Duck Season, Rabbit Season

Bugs Bunny: Duck season!
Daffy Duck: Wabbit season!
Bugs: Duck season!
Daffy: Wabbit season!
Bugs: Duck season!
Daffy: Wabbit season!
Bugs: Wabbit season!
Daffy: Duck season!
Bugs: Wabbit season!
Daffy: I say it's duck season, and I say FIRE!
[BLAM!]

— Looney Tunes, "Rabbit Fire" (1951)

Two characters are having an Argument of Contradictions, an argument that eventually degenerates into something like "Am not!" "Are too!" One of them pretends to take up their opponent's position, and when their opponent takes up their position out of mindless contrariness, the switcher manages to win the argument, while the latter realizes too late that they have been tricked.

This gag depends on the antagonist getting so caught up in the heat of the moment that they will act without thinking of their actual goals. Thus, it shows up in many old "screwball" cartoons and live-action situation comedies.

A rarer example is the use of props with sound effects (e.g., a light switch) that are turned on and off each time the sound effect is used. The pretender makes a (usually very bad) mimicking of the sound and tricks his opponent into switching the device to the opposite position.

Just for the record, it doesn't always work. Unless you're talking way too fast. And you act on instinct rather than knowing what you're doing.

Compare Politeness Judo and Reverse Psychology, and see the parent trope Argument of Contradictions. Not to be confused with the horror game Duck Season, which is also not an example.

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Example season:

Advertising

• Cartoon Network:
  • At one point, Cartoon Network had a number of advertising spots in which two live-action brothers reproduced classic cartoon spots. One of their ads was this routine... Done in a way that couldn't possibly work in real life.
    "It's mine."
    "No, it's mine."
    "It's mine."
    "It's mine."
    [Beat]
    "It's yours."
    "No, it's yours."
    "It's yours."
  • In another commercial, a man tried to use this when his boss was firing him. After a minute of "No I'm not," "Yes you are," the man finally switched to "Yes I am." Unfortunately, it didn't work and the boss replied with "Yes ... you are." The Tagline: "You are not Bugs Bunny."
• Naturally this gag appears in a Nike commercial related to Space Jam in which Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan pull one over on Marvin the Martian.
• The talking tub/box commercials for Parkay Margarine ("Butter!"). It eventually comes to where the tub/box contradicts whoever's in the commercial when they mention butter ("Parkay!").
• In a 2015 ad, Kaley Cuoco depicts this as one of Priceline's negotiation tactics.
• Cheez-It crackers now come in a sandwich version. The lab tech and the immature box of sandwich crackers begin arguing over whether the new snack is pronounced "sandwich" (the lab tech) or "sammich" (the box). It plays out very similar to the page quote.

Anime & Manga

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: In the "Mugen Train" arc, Enmu employs a non-verbal version of the tactic by using his Blood Demon Art, Eyes of Forced Unconscious Sleep, to put Tanjiro to sleep and trap him inside his own dreams, with Tanjiro responding to it by beheading himself in his dreams to wake up. However, each time he wakes up, Enmu puts him to sleep with the Eyes of Forced Unconscious Sleep again, with Tanjiro waking up by beheading himself in his dreams again to break free. However, eventually, Enmu decides to switch the tactic by not using the ability so that Tanjiro, mistakenly believing himself to be still inside of a dream, will be tricked into beheading himself in the real world. Inosuke had to save Tanjiro in a nick of time before Enmu's tactic would've worked.
• Free!: Nagisa pulls this on Gou in the second episode, getting her to demand he use her real name rather than her preferred nickname.
• Inuyasha: A variation was once used between Kagome and Inuyasha, right after Inuyasha proves having been able to survive a nasty fall. (Note: the example starts at 10:16)
• One Piece:
  • Used in spirit if not in full fact in Thriller Brak arc, in which Robin takes advantage of the absolute obedience of Thriller Bark zombies by tricking Doktor Hogback to tell her to jump out of the building. Hogback, caught up in the moment per the trope, does just that and Robin moves so that the order is accidentally directed at the two zombies Hogback is controlling. They obediently leap out the high tower's window.
  • Used during the anime adaption of the Impel Down arc. Bon Clay, disguised as Warden Magellan, goes into the control room for the Gates of Justice and orders them to be opened so Luffy can escape. Just then, the REAL Magellan shows up, wondering why the Gates are opening. Bon Clay shouts for a guard to push a button to close the Gates, which would allow Luffy to escape while leaving the warships trailing them trapped. The two Magellans then go back and forth, shouting 'Push the button!' and 'Don't push the button!', confusing the guard. Bon suddenly repeats both orders, tricking the real Magellan into ordering the Gates closed. Bon Clay then breaks the Gate controls so that they can't be re-opened.
• Petit Eva: Employed by Gendo in this short.
• Student Council's Discretion: The first episode uses this with Kurimu stamping approval forms and Ken saying "Pettanko" (which she is) every time she says "approved." Then he switches.

Audio Plays

• In the Big Finish Doctor Who story, "Caerdroia", the Eighth Doctor manages to pull this off against the Kro'ka, and even lampshades it:
  Kro'ka: Your petty defiance is useless! I will find out your secrets.
  The Doctor: No, you won't.
  Kro'ka: Yes, I will.
  The Doctor: [sing-song] No, you won't~!
  Kro'ka: Yes, I will.
  The Doctor: Won't.
  Kro'ka: Will.
  The Doctor: Won't.
  Kro'ka: Will.
  The Doctor: Won't.
  Kro'ka: Will.
  The Doctor: Will.
  Kro'ka: Won't! ...Wait, I... No!
  The Doctor: (laughs) Amazing how that always works!

Comic Books

• The Batman/Elmer Fudd crossover comic has a story spoofing the "Rabbit Fire" cartoon, with Batman taking the place of Daffy Duck, both as Bugs Bunny's opponent and the repeated victim of Elmer's shotgun. The comic ends with him summoning his sidekicks, at which point he declares it's "Robin season" and watches Elmer chase them off.
• Deadpool did it when talking to Loki (in Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe, no less).
• The Heckler: A specialty of this obscure The DCU' superhero.
• Used straight in The Incredible Hercules #115.
• In Looney Tunes #75, Bugs Bunny is missing and presumed dead, and Daffy and Porky are investigating who could've killed Bugs. While at Elmer Fudd's house, Elmer explains that he couldn't have killed Bugs while gesturing at a sign that says "Rabbit Season", before ripping the sign off to reveal one that says "Duck Season", and because it isn't rabbit season, he's innocent. Him and Daffy take turns peeling off the sign, with Daffy making it Rabbit Season and Elmer making it Duck Season, only for Daffy to end up revealing a sign that says "Mating Season".
  Daffy: Rabbit Season!
  Elmer: Duck Season!
  Daffy: It's Mating Season?!?
  Elmer: (Lovestruck) Oh joy! Oh wapture!
  Porky: So? How did it g-g-g-go?
  Daffy: (Leaving Elmer's house, bitter and covered in lipstick marks) We shall never ssspeak of this moment again.
  Elmer: Call me!
• In Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special, Ultra Boy wants to stop Bugs from leaving. One panel later, Bugs has tricked him into demanding that Bugs leaves at once.
  Ultra Boy: "Hold on a minute! If Brainiac says there's a chance you can save Supergirl— Then you aren't going anywhere!"
  Bugs Bunny: "Ohhhh, yes, I am."
  Ultra Boy: "No, you are not."
  Bugs Bunny: "No, I am not!"
  Ultra Boy: "Oh, yes you are!"
  Bugs Bunny: "Imma gonna stay right here!"
  Ultra Boy: "Absolutely not! You're leaving right now!"
• Used in a rather darker fashion in Alan Moore's Wild CATS Wild Storm run as Tao repeatedly switches positions in a debate with Fuji leading to Fuji's being psychologically crippled.

Comic Strips

• FoxTrot: Parodied with a strip featuring Jason and Peter arguing in a movie rental store:
  Jason: I think we should get Alien: Resurrection.
  Peter: I think we should get Austin Powers.
  Jason: Alien!
  Peter: Austin!
  Jason: Alien!
  Peter: Austin!
  Jason: Alien!
  Peter: Alien! So you're now supposed to say...
  Jason: Ah, good. We agree.
  Peter: Dang, that trick always worked for Bugs Bunny...
• Garfield:
  • A variant in one strip:
    Jon: So Liz, how's the cat?
    Liz: Fine.
    Jon: How's the dog?
    Liz: Fine.
    Jon: And how are you?
    Liz: Fine.
    Jon: Okay if I pay by check?
    Liz: Fine.
    Jon: How about a date?
    Liz: Fine.
    Jon: YES! YESSSSS!
    Liz: That's cheating!
    Garfield: If you can't attract 'em, trick 'em.
  • The first time Jon tried this, it didn't work.
  • Another example between Jon and Liz happens in the May 17, 2020 strip, this time involving what they should do on their date. Jon wants to go see a monster movie, while Liz wants to go to a craft fair and wins the argument by saying "Monster movie" to trick Jon into replying with "Craft fair".
• George and Lynne does this with "football" and "shopping". Lynne always wins, and George comments on how he always falls for it.
• Peanuts: In an early strip, Patty does this when stealing Charlie Brown's tricycle.
  Patty: You get off your tricycle! [beat] This is not my tricycle... It's your tricycle!
  Charlie Brown: [gets off] I'm sorry.
  [Charlie Brown thinks to himself in a beat panel, then runs after Patty in the last one]
  Charlie Brown: HEY!

Fan Works

• Black Ivy: After Harry hires Dobby as his house elf they argue about the daily salary.
  Harry: Two Galleons.
  Dobby: One Galleon, sir.
  Harry: Three Galleons.
  Dobby: One Galleon, sir.
  Harry: One Galleon.
  Dobby: Two Galleons, sir.
  Harry: Deal. You drive a hard bargain, Dobby. You sure you're not related to a goblin?
• Worm fanfic A Darker Path references the skit by having Atropos send it to Flechette, apparently for kicks, before using it to time her Ending the Simurgh when it attacks Canberra.
• Fate Kaleid Prisma Taylor: Lisa uses this to trick Taylor into letting Lisa pay for a new outfit for Taylor. Taylor later refers to it as having been "duck-seasoned".
• The Games of the Gods: In Book One, chapter 54, Kari tries this trick and Rachel inverts her. Kari says "No" and Rachel says "Yes". When Kari switches to "Yes", Rachel wins by not switching to "No". An identical example appears in Vortex, chapter 8, when Anne says "No" and Revdur says "Yes". Again, Anne switches to "Yes" and Revdur wins.
• The Good, the Bugs, and the Daffy naturally uses this combined with an Improbable Aiming Skills-off between Bugs and Yosemite Sam, though Marvin sees right through it.
• The Harry Potter Conundrum: Harry glamours himself to look like Sirius as part of a "Sirius/serious" gag.
  Sirius: No, you're not Sirius because I'm Sirius.
  Harry: As if...I am Sirius.
  Sirius: Wha...I am Sirius, you slimy snake!
  Harry: Do you need glasses? I am Sirius!
  Sirius: I don't need glasses I see very well, and I AM SIRIUS!
  Harry: Listen, you're Sirius Black, and that's that.
  Sirius: NO! YOU ARE SIRIUS ORION BLACK AND NOW STOP THAT!
• Done in omake of My Hero Playthrough; after foiling multiple attempts by Shigaraki to get Nomu to attack him, Izuku uses this when Shigaraki order the attack by name:
  Tomura: Him. What did Thirteen call him? Midoriya. Kill Midoriya!
  Izuku: I'm not Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki Tomura. He's Midoriya.
  Tomura: What? No, I'm Shigaraki, he's Midoriya!
  Izuku: No. He's Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki!
  Tomura: No! He's Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki!
  Izuku: He's Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki!
  Harley: Oh no.
  Tomura: No, he's Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki!
  Izuku: No, he's Midoriya, I'm Shigaraki. [Beat] I'm Midoriya, he's Shigaraki!
  Tomura: No, I'm Midoriya, he's Shigaraki!
  Izuku: He's right. (and then stuffs Nomu's ear holes with mustard)
• Grow Young With Me: Harry swaps "Yuh-huh" and "Nuh-uh" to trick four-year-old Lily into agreeing with him that Nana loves her drawings almost as much as he does.
  Lily: That's cheating, Daddy.
• The New Adventures of Invader Zim: GIR pulls this trick on Dib in Episode 4, during an argument over whether the latter has a big head.
• Retro Chill: Retro does this with Calvin when they're arguing over whether the former is Rupert in disguise or the actual Retro.
• In this fan comic of Dream's duel with Lucifer in The Sandman (2022), the Oldest Game starts out similarly, until Lucifer creates a boulder to crush Dream's bear. Dream counters with a piece of paper to cover Lucifer's rock, and they get into a cycle of rock-paper-scissors. Three hours later, Dream counters Lucifer's rock with a bottomless pit instead of a piece of paper, and Lucifer automatically responds with scissors. Dream wins, and while Lucifer is yelling that he cheated, he throws sand in their face, grabs his helm, and runs.
• In Sky Sky and Dora start a "Was not!"/"Were too!" exchange and Sky switches to "Were too," tricking Dora into saying "Was not!"
• In Time Turned Back Gabriel walks into the Great Hall while wearing a rabbit tail and ears and proceeds to argue with James about which house has the better Quidditch team.
  James: Well obviously it's Gryffindor!
  Gabriel: Slytherin.
  James: Gryffindor!
  Gabriel: Slytherin.
  James: Gryffindor!
  Gabriel: Gryffindor.
  James: Slytherin!
  Gabriel: Gryffindor.
  James: Slytherin is the better team and you know it Black! ...Wait a damn minute...

