The Noodle Incident is something from the past that is sometimes referred to but never explained (or, rarely, left conspicuously unexplained until a critical plot point), with the implication that
it's just too ludicrous for words, and the reality that any explanation would fall short of audience expectations. Questions about it are often met with "
You Don't Want To Know…" Persisting is a good way to press a character's
Berserk Button.
Commonly introduced to the audience through a
Wiki Walk, or by having characters react to some fantastic and improbable event with "
Oh no, not again." In any case, the key to this trope is that the audience is left to imagine what happened based on vague hints or clues, with
funny (or
scary) results.
Named for an incident referenced by the characters of
Calvin And Hobbes, where the author admitted he decided against ever stating what happened, as he figured nothing he could come up with would be as outrageous as what the readers thought happened.
Compare
Second Hand Storytelling,
Take Our Word for It,
Cryptic Background Reference,
Noodle Implements,
That Mysterious Thing,
What Did I Do Last Night?. Reminiscing about a Noodle Incident by the people involved can result in
Lost In Transmission for an outsider. Compare and contrast
Offscreen Moment of Awesome, where the off-screen incident would have been better on-screen. See also
Cow Tools. Enough such incidents create a character who has
Seen It All. If a Noodle Incident is essential to solving a mystery, it's a
Riddle for the Ages. If it results in the person/people involved being banished from wherever it happened, they've become
Persona Non Grata. See also
Great Offscreen War. Contrast
Oblivious Mockery, where characters talk about an event they don't know happened but the
viewer does (most of the time).
In
Spy Fiction or similar tropes, the Noodle Incident is usually referred to by a place's name. "This is just like Budapest!" "Remember Helsinki?" "God, it's Rio de Janeiro all over again." Sometimes this is elaborated upon, but usually not.
Naturally, this trope is a good source of
Fanfic Fuel.
Examples:
