Ray invokes this trope in order to pick a fight with an American who's actually Canadian.
    American: [eating] It's fucking unbelievable.
    Ray: [very long beat] What's fucking unbelievable?
    American: Are you talking to me?
    Ray: He pauses, even though he should just hit the cunt, and he repeats: Yes! I am talking to you! What's fucking unbelievable?!
  • In Jingle All the Way:
    Fake Santa: That'll be 300.
    Howard: ...Dollars?
    Fake Santa: No, chocolate kisses. Yes, dollars!
  • Kaamelott: Premier Volet: While Perceval is trying to listen for enemy activity in the tunnels:
    Karadoc: Can you hear anything?
    Perceval: THERE'S A GUY WITH A STUPID VOICE WHO JUST ASKED IF I CAN HEAR ANYTHING!
  • Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is absolutely riddled with this trope, coming from several characters, though it's a particular speciality of Gay Perry.
    • For example, after Harry finds a corpse dumped in his room:
      Perry: OK, first thing's first: we gotta move her somewhere. You got gloves?
      Harry: Excuse me?
      Perry: Gloves, do you have gloves? We have to move her. If it's a frame-up, some asshole's probably calling the cops on you right now. Do this: wrap up the body, in a blanket, a sheet, anything.
      Harry: OK, uh... any particular kind of gloves?
      Perry: Yes... fawn. Will you fucking hurry?
    • And of course:
      Harry: Still gay?
      Perry: Me? No. I'm knee-deep in pussy. I just like the name so much, I can't get rid of it.
  • A conversation about Dottie's husband in A League of Their Own:
    Jimmy Dugan: Does he know how good you are?
    Dottie Hinson: Bob?
    Jimmy Dugan: No, Hitler. Yes, Bob.
  • Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels has several due to most of the characters being deadpan snarkers, including the following.
    Eddie: They're armed.
    Soap: What was that? Armed? What do you mean armed? Armed with what?
    Eddie: Err, bad breath, colorful language, feather duster... what do you think they're gonna be armed with? Guns, you tit!
  • Mad Max: Fury Road: After one of the Wives has just been shot in the leg. Unlike most examples, the questioner quips back.
    Furiosa: How does it feel?
    Angharad: It hurts.
    Furiosa: Out here, everything hurts.
  • In the comedy film Mean Girls 2...
    Mandi: Yes, Chastity, Dirty Dancing. No, down and dirty!
  • Mean Guns: After Vincent Moon explains the rules of the Game to the condemned, he opens the floor for questions. Two people who ask dumb questions are immediately killed.
    Criminal: What if we don't wanna play?
    Vincent: [shoots him] Then don't!
  • In the Flemish movie Moscow Belgium, Matty is calling to her daughter from the bathroom.
    Vera: Mom, are you taking a bath?
    Matty: No, I'm getting a massage from a big black guy.
  • In Mrs. Doubtfire after Chris and Lydia discover that their new nanny is their father in disguise.
    Lydia Hillard: Dad?
    Daniel Hillard: Yeah, honey.
    Chris Hillard: You don't actually like wearing that stuff, do you, Dad?
    Daniel Hillard: Well, some of it's comfortable. No! It's a pain in the padded ass!
  • Used in Muppets from Space, when Gonzo sits upright in bed quickly, accidentally launching Rizzo the Rat out the window.
    Gonzo: [hearing Rizzo climbing back in] Is that you, Rizzo?
    Rizzo: No, it's Santa. I forgot my reindeer.
  • No Kidding: While discussing the Robinsons' staff, Mrs. Spicer asks if their Matron (who she has just been told works at a public school) is qualified. An exasperated David annoyedly tells her that the Matron is actually a struck-off African witch doctor in return.
  • Planes, Trains and Automobiles: After Neal and Del's rented car catches on fire, Del reveals to Neal that he paid for the rental using Neal's credit card. Neal, however, thinks Del had stolen the card from him, before Del tries to explain what happened.note 
    Neal: (grabs Del by the collar) Give it back!
    Del: I can't.
    (Neal shakes Del)
    Neal: Why not?!
    Del: Because...
    (Neal shakes him again)
    Neal: Because, why...?!
    Del: Because when we stopped to gas up, I put the card back in your wallet.
    (Neal stares in horror at the car, where his wallet is burning inside)
    Neal: (groaning) Aww...
    (Neal lowers his head into Del's shoulders)
    Del: Are you mad at me?
    (Neal punches Del in the stomach, then trips over Del's suitcase)
  • When Gladys asks Edward and Janet if they've read Naked Revolt in Please Turn Over:
    Gladys: Have you read it?
    Edward: No, we've been playing Happy Families!
  • Quartet:
    Jean: This is the first time we've seen each other in God knows how many years.
    Reg: Ninety-seven.
    Cissy: [gasps] Is it really that long? God, how time flies. [realization] You're joking.
  • Reservoir Dogs: When Mr. White badgers "Nice Guy" Eddie to get some medical help for Mr. Orange.
    Eddie: I will call someone.
    White: Who are you gonna call?
    Eddie: A fucking snake charmer! Who do you think? I'll call a doctor.
  • Robin and the 7 Hoods:
    Robbo: What's your racket?
    Pool Hustler: Brain surgeon.
  • Rocky III (1982) had a scene where sports commentator Stu Nahan asks former Heavyweight Champion and guest commentator Apollo Creed for his prediction in the Rocky/Clubber Lang bout. When Creed (who famously lost the title to Balboa) picks Rocky, we have this exchange:
    Creed: "I predict the champ's gonna take it."
    Nahan: "Do you really think [Balboa] can hit that hard?"
    Creed: "Why do you think I'm out here with you?"
  • Run Fat Boy Run: Dennis, the fat boy in question, is running a marathon. After explicitly pointing out that Dennis is running on a broken ankle, the reporter then asks:
    Reporter: Sir! Sir! How do you feel?
    Dennis: (in tears, barely cognizant) How the fuck do you think I feel?!
  • The Santa Clause: Scott does this twice in a row to Neal:
    Neal: Scott, what was the last thing you and Charlie did before you went to bed Christmas Eve?
    Scott: We shared a bowl of sugar, did some shots of brown liquor, played with my shotguns, field-dressed a cat, looked for women... (earnestly) I read him a book!
    Neal: Which book?
    Scott: Uh, Hollywood Wives. (Beat) The Night Before Christmas, folks. Come on!
  • In Short Circuit, Stephanie does this when she tries to convince Newton that Number 5 nearly drove her food truck off a cliff.
    Newton: Are you sure you didn't do any steering or anything?
    Stephanie: Yeah, I like to drive off cliffs.
  • Snatch.: Bullet-Tooth Tony gets a few of these during the film.
    Tony: Boris the Blade? As in, 'Boris the Bullet-Dodger'?
    Avi: ...Why do they call him the 'Bullet-Dodger'?
    *Beat*
    Tony: ...Because he dodges bullets, Avi.
  • In Splash, Freddie informs Allen that they would be attending a dinner with the President.
    Allen Bauer: The president of what?
    Freddie Bauer: The president of the Three Stooges fan club. The President of the United States!
  • In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, after the destruction of Praxis and being told that there was an incident and the Klingons don't need help:
    Sulu: (incredulously) An "incident"...
    Rand: Do we report this, sir?
    Sulu: (turning to Rand) Are you kidding?
  • In Superman II, Lex Luthor gets one after offering General Zod the means to locate the son of Jor-El:
    Zod: Jor-El? Our Jailer?
    Luthor: No, [in a silly accent] Jor-El, the baseball player... [going back to normal voice when he realizes the evil Kryptonians have no sense of humor] Yes, Jor-El, your jailer.
  • Tremors:
    • Part of the delight of the film is the witty banter.
      Earl: You ever seen anything like this before? note 
      Val: Oh, sure Earl, everybody knows about 'em, we just didn't tell you!
    • And when Earl asks Bert what he uses cannon fuse for...
      Bert: [in Captain Obvious tone] My cannon.
  • Under Siege 2: Dark Territory: When Travis Dane and his mercenaries interrupt the two lovebird officials they need to interrogate to activate the Kill Sat, Dane mocks them for their office romance, leading to this:
    David Trilling: Is that what this is about?
    Travis Dane: Ugh, yeah, right! I, uh... faked my own death and hijacked a passenger train because I care about who you're fucking! No, I was just wondering what other rules you might be willing to break.
  • In V for Vendetta, When Evey first meets V she asks him who he is, to which he comments:
    V: "Who" is but the form, following the function of "what", and what I am is a man in a mask.
    Evey: Well, I can see that.
    V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I am merely commenting on the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
  • Watch Your Stern: When Admiral Pettigrew sees Chief Mundy not-so-discreetly dispose of Commander Fanshawe's bicycle:
    Admiral Pettigrew: I distinctly saw a bicycle pass that porthole a moment ago.
    Commander Fanshawe: Which direction was it going, sir?
    Admiral Pettigrew: Downwards, you idiot! Downwards into the harbour!
    Commander Fanshawe: Was anybody on it, sir?
    Admiral Pettigrew: Of course not!
  • Whale Rider: Variant. Pai's grandfather refuses to let her take part in the trials to become the next chief because she's a girl. The last trial is to retrieve a whale-tooth necklace that he threw into the deepest part of the bay, and none of the boys can do it. Pai does so but doesn't tell anyone, and instead saves the beached whales (mimicking the actions of her legendary ancestor) but lapses into a coma due to the effort. Her grandmother finds the necklace on her, and gives it to her husband.
    Grandfather: Which one?
    Grandmother: What do you mean, which one!?
  • Occurs twice in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, both times with the title character talking to Benny the Cab: "Benny, is that you?" "No, it's Eleanor Roosevelt!", and later "No, it's Shirley Temple!"
  • Winter Kills: When Nick asks Cerruti who kidnapped Yvette, Cerruti responds, "By whom? By the kidnappers."

    Does this folder contain Literature? 
  • In The Adventures of Pinocchio, Antonio the carpenter (AKA Maestro Cherry) has just fallen to the floor in shock after hearing a piece of wood talk when Gepetto comes in.
    "Good day, Maestro Antonio," said Geppetto. "What are you doing on the floor?"
    "I am teaching the ants their A B C's."
    "Good luck to you!"
    "What brought you here, friend Geppetto?"
    "My legs!"
  • Animorphs, during a time-travel scenario involving George Washington crossing the Delaware:
    Rachel: No way. George Washington?
    Marco: Jake, tell her, "No, Guido Washington."
    Jake: Marco would like me to pass along a sarcastic remark.
  • Codex Alera: Played for Drama in Captain's Fury; When Tavi is trying to negotiate a peace treaty near the beginning of the novel with the Canim commander Nasaug, he is told that while he personally is viewed as gadara (basically a Worthy Opponent in Canim culture), the rest of his people (Alerans) are not seen as honorable enough and won't be given as much respect as he is. When a confused Tavi asks how humanity is dishonorable in the Canim's eyes, Nasaug is described as briefly staring at Tavi as if the answer was painfully obvious before he goes into a lengthy "The Reason You Suck" Speech over how Humans Are the Real Monsters.
  • Cradle Series: Early on, Lindon discovers that nearly everything he has been taught about the sacred arts is wrong. So for the first couple books he keeps asking painfully obvious questions that exasperate Yerin. In Fisher Gesha's introduction, she claims "If I want the words of a silly girl, I will reach back a hundred years and ask myself." Lindon quietly asks Yerin if she could actually do that. Yerin just gives him a look.
  • The Dark Tower book Wizard and Glass has Eldred Jones ask his second-in-command how many of their men are armed. The second asks, "With guns?" prompting Jones to reply, "No, with pea-blowers, you damned fool."
  • Discworld:
    • Referenced but averted in the short story "The Sea and Little Fishes". When Granny Weatherwax is trying to be "nice", Nanny is surprised to see her looking at a pink cardigan. Nanny's reaction is "You're not going to wear that, are you?" She would have been reassured to get the reply "No, I'm going to eat it, you daft old fool", but instead Granny just says "You don't think it would suit me?"
    • In Men at Arms, the first biological dwarf in the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch, Constable Cuddy, keeps getting asked by incredulous citizens "Are you a dwarf?" He has snarky replies like "It's the nose, isn't it?" and "Are you a giant?"
    • Subverted in The Truth. When William asks the man holding a tray of bread loaves whether or not he's the baker:
      Man: What does it look like?
      William: I can see what it looks like. I'm still asking the question.
      Man: I'm the butcher, as it happens. Well done. The baker's off sick.
    • In The Last Continent, when the wizards have travelled through a magical portal to a tropical beach somewhere:
      Lecturer in Recent Runes: The Bursar and I went for a walk along the beach. And can you guess where we ended up?
      Ridcully: In Kiddling Street, Quirm. That little bit by the teashop, with the trees in it.
      Lecturer: That's astonishing, Archchancellor. Because, you know, in fact, we didn't. We wound up back here. We're on a tiny island.
  • From a Buick 8: the following conversation between Tony Schoondist and George, when the former orders the latter to get a pair of gerbils plus a cage so they can test if being inside the eponymous Buick is dangerous:
    George: Should I get them some food, too?
    Tony: Absolutely not. We're going to buy a couple of gerbils and then let them starve to death out in the shed.
    George: Really? That seems sort of mean to—
    Tony: Get them food George, yes.
  • In Hawk, Vlad asks "Is that it?" when Daymar delivers the promised thorn-hawk egg. Daymar snarks back that, no, the small brown egg is a life-sized wooden carving of a dragon. Vlad is floored by the realization that Literal-Minded Daymar has told a joke, even if it's a bad one.
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy
    • Zaphod is asked if he's THE Zaphod Beeblebrox. "No, just a Zaphod Beeblebrox. Haven't you heard, we come in six packs?".
    • Zaphod does this a lot.
      Receptionist: But sir, I umm, it was on the sub-ether radio this morning, er... it... er... said you were dead.
      Zaphod: Yeah, that's right, I just haven't stopped moving yet.
    • He's on the receiving end at one point:
      Marvin: I'm in the car park.
      Zaphod: The car park? What are you doing there?
      Marvin: Parking cars, what else does one do in a car park?
    • And one from the TV series:
      Ford: I don't believe you.
      Zaphod: Why not?
      Ford: You tend to lie a lot.
  • Journey to Chaos: Eric is teaching Kasile magecraft and asks if she is comfortable learning the fireball spell. He does this when they are in her room which is festooned with fire imagery that references her fire goddess heritage. Kasile just stares at him, prompting him to reference the trope, "Right... Stupid question."
  • In Magic Strikes, Kate Daniels is in a strange kitchen trying to make coffee, only someone has rearranged all the labels on the containers so she can't find anything.
    "Looking for something?" Dali came up from the hallway.
    "No, I'm dancing the can-can." Ask a dumb question...
    Dali blinked at me. "Would you mind making coffee while you're dancing? I smell it on the bottom shelf, either first or second jar on the left."
  • From Rivers of London, when Peter compares magic to jazz:
    Peter: You know how jazz is all about improvising on a melody?
    Lesley: No, I thought it was when you sang about cheese and tying up people's gaiters.
  • Scavenger Alliance: After first arriving among the Alliance, Tad has many questions, including about the presence of many young children, as they weren't mentioned in files on the Alliance. Donnell smirks and points out that where you get men and women together for extended periods, you tend to get children.
  • Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds: Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson how one of the invading machines was going after him. Watson exclaims "And you escaped!", to which Holmes replies "No, Watson. I was caught and killed by the machines."
  • A Song of Ice and Fire: In A Storm of Swords, Maege Mormont makes the mistake of asking this question of Catelyn Stark, for whom things only get worse.
    Maege: My lady, you seem so somber. Is aught amiss?
    Catelyn: (thinking) My lord husband is dead, as is my father. Two of my sons have been murderednote , my daughter has been given to a faithless dwarf to bear his vile children, my other daughter is vanished and likely dead, and my last son and my only brother are both angry with me. What could possibly be amiss?
  • In the Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series book The Bacta War, Rogue Squadron is escorting a bacta convoy through the Graveyard, the asteroid field left behind by Alderaan's destruction, but Alderaanian pilot Tycho Celchu, who is using IFF protocols derived from his homeworld, picks up some anomalous sensor pings. Moments later, an Imperial battlegroup tries to ambush the Rogues, but they drive them off with the help of an automated warship that flies out of the Graveyard to engage Tycho's targets. In the aftermath...
    Tycho Celchu: Wedge, I have a situation.
    Wedge Antilles: Yes?
    Tycho: Remember that cruiser that took a piece out of the Corrupter?
    Wedge: Kind of hard to forget, isn't it?
    Tycho: Well, it was the source of the IFF queries earlier on. It appears to think I'm the Another Chance.note  It has identified itself as the Valiant, and now it wants to know where we're going to go from here.
    Wedge: Tycho, any sign of intelligent life on board?
    Tycho: Ah, Wedge, it thinks I'm an Alderaanian war frigate, so I think we can rule out intelligence.
  • These Broken Stars: The Obstructive Bureaucrat Tarver is being interviewed by has a habit of asking questions that amount to, "So what were your priorities during this desperate survival situation?"
  • Warrior Cats:
    • In A Forest Divided, Thunder spots Milkweed in the undergrowth and asks her if she's hunting. She snarks that no, she felt like going for a stroll.
    • In a story in Battles of the Clans, Morningstar asks his warrior if a mangled, frozen bird is all the prey he could find. The warrior says "No, actually. There are squirrels and mice all over the place out there, but I thought you'd prefer this." Morningstar apologizes.
  • Welkin Weasels: Heastward Ho!
    "Catching up on our reading, are we?"
    "No, I'm trying to burn a hole through paper with my retina."
  • In the Agatha Christie novel Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, a boy comes across a scene with a wrecked car whose front-end is smashed into a stone wall with an injured woman hanging halfway out of the car. The boy asks, "Has there been an accident?" prompting another character to say, "No, the lady ran her car into the wall on purpose." Though as a matter of fact, the lady did run her car into the wall on purpose.
  • Averted in Why Is Snot Green?. Most questions are given serious answers.
  • Wolf Hall:
    • Lampshaded:
      Cromwell: William Brereton, good day. You are not in Cheshire?
      Brereton: Yes. Despite appearances, I am.
      Cromwell: [to himself] I asked for that.
    • This later becomes a Running Gag, where "bilocation" becomes a bit of a code-word, referring to male courtiers who are shirking their duties at home to hang around with Anne Boleyn. In the sequel, Bring Up The Bodies, this joke takes a much darker turn when Cromwell uses it as evidence of Anne's infidelity.

