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| - An unlikely excuse used to explain away a suspicious wound or injury. For example, when the police question a murder suspect, they find that he has some cuts or scratches on his face, consistent with the type of wounds that the perpetrator would incur in that sort of crime (perhaps because someone with a knife fought back). When asked where he got them, nine times out of ten he will say he Cut Himself Shaving. Likewise, a guy who beat someone up will often say that the victim "fell down some stairs" or "ran into a door" whenever being questioned by the cops. A subversion is the character who really did walk into a door, but everyone assumes they're covering. In anime and manga, this trope is usually just explained by all characters as "I fell," and keeping it unspecific. This leads to wondering by the characters, as by the reader, "Fell on what?" Also frequently employed by a Superhero when he must preserve his Secret Identity by explaining away wounds sustained in battle. It may also be used by someone attempting to cover-up Self -Harm. Another variant, found in military fiction and military science fiction, has two men - often an officer and an NCO - engage in a brawl in a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way spot to settle some point of honor, with the unspoken agreement being that each will cover for the other's injuries. This is because in many of these settings, striking a superior officer, regardless of the reason, is an offense worthy of court-martial and with very heavy penalties. For the lethal version, see The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much. If he really did cut himself shaving, There Will Be Toilet Paper. Not to be confused with Dangerously Close Shave, which is about the barber cutting other people. Examples of Cut Himself Shaving include:
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