History Radio / OurMissBrooks

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Mr. Conklin is frequently seen scraping 0% in his popularity amongst the students and faculty of Madison High School. This is mostly due to his strictness, his pompous nature, as well as his occasional unprincipled actions. For example, without authorization, he forces students to go to "School on Saturday" in the episode of the same name. Or pay arbitrary fines, proceeds going to a bust of Mr. Conklin's head to be placed on the pedestal in the library ("Carelessness Code"). Another low moment for Mr. Conklin was his attempt to raise money to renorvate his office from the student body and the faculty. Not only did nobody donate money in the collection box, Walter Denton stole a dime out of the half dollar Mr. Conklin put in to get the ball rolling! There is, however, one student who ''loves'' Mr. Conklin. ''His daughter'' Harriet!
* AbandonedWarehouse: Miss Brooks and Walter Denton visit the now-abandoned warehouse of the "Jackpot Amusement Company" at the end of "Student Government Day". Miss Brooks pulls the arm of a rigged one-arm bandit machines that had been left behind by the racketeers, winning the jackpot.
* AbandonShip: In "An American Tragedy", Mr. Conklin, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton are stranded on a sinking rowboat. Subverted as they are unable to abandon ship, as none of them are wearing lifejackets and only Mr. Boynton can swim.
* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Averted. Harriet Conklin is Student Council president, and she seems to have no power whatsoever. Her father, Mr. Conklin, [[RepressiveButEfficient runs Madison with an iron fist]]. Similarly, Walter Denton is on the student council, editor of the school paper, and manager of half the school's varsity teams. He has, if possible, even less power. In "Trying to Pick a Fight", Walter calls an extra skull practice. Mr. Boynton chews him out for exceeding his authority.
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: In "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton", Miss Brooks unwittingly offers to masquerade as Mr. Boynton's mother. This is in spite of the fact she is actually a couple of years younger than her LoveInterest. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* AccidentalBargainingSkills: In "Mr. [=LeBlanc=] needs $50", when Mr. Conklin offers Miss Brooks $25 to discourage Mr. [=LeBlanc=] from buying his Stutz - Miss Brooks demurs. Mr. Conklin immediately raises his offer to $50.
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: In "Mr. Boynton's Mustache", Miss Brooks encourages Mr. Boynton to grow a mustache. She compliments him on his new appearance, and arranges for other female teachers to do the same. Lo, and behold, Miss Brooks finds she provoked a case of AcquiredSituationalNarcissism in her LoveInterest.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Mr. Conklin was nothing more than a nuisance and a blowhard during the radio show and first three seasons of the TV show. However, when the show was retooled for the fourth season he was turned into a full-on villain who vowed to make Miss Brooks' life miserable and would even try to get her fired. The two went from being frenemies to just plain enemies.
* AdoptTheFood: In "Thanksgiving Turkey", Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton save money by buying a live turkey. Miss Brooks quickly grows fond of the turkey, and refuses to help Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton kill her.
* AdultsDressedAsChildren:
** In "Mr. Boynton's Return", Miss Brooks dresses as a small child to get on an airplane free. Given how tall Eve Arden is, it needs to be seen to be believed . . . .
** Or maybe not. "Borrowing Money to Fly", a radio episode, has Miss Brooks try the same trick, and her dialogue and "little girl voice" are funny in and of itself.
** "Turnabout Day" sees the Madison High School faculty dress as children. Miss Brooks dresses in the then-current style for teenage girls, while Mr. Conklin wears a propeller beanie and a WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse shirt.
* AerithAndBob: Everybody has fairly standard names, with the exception of Mr. ''Osgood'' Conklin. Not to mention [[EmbarrassingFirstName Fabian]] Snodgrass.
* AFoolForAClient: In "Trial By Jury" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation a remake of the radio episode "Traffic Court Reckless Driving"]]), Miss Brooks' defends herself in court after being given a ticket for "speeding, going through a red light, reckless driving, driving on the sidewalk, and hitting a [[FruitCart fruit stand]]. Miss Brooks' expertise as an English teacher instead of a lawyer is evident here, at one point she recites Portia's speech from ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''. Unfortunately, Miss Brooks' defense is doomed from the start as [[DeanBitterman Madison High School's principal Mr. Conklin]] is on the jury. And he's furious at having to abandon plans for a fishing trip "just because some stubborn female insists on a jury trial for a traffic ticket!" Still Mr. Conklin is at least ''partially'' impressed by Miss Brooks' recitation:
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Bravo. Bravo. AND GUILTY AS CHARGED!
* AfterSchoolCleaningDuty: Alluded to occasionally on ''Radio/OurMissBrooks''. In "Spare That Rod!", while cleaning Mr. Conklin's office, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass find an old letter to Mr. Darwell, Mr. Conklin's predecessor as principal. They type Mr. Conklin's name on the ten-year-old envelope . . . HilarityEnsues.
* AgeAppropriateAngst: The dating concerns of teenagers Walter Denton, Harriet Conklin and Stretch Snodgrass are usually played for laughs. Miss Brooks' problems in her pursuit of Mr. Boynton are often played for laughs, but she elicits considerably more sympathy as well.
* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: "The Birthday Bag" on television, "The Surprise Party" on the radio.
* {{Ahem}}: Sometimes done by Mr. Conklin. For example, when Miss Brooks accidentally telephones him in "Wake Up Plan".
* TheAlcoholic: Two examples, one real, one fake.
** "The Loaded Custodians": the former custodian Mr. Jensen was said to have been dismissed for drunkenness. Curiously, in his few radio appearances (i.e. "Key to the School", "School Safety Adviser"), Mr. Jensen isn't a drunk. His main idiosyncrasy is that he's extremely [[LiteralMinded literal minded]].
** "Cure That Habit": Walter Denton plays a prank, sending a postcard in Mr. Conklin's name to the titular agency. The Head of the Board of Education, Mr. Stone, hears of it and comes to see his supposedly drunken principal. [[spoiler: HilarityEnsues as Mr. Conklin is suffering from an unfortunate case of the hiccups, having pets mistakenly placed in his office, and being spun around in a chair.]]
* ALessonLearnedTooWell: It happens a couple of times when Miss Brooks tries to make Mr. Boynton less ObliviousToLove:
** In "Poetry Mix-up", Miss Brooks encourages Mr. Boynton to read ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' to make him more romantically-inclined. It backfires when Mr. Boynton postpones a date so he could finish reading the book.
** In "Mr. Boynton's Mustache'' Miss Brooks encourages Mr. Boynton to grow a mustache; she also encourages her female colleagues to compliment his appearance. This was an effort to make Mr. Boynton less shy. It works too well. Mr. Boynton starts dating three other women.
* AlienInvasion: In "Space, Who Needs It?", Walter Denton tricks Mr. Conklin into believing he's being attacked by aliens from a planet he thinks he's just discovered with his new telescope.
* AllClothUnravels: In "Friday the Thirteenth", Miss Brooks ends up tearing off a lapel on Mr. Conklin's new suit by merely pulling on a loose thread.
* AllegedCar:
** Miss Brooks' car, when she has one. It's almost always in the shop. In fact, the number of episodes (on either radio and television) where she gets to drive her car can be counted on one hand; namely "Game At Clay City", "Who's Going Where", "Four Leaf Clover", "Brooks' New Car" and "Head of the State Board of Education".
** Walter Denton's junky jalopy also definitely qualifies;, although it, at least, is usually in working order. However, Walter often drives it ''sans'' top or even sides.
** A one-time offender was Mr. Conklin's second automobile, ''mostly'' a Stutz. He tries to unload the lemon on the unsuspecting Mr. [=LeBlanc=] in "Mr. [=LeBlanc=] Needs $50".
* TheAllegedSteed: In "Geraldine", Benny Romero talks Miss Brooks into buying a sixteen-year-old swayback mare for the Miss Nestor's school's riding academy. "Geraldine" does prove to be a horse of unique value: it turns out she's expecting and by episode's end gives birth to triplets. In RealLife, the chances of a mare giving birth to live triplets is 1 in 300,000.
* AlliterativeName: [[DumbJock Student athlete]] "Stretch" Snodgrass. Ironically, in "Madison Mascot", it turns out that not only does he not know what alliterative means, [[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker he can't even pronounce the word]].
* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: "The Dream", "Magic Christmas Tree" and "Trying to Forget Mr. Boynton".]]
* AllLoveIsUnrequited:
** Averted with Miss Brooks and her LoveInterest Mr. Boynton. There, her main problem is that Mr. Boynton is too shy or awkward to make a move; or sometimes just wary of a relationship that would end in marriage. For example, in "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton", Mr. Boynton all but tells Dean Faraday of State University that he would like to someday propose marriage to Connie Brooks. [[spoiler: Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks marry at the end of TheMovie GrandFinale]]
** Played straight with DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass and his unrequited love for Harriet Conklin. Harriet just happens to be the girlfriend of his Walter Denton, his best friend. His resultant depression is a problem in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Stretch Has A Problem"]]. Stretch's sitting with Harriet at the movie theater helps set off a fight with a jealous Walter in "Stretch v. Walter Grudge Match". Finally, Stretch's attempt to "worship [Harriet] from afar" by sending her anonymous love letters, sets off the events of "Poetry Mixup".
** [[SoundToScreenAdaptation "Poetry Mixup" was remade for television]] as "Bones, Son of Cyrano". Only instead of Stretch falling for Harriet, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute it was his brother Bones.]]
* AllLovingHero: Connie Brooks is a kind and caring person, who frequently goes out of her way to help her friends, pupils and even perfect strangers. An example of the latter occurs in "The Burglar". Here, Connie catches a man breaking into the house and raiding the refridgerator. Instead of turning him in, Connie and Mrs. Davis share breakfast with the man and get him a job filling in for the school custodian.
* AllThatGlitters: In the episode "Indian Burial Ground", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton believe broken toys buried in Mr. Conklin's vacant lot to be valuable Indian artifacts.
* AllWitchesHaveCats: In "Halloween Party", Mr. Boynton observes that the two figures most associated with Halloween are witches and black cats. Miss Brooks is offended when Mr. Boynton, Stretch Snodgrass and Walter Denton all think that she'd be perfect dressed as a witch for the party. Miss Brooks eventually gives in . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Connie Brooks rides tonight!
* AlmaMaterSong: The radio episodes "Clay City English Teacher" and "Mr. Laythrop returns to School" feature the Madison anthem, "O Madison". Miss Brooks adds her own lyrics in parody:
-->O Madison!\\
Thou Madison!\\
(As old as Thomas Addison!)\\
O hallowed halls!\\
(O basketballs!)\\
How short the day!\\
(how short the pay!)\\
When we gray hair at Madison!\\
We'll still be there at Madison!\\
(Hello, Clay City!)
* AlmostKiss: In "Magic Christmas Tree", Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton almost kiss under the mistletoe. Unfortunately, Mr. Boynton [[SneezeOfDoom sneezes]] as he's allergic to mistletoe. Later, Mr. Boynton kisses Miss Brooks under the influence of [[ItMakesSenseInContext the magic christmas tree]]. [[spoiler: However, it turns out both the AlmostKiss and the kiss were AllJustADream. The actual TheBigDamnKiss doesn't take place under midway through TheMovie GrandFinale, although Miss Brooks would steal a few minor kisses over the course of the series]].
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Subverted in "Connie and Bonnie" when Miss Brooks impersonates her nonexistent twin. Played straight in "Orphan Twins" with Mike and Danny.
* AlwaysInClassOne: As Miss Brooks is the protagonist, and her actual teaching is rarely in focus, it should be largely irrelevant who's in what class. Nevertheless, student characters Walter Denton, Harriet Conklin and Stretch Snodgrass are almost always stated to be in the same class of Miss Brooks'. This, in a school, with multiple English teachers. Notably subverted in the episode "Faculty Cheerleader", when Mr. Conklin assigns the three to different classes to punish Walter.
* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: In "Blue Goldfish", the titular fish in the aquarium in Mr. Boynton's lab. Miss Brooks initially mistakes it for a tropical fish. The reason it's blue? [[FridgeLogic The fish is cold, because Principal Conklin won't heat the school to a proper temperature.]]
* AmbulanceChaser: In the episode "Hospital Capers". A lawyer (a literal ambulance chaser) gets Mr. Boynton to sign a contract hiring him a counsel; the contract features a hefty penalty if Mr. Boynton chooses to terminate his representation. When Miss Brooks visits the lawyer, he hands her ever larger magnifying glasses to read the contract's fine print. Lampshaded when the lawyer admits to Miss Brooks that he's been disbarred in several states.
* AmusingInjuries: Sometimes Miss Brooks suffers from klutziness around Osgood Conklin, leaving the choleric Mr. Conklin the victim of a variety of slapstick indignities. "Living Statues" involves her opening the door of the Principal's office and slamming it into his face. A variation occurred in "Here Is Your Past" where Miss Brooks accidentally gets Mr. Conklin to sneeze so badly he dislocates his shoulders and cracks his ribs! In TheMovie GrandFinale, Miss Brooks does one better, dropping a barbell on his foot!
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': It's alright Miss Brooks. I have another one!
* {{Angrish}}: Mr. Conklin, on occasion. The following except is from the episode "Clay City English Teacher":
-->'''Mr. Conklin:''' Now, see here Brill. I won't have it. You can't do this. I'll have you...\\
'''Mr. Brill:''' Oh, stop puffing Osgood. You've come to a station.
* AndThatsTerrible: In "The Egg", Mr. Conklin is the DesignatedVillain for wanting to take a photograph of a hatching chick. Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks are worried the chick will be harmed by the flashbulbs.
* AnimalReactionShot: Mrs. Davis' pet cat Minerva and Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall occasionally take an interest in people's conversations. For example, in "The Magic Tree", Mrs. Davis' cat Minerva reacts furiously to Miss Brooks' recital of "A Visit From St. Nicholas"
--> '''Miss Brooks''': T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse . . . .
--> '''Minerva''': MEOW!
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, Minerva.
* AnimalTesting: Part of Mr. Boynton's job as a Biology Teacher is to experiment on animals. ForScience of course. Miss Brooks seems slightly squeamish about the whole thing. It's played for laughs, if anything. One episode, "New Girl In Town", has Miss Brooks assist Mr. Boynton bury mice killed for the cause in the school athletic field. Harriet Conklin, jealous of and attempting to scare off said new girl, implies to the girl's mother that Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks are burying ''human'' victims.
* AnimatedCreditsOpening: In the program's original primetime run, the last (1955-1956) season featured the animated opening [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiULeQTwaJQ seen here]]
* AnnoyingLaugh:
** Mrs. Davis' sister Angela has a high pitched laugh, like a schoolgirl. The annoyance comes from the fact that she's a short, middle-aged woman. It's especially notable in the episode "Angela's Wedding".
** Walter Denton has a high, discordant laugh to go along with his squeaky teenage voice. In "Mr. Leblanc Needs $50" his girlfriend Harriet Conklin walks up to him while he's laughing:
-->'''Harriet''': How long have you been standing there, cackling to yourself?
* AnticlimacticParent:
** In "Former Student Visits", Miss Brooks is worried that a visiting former student (who's now a doctor) will reveal her true age (her early thirties) to Mr. Boynton's mother. Mr. Boynton's mother was advising her son to marry a young woman. The cat gets out of the bag; fortunately Miss Brooks' former student's ''father'' was a student of Mr. Boynton's mother in elementary school. The elder Mrs. Boynton then suggests her son marry a woman his age.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale, the elder Mrs. Boynton appears near the end of the picture. Agreeing to board with Mrs. Davis, she frees Phillip Boynton to marry Connie Brooks and give Connie [[KarmicJackpot a much deserved]] and [[SeriesGoal long desired]] HappilyEverAfter.
* AntiSchoolUniformsPlot: A variation in the 1949 episode, "Dress Code Protest". Madison High's students proclaim a "Spirit Week". This festival is described by Miss Brooks as a "malevolent Mardi-Gras" where the kids wear outlandish clothes each day of the week. One such day was "Girls wear slacks, boys wear one shoe only. In response to the weeks' "festivities", Principal Conklin institutes a strict dress clothes - among other things, banning girls from wearing pants to school. Walter Denton decides to protest the dress code by wearing clothes banned to the distaff side of Madison High - so he shows up wearing a dress.
* TheArtifact:
** Walter Denton driving Miss Brooks to school was an artifact from the first audition show with actress Shirley Booth. There, Mrs. Davis has a teenaged daughter whom Walter Denton was dating. Mrs. Davis' daughter dumped Walter, leaving him to reluctantly take Miss Brooks to school. Mrs. Davis' daughter was adapted out by the time Eve Arden auditioned for the role, leaving it unexplained how it came about that Walter drives Miss Brooks to school almost every morning. One supposes it's just because Walter's a TeachersPet.
** "Stretch" Snograss' nickname was an artifact from the radio episode where he was first introduced, "Stretch the Basketball Star." His nickname is said to come about from the fact he's six foot five inches tall. When the program went to television, its readily apparent Leonard Smith, the actor who played Snodgrass, was nowhere near that height (and is, about the height of Eve Arden). Its never again explained how he became known as "Stretch." The fact is lampshaded in the episode "Baseball Slide."
-->'''Miss Brooks''' (in greeting): Why, Stretch.
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': [[LiteralMinded I don't know. That's what everybody calls me.]]
* ArtisticTitle: In syndication, Our Miss Brooks has the title and opening credits appearing on a blackboard. One of the openings used during the show's run had the opening credits also appearing on a blackboard, with Miss Brooks herself erasing them - only for the next set of credits to appear to the consternation of a confused Miss Brooks!
* AsideComment: Miss Brooks makes aside comments sometimes, under the guise of talking to herself. This is more prevalent on the radio than on television.
* AsideGlance: Miss Brooks does this a few times in the [[TheMovie the theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], i.e. her confused expression upon meeting Mrs. Davis. However, her expressions were very much testament of her feelings rather than an attempt to break the fourth wall.
* ASimplePlan: "The Birthday Bag" sees Miss Brooks' friends try to throw her a surprise birthday party and buy her an alligator skin purse as a gift. HilarityEnsues.
* AskAStupidQuestion: Miss Brooks sometimes resorts to giving a stupid answer in response.
* AsleepInClass:
** In "Stretch Is In Love Again", [[DumbJock star athlete]] Stretch Snodgrass' late nights [[ItMakesSenseInContext "rumbering"]] cause him to fall asleep in school. In this case, it's not the dimwitted student's marks that are at stake, but Madison's winning the big football game with Clay City High.
** Another episode has Walter Denton accidently blurt to Miss Brooks that he sometimes takes "forty winks" in his class, because his teacher would have to be a "cockeyed wonder" to see him napping in his seat behind Stretch. To Walter's horror, he realizes Miss Brooks is the "cockeyed wonder" to whom he was referring.
* AssemblyLineFastForward: In "Vitamin E-4", Mr. Conklin, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton make a mess when manufacturing the eponymous "vitamin".
* {{Auction}}: In "The Auction", [[SoundToScreenAdaptation a radio episode remade for television]], Madison High School holds an auction to raise funds for children's playground equipment. A local philanthropist even donates an entire house full of furniture. HilarityEnsues when DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass mixes up addresses, and Miss Brooks inadvertently auctions off Mr. Conklin's furniture instead:
--->'''Miss Brooks''': [[OhCrap Mr. Conklin . . . it was your house!]] . . . Well, there's only one way to settle this. Gather round, folks, gather round. What am I bid for me and Stretch Snodgrass?
* BackseatDriver: In "Game At Clay City", Mr. Conklin appoints himself navigator and gives a steady stream of orders to Miss Brooks.
* BackToSchool: The episode "Mr. Lathrop Returns to School". Mr. Lathrop (voiced by Jim Backus) is a successful entrepreneur and self-made man, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin choosing to return to school to complete his high school diploma.]] Unfortunately, Mr. Lathrop insists on rearranging school clubs and school management in the manner of a corporation, and being a friend of the Head of the Board, is able to do this unopposed. Miss Brooks resorts to a ZanyScheme; she invites her landlady Mrs. Davis and one of Mrs. Davis' elderly friends to go in a new class with Mr. Lathrop. Mr. Lathrop flees Madison High School when he finds himself in a combination sewing circle and day nursery for Mrs. Davis' friends' grandchild.
* BadBadActing: In "Acting Director", the school faculty tries to impress a visiting talent scout from Creator/WarnerBrothers. Features over-the-top bad acting from Mr. Conklin, Mr. Munsee, Mr. Talbot. The episode ends when Miss Brooks herself tries to impress with an overemotional (and dressed) portrayal of Lady Godiva!
* BadLiar: Mr. Boynton is a terrible liar. In "Trial by Jury", it's revealed the very act of lying gives him a psychosomatic case of the hiccouphs.
* BadLuckCharm: "Four Leaf Clover" has Miss Brooks find the unlucky charm. Lo and behold, all four tires of Miss Brooks' car blow, she's forced to pay a large fine for stepping on a lawn, she knocks over a table of trinkets in front of the store, is threatened with arrest by a policeman, and is finally quarantined in the same building as Mr. Conklin. Miss Brooks gives the unlucky clover to a dishonest car mechanic.
* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Miss Brooks falls victim to this trope in "Babysitting for Three", "Babysitting New Year's Eve" and "Measles".
* BadToTheLastDrop: Mrs. Davis' coffee was usually fine (the time she made "Bulgarian Coffee" notwithstanding). However, being a CordonBleughChef, Mrs. Davis sometimes makes horrid liquid (albeit non-alcoholic) drinks that are truly BadToTheLastDrop.
* BarbershopEpisode:
** In the radio episode, "The Hair-Do", Miss Brooks goes to the beauty salon. SitcomArchNemesis Daisy Enright tells Antoine to give Miss Brooks an inappropriate hairdo.
** To a lesser degree, "Fargo Whiskers". Harriet advises Miss Brooks that she can get more interest from Mr. Boynton by changing her hairstyle. Miss Brooks goes to the hairdresser and gets a hairstyle with three buns on the side and the back. Later, Miss Brooks tries a series of wigs. Unfortunately, some misinformation from Miss Brooks' landlady Mr. Davis makes Mr. Boynton think that Miss Brooks is only getting new hairstyles is because Brooks' suffering from overwork.
* BarelyThereSwimwear: In the episode "Friday the Thirteenth"; while looking through a photo album with Mrs. Davis, Connie finds a photo of herself in a "French model bathing suit". The picture's described as unsuitable for the yearbook, although Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are very impressed with the revealing photo nonetheless.
* TheBartender: In "Babysitting New Year's Eve", Mrs. Davis has a friend who's a bartender. She invites him over to prepare the punch for her New Year's party. Mrs. Davis' bartender friend is allowed New Year's off as a condition of his employment. The reason? [[FridgeLogic The bartender hates drunks.]]
* BathsAreFun: In "Stretch Has A Problem", Miss Brooks' "feet were ready to come off" participating in a snake dance. The rally was held in honor of the Madison High School basketball team's departure to the state tournament. The sore and tired Miss Brooks spends the rest of the episode trying to take a bath. Alas, she's continually interrupted by somebody coming to the door before she can get into the tub:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': ''(singing, while filling the bathtub with water)'' Singing in the bathtub, nothing can go wrong. Singing in the bathtub . . . .
-->''Doorbell rings''
--> '''Miss Brooks''': ''(singing)'' [[DeadpanSnarker Oh, I should live so long!]]
* BatmanInMyBasement: In "The Jockey", Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis hide a jockey ''and his racehorse'' in their garage until he can win a big race and pay his debts.
* BatmanParody: In the episode "New School TV Set" (aired 1951), Miss Brooks and Mrs. David criticize the television set at school as scholastically and culturally useless. All the students were watching were westerns, murder mysteries and horror stories. Miss Brooks remarks that there was one semi-educational program on the day before, "The Batman Eat Up The Dean of Harvard" - suggesting Miss Brooks is joking, but doesn't realize who or what Batman is.
* BavarianFireDrill: Mr. Conklin places himself in charge practically ''everywhere'' he goes. This is in spite of the fact that his authority as principal is really only good at Madison High School. The "Thanksgiving Show" is a good example. Mr. Conklin arrives at Mrs. Davis' house and quickly puts himself in command, ordering about the others in the setup of the dining room table.
* BeautifulDreamer: At the end of "Wake Up Plan", Mr. Boynton falls asleep on a chair in the hall. Miss Brooks doesn't wake him up, but sits beside him. Mr. Boynton whistles in his sleep!
* BeleagueredAssistant: In "The Dancer", Miss Brooks discusses with Mrs. Davis the fact that Mr. Conklin can never hold onto a secretary. Fed up with being yelled at by the hotheaded principal, they inevitably quit. The newest secretary quit before she started, she heard Mr. Conklin yelling at her predecessor. The result? Miss Brooks is forced to play the role of Mr. Conklin's beleaguered assistant when he finds himself without a secretary . . . Hilarity Ensues.
* BellyDancer: Belly dancers appear in Miss Brooks' India themed dream in the episode "King and Brooks".
* BetaCouple: The alpha couple was Miss Brooks' '''slow''' romance with ObliviousToLove Phillip Boynton. In the background, was the often goofy teenaged romance of beta couple Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin.
* BettyAndVeronica: Miss Enright was another, more glamorous English teacher who competed with Miss Brooks for Boynton's affection.
* BewareOfViciousDog: Mr. Whipple's guard dogs in the episode "Mr. Whipple".
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The point of Mr. Conklin's "Project X" in the episode of the same name. Mr. Conklin's system allows him to listen in to what's going on in every room in the school, including the female faculty room, the boiler room, and the roof.
* TheBigDamnKiss: In TheMovie GrandFinale, Mr. Boynton is jealous of Miss Brooks spending time with millionaire Lawrence Nolan. Wondering how he can compete with a millionaire, Miss Brooks suggests that "a good offense is the best defense." Mr. Boynton is initially [[ObliviousToLove clueless as per normal]]. Suddenly, he has a EurekaMoment, his eyes lights up, goes back to the Mrs. Davis' door and passionately kisses Miss Brooks. [[WhamShot Something he hadn't had nerve to do for the previous eight years of radio or eight years of television.]]
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Like, wow.
* TheBigEasy: In one episode, Mr. Boynton falsely claims to have learnt some French serving in the army [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII during the war]]. A skeptical Miss Brooks counters that Mr. Boynton was stationed in the United States, and he knew it. Mr. Boynton insists that he was stationed in New Orleans, and spent a lot of time in the French Quarter.
* BigFancyHouse:
** Mr. Whipple, in the episode of the same name, lives in mansion guarded by vicious dogs.
** In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] the Nolans live in a large mansion, complete with a butler and additional servants.
* BigFriendlyDog: The eponymous dog in "Peanuts, The Great Dane".
* BigSecret:
** In "Stolen Aerial," Miss Brooks is able to get a discount from a wolfish television repairman who wants to go out with her. Miss Brooks is advised to keep her discount a secret so as not to get many more freeloaders wanting the same deal. Too late, Mrs. Davis and Walter Denton had already let the cat out of the bag. Miss Brooks gets deluged with broken aerials and even television sets needing repair. However, Miss Brooks keeps her promise; she hides the real reason for her sudden television-equipment windfall from Mr. Conklin. Unfortunately, the television repairman had accidentally lent Miss Brooks Mr. Conklin's checkered television aerial. Mr. Conklin concludes Miss Brooks is a [[Literature/OliverTwist "female Fagin"]], using Mr. Boynton and several high school students to run a television-equipment theft ring.
** The BigSecret trope again appears in "The Jewel Robbery." Mr. Conklin accidentally breaks a jewelry store window when carrying a bad a laundry to the cleaners. Conklin believes the police want him for the inadvertent vandalism. In reality, they're looking for a thief who had robbed the jewelry store a short time before.
* BigStormEpisode: In the episode "Radio Bombay", Miss Brooks and the Madison High gang are convinced that a fierce hurricane is on the way. The only problem is that the broadcast they're listening to originates from Bombay, India . . . .
* BigWordShout: "Now GO!", Mr. Conklin's favored expression when ordering someone out of his office. He make extensive use of this trope on other occasions as well!
* BindleStick: In "Miss Brooks Writes About a Hobo", the "Earl of Peoria" is mentioned as carrying a bindle stick. Later, when Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton, Mr. Conklin, and Mrs. Davis [[ItMakesSenseInContext masquerade as hobos in order to apprehend the titular hobo]], they also have bindle sticks in their gear.
* BirthdayEpisode / BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: A mild example is the episode "The Birthday Bag" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of the radio episode "The Surprise Party"). The Conklins are throwing Miss Brooks a surprise birthday party at six o'clock, however, she visits the Conklins to try and buy a purse from Harriet at five o'clock. As a result, when Miss Brooks' friends arrive at the house to help setup the party, they each exclaim "MISS BROOKS!"
--> '''Miss Brooks''': If anyone says Miss Brooks once more, I'm going to change my name to Elsie Pumpernickel!
** While the surprise was partially ruined, the party eventually goes off well with everyone giving Miss Brooks her present, and singing Happy Birthday!
* BlackComedyBurst: At the crisis point in [[TheMovie the theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], a depressed Miss Brooks jokes about playing Russian Roulette.
* {{Blackmail}}: In "Threat to Abolish Football", Miss Brooks, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass derail Mr. Conklin's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin threat to abolish football]] through blackmail. Mr. Conklin had been using the school shop class to fix his roof, an act that could get him fired. Mr. Conklin relents and allows football to continue at Madison High School. However, Mr. Conklin gets the last laugh. He arm-twists Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton into shingling his roof.
* BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce: In the episode "Mr. Boynton's Barbeque", Mr. Boynton prepares a "mild" hot sauce for his cookout as he believes his usual sauce would be too much for his guests. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks and Walter Denton cook up a blazing mixture of tabasco and horseradish to spring on Miss Brooks' rival Miss Enright. However, a mix-up results in Miss Brooks receiving her own doctored dish. No matter, Miss Brooks can hold her hot sauce. She eats calmly and remains a DeadpanSnarker throughout. The same can't be said of Miss Enright and Mr. Conklin. They eat Mr. Boynton's supposedly minor sauce and run away practically screaming for water!]]
* BlindingCameraFlash: The obnoxious reporter in "The Model Teacher" subjects Miss Brooks to several.
* BlindWithoutEm: Mr. Conklin and Mrs. Davis. Mr. Conklin suffers this trope with a vengeance in "Living Statues" and "Cure That Habit".
* {{Blipvert}}: In "The Auction", Miss Brooks suggests a blipvert to cheaply advertize a charity auction at Madison High School:
-->'''Mr. Conlin''': Miss Brooks, do you have any idea how much a thirty second spot announcement costs?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Well, we don't have to buy thirty seconds. We can buy about five, and say something quick, like "Today. Auction. Madison High School."
-->'''Harriet Conklin''': But Miss Brooks. That sounds like we're auctioning off the school.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Is that bad?]]. I mean, if the object is just to lure people over . . . .
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Any '''feasible''' suggestions?
* BluffWorkedTooWell: In "Do-It-Yourself". Miss Brooks wants to borrow Mr. Conklin's tools to build herself a night-table . . . unfortunately, Mr. Conklin won't lend his tools to amateurs. Walter Denton "helps" Miss Brooks by describing her as an expert carpenter, who even built her landlady, Mrs. Davis, a gazebo in the backyard. Mr. Conklin, instead of lending Miss Brooks his tools, decides to have Miss Brooks build him a new garage.
* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: Stretch Snodgrass is prone to this, along with his generally mangled grammar. For example, he once says "let's put all of our heads together". Another time ("Two Way Stretch Snodgrass") he mentions having a "king in his lingament".
* BookSmart: Harriet Conklin, usually scoring marks in the 90% range. In the episode "The English Test", a whole row of students tries to copy off her! In contrast, her LoveInterest Walter Denton is a shrewd HighSchoolHustler but very much in the BookDumb category.
* {{Bookworm}}: Mr. Boynton. In "Bones, Son of Cyrano", Mr. Boynton goes so far as to break a date with Miss Brooks so he can finish ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac''.
* BornInTheSaddle: Tex Barton, a teenaged cowboy who makes a few radio appearances.
* TheBoxingEpisode: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Walter vs. Stretch Grudge Match" concludes with a boxing match between Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass.]]. Miss Brooks is the ringside announcer, and Mr. Conklin is the referee.
* BrainsAndBrawn: Generally describes the friendship between HighSchoolHustler Walter Denton and his best friend, DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass. Sometimes applies to Stretch's [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute brother]] Bones as well. In the two different radio episodes titled "The Moving Van", the two teenage pals go into the moving business. Walter outright states that he's the brains of the operation. In one version, "Stretch" is the brawn. In the other, "Bones.
* BriefAccentImitation: In "The Miserable Cabelleros", Miss Brooks briefly imitates her eleven-year-old friend Benny Romero's accent. Once as a light joke, and the second time to test Mr. Conklin's resolve in sending the boy home to his uncle.
* BritishStuffiness: The very British public school headmaster in "Hello, Mr. Chips." While quintessentially British, he's a youngish man who gets around fairly well with everyone at Madison. Mr. Conklin, interesting enough, was expecting a much stricter man and had even dictated that Miss Brooks (and the rest of the faculty) wear funereal black so as not to hurt his sensibilities.
* BrokenGlassPenalty: Completely subverted in the episode "Two Way Stretch". Mr. Conklin begins to reprimand [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]] for kicking a football through the window of his inner office:
-->'''Mr. Conklin:''' I thought I told you to confine your practicing to the other end of the field.\\
'''Stretch Snodgrass:''' But I did Mr. Conklin. That's where I kicked it from.\\
'''Mr. Conklin:''' Well, there's actually no excuse in the world for you to... nice kick boy!
* BuffySpeak: Teenage Walter Denton, although a great one for SesquipedalianLoquaciousness, sometimes mixes advanced vocabulary, current slang and awkward phrasing. The following example is a petition he writes for the episode "Cafeteria Boycott". Note the oddball combination of 50's slang, extensive "borrowing" from the Declaration of Independence, and assorted legalese:
-->'''Walter Denton''': Whereas and to wit--\\
'''Miss Brooks''': [[RedScare That's pretty strong language, isn't it? A little on the pink side.]]\\
'''Harriet Conklin''': Listen, Miss Brooks.\\
'''Walter Denton''': When in the course of student's events, it becomes necessary to turn one's back on one's stomach, we the undersigned, exercising our constitutional right to peaceably assemble, and to form a committee to seek the redress of grievances, do hereby announce our firm intention of the Madison High School Cafeteria only to use the tables, chairs, water, napkins and toothpicks provided therein. Until such a time that the duly appointed party or parties, namely Mr. Osgood Conklin, principal, or the Board of Education, responsible for the operational bog-down that has befallen this installation, do take such action that will improve the food, lower the prices and better the service in said cafeteria. It is also recommended the person, or persons, in whom this authority is vested, immediately see that the present chef in charge of preparing the food, and without any further frippery or fanfare, chuck him the heck off the premises. Well, Miss Brooks, what do you think of it?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker How much do you want for the picture rights]]?
* BuriedTreasure: The promise of a large reward sees Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton search for a lost Indian Burial Ground in the episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Indian Burial Ground"]].
* BusmansVocabulary: Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Miss Enright are erudite on and off the job.
* CallOfTheWildBlueYonder: At the beginning of "Surprise Party", Miss Brooks dreams about literally flying away with Mr. Boynton:
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': [[PurpleProse Ah, my darling Constance! You're so lovely! So desirable! I feel I could fly on the wings of our love! Won't you join me Constance, on a flight to paradise?]]
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Contact!]]
* {{Calvinball}}: In the episode "Parlor Game", Miss Brooks invents a convoluted parlor game in order to annoy Mr. Conklin and, in so doing, convince him to allow his family to go out for the evening.
* TheCameo: Desi Arnaz makes a brief appearance in "King and Brooks".
* CaptiveAudience: Anytime there's a school event or assembly, Mr. Conklin makes it mandatory for students and teachers to attend. The fact the event is happening outside school hours is rarely an excuse, especially for Miss Brooks.
* CannotTellAJoke: Mr. Boynton is rarely if ever able to tell a joke in a way that would be funny. The humor comes from the lameness of his attempt, and Miss Brooks' [[DeadpanSnarker response]] - [[OfficialCouple although, Miss Brooks once mentions she loves this corniness.]]
* CanonDiscontinuity: Due to ExecutiveMeddling, the final season of the TV series had Madison High torn down for a freeway, and Miss Brooks sent off to teach at a L.A. private elementary school. The radio series ignored this development, and continued at Madison High as per usual. When [[TheMovie the cinematic]] [[GrandFinale grand finale]] was released the following winter, it also ignored the final TV season. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton marry and live HappilyEverAfter.]]
* CanonForeigner: LonelyRichKid Gary Nolan and his neglectful father, Lawrence Nolan, only appear in TheMovie GrandFinale. The resentful and neglected Gary provides Miss Brooks with a student to tutor to show just how good a teacher she is. Lawrence Nolan becomes a DisposableLoveInterest, he provides a good dose of jealousy that shakes Miss Brooks' longtime LoveInterest Mr. Boynton into action. He finally gives Miss Brooks a BigDamnKiss, they move onto FirstNameBasis, and (through some last minute scheming by Miss Brooks' landlady Mrs. Davis) Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks at last get married.
* CareerVersusMan:
** In a few episodes, Miss Brooks' intention is said to be to retire from teaching and raise a family after she's married(i.e. "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton"). This is in spite of the fact she is a good teacher, dreamed of being one since childhood (i.e "Here is Your Past") and (mostly) enjoys it. It's just that being a full-time wife and mother seems to be part of Miss Brooks' SeriesGoal after marrying Mr. Boynton.
** It's unclear if Miss Brooks would even be able to continue on at Madison High School after her marriage, should she want to. The program ran from 1948-1956 at a time of different societal expectations. In an early radio episode, "Head of the English Department", the departing woman in the position retires when she's going to have a baby. On the other hand, in "Aunt Mattie Boynton", Mr. Boynton talks with reverence about his aunt who taught several subjects at school ''and'' took care of her husband and nine children. So it may be a matter of preference.

** In "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton and "June Bride" Mr. Conklin is afraid that Miss Brooks will immediately quit her job upon marrying. This would cause him the trouble of having to promptly look for a replacement teacher. Miss Brooks' retirement from teaching is assumed by Mr. Boynton when he's finally ready to propose in the TheMovie GrandFinale. Boynton is saving his money so he'll be able to support the a wife. Although Connie Brooks and Phillip Boynton marry at the end of TheMovie. However, it's never mentioned if Miss Brooks retires from teaching immediately, or waits until their first child to be housewife full-time.
* CaretakerReversal: A CaretakerReversal ''revolving door'', in "Old Age Plan."
** The story begins with Mrs. Davis having cared for her sister Angela, and falling ill from Angela's complaining. By the end of the episode, Mrs. Davis has recovered and Angela has again become ill from Mrs. Davis' complaining.
** ''Meanwhile'', Miss Brooks had spent the episode shilling Mrs. Davis and Angela's club's old age plan to Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin. The two men end up suffering psychosomatic symptoms of old age.
** Miss Brooks decides to invite them over to Mrs. Davis' house, and fake the symptoms of old age to distract Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin from their symptoms. The climax of the episode has Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin rapidly experiencing illness and being placed on the sofa with a blanket and ice pack in turn.
* CarryingACake: Several episodes see Miss Brooks accidentally collide with Mr. Conklin, lunch in hand.
* CatchPhrase: Walter's "Hiya, Miss Brooks!", Conklin's "...now GO" when trying to get rid of someone.
* CatchYourDeathOfCold: The trope appears in any episode where Mr. Conklin is being particularly stingy in maintaining the school's heat; most notably "Blue Goldfish".
* CatsAreLazy: Minerva, Mrs. Davis' pet cat, has her moments:
** In "The Frog", Minerva spends all day sleeping inside the piano.
** In "The Magic Tree", Minerva gets drunk sipping on pine needles. She then spends hours sleeping in Miss Brooks' lap as they rock in a chair:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Jingle Bells!
--> Jingle Bells!
--> Merry stuff like that!
--> Oh what fun it is to rock!
--> With a big fat drunken cat!
* ChainOfDeals: In "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud", Miss Brooks sets up a chain of deals to get a new coat. Unfortunately, Chief Thundercloud cuts in and ruins her scheme . . . that is, until it turns out the patient and longsuffering Mrs. Thundercloud demands the chief get her a housecoat from Miss Brooks.
-->'''Chief Thundercloud:''' Squaw, be quiet!
* ChaosArchitecture: In the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], most of the Warner Brother's sets are ''similar'' to those previously used on the Desilu produced television episodes. The sets are, however, more elaborate as befitting the concluding film's theatrical release. The one major difference is Mr. Boynton's biology lab. Shown previously as essentially a small office with some cages and posters, it is seen as an enormous darkened classroom with ''many'' cages and aquariums.
* CharacterNarrator: After a brief introduction by the announcer, Miss Brooks provides her own brief introduction and a few lines of narration after sponsor breaks or sets up the scene for the episode. This is mostly confined to the radio, however Miss Brooks occasionally provides narration on television as well. Most notably "Who's Who" in the fourth season.
* CharacterTitle: The show's named for Constance (Connie) Brooks of course!
* ChattyHairdresser: Antoine, who runs a beauty saloon in the episode ''The Hair-do''. He admits to Miss Brooks that he doesn't like Miss Enright, though she sends him many customers. Later, Miss Enright leans on him to give Miss Brooks a funny hair treatment. The character is played by character actor Frank Nelson, in much the same way as Frank Nelson played opposite Jack Benny.
* CheapCostume: "Halloween Party" sees Walter Denton dress up as a BedsheetGhost. Meanwhile, Mr. Boynton puts together a skeleton costume, Stretch Snodgrass disguises himself as Hopalong Cassidy, and Miss Brooks announces her intention to masquerade as a witch.
* ChekhovsGun: Phone booths play a key role in a couple episodes:
** In "Key to the School", Mr. Conkin and Miss Brooks use the phone booth at Marty's Malt Shop to place a call to board superintendent Mr. Stone, after everybody is locked out of Madison High.
** In "Monsieur [=LeBlanc=]", Walter Denton calls Mrs. Davis' house from a phone booth pretending to be a Spaniard interested in purchasing Mr. Conklin's car.
* ChewingTheScenery: Principal Osgood Conklin is a very pompous man. Played by the great Gale Gordon, Mr. Conklin's especially over-the-top when he's angry or excited.
* ChineseLaborer: In "Two Way Stretch", in order to save a FawltyTowersPlot from going off the rails, Miss Brooks pretends to be secretly married to Mr. Conklin. She claims the reason the marriage was secret was that she entered the country illegally in company with "Oriental labourers". It MakesSenseInContext.
* ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs: Mrs. Davis refers to the noisy crackling of most cereals in one episode, when she makes Miss Brooks a bowl of sugar coated pine needles as a "quiet" alternative.
* ChristmasCarolers: "The Magic Christmas Tree": When the Conklins, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton pay Miss Brooks a visit on Christmas Eve, they regale her with a rendition of "Deck The Halls". [[spoiler: Miss Brooks places her hand over Walter's mouth midway through, to stop his off-key adolescent squeaking.]]
* ChristmasEpisode: Several; i.e. "Christmas Gift Mix-up", "Christmas Show", "Department Store Contest", "The Magic Tree".
* ChristmasInJuly
** In the episode "A Dry Scalp is Better Than None", Mrs. Davis' hypochondriac sister Angela pretends to be dying. Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton throw her an early Christmas, Angela's favorite holiday.
** In the radio episode "The Telegram", Mrs. Davis' Uncle Corky sends a telegram giving notice that he'll be visiting for a week. A series of missteps leads to the telegram being partially burned, and interpreted as Uncle Corky saying he has a week to live. Miss Brooks, Mrs. Davis, the Conklins and Walter Denton throw Uncle Corky a Christmas party in July.
* ChronicallyCrashedCar: In early radio episodes, Miss Brooks' is frequently getting into car accidents. By the time the show began broadcasting on television, this becomes far more rare. However, in "Trial by Jury" and "Miss Brooks' New Car", HilarityEnsues after collisions with a fruit stand.
* ClassTrip: In the episode "Heat Wave", Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton each try to win permission to take their respective classes to Fisher's Farm. Fisher's Farm just happens to be the location of "the ol' swimming hole" (everyone's wearing their bathing suit under their regular clothing). Mr. Boynton gets ultimately permission to take his biology class down; Miss Brooks needs to rely on LoopholeAbuse to join the others.
* ClassyCane:
** In "Mr. Boynton's Mustache", Mr. Boynton tells Miss Brooks he's considering buying a cane to invoke this trope.
** In "Blind Date", Mr. Boynton carries a classy cane so his blind date will recognize him; he had broken up with Miss Brooks after an argument. Unbeknownst to Boynton (and Miss Brooks), the blind date was scheme to get the two back together, and Boynton's date ''is'' Miss Brooks. Mr. Conklin, in a case of ExactEavesdropping, overhears Boynton's blind date calling on the phone (actually his daughter, Harriet, speaking with a Southern accent). Conklin and mistakes it for an old college flame, Lula May Calhoun, whom Conklins wants out of town and away from his wife. Mr. Conklin shows up with cane in hand to beg her to leave; again, it's ''actually'' Miss Brooks, carrying a parasol.
* CleanPrettyChildbirth: In "The Egg", when the chick hatches it hatches completely dry. In reality, the newly-hatched chicken would have been wet and taken some time to dry off.
* ClothingSwitch: In "Madison Country Club", Miss Brooks spills breakfast on her dress. She borrows a dress belonging to her elderly landlady Mrs. Davis. A kind gesture by Mrs. Davis, but Miss Brooks ends up going to school looking absurd. HilarityEnsues.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Mrs. Davis. She sometimes forgets what she's saying in the middle of a sentence.
* ClownCarBase: The episode "Oo-Me-Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo" has the gang squeeze into a tiny trailer.
* CluelessChickMagnet: Mr. Boynton, by way of a combination of ObliviousToLove and bashfulness. He's the object of Miss Brooks' affection. And Miss Enright's. And an obnoxious reporter for SNAP magazine in the "Model Teacher". And the newly hired biology teacher in "Life Can Be Bones". And a Phys. Ed. teacher in "Connie and Frankie" . . . . Miss Brooks finally gets her man in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale.
* ColdSnap: A few episodes of ''Our Miss Brooks depend on winter weather for their humor.
** "Blue Goldfish" sees Mr. Conklin very miserly with the furnaces' coal supply, thus keeping Madison High School cold ''inside'' during the winter weather. This was a [[SoundToScreenAdaptation television remake]] of the radio episode "Lack of Coal at Madison".
** "Going Skiing", a radio episode, sees Miss Brooks go skiing with Mr. Boynton. HilarityEnsues when Miss Brooks uses Walter Denton's new ski-fasteners.
** "Winter Outing", another radio episode, sees Madison High's faculty and students continue a tradition started by school founder, Yodar Kritch. A winter picnic in frosty Kritch Canyon .
* ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere: In "Connie Tries To Forget Mr. Boynton", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin when Connie tries to forget Mr. Boynton]], every stranger she meets looks and sounds like Mr. Boynton. The "Misters Boynton" Miss Brooks meet include, but aren't limited to, the American Ambassador to India, an elderly postman, a matron, a fourteen year old boy and a newborn baby. [[spoiler: Fortunately, it's AllJustADream.]]
* CollaredByFashion:
** Walter Denton wears a large frilled collar when he dresses as Romeo for "The Festival".
** Mr. Boynton wears a Sir Walter Raleigh costume with a frilled collar in "Madison Country Club". Mr. Boynton again affects a frilled collar when he dresses as Prince Charming for the masquerade ball in "Oh Dem Gold Shoes".
* ComedicSpanking: Mike and Danny's fate in "Orphan Twins". Let's say they had it coming.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Oh, isn't that cute? They stopped on the front lawn, and Sergeant Gillis just lifted Danny up and put him across his knees.
--> '''Mr. Conklin''': Across his knees?
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Yes. Now the sergeant's raising his hand, now the hand's coming down. Well, what do you know?
--> '''Mr. Boynton''': What is it Miss Brooks?
--> '''Miss Brooks''': At last those big tears are for real!
* ComicallyIneptHealing: In "First Air Course", Miss Brooks purposely invokes this trope to avoid teaching the eponymous program.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: This happens quite often:
** Almost any time Miss Brooks suggests anything romance-related to ObliviousToLove Mr. Boynton:
--->'''Miss Brooks:''' In these boyhood fights, Mr. Boynton, was there any girls involved?\\
'''Mr. Boynton:''' Gosh, no, Miss Brooks. I wouldn't hit a girl.\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[SarcasmMode Well, bravo for you]].
** Any time Miss Brooks tries to correct Stretch or Bones Snodgrass' grammar:
--->'''Stretch Snodgrass:''' Miss Brooks, you done it again.\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' Please Stretch, I did it again.\\
'''Stretch Snodgrass:''' I don't blame you for bragging.
** Many other occasions as well. For example, this exchange with Walter Denton:
--->'''Miss Brooks:''' Walter, George Eliot was not a gentleman.\\
'''Walter Denton:''' He may have not been a gentleman, but he was a darned good writer.
* ComicalOverreacting: Mr. Conklin, portrayed by Gale Gordon, will start yelling at the drop of a hat.
** In "Radio Bombay", Miss Brooks mistakenly thinks a hurricane is heading to Madison and dismisses school in Mr. Conklin's absence. When Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Harriet Conklin and Walter Denton go to his house, it is his daughter Harriet goes to tell him the news. Walter listens at the door in an adjoining room, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton listen from further away. His yelling causes Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton to try and make an exit, while Walter Denton falls on the floor.
** Humorously subverted in the radio episode "Friday The Thirteenth". Mr. Conklin, the repeated victim of Miss Brooks' episode-specific klutziness, remarks that losing one's temper "displays ill breeding". He goes to his closet and shouts privately, but loudly enough to be easily overheard by Miss Brooks.
* ComicBookAdaptation: Dell adapted the movie into comic book form.
* CommitmentIssues: Part of Miss Brooks' troubles [[WithThisRing in getting Mr. Boynton to propose arise from commitment issues]], coupled with his innate shyness.
** This was made especially clear in the episodes "Hello, Mr. Chips" and "24 Hours". Specifically, in "Hello Mr. Chips" Miss Brooks hears that Mr. Boynton has been saying a man should only get married when he's too old to do anything else. Miss Brooks punishes him by treating him as an old man that evening when he comes to dinner.
** When Miss Brooks gets Mr. Boynton to take her to a friends' wedding in "Old Age Plan", Mr. Boynton tries to back out of the date (finally) anticipating that Miss Brooks will want to get married herself.
** Part of this may be hereditary influence, as in "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Mr. Boynton remarks that his father and mother went together for eight years until they were married.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale, Mr. Boynton himself is finally getting ready for commitment. He, up to now, ObliviousToLove, discusses with Miss Brooks the "good, old biological feeling" of being ready to marry and start a family. Miss Brooks, who decided [[LoveAtFirstSight she wanted to marry Mr. Boynton on their first meeting]], remarks that's [[DeadpanSnarker she's way ahead of him.]]. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton get married at the end of the movie.]]
* CompeteForTheMaidensHand: In "The Grudge Match", Walter Denton challenges Stretch Snodgrass to a fight for Harriet Conklin's love. The two end up boxing in a temporary ring setup in the Madison High School gymnasium.
* ConflictingLoyalties:
** In "The Big Game", Miss Brooks wants to maintain academic standards . . . but give long-ago Madison football hero Gus Geary his diploma so he can remain Assistant Coach. Miss Brooks [[LoopholeAbuse relies on a loophole]] to [[TakeAThirdOption evade the tricky ethical dilemma]].
** Again, in "The Yodar Kritch Award", Miss Brooks relies upon LoopholeAbuse to give [[DumbJock Bones Snodgrass]] the eponymous award.
* ConspicuousConsumption: In "Madison Country Club", Miss Brooks brags about how much she spends on travel, food, champagne and clothes to society matron Mrs. Grabar. Miss Brooks thinks that Mr. Conklin is poking fun of the faculty; in reality Conklin was soliciting a donation from the wealthy philanthropist.
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: When Miss Brooks attempts to track down a missing postman in ''Postage Due'', she wears a trenchcoat like any proper amateur detective.
* ContinuityReboot: The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] fell in with the regular continuity of both the radio and television versions of the series. However, it was a partial reboot as it erased the events of the final television season (which featured Miss Brooks working at a private elementary school in California, a plot development '''not''' occurring in the concurrent radio series). The movie began by retelling Miss Brooks' initial arrival in Madison. On the other hand, the characters (and actors!) were the same as on the radio and television series and there were many continuity nods throughout the film. [[spoiler: The movie ends with Miss Brooks achieving her SeriesGoal, marrying Mr. Boynton and living HappilyEverAfter.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence:
** Many of the show's plots and misunderstandings heavily relied upon this trope. For example, several plots involved Brooks, Boynton, and Conklin conveniently becoming involved in the exact same scheme and not realizing the others are involved too . . . that is until the end of the episode. Other episodes would have Miss Brooks learning some piece of misinformation from Mrs. Davis that would conveniently affect Mr. Conklin's plans later that exact same day.
** In "Poison Ivy", Miss Brooks tells off an obnoxious man who is tying up Mrs. Davis' party line. Later, Miss Brooks and Walter Denton nearly run over an obnoxious jaywalking woman on their drive to school. Unhappily, Mr. Conklin soon informs Miss Brooks that said obnoxious man and woman are important state officials who have the power to fire Mr. Conklin or Miss Brooks on the spot!
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: In the fourth television season of the series, Miss Brooks receives two successive love interests; Clint Albright and Gene Talbot. For a few episodes, Miss Brooks is pursued by Clint Albright; for about half a season, it's Gene Talbot. Miss Brooks' love interest on the radio and TV up to this point had been Mr. Boynton [[spoiler: Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton at the end of TheMovie GrandFinale]] ; notable for being shy and oblivious. In direct contrast, the gym teachers Clint Albright and Gene Talbot are much more aggressive. Albright flirts with Miss Brooks immediately on seeing her, soon catching Miss Brooks under mistletoe and forcing a kiss on her. Talbot calls Miss Brooks honey, and by the end of his tenure Connie's furious at him for taking her up to the Hollywood Hills on dates . . . late into the night. As to the gym teachers' reception by fans, by the end of the season, TheBusCameBack with Mr. Boynton aboard.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: In "Public Property on Parade", nobody so much as breaks a sweat when standing next to Madison High School's coal fired boiler.
* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument:
** "Madison Mascot": Mr. Conklin's letter telling Miss Brooks to get him an elephant bookend is torn. Miss Brooks is forced into the conclusion that Mr. Conklin wants her to get him an elephant. ItMakesSenseInContext.
** In "The Telegram", the eponymous telegram catches fire. As a result, half the message from Mrs. Davis' Uncle Corky gets destroyed. What little's left causes everybody believes that Mrs. Davis' uncle only has a week left to live. Again, ItMakesSenseInContext.
* ConvenientlySeated: The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] has possibly the only scene of the series where Miss Brooks is '''shown''' teaching a full class (as compared to being heard teaching a class on the radio, or tutoring a student or students). Miss Brooks is in front, teaching the class. Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin have seats in the back; all the better for Walter can tell Harriet about his car troubles and invite her to lunch. [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]] is right in the middle, so he can stand up to answer a question on double-negatives spectacularly wrong. Finally, Gary Nolan is in front, so after class Miss Brooks can upbraid him for his failing the English test.
* CookingDuel: In "Miss Enright's Dinner", Miss Brooks duels with Miss Enright for Mr. Boynton's affections by preparing recipes pinned up by the school's home economics teacher. Unfortunately, unknown to Miss Brooks, the recipe for Irish Stew on the board is a prank one Walter Denton pinned up to trick Miss Enright.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: When Miss Brooks accidentally derails Mr. Conklin's promotion in "Rumors", Mr. Conklin punishes Miss Brooks by forcing her to do his family's laundry.
* CoolKey: In "Key to the School", Miss Brooks is given the key to the school by the custodian. HilarityEnsues when Mrs. Davis takes the key with her on a visit to her brother Victor, leaving students and faculty alike locked out of Madison High School.
* CoolOldGuy: In "The Big Game", Gus "Snakehips" Geary, who's still admired as Madison High School's greatest football star decades after he graduated.
* CoordinatedClothes:
** In "The Festival", Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin attend the titular festival as Romeo and Juliet.
** "Red River Valley" sees Walter Denton, Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin dress as hillbillies to audition for Deacon Jones' Square Dance troop.
** In "Amalgamation", Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin, Mr. Munsee and Mr. Talbot dress as ''Dutch Vaudeville comedians'' to annoy Mrs. Pryor. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* CopycatMockery: Miss Brooks has learned to expect Mr. Conklin's typical DelayedReaction when he is surprised by anything angering or distasteful. A couple of times, she mimics his exclamation ''and expression'' when it finally comes along. A good example is in the episode "Cure That Habit". On radio episodes, being an audio medium, Miss Brooks sometimes just copies the inevitable shout.
* CordonBleughChef: Mrs. Davis is creative with her recipes.
* CosmopolitanCouncil: In the episode "Foreign Teachers", educational officials from France, Ireland and Sweden visit Madison High School. They turn out to be so insulting that Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin throw them out. Unfortunately, this gets Miss Brooks and company in trouble with the head of the National Board of Education . . . .
* TheCouch: Mrs. Davis' living room has a couch, under a window and to the left of the fireplace. It's always facing the fourth wall, as the show was shot using the three camera configuration. It's none too prominent, as Mrs. Davis (and therefore Miss Brooks) doesn't have a television set. Much of the talking and action usually takes place in front of it. However, there are exceptions, notably "Old Age Plan".
* CounterZany: Happens occasionally. In "Twins at School", after discovering Connie has been impersonating her non-existent identical twin Bonnie, Mr. Conklin invents a non-existent identical twin of his own. Complete with cowboy accent.
* {{Courier}}: The bicycle-riding telegram delivery boy, in "Telegram for Mrs. Davis". HilarityEnsues when Mrs. Davis is too superstitious to open the telegram, or allow Miss Brooks to open the telegram on her behalf. The boy won't leave until he gets the requested reply . . . .
* CourtroomEpisode: "Trial by Jury" sees Miss Brooks defend herself in court for "speeding, going through a red light, reckless driving, driving on the sidewalk and hitting a fruit stand." The episode was a remake of "Reckless Driving" which played on the radio.