    Does this folder contain Jokes? 
  • Two popular Jewish Russian jokes:
    • An old Jewish guy runs through the station, trying to catch his train, but the train drives off before his eyes. "Ha, you missed your train?" some laughing idiot asks him. "No," he says, "I chased him away."
    • An old Jewish guy tries to cross a frozen lake, but suddenly collapses into the ice. At that moment, a wise guy walks by the banks and shouts, "Hey, you! Did you fall through the ice?" "No!" says the old guy, "I went for a swim, but then winter surprised me."
  • This one:
    A guy comes home and sees his wife naked in a messed bedroom. The guy quickly puts two and two together and starts running around looking for the wife's lover. He looks under the bed, then in one closet, then in another one...
    "Oops! What are you doing here nude, man?!"
    "Waiting for a bus, sir."
    "What a silly thing to say."
    "What a silly thing to ask!"
  • A variation.
    A guy comes home earlier and catches his wife having sex with their neighbour.
    "Er—what are you two doing??"
    The wife sighs. "Didn't I tell you he's an idiot?"
  • A soldier who was just shot in the stomach is asked "Does it hurt?" He responds: "Only when I laugh." This joke exists in many variations, and the punchline became a well-known phrase.
  • A person walks up to a same-sex couple and asks "Which one of you's the man/woman"? Nonplussed, the couple says "both of us," and proceed to act like the opposite sex until they tell the wise guy to leave. Some versions of the joke have the pair pretend to be Wholesome Crossdressers.

