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* AttentionWhore: Psmith, arguably. At the very least he impersonates one in ''Mike and Psmith'' when he [[spoiler:claims that his false confession to save Mike was due to "[t]he craze for notoriety."]]
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* FleetingPassionateHobbies: Psmith's dad in ''Psmith in the City''. As a matter of fact, [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny he can't really commit to anything]], to the point where Psmith is justifiably concerned about his own future (Mr. Smith has the power to set his son on whatever path he himself is currently interested in, which changes weekly).
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* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Sure, he acts like a complete lunatic, [[CrazyAwesome but he's also utterly brilliant and nigh-invincible]].
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* GenreSavvy: Upon meeting Mike, Psmith lists several StockCharacters in BoardingSchool stories, asking Mike which one he is:
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* GenreSavvy: Upon meeting Mike, Psmith lists several StockCharacters in BoardingSchool stories, asking Mike which one he is:is.
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* TheBully: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Stone and Robinson in ''Mike and Psmith''; they act like stereotypical bullies, but are quite friendly once one gets to know them.
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* BigManOnCampus: Adair in ''Mike and Psmith'', through sheer fervor and force of personality.
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--> ""Are you [[TheBully the Bully]], the [[BigManOnCampus Pride of the School]], or [[CorruptTheCutie the Boy who is Led Astray and takes to Drink in Chapter Sixteen?]]"
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--> ""Are "Are you [[TheBully the Bully]], the [[BigManOnCampus Pride of the School]], or [[CorruptTheCutie the Boy who is Led Astray and takes to Drink in Chapter Sixteen?]]"
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* GenreSavvy: Upon meeting Mike, Psmith lists several StockCharacters in BoardingSchool stories, asking Mike which one he is:
--> ""Are you [[TheBully the Bully]], the [[BigManOnCampus Pride of the School]], or [[CorruptTheCutie the Boy who is Led Astray and takes to Drink in Chapter Sixteen?]]"
--> ""Are you [[TheBully the Bully]], the [[BigManOnCampus Pride of the School]], or [[CorruptTheCutie the Boy who is Led Astray and takes to Drink in Chapter Sixteen?]]"
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* SuspectIsHatless: Literally, when Mike is seen, but not identified, on the grounds after-hours in ''Mike and Psmith''.
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* TheEveryman: Mike, remarkable only in his genius for cricket and the fact that he'd do anything to help a friend.
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* HoldingHands: Psmith makes a lot of references to himself and Mike doing things "hand in hand", although this appears to merely be Psmith-speak for "together".
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* StraightManAndWiseGuy: Mike and Psmith, respectively.
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* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mike and Psmith.
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* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Mike [[spoiler:beats Adair]] in ''Mike and Psmith'', he suddenly realizes that Adair's not such a bad guy after all, and they become fast friends.
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* NiceGuy: Mike.
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* AFriendInNeed
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* NervesOfSteel: Psmith.
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* SharpDressedMan: Psmith.
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* WaistcoatOfStyle: A regular element of Psmith's wardrobe.
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** This also goes for Mike and the other boys at Sedleigh--it was typical for children in British boarding schools to go by their surnames.
* NeatFreak: Psmith, who only gets rattled if his WaistcoatOfStyle is in any way creased. He's often described as flicking minute specks of dust or lint from his clothing.
* NeatFreak: Psmith, who only gets rattled if his WaistcoatOfStyle is in any way creased. He's often described as flicking minute specks of dust or lint from his clothing.
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* BrilliantButLazy: Psmith.
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* DisproportionateRetribution: After Bickersdyke hires Psmith, at the bidding of Psmith's dad, to work at the bank in ''Psmith in the City'', Psmith rolls up his sleeves and directs all his mental energies toward making his new employer's life a living hell.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Psmith can be quite the [[HighSchoolHustler hustler]], but he's very protective of his friend Mike--not to mention his attempts to expose injustice in ''Psmith, Journalist''. Basically, he's willing to risk his skin if it's for a good cause.
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** The kids at Sedleigh also go by their last names, which was typical of schools back in the day. Although Mike's called Mike in the narration, everyone calls him "Jackson" in-story.
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* BrilliantButLazy: Psmith.
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* DisproportionateRetribution: After Bickersdyke hires Psmith, at the bidding of Psmith's dad, to work at the bank in ''Psmith in the City'', Psmith rolls up his sleeves and directs all his mental energies toward making his new employer's life a living hell.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Psmith can be quite the [[HighSchoolHustler hustler]], but he's very protective of his friend Mike--not to mention his attempts to expose injustice in ''Psmith, Journalist''. Basically, he's willing to risk his skin if it's for a good cause.
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** The kids at Sedleigh also go by their last names, which was typical of schools back in the day. Although Mike's called Mike in the narration, everyone calls him "Jackson" in-story.
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* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Psmith's dad has this problem, judging by the little we see of him in ''Psmith in the City''.
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* BookDumb: Both Mike and Psmith have terrible grades (hence their exile to Sedleigh), but Mike is a highly accomplished cricketer and Psmith is an insightful genius who [[ObfuscatingInsanity only acts like he's off his rocker]].
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* TheCatCameBack: Psmith's method of revenging himself on Mr. Bickersdyke in ''Psmith in the City''.
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* ObfuscatingInsanity: Psmith's method for handling life. It works.
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* SuddenNameChange: Originally named "Rupert", Psmith gets his first name changed to "Ronald" to enforce the OneSteveLimit in ''Leave It to Psmith''.
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Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)I
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Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)I
)
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* {{Crossover}}: ''LeaveItToPsmith'' takes place at BlandingsCastle.
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* {{Crossover}}: ''LeaveItToPsmith'' ''Leave It to Psmith'' takes place at BlandingsCastle.Literature/BlandingsCastle.
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Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
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Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
)I
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* {{Crossover}}: ''LeaveItToPsmith'' takes place at BlandingsCastle.
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Psmith (the p is silent, as in psychic) features in four novels by PGWodehouse. A dandyish figure with a monocle, elaborate way of speech, and a knack for navigating wild adventures and emerging unruffled, he was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character. The adventures of Mike and Psmith bridge the school stories of Wodehouse's early writing and the elaborately-plotted comedies for which he is more generally known in series like ''Literature/BlandingsCastle''; in fact, the last Psmith novel is also one of the earliest of the Blandings series.
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Psmith (the p is silent, as in psychic) features in four novels by PGWodehouse.Creator/PGWodehouse. A dandyish figure with a monocle, elaborate way of speech, and a knack for navigating wild adventures and emerging unruffled, he was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character. The adventures of Mike and Psmith bridge the school stories of Wodehouse's early writing and the elaborately-plotted comedies for which he is more generally known in series like ''Literature/BlandingsCastle''; in fact, the last Psmith novel is also one of the earliest of the Blandings series.
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* StiffUpperLip: Psmith takes this to FearlessFool-level extremes.
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* StiffUpperLip: Psmith takes this to FearlessFool-level extremes.
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* StiffUpperLip: Psmith takes this to FearlessFool-level extremes.
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from trope pages
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* BoardingSchool: The setting of ''Mike and Psmith''.
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* CarryABigStick: In ''Psmith, Journalist'', Psmith uses his walking stick to fend off a group of New York City thugs. When one of the thugs shouts, "He's got a big stick!" Psmith mutters to himself, "[[LampshadeHanging I am become]] TheodoreRoosevelt."
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* ElSpanishO: In ''Psmith, Journalist'', this is how the office boy attempts to make himself understood by an Italian.
-->Pugsy as interpreter was energetic but not wholly successful. He appeared to have a fixed idea that the Italian language was one easily mastered by the simple method of saying "da" instead of "the", and tacking on a final "a" to any word that seemed to him to need one.
* FriendshipMoment: In ''Mike and Psmith'', Mike gets the blame for a prank he wasn't responsible for, and can't defend himself because it would mean admitting he was out of school at night; his usually diffident best friend Psmith owns up, even though he didn't do it either and it means probable expulsion.
-->Pugsy as interpreter was energetic but not wholly successful. He appeared to have a fixed idea that the Italian language was one easily mastered by the simple method of saying "da" instead of "the", and tacking on a final "a" to any word that seemed to him to need one.
* FriendshipMoment: In ''Mike and Psmith'', Mike gets the blame for a prank he wasn't responsible for, and can't defend himself because it would mean admitting he was out of school at night; his usually diffident best friend Psmith owns up, even though he didn't do it either and it means probable expulsion.
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* HighSchoolHustler: Psmith's original role. Even after he leaves school, his interactions with authority figures retain some of the same style.
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* UpperClassWit: Psmith.
* TheWonka: Psmith.
* TheWonka: Psmith.
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->"One can date exactly the first moment when [Wodehouse] was touched by the sacred flame. It occurs halfway through ''Mike'' ... Psmith appears and the light is kindled which has burned with growing brilliancy for half a century."
-->-- '''EvelynWaugh'''
-->-- '''EvelynWaugh'''
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* AffectionateParody: The sequence in ''Leave It to Psmith'' where Psmith applies for work and meets up with Freddie Threepwood is a spoof of the opening of ''BulldogDrummond''.
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Psmith (the p is silent, as in psychic) features in four novels by PGWodehouse. A dandyish figure with a monocle, elaborate way of speech, and a knack for navigating wild adventures and emerging unruffled, he was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character. The adventures of Mike and Psmith bridge the school stories of Wodehouse's early writing and the elaborately-plotted comedies for which he is more generally known in series like ''Literature/BlandingsCastle''; in fact, the last Psmith novel is also one of the earliest of the Blandings series.
Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
The adventures of Mike and Psmith continue in ''Psmith in the City'' (1910; originally serialised in ''The Captain'' under the title "The New Fold", but by the time the book came out it was clear who the star was). Mike, having finished school but prevented by financial difficulties from proceeding to university, takes a job at the New Asiatic Bank, and finds that he once again has a fellow-sufferer in Psmith. After various adventures that demonstrate neither is cut out for the world of finance, Psmith finds a way for them both to attend Cambridge, and they resign just in time to avoid being fired.
In ''Psmith, Journalist'' (serial, 1909; book, 1915), Psmith accompanies Mike to America, where Mike's cricket team is touring, and becomes side-tracked into a series of adventures involving gangsters, slum landlords, lost cats, crooked boxing, and an intrepid journalist reduced to working for a magazine called ''Cozy Moments''.
In ''Leave It to Psmith'' (serial, 1923; book, with revised ending, 1923), Psmith's family fortunes suffer a serious reversal, leaving him facing the horrible prospect of having to get a real job. (Mike, newly-married and facing his own financial difficulties, appears early on to explain why he can't help, then disappears from the plot.) Salvation appears in the form of Freddie Threepwood, who is willing to pay Psmith for help with his latest contribution to Literature/BlandingsCastle's chronic ZanyScheme problem; HilarityEnsues -- and so, to Psmith's uncharacteristic befuddlement, does romance.
Not to be confused with [[BuckGodotZapGunForHire PSmIth]].
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!!This series provides examples of:
* BatmanGambit: Psmith's occasional ''modus operandi''. In ''Psmith in the City'', he stays in his job by cultivating a rapport with his supervisor, despite his occasional flagrant disregard of the rules.
* BreakoutCharacter: Psmith was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Psmith pretends to be one because it amuses him and throws people off their guard; nevertheless, he is always aware of and in control of the situation.
* HighClassGlass: One of Psmith's trademarks.
* IntrepidReporter: Billy Windsor in ''Psmith, Journalist''.
* LastNameBasis: Everyone addresses Psmith by his last name.
* MeetCute: Psmith and Eve in ''Leave It to Psmith''; he sees her caught in the rain, and chivalrously offers her an umbrella -- having first had to find an enterprising solution to the problem of not owning an umbrella to offer.
* MotorMouth: Psmith.
* MyNaymeIs: When pressed, Psmith admits that his family name is really "Smith", and the silent P is his own innovation to be a bit distinctive.
