Basic Trope: Someone claims they don't have some skill, but when the chips are down, it turns out they do.
- Straight: Alice and Bob are at prom night, and Alice thinks Bob can't dance. He leads her onto the floor and dances like a champ. Upon being confronted about this, he says "I Lied".
- Exaggerated: After prom, Alice and Bob go back to a motel room and have fantastic sex — despite Bob claiming he has no idea what to do in bed. After that, they wake up the next morning and Bob makes her a five-star breakfast despite claiming he can't cook...
- Downplayed: Alice and Bob go out on the dance floor. He can't dance particularly well, but he dances better than Alice thought.
- Justified:
- Bob was lying for some reason or another, like his father disapproving his interest in dance.
- Bob didn't know how to dance... Until very recently, because he took some classes.
- Bob is part of a social circle full of really good dancers and generally skilled people. Relative to them, he isn't really that good. Bob's still really good at dancing compared to Alice and the local community.
- Alice was asking about a specific dance, which Bob doesn't know. If it's another dance, he can usually ace it.
- Inverted:
- Becoming the Boast - Bob claims he knows how to dance, but can't. When he gets out on the floor, he performs well enough to avoid embarrassment.
- Bob's claims of dancing skill are quickly proved wrong and he doesn't avoid embarrassment.
- Sucks at Dancing
- Subverted:
- Bob claims he can't dance. Alice assumes this trope is in play and makes him dance anyways. He really can't.
- Bob was singing along with Genesis.
- Double Subverted: He can't dance because he has some sort of mental block. Once removed, he's splendid.
- Parodied:
- Bob insists he can't dance while performing moves that would make Michael Jackson himself jealous with rage.
- Bob claims he can't do anything before doing it. He claims he doesn't know how to go the potty before he uses the toilet, for instance.
- "I thought you said you didn't know how to dance!" "Oh, Crap!... I don't!"
- Zig Zagged: Bob claims he can't dance... and he can't, until he removes a mental block. But he's still not very good.
- Averted:
- Bob can dance, and makes no claim to the contrary.
- Bob refuses to dance, since, after all, he said he couldn't.
- Enforced: Bob’s actor is renowned for his skill as a dancer, and the production wants to invoke Irony As He Is Cast.
- Lampshaded: "Come on, out on the dance floor. I know how these things go — you say you can't dance, so you'll turn out to be top-notch when we get on the floor."
- Invoked: Bob claims he can't dance while taking lessons on the side, just so he can surprise Alice.
- Exploited: Charles, who dislikes Bob and wants to see him humiliated, suggests to Alice that he’s lying about his dancing prowess so he’ll embarrass himself on the dance floor.
- Defied:
- Alice tries to lead Bob onto the dance floor. He refuses, as he told her he couldn't dance.
- Bob doesn't ask Alice to the dance in the first place.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Alice is clearly surprised when she's dancing with Bob.
"Back to You Said You Couldn't Dance and...hey, you said you couldn't edit trope pages!"
"I've been taking lessons, just for you. Do you like it?"
