Someone does not directly answer a question (and might not technically respond at all) — but still makes themself crystal clear. The person who asked the question may then reply "I'll take that as a [yes/no]."
Inverse of:
- Non-Answer: when someone directly responds with something so vague it's not an answer at all.
- Mathematician's Answer: when the response is direct and absolutely correct, but is utterly useless anyways.
Sometimes related to You Do Not Want To Know.
Examples:
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Anime And Manga
- In Morita-san Wa Mukuchi, the title character, Mayu Morita, never talks, so she's often subjected to this.
Miki: Whatcha want? Taiyaki?
(Mayu doesn't respond)
Miki: Cake? Candy?
(Mayu frowns)
Miki: Ice cream?
(Mayu's face lights up)
Miki: Chihiro! Mayu said she wants ice cream!
Mayu (thinking): How did she know I wanted ice cream?
Comic Books
- Ultimate Galactus Trilogy: Nuck Fury wants Reed to work in the Triskelion with the others, but Reed works better alone. Fury insists, Reed reminds him how much they need his help... and Fury gives some orders, ordering to have a ship in the Baxter Building, ready to bring to the Triskelion at any moment of need. Implying that he accepts his request.
Fanfiction
- In Harry Potter and the Whispering Man Snape took Harry to Hogwarts a week before fourth year started. When Harry showed signs of nausea, the following exchange took place:
Snape: "Is this the first time you have apparated, Potter?"
Harry: "The first time I've what?"
Snape: "I'll take that as a yes." - In Recovery a suicidally depressed Harry asked Snape "Why?" Snape replied "Why am I here? Or were you asking why I care?" Harry blushed in response to the latter question and Snape said "I'll take it as a yes."
- In Break My Fall, When Red asks Vio (over the phone) if his parents are divorced Vio's response is to hang up on him.
Red knows Vio well enough to know that "no" means "yes". So this must be a yes, whether Vio would like to admit it or not.
Films — Animated
- From Monsters, Inc.:
Roz: Hello, Wazowski. Fun-filled evening planned for tonight?
Mike: Well, as a matter of fact...
Roz: And I'm sure you filed your paperwork correctly, for once.
Mike: (forced smile)
Roz: Your stunned silence is VERY reassuring.
Films — Live-Action
- From Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: When Davey Jones asks Norrington "Do you fear death?" Norrington runs Davey Jones through before expiring.
Davy Jones: I'll take that as a "no."
- From Ocean's Eleven:
Danny: Ten oughta do it, don't you think?
Rusty: [Stares in silence, not looking at Danny]
Danny: You think we need one more?
Rusty: [Silence]
Danny: You think we need one more.
Rusty: [Silence]
Danny: All right, we'll get one more.
Rusty: [Blinks] - Subverted in John Wick: Chapter 2. After his car gets smashed up in the opening scene, John has Aurelio take a look at it and asks if he can fix it. Aurelio gives a long, long list of catastrophic issues with the car, only to shrug and say, "Sure, I can fix it." He adds that it'll take a very long time, though.
Literature
- Interesting Times: Lord Hong promises an informant he won't speak or write any order for his execution. As the informant leaves, the origami figure Lord Hong was folding falls to the ground... but it seems there hadn't been enough paper for a head.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has one that doesn't even get past the question stage. Harry is trying to explain to Vernon why the Dursleys need to be moved in secrecy: Voldemort might try to torture Harry's location out of them, or think that by holding them hostage Harry would try to go rescue them. Harry and Vernon clearly have the exact same question in mind.
Live-Action TV
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: When an imprisoned Adar asks Halbrand who he is, Halbrand turns his back on Adar and stops for a few moments, but then leaves without answering the question. Adar realizes that the man in front of him might be Sauron disguised as a human.
Video Games
- In Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite's story mode, Captain America asks Chris Redfield if his strike team is ready for their mission. Before Chris can respond, an Ultron drone attacks him and he puts it down by grappling it and Double Tapping it in the head; Cap mutters "I'll take that as a yes."
Webcomics
- In Exterminatus Now, Lothar is fighting some dragons. The others ask Lothar if he'll be okay. They take a dragon's head bouncing off a wall as a "yes".
- In this Black Eye Comics episode
, someone flirtatiously asks if the cashier is going to pay for her sandwich. His only "answer" is to give her an irritated look, and she unhappily digs through her purse for money.
Web Original
- In The Codeless Code, monks will frequently answer a yes or no question with "Wu" or "Null." Either means "I won't answer because you're asking the wrong question."
Web Video
- In Dragon Ball Z Abridged, Cell asks Trunks how he thinks Cell got to the past from his timeline, to which Trunks responds that it was obviously with Trunks's time machine. When Cell follows up by asking how Trunks thinks he got the time machine (the obvious implication being that Cell killed him for it), Trunks just says "I don't want to answer that."
Real Life
- In cultures which have been influenced by Confucian ideas, this is the usual way to make a point. Actually spelling out one's conclusion would seem to be rude or crass, as explaining a joke can seem in American culture. Here is an example:
«Mencius said to King Hsüan of Ch'i, "Suppose a subject of Your Majesty's, having entrusted his wife and children to the care of a friend, were to go on a trip to Ch'u, only to find, upon his return, that his friend had allowed his wife and children to suffer cold and hunger, then what should he do about it?""Break with his friend.""If the Marshal of the Guards was unable to keep his guards in order, then what should be done about it?""Remove him from office.""If the whole realm, within the four borders was ill-governed, then what should be done about it?"The King turned to his attendants and changed the subject.»— Mencius, IA 6, tr. D.C. Lau (Harmondsworth, Middlesex; Penguin, 1970) pp. 66-7.