Films — Animation

• Asterix: One of The Twelve Tasks of Asterix involves being able to resist the hypnotic gaze of Iris the magician. Iris tries to hypnotize Asterix into believing he's a wild boar, but keeps getting distracted by the Gaul's comments about his Glowing Eyes like "How do you do that?", "Can you make them light up one at a time?" and "They must be handy for reading in bed." Eventually, Iris becomes so confused he resorts to Repeat After Me.
  Iris: Repeat after me, "By Osiris and Apis, I am a wild boar. I am a wild boar!"
  Asterix: You're a wild boar, you're a wild boar.
  Iris: Yes! I'm a wild boar, a wild boar! [runs out of the tent on all fours, snorting]
• FernGully: The Last Rainforest has a moment between Batty Coda and Zak when the former is looking for sympathy, but only wants it to be sincere; Zak tests his resolve.
  Batty: Nobody cares about me.
  Zak: I do, Bat-man!
  Batty: You sure?
  Zak: I'm positive.
  Batty: Only fools are positive.
  Zak: Are you sure?
  Batty: I'm positive! [Beat] I fell for it! I should have known!

Films — Live-Action

• In Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Bud and Lou are in a restaurant with a pair of hamburgers, one of which has a cursed medallion hidden in it. They repeatedly distract each other and switch the plates. At one point, Lou keeps the medallion and leads Bud to think he moved it. Bud then ends up with the medallion while trying to get rid of it.
• Used in Ali G Indahouse when Ali is arguing with the East Staines Massiv whether West side or East side is best.
• Used and referenced in Camp Nowhere:
  Gabe: Okay troops, line up. [begins handing out omelets] Ashley, mushroom. Amber, onion. Lenny, plain.
  Lenny: Cheese.
  Gabe: You said plain.
  Lenny: Cheese.
  Gabe: Plain.
  Lenny: Cheese.
  Gabe: Plain.
  Lenny: Cheese.
  Gabe: Plain.
  Lenny: Cheese
  Gabe: Plain.
  Lenny: Cheese.
  Gabe: Cheese.
  Lenny: Plain.
  Gabe: Okay fine, you win. Plain.
  [Lenny looks happy for a moment, then wanders off, looking confused]
  Gabe: Who says you can't learn anything from cartoons?
• Done in Deadpool 2, when Deadpool and Weasel are auditioning Domino for recruitment to his newly-formed X-Force:
  Deadpool: Meet...
  Domino: Domino.
  Deadpool: What's your shtick?
  Domino: I'm lucky.
  Deadpool: That's not a superpower.
  Domino: Yeah, it is.
  Deadpool: No, it isn't.
  Domino: Yes, it is.
  Deadpool: No, it isn't.
  Domino: Yeah, it is.
  Deadpool: No, it isn't.
  Domino: It is.
  Deadpool: No, it isn't.
  Domino: Yeah, it is.
  Deadpool: No, it isn't.
  Domino: No, it isn't.
  Deadpool: Yes, it is.
  Domino: Told ya.
  Deadpool: [slams the table] Get outta my head!
• Futtock's End: In this "silent" Ronnie Barker comedy, the house staff is dancing to a record player, yet every time they hear the butler enter behind them they quickly revert to silently polishing the silver. Until the butler comes in twice in quick succession, whereupon they are tricked into dancing when the butler is present and polishing the silver when he leaves.
• The Ur-Example may be Laurel and Hardy film Sons of the Desert (1933). Ollie is arguing with his wife, Lottie, over whether he's going to spend the weekend attending a fraternity convention with Stanley or take her camping in the mountains. During the course of the argument, something like this pops up, though it's uncertain whether this is a deliberate trick on Ollie's part or something he inadvertently stumbles upon in his flustered state. It doesn't work, at any rate.
  Ollie: I want this understood once and for all. I'm not going to the convention. I'm going to the mountains!
  Lottie: That's just what I said, that you're not going to the mountains, that you're going to the... that you're going to the mountains!
• Toyed with in Lethal Weapon:
  Riggs: You're driving!
  Murtaugh: I'm driving!
  Riggs: No, you're driving!
  Murtaugh: No, I'm driving!
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action features this when Daffy leaves Warner Bros., forcing Bugs and Elmer to do this routine without him. It doesn't go well for Bugs.
  Elmer: Rabbit Season!
  Bugs: Duck Season!
  Elmer: Rabbit Season!
  Bugs: Duck Season!
  Elmer: Rabbit Season!
  Bugs: Rabbit Season!
  Elmer: [grabs script] Wait a minute ...
  Bugs: See? I told you this wouldn't work without Daff— [gets shot by Elmer]
• The Marx Brothers use this sort of switcheroo in Horse Feathers: Chico's guarding the door of a speakeasy to which Groucho needs entrance. Groucho uses a variant to discover that The Password Is Always "Swordfish": then he guards the door of the speakeasy while Chico has to guess the password.
  Chico (immediately): Is it 'swordfish'?
  Groucho: No. We had to change it.
• A variation occurs in The Mummy (1999), as Evey tries to barter for Rick O'Connell's life with the chief warden, using shares of (at that point still not discovered) the treasures of Hamunaptra as an incentive. Caught in the heat of the moment, the chief warden ends up asking less than what Evey was offering.
• Invoked In-Universe in Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Eddie uses this trick on Roger in order to get him to take a shot of bourbon, and thus use Roger's usual violent reaction to the stuff as a distraction so he and Roger can escape Judge Doom and his weasels. Eddie is Genre Savvy enough to know that Roger's toon nature ensures he will fall for it. Added bonus: the fact that Doom can't resist contributing to the exchange ("He doesn't want the drink!") is Foreshadowing for who he really is.

Literature

• In Nightingale's Lament, Taylor uses this tactic to trick a simulacrum door into telling him the password it had initially been demanding he give before it'll open.
• In Ratburger, the villain is trying to turn Zoe's pet rat Armitage into a burger, leading to this conversation.
  Zoe: Get away from me!
  Burt: Or what?
  Zoe: Or I will tell everyone about what you are doing here. Turning rats into burgers!
  Burt: No, you won't.
  Zoe: Yes, I will.
  Burt: No, you won't.
  Zoe: Yes, you will.
  Burt: Yes, you will.
  Zoe: No, I won't.
  Burt: Ha! Got you! I knew you were trouble that day in your flat. That's why I let you climb into the back of my van and come into my secret lair.

