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Finishing The Interrupted Sentence - TV Tropes

  • ️Wed Oct 23 2024

Describe Finishing the Inter--

DESCRIPTION UNNECESSARY

...rupted Sentence Here.

When a character is interrupted mid-sentence, they don't always have a chance to continue their train of thought. When they do, they may finish the sentence they were saying when they were interrupted, though almost never in the same tone of voice they were using before.

The change in the speaker's tone is what tends to convey their reaction to what it was that interrupted them. They may continue in a deflated or resigned tone to convey they feel defeated by the interruption. If the continuation is done in a scared tone of voice, it's easy to assume a sense of fear on the speaker's part. Alternatively, the continuation can be fueled with anger if the speaker is upset at the interruption. a confused tone in the continuation would indicate surprise or a lack of understanding as to whatever interrupted them.

This can happen when a person walks in on a scene that causes them to freeze in place as they process what they're seeing, if the person is arguing with someone who ends the debate by interrupting their opponent, or if they're approached by someone or something that causes a sudden shift in mood. A speaker can even inflict this upon themselves if they're Late to the Realization, triggering one of the above responses.

Tropes that can sometimes happen alongside this are Answer Cut, Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!, "We're Live" Realization, and Remembered Too Late. Compare Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption. Contrast Killed Mid-Sentence. See also Un-Paused, Cue Card, and Now You Tell Me.

Examples:

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Anime & Manga 

  • School Rumble: After Hanai "volunteers" class 2-C to clean the pool, they end up playing a form of hockey with the soap disk, dividing into teams based on whether they wanted to do a play or a cafe for the culture festival. Hanai launches an attack, which Harima tries to block, only for Mikoto to try and warn him.

    Mikoto: Harima, wait! It's a... [disk veers in another direction] ...curveball.

Comic Strips 

  • FoxTrot: One time Paige and Jason were arguing over which of them got to use their Mom's computer, and Jason had an open can of Coke right next to the computer. Jason's warning as they're tussling that Paige is going to spill the... comes too late as she accidentally knocks it over before he finishes the sentence, leaving both of them to stare at it as he quietly says the last word, "...Coke."
  • Peanuts: In one series of strips where Linus' blanket-hating grandmother had taken his security blanket away from him, Charlie Brown is surprised to see Linus holding what looks like his blanket again, leading to this exchange:

    Charlie Brown: Did your grandmother give your blanket back?

    Linus: No, this is a dish towel. It works pretty well, although it does have its...

    [Lucy grabs the loose end of the towel and uses it to dry a plate]

    Linus: ...drawbacks.

Fan Works 

  • Dungeon Keeper Ami: This is used deliberately for theatrical effect by Mukrezar, who drops the ceiling on his audience partway through his speech.

    Mukrezar: Servants of Crowned Death! You may be wondering why I asked for you specifically. That's simple: you are his best and his brightest! Not only are you vastly more powerful individually than the shambling hordes; more importantly, you are also smarter. Much smarter. You can follow complex instructions without supervision. You have the ability to effectively use magic. Surprises? They won't leave you stumped. Where other undead blindly follow orders, you can think on your feet, evaluate the situation, take the initiative and make decisions! Strategy and tactics are not beyond you. All of you are, dare I say it, qualified to lead. And that, that is why I wanted, no, needed you all here! That is why I need you all- [crash] -need you all to disappear. Yes, exactly like that. Thank you very much for your cooperation. By the way, I quit.

  • When the Brush hits the Canvas: Ravio really isn't paying much attention to Link's protests that he's not a hero. He finishes the rest of the sentence in his head.

    Link: Me, a hero?! You got to be-

    Ravio: But why are you standing around talking to me then? You gotta report this to the castle!

    Link: [thinking] ...joking.

  • The first-person narrative of With This Ring frequently splits dialogue, especially since Paul is able to use his power ring to accelerate his thoughts.
    • On one occasion, he's fighting another Lantern at such high speed that a single sentence is broken into individual words, with lots of action happening between them, taking up half the chapter.
    • A chapter from Match's point of view nests three sentences inside each other and finishes them one by one.

