Some things just shouldn't be said, even in jest. Taunting a monster or Bullying a Dragon is likely to end badly. (Mugging the Monster definitely will.) Monologuing will invariably give The Hero the time he needs to defeat you. And then there's this trope.

Tempting Fate is when a character says something that dares the universe into making things miserable for them, and the universe takes them up on the challenge. Oftentimes, the character is commenting on how they've hit Rock Bottom and how things couldn't possibly get any worse — right before things do turn From Bad to Worse. Conversely, they may talk about how things are absolutely perfect, only for their world to come crashing down five seconds later. Also watch out for a Gilligan Cut.

And sometimes tempting fate can get downright lethal. For example, that guy in every horror movie who tells his friends "I'll be right back" before wandering off by himself is most assuredly not going to be back. Or that guy in every war movie who shows that picture of his family to the others and expresses his hope to get through this and make it back home to them, which all but ensures that he won't make it. Or that veteran cop in every action movie who's just a few days away from Retirement, and thus doomed to be gunned down in his final case. This particular variant of Tempting Fate is known as a Death Flag.

The fate-tempting words may be followed up by a friend saying "You Just Had to Say It!" Of course, whether fate really had a hand in it or not depends on the situation. After all, it's not like fate just magically materialized that guard ambushing you from nowhere, right? What matters is that events pre-planned or not conspire to make things terrible the moment such phrases are uttered.

For the super-tropes to this, see Trope Telegraphing and Be Careful What You Say. Compare Schmuck Bait, Instantly Proven Wrong, Speak of the Devil, Threat Backfire, and Too Good to Be True. Contrast the Godzilla Threshold, when things really can't get any worse, and Already the Case where fate has acted before the tempting. Keeping to disturb the court after getting a Penultimate Outburst warning is akin to tempting fate in Law Procedurals.

And don't forget the Evil Overlord List, either.

Sub-tropes and related tropes:

There's a Long List of tropes and Stock Phrases that are specific varieties of Tempting Fate, or are commonly played alongside it, either in the temptation or in the response:

• Bullying a Dragon — You think you can make fun of someone bigger than you are? Think again. Chances are he'll strike you down with little to no mercy.
• "I won't make that mistake again!" — Aesop Amnesia says you sure will.
• "It's going All According to Plan." — Three ways this can go: You get Out-Gambitted, there's a Spanner in the Works, or the plan wasn't what you needed.
• "There's no such thing" or "It's just a legend." — All Myths Are True. It's Real After All, it's right behind you, and it's probably going to eat you.
• "I can't wait to meet my idol!" — Cue the Broken Pedestal.
• "The volcano hasn't erupted for centuries, so this area is safe" — It's Chekhov's Volcano.
• "At least Alice still likes me." — Consolation Backfire. Even Alice doesn't like you anymore.
• "This place is in perfect shape!" — Cue the Falling Object.
• "It'll happen when pigs fly." — Cue the Flying Pigs.
• "At least it's not raining." — Cue the Rain, if not some worse weather.
• "It's Definitely Just a Cold." — Nope, it's worse. Especially in certain genres, where you might be subject to Soap Opera Disease or Victorian Novel Disease.
• "I'm sure my little Alice is just going through a phase" — Nope! She's exhibiting Early Personality Signs.
• "Ha, you missed!" — Did I? It either hit Exactly What I Aimed At or is a Precision-Guided Boomerang that will come back and strike you later.
• "Don't use this item, ever!" — It's a Forbidden Chekhov's Gun and will inevitably be used.
• "At least it can't get any worse." — It can always go From Bad to Worse.
• "I am not going to do what you just said!" — You end up contradicting your own words one Gilligan Cut later.
• "Glad He's On Our Side." — They'll turn to the dark side eventually, if they weren't already there.
• "You'll have to Go Through Me." — All right. You better hope they do it quickly.
• "We'll be Home by Christmas." — No, you'll get home a lot later, if you get home at all.
• "It's a harmless creature!" — No, it's a Killer Rabbit.
• "If We Get Through This…" — Don't even bother finishing the sentence. At least one of you won't.
• "The one rule you must always follow is..." — It's an Inevitably Broken Rule.
• "That person was just talking nonsense!" — Nope, it was Infallible Babble.
• "I Shall Return." — Not likely. Maybe if you're a Determinator, but even then it's not a guarantee.
• "Is That the Best You Can Do?" — Nope, not by a long shot.
• "It's Probably Nothing." — No, it's definitely something.
• "It's Quiet… Too Quiet." — It's about to get a whole lot louder.
• "It Will Never Catch On." — Yes it will.
• "I Wished You Were Dead." — Be Careful What You Wish For, because it's going to happen, and you're going to regret it since it's the last thing you said to them before they died.
• "Let's Have Another Baby" — While this might be successful, more often than not you'll end up unable to conceive or divorced at best and with one of you dead at worst. Even if it is successful, you might soon end up wishing it hadn't been.
• "Let's See YOU Do Better!" — Oh, they can do better. And they can prove it.
• "There's a Million to One Chance it'll happen." — It's certain to happen now.
• "He's Most Definitely Not a Villain, so we can trust him." — No you can't.
• "No man can defeat me!" — "I am no man." Maybe I'm a woman. Or maybe I'm not human at all. Or maybe I'm simply a man who wasn't of woman born.
• "No One Could Survive That!" — Yes they could, and they did.
• "Nothing Can Save Us Now!" — Cue the Big Damn Heroes (or villains).
• "Nothing Can Stop Us Now!" — Yes they can, and they will.
• "Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here." — Give it a minute.
• "Lucky me!" — Enjoy your luck while it lasts... before you stop being lucky.
• "I am invincible!" — Something's about to prove you're Not So Invincible After All.
• "I'm going to retire after One Last Job." — Retirony dictates you won't live that long. If you do, then you won't stay retired.
• "I'm not talking, and there isn't anything you can do to make me." — They have at least one way to make you spill the beans, and when they use it, you will be talking.
• "What difference does one more make?" — They're a One-Man Army, and can make a bigger difference than your entire side can ever hope to make.
• "Whatever you do, don't do this." — Reverse Psychology. Of course, if you're trying to invoke it, you'll get a Reverse Psychology Backfire.
• "They'll never find out!" — They're right behind you.
• "She Is Not My Girlfriend!" — No one cares what you think. You've given the fans ideas, and she might very well consider herself your girlfriend. (And she's right behind you.)
• "Supernatural creatures? As if!" — Soon, you'll meet with them face-to-face and be a Skeptic No Longer. You'll probably also come off as a fool and/or have a breakdown too.
• "Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter" — Happy to oblige! Smite!
• "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace." — "That's my cue to crash this wedding."
• "At least Bob isn't here to see this." — Speak of the Devil, Bob shows up at that moment.
• "Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!" — While chances are some heroes might not strike you down to avoid sinking as low as you, some won't listen and will instead strike you down anyway. Alternatively, they strike you down anyway... but not with hatred! So much for making the hero sink to your level while you die!
• "I think I can take him!" — Nope, you're just exhibiting Suicidal Overconfidence.
• "This Cannot Be!" — It can, and it is.
• "This Is Going to Be Huge" — Usually not. If it is, it'll probably fall right on top of you.
• "This Is No Time to Panic!" — Something's going to give you permission to panic real soon.
• "We don't need you and you're not one of us! Goodbye and Good Riddance!" — You're Removing the Crucial Teammate and are now stuck in Dysfunction Junction.
• "We'll stay here; it's safe here." — Nope, it's an Unsafe Haven.
• "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" or "How hard/bad could it be?" — You're about to find out.
• "What Does This Button Do?" — Nothing you'd actually want it to do. Let's hope someone can interject with "Don't Touch It, You Idiot!"
• "Who Would Be Stupid Enough?" — You're about to find out. And the odds are good it's you.
• "Let an expert handle this." — Famous last words of The World's Expert (on Getting Killed).
• "You and What Army?" — Either they'll procure an army at that moment, or they'll prove they don't need one.
• "What, was that supposed to hurt me?" — Indeed, and You Are Already Dead.
• "You Have No Chance to Survive!" — No, they do — it's you who has no chance to survive.
• "You Have to Believe Me!" — They're never going to believe you. You're stuck with a Cassandra Truth.
• "You Said You Would Let Them Go" — A villain who hears this will do one of three things: declare they were lying, have someone else do the dirty work, or literally let them go in a very dangerous spot.
• "You Wouldn't Shoot Me." — Yes they would. Or they might just do something else to you.

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