Live-Action TV

• Corner Gas: This is both referenced and used. Hank complains that this trick is unrealistic and wouldn't work in real life, which starts an argument with Brent during which, of course, Hank falls for it.
• The Daily Show: During one of Christopher Hitchens's appearances, he got sidetracked in the middle of a conversation about the Iraq War and asked what he'd been talking about beforehand.
  Jon: You were saying to me that you agree that Bush is conducting this incompetently. [beat] It's the old Bugs Bunny trick.
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Will uses this trick to make Carlton agree he owes him less money, even saying "Have it your way, Daffy!" And then immediately afterwards Will gets shot.
• Full House: In one episode, Joey and Michelle argue over a baseball pitch.
  Michelle: Strike three, you're outta here!
  Joey: What? That was low and outside, ball four!
  Michelle: It was a strike!
  Joey: It was a ball!
  Michelle: It was a strike!
  Joey: It was a ball!
  Michelle: It was a strike!
  Joey: It was a strike!
  Michelle: It was a ball!
  Joey: Oh, so it was a ball. Thank you very much!
• Home and Away: A similar incident occurs when Shane and Damian offer to assemble a water bed for Alf. Shane offers to do it for fifty bucks, Alf offers twenty-five and demonstrates a unique approach to haggling...
  Damian: Forty-five.
  Alf: Twenty-five.
  Shane: Forty.
  Alf: Twenty-five.
  Damian: Thirty-five.
  Alf: Twenty-five!
  Shane: Thirty?
  Alf: Twenty-five!
  Damian: Twenty!
  Alf: Done!
  Shane: What are you doing, boxhead?
  Damian: Got mixed up...
• Married... with Children: In "Dances with Weezy", Al and Jefferson get into an argument over who was in the first Bud Light beer commercial. Al says Bubba Smith, Jefferson says Billy Martin. In their argument, they even mention two certain cartoon characters.
  Al: [about someone on the phone] He... He said it was Bubba.
  Jefferson: Billy.
  Al: Bubba.
  Jefferson: Billy.
  Al: Bubba.
  Jefferson: Billy.
  Al: Billy.
  Jefferson: Bubba.
  [Al laughs after tricking Jefferson]
  Jefferson: Now that's no fair. You stole that from Bugs Bunny.
  Al: Daffy!
  Jefferson: Bugs!
  Al: Daffy!
  Jefferson: Bugs!
  Al: Daffy!
  Jefferson: Bugs!
  Al: Daffy!
  Jefferson: Bugs!
  Al: Daffy!
  Jefferson: Bugs!
  Peggy: [enters the house] Hey, hey! Why are you two introducing yourselves to each other?
• My Wife and Kids: Used in one episode where Jaye uses this trick to get Michael to agree to let their daughter go to her prom. Realizing what happened a second later, Michael responds "Wait a minute, you Bugs Bunnied me!"
• NUMB3RS: One episode uses a simpler version of this trope, skipping right to the switch without arguing. One of the characters even proceeds to compare it to Looney Tunes.
• Perfect Strangers has a "Light Switch" example. In a Halloween episode, Larry challenges Balki into watching horror movies in the dark. Balki refuses. Larry chides him for being afraid of the dark and turns off the light switch. Balki turns it back on and says "No I'm not". The process repeats several times until Larry pretends to switch off the lights by holding his hand near the switch and snapping his finger. Balki inadvertently turns off the light and then starts screaming. After Larry turns on the light, Balki calms down and says "Yes I am."
• Radio Enfer: One episode begins with Carl depressed for getting a grade of only 8% on his chemistry exam. Vincent jokes about Carl not studying correctly while he was at Maria's home. Carl then points out that he at least has a girlfriend, while Vincent points out he at least didn't have 8%. They kept using the same arguments until:
  Carl: No girlfriend!
  Vincent: 8%!
  Carl: 8%!
  Vincent: No girlfriend!
  Carl: Eh!
  Vincent: Hey, that's enough!
• Sam & Cat: In the episode "#BabysittingWar", Sam does this to Cat when they fight over Nona's empty bed.
  Sam: Hey, how come you get this whole big bedroom anyway?
  Cat: Cuz it was my nona's and I lived here first.
  Sam: No, you didn't.
  Cat: Yes, I did.
  Sam: Yes, you did.
  Cat: No, I didn't.
  Sam: True.
  Cat: False.
  Sam: Right!
  Cat: Left!
  Sam: Crunchy!
  Cat: Smooth— What?!
  Sam: Look, there is no way I'm gonna sleep in that comfortable bed.
  Cat: You are to!
  Sam: Well, okay. Then you're staying in here with me!
  Cat: Oh, no I'm not!
  [Cat walks out of the room and turns off the light and Sam lays in the bed; a moment later, Cat walks back in and turns on the light]
  Cat: [in defeated tone] You trickered me, right?
• Saturday Night Live had one of Martin Short's recurring characters, Nathan Thurm, whose defining traits were ultra-defensiveness, paranoia, and denial.
  Thurm: No it isn't!
  Accuser: Yes it is.
  Thurm: I know that! Why wouldn't I know that?? I'm well aware of that!
• Sonny with a Chance: Sonny and Chad engage in a bit of this with him starting with the fact that he doesn't care, and she starting that he does.
• Spaced: Used when Tim blames himself for an accident Mike suffered in their childhood.
  Mike: It isn't your fault, Tim.
  Tim: It is, Mike.
  Mike: Isn't.
  Tim: Is.
  Mike: Isn't.
  Tim: Is.
  Mike: Isn't.
  Tim: Is.
  Mike: Is.
  Tim: Isn't- Ooh, why you...
• That '70s Show doesn't use the trick, but Eric and Hyde jokingly argue "Rabbit Season! Duck Season!" to each other after Red points out that deer hunting season had just begun. Red's Death Glare immediately afterwards shuts them up.
• This Hour Has 22 Minutes: A non-confrontational variation is used. In the Sportsbag sketches, Greg Thomey plays an aging sports pundit who clearly had a few (hundred) head injuries during his own sports career, and talks completely in Non Sequiturs; in one sketch, his co-host plays along by talking in non sequiturs, causing Thomey's character to start making sense.
• Yes, Dear: Attempted once by Jimmy to Kim. Subverted because Kim called him out on it, rendering it ineffective.

Pinballs

• Referenced in Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball, where the sides of the cabinet include a sign reading "Pinball (Rabbit) Season Open".

Tabletop Games

• Analects Acme, an April edition of d20 Weekly's spellbook column Analects Arcane, described the Tooninomicon, a grimoire created by a d20 Modern mage who tapped into the power of cartoons to create Looney Tunes based spells. One of them was control argument, which guarantees that the person you're arguing with will fall for this.

Theatre

• The Circus Zoppé had a great scene in which their clown had the audience yell out "boss" while pointing to the ringleader, and "clown" while pointing to himself, then switched them, and thus told the ringleader that he (the ringleader) was the clown, and he (the clown) could do what he wanted, as he was the boss.
• In Hamlet, Hamlet and Osric have a disagreement about the weather when Osric is asked to put his hat on his head:
  Hamlet: Put your bonnet to his right use, 'tis for the head.
  Osric: I thank your lordship, it is very hot.
  Hamlet: No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is northerly.
  Osric: It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.
  Hamlet: But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion.
  Osric: Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry, as 'twere— I cannot tell how. But my lord, his Majesty bade me signify to you that he has laid a great wager on your head. Sir, this is the matter—
  Hamlet: [urging Osric to put his hat on] I beseech you, remember.