* OneSteveLimit: At the beginning of the series, Psmith gives his first name as Rupert, but in ''Leave It to Psmith'' he's become a Ronald, probably because the Blandings series already contained a Rupert Baxter. (Psmith technically has a prior claim to the forename, but as he's Psmith to all and sundry he was less attached to it.)
* PsmithPsyndrome: The TropeNamer. Even though the P is silent, Psmith can tell when someone pronounces his name without it.
* SmokyGentlemensClub: Psmith is a member of at least two: The Senior Conservative Club, mostly the preserve of older men like his father and his boss in ''Psmith in the City'', and the Drones Club, whose other members include [[Literature/BlandingsCastle Freddie Threepwood]], [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]], and most of Wodehouse's other foolish young heroes.
* ZanyScheme: Psmith is king of this.
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Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
The adventures of Mike and Psmith continue in ''Psmith in the City'' (1910; originally serialised in ''The Captain'' under the title "The New Fold", but by the time the book came out it was clear who the star was). Mike, having finished school but prevented by financial difficulties from proceeding to university, takes a job at the New Asiatic Bank, and finds that he once again has a fellow-sufferer in Psmith. After various adventures that demonstrate neither is cut out for the world of finance, Psmith finds a way for them both to attend Cambridge, and they resign just in time to avoid being fired.
In ''Psmith, Journalist'' (serial, 1909; book, 1915), Psmith accompanies Mike to America, where Mike's cricket team is touring, and becomes side-tracked into a series of adventures involving gangsters, slum landlords, lost cats, crooked boxing, and an intrepid journalist reduced to working for a magazine called ''Cozy Moments''.
In ''Leave It to Psmith'' (serial, 1923; book, with revised ending, 1923), Psmith's family fortunes suffer a serious reversal, leaving him facing the horrible prospect of having to get a real job. (Mike, newly-married and facing his own financial difficulties, appears early on to explain why he can't help, then disappears from the plot.) Salvation appears in the form of Freddie Threepwood, who is willing to pay Psmith for help with his latest contribution to Literature/BlandingsCastle's chronic ZanyScheme problem; HilarityEnsues -- and so, to Psmith's uncharacteristic befuddlement, does romance.
Not to be confused with [[BuckGodotZapGunForHire PSmIth]].
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!!This series provides examples of:
* BatmanGambit: Psmith's occasional ''modus operandi''. In ''Psmith in the City'', he stays in his job by cultivating a rapport with his supervisor, despite his occasional flagrant disregard of the rules.
* BreakoutCharacter: Psmith was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Psmith pretends to be one because it amuses him and throws people off their guard; nevertheless, he is always aware of and in control of the situation.
* HighClassGlass: One of Psmith's trademarks.
* IntrepidReporter: Billy Windsor in ''Psmith, Journalist''.
* LastNameBasis: Everyone addresses Psmith by his last name.
* MeetCute: Psmith and Eve in ''Leave It to Psmith''; he sees her caught in the rain, and chivalrously offers her an umbrella -- having first had to find an enterprising solution to the problem of not owning an umbrella to offer.
* MotorMouth: Psmith.
* MyNaymeIs: When pressed, Psmith admits that his family name is really "Smith", and the silent P is his own innovation to be a bit distinctive.
* OneSteveLimit: At the beginning of the series, Psmith gives his first name as Rupert, but in ''Leave It to Psmith'' he's become a Ronald, probably because the Blandings series already contained a Rupert Baxter. (Psmith technically has a prior claim to the forename, but as he's Psmith to all and sundry he was less attached to it.)
* PsmithPsyndrome: The TropeNamer. Even though the P is silent, Psmith can tell when someone pronounces his name without it.
* SmokyGentlemensClub: Psmith is a member of at least two: The Senior Conservative Club, mostly the preserve of older men like his father and his boss in ''Psmith in the City'', and the Drones Club, whose other members include [[Literature/BlandingsCastle Freddie Threepwood]], [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]], and most of Wodehouse's other foolish young heroes.
* ZanyScheme: Psmith is king of this.
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