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->''"If I am occasionally a little overdressed, I make up for it by always being immensely overeducated."''
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''', ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
Charming, witty and brilliant, but lazy and self-centered, the Upper Class Wit is the UpperClassTwit plus brains. He has no job and no real calling in life-- he spends his time making witticisms, flirting and pulling pranks. He has BlueBlood and just enough inherited money to support his idle lifestyle, though he's often deep in debt. On the off-chance he's gotten a job, he tends to be a ModernMajorGeneral, or just too lazy to care.
The Upper Class Wit is an eternal bachelor, but [[HandsomeLech takes great pleasure in seducing many women]]. Despite all the energy he puts into flirting with girls, he is very likely to be AmbiguouslyGay. When portrayed sympathetically, he's a [[ChivalrousPervert dashing rake]]; when unsympathetically, he's a [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty debauched degenerate]]. Either way, they are typically TheHedonist.
Common in Victorian works, or anything that revolves around upper-class Brits. Upper Class Wits are often but not always British. Continental versions, like Don Juan and [[TheCasanova Casanova]], tend to play up TheHedonist aspect, while the British variant is more about [[BlueBlood gentlemanly leisure]].
The RichIdiotWithNoDayJob is pretending to be an Upper Class Wit or an UpperClassTwit, depending. Compare GentlemanSnarker, which often overlaps. The ByronicHero is a DarkerAndEdgier Upper Class Wit.
This seems to be a [[ForgottenTrope dying trope]], since it depends on a way of life that is mostly extinct.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* [[FromEroicaWithLove Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria]]-although there's nothing ambiguous about his gayness.
* The titular EarlCain, in every detail. Witty but self-centred and lazy? Check. Living on inherited money, with no real job but an eccentric hobby (in his case, [[MasterPoisoner collecting and sometimes using poisons]])? Check. Flirtatious ladykiller, yet AmbiguouslyBi? Very check.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* DependingOnTheWriter, when [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] isn't an UpperClassTwit, he's this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* Charles Xavier has shades of this in ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. He's from an extremely wealthy family, attends Oxford and possesses an absolutely brilliant mind-- but he prefers to use his mind-reading abilities and genius knowledge of genetics to seduce women and seems more interested in drinking than helping mankind. Even when he starts the team, he still possesses a keen wit and sense of fun (which is not to say he is in any way flippant about his beliefs). Only towards the end, when his friendship with Erik is destroyed and he is left paralyzed, does he truly become the mentor and leader we would come to know and love.
* Dr. Seymour Love has access to seemingly unlimited amounts money in ''The Opening of Misty Beethoven''. This is a parody of ''{{Pygmalion}}'' and ''MyFairLady''. At one point he takes "[[ShoutOut the conscience of the king]]" bit from ''{{Hamlet}}'' and turns it into a penis joke.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Lord John Gray from the ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series has some of the trappings of one of these, but as he matures proves to be an OfficerAndAGentleman. (And StraightGay to boot.)
* Several of Creator/{{Saki}}'s young "heroes" are this type (and some are {{Upper Class Twit}}s).
* Creator/PGWodehouse: Literature/{{Psmith}}, and Uncle Fred, also known as the Earl of Ickenham. And even [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]] has his moments.
* Literature/PhiloVance, the hero of S.S. Van Dine's detective stories, is a brilliant polymath who habitually acts like an indolent fop. He has been described as a polymathic Psmith.
* Byerly Vorrutyer from [[Literature/VorkosiganSaga A Civil Campaign]] fits this trope to a tee. He's Vor-class, [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob "is notoriously without visible means of support"]], makes sarcastic quips at everyone else's expense, and [[AmbiguouslyGay is very interested]] in what [[GenderBender his newly male cousin]] [[KissingCousins looks like without clothes]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler:he's actually a high ranking civilian [[SecretPolice Imp Sec]] agent]], though he doesn't fit RichIdiotWithNoDayJob exactly because his bratty and decadent personality is more then a pose.
** Ivan Vorpatril is another example of this trope, though he tends to act like an UpperClassTwit to the degree that it was years before his cousin Miles Vorkosigan realized his first name wasn't "That Idiot."
