History Literature / Psmith

* ComicBookTime: While the first three books reflect the Edwardian setting they were published in, the third book, published in the 1920s, updates the setting without substantially aging Psmith (he remains and is referred to as a young man, despite the fact that he would be in his thirties by that time). Probably for the best--if Mike and Psmith had aged normally along the Edwardian timeline, [[FridgeHorror they would have been drafted into World War I]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: No one really knows why Psmith acts the way he does. Of course, he's heavily implied to be [[ObfuscatingInsanity faking it]], but that just opens up a whole new set of questions. Add to that the fact that his dad is also pretty odd (albeit in a completely different way)...
--> '''Downing:''' Er ... Smith, I do not for a moment wish to pain you, but have you ... er, do you remember ever having had, as a child, let us say, any ... er ... severe illness? Any ... er ... ''mental'' illness?
--> '''Psmith:''' No, sir.
--> '''Downing:''' There is no--forgive me if I am touching on a sad subject--there is no ... none of your near relatives have ever suffered in the way I ... er ... have described?
--> '''Psmith:''' ''(cheerfully)'' There isn't a lunatic on the list, sir.

* WritingLines: Par for the course in any BoardingSchool setting.

* {{Sidekick}}: Psmith to Mike (at first), Mike to Psmith (later on).

* AchillesInHisTent: The TropeNamer incident from {{Homer}}'s ''{{Iliad}}'' is referenced to explain why Mike refuses to play cricket at Sedleigh.

* AFriendInNeed

* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Mike and Phyllis]] in ''Leave It to Psmith''.

* ChronicHeroSyndrome: In ''Psmith in the City'' Psmith accuses Mike of developing an addiction to sacrificing himself for others, likening it to "dram-drinking".

* TheConfidant: One of Mike's duties as Psmith's secretary.

* DemotedToExtra: Mike. In ''Psmith in the City'' he and Psmith are still on roughly equal footing in terms of page time, but by ''Psmith, Journalist'' he's become a side character.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Mike tends to make the quickest, most practical move required to save someone without fully realizing the consequences until it's too late. Psmith isn't above this either.

* DumbJock: Mike.

* TheEveryman: Mike, remarkable only in his genius for cricket and the fact that he'd do anything to help a friend.

* MirrorCrackingUgly: Psmith accuses Mike of being this in ''Psmith in the City''.

* NamesTheSame: MichaelJackson?

* NiceGuy: Mike.

* PutOnABus: Mike in the last two books.

* UnfazedEveryman: Mike.

* 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 of notoriety."]]
* 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.

* 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 social manipulator who [[ObfuscatingInsanity only acts like he's off his rocker]].

* 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.

* CarryABigStick: In ''Psmith, Journalist'', Psmith uses Billy Windsor's walking stick (purchased specifically for such a situation) 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 and]] [[TheodoreRoosevelt Roosevelt]]."
* TheChampion: Psmith, for Mike.
* CharacterFilibuster: Psmith's standard method of speaking.

* {{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.
* CombatPragmatist: Psmith, as well as Billy Windsor in ''Psmith, Journalist''.

* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Sure, he acts like a complete lunatic, [[CrazyAwesome but he's also utterly brilliant and nigh-invincible]].
* TheDandy: Psmith.
* DeadpanSnarker: Psmith, and occasionally Mike.

* DissonantSerenity: Psmith whenever there's any kind of a skirmish.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Psmith.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Rupert.

* GentlemanThief: Psmith in ''Leave it to Psmith''.
* 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?]]"
* GuileHero: Psmith.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Psmith and Eve]] become this, according to WordOfGod; [[spoiler:Mike and Phyllis]] seem pretty happy too.
* HatDamage: Psmith's hat [[spoiler:takes a bullet during a shoot-out]] in ''Psmith, Journalist''. [[MyFavoriteShirt He doesn't take it too well]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mike and Psmith. [[spoiler:Just to cement it, they end up marrying (respectively) Phyllis and Eve, themselves examples of this trope]].
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Psmith. When Mike tries to thank him for [[spoiler:sacrificing himself to save Mike from expulsion]], he acts upset and pretends to have no idea what Mike is talking about.
* HighClassGlass: One of Psmith's trademarks.
* HighSchoolHustler: Psmith's original role. Even after he leaves school, his interactions with authority figures retain some of the same style.