      Oh, right. She's not a superhero or supervillain. She's just a business-
      I turn in my seat, grab hold of her, jump out of the SUV with her in my arms and run get out of the robot's-
      The robot slams into the SUV, bowling it over onto its side and then onto its roof before the saws bite into the lightweight chassis. Then it slides, the saws alternating between gripping and cutting until they hit the main battery-
      BANG!
      -which explodes!
      -way, and then keep going because that wasn't an electromagnetic pulse so while I don't think LexCorp hardens its agricultural robots it wouldn't have damaged it anyway.
      -woman. I look around-.

Film — Animated 

  • The LEGO Batman Movie: As Batman enters Superman's Fortress of Solitude, he says to Superman, "Hey, listen, thank me later, but I just happened to be in the 'hood and I figured you probably could use the..." before noticing that the Justice League are having their 57th anniversary party (which Batman wasn't invited to) there. When the music pauses, Batman finishes by saying "...company."
  • The Little Mermaid (1989): Sebastian decides to report to King Triton about Ariel's deal with Ursula in hopes of saving his shell, but stops because he hasn't the heart to do this to her, especially after he caused King Triton to destroy Ariel's treasured collection.

    Sebastian: My nerves are shot! This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab! That's what he would say! I'm gonna march meself straight home right now and tell him just what I should have done in the minute... [Ariel picks him and shakes her head in despair] And don't shake your head at me, young lady. Maybe there's still time. If we could get that witch to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish and... [pauses to look at Ariel's pleading eyes] Just be... [she gives him a more intense look] Just be miserable for the rest of your life. All right, all right. I'll try to help ya find that prince.

  • Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels: There are two of them in succession when King Bombo's navy attacks Lilliput with catapults throwing big rocks. The first is when King Little sees the attack and shouts "IT'S BOM—" before ducking to dodge a rock and finishing "—BO!". The second is when the Blefuscuians see the gigantic Gulliver and start to panic, leading Bombo to start throwing a fit until he sees the "man-mountain" himself.

    Bombo: Stop! Stop, you swine! Get back to your posts! Get back there and fight! We of Blefuscu are not—! [sees Gulliver; starts losing steam] ...afraid of... any... thing.

  • Megamind: When Megamind traps Titan in a copper dome, he says, "It's made from copper! You're powerless against it! It's the same material used to defeat—", but then Titan reveals he's not powerless by using his Super-Strength to punch through, and Megamind finishes doubtfully, "Metro Man?".
  • Mickey's Christmas Carol: Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) does this when Jacob Marley (Goofy), after warning him about the 3 Christmas spirits, leaves:

    Scrooge: MARLEY! WATCH OUT FOR THAT FIRST...

    [A cacophony of crashing, tumbling, and yelling, including a Goofy Holler, comes from behind Scrooge's bedroom door]

    Scrooge: ...step.

    [A final thump is heard to cap it off]

  • In Moshi Monsters the Movie, Katsuma says that he will be the main character of Roary Scrawl's documentary, then says, "But I guess you could tag along to help me carry..." Luvli interrupts, "Your ego, darling?". Katsuma snappishly finishes, "...supplies!"
  • The Princess and the Frog: Naveen, in frog form, attempts to introduce himself to a freaked out Tiana:

    Naveen: Allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Naveen — [Tiana smacks him with her book. He wheezes.] — of Maldonia.

  • Tangled: When Flynn uses Rapunzel's hair to escape the Stabbington Brothers, he's too busy gloating to see he's about to swing into something:

    Flynn: Hah! You should see your faces, you look —

    [Slams stomach-first into a wooden platform]

    Flynn: [wheezes] — ridiculous.

Film — Live-Action 

  • The Princess Bride: The man in black keeps Fezzik talking, in order to make his Choke Holds more effective, but that means his sentences are periodically interrupted by Fezzik smacking him against boulders in an attempt to detach him, so he ends up groaning the last words out.

    Man in black: Really? Why should that make such a —

    [thud]

    — difference?