* Lord Peter Wimsey from [[LordPeterWimsey the eponymous series]]. Lord Peter keeps up a running stream of babble that makes the uneducated believe him to be an UpperClassTwit, but which references disparate subjects from the classical canon to campanology.
* Creator/OscarWilde's Lord Henry in ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': James Potter and Sirius Black are portrayed this way, at least before they join the Order.
* Jem Harthouse from Dickens' ''Literature/HardTimes'', perhaps. He is portrayed as rather clever at times.
* Byron Hockner in Robert Brockway's ''[[http://www.rxthebook.com Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity]]'' aspires toward this by attempting to relive the life of Creator/LordByron.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from ''Series/GossipGirl''. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
* ''{{Series/MASH}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
* Many incarnations of the title character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
* The Fourth Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' borrows heavily from this character type, due to his taking inspiration from OscarWilde and the late-Victorian bohemian subculture in general.
* Dick Stuart-Clark from ''Series/DoctorInTheHouse'' and its sequels comes from old money (as his double-barrelled surname hints), with his medical studies funded on a per year basis by a wealthy relative's will (he coasts along doing as little work as possible so that "per year" lasts as many years as possible). He would much rather spend his time drinking and pursuing women than practising medicine. He is intelligent and savvy, but is far more likely to use that to engage in scams and schemes than in doing well at his job.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theater]]
* OscarWilde wrote a lot of these characters, probably because [[AuthorAvatar he was one himself]].
** Algernon Moncrieff from ''TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''-- in fact, this trope was originally named The Algernon
** Lord Darlington and Cecil Graham from ''Theatre/LadyWindermeresFan''
** Lord Henry Wotton, and to an extent Dorian Gray, from ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''
** Lord Goring from ''An Ideal Husband''
* Philip from ''Easy Virtue''
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare also wrote a considerable number of these characters.
** John Falstaff from ''Theatre/HenryIVPart1''.
** Mercutio from ''RomeoAndJuliet'' - the cynical, wisecracking variety.
** Petruchio from ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' - the "I'll Do Anything For a Bet" variety, with a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation (?)]] sadistic streak.
** Orsino from ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' - the InLoveWithLove variety.
** Benedick (the DeconfirmedBachelor) and Don Pedro (the prince who'd rather [[TheMatchmaker set his subjects]] [[ShipperOnDeck up with each other]] than run the country) in ''Much Ado About Nothing''.
** Gratiano, and arguably Bassanio, in ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''.
* Higgins from ''MyFairLady''--has a BigFancyHouse, servants, and a two-story library; is a BrilliantButLazy linguistics and speech training expert, and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Balthier, a lovely example of the trope. It turns out he's [[spoiler: the son of the Empire's court scientist, and that he ran away from home to escape his mad father, the Emperor's reign, and nobility in general.]] To his credit, he prefers living as an adventurer and actually knows how to use a sword.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* Creator/LordByron
* King Charles II of England
* John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
* OscarWilde
* Truman Capote
* StephenFry often gets cast in this role in the public perception (he even admits to deliberately playing up to this image in public) when in fact he's spent time in prison, had to work his ass off to get into Cambridge from a sixth form collage rather than a public school, and claims to have a very strong work ethic due to a feeling not measuring up.
* In all likelihood, ''you.'' You're browsing [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TVtropes]] so you're obviously literary, educated and bored. Now plug your income into the [[http://globalrichlist.com/ Global Rich List]] calculator. Yep, UpperClassWit all right. [[ImpoverishedPatrician Or not.]]
[[/folder]]
----
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''', ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
Charming, witty and brilliant, but lazy and self-centered, the Upper Class Wit is the UpperClassTwit plus brains. He has no job and no real calling in life-- he spends his time making witticisms, flirting and pulling pranks. He has BlueBlood and just enough inherited money to support his idle lifestyle, though he's often deep in debt. On the off-chance he's gotten a job, he tends to be a ModernMajorGeneral, or just too lazy to care.
The Upper Class Wit is an eternal bachelor, but [[HandsomeLech takes great pleasure in seducing many women]]. Despite all the energy he puts into flirting with girls, he is very likely to be AmbiguouslyGay. When portrayed sympathetically, he's a [[ChivalrousPervert dashing rake]]; when unsympathetically, he's a [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty debauched degenerate]]. Either way, they are typically TheHedonist.