Video Games

• Bayonetta: The eponymous anti-hero typically calls Luka "Cheshire", causing him to irritably remind Bayonetta, "my name is Luka!" So on one of the rare occasions she actually calls him Luka...
  Luka: How many times must I tell you?! My name is Cheshire!
• Used in the last "boss" of the Blazing Dragons adventure game. Flicker uses his first invention, the clicker (which was otherwise pointless for the whole game) to trick the evil wizard into exploding the transformed robotic evil dragon king, which they were inside at the time. Because the sound of the clicker was exactly the same sound as the switch on the self-destruct mechanism.
• Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron has the Herminator and Jimmy Neutron argue who Jimmy's last name is. Jimmy yells "Negatron", while Hermin yells "Neutron" and they switch it so Hermin believes he is talking to Jimmy Negatron.
• Sam & Max: Freelance Police:
  • In Sam and Max Save the World: Culture Shock, this is part of the solution to the final confrontation with Brady Culture. In order to defeat him, you take turns giving orders to his hypnotized minions. If you give the order "Worship me!", this provokes Brady Culture into whining "No, no, no, worship me! You're my minions, mine!". Following this up with "Attack me!" will prompt Culture into yelling "No, attack me!", which leads to the Soda Poppers beating the crap out of him.
  • There are a couple of variants in the "Do You Have Any...?" Running Gag. In "Situation: Comedy", you ask British Bosco for a few random things, before asking "Do you have any ketchup?" He reflexively answers "No," before correcting himself. This is then subverted in "Reality 2.0" when you ask half-Elf Bosco if he has any self-respect. He answers "No," before admitting that he did understand the question, "all too well."
  • Used and Lampshaded in Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse: The City that Dares Not Sleep, where you trick Sammun-Mak into opening the Moleman Processing Room by saying "Rabbit Season" at the right moment.
• The Urbz: In the handheld version, the player uses this against Daddy Bigbucks when he's trying to investigate a secret meeting in the graveyard.

Visual Novels

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice: Apollo and Athena argue whether a lizard they saw is a gecko or a newt, respectively. Before any tediousness could occur, Athena twists Apollo's logic around and made him assume that it's a newt.
  Athena: Oh, so then you agree it's a newt, Apollo?
  Apollo: ACK! (I fell right into her trap!)

Web Animation

• The Annoying Orange: Orange pulls this on Grapefruit at the beginning of "Kitchen Mon #4: Rattle Royale!!".
  Grapefruit: Must I explain this to you for a thousandth time? I do not have a tiny face, I have a normal-sized face and a large body. That's a totally different deal, bro!
  Orange: Is not!
  Grapefruit: Is too!
  Orange: Is not!
  Grapefruit: Is too!
  Orange: Is too!
  Grapefruit: Is not! Wait a second...
  Orange: Uh oh, Grapefruit, looks like you pulled an about face! [laughs]

Webcomics

• 8-Bit Theater did a variant during a Who's on First? story.
• Everyday Heroes has Mr. Mighty do this to Jane. The first time he meets her with his mask off, he tells her that his real name is Marion, and adds, "It's OK, you can laugh." She denies laughing, and he questions her denial... hey, she needs all the laughs she can get when she's in prison.
• Successfully used on main character Finn in Sea Of Insanity. (Though Finn was very drunk at the time.)
• Strong Female Protagonist: When Allison persuades Patrick to try watching a cartoon (as a workaround for his distaste for visual media in general), Patrick, roaring with laughter, explains this entire trope after viewing the eponymous gag:
  Patrick: Tee-hee-hee! Daffy Duck's animosity towards the Bugs Bunny character is so intense, that he fails to see when Bugs has presented him an opportunity for victory! Instead of... of maintaining an awareness of the words being used, Daffy's rage is so blinding that he frames his statements in pure contrariness to Bugs', which results in his getting shot in the face! AHAHA! Had he been less angry, he might have acted on Bugs Bunny saying "Rabbit season," but he too strongly conflated his desire to disagree with his opponent and his desire to defeat him! And it was that very desire to disagree that prevented him from fulfilling his goal of outwitting Bugs Bunny, and in doing so saving himself from harm! The irony is staggering! Ahahahahahahaha!

Web Original

• 3ème Droite: The narrator manages to get Mr. K to let him inside his apartment by using this trick. To be fair, Mr. K was under medication then, which made it easier to confuse him.
  Narrator: Can I come in?
  Mr. K: I have to go to bed.
  Narrator: Can I come in?
  Mr. K: I have to go to bed.
  Narrator: I have to go to bed.
  Mr. K: I... what?
  Narrator: Let me come in.
  Mr. K: Alright.

Web Videos

• 50% OFF lampshades the example between Nagisa and Gou in the original series by having Nagisa say "your ass just got looney-tuned" when he wins.
• Bugs Bunny (actually Woody Woodpecker in disguise) does this to The Angry Video Game Nerd in an attempt to entice him to play The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2.
• Used in Gantz: The Abridged Series in episode 08 & 09.
• In the Star Wars parody web video series Pink Five, a Perspective Flip of the original trilogy from the POV of a random female rebel pilot with the call sign Pink 5, Pink (seemingly has this exchange with Luke Skywalker after she ends up crash landing on Dagobah right after Luke lands there to look for Yoda. Pink is arguing with her own droid about how the crash isn’t her fault when,
  Luke: ”R2?”
  Pink 5: "Am not!"
  Luke: ”R2?”
  Pink 5: "Am not!"
• Pokémon Talk: In the first episode, Squirtle attempts this, but Bulbasaur doesn't fall for it.
  Bulbasaur: "You've always talked like, 'Squirtle, Squirtle'."
  Squirtle: "No, I haven't!"
  Bulbasaur: "Yes, you have."
  Squirtle: "No, I haven't!"
  Bulbasaur: "Yes, you have."
  Squirtle: "Yes, I have!"
  Bulbasaur: "Okay, good! You admit it."
  Squirtle: "Blast, I thought that'd work!"