* CoveredInGunge: In "Vitamin E-4", a conman named Professor Anderson tricks Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin into working for in the manufacture and promotion of the titular "vitamin". Unbenowngst to the three, Professor Anderson is really a conman who ''modus operandi'' includes tricking well-educated teachers to win over the general public. The episode ends with Brooks, Boynton and Conklin manufacturing the vitamin according to the recorded directions of Anderson. It doesn't go so well; Mr. Conklin ends up having the ingredients of the titular "vitamin" thrown, poured or falling over him. Incidentally, the main ingredient of Vitamin E-4 is ''chicken fat''!
* CovertGroup: Miss Brooks becomes involved in secret activity a few times through the course of the series. One of the most memorable was in "Red River Valley", where Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton meet secretly to rehearse for a job with the hillbilly troupe led by Deacon Jones.
* {{Cowboy}}: Tex Barton, a stereotypical teenaged cowboy, is a Madison High School student in a few episodes i.e. "School T.V. Set", "Bargain Hats for Mother's Day," "Tex Barton Basketball Star."
* CramSchool: In "The Yodar Kritch Award", a time-pressed Miss Brooks tries this approach with Bones Snodgrass. [[spoiler: It fails miserably.]]
* CrankyNeighbor: In "Mr. Travis' Three Acre Lot", Mr. Travis, a [[TheScrooge cheap, hostile businessman]], consistently refuses to sell his lot and finally let Madison High School have a regulation-size gridiron.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Mr. Boynton is usually even-headed, but on occasion can be crazy jealous when provoked. In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Miss Brooks spending time with millionaire Gary Nolan sees him turn crazy jealous (with a little prodding from Mrs. Davis).
* CrustyCaretaker: In "The Loaded Custodians", Mr. Barlow is portrayed as a rather crusty old man. Averted with the previous custodian, the [[LiteralMinded literal- minded]] Mr. Jensen.
* CryLaughing: It happens to Miss Brooks at the end of "Hobby Show", where she's about to suffer a nervous breakdown. Afraid that she is overworking herself, Miss Brooks' friends visit encouraging her to start a hobby. Unfortunately, Miss Brooks is expected to knit (Mrs. Davis' hobby), play chess (Mr. Boynton's hobby), run model trains (Walter Denton's), finger-paint (Harriet Conklin) and fix broken toys to give to underprivileged children (Mr. and Mrs. Conklin) . . . ''all at the same time''. The [[SoundToScreenAdaptation radio original]] featured the same gag, although there Walter and Harriet's hobbies were the less-visually interesting [[PragmaticAdaptation stamp-collecting and crossword puzzle solving, respectively]].
* CuckoolanderCommentator: In "Walter vs. Stretch Grudge Match", Miss Brooks deliberately invokes the trope when she's assigned to do the play-by-play commentary for the titular boxing match between the teenage combatants:
--->'''Miss Brooks''': As the fighters go to the center of the ring, just a word of reminder. Boys, if like Walter Denton, you're about to get your head knocked off, why not put an Adam Pat on it first? And now let's listen to the referees' instructions . . .
--->'''Mr. Conklin''': Marquis of Queensberry rules. I am here for one reason and one reason only. To see that fair play is strictly observed. You will at all times be honestly and impartially judged. Now, then, Stretch?
--->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Yes, Mr. Conklin?
--->'''Mr. Conklin''': I want you to be sure to go a neutral corner every time Denton is on the floor. You Denton?
--->'''Walter Denton''': Yes, sir?
--->'''Mr. Conklin''': Where do you want your body . . . oh, well, I . . . Now then you two, I want a good clean fight and may the better man win. And win quickly, Stretch. Go to your corners, come out fighting.
--->'''Miss Brooks''': There goes the bell, folks. Oh, Walter's down, fell over his shoelace. Now it's tied, and the two men meet in the centre of the ring. They're cautious at first, Walter is dancing lightly around, left arm extended. Stretch is dancing around. Now they're dancing around together. Mr. Conklin breaks them, and once again they circle around carefully. Now here it is, the first exchange . . . .
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Miss Brooks' wacky landlady, Mrs. Davis, often gives good advice. [[spoiler: In TheMovie GrandFinale she plays a critical role in Miss Brooks' finally marrying Mr. Boynton and living HappilyEverAfter.]]
* CuriosityIsACrapshoot: Curiosity is definitely bad in the episode "Sneaky Peepers". When Miss Brooks accidentally orders a copy of Rodin's "The Kiss" instead of "The Thinker" for Madison High School. Mr. Conklin orders the offending statue covered up until it can be returned. After Mr. Conklin falsely accuses Walter Denton of looking at the statue, Denton decides to setup a trapdoor to catch the actual culprit. Lo and behold, Walter Denton, Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conlin and Head of the School Board Mr. Stone end up falling through the trapdoor and locked in a storage room in the basement.
* CurseCutShort: One episode features this exchange between Miss Brooks and Walter Denton:
-->'''Walter Denton''': Mr. Conklin's making my usual tranquil life a veritable . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': WALTER!
-->'''Walter Denton''': . . . (''meekly'') inferno?
* CurtainCamouflage: Twice, behind the same set of curtains no less:
** In "First Day", Walter Denton tries to avoid Mr. Conklin by hiding behind the curtains in Mrs. Davis' living room.
** In "Madame Brooks Du Barry" Mr. Conklin and Harriet hide behind the curtains and spy on Miss Brooks.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Miss Brooks sometimes finds herself playing to this trope, usually around Mr. Conklin.
** Occasionally, Miss Brooks finds herself breaking his glasses, i.e. "Living Statues".
** Her clumsiness might have reached its nadir in the episode "Home Cooked Meal". There, she unwittingly causes Mr. Conklin to be locked in a freezer before accidentally contributing to his attending a ''minor'' gas explosion.
** Miss Brooks' clumsiness again strikes Mr. Conklin in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale.]] Miss Brooks' arrival at Madison is portrayed at the beginning of the movie, when she makes a unique first impression on Mr. Conklin by accidentally dropping a dumbbell on his foot.
* CuttingCorners: Mr. Conklin periodically subjects Madison High School to economy drives. One such drive occurs in the episode "Blue Goldfish", where Conklin's miserly apportionment of coal causes the school to feel like a refrigerator.
* DaddysGirl: Harriet Conklin is close to her father. She can often be seen in his office helping him out.
* DaEditor:
** In "Cafeteria Boycott", Miss Brooks describes the school food as putrid. Unfortunately, she unknowingly does so in front of the local newspaper editor. Neither particularly gruff or authoritarian (except when confronting Mr. Conklin), the editor becomes a problem for Miss Brooks notwithstanding.
** Lawrence Nolan, in TheMovie GrandFinale. He's authoritarian, but being something of the local plutocrat, he's more of a stuffed shirt rather than stereotypically gruff.
* [[DamnedByFaintPraise Darned By Faint Praise]]: A ''Snap'' magazine reporter "compliments" Miss Brooks' clothes: "That's a very nice suit...One can tell at a glance that it's worn you for years."
* [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster Darn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster]]: In "Sunnydale Finishing School", Miss Brooks receives a letter offering her a position at the eponymous school. Walter Denton, utilizing a ZanyScheme, ''pretends'' to fall victim to this trope and begins acting like a mobster while speaking in a blizzard of hard-boiled slang.
* DamselOutOfDistress
** Miss Brooks, when trapped in an industrial freezer with Walter Denton, Philip Boynton and Osgood Conklin in "Male Superiority". The three males panic while Miss Brooks stays calm. An example of LaserGuidedKarma and HypocriticalHumor, as all three had lectured Miss Brooks on a man's ability to stay calm during an emergency.
** In its SpiritualSuccessor, "The Big Jump", Boynton and Conklin similarly panic when a prank by Walter makes it appear the school is on fire. Again, Mr. Boynton had been claiming men were calmer in the event of an emergency.
* DanceOfRomance: In TheMovie GrandFinale, Connie's fantasy includes her dancing with Phillip in their future home.
* DancesAndBalls: Dances drive the plot of a few episodes, as befitting a program whose main setting is Madison High School. Notable examples include "The Yodar Kritch Award" and "Cinderella for a Day".
* TheDandy: Briefly and infuriatingly, Mr. Boynton falls victim to this trop in "Mr. Boynton's Mustache". Miss Brooks had decided to get Mr. Boynton to pay more attention to his appearance, so suggests he grow a mustache and then has the female faculty members compliment him. Thankfully, Mr. Boynton is cured when Miss Brooks gets the Home Economics Class to reward him with their class project . . . a suit made out of an old horse blanket.
* DarkestAfrica:
** In "Safari O'Toole", the eponymous adventurer spends much of his time in the SavageSouth, Africa in particular. [[spoiler: He's a fake, but a nice one, who's only trying to impress Mrs. Davis.]]
** In "The Hawkins Travel Agency", Mr. Stone proposes Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks all accompany him on an African walking tour. He doesn't find any takers.
* DatePeepers:
** In "Madame Brooks Du Barry", Mr. Conklin and his daughter Harriet hide in the back of Mrs. Davis' living room, and spy on Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton as they have a date.
** In "Mrs. Nestor's Boyfriend", Miss Brooks, Mr. Munsee, Mr. Talbot and Mr. Conklin use binoculars to spy on (widowed) Mrs. Nestor's date with her new boyfriend.
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Mr. Conklin loathes his daughter's boyfriend, Walter Denton. It isn't uncommon for him to kick Walter down his porch steps. Why? Walter is something of a nuisance to Mr. Conklin, as the episodes "Cure that Habit", "Wild Goose", "Cafeteria Boycott" and "Space, Who Needs It?" attest. However, there are other reasons as well. In "Spare That Rod!", Mr. Conklin complained that the worst thing about Walter was his squeaky voice.
-->'''Miss Brooks:''' I expect it's his age. His voice is probably changing.\\
'''Mr. Conklin:''' Well, I wish it would hurry up. He sounds like a canary with a mouthful of rancid birdseed.
* DavidVsGoliath: In "The Grudge Match", the eponymous boxing match between 5'6'' Walter Denton and 6'5'' three-letter DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass. A different take on the trope, as the teenagers were best friends fighting over a girl. Walter Denton challenged Stretch to the fight, and it was common belief at Madison that he'd be clobbered. [[spoiler: Mr. Conklin, refereeing the match, is struck by mistake.]]
* ADayInTheLimelight: Although Miss Brooks is always the star of her shore, some episodes give lesser characters a major role:
** "Brooks' New Car" features a major role for Mrs. Conklin. Likewise, "Weekend at Crystal Lake".
** "Madison Mascot" and "Stretch to Transfer" are two of several episodes that feature the [[DumbJock student athlete]] in something akin to a starring role.
** "Angela's Wedding", "A Dry Scalp is Better Than None", and "Mr. Casey's Will" feature Mrs. Davis' sister Angela as the episodes mover and shaker.
** "The Egg" has an appearance by Mrs. Davis' usually unseen, only mentioned, brother Victor.
* DeadpanSnarker: Miss Brooks is one of the queens of this trope, as are many of Eve Arden's characters in other works.
* DeathByChildbirth: Lawrence Nolan's wife died giving birth to Gary.
* DeathGlare: When truly angry, Mr. Conklin is known to give a withering stare. Usually, he yells to great effect; but occasionally he has a glare that tends to frighten both faculty, students, and his own daughter. Noteworthy examples occur in "The Novelist", "Spare That Rod!", and "Space, Who Needs It?".
* DecemberDecemberRomance: In "Puppy Love, Mr. Barlow and Mrs. Davis", Mrs. Davis falls in love with the aged school custodian. It leads to FacePalm worthy descriptions of love in old age by callow teenagers Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin.
** Walter described the old folks' romance as follows:
--> '''Walter''': Oh, by the way, how's Mrs. Davis' romance with Mr. Barlow coming along?
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Oh, have you noticed that, too? I think it's the cutest thing in the world. Mrs. Davis actually has a bad case of puppy love.
--> '''Walter''': It is cute ... considering she's in her second puppyhood. No disrespect intended, you understand. After all, what can be more romantic than two lonely old people encountering the grand passion in the sear and yellow leaf of life.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Why, that's absolutely poetic, Walter.
-->'''Walter''': The burning desires of youth long past, they look now for the subdued glow of companionship. The warm and simple pleasures that two elderly people in love can share together.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker I can see them now - soaking their feet in the same pan of Epsom salts.]]
** Later, Harriet ups the ante:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Hello, Harriet. I've got to deliver a message to the custodian. Have you seen him?
-->'''Harriet''': Oh, yes. Mr. Barlow just went into his office. (''dreamily'') Isn't it wonderful, Miss Brooks?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': I don't know. I've never been in his office.
-->'''Harriet''': I mean about Mr. Barlow and Mrs. Davis. They're crazy about each other. Of course, it's a big secret.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker It couldn't be a bigger secret if they took out an ad.]]
-->'''Harriet''': Is there anything more romantic than the mellow romance of old age?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Now please, Harriet.
-->'''Harriet''': To think of two people finding love at a time of life when others are preparing to pass on. Two people walking hand in hand in the twilight of life.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[SarcasmMode Yes, there's nothing like a brisk walk before passing on.]]
* DeclarativeFinger: The gesture is occasionally used by the pompous Mr. Conklin.
* TheDefroster: Miss Brooks sees it as part of her job to try and defrost troubled students. She's also a generous, kindhearted and [[DeadpanSnarker quick-witted]] individual. Notably, Miss Brooks defrosts Mr. Whipple, TheScrooge in the episode "Mr. Whipple". Later, in TheMovie GrandFinale, she defrosts one of her students, Gary Nolan. For good measure, she defrosts his father, Lawrence Nolan, as well.
* DerailedTrainOfThought: Absent-minded Mrs. Davis often suffers from thought derailment.
* DespairEventHorizon / DespairSpeech: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale grand finale]]. After overhearing a conversation at the relator's, Miss Brooks discovers that Mr. Boynton has bought the cottage across the street from Mrs. Davis' house. The conversation suggests that he finally intends to propose. Alas, he bought the house so his widowed mother could move in with him. This comes as a shock to Connie, who had even brought wallpaper over to the cottage to decorate. She's lost in daydreams, when Mr. Boynton comes in relates his plans to live with his mother.
-->'''Connie:''' ''(sobbing)'' Fine schnook I've been! ''(She hands the wall paper to Mr. Boynton)'' Wear it in good health! ''(Connie leaves the cottage, slamming the door behind her.)''
** Miss Brooks goes into a deep depression, offers her resignation and prepares to leave Madison. [[spoiler:Fortunately, the matter is fixed by the good offices of Mrs. Davis and Mr. Boynton's mother. Mrs. Davis tells Mrs. Boynton the situation, and invites her to be her new boarder. Mr. Boynton proposes to Miss Brooks, and everybody lives HappilyEverAfter]].
* DevotedToYou: Miss Brooks is devoted to Mr. Boynton, with Miss Enright often appearing as her rival for his affections. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks wins, finally marrying Mr. Boynton in the cinematic grand finale.]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: This happens several times in ''Our Miss Brooks'', and causes a ZanyScheme or a well-intentioned plan to help someone go awry. A few notable examples:
** In "Head of the Board", Miss Brooks sends Stretch Snodgrass to get an old man from the park to impersonate Mr. Hewitt, the Head of the State Board of Education. Mr. Conklin has ordered Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton to help him clean the school the week before the start of term. By a ContrivedCoincidence, Mr. Hewitt happens to be visiting in town, sitting in the park, and chosen by Stretch Snodgrass to impersonate himself. HilarityEnsues, as well as a FawltyTowersPlot.
** In "Red River Valley", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton and Mr. Conklin practice a hillbilly routine to get a $500 a month summer job working with Deacon Jones' square dance troupe. It so happens that Matthew ''Jones'', Inspector from the State Board, chooses that day to visit Madison High School.
** "Fargo Whiskers" sees Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton think Miss Brooks have taken leave of her senses. They wish her to take a week off before another school official; when Miss Brooks refuses, Conklin and Boynton have Walter Denton impersonate the official. Unfortunately, Mr. Fargo arrives a few days early and HilarityEnsues.
* DisastrousDemonstration: Madison High School's attempts to use new technology backfires terribly - usually in front of the head of the school board, Mr. Stone.
** In "The Tape Recorder", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Walter Denton buys a reel-to-reel tape recorder for the school.]] Unfortunately, when playing back the machine to Head-of the-Board Mr. Stone, the machine garbles its messages. The machine suggesting everyone is insulting or threatening Principal Conklin or Mr. Stone. Also, that Mr. Conklin jumps into Miss Brooks' lap!
** In "Movies at School", Miss Brooks tries to use film as an educational aid. Unfortunately, a disgruntled worker at the film company has switched the films around within their canisters. Miss Brooks, leaving a film of the poem "Lady of the Lake" with her class, instead leaves a poem of "Sirens of the Screen, Past and Present". Mrs. Davis intends to show her Ladies Aid Club "Shearing Sheep at Big Billabong, Australia. The ladies club sees a film with showgirls in their dressing room. When Mr. Stone investigates, Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin intend to show the probity of the school by playing a film about the "Board of Education". Instead, they end up playing a film about gambling in Las Vegas.
* DiscountCard: The episode "Christmas Gift Mixup" features a RunningGag where Mrs. Davis, Walter Denton, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin give Miss Brooks "hints" as to what they'd like for Christmas. They helpfully relay the costs of their gifts, and lend Miss Brooks their "exclusive" savings card that gives sale prices at a local store.
* DisguisedInDrag: In "The Stolen Wardrobe", Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton are falsely accused of robbing Sherry's Department Store. They end up (reluctantly) disguising themselves as women to evade the police.
* DisposingOfABody: In the penultimate radio episode, "New Girl in Town," Harriet Conklin tricks the eponymous "new girl's" mother into believing Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks are burying Mr. Boynton's old girlfriends in the athletic field. In reality, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks are only burying the bodies of Mr. Boynton's dead lab mice.
* DisproportionateRetribution: In ''Spare That Rod!'', it's mentioned that disproportionate retribution is Mr. Conklin's modus operandi as principal of Madison High School. When Conklin discovers that some students had wrote "Old Man Conklin is a Pinhead" on Miss Brooks' blackboard ''after'' school, he orders ''Miss Brooks'' to inspect and clean ''all'' the blackboards at Madison High School.
* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Dell's comic book adaptation of the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] has Mr. Boynton carrying and smoking a pipe.
* TheDitz: Stretch Snodgrass and his brother Bones. Stretch also has an even more clueless girlfriend, Suzie Prentiss.
* DomesticApplianceDisaster: In "Home Cooked Meal", Miss Brooks tries to prepare a roast turkey for Mr. Boynton. Actually, Miss Brooks' friendly elderly landlady Mrs. Davis brings over the cooked turkey so Miss Brooks can pretend to have cooked it herself. All Miss Brooks has to do is place it in the gas oven to warm up. Unfortunately, the oven's automatic gas jets hadn't been connected, so Miss Brooks fills the kitchen with gas. While Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton are frantically trying to call the fire department, Principal Osgood Conklin visits Mr. Boynton's house to return his tools. Conklin can't see in the darkened kitchen, and lights a match . . . he's ultimately unharmed, just covered in soot and the remains of the roast turkey.
* DontExplainTheJoke: Mr. Boynton tells terrible jokes, sometimes he has to do this to find the humor to begin with.
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The program features a couple examples:
** "The Twin Orphans" ends with Miss Brooks looking out Mrs. Davis' front window, and observing the titular pair being taken over their knee and spanked by their father. The "orphans", Mike and Danny, had tricked the Madison High crowd into believing they had escaped from an OrphanageOfFear. By the dialogue, Miss Brooks obviously believes the spanking to be well earned.
** Averted in "Amalgamation". Mrs. Nestor's school is nearly merged with Mrs. Pryor's school next year. Upon visiting, Mr. Conklin almost swats one of the bratty child actors with his hand, but is stopped by Mrs. Pryor. As a believer in the "progressive method", students at Mrs. Pryor are allowed uninhibited self-expression. No discipline, corporal punishment or otherwise.
* DontYouLikeIt:
** In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Miss Brooks is dismayed when Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin are representing a student delegation naming her their "Mother away from Mother". To make matters worse, they present her with a shawl as a gift for Mother's Day.
** In "Mr. Boynton's Mustache", Miss Brooks, Miss Enright, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Stone frantically try to avoid being presented with the Home Economics students' class projects. The girls sewed up a suit and a dress out of an old horse blanket.
** In "24 Hours", Mrs. Conklin is furious with her husband for gifting her with a pair of expensive andirons for her birthday.
* DoomedNewClothes:
** In "Easter Outfit", Miss Brooks' wears a new dress for the Easter Parade. Unfortunately, Connie was forced to go to the parade in her old dress. She had worn the new dress to Easter Breakfast and landlady Mrs. Davis's Easter Egg Hunt. However, Mrs. Davis' Easter Egg hunt goes wrong when Mrs. Davis forgot she hid two eggs under the chesterfield . . . and didn't hard-boil them!
** "Friday The Thirteenth" sees Mr. Conklin proud of his new black suit, black hat, black vest, black shoes and midnight blue tie. During the course of the day it gets torn and dirtied.
* DoomItYourself: In "Do It Yourself", Mr. Conklin starts the plot in motion when he burns down his garage after a misguided attempt at fixing the electrical wiring.
* DoorSlamOfRage: In "Trying to Pick a Fight", Miss Brooks tells Mr. Conklin that some couples pick fights so they can make up later. Sometime later, Mr. Conklin calls Miss Brooks to his office. It seems in trying to pick a fight with his wife, Mr. Conklin only managed to provoke his wife into threatening to go home to her mother. Mr. Conklin leaves to head to the railroad station to try to prevent his wife's departure, angrily slamming his office door behind him.
* TheDoorSlamsYou: Miss Brooks does this to Mr. Conklin a few times, by accident of course. It usually results in Miss Brooks breaking Mr. Conklin's glasses.
* DoorToDoorEpisode:
** In "Kritch Cave", Miss Brooks sells lots in Kritch Canyon at the behest of Mr. Conklin. Only it happens that, through a mixup, she sells Madison High School by error.
** In "Bargain Hats For Mother's Day", Miss Brooks sells three hats Mrs. Davis whipped up in return for Mrs. Davis forgiving several weeks back rent.
* DoTheyKnowItsChristmasTime: Our Miss Brooks had several Christmas episodes, although religion was rarely mentioned at other times (the program also had two Easter episodes and two Thanksgiving episodes):
** "The Magic Christmas Tree" sees Miss Brooks prepared to spend Christmas Eve alone with Mrs. Davis' pet cat Minerva. HilarityEnsues.
** "Christmas Show" features the frantic exchanging of Christmas gifts . . . before Christmas.
** "Department Store Contest" sees Miss Brooks' childhood letter to Santa Claus inadvertently entered into the titular contest.
** "Christmas Gift Returns" sees more trouble from the exchanging of Christmas gifts.
** "Music Box Revue" sees Miss Brooks buy a magic music box that she'll only hear play if she's in the proper Christmas spirit.
** "A Dry Scalp is Better Than None" and "The Telegram" see Miss Brooks and company throw ChristmasInJuly parties for Mrs. Davis' sister Angela and Uncle Corky respectively.
* DoubleDate: A variation on the trope in "The Frog". Miss Brooks is tired of Mr. Boynton taking her to the zoo on the dates. In an desperate effort to move their dates, Miss Brooks gets a pet female frog to date Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall. The idea is for Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton to double date with their pet frogs. It turns into a very noisy triple date, when Mr. Boynton brings a tomcat to date Mrs. Davis' lovelorn female cat Minerva.
* DoubleEntendre: Miss Brooks' letter to Mr. Conklin requesting flower pots for her windowsill gets mixed up with a love letter in ''Bones, Son of Cyrano''. Cue a flurry of double entendres when Mr. Conklin questions Miss Brooks.
