- Basic Trope: A character is unable to speak when they're trying to say something emotional.
- Straight: Bob is trying to tell Matt that his mother died yesterday, but Cannot Spit It Out.
- Exaggerated: Bob's head literally explodes trying to communicate to Matt.
- Downplayed: Bob stutters and chokes on his words trying to tell Matt that his mother died.
- Justified: Bob was as close to Matt's mother as Matt himself was.
- Bob is worried about how Matt will react, and wants to break bad news gently.
- Inverted: Bob bluntly and deadpanly tells Matt that his mother "fucking died".
- Subverted: Bob has a stutter.
- Double Subverted: ...That gets worse when he is emotionally stressed.
- Zig Zagged: Bob is able to tell Matt that his mother passed away, but starts struggling trying to tell him how she died, and how she felt in her final moments.
- Averted: Bob is able to tell Matt about the tragedy.
- Enforced: The director wants to elongate the scene so the audience has time to notice the black sun rising in the background.
- Lampshaded: "I have no idea what you're trying to say, but I know it's not going to be good."
- Defied: Bob brings someone else who took the death fairly well.
- Deconstructed: Matt immediately realizes that whatever Bob is about to say is going to suck.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PlayingWith/EmotionallyTongueTied
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