Common in Victorian works, or anything that revolves around upper-class Brits. Upper Class Wits are often but not always British. Continental versions, like Don Juan and [[TheCasanova Casanova]], tend to play up TheHedonist aspect, while the British variant is more about [[BlueBlood gentlemanly leisure]].
The RichIdiotWithNoDayJob is pretending to be an Upper Class Wit or an UpperClassTwit, depending. Compare GentlemanSnarker, which often overlaps. The ByronicHero is a DarkerAndEdgier Upper Class Wit.
This seems to be a [[ForgottenTrope dying trope]], since it depends on a way of life that is mostly extinct.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* [[FromEroicaWithLove Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria]]-although there's nothing ambiguous about his gayness.
* The titular EarlCain, in every detail. Witty but self-centred and lazy? Check. Living on inherited money, with no real job but an eccentric hobby (in his case, [[MasterPoisoner collecting and sometimes using poisons]])? Check. Flirtatious ladykiller, yet AmbiguouslyBi? Very check.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* DependingOnTheWriter, when [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] isn't an UpperClassTwit, he's this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* Charles Xavier has shades of this in ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. He's from an extremely wealthy family, attends Oxford and possesses an absolutely brilliant mind-- but he prefers to use his mind-reading abilities and genius knowledge of genetics to seduce women and seems more interested in drinking than helping mankind. Even when he starts the team, he still possesses a keen wit and sense of fun (which is not to say he is in any way flippant about his beliefs). Only towards the end, when his friendship with Erik is destroyed and he is left paralyzed, does he truly become the mentor and leader we would come to know and love.
* Dr. Seymour Love has access to seemingly unlimited amounts money in ''The Opening of Misty Beethoven''. This is a parody of ''{{Pygmalion}}'' and ''MyFairLady''. At one point he takes "[[ShoutOut the conscience of the king]]" bit from ''{{Hamlet}}'' and turns it into a penis joke.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Lord John Gray from the ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series has some of the trappings of one of these, but as he matures proves to be an OfficerAndAGentleman. (And StraightGay to boot.)
* Several of Creator/{{Saki}}'s young "heroes" are this type (and some are {{Upper Class Twit}}s).
* Creator/PGWodehouse: Literature/{{Psmith}}, and Uncle Fred, also known as the Earl of Ickenham. And even [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]] has his moments.
* Literature/PhiloVance, the hero of S.S. Van Dine's detective stories, is a brilliant polymath who habitually acts like an indolent fop. He has been described as a polymathic Psmith.
* Byerly Vorrutyer from [[Literature/VorkosiganSaga A Civil Campaign]] fits this trope to a tee. He's Vor-class, [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob "is notoriously without visible means of support"]], makes sarcastic quips at everyone else's expense, and [[AmbiguouslyGay is very interested]] in what [[GenderBender his newly male cousin]] [[KissingCousins looks like without clothes]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler:he's actually a high ranking civilian [[SecretPolice Imp Sec]] agent]], though he doesn't fit RichIdiotWithNoDayJob exactly because his bratty and decadent personality is more then a pose.
** Ivan Vorpatril is another example of this trope, though he tends to act like an UpperClassTwit to the degree that it was years before his cousin Miles Vorkosigan realized his first name wasn't "That Idiot."
* Lord Peter Wimsey from [[LordPeterWimsey the eponymous series]]. Lord Peter keeps up a running stream of babble that makes the uneducated believe him to be an UpperClassTwit, but which references disparate subjects from the classical canon to campanology.
* Creator/OscarWilde's Lord Henry in ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': James Potter and Sirius Black are portrayed this way, at least before they join the Order.
* Jem Harthouse from Dickens' ''Literature/HardTimes'', perhaps. He is portrayed as rather clever at times.
* Byron Hockner in Robert Brockway's ''[[http://www.rxthebook.com Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity]]'' aspires toward this by attempting to relive the life of Creator/LordByron.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from ''Series/GossipGirl''. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
* ''{{Series/MASH}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
* Many incarnations of the title character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
* The Fourth Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' borrows heavily from this character type, due to his taking inspiration from OscarWilde and the late-Victorian bohemian subculture in general.
* Dick Stuart-Clark from ''Series/DoctorInTheHouse'' and its sequels comes from old money (as his double-barrelled surname hints), with his medical studies funded on a per year basis by a wealthy relative's will (he coasts along doing as little work as possible so that "per year" lasts as many years as possible). He would much rather spend his time drinking and pursuing women than practising medicine. He is intelligent and savvy, but is far more likely to use that to engage in scams and schemes than in doing well at his job.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theater]]
* OscarWilde wrote a lot of these characters, probably because [[AuthorAvatar he was one himself]].
** Algernon Moncrieff from ''TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''-- in fact, this trope was originally named The Algernon
** Lord Darlington and Cecil Graham from ''Theatre/LadyWindermeresFan''
** Lord Henry Wotton, and to an extent Dorian Gray, from ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''
** Lord Goring from ''An Ideal Husband''
* Philip from ''Easy Virtue''
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare also wrote a considerable number of these characters.
** John Falstaff from ''Theatre/HenryIVPart1''.
** Mercutio from ''RomeoAndJuliet'' - the cynical, wisecracking variety.
** Petruchio from ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' - the "I'll Do Anything For a Bet" variety, with a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation (?)]] sadistic streak.
** Orsino from ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' - the InLoveWithLove variety.
** Benedick (the DeconfirmedBachelor) and Don Pedro (the prince who'd rather [[TheMatchmaker set his subjects]] [[ShipperOnDeck up with each other]] than run the country) in ''Much Ado About Nothing''.
** Gratiano, and arguably Bassanio, in ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''.
* Higgins from ''MyFairLady''--has a BigFancyHouse, servants, and a two-story library; is a BrilliantButLazy linguistics and speech training expert, and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Balthier, a lovely example of the trope. It turns out he's [[spoiler: the son of the Empire's court scientist, and that he ran away from home to escape his mad father, the Emperor's reign, and nobility in general.]] To his credit, he prefers living as an adventurer and actually knows how to use a sword.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* Creator/LordByron
* King Charles II of England
* John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
* OscarWilde
* Truman Capote
* StephenFry often gets cast in this role in the public perception (he even admits to deliberately playing up to this image in public) when in fact he's spent time in prison, had to work his ass off to get into Cambridge from a sixth form collage rather than a public school, and claims to have a very strong work ethic due to a feeling not measuring up.
* In all likelihood, ''you.'' You're browsing [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TVtropes]] so you're obviously literary, educated and bored. Now plug your income into the [[http://globalrichlist.com/ Global Rich List]] calculator. Yep, UpperClassWit all right. [[ImpoverishedPatrician Or not.]]
[[/folder]]
----
to:
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''', ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
Charming, witty and brilliant, but lazy and self-centered, the Upper Class Wit is the UpperClassTwit plus brains. He has no job and no real calling in life-- he spends his time making witticisms, flirting and pulling pranks. He has BlueBlood and just enough inherited money to support his idle lifestyle, though he's often deep in debt. On the off-chance he's gotten a job, he tends to be a ModernMajorGeneral, or just too lazy to care.
The Upper Class Wit is an eternal bachelor, but [[HandsomeLech takes great pleasure in seducing many women]]. Despite all the energy he puts into flirting with girls, he is very likely to be AmbiguouslyGay. When portrayed sympathetically, he's a [[ChivalrousPervert dashing rake]]; when unsympathetically, he's a [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty debauched degenerate]]. Either way, they are typically TheHedonist.
Common in Victorian works, or anything that revolves around upper-class Brits. Upper Class Wits are often but not always British. Continental versions, like Don Juan and [[TheCasanova Casanova]], tend to play up TheHedonist aspect, while the British variant is more about [[BlueBlood gentlemanly leisure]].
The RichIdiotWithNoDayJob is pretending to be an Upper Class Wit or an UpperClassTwit, depending. Compare GentlemanSnarker, which often overlaps. The ByronicHero is a DarkerAndEdgier Upper Class Wit.
This seems to be a [[ForgottenTrope dying trope]], since it depends on a way of life that is mostly extinct.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* [[FromEroicaWithLove Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria]]-although there's nothing ambiguous about his gayness.
* The titular EarlCain, in every detail. Witty but self-centred and lazy? Check. Living on inherited money, with no real job but an eccentric hobby (in his case, [[MasterPoisoner collecting and sometimes using poisons]])? Check. Flirtatious ladykiller, yet AmbiguouslyBi? Very check.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* DependingOnTheWriter, when [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] isn't an UpperClassTwit, he's this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* Charles Xavier has shades of this in ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. He's from an extremely wealthy family, attends Oxford and possesses an absolutely brilliant mind-- but he prefers to use his mind-reading abilities and genius knowledge of genetics to seduce women and seems more interested in drinking than helping mankind. Even when he starts the team, he still possesses a keen wit and sense of fun (which is not to say he is in any way flippant about his beliefs). Only towards the end, when his friendship with Erik is destroyed and he is left paralyzed, does he truly become the mentor and leader we would come to know and love.
* Dr. Seymour Love has access to seemingly unlimited amounts money in ''The Opening of Misty Beethoven''. This is a parody of ''{{Pygmalion}}'' and ''MyFairLady''. At one point he takes "[[ShoutOut the conscience of the king]]" bit from ''{{Hamlet}}'' and turns it into a penis joke.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Lord John Gray from the ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series has some of the trappings of one of these, but as he matures proves to be an OfficerAndAGentleman. (And StraightGay to boot.)
* Several of Creator/{{Saki}}'s young "heroes" are this type (and some are {{Upper Class Twit}}s).
* Creator/PGWodehouse: Literature/{{Psmith}}, and Uncle Fred, also known as the Earl of Ickenham. And even [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]] has his moments.
* Literature/PhiloVance, the hero of S.S. Van Dine's detective stories, is a brilliant polymath who habitually acts like an indolent fop. He has been described as a polymathic Psmith.
* Byerly Vorrutyer from [[Literature/VorkosiganSaga A Civil Campaign]] fits this trope to a tee. He's Vor-class, [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob "is notoriously without visible means of support"]], makes sarcastic quips at everyone else's expense, and [[AmbiguouslyGay is very interested]] in what [[GenderBender his newly male cousin]] [[KissingCousins looks like without clothes]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler:he's actually a high ranking civilian [[SecretPolice Imp Sec]] agent]], though he doesn't fit RichIdiotWithNoDayJob exactly because his bratty and decadent personality is more then a pose.
** Ivan Vorpatril is another example of this trope, though he tends to act like an UpperClassTwit to the degree that it was years before his cousin Miles Vorkosigan realized his first name wasn't "That Idiot."
* Lord Peter Wimsey from [[LordPeterWimsey the eponymous series]]. Lord Peter keeps up a running stream of babble that makes the uneducated believe him to be an UpperClassTwit, but which references disparate subjects from the classical canon to campanology.
* Creator/OscarWilde's Lord Henry in ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': James Potter and Sirius Black are portrayed this way, at least before they join the Order.
* Jem Harthouse from Dickens' ''Literature/HardTimes'', perhaps. He is portrayed as rather clever at times.
* Byron Hockner in Robert Brockway's ''[[http://www.rxthebook.com Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity]]'' aspires toward this by attempting to relive the life of Creator/LordByron.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from ''Series/GossipGirl''. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
* ''{{Series/MASH}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
* Many incarnations of the title character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
* The Fourth Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' borrows heavily from this character type, due to his taking inspiration from OscarWilde and the late-Victorian bohemian subculture in general.
* Dick Stuart-Clark from ''Series/DoctorInTheHouse'' and its sequels comes from old money (as his double-barrelled surname hints), with his medical studies funded on a per year basis by a wealthy relative's will (he coasts along doing as little work as possible so that "per year" lasts as many years as possible). He would much rather spend his time drinking and pursuing women than practising medicine. He is intelligent and savvy, but is far more likely to use that to engage in scams and schemes than in doing well at his job.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theater]]
* OscarWilde wrote a lot of these characters, probably because [[AuthorAvatar he was one himself]].
** Algernon Moncrieff from ''TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''-- in fact, this trope was originally named The Algernon
** Lord Darlington and Cecil Graham from ''Theatre/LadyWindermeresFan''
** Lord Henry Wotton, and to an extent Dorian Gray, from ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray''
** Lord Goring from ''An Ideal Husband''
* Philip from ''Easy Virtue''
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare also wrote a considerable number of these characters.
** John Falstaff from ''Theatre/HenryIVPart1''.
** Mercutio from ''RomeoAndJuliet'' - the cynical, wisecracking variety.
** Petruchio from ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' - the "I'll Do Anything For a Bet" variety, with a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation (?)]] sadistic streak.
** Orsino from ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' - the InLoveWithLove variety.
** Benedick (the DeconfirmedBachelor) and Don Pedro (the prince who'd rather [[TheMatchmaker set his subjects]] [[ShipperOnDeck up with each other]] than run the country) in ''Much Ado About Nothing''.
** Gratiano, and arguably Bassanio, in ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''.
* Higgins from ''MyFairLady''--has a BigFancyHouse, servants, and a two-story library; is a BrilliantButLazy linguistics and speech training expert, and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Balthier, a lovely example of the trope. It turns out he's [[spoiler: the son of the Empire's court scientist, and that he ran away from home to escape his mad father, the Emperor's reign, and nobility in general.]] To his credit, he prefers living as an adventurer and actually knows how to use a sword.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* Creator/LordByron
* King Charles II of England
* John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
* OscarWilde
* Truman Capote
* StephenFry often gets cast in this role in the public perception (he even admits to deliberately playing up to this image in public) when in fact he's spent time in prison, had to work his ass off to get into Cambridge from a sixth form collage rather than a public school, and claims to have a very strong work ethic due to a feeling not measuring up.
* In all likelihood, ''you.'' You're browsing [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TVtropes]] so you're obviously literary, educated and bored. Now plug your income into the [[http://globalrichlist.com/ Global Rich List]] calculator. Yep, UpperClassWit all right. [[ImpoverishedPatrician Or not.]]
[[/folder]]
----
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* Many incarnations of the titular character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
to:
* Many incarnations of the titular title character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
* Dick Stuart-Clark from ''Series/DoctorInTheHouse'' and its sequels comes from old money (as his double-barrelled surname hints), with his medical studies funded on a per year basis by a wealthy relative's will (he coasts along doing as little work as possible so that "per year" lasts as many years as possible). He would much rather spend his time drinking and pursuing women than practising medicine. He is intelligent and savvy, but is far more likely to use that to engage in scams and schemes than in doing well at his job.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
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[[folder:Music]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
* ProfessorElemental, who's home is his castle because his home ''is'' a castle, would be one of these. Takes a lot of wit to make up witty rhymes about tea, after all.
[[/folder]]
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* The Fourth Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' borrows heavily from this character type, due to his taking inspiration from OscarWilde and the late-Victorian bohemian subculture in general.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
[[/folder]]
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* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare John Falstaff]]
to:
* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Creator/WilliamShakespeare also wrote a considerable number of these characters.
** JohnFalstaff]]Falstaff from ''Theatre/HenryIVPart1''.
** John
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* Higgins from ''MyFairLady''--has a BigFancyHouse, servants, and a two-story library; is a BrilliantButLazy linguistics and speech training expert, and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
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* Byron Hockner in Robert Brockway's [[http://www.rxthebook.com Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity]]aspires toward this by attempting to relive the life of Creator/LordByron.
to:
* Byron Hockner in Robert Brockway's [[http://www.''[[http://www.rxthebook.com Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity]]aspires Electronegativity]]'' aspires toward this by attempting to relive the life of Creator/LordByron.
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* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
to:
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl.''Series/GossipGirl''. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
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* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
to:
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}.''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
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* ''{{Series/Mash}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
to:
* ''{{Series/Mash}}'s'' ''{{Series/MASH}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
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* Higgins from ''MyFairLady''--has a BigFancyHouse, servants, and a two-story library; is a BrilliantButLazy linguistics and speech training expert, and a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
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Natter
Deleted line(s) 88,90 (click to see context) :
** That would explain the levels of sarcastic cynicism around here.
*** Oh, would it?
*** What? There's a Sarcastic Cynicism Measurement Scale?
*** Oh, would it?
*** What? There's a Sarcastic Cynicism Measurement Scale?
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[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* Octa in FanFic/TheSurprisingAdventuresOfAGlaceonInUnova.