Western Animation

• Aladdin: The Series: In one episode, Genie fails at giving Rajah a bath, and Aladdin makes fun of him for being scared.
  Aladdin: Come on, admit it. Your eyes were this big! You were scared.
  Genie: Was not.
  Aladdin: Were too.
  Genie: Was not.
  Aladdin: Were too.
  Genie: Was not.
  Aladdin: Was not.
  Genie: Were too. D'oh!
• The Amazing World of Gumball: In "The Girlfriend", Gumball tries to trick Darwin into saying he'll do something about Jamie, but doesn't watch the words closely enough.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: Please.
  Darwin: No.
  Gumball: No.
  Darwin: Please.
  Gumball: Bummer. Usually, it works on TV.
• American Dad!: The episode "Jack's Back" has an unusual role-playing version of this trope. Hayley takes a job at Roger's bar to get her internship credit, but he refuses to sign her form, using his love of costumes and role-playing to scare her off. Hayley fights fire with fire, resulting in a sequence of rapid costume changes between Eastern European gangsters, a genius Amish boy, and a time-travelling half bull/half human. Eventually Roger dresses as Hayley and tries to undo the whole thing by proclaiming it "just a figment of my drug-addled imagination"; Hayley responds by dressing as Roger and saying she still won't sign the form, which prompts Roger to forge his own signature on the paper. Hayley takes the form, says "Pleasure doing business with you," and walks away grinning.
  Roger: ... What just happened? Did I win?
• Animaniacs has a short version done, to Albert Einstein of all people, who won't buy any of the Warner kids' cookies.
  Yakko: Fine, if you don't want any cookies then just leave.
  Einstein: I'm not going to leave, this is my house.
  Yakko: Alright then, you leave.
  Einstein: Fine. [heads out the door]
• Ben 10: Omniverse: While fighting Khyber, Rath remarks that it's "Khyber the Huntsman season", while Khyber retorts that it's "Appoplexian season." The back-and-forth continues even while they're fighting, but Khyber defeats Rath with a hephaestan neuro grip.
• A non-verbal variation of this trope happens in the Donald Duck cartoon Lighthouse Keeping. A pelican keeps blowing out the candle in a lighthouse's light, and Donald promptly re-lights it. After a few rounds of this, the pelican takes the lighter from Donald and re-lights the candle, causing Don to blow out the candle.
• Donkey Kong Country: In the episode "A Thin Line Between Love and Ape", a fight involving a love potion ensues. One dose creates love, but a second dose causes hate, and so K.Rool and DK end up spraying Klump and Krusha, causing them to switch from love to hate for their boss. Near the end, DK just says "Psst" and K.Rool reflexively sprays Klump and Krusha... filling them with hate. Unfortunately, the sprayer's run out of potion, forcing K.Rool to flee from his enraged lackies.
• Drawn Together: In "Freaks & Greeks", this gets parodied:
  Ling-Ling: Ling-Ling deserve the money. Not you, filthy srut!
  Toot: Hey, I'm no slut! I earned this money! I've been letting Jun-Jee ram his tank into my Chinaman square! Sadly, he always ignored the little student.
  Ling-Ling: I don't care! It's Ling-Ling money!
  Toot: No, it's my money!
  Ling-Ling: It's Ling-Ling money!
  Toot: It's my money!
  Ling-Ling: It's Ling-Ling money!
  Toot: It's my money!
  Ling-Ling: Duck season!
• El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera: Done in the episode "The Good, the Bad, and the Tigre":
  White Pantera: This is your fault!
  Puma Loco: Your fault!
  White Pantera: Your fault!
  Puma Loco: My fault!
  White Pantera: My faul—your fault!
  Puma Loco: HA! I tricked you.
• Go Away, Unicorn!: Parodied in the episode "Stop Stirring the Pot, Unicorn!" when Alice is about to season her roast duck and is deciding on what seasoning to use:
  Alice: What can I use to make this duck unique? Something other than duck seasoning. Rabbit seasoning, duck seasoning, rabbit seasoning...
• This is done in Hey Arnold!, when in a dream, Helga tricks Arnold into marrying her this way.
• Jelly Jamm: In "Goomo's Birthday", Bello tries to convince Goomo he's getting tired and should go home to rest after trying to get his friends to remember his "special day". Goomo asserts he's not tired, and Bello states that yes, he is, with the same response. Bello then says Goomo isn't tired, to which Goomo replies he is tired and wants to go home, which is exactly what he does afterwards.
• Johnny Bravo: In the Christmas Special, Suzy pulls this trick on Johnny, and tells him, "I just Bugs-Bunnied you!"
• Looney Tunes: Being the Trope Namer, it has several examples of this:
  • It's named after the "Duck season! Rabbit season!" argument in the short Rabbit Fire. The exchange above is only the first part of a very funny gag. It's a combination of the normal trope as well as the "light switch" variant — Bugs and Daffy are actually pushing a gun barrel towards each other every time they say their line. When Bugs says "rabbit season," he also takes the barrel and pushes it towards Daffy, but then quickly back towards himself. When Daffy says "duck season," he pulls the gun back at himself.
  • The second film in the "Hunter's Trilogy", Rabbit Seasoning, pulls off a variant in the "Pronoun Trouble" gag:
    Bugs: Would you like to shoot me now, or wait 'til you get home?
    Daffy: Shoot him now! Shoot him now!
    Bugs: You keep out of this! He doesn't have to shoot you now!
    Daffy: He does so have to shoot me now! (to Elmer) I demand that you shoot me now!!
    • The above example is immediately followed by a continuation of the gag; this example is perhaps even more impressive, as Daffy manages to pull this one off all by himself:
      Daffy: Let's run through that again.
      Bugs: Okay! 'Would you like to shoot me now, or wait 'til you get home?'
      Daffy: 'Shoot him now, shoot him now.'
      Bugs: 'You keep out of this, he doesn't have to shoot you now.'
      Daffy: HA! That's it, hold it right there! (Aside Glance) Pronoun Trouble. (Beat) It's not "He doesn't have to shoot you now," it's "He doesn't have to shoot me now." Well, I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!
  • Another example is Bugs' argument with the fake umpire in the 1946 cartoon, "Baseball Bugs". This gag predates Rabbit Fire, released in 1951.
    Fake Umpire: You're out!
    Bugs: Where do you get that malarkey? I'm safe!
    Fake Umpire: I said you're out!
    Bugs: I'm safe!
    Fake Umpire: You're out!
    Bugs: Safe!
    Fake Umpire: OUT!
    Bugs: SAFE!
    Fake Umpire: OUT!
    Bugs: SAFE!
    Fake Umpire: OUT!
    Bugs: SAFE! OUT!
    Fake Umpire: SAFE!
    Bugs: OUT!
    Fake Umpire: SAFE!
    Bugs: OUT!
    Fake Umpire: SAFE!
    Bugs: OUT!
    Fake Umpire: I say you're safe! If you don't like it, you can go to the showers!
    Bugs: Okay then, doc. Have it your way. I'm safe.
  • And before that Daffy did this to Porky in Duck Soup To Nuts.
    Daffy: [after failing to trick Porky] You don't think I'm a fish?
    Porky: No, I don't.
    Daffy: Cynic! Well, if you don't believe I'm a fish, I don't believe you're a pig!
    Porky: Th-th-that's ridiculous. Of course I'm a pig.
    Daffy: Well, I say you're an eagle!
    Porky: I'm a pig!
    Daffy: You're an eagle!
    Porky: Pig!
    Daffy: Eagle!
    Porky: Pig!
    Daffy: Eagle!
    Porky: Pig!
    Daffy: Pig!
    Porky: Eagle!
  • Etc., etc. It ends with Porky jumping out of a tree to prove that he's an eagle. When he falls to the ground, he ends with "I told you I was a p-pig!"
  • Or the version where Bugs and Daffy are ripping signs off the same tree revealing "Duck season ... Rabbit season ... Elmer season..."
    Elmer: Uh oh... [Runs off]
    Bugs: [Dressed as Elmer and holding a gun] Shh! Be vewy, vewy quiet. We're hunting Elmers.
    Daffy: [Also dressed as Elmer and holding a gun] Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
  • In "Bugs Bunny Rides Again", after Bugs and Yosemite Sam have a chase which leads nowhere, they agree to play cards, with the loser leaving town. Bugs and Sam play gin rummy, with Bugs hinting at which card Sam should play; Bugs takes the card and wins the game and is about to send Sam out of town, until he sees a trainful of women in bikinis headed for Miami, and then Bugs pulls Sam's hat over his eyes and leaves him at the train station, while Bugs takes the train to Miami, saying "So long Sammy, see you in Miami", as the departing train makes a wolf whistle sound.
  • In "The Fair-Haired Hare", Yosemite Sam builds a cabin on top of Bugs's property, which leads Bugs to take his case to the highest court in the country which is 6,723 feet above sea level. The judge declares a tontine-like situation that Bugs and Sam will share the property, and if either one passes on, the survivor inherits the property. Sam schemes to hasten Bugs's demise, and after he fails to hit Bugs on the head with a mallet, he prepares two glasses of carrot juice, trying to serve a Mickey Finn-style carrot juice laced with poison. After Bugs spins the table several times to switch the glasses around, Yosemite Sam orders Bugs to drink up, and Bugs insists that Sam drinks his carrot juice first, and the poisoned juice knocks Sam through the roof.
  • In "Hare Force", an elderly lady takes Bugs into her house on a cold winter night, with Sylvester the dog tricking him into going outside, and Bugs makes a snow version of himself, which Sylvester Dog brings next to the fireplace. Bugs tells him to hide, leading him to rush outdoors. After the old lady checks on them a few times, Sylvester kicks Bugs in the tail, with Bugs kicking him back, showing him that if the dog hit him like that (which he didn't), Bugs demonstrates various ways in which he would have retaliated, but didn't. After the dog gets wise, Bugs dares him to charge at him, and he finds himself outside again. The conflict leads up to Bugs and the dog taking turns saying "Out you go once and for all!" They proceed to take alternating turns throwing each other out the door, until the lady comes downstairs and threatens to throw them both out, with Bugs and the dog finally throwing the lady out of her own house, with Bugs and the dog lying next to the fireplace.
