According to my wife, you damn betcha. 
Here is my playbook, with options chosen based on the last topic I can actually clearly recall her talking about, on the assumption that the conversation (ok, her talking and my not listening) could not have drifted too far away in that short(?) a period of time; each with a different likelihood of success, and a different risk of making things worse.
Strategy #1: The Safety Play. “I dunno, doesn’t that seem a little risky to you?”
She loves to worry about worst case scenarios. Risk of physical harm, financial loss, time wasted, professional prestige… Nothing like getting her thinking aloud of what could be an even WORSE case scenario - giving me time to infer what the original topic was about.
Most effective with: topics about something she’s considering doing or buying, or even political topics in current events - like what’s going on in the eastern Ukraine or with Boko Haram - which she pretty much always brings up in the mode of an activist saying This Is What We Should Be Telling Our Congressfolks To Do).
Uh-oh: If she was talking about something I’d brought up or suggested myself, like what to have for dinner, or what to do/who to see on the weekend.
Strategy #2: The Othello Gambit. “Well, what about the other case?”
Whatever story my wife has often involves something with an “other”, and as she details the “alternate” angle, I can realize what the original strain was.
If she says, “What other case?” I can say, “Well, not THE other case, (wave hand) you know what I mean. Isn’t there an obvious unspoken alternative here?”
Works best with: Topics contrasting A vs. B, such as political or philosophical arguments; including (as is often the case) a venting about workplace politics on her part.
Oh, no: If she had been talking about herself in some way - what she’s wearing, her hair, and so on. There’s no way to explain what I meant by “other” in that case.
Strategy #3: The Sibling Rivalry. “Heh heh. What’d your sister have to say about THAT?”
She talks to her sisters frequently, who often have quite different POVs, so determining what one of her sisters had to say on the topic would definitely let me know what she was thinking about it. Or, if she hadn’t talked to any of her sisters about it, I could ask why not, and hear exactly why talking about X with them would not be a good idea (thereby revealing X).
Works well with: Any topic about family, friends and mutual acquaintances; travel plans; possibly financial considerations or consumer goods.
D’oh: There are, after all, some topics I would not like to have her think that I was thinking about in the context of one of her sisters. Just sayin’.
Strategy #4: The Jaded Mandarin. “sigh Doesn’t it ALWAYS seem to end up like that?”
Either she agrees, and lists other things that “end up like that” (which I can use to infer what the first one might have been), or disagrees, giving contradictory examples upon which I can apply inverse inferences to reach a similar conclusion.
Works well with: Venting topics, matters of political or current events, relating of interpersonal problems or even workplace problems.
Ai-yo, ai-ya: If she was complaining about something I did, asking if I did something, or accusing me of something.
Go do the dishes. Seriously, do the dishes. No man has ever been killed while doing the dishes…unless he is complaining about how she never does the dishes. Then all bets are off.