* HypocriticalHumor: Psmith often refers to himself as "a man of few words".

* GuileHero: Psmith.
* IconicItem: The [[HighClassGlass monocle]].
* IndyPloy

* LargeHam: Psmith.
* LastNameBasis: All the schoolboys in the early adventures, as was typical for children in British boarding schools of the period, but Psmith carries it through into adult life. "In conversation you may address me as Rupert (though I hope you won't.)"
* LeaningOnTheFurniture: Psmith, constantly.

* LoveAtFirstSight: When Psmith sees Eve in ''Leave it to Psmith''.
* MadLibsCatchPhrase: "The cry goes round..." and variants thereof. Also, "Work, the ___ of the ___ and the ___ of the ____," which he eventually fills in with "Work, [[BuffySpeak the what's-its-name of the thingummy and the thing-um-a-bob of the what d'you-call-it]]."
* MeaningfulRename: By changing his name from plain old "Smith" to "Psmith", the main character establishes that he's emphatically ''not'' your average guy.

* MinoredInAssKicking: Psmith.

* MistakenForSpecialGuest: In ''Leave it to Psmith''.

* MotorMouth: Psmith.
* MyFavoriteShirt: Psmith's reaction to having his hat destroyed in ''Psmith, Journalist''. He becomes determined to make the culprits pay...for the hat, [[spoiler:and, in fact, he succeeds]].
* MyNaymeIs: Psmith, who admits at one point that he added the P himself because he considered "Smith" too ordinary.

* 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.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Psmith often slips this into his speech.
* SharpDressedMan: Psmith.

* SophisticatedAsHell: Psmith.

* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: ''Mike and Psmith'' contains an amusing subversion. Just as Mike and Adair are on the verge of beating each other senseless, Psmith stands between them and tells them not to fight...because they're in his room and they should be fighting outside. He proceeds to lead them outdoors and referree the battle.

* SuddenNameChange: Originally named "Rupert", Psmith gets his first name changed to "Ronald" to enforce the OneSteveLimit in ''Leave It to Psmith''.

* ThinkingOutLoud: Psmith does a bit of this in ''Mike and Psmith''.

* UpperClassWit: Psmith.

* VerbalJudo: Psmith is good at this.

* WaistcoatOfStyle: A regular element of Psmith's wardrobe.

* WeHelpTheHelpless: Psmith's newspaper advertisement in ''Leave it to Psmith'' states that he's willing to do anything for money, from walking dogs to commiting crimes, "provided it has nothing to do with fish".

* TheWonka: Psmith.
* {{Workaholic}}: Psmith parodies this trope aggressively in ''Psmith in the City''. He actually hates the job.

* IntrepidReporter: Billy Windsor in ''Psmith, Journalist''.
** Psmith also takes a stint as one of these, as indicated by the title.

* LastNameBasis: Everyone addresses Psmith by his last name. "In conversation you may address me as Rupert (though I hope you won't.)"
** 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.

* 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.
** Technically, although they aren't all named, he belongs to ''six'' clubs thanks to his father--[[spoiler:and that's after some of them drop him when he loses his money]].

Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1908. 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.)

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.)

* LastNameBasis: Everyone addresses Psmith by his last name.

-->-- '''EvelynWaugh'''

* TheWonka: Psmith.

Not to be confused with [[BuckGodotZapGunForHire PSmIth]].

* WackyParentSeriousChild: Psmith has far more dignity and ''gravitas'' than the flighty elder Smith.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In ''Leave it to Psmith'', [[spoiler:[[JanitorImpersonationInfiltration one of the maids turns out to have been a detective hired by Baxter]]]].

* {{Workoholic}}: Psmith parodies this trope aggressively in ''Psmith in the City''. He actually hates the job.