  • In Little Red Riding Rabbit, Bugs does one of these and ends up coaxing The Big Bad Wolf into joining him on a chorus of "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet", which the Wolf continues by himself. Silly, ain't he?
  • Also done in 1948's Haredevil Hare, between Bugs and Marvin Martian's dog K-9, over who takes Marvin's Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space ModulaTOR (hey, that's the way he says it).
    Bugs: Hey, what's the big idea? Give me that!
    K-9: D'oh, no I won't!
    Bugs: Oh, yes you will!
    K-9: Oh, no I won't!
    Bugs: Oh, yes you will!
    K-9: No, I won't!
    Bugs: Oh, no you won't!
    K-9: D'oh, yes I will!
    Bugs: Oh, no you won't!
    K-9: Yes I will!
    Bugs: Oh, no you won't!
    K-9: You take it or I'll shove it down yer t'roat!
  • Bugs does a variation of this to Napoleon in "Napoleon Bunny-part" when the latter is using a map and figures to decide where to place infantry and artillery:
    Bugs: Where ya putting the artillery?
    Napoleon: There. [points to a cannon figure]
    Bugs: Uh-uh. Here. [moves the cannon elsewhere]
    Napoleon: No, no! Here! [moves it back]
    Bugs: [moves it again] Here.
    Napoleon: I am the emperor and I say here! [moves it back again]
    Bugs: Isn't that a coincidence? That's just where I've decided it should be!
    Napoleon: The emperor makes the decisions around here! It will go there! [moves it where Bugs kept putting it]
    Bugs: Okay, it goes there.
  • In "Mexican Joyride", Daffy uses this on a raging bull. The bull, oblivious that he's arguing with Daffy himself, insists that the black duck is hiding under the Mexican hat lying on the ground. Daffy initially states that Daffy isn't under the hat, then uses this trope to make the bull insist so, even making a large bet to this effect. The bull then proceeds to lift the hat, and sure enough, Daffy is there, somehow.
  • "Mutiny on the Bunny" subverts this. Yosemite Sam as the captain of a ship says Bugs is going to be swabbing the deck as his servant. Bugs starts saying "Oh no I'm not!" while Sam says "Oh, yes you are!", and they go back and forth in the fashion of this trope... until a Gilligan Cut to Bugs swabbing the deck, saying "Yes I am" in defeat, showing that if anything, Sam successfully switched Bugs' argument around, or that, at the least, the attempt to invoke this trope failed altogether.
  • Used by Baby Bugs in Baby Looney Tunes (in a direct reference to "Rabbit Fire").
    Baby Daffy: Hmm ... I'd better remember that trick in case he tries it on me again someday.
  • Loonatics Unleashed had the team's leader Ace Bunny (Bugs' 27th century descendant) use this trick twice.
    • Ace first does it in the premiere episode "Loonatics on Ice" to trick Gunnar the Conqueror into saying he won't conquer their planet.
    • He does it again in "It Came from Outer Space" when he tricks Melvin the Martian into holding onto an explosive he intended to use on Ace.
  • Also subverted in New Looney Tunes episode, "Home a Clone", where a clone of bugs attempts this on the original. Bugs doesn't fall for it due to being the one who invented that tired and played out gag.
    Bugs Clone: Speaking of tired and played out...
    points at original bugs
  • Looney Tunes Cartoons provides an example without Bugs, Elmer or Daffy in "Beast A-Birdin'" when Sylvester the Cat gets into an argument with a parrot.
    Sylvester: Hello.
    Parrot: (Squawk!) Hello!
    Sylvester: He's a plump one, isn't he?
    Parrot: (Squawk!) He's a plump one, isn't he?
    Sylvester: Hey, you some kind of smart-aleck?
    Parrot: You some kind of smart-aleck?
    Sylvester: Knock it off!
    Parrot: Knock it off!
    Sylvester: I'm serious!
    Parrot: I'm serious!
    Sylvester: If you don't cut that out, I'll sock you right in the jaw!
    Parrot: If you don't cut that out, I'll sock myself right in the jaw!
    (Sylvester winds up a punch, and socks himself right in the jaw. The parrot flies away, uneaten.)
• Mummies Alive!: Happens at the end of one episode as an argument over who/what was more important in saving the day:
  Rath: Brains!
  Armon: Brawn!
  Rath: Brains!
  Armon: Brawn!
  Rath: Brawn!
  Armon: Brains!
  Rath: [folds his arms] Gotcha.
  Armon: I meant brawn!
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Pinkie Pie does this in the episode "Putting Your Hoof Down", when haggling with a tomato vendor who made Fluttershy pay two bits instead of one for her produce. As usual, the vendor doesn't realize that she's inadvertently agreed to one bit per order until it's too late. She does it again when convincing Iron Will to wait a full day instead of half a day before trying to collect the fees for his assertiveness training from Fluttershy. Meanwhile, Fluttershy's attempt to do this on a cherry vendor fails so badly that she almost paid more than what it was originally priced.
• The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: A discussion between Tigger and Piglet in one episode went through one of these reversals on whether a story was taking place at dawn or midnight. (For some reason, it wound up on "Evening" after this reversal.)
  Tigger: Say, it's the middle of broad daylight! Even a not-so-scary story has to happen at night, you know!
  Piglet: Oh, but, this one happens in the daytime!
  Tigger: Night!
  Piglet: Day!
  Tigger: Night!
  Piglet: Day!
  Tigger: Mornin'!
  Piglet: Evening! [realizes what just happened] Oh, d-d-dear ...
• Peppermint Rose: When Buddy Bug goes back on his word and tries to eat Rose, she confuses him by mixing up "gonna stay" and "gonna go," making him eject her from the trap.
• Seven Little Monsters: In "My Fair One", Four and Two get into an argument on whether Two is out or safe during the monsters' baseball game. In the end, Four abruptly says "safe" to trick Two into saying "out" and get him out of the game.
• Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham, an animated short for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, has Spider-Ham, stuck in the traditional shackled-to-a-table-with-a-slowly-approaching-laser position, getting into this kind of argument with the villain who stuck him there. In an impressive feat of Toon Physics, when the switcheroo takes place in the argument, Ham and the villain physically switch places, leaving the villain stuck in his own deathtrap.
• Timon & Pumbaa: In the episode "Amusement Bark", when the titular characters arrive at a water themed amusement park and argue over what to do first, Pumbaa pulls this on Timon, resulting in a Double Subversion.
  Timon: I want to ride the log flume.
  Pumbaa: I want to buy a souvenir.
  Timon: I want to ride the log flume.
  Pumbaa: I want to buy a souvenir.
  Timon: I want to ride the log flume.
  Pumbaa: I want to ride the log flume.
  Timon: I want to buy a souve- ah, ah, ah, Pumbaa. That ol' switcheroo reversal trick won't work on moi.
  Pumbaa: What switcheroo reversal trick might that be, Timon?
  Timon: Then one where you start saying that you want to ride the log flume. Well, we're doing what I want, Mr. Smarty Pig, and we're buying a souvenir.
• Tiny Toon Adventures: In the episode "Gang Busters", this exchange between Buster and Plucky occurs when the former beats the latter at a game of Pong. Given the Characters on whom they're based, it should come as no surprise:
  Plucky: Hey, you cheated!
  Buster: I did not!
  Plucky: Did too!
  Buster: Did not!
  Plucky: Did too!
  Buster: Did too!
  Plucky: Did not!
  Buster: Right!
• Tom and Jerry:
  • The cartoon "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" did it silently. It involved a lit firecracker being handed off. Tom and Jerry were both frantically shoving the firecracker to each other before Jerry grabs the firecracker from Tom. Then they start stealing the explosive from each other (instead of doing something sensible like pinching out the fuse), with Tom (naturally) ending up with it.
  • In another cartoon, Tom and Spike are fighting over who gets to stay and who has to leave. At one point Tom sadly packs up a Bindle Stick and heads to the door. He shakes (right) hands with Spike, then hands Spike the bindle and shakes (left) hands, taking Jerry in the process, before patting Spike on the shoulder and gently ushering him out the door. Spike is halfway out of the yard when he realizes what happened and his head turns into a jackass.
  • The Gene Deitch directed short "Tall in the Trap" has this done with a basement; every time Tom descends down the stairs to get to Jerry, Jerry turns off the light, forcing Tom to climb back up and switch it on. Eventually, Jerry merely makes a 'Click' noise, Tom shakes his fist at him, then climbs back up, switches the light off, tries to descend and promptly tumbles down the stairs.
  • There's a variation of that in a Bugs Bunny cartoon: "The Wind-Blown Hare". Bugs is at the bottom of a staircase and the Big Bad Wolf is coming down to get him, and Bugs keeps turning off the light. What's different from the Tom and Jerry version is that there is an audible sound when the light gets turned on or off, so when Bugs invokes the trope, he simply says the word "Click", whereupon the Big Bad Wolf goes back up the stairs, turns off the light and falls down the stairs. This same gag is repeated in the "Rabbitron" module of the Looney Tunes collection for the After Dark screensaver, with Elmer Fudd instead of the Big Bad Wolf.