Literature 

  • The Famous Five: In Five go to Smuggler's Top, Sooty is notoriously cheeky, even when he has been kidnapped by My Barling. When Mr Barling interrogates Uncle Quentin, Sooty interrupts a few times. At first, Mr Barling takes no notice of the interruptions, but when Sooty interrupts by telling him he should have lived a hundred years ago, Mr Barling snarls "Another word from you, and I'll drop you in the marshes!", which does silence Sooty, as he realises that Mr Barling means it.

    Mr Barling: On favourable nights I send out a signal, or rather Block does so for me, using the tower of Smuggler's Top...

    Sooty: Oh! So it was Block!

    Mr Barling: ...then the goods arrive, and I er... dispose of them.

  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: During Harry's first apparition lesson, The apparition instructor, Wilkie Twycross, begins to give an introductory speech which is interrupted by Professor McGonagall shouting at Draco Malfoy to pay attention. Twycross finishes his speech "as though no interruption had occurred".
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Minerva McGonagall is having her lesson inspected by Professor Umbridge, who keeps trying to interrupt her with her characteristic "hem, hem" cough. The first time, Minerva ignores her as if nothing has happened; later, she says "I wonder how you can gain an idea of my teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking", before she continued, looking unconcerned. Minerva also interrupts her own flow to tell off a pupil, saying "if you do that to the mouse again, I shall put you in detention".
  • Nina Tanleven: Played for laughs in book 1. When Nine and Chris visit the library, they discover a male librarian who is, to them, absolutely gorgeous. When Chris starts to say "We'd like to look...", Nine interrupts her with "At your eyes.", without realizing she's speaking aloud. Chris jabs her in the side with her elbow before finishing her own sentence: "At your files of local newspapers." Fortunately, Sam (the librarian) isn't bothered by Nine's little slip.
  • Princesses of the Pizza Parlor: Grandmothers and Other Encounters: Flora's taking a long time to remember something and an enemy interrupts her mid-remembering, but she finishes it:

    it was in [Flora's] grandfather's big book!

    [...]

    decomposing under a heavy layer of brown earth, and the green of grass to...

    "Gwhaat? Gwhaaaat's t'is fweeeeling?"

    The green of grass, which grew up from the metaphysical compost

  • Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. When Johnny Rico is put to sleep via post-hypnotic suggestion and then woken up again, he doesn't realize he's been asleep for more than an hour. He continues talking to the commanding officer who put him to sleep as if it hadn't happened. The topic of conversation? Rico's refusal to get some sleep.

Live-Action TV 

  • The Benny Hill Show: In one skit, Benny is hiding outside a beautiful woman's bedroom window when a policeman grabs him by the shoulder and says "You are under arrest for being a Peeping...". Before the policeman can finish his sentence the woman starts undressing and both Benny and the policeman can only stand and stare in wonder. After the woman finally pulls her window shade down the policeman grabs Benny's shoulder again and completes the arrest with the word "Tom!".
  • Fawlty Towers: In "Basil the Rat", the health inspector is mid-sentence when Basil suddenly drops a bottle, which smashes; the inspector then carries on, as if there was no interruption.
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: During Harry's first apparition lesson, The apparition instructor, Wilkie Twycross, begins to give an introductory speech which is interrupted by Professor McGonagall shouting at Draco Malfoy to pay attention. Twycross finishes his speech "as though no interruption had occurred".
  • Home Improvement: The season 2 episode "Abandoned Family" opens with Tim and Al doing an episode of Tool Time. During one bit, Al is demonstrating how to remove a broken lightbulb from a lamp using only a cut potato. Tim interrupts him a couple of times, the last time with predictable (and painful) results for him, after which Al finishes his sentence:

    Al: Here's a safe way to take a broken bulb from its socket. You simply take a cut potato... Jam it into the socket, twist...

    Tim: And in minutes, you have thousands of curly fries. A wonderful snack... A TV-time movie—

    Al: Tim. I doubted the razor, but I gave it a chance. Please do not mock my potato.

    Tim: You say potato, I say stupid...

    Al: Tim, this will work. You twist and pull the broken bulb right out of the socket. But first you have to— [Al puts down the potato and turns around]

    Tim: "Jam it in the light— [does so, gets electrocuted]

    Al: [gives him a look] ...unplug the lamp.

  • How I Met Your Mother: One of Barney's catchphrases is him interrupting himself for dramatic effect. He once managed to do this for an entire season hiatus.

    Barney: It's going to be legen— wait for it— and I hope you're not lactose intolerant, because the second half of the word is— dary! Legendary!

Professional Wrestling 

  • On the 3/7/11 edition of WWE's Monday Night Raw, then-WWE Champion The Miz interrupted a verbal feud between John Cena and The Rock. As the duel was done to promote that year's WrestleMania, that essentially means that Miz, in-universe, has been Demoted to Extra despite being scheduled to headline WrestleMania in a match with Cena for the WWE Championship. Miz, naturally, is less than thrilled about this, so he ostensibly decides to boycott RAW until his WrestleMania match, or when people start paying attention to him instead of Cena/Rock. Until Cena tries to cut the promo at the end of the show. In comes Miz out of nowhere, bashes Cena's face in twice with the championship belt, and follows that action with a blistering promo that featured a Badass Boast:

    Miz: Hello, Rock. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm The Miz - the WWE Champion and star of WrestleMania. You, on the other hand, are only the host of WrestleMania, so you should know your role and be the best Ryan Seacrest that you can be! ...And if you have the guts to show up to RAW or WrestleMania, let me tell you exactly what will happen. I will take your little eyebrow, your 45 catchphrases, your sunglasses, your father, your grandfather, roll 'em up into a ball, flip it sideways, and stick it STRAIGHT UP YOUR CANDY-ASS!! Because I'm The Miz, and I'M...

    • Then he stops mid-sentence and turns to look at Cena, who is still trying to pick himself up off the ground. He drags Cena to his feet and plants him with a Skull Crushing Finale. Then he stands over Cena, rips off one of his armbands and chucks it, flails his arms a couple of times. Then he drops Rocky's own Finishing Move, the People's Elbow, on Cena, picks up the mic, and rounds off the promo and the show by roaring one final word:

Puppet Shows 

  • Fraggle Rock: In "The Secret Society of Poohbahs", Mokey is going to be on trial to see if she is worthy to join a group called the Poohbahs. At the trial, Red will have to give a speech in a nonsense language called Oopidad, where you take the first consonant sound of a word, put it on the end, and add "oopidad." (For instance, "Red" would be "Ed-Roopidad.") Mokey follows Red on her morning jog, explaining about Oopidad and the upcoming trial. She gets so distracted talking to Red that she doesn't notice the swimming pool behind her... or Red's warning about it.

    Mokey: Oh, Red, Red, Red... I simply have got to become a Poohbah. If I don't, I'll just die!
    Red: Oh, Mokey! Oh, watch out for the immming-swoopidad ool...!
    [Loud splash]
    Red: ...poobidad.

Radio 

  • Deadly Echo: Judy calls after Doctor Milius, as he makes a hasty departure from her cell.

    Judy: There's no need to lock the [slam] ...door.

Video Games 

  • Assassin's Creed III: A hilarious exchange between Connor and Haytham involves the two of them being faced with a locked door inside a burning building.

    Haytham: Stuck! See if you can find something to pry it open. [Beat] Connor? What are you up to?

    Connor: [takes a charging stance and facing the door, with Haytham right in the middle]

    Haytham: Oh, no. Don't do that. There's no way of knowing what's on the other siiiii-

    [Smash Cut and the two of them are suddenly falling several floors down into the sea]

    Haytham: -iiiiiiide!

    Connor: [emerging] We do now.

Web Animation 

  • Battle for BFDI: "How Loe Can You Grow", when Spongy gets eliminated, Loser promises that his team, the "Have Cots", will take good care of his rocket ship. Once Spongy is risen to the B.R.B., he was about to warn them an problem about the ship, but he floats away before he could explain. Later, when the Have Cots took his ship to the sun, his ship suddenly combusts into flames, as it cuts back to Spongy still floating.
  • Brawl of the Objects: "The Ever Convenient Objects' Shopping Mall", Controller reveals the next challenge to be a shopping challenge, this excites Pear.

    Pear: Oh… I never felt so… SO…

    Shelly: Oh, no! When pears get happy, they…

    Shelly: …lose their stem.

    Pear:… [sadly sniffs]

Webcomics 

Websites 

Western Animation 

  • The Adventures of Tintin (1991): In "The Castafiore Emerald", the Thompson twins visit while a TV team is present, and has set up electronic equipment all over the place. As they leave, Tintin reminds them to "mind the— (crash) ...the cables".
  • The Amazing World of Gumball: "The Responsible", Gumball and Darwin are left in charge to look after Anais while their parents head to a PTA Meeting. At the time, Gumball and Darwin smashed the TV to avoid commercials corrupting Anais, and as they did that, it set in flames. Gumball runs in with a bucket of water, but Anais was too late to stop him.

    Anais: Stop! Don't throw water on an electrical—

    Anais: ...fire.

  • Animaniacs: Invoked in "Bully for Skippy", as Duke intentionally does this after throwing Skippy when he tries to befriend him.

    Duke: Hey, Scampy, watch out for that...

    [Skippy crashes into a bus offscreen]

    Duke: ...bus. [laughs]

  • Bluey: Bandit is taking his family on a road trip to a camping ground, and he insists that they keep up a good pace. When he's forced to stop to clean the windshield, he urges the family to stay in the car, only for all of them to hop out and get distracted at the gas station.

    Bandit: [exiting the car] All right, this is not an actual stop, family. So everyone just stay—

    [The rest of the family hops out of the car and heads for the gas station.]

    Chilli: [looking at sunglasses] Sunnies!

    Bluey: [looking at a kiddie ride] Car ride!

    Bingo: [looking at brochures] Those things!

    Bandit: [unamusedly slamming the car door shut] ...put.

  • Clarence: In "Honk", Clarence tries to improve his communication skills through a squeeze horn, but this idea started to bother people, and annoy everyone at the school. So Jeff invites Clarence into his house, and forms an intervention with all of his friends to discuss about Clarence’s horn obsession. Jeff then gives him the choice that Clarence could either "get rid of the horn and join into society, or he can keep the horn, but…", and Clarence immediately chooses to keep the horn and runs off.

    Jeff: No wait, I was gonna say "—at what cost.", at what cost!!!

    Percy: Yeah... [crying] AT WHAT COST!!!

  • Donkey Kong Country:
    • In "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights", General Klump is preparing the Kremlings' minecart routes for their holiday vacation. He tells them "It's a low-clearance tunnel, so watch your...", but before he can finish, the Kritters zoom off and hit their heads on the ceiling, to which he finishes "...heads." Later in the same scene, he makes the same mistake with Krusha.
    • From the same episode, both Krusha and Donkey Kong mistake fireworks for candles. King K. Rool and Klump respectively try to warn them "Those are..." before they explode, with Klump finishing the sentence by saying "...fireworks." in both instances.
  • Dora the Explorer: Sometimes, Dora will say, "Swiper, no—" only for Swiper to take something of hers, and she will frustratedly finish, "...swiping".
  • Handy Manny: An instance occurs in the episode "Squeeze Sticks", when Squeeze gets stuck in a box of magnets and Pat, Dusty and Felipe attempt to help her.

    Manny: No, wait, guys, you'll—

    [Dusty, Felipe, and Pat are pulled into the box with Squeeze]

    Manny: ... get stuck too.

  • In the Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs episode "Oops", Harry and the dinosaurs are stuck in a video game that's set in a Haunted House. Taury cockily walks up to a ghost declaring he's not afraid of ghosts. Harry says, "But you might get..." and then the ghost coughs up ectoplasm onto Taury. Harry awkwardly finishes, "...slimed."
  • Justice League Action: Batman and Barda are on Apokalips, trying to find out where Steppenwolf sent Superman, only to be interrupted by Baron Wunderbar. Batman attempts to throw batarangs at him, only for Barda to try and warn him.

    Barda: Batman, no! He's...[Batarangs sail harmlessly over Wunderbar's head] ...short.

  • The Owl House: In "Labyrinth Runners", two of the Emperor's Coven scouts are discussing what to do with Hunter after capturing him, and one of them interrupts the other by jumping to conclusions:

    Coven Scout 1: Just put him —

  • Rugrats: The episode "Passover" involves Grandpa Boris telling the babies the Passover story in a room whose door can't open from the inside. A Running Gag involves other family members finding them in there and learning too late about the door problem.

    "DON'T SHUT THE—"

    [door closes]

    "...door."

  • SpongeBob SquarePants:
    • In "Employee of the Month", Squidward tries to convince SpongeBob that the Employee of the Month award doesn't matter. However, he gets raw patty meat flung in his face by a rotating fan twice.

      Squidward: You're losing it! Don't you know that award is a load of— [gets hit by meat] ...garbage.

      SpongeBob: Please don't tell Mr. Krabs about this! It'll hurt my chances of winning the award!

      Squidward: I already told you, that award is a bunch of... [gets hit by meat] ...BALONEY!

    • In "Rock Bottom", as SpongeBob and Patrick take the bus home from Glove World, they notice that the bus is taking them past Bikini Bottom city limits.

    SpongeBob: Patrick, I think we're on the wrong—

    [SpongeBob and Patrick scream as the bus goes down a cliff and they get thrown to the back]

    SpongeBob: ...bus!

    • Played for Laughs in "Krusty Krab Training Video", where the interruption turns out to be the next word of the sentence anyway — and the interrupter is violently dealt with.

    Narrator: Sounds like a lot of—

    Kid: [off-screen] Hoopla!

    Narrator: ...sounds like a lot of—

    Kid: [off-screen] Hoopla!

    Narrator: ...sounds like a—

    Kid: [off-screen] Hoopla! [camera pans to show the kid] Hoopla!

    Narrator: Sounds like a lot of hoopla to make over a simple Krabby Patty, right? Haha... WRONG!

    • In "Big Pink Loser", Patrick is disappointed that the award he got actually belongs to SpongeBob, so he tries to cheer him up by offering him some ice cream. But when Patrick tries to look behind a door...

      Patrick: Is it in here?

      SpongeBob: NO, DON'T! THAT'S MY—

      SpongeBob: ...award closet.

    • At the end of "Spy Buddies", when Patrick tears himself open to reveal he's actually Squidward in disguise (who then turns out to be Sandy in disguise).

      SpongeBob: Squidward?! [turns to the real one] T-Then who are you?

    • "Greasy Buffoons", Upon realizing the general love for greasy dishes, both Plankton and Mr. Krabs come up with greasier dishes to attract more customers. But as their competition escalate, SpongeBob become’s concerned about the public health. So he tries to stop this situation, by reporting the health inspector on them. When the health inspector arrives and questions what happened, SpongeBob prepares to tell him the situation, but he is cut off by the two. He then repeatedly says "They've been feeding people-," only to be cut off every time by being thrown into a bin, shutting him with the lid, and kicking him off a cliff, leaving him seriously injured at the bottom of said cliff before weakly telling the health inspector that "they’re feeding people… grease."
  • VeggieTales: In the episode "Rack, Shack and Benny", Larry, wearing an oven mitt as an Eye-Obscuring Hat, starts across the kitchen counter to get the help of QWERTY.

    Bob: Um, Larry, watch out for the...

    [Larry falls into the sink, sending a spoon flying into the air.]

    Bob: ...sink.

    Larry: Ouch.

  • Yogi Bear: In 'High Fly Guy", Yogi's plan to help a baby eagle fly with a Seesaw Catapult backfires when Yogi accidentally launches the boulder into the air and he tries to run out of the way before it falls... and still gets hit on the head.

    Yogi: Hey, little bird! Look out for the— [WHAM!] ...rock.