Characters
Her lips were saying “no,” but her eyes were saying, “read my lips.”
— Niles · Frasier
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The opening seems to promise a contrast between spoken refusal and a different message in the eyes. Instead, read my lips sends attention straight back to the word no. The joke overturns the expectation of mixed signals by making both messages reinforce the same refusal.
Context reviewed