[[/folder]]
* Octa in FanFic/TheSurprisingAdventuresOfAGlaceonInUnova.
[[/folder]]
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* Many incarnations of the titular character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''.
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* Philo Vance, the hero of S.S. Van Dine's detective stories, is a brilliant polymath who habitually acts like an indolent fop. He has been described as a polymathic Psmith.
to:
* Philo Vance, Literature/PhiloVance, the hero of S.S. Van Dine's detective stories, is a brilliant polymath who habitually acts like an indolent fop. He has been described as a polymathic Psmith.
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* The titular EarlCain, in every detail. Witty but self-centred and lazy? Check. Living on inherited money, with no real job but an eccentric hobby (in his case, [[MasterPoisoner collecting and sometimes using poisons]])? Check. Flirtatious ladykiller, yet AmbiguouslyBi? Very check.
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***What? There's a Sarcastic Cynicism Measurement Scale?
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** Lord Darlington and Cecil Graham from ''Lady Windermere's Fan''
to:
** Lord Darlington and Cecil Graham from ''Lady Windermere's Fan''''Theatre/LadyWindermeresFan''
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* Creator/PGWodehouse: Literature/{{Psmith}}, and Uncle Fred, also known as the Earl of Ickenham.
to:
* Creator/PGWodehouse: Literature/{{Psmith}}, and Uncle Fred, also known as the Earl of Ickenham. And even [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster]] has his moments.
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* In all likelihood, ''you.'' You're browsing [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TVtropes]] so you're obviously literary, educated and bored. Now plug your income into the [[http://globalrichlist.com/ Global Rich List]] calculator. Yep, UpperClassWit all right.
to:
* In all likelihood, ''you.'' You're browsing [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TVtropes]] so you're obviously literary, educated and bored. Now plug your income into the [[http://globalrichlist.com/ Global Rich List]] calculator. Yep, UpperClassWit all right. [[ImpoverishedPatrician Or not.]]
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* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from Archer.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
to:
* [[SmugSnake Sterling]] from Archer.
''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from''AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
* Walter "Doc" Hartford from
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->''If I am occasionally a little overdressed, I make up for it by always being immensely overeducated.''
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''', ''TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''', ''TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
to:
-->-- '''Algernon Moncrieff''',
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* [[Series/Mash Charles]] has very definite shades of this.
to:
* [[Series/Mash Charles]] ''{{Series/Mash}}'s'' Charles has very definite shades of this.
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moved \"Live Action Television\" folder and added \"MASH\" entry
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[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
[[/folder]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
[[/folder]]
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
* [[Series/Mash Charles]] has very definite shades of this.
[[/folder]]
* [[MagnificentBastard Chuck Bass]] from GossipGirl. He ''does'' have a job, but keep in mind that he's an eighteen-year-old hotelier who spends more time drinking, having sex, and playing mind games with everyone he knows. His excuse? "I'm Chuck Bass."
** He's also not the eternal bachelor, but if he can't have Blair he seems determined to have every prostitute and easy girl in New York instead.
* Warrick Harrow, Mal's client in "Shindig", from {{Firefly}}. Despite only showing up in one episode, he managed to out-snark two {{Upper Class Twit}}s and Badger. Note that [[TheMedic Simon]] is ''upper-middle'' class, not upper class. Doctors work for a living, whereas the upper class do not.
** Actually, to assert that simply because Simon worked as a doctor, he cannot be considered a good subversion to this trope. The elder Tams, judging from how they treated River, seemed more the type of upperclass elitists who crave the prestige of having genius children, and not necessarily the money said successful children can bring to the family fortune. Simon himself genuinely liked being a doctor and had no qualms about emptying his bank in order to save his sister.
* Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister starts off this way in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. He explains in the first episode that he uses it as "armor" against the insults of others.
* [[Series/Mash Charles]] has very definite shades of this.
[[/folder]]
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* Walter "Doc" Hartford from ''AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' definitely came from money, judging from his extensive education (including charm school) and mannerisms. And while the other three Rangers indulge in sarcasm from time to time, Doc can probably license his as a deadly weapon.
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* DependingOnTheWriter, when [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] isn't an UpperClassTwit, he's this.
to:
* DependingOnTheWriter, when [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] isn't an UpperClassTwit, he's this.