Real Life

• 17th century philosopher Baltasar Gracián warned specifically against this kind of mindset, stating that you should never pick the wrong stance if your opponent picked the right one.
• Adorably used here to get a child to walk. The boy wanted to go in the car and things turned into just "Yes!" "No!" "Yes!" "No!" When the father then said yes, they'd go in the car, the boy objected and they walked off happily.
• A version that uses this mentality, i.e. unthinking repetition, involves asking a question over and over again, then asking the opposite, so that the arguer unthinkingly supplies the previous answer, which now has an opposite connotation. For example: "Can I do this?" "No." "Can I do this?" "No." "Really?" "No." However, it tends not to fool them for long. It's still highly amusing.
• Alan Moore claims to have done this in promoting Lost Girls:
  Moore: If we'd have come out and said, "Well, this is a work of art," they would have probably all said, "No it's not, it's pornography." So because we're saying, "This is pornography," they're saying, "No it's not, it's art," and people don't realise quite what they've said.
• Tends to happen in arguments (especially on the internet) where one or both sides aren't entirely sure what their own position is; they just know that the other guy's wrong. The point at issue takes second place to the reflexive contradiction until you see someone shift their own argument 180 degrees without even noticing.
• Actually used as a necessary component of a real study on cognitive dissonance.
• Among Atheists who debate Creationists online, this is called "Daffy Ducking." Getting your debate opponent to "Daffy Duck" themselves is a mark of great skill and ability in online atheist circles.
• Can happen in Congress and legislatures occasionally. In one notorious instance, Republican senator Mitch McConnell managed to get caught filibustering his own bill after the Democrats agreed to his proposal.
  • Mitch McConnell was able to pull this off on the Democrats when he simply decided to have a vote on the Green New Deal bill. It was fairly obvious that the bill wasn't going to pass the Republican Majority Senate and the Democrats were banking on McConnell refusing to bring it to the floor for a vote, which they could then use to claim that the Republicans did not care about the environment. McConnell however, suspected that the vote was massively unpopular, even within the Democrats own base, and decided to bring the bill up to vote on the floor. The Democrats ended having to block their own bill, with only three of them voting against it and the rest voting present (which is sort of a vote for a neutral stance on the bill, basically saying that they take no sides on the matter). The bill was defeated with 57 to 0 and forced the Democrats into a position of defending not voting on the bill but supporting it.

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Daffy: DUCK SEASON, FIRE!!
[gets bill blown off, again]
Daffy: [glares at Bugs while replacing his bill] You're despicable.

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