Basic Trope: When a character insults another character, the insultee claims the insulter didn't do it "properly".
- Straight: When Alice trips and breaks Bob's Priceless Ming Vase, he says "You idiot!". She replies "I am not an idiot. Knocking vases over by accident is completely unrelated to intelligence. Therefore, it would have been more logical for you to call me a 'klutz'".
- Exaggerated: Bob thinks up every insult in the book, but Alice thinks all of them don't apply.
- Downplayed: Alice reacts in offense to being called an idiot, but reluctantly agrees when called a klutz.
- Justified:
- Alice has a very logical mind and likes to take things apart, and she doesn't offend easily.
- It momentarily changes the topic, derailing Bob's momentum and seizing control of the conversation, as well as inferring to him that his opinion isn't being taken seriously.
- Inverted:
- When Alice fixes Bob's vase, Bob says "That was electrifying!", and Alice says "I think you mean 'that was amazing'. It did not send an electric current through your body."
- You Know I'm Black, Right?
- Subverted:
- Alice list the reasons why 'idiot' doesn't apply, and then adds "don't call me that anyway".
- Bob points that Alice was an idiot. He told her multiple times to not touch the vase but she did anyway.
- Double Subverted:
- Again Alice adds, "it is terribly unoriginal so it doesn't have any meaning to it as an insult".
- Alice retorts that "scatter-brain" or "space-case" would be more appropriate because she wasn't paying attention.
- Parodied: ???
- Averted:
- Alice doesn't stop to think about Bob's insult
- Bob doesn't insult Alice.
- Zigzagged:
- Alice muses to herself for a few minutes on whether or not the word 'idiot' actually applies to her.
- Bob calls Alice a lot of insults. According to Alice, some of them apply, some don't.
- Enforced: To set Alice up as The Stoic, while throwing in some comedy.
- Lampshaded: "Insults are a funny thing to analyse, Alice".
- Invoked: When Alice was bullied as a child, her parents suggested that she deconstruct her bullies' insults to confuse them and keep herself calm, and the habit stuck as she grew up.
- Exploited: Bob gets to learn what certain insults actually mean through Alice.
- Defied: Bob makes sure all his insults make perfect sense.
- Discussed: Alice and Bob have a conversation about insults and their meanings after the vase incident.
- Conversed: "And remember in that episode when Alice gets insulted, and she's like 'that insult doesn't even apply'. LOL, and she's not even offended!"
- Implied: Alice storms out of an offscreen argument with Bob, complaining that he can't even insult her right.
- Deconstructed: When Alice trips and breaks Bob's Priceless Ming Vase, he says "You idiot!". Alice fires back and calls him an idiot for using the wrong insult and should have said "You're a klutz," embarrassing him in the process.
- Reconstructed: Alice decides she would rather be an idiot than a klutz.
- Played for Laughs: After Alice explains that 'klutz' would be a better insult than 'idiot', Bob says "Okay then, you're a klutz!". Alice just says "So I am", shrugs, and continues what she's doing.
- After Alice explains that 'klutz' would be a better insult than 'idiot', Bob says "Okay then, you're a klutz!". Alice is outraged that Bob would dare insult her in such a manner and promptly drives a fragment of the shattered vase through his chest.
- Played for Drama: After Alice explains that 'klutz' would be a better insult than 'idiot', Bob says "Okay then, you're a klutz!". Alice, hurt over his insults, storms off.
Back to Wrong Insult Offence.