    Does this folder contain Music? 
  • The song "Foolish Questions".
  • A variation is used in the Tom Lehrer song "New Math," in which he tries to teach the audience how to solve 342-173... in base 8. While Lehrer treats the audience's hypothetical confusion over one of the steps as a case of this trope, the convoluted explanation is meant to illustrate how bizarre new math is.
    (singing) Now instead of four in the eights place, you've got three
    'Cause you added one—that is to say, eight—
    to the two, but you can't take seven from three
    So you look at the sixty-fours—

    (spoken) "Sixty-four? How did sixty-four get into it?" I hear you cry.
    Well, sixty-four is eight squared, don't you see? (Beat) Well, you ask a silly question, and you get a silly answer.
  • "Stupid Questions" by New Model Army is a variant, with the singer frustrated at the subject of the song who's refusing to grow up and keeps asking the 'stupid questions' of the title.
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Albuquerque" has this example:
    I see this guy Marty trying to carry a big ol' sofa up the stairs all by himself. So I say to him, I say, "Hey! You want me to help you with that?"
    And Marty, he just rolls his eyes and goes, "No, I want you to cut off my arms and legs with a chainsaw!"
    So I did.
    And then he gets all indignant on me! He's like, "Hey man, I was just being sarcastic!"
    Well, that's just great, how was I supposed to know that? I'm not a mind reader, for crying out loud! Besides, now he's got a really cute nickname: Torso Boy! So what's he complaining about?

    Does this folder contain Print Media? 
  • Mad Magazine's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, segment, created by Al Jaffee, is the Trope Codifier and may very well be the Trope Namer:
    Man 1: Is this the end of the line?
    Man 2: [at the end of a ticket line] No, this is the beginning! We're all facing backwards.

    [wife sees Husband come inside soaking wet]
    Wife: Is it raining out?
    Husband: No, it's hot out and I'm sweating!

    Does this folder contain Podcasts? 
  • Jemjammer: When Jylilana asks how you can get tides in space.
    Grak: How do you get a big rock in space? It just is. LET'S GO!
  • In the RiffTrax live showing of Manos: The Hands of Fate, Mike is introducing the film:
    Mike: The film tonight, is, of course, Manos...
    Bill: The Hands of Fate?
    Mike: No, actually this is a different Manos: a delightful Pixar film — of course it's the Hands of Fate!
  • During one of Rooster Teeth's podcasts, Gavin mentions having a frozen egg thrown at his balls once.
    Burnie: Why would they go through the trouble of freezing an egg?
    Gavin: Because it fucking hurts!
  • In a memorable exchange on WTF with Marc Maron, Marc says he thought he had asked an insightful question, but in hindsight he realized he had set himself up for an unanswerable response:
    Marc Maron: Look, I talk to a lot of musicians of your generation, and many of them really think that they’re doing their best work now. What about you?

    Does this folder contain Pro Wrestling? 

    Does this folder contain Tabletop Games? 
  • Paranoia supplement "Acute Paranoia", adventure "Outland-ISH". The Troubleshooters try to find out the source of a drug affecting ISH sector by questioning the residents.
    Troubleshooter: How did all these people get drugged?
    Drugged Citizen: They drank the water. Snrfff.
    Troubleshooter: The drug is in the water?
    Drugged Citizen: Sklaxxl. No, the drug is on the inside of the cups! Of course it's in the water. Hrraww.

    Does this folder contain Theatre? 
  • Older Than Radio: In the opening of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Opera Don Giovanni, Leporello discovers Don Giovanni returning from his duel with the Commendatore:
    Leporello: Who died, you or the old man?
    Don Giovanni: [Beat] What a stupid question!
  • From RENT:
    Mimi: [Your hands are] big, like my father's. You wanna dance?
    Roger: With you?
    Mimi: No. With my father.

    Does this folder contain Theme Parks? 
  • When the tour guide on The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios first encounters a gangster, this exchange occurs:
    Mugsy: Psst, hey, you.
    Tour Guide: Are you talking to me? Are you talkin' to me?
    Mugsy: No, I'm talkin' to da dame in da funny-lookin' outfit over dere. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you.

    Does this folder contain Toys? 
  • BIONICLE: During a flashback to his Matoran days, Whenua is keeping watch over some large sea creatures that he and Mavrah are studying. Unlike most Rahi in the Archives, these particular ones aren't in stasis. While observing a Rahi with ice eyebeams, Whenua fails to notice another, larger Rahi's movements which suddenly shake the building, making Whenua fall into the holding tank. After Mavrah pulls him out:
    Mavrah: What were you thinking, diving in there?
    Whenua: I decided I needed a bath. You think it was my choice to be Rahi bait? The earth tremors knocked me in.
    Mavrah: Those weren't tremors. One of our guests tried to escape.

    Does this folder contain Video Games? 
  • Blade Runner features a few of these, such as:
    Ray: Hmm, a piece of chrome.
    Cop: From a car?
    Ray: No, I think it's horse chrome.note 
  • In Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Todd explains that he's been cursed into his current form by the pair of scissors he carries. Miriam helpfully suggests that he drop the scissors, prompting Todd to yell that that was the first thing he tried.
  • Destroy All Humans! 2:
    Orthopox: ...It's as if the monster is crying out, "Kill me...Kiiiiilllll meeee..."
    Cryptosporidium: That's gotta be the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. So you want me to hunt down this monstrosity and put it out of its misery?
    Pox: Actually, I want you to read its mind and intuit the source of its cognitive dissonance, so we can get it some help and, over time, teach it confidence and self-esteem.
    Crypto: ...You gotta be kidding me.
    Pox: OF COURSE I AM, YOU MUTATION! NOW GO KILL THAT THING!
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Adam Jensen meets a criminal contact in the Hengsha sewers asking;
    Adam: You one of Tong's boys?
    Harvester: No. I just like hanging out in the sewers because they smell better than what I eat for breakfast. Any other stupid questions?
    Adam: Not yet. But if I come up with one, I'll be sure to ask.
  • At the beginning of the Desperate Measures scenario in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Chang asks Jensen "You remember that bombing you were in?" As the bombing was literally a few days ago and is currently the focus of TF29's most pressing investigation, Jensen just gives Chang a Fascinating Eyebrow and asks if he's trying to make a joke.
  • Dragon Age: Origins has this party banter from Wynn and Shale:
    Wynn: Shale, why must you refer to me as "the elder mage"?
    Shale: Clearly because it is purple. And a hyena.
  • The Elder Scrolls Online:
    • After the quest in Camlorn, you can ask Darien Gautier if he knows where Angof is. He replies that yes, he had a drink with him earlier where they discussed their love lives and his plans for world domination... no, of course he doesn't know where Angof is.
    • In Shornhelm, you can ask Skordo the Knife what he's doing in locked in a cage. He says sarcastically that he needed some quiet time.
  • The Grumpy Knight:
    Alec: Are you going out to fight the monsters, then?
    Elsa: No, I'm going over to give them flowers and chocolate and ask them out on a date! What do you think?
  • Jak 3: Wastelander:
    Kleiver: Those were some sweet moves in the Arena, boy. But a little more choke, an' you would've popped, eh?
    Jak: You talkin' to me?
    Daxter: Yeah, you talkin' to... him?
    Kleiver: No, I'm conversin' with me sweet departed mum. Of course you, ya bore head!
  • In Kingdom of Loathing, if you haven't assembled the Wand of Nagamar when you go to fight the Naughty Sorceress, she'll One-Hit Kill you when she takes on her "actual true form" — a floating sausage. Afterward, you'll receive a Player Nudge encounter, starting with your Exposition Fairy asking if any of that seemed weird to you.
    "You're asking me," you reply, "if I noticed anything weird while I was getting my ass handed to me by a magical floating sausage that used to be a woman and then was briefly a big tentacle monster? Because no. That's pretty much a normal day for me. Why — did you notice anything weird?"
  • In Mass Effect's Pinnacle Station DLC, Shepard can get briefed on the eponymous Station's virtual combat simulator from Tech Officer Ochren, the salarian in charge of its operation. This dialogue can ensue during the briefing complete with a snippy retort from Ochren.
    Ochren: It's a combination of holographic images and kinetic barriers. Holographic images help you see the objects, and the kinetic barriers keep you from walking through them.
    Shepard: I assume the enemies are also holographic?
    Ochren: No. Our operatives train in a simulator by killing real, actual people.
    • From Mass Effect 3, when Tali meets Javik for the first time. (If you're wearing Collector Armor, this becomes a million times funnier).
    Tali: So, you're a real living prothean?
    Javik: As opposed to a fake dead one?
  • This exchange between Eggman and Orbot in Sonic Colors when Eggman complains that they don't have enough Wisps.
    Orbot: Do you want us to catch more?
    Eggman: No, I want you to get me a cheeseburger with a shake!
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic:
  • Super Mario RPG, when Mario and his new friend Mallow are chasing down a thief who robbed the latter:
    Mallow: He's the one who took my coin! Why didn't you stop him?
    Toad: Because I forgot my bazooka at home! Sheesh... Give me a break, here.
  • Team Fortress 2: In "Meet The Demoman", Demo is asked what makes him a good demoman. Demo responds thusly.
    Demo: If I were a bad demoman, I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE DISCUSSIN' IT WIT' YA, NOW WOULD I?!
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:
    • It gives us two examples:
      Geralt: Why do they call you "Mad Man" Lugos?
      "Mad Man" Lugos: YEEEEEEEAAAARRRRGGGH! That's why.
    • And:
      Geralt: Are you the silent druid?
      Druid: ....
      Geralt: Oh yeah, stupid question.

    Does this folder contain Visual Novels? 
  • In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, when Makoto finds Byakuya in the library reading a book.
    Makoto: Hey, uhh...what are you doing?
    Byakuya: I'm fishing. What does it look like I'm doing?
  • In Mice Tea, in Julie's route, Margaret questions Julie's unorthodox method of infiltrating a building from the roof.
    Margaret: But why rope bondage!?
    Julie: Jeez Margaret, I don't know, I wonder how a lesbian in her 20s learned how to tie up a woman in a way that would allow her to be suspended safely from above. Probably the Boy Scouts, right? I bet it was the Boy Scouts.
  • In Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, in Jane's first scene, she has a conversation with her father, who demands to know where she is despite having called her home phone.
    Jane: You called me, Daddy. Don't you know where I'm at?
  • Reigning Passions: In Lyris season 2, when the heroine visits Xenia, who is locked up in the dungeons following the Oscen army invasion:
    Heroine: Are you doing okay?
    Xenia: …A foreign army has invaded the city and imprisoned me.
    She leaves it at that, and honestly, right, I shouldn't even have asked.

    Does this folder contain Web Animation? 
  • The Gaston Trilogy has this exchange from "Gaston Plays Lefou's Quest IV":
    Gaston: I'm dissed.
    Lefou: Who, you?
    Gaston: No! The one-armed man!
  • Pops up in Llamas with Hats.
    • Such as in the very first episode, after Carl has made it quite clear that he's stabbed a man 37 times in the chest followed by cutting off the man's hands and eating them:
      Paul: What is wrong with you, Carl?!
      Carl: Well, I— I kill people and I eat hands, that's— that's two things.
    • And in episode 4, after Carl has set off a nuke within the bounds of the city as a way to throw a surprise party for Paul (it's not even his birthday) and his "birthday decorations," faces tied to baloons, start drifting in. Carl laments that this wasn't a good idea after all; Paul doesn't like faces, the nuke didn't properly cook the faces, and raw face is just gross, prompting Paul to ask:
      Paul: Why would you think any of this was a good idea?
      Carl: Probably because I'm a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence.
      Paul: ...Oh.
      Carl: I don't understand how you keep forgetting that.
  • Red vs. Blue:
    • Church and Grif:
      Church-in-Sarge's-body: Uhh... Who ya talking to, Red? Me?
      Grif: No, I'm talking to Lopez, because, you know, that's real rewarding.
    • And another one...
      Grif: Fuck off, Blue, a ship just crashed on one of our guys.
      Church: What, this ship?
      Simmons: No, another ship, then that ship left and this ship crashed in the exact same spot.
    • The classic one...
      Tex: Everybody in the division was paired with an A.I., and codenamed for a State.
      Donut: What was your codename, Tex?
      Tex: Nevada.
      • Amusingly, due to the series' wacky humor and that Tex's response was said completely straight, a number of viewers took her seriously. Later revelations confirmed that, yes, Tex was named after Texas.
    • Tex wasn't finished, either...
      Sarge: Tex, this is Sarge. Do not detonate the bomb.
      Tex: I don't have a detonator. It's on a timer.
      Grif: A countdown timer?
      Tex: No, a countup timer. It goes from one to explode. Of course a countdown timer, you idiot!

    Does this folder contain Webcomics? 
  • In an Arthur, King of Time and Space strip, Merlin responds to Lancelot's "Do you think this is wise?" with "Why, no. I woke up this morning and decided to do the least wise thing that occurred to me."
  • In one El Goonish Shive strip, Agent Wolf asks Mr Verres if he remembers "the trans-dimensional walrus". Verres replies "No, Agent Wolf, I have somehow forgotten that there was a dimension-hopping walrus." So Wolf starts explaining about the walrus.
  • In Freefall, when Florence discovers a robot on a space station that isn't supposed to have any robot labour, and it explains that the humans don't know it's there, she asks if there are any other robots hiding on the station. The robot replies that it doesn't know, because that's how hiding works. For the record, it turns out that, yes, there are other robots hiding on the station.
  • In this Girl Genius Tarvek asks what is actually a perfectly reasonable question but The Castle treats it as this trope.
    Tarvek: But why are there mechanical squid in the cistern?
    The Castle: Why is everyone so surprised about that? Where else would we keep them?
  • In Kevin & Kell, this was part of Fiona's initial reaction when she found she'd been moved into a different room when Bruno moved in with Corrie at her mansion.
    Fiona: Bruno?
    Corrie: No, Kanye Wren. Of course, Bruno!
    • When Kell meets her husband Kevin(a very tall and somewhat overweight rabbit)'s mother Dorothy, who is a Miniature Senior Citizen, Kell asks if Dorothy had Kevin via C-section. Dorothy says "No, I'm Houdini," before snippily saying that of course Kevin was a C-section.
  • Keychain of Creation: Secret doesn't word her question about Misho's Past-Life Memories very well:
    Secret: What's the last thing you remember in the First Age?
    Misho: ...Dying.
    [Beat Panel]
    [Beat Panel]
  • Brazilian website Kibeloco has a comic story where a guy invites his girlfriend to watch a movie with him. After he says the title is "Tubarões Assassinos" (Killer Sharks), she asks what the movie is about and he says it's about a horse who wants to be a singer.
  • In this episode of MOLEBASHED, Wes asks a doctor, "So at what point do the machines start beeping and the doctors start yelling and stuff?"
  • The Order of the Stick:
    • Elan asks a lot of stupid questions to which Roy gives snarky answers.
    • In the prequel book Start of Darkness, when Redcloak and the Monster in the Darkness meet for the first time:
      Redcloak: They call me "Redcloak".
      MitD: Really? Why?
      Redcloak: ... Because I wear black armor.
  • This Pizza Cake Comic strip, in which a woman suggests that Ellen, being Canadian*, must know her cousin Jeremy. Ellen responds by cheerfully dumping a huge pile of snark on her head.
    Ellen: Of course I know Jeremy! I know everybody! Everyone in Canada comes to my house each Friday to watch hockey and drink maple syrup! Then we ride our snowmobiles over to Ryan Reynolds' house...
    Other woman (sagging): Ok I get it.
  • Schlock Mercenary:
    • Done in this strip. To be fair, given the crazy stuff the Toughs have seen up until that point, the question isn't that stupid, just a bit redundant. Namely, Bunni learns that an operation to illegally produce Blood Nannies was being sabotaged by a plant, and she feels the need to ask the possibly stupid question of whether the plant was a spy or flora.
    • Then there's the time they discovered that the giant space station full of sky has a hurricane in it.
      Trevor: Why would they put a hurricane in here?
      Barry: Two hurricanes. There's one on the opposite side of the spindle.
      Trevor: Sorry, stupid question. Why would they put any hurricanes in here?
  • In Sexy Losers, Mark and (chronic masturbator) Mike have this early exchange:
    Mark: What are you doing...jerking off to your smut rags?
    Mike: No, I'm jerking off to the idea of sucking your fat cock.
    Beat Panel
    Mike: Of course it's a smut rag, you witless fuck.
  • Used often in the old Sprite Comic That's My Sonic! Though frequently, the answer was actually quite straightforward.
    Shadow: A hat? Your entire head is covered in fur! What would you do with a hat?
    Tails: Wear it, duh.
    Shadow: Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.

    Does this folder contain Web Original? 
  • 17776:
    • 17776: In Chapter 11, Nine asks why technology hasn't advanced. Ten pointedly reminds them of the nanomachines.
      Nine: Uh, why hasn't technology advanced in the last 15,000 years?
      Ten: You mean besides the nanos, right? Besides, you know, the brilliant nanotechnology that is omnipresent on Earth and has helped to redefine human existence?
    • 20020:
      • In Chapter 5, Nine asks Ten if she has a minute. She responds by checking her "upcoming events calendar", which is quite predictably rather empty.
      • In Chapter 12, Manny gets snarky about taking a bathroom break.
        Manny: Hold up, I gotta piss.
        Nick: Now?
        Manny: Oh no, not now. I was just thinking, that's something I'd like to do someday. It's on my bucket list.
        Nick: What?
        Manny: Yes, now! Jesus!
  • And this one from the Egosoft forum. Ego's latest game, X: Rebirth has had a release date of Real Soon Now since roughly March 2011, and that thread is basically endless "When's it coming out?" A page later, the one Egosoft employee who interacts with the forum on a regular basis rounds up a dozen or so of his coworkers to come onto the forum and say, "I'm still alive."

    Does this folder contain Web Videos? 
  • Film Brain, in Bad Movie Beatdown, reviewing the movie Bear:
    Character 1: I'm pregnant.
    Character 2: You're with child?
    Film Brain: No, she's going to give birth to a rubber chicken — OF COURSE SHE'S WITH CHILD!
  • The Nostalgia Critic:
    • In his review of Batman Forever, upon seeing that the Batsignal is getting hijacked with a green laser so it forms a giant green question mark.
      Policeman: Who is doing that?
      Last Angry Nerd: ...Catwoman. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK IT IS?!
    • In his review of The Muppet Christmas Carol, when Scrooge first meets the Ghost of Christmas Past.
      Scrooge: Are you the spirit whose coming was foretold to me?
      Critic-as-Ghost: No, I'm Domino's. Of course, I'm all that stuff you just said!
  • Party Crashers: At one point during Brent's Mario Party Raid Boss session, Vernias asks how Sophist could possibly reach the Boo behind the gate without a Skeleton Key, not realizing that Sophist can just purchase one from the Item Shop right in front of him:
    Vernias: Wait. How are you gonna get to the Boo from there? You don't have a key.
    Sophist: Oh, you're right. I don't have a key. Silly me. How did I not think of this? Man, if only there was a way to get a key somewhere.
    Vernias: Okay, buddy, okay! Wow! Way to make me feel like an idiot! Okay, I get it!
  • In a live Instagram broadcast during the production of Runaways, one chat question prompted this:
    Ariela Barer: "Are you filming a new episode?" No, we're shooting an old episode.
    Lyrica Okano: This is actually season 1.
    Ariela Barer: Joke's on you, there's no season 2. It's all just season 1 again, from different angles.
  • The Spoony Experiment has two examples: during the review of Clones of Bruce Lee, a character mentions Bruce Lee and another character asks "The actor?" Spoony sarcastically responds, "No, the golfer." Later, during Spoony's review of Ripper, a character mentions that technology similar to what the Ripper (a serial killer) is using was recently stolen from her. The main character asks, "And you think the Ripper did it?"
    Spoony/Dr. Burton: No, I think Ryan Seacrest did it YES I THINK THE RIPPER DID IT!
  • StacheBros: In "Bowser's Minion Rehabilitation Clinic", when the focus of the meeting gets derailed:
    Koopa: Huh, I could go for some orange juice.
    Petey Piranha: Ew. I'm more of an apple juice guy if you ask me myself.
    Boo: Same! But I can't stand eating them.
    Koopa: Apples?
    Boo: NO, RETARD, GRAPES!
  • Uncle Al: In "The Crossover of Tomorrow", when Zapp Brannigan brings his Beefinity Stone to work at Big Lots:
    Old Man Jenkins: Excuse me, sir, do you work here?
    Zapp Brannigan: No, I just dress up in Big Lots uniforms and announce my employment here for funsies.
  • Nigerian TikToker Charity Ekezie has made numerous videos providing impressively sarcastic responses to some of the ridiculous questions she gets asked online. Wait, Africa is a continent? No, of course not, it's a small country consisting of just 54 villages (where only the rich can afford to live in huts; everyone else just sleeps out in the jungle. Oh, and their capital is Wakanda). Air conditioning? No, they don't have that, they get the elephants to flap their ears to provide a cool breeze. Internet? No, this video was posted online with literal magic. To hammer the point home, she typically films them while standing in front of the thing she's explaining they don't have.

    Does this folder contain Western Animation? 
  • Animaniacs, episode "Temporary Insanity". The Warners are fighting to answer the phone first, causing Mr. Plotz's office (and Mr. Plotz himself) to be wrapped in a telephone cord.
    Mr. Plotz: When will all this insanity end?!
    Dot: When one of us answers the phone, silly.
    Mr. Plotz: I did not know that.
  • In one Astronut cartoon, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Telestar" Astronut accidentally brings down a satellite. Two crooks get it and decide to hold the satellite for ransom. Astronut solves the problem by using his ship's tractor beam to pull the satellite back into orbit... while the crooks are holding it. The short ends with the crooks sitting on the satellite as it floats through space, whereupon one crook asks the other, "I know this is a stupid question, Clyde, but, how are we gonna explain this to our parole officer?"
  • Beast Wars:
  • The Beatles cartoon "Tell Me What You See" has the boys visiting a renowned make-up artist at a Hollywood studio.
    John: Are you the Man of a Thousand Faces?
    Man of a Thousand Faces: No, I'm George Washington and I'm looking for the Delaware.
  • In the Betty Boop cartoon, "Impractical Joker", Betty finds herself getting annoyed by her cousin Irving's pranks. She goes back to the cake she was icing before she was interrupted when Irving walks over.
    Irving: Hey, Betty! What are you doing?
    Betty: Building a house.
  • Bob's Burgers: In "All That Gene", Gene is surprised to see Mr. Ambrose, Wagstaff School's librarian, at the dress rehearsal.
    Gene: Mr. Ambrose, you're in this play?
    Ambrose: No, I was looking for the school library when I got lost and wandered into this building, where am I? Yes, I'm in this play!
  • The exact statement is quoted by Rhesus 2 in Malcolm Mcdowell's iconic tone in Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.
  • Codename: Kids Next Door
    • In "Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-T.H.R.E.E.", Numbuh One was enthusiastic about Numbuh Two's plan to attack the Delightful Children by using a weapon that uses "a kajillion eggs" as ammunition, until...
      Numbuh One: This is stupid! Why did you put the kajillion eggs in my room?!
      Numbuh Two: Well, I certainly wasn't going to put them in my room.
    • In "Operation: M.A.T.A.D.O.R.", Numbuh One announces a mission to foil Soccer Mom's plans later that night, which worries Numbuh Four because that's when he's supposed to participate in the "bully fights" that his team has a low opinion of.
      Numbuh Four: Um... did you say "night game"? As in "to-night game"?
      Numbuh One: Yeees. Night games are traditionally played at night!
  • In Cow and Chicken, Cousin Boneless claims that he flew recon kites in 'Nam. Though given how silly the show is, his response could be construed as completely sincere.
    Cow and Chicken: Vietnam?
    Boneless: No, Nam, Wisconsin.
  • A Running Gag in Danny Phantom would be one of the characters falling, being attacked, thrown or mauled. Cue someone else asking uselessly:
    "Are you okay?"
    [stares]
    "Sorry, standard question."
  • In Dora the Explorer episode "Dora in Troll Land", Dora and Boots are unable to pull the Grumpy Old Troll out of a hole he's stuck in.
    Boots: Hey, you're really stuck in that hole, Mr. Troll.
    Grumpy Old Troll: This is a magic hole. You've got to say a special rhyme to break its spell so I can get out.
    Boots: Ooo! Ooo! What's the rhyme, Mr. Troll?
    Grumpy Old Troll: I don't know the rhyme. It's in my rhyming book, but I can't find it.
    Boots: Uh, why can't you find your book?
    Grumpy Old Troll: (sighs) Because I'm STUCK IN THIS HOLE, MONKEY!
    Boots: (chuckles) Oh, right!
  • From the Duckman episode "Dammit, Hollywood" as Duckman tries to complain to a movie theater manager:
    Duckman: Are you the manager?
    Manager: No, I beat him senseless with my bare hands, then dumped his cement-laden body in a nearby lake, just so I could wear his nametag.
    Duckman: ...You're an odd little man, but you got a way with a witty retort.
  • In the Elefun and Friends short "A Tangled Tale", Elefun follows a kite string all the way to China, where he and his friends see a panda trying to launch herself across a river using a piece of bamboo. The bamboo gets stuck halfway, leaving her dangling and leading to this conversation:
    Elefun: Whatcha doing?
    Panda: Sipping tea. What does it look like I'm doing?
    Spin: Sinking.
    Pandarama: Who asked you?
  • The Fairly Oddparents: Played for Laughs in "Movie Magic" when Mom and Dad film a movie about Timmy called "Stupid Questions Our Son Asks Us". At the end, they film another called "Stupid Questions Our Son Asks Other People".
  • In Fairyteens, Tertia does this to herself after a particularly bad setback, answering her own question of "What did I do wrong?" with "Everything."
  • Inverted in Family Guy, where the "sarcastic answer" is correct:
    Peter: Hey, Mort, do these suppositories come in other flavors?
    Mort: Peter, have you been eating them?
    Peter: No, I've been shoving them up my butt. Of course I've been eating them!
  • In the Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman special, Frosty does after hearing his human child companion Karen sneeze. They are currently riding in a refrigerated box car being sent to the North Pole.
    Frosty: Are you cold, Karen? Now that's a silly question. You wouldn't be sneezing if you weren't cold.
  • Max Goof on Goof Troop did this with his friend PJ after he had collapsed into a covered trench behind him back-first onto a pipe.
    Max: You okay?
    PJ: Oh, yeah, yeah. This rusty metal pipe broke my fall!
  • A rare one involving Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy when Irwin returns after being eaten by a giant bug. He now appears to be smelly as well.
    Mandy: Irwin? But I saw that bug swallow you. How did you get out?
    Irwin: Try not to think about it too hard, yo.
  • In Hey Arnold! episode "Teacher's Strike", after the teacher's go on strike, Principle Wartz takes a stab at teaching. This is his opener;
