One character is arguing with another who (s)he thinks is being stupid, when the other makes a point which renders the first momentarily speechless. Related to Dumbass Has a Point. In comics, as per the Webcomics example, signified by '...'. In live action, usually signified by the character pausing open-mouthed, possibly with a finger in the air.
Related to Shutting Up Now and Sarcasm Failure. Compare Giving Up on Logic.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs: Jilk complains to Leon about being assigned to demolitions duty while Dungeon Crawling. Leon then mentions how Jilk forced his sister to plant a bomb on his Mini-Mecha before their duel, to which Jilk says this.
Comic Books
- In a Gaston Lagaffe comic, Prunelle has some work to give to Gaston, only to find the lazybones with his cat sleeping on his lap, whispering that he can't work right now because he doesn't dare waking up the poor cat. To which Prunelle roars, making the cat jump awake in fright, before pushing a busload of stuff in Gaston's arms.
Prunelle: If everybody in this redaction had a sleeping cat on their lap, the Spirou journal wouldn't publish very often!
Gaston: Oh yeah? Well, if every general and head of state, whatever their flags, had a cat on their lap, then I'd be feeling much better, myself!
Prunelle: [thinking] How can you respond to a guy who's right?
Fan Fiction
- In Distant Relations
Tonks accidentally walks in on Harry naked and turns around, telling him to let her know when he's decent.
Harry: I'm decent now.
Tonks: You're still starkers!
Harry: Well, yes, but I'm still decent. The fact I'm not wearing anything doesn't change the content of my character.
Tonks: I have no answer to that.
Films — Live-Action
- In Tootsie:
Sandy: A guy named Les is sending you flowers?
Michael Dorsey: Yes. He's a friend of mine. He can't eat candy; he's diabetic.
Sandy: Why is he thanking you for a lovely night in front of the fire?
Michael Dorsey: [long pause] My mind's a blank. - In Old School the fraternity members are set up in a debate against James Carville. Frank (Will Ferrell, playing his usual Manchild character) opts to take the first question. His answer is surprisingly intelligent, and Carville's team frantically whispers among themselves for a long time before finally replying, "We... have no response".
- From Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Will and Jack wake up Gibs, who's sleeping with the pigs, by throwing a bucket of water on him. Then Will throws a second bucketful at him, to which he angrily responds "Blast it! I'm already awake!". Will replies "That was for the smell." There's a pause, then Gibbs shrugs and nods his head.
Live-Action TV
- In one episode of Stargate SG-1, the team hesitates at the prospect of getting to the gate, which is guarded by a legion of Jaffa. O'Neill is arguing with a scientist about how to go about it, when the scientist just goes, "But you're SG-1!" O'Neill has no response to that except to shrug, and go ahead and kick some ass.
- In an episode of The West Wing, Sam Seaborn gets his ass verbally handed to him by Blonde Republican Sex Kitten Ainsley Hayes, who then heads off for a snack. He's quite speechless until after she's left, at which point he says "...I could have countered that, but I'd already moved on to other things in my head."
Webcomics
- El Goonish Shive:
- When Grace tells Tedd why she lied, he does the "mouth open and finger-in-air" version.
Tedd: You should have told me where you were going.
Grace: I didn't want you to worry.
Tedd: But you lied to me.
Grace: It's okay to lie to people if you think it's for their own good!
Tedd: Who gave you that idea?
Grace: Everyone I have ever known ever.
[...]
Tedd: Fair enough. - ... and again, Nanase responding to Elliot in superhero form, with head tilt and tiny pupils to boot.
- When Grace tells Tedd why she lied, he does the "mouth open and finger-in-air" version.
- This from Sluggy Freelance.
- Here in Skin Horse, Dr. Lee doesn't think Tip is an idiot, as such, but she certainly wasn't expecting his pithy assessment of the situation.
- In another example, Dr. Lee walks into it again this time with a Beat Panel as its over the phone.
- In another example
- The Order of the Stick frequently uses this for its punchlines. See here and here (spoilers).
Redcloak: Logic dictates that the simplest solution is the most probable.
O'Chul: And you find the idea that I have some sort of secret knowledge implanted in my brain by elders of the Sapphire Guard that has been so deeply suppressed that no magical effect can unearth it to be simpler than the idea that I just don't know anything?
Redcloak: [long pause] ...I like the way I phrased it better. - In this Footloose strip, Keti runs into this problem with her mother.
- In The Property of Hate, I legimately do not know how to respond to that.
Western Animation
- In Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor is trying to shut up Tala so he can concentrate on reviving Brainiac. Tala says "Transmutation of matter is what you want, right?" It takes a bit of time for this to sink in, but Lex is finally taken aback. "Do it then!"
- Parodied by Peggy in King of the Hill, where she goes on a thirty second rant of how she cannot say anything to that.
Peggy: Hank Hill, I am speechless. I literally have nothing to say. Not one word. Nada. Zilch. Zero. (beat) I don't know what you're waiting for.
- From Regular Show:
Mordecai: But if there is one thing you can trust us with, it's perfecting pointless skills on company time.
Benson: Wow... I really don't have an answer to that. - In The Simpsons, when Homer insists on finishing a dead trucker's delivery and Bart wants to come along:
Homer: Don't you have school?
Bart: Don't you have work?
Homer: Ah, touché! - Kaeloo:
- When Kaeloo suddenly breaks down crying in the middle of a conversation, Stumpy thinks it must be a psychological issue, and suggests asking Mr. Cat to help Kaeloo sort it out. Quack Quack thinks this is a horrible idea, since Mr. Cat is, well, Mr. Cat, eliciting this response from Stumpy:
Stumpy: Do YOU know anything about psychology?
Quack Quack: Stares in silence
Stumpy: No? Exactly.- Played for Laughs in the Baseball Episode. Mr. Cat realizes that the only way his team will win is to cheat, and Kaeloo, who is on his team, is horrified by the idea... until Mr. Cat points something out:
