Con Men Hate Guns/Playing With

  • Main
  • All Subpages
  • Create New


    Basic Trope: A con man character who particularly dislikes guns and/or other forms of weaponry.

    • Straight: Bob is a con man who never carries a gun and strongly dislikes the notion.
    • Exaggerated: Bob is extrememly terrified of guns, to the point that he almost has a nervous breakdown just from seeing a gun on television.
    • Justified:
      • Bob's wife was killed by a faulty gun, so now he never goes near them.
      • Being a con man is all about tricking people into trusting you, and people tend to trust you less when you're packing heat.
      • Not carrying a gun is a point of pride for Bob: he's just that good a con man.
    • Inverted: Bob carries multiple guns with him at all times, and even has a small private collection at home produly displayed in his parlor.
    • Subverted:
      • Bob originally dislikes guns, but over the course of his work becomes more familiar with them and ends up finding them indispensable.
      • Bob impersonates a police officer, soldier, or other character that would routinely carry a gun.
    • Double Subverted: ...until he accidentally shoots an innocent bystander and swears off guns for good.
    • Parodied: Bob is the only con man is town who doesn't have his own gun, and he is actively ridiculed and teased by all of his friends for this.
    • Deconstructed: Bob never carries a gun, and as a result has no protection for when one of his cons goes sour and his mark decides to get even...
    • Reconstructed: Bob has trained intensely in the martial arts of disarming and pacifying his attackers, so he doesn't need the extra protection.
    • Zig Zagged: Bob decides whether he likes guns or not each day based on what con he wants to pull off.
    • Averted: Bob does, in fact, own a gun.
    • Enforced: This is a Disney film, no guns allowed.
    • Lampshaded: "You know Bob, one of these days you're going to find yourself in a situation where you'll wish you had a gun..."
    • Invoked:
      • After witnessing the violence on the streets of his inner-city neighborhood, Bob makes a personal vow to never carry or use any type of fire arm.
      • Bob figures that by going unarmed, he'll seem less dangerous, and get a lighter sentence, if he gets caught.
    • Defied: The violence in his neighborhood terrifies Bob into carrying a gun at all times.
    • Discussed: "Wait, you're a con-man. Don't you hate using guns?" "That's what I like people to think."
    • Conversed: "Being a con-man is a dangerous line of work, and yet he never learns how to shoot?"

    A gun? What, do I look like some half-wit thug to you? Go back to Con Men Hate Guns.