History Main / PuddleCoveringChivalry

* Hilariously -- then heartwarmingly -- invoked on ''Series/FamilyMatters''. Eddie's friend Waldo goes on a date with Laura's friend Maxine. He tells Eddie about the date afterwards; he placed his jacket on a mud puddle so she could cross...then picked up the jacket and placed it on her afterwards. When he realized what he'd done, he rolled in the puddle so they would match. Maxine, who is telling Laura about the date at the same time, was genuinely touched by this despite his stupidity, and they became the BetaCouple for the rest of the series.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' had Brainy Smurf try doing this for Smurfette. She promptly sank up to her chin in the mud.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', [[Characters/FamilyGuyPeterGriffin Peter Griffin]] sees a sidewalk mud puddle in front of a man and woman; Peter takes off his coat and says he wouldn't want their shoes all ruined. [[SubvertedTrope He then hands his coat to Brian and places the woman face down in the mud and the man walks over her.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Peter sees a sidewalk mud puddle in front of a man and woman; Peter takes off his coat and says he wouldn't want their shoes all ruined. [[SubvertedTrope He then hands his coat to Brian and places the woman face down in the mud and the man walks over her.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "The Best Night Ever", Rarity and her date Prince Blueblood come upon a puddle. Rarity thinks Blueblood will do this for her. Instead, [[PrinceCharmless he takes her coat so that he can walk across on it.]]

* ''Film/AHardDaysNight''. Ringo Starr takes off his coat to help a woman cross a puddle, but it turns out to be a manhole and she plummets down into the sewer.

* Discussed in Episode 13 of the ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' LetsPlay series ''A Duck and a Cat'' on Sqaishey Quack's channel, ''[[https://youtu.be/K3NOOaXazbs Gentleman Stampy]]'', where [[{{WebVideo/Stampylongnose}} Stampy]] rants about how stupid the concept is.[[labelnote:Timestamp]]6:23--7:25[[/labelnote]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' short "WesternAnimation/TheOldManOfTheMountain" a bear takes off his fur coat to help Betty cross a puddle.

Subtrope of OldSchoolChivalry and WomenAreDelicate.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* A non-romantic example on ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'': As King Peppy leads the Trolls' escape from the Bergens, he lays down pieces of his clothing to cover up puddles for the other trolls to cross. Eventually, he's down to his underwear, and he loses those after they're caught on a Bergen's shovel.

* Hilariously -- then heartwarmingly -- invoked on ''Series/FamilyMatters''. Eddie's friend Waldo goes on a date with Laura's friend Maxine. He tells Eddie about the date afterwards; he placed his jacket on a mud puddle so she could cross...then [[WhatAnIdiot picked up the jacket and placed it on her afterwards]]. When he realized what he'd done, he rolled in the puddle so they would match. Maxine, who is telling Laura about the date at the same time, was genuinely touched by this despite his stupidity, and they became the BetaCouple for the rest of the series.

* Also played for laughs in ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello Meet Captain Kidd''. The duo stops to help a woman in this manner. Costello puts his vest down, she steps off the curb...and sinks waist-deep in mud.

'''Maxine''': And then [[EpicFail he picked up the jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders]].

** He later does this again in "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E2AFarwellToArms A Farewell to Arms]]". Being Fry, he, for reasons known only to him, instead takes off his pants, rather than his jacket.

* ''Series/TheBennyhill'': Benny Hill did this once for a girl: unfortunately the "Puddle" turned out to be quicksand, into which the unfortunate girl sank like a stone.

* Music/LLCoolJ briefly mentions it in "I Need Love" as one of the romantic things he would do to win over a girl.

* In the Disney adaptation of ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'', Ichabod helps a woman cross a puddle in this way.
* A non-romantic example on ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'': As King Peppy leads the Trolls' escape from the Bergens, he lays down pieces of his clothing to cover up puddles for the other trolls to cross. Eventually, he's down to his underwear, and he loses those after they're caught on a Bergen's shovel.