    Wartz: Who can tell me the date of the Battle of 1066?
  • Jimmy Two-Shoes, Beezy on Heloise's new snow-making machine in "A Cold Day in Miseryville" starts producing snowflakes from its body:
    Beezy: Ewww, is that dandruff?
    Heloise: Yeah, I made a machine that makes dandruff. It's snow, ice brain!
  • Justice League Unlimited
    • Solomon Grundy gives Superman a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that involves — among other things — punching him through several buildings, smashing him between two cars, and tossing him through the supports of a suspension bridge. After that last one, Superman climbs out onto a pier, not only bruised and battered but dripping wet as well, and:
      Green Lantern: You okay?
      [Beat]
      Superman: Do I look okay?
  • Kim Possible: Hego reacts to encountering an old enemy:
    Hego: Electronique? You broke out of the specially constructed non-conductive plastic prison?
    Mego: No, she's still there. Of course she broke out, you big dolt!
  • Looney Tunes:
    • In "Hare Way To The Stars," after Bugs Bunny finds he's been shot into outer space as a meteor streaks by him:
      Bugs: What was dat? [gets hit by a satellite] Well, ask a silly question...
    • In "French Rarebit", when Francois, a French chef, prepares to cook Bugs for dinner, Bugs uses this trope to save his skin:
      Bugs: Of course, if you want something really good, you can't beat a good ol' Louisiana Back Bay Bayou Bunny Bordelaise. A la Antoine.
      François: A la Antoine? You mean ze Antoine of New Orleans?
      Bugs: I don't mean Antoine of Flatbush!
    • A pumpkin gets sprung from its catapult and lands square on Foghorn Leghorn's head:
      Foghorn Leghorn: Ask a silly question and you get a silly answer.
  • In Mike Tyson Mysteries, when everyone meets Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut who is wearing a jacket that has his name and the NASA logo.
    Pigeon: Hey, your jacket says "Buzz Aldrin". You're not the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, are you?
    Buzz Aldrin: No, I'm the jazz singer Buzz Aldrin. Of course I'm the astronaut.
  • Happens twice in quick succession in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Over a Barrel":
    Rainbow Dash: Pinkie Pie, you asleep yet?
    Pinkie Pie: No. Are you asleep yet?
    Rainbow Dash: If I was sleeping, how could I have asked you if you were asleep?
    Pinkie Pie: Oh yeah. [giggles]
    Rainbow Dash: When we get to Appleloosa, you think we'll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?
    Pinkie Pie: What tree? You mean Bloomberg?
    Rainbow Dash: No, Fluttershy.
    Pinkie Pie: Fluttershy's not a tree, silly.
    Fluttershy: I'd like to be a tree.
  • The Penguins of Madagascar: "Sting Operation" features a backward example where Skipper gets sick of a stupid answer and returns with a stupid question.
    Skipper: What do you make of it, Kowalski?
    Kowalski: I'm not sure, Skipper. It could be anything.
    Skipper: Oh really? Could it be Alaska?
    Kowalski: No, it's probably not—
    Skipper: Are you saying Alaska might be stuck upside down to the clock tower of my zoo?
    Kowalski: I guess—
    Skipper: Because I think people would notice if the entire state of Alaska just... packed up and... moved to the zoo!
    Kowalski: All right, maybe it couldn't be anything!
  • The animated Punky Brewster episode "Growing Pain" has Glomer growing in size due to an allergy to pepperoni pizza. He is taken to a gym where he attempts to use a weights machine but is catapulted back and wedged within the bars of the machine:
    Punky: Glomer, are you okay?
    Glomer: [not too pleased] Am I looking okay?!
  • Regular Show: In "The Christmas Episode", after a mysterious, wounded, bearded man crash-lands in Skips' garage and gives Rigby and Mordecai a mysterious present, there's this exchange.
    Mordecai: Wait... who are you?
    Santa: I'm Santa.
    Mordecai: What? Santa Claus?!
    Santa: No, Santa McMurphy. Yes, Santa Claus!
  • From the Rocket Power episode "What's That Smell", the group tracks the pollution to the beach back to the dump, and notices a hole leaking garbage into a nearby creek.
    Twister: Where do you think that creek goes?
    Reggie: (dryly) Your bedroom?
    Twister: No way! It probably goes right into the ocean.
    Otto, Sam and Reggie: Duh!
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle:
    • Boris and Natasha:
      Natasha: Boris, did you get blown up by your own bomb again?
      Boris: No, I'm up here robbing bird's nests!
      Natasha: But why?
      Boris: It keeps me off the streets, that's why! About six feet off.
    • Subverted in another episode; Bullwinkle's response to a question is actually the truth, but the man who asked the question mistakes it for this.
      Man: Hi there Bullwinkle, what's the rush?
      Bullwinkle: We're being chased by a man-eating plant!
      Man: Well, ask a foolish question, you get a foolish... [plant eats him]
  • Shaggy and Scooby while investigating a gypsy camp in The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show:
    Shaggy: Like, what are we supposed to find in a gypsy camp?
    Scooby: Rhypsies?
  • Two different versions of Strawberry Shortcake have a trapped character comment "Not much" when asked what they're doing.
  • Xiaolin Showdown: In "Treasure of the Blind Swordsman", one of the Wudai weapons the monks went on a quest for is found in the Cactus Creek. The cacti come to life and hurt the monks with them when fighting them. Also, Omi gets his back stuck on a cactus.
    Kimiko: Omi, are you OK?
    Omi: I have a thousand needles in my backside. What do you think?!

No, they all contain atomic bombs that will go off in 3... 2... 1...

Alternative Title(s): Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions, Heres Your Sign

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The Beatles Interviewed

Reporters ask the Beatles a series of questions, to which they mostly give silly answers.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (6 votes)

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Main / AskAStupidQuestion

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