* ''Film/AHardDaysNight''. Ringo Starr takes off his coat to help a woman cross a puddle, but it turns out to be a manhole and she plummets down into the sewer.
* Played for laughs in Creator/BusterKeaton's silent movie ''The Balloonatic''. Attempting to exhibit a most basic form of chivalry, Buster puts his coat over a puddle in front of a curb where a woman appears to be wanting to cross. Then a car pulls up atop his jacket, the woman gets into the car and it drives off. She was simply waiting for a ride. For his efforts, Buster's coat is now sopping wet and torn by the car wheels that rode over it.

* In ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'', Queen Elizabeth (Creator/JudiDench) stops in front of a puddle and looks for help. All the guys hesitate and then reach to throw their jackets down for her, but she loses patience and just steps in the mud.

* Used in a ''slightly'' different way in the Literature/BelisariusSeries: at one point Shakuntala and her handmaidens--disguised as dancers in elaborate clothing--have to pass through a room that has just been cleared of assassins...and is awash in blood. Her bodyguards, in order to move the women out as quickly as possible without ruining their disguises, position the bodies across the bloody floor as a bridge. [[NervesOfSteel Shakuntala is the only one able to cross without flinching.]]

* Benny Hill did this once for a girl: unfortunately the "Puddle" turned out to be quicksand, into which the unfortunate girl sank like a stone.

* ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' has Davan distract himself from his job by drawing a picture of a [[http://somethingpositive.net/sp04132011.shtml mouse putting his cape across a puddle for an elephant]]. ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'':
** In "The Truce Hurts", where Spike, Tom, and Jerry are trying to be friends, Spike [[FurIsClothing removes his fur]] and covers a mud puddle for Tom and Jerry.
** In "Touche, Pussycat", after Jerry falls face-first into a puddle, his protege Tuffy uses Jerry's cape to allow a passing lady mouse dry passage using the cape and Jerry's body.
* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' subverts this. In a ''Peabody's Improbable History'' segment about Sir Walter Raleigh, Mr. Peabody and Sherman see a still shot of Sir Walter laying down a coat for Queen Elizabeth, presumably to cover a puddle for her to cross over, however, after doing so, we see Sir Walter removing the coat to reveal street graffiti, reading "LIZ IS A SHNOOK!", that he wrote.

* In the opening wraparound of the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Here's Hamton", Hamton places a shirt over a puddle so Shirley can cross over it. When Shirley steps on the shirt, she falls through the puddle as if it were a trap door.
* Discussed on ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'', "Clarence Gets a Girlfriend." Clarence practices chivalry with Sumo to impress his new girlfriend; they go to a puddle and Sumo instructs him to throw his coat over it. "What's maybe something you could do? Maybe something you've seen on TV?" Clarence doesn't take the hint.

* An episode of ''[[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} The Charlie Brown And Snoopy Show]]'' has Charlie Brown reminiscing on a time he put down a coat for ''himself''...[[EpicFail only to slip on it and fall in the puddle anyway.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'', Winslow has blackmailed Cat into becoming his slave, and he makes Cat lay his body on top of a mud puddle so he can walk across without ruining his new shoes. Afterwards, Winslow calls over a whole line of people so they can walk across Cat as well.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'' episode "Cleo's Pen Pal", monster actor Billy Headstone attempts to be courteous to Duzer (whom he's mistaken for Cleo because she sent Duzer's picture) by using his cape to cover up a puddle. Duzer dismisses his action as "corny".

* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' subverts this. In a ''Peabody's Improbable History'' segment about Sir Walter Raleigh, Mr. Peabody and Sherman see a still shot of Sir Walter laying down a coat for Queen Elizabeth, presumably to cover a puddle for her to cross over, however, after doing so, we see Sir Walter removing the coat to reveal street graffiti, reading, "LIZ IS A SHNOOK!", that he wrote.

* In the opening wraparound of the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "Here's Hamton", Hamton places a shirt over a puddle so Shirley can cross over it. When Shirley steps on the shirt, she falls through the puddle as if it were a trap door.