* DoubleStandardViolenceChildOnAdult: In "Amalgamation", one of Mrs. Pryor's bratty child actors bites Mr. Conklin and rips his hat and jacket. Mrs. Pryor believes in the "progressive method", where it's forbidden to discipline or criticize a child in any way.
* DoYouWantToHaggle: Several episodes:
** In "Game At Clay City", Miss Brooks haggles with a mechanic.
** In "Stretch Is In Love Again", Miss Brooks haggles with Mr. Conklin.
** "Fischer's Pawn Shop" sees Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Walter Denton haggle with Fischer to raise money for baseball uniforms.
** "Indian Burial Ground" has Mr. Conklin haggle with a prospective buyer for his vacant lot.
** "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud" features a bartering session with the eponymous chief.
* TheDragAlong: Miss Brooks often finds herself made an unwitting accomplice to Walter Denton's various schemes, i.e. "Cure That Habit", "The Cafeteria Strike", as exposing Walter would lead to his being suspended or expelled. Other occasions see her being ''ordered'' to go along with a scheme of Mr. Conklin's, as he's her principal and has the power to force her - or leastways make her life very miserable if she refuses, i.e. "The Big Jump". Yet that's not the whole story. Occasionally she even gets cajoled by her landlady Mrs. Davis, or her sister Angela, into aiding into some other wacky scheme from which Miss Brooks would prefer to keep her distance, i.e. "Mr. Casey's Will".
* DramaQueen: Harriet Conklin is overemotional in early episodes.
** In "Game at Clay City" she emotionally describes her relationship with Walter Denton thusly:
-->'''Harriet''': Walter isn't a real happy heartthrob, but he's good for a heartache or two!
** In "Student Government Day," Harriet Conklin is elected "Mayor for a Day." At the assembly, in front of the [[CorruptPolitician mayor]], she emotionally rails against municipal corruption. Later on, she berates a policeman by reciting the Constitution.
** In "Stretch Has A Problem" she's fit-to-burst when she thinks Walter needs her at his side during the State Basketball Championship. She doesn't miss a beat when she finds out its actually Stretch Snodgrass.
** In "Walter v. Stretch Grudge Match," Harriet instigates the said grudge match and then panics before the fight begins.
** In "Poetry Mixup" and "Bones, Son of Cyrano," Harriet is ecstatic thinking she received a love note from Mr. Boynton.
* DreamEpisode: The third-season episode "The Dream". After reading a book called "Maternity Ward", Miss Brooks dreams that she marries Mr. Boynton and has a baby girl named Cleo. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Conklin has a second child, a boy named Osgood Conklin Junior. Harriet Conklin marries Walter Denton and they have at least five children in three year. By the end of the dream, Osgood Conklin Junior and Cleo are secretly married and secretly have a baby girl of their own.
-->'''Osgood Conklin Junior''': Yes, sir, that's my baby
--> No, sir, I don't mean maybe
--> Yes, sir, that's my baby now!
* DreamSequence: Usually with Brooks dreaming about Boynton sweeping her off her feet or in some magical fairy tale, then the alarm clock ruins it all. A notable exception is "Connie's Job Offer", where Miss Brooks dreams of becoming mayor of a town in New Jersey.
* DressCode: In "Dress Code Protest", Mr. Conklin imposes a dress code after the students celebrate "Spirit Week" by wearing outrageous and mismatched clothing. Miss Brooks refers to the "celebration" as a "Malevolent Mardi Gras."
* DressedInLayers: In "Heat Wave", Mr. Boynton, Harriet Conklin, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are wearing bathing suits underneath their regular clothes, covertly plotting an escape from school and a trip to the swimming hole. [[spoiler: It so happens Miss Brooks is wearing a bathing suit underneath her regular clothes too.]]
* DrinkingOnDuty: On T.V., in the episode "The Loaded Custodian", Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis discuss how the previous custodian, Mr. Jensen, was fired for his drinking. Actually averted the few times Mr. Jensen appears on the radio (i.e. "Key to the School", "School Safety Advisor"), where his personality quirk is his insistence on interpreting common idioms [[LiteralMinded literally]].
* DrivenToMadness: "The School Board Psychologist" sees [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Head of the Board, Mr. Stone, appoint a psychologist to examine the faculty of Madison High School.]] He's given the broad authority to fire any faculty who he believes is unfit for the teaching profession. The psychologist is already overworked, and is provably unfit to make recommendations (he suggests, for example, Mr. Boynton should be an exterminator). Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton, and eventually Mr. Conklin himself gaslight the psychologist until he withdraws his recommendations and takes his much needed rest.
* DriverFacesPassenger: Walter Denton usually drives Miss Brooks to school. As a reckless sixteen year old driver, he, of course, looks at Miss Brooks instead of looking at the road. On one occasion, Miss Brooks had to grab the wheel and steer in order to prevent an accident.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Teenagers Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are chronic offenders of this trip. More surprisingly, Miss Brooks usually is as well. A running gag has her telling Mrs. Davis why she can't drive her car. Often enough it's in the shop. However, there are ''many'' occasions where Miss Brooks is to blame after having proved herself a stereotypical [[WomenDrivers woman driver]]. In "Trial By Jury", Miss Brooks goes to court to fight a charge of reckless driving after her car crashes into a fruit stand.
* DrivingStick: In "Who's Going Where", Mr. Conklin insists on going to Crystal Lake and having Miss Brooks accompany him (and type out his reports while being a "guest" at his family cottage). Miss Brooks offers Mr. Conklin the use of his car. However, Mr. Conklin claims that he can't drive Miss Brooks' pre-World War II car, because of an unfamiliar gear shift system.
* DroppedGlasses: Mr. Conklin fell victim to this trope on more than one occasion; i.e. "Cure That Habit", "Living Statues", and "Skis in the Classroom".
* DunceCap: Unsurprisingly, Stretch Snodgrass is forced to wear a dunce cap in "The Mambo".
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** It's rather interesting to listen to the first "Audition Show" with Shirley Booth trying out for the role of Miss Brooks. Mr. Conklin is the head of the Board of Education, not the incoming principal (that role belongs to Mr. Darwell). Miss Brooks' landlady Mrs. Davis is younger, and has a teenaged daughter who Walter Denton intends to drive to school (Denton only drives Miss Brooks when his girlfriend breaks the date). Walter Denton is characterized somewhat in the vein of a DumbJock, and has a much different voice. In fact, Denton's character is more akin to the later Stretch Snodgrass than the Denton who would be a mainstay of the program from Day 1.
** An eyebrow-raising moments in early radio episodes is Walter Denton's contention that he's a great English student. Later, despite his SesquipedalianLoquaciousness, it's firmly established Denton is BookDumb.
** The animosity between Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks vanishes after "First Day" and remains subdued for most of the first season. Similarly, Mr. Conklin's hatred for Walter Denton is similarly absent. It emerges only after Walter's prank in the original radio version of "Cure That Habit". Mr. Conklin's nickname, "Old Marblehead", doesn't make its first appearance until the radio episode "Mr. Conklin's Carelessness Code". In one first season episode, "Easter Outfit", Walter tells Miss Brooks that Mr. Conklin's nickname amongst the students is "Napoleon".
* EasilyOverheardConversation: Happens from time to time. Usually, the eavesdropper misunderstands and hilarity ensues.
* EasterBunny: The Easter Bunny is [[DiscussedTrope mentioned]] in the two Easter episodes; "Easter Outfit" and "Dying Easter Eggs".
* EasyAmnesia: "Mr. Conklin's Plaque" begins with Mrs. Davis telling Miss Brooks how her sister Angela received amnesia after a blow on the head. Angela recovered after received a second blow.
* EasyComeEasyGo: Happens to Miss Brooks in "Principal for a Day" where she becomes [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin principal for a day]]. [[spoiler: Happily averted in TheMovie GrandFinale where Miss Brooks finally achieves her SeriesGoal and marries Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter]].
* EatingPetFood: In "Poison Ivy", Mrs. Davis sets out dog biscuits in place of cereal for breakfast. Miss Brooks and Walter Denton both fall victim.
* EekAMouse: In [[IronicEpisodeTitle "A Demonstration of Male Superiority,"]] a house mouse scares Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis onto the dining room table. Walter Denton scares it away. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks later proves "male superiority" in an emergency to be a myth, when she is trapped in a meat freezer with Walter Denton, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton.]]
* EggMacGuffin: episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Egg"]], Mrs. Davis gets a chicken egg from her brother's farm. Mistakenly, he had given her an egg soon to hatch. Miss Brooks and friends try to safely hatch the egg, and keep Mr. Conklin from frightening the chick by flashing a photo as it emerges from its shell.
* ElaborateUniversityHigh:
** Usually averted on radio and television in ''Radio/OurMissBrooks''. Madison High School's facilities seem to par for the course. Miss Brooks frequently criticizes her low pay, and episodes focus on various austerity measures (i.e. "Blue Goldfish"). The most tony aspects of the school are the ivy-covered walls and the bust of the founder, Yodar Kritch. Once or twice, the gymnasium is said to be in a separate building than the main school.
** Elaborate University High goes into play in TheMovie GrandFinale. Madison High School is a very large building with substantial grounds. It even has tennis courts!
* ElderlyFutureFantasy: In "The Dream", Miss Brooks dreams she has finally married Mr. Boynton. They had a daughter named Cleo. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Conklin have a son, Osgood Junior. Walter Denton marries Harriet Conklin, they have several children but Walter takes about twenty years to finish high school. Ultimately, many years later, the now elderly Mr. and Mrs. Boynton nee Brooks are still happily married. ''And'' still living with Miss Brooks [[CoolOldLady friendly landlady]] Mrs. Davis, who is well over a hundred year old. The only problem is Cleo, who is running around with the wild Osgood Conklin Junior. Mr. Boynton finds to his horror that Cleo is secretly married to Osgood Junior and they have a child named Osgood Junior Junior. [[spoiler: In TheMovie GrandFinale Miss Brooks finally gets to marry Mr. Boynton for real.]]
* ElectionDayEpisode: The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] to the ''Our Miss Brooks'' series sees Mr. Conklin compete with school board head Mr. Stone for the newly created post of "Coordinator of Education". [[spoiler: Mr. Conklin withdraws when Mr. Stone, who is independently wealthy, gets the board to set the salary for the position at a mere $500 per year. Meanwhile, in the main plot, Miss Brooks finally manages to achieve her SeriesGoal, marrying Mr. Boynton and living HappilyEverAfter.]]
* ElegantClassicalMusician: In "Faculty Band", Mr. Boynton mentions that Miss Enright, Miss Brooks' [[SitcomArchNemesis great rival]], plays the harp.
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Well, look at our new harp.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[FluffyCloudHeaven But we're so young!]]
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': It's for the band. Miss Enright lent it to us. I understand she plays like an angel.
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': [[DeadpanSnarker I can hardly wait.]]
* ElevatorFailure:
** In "Project X", Miss Brooks begins the episode by nearly falling to her death down an open elevator shaft at Clay City High School.
** In "School Safety Advisor", a mix-up involves [[spoiler: Mr. Conklin and a member of the school board falling six feet down the empty freight elevator shaft.]]
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Stretch Snodgrass' real name is "Fabian."
* EmbarrassingRelativeTeacher: Harriet Conklin's father is the ''school principal''; to make it worse he's particularly unliked by the student body. Harriet's embarassed by the more ''unprincipled'' facets of Mr. Conklin's tenure. For example, in "Home Cooked Meal" she's mortified that instead of buying a home freezer, Mr. Conklin is secretly hiding the family's meat supply in the school cafeteria freezer.
* EmergencyImpersonation:
** In "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass", Walter Denton is drafted to impersonate Stretch Snodgrass, while Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks impersonate his parents.
** In "Head of the State Board of Education", Miss Brooks asks a bum to impersonate the head of the state board (unaware that said bum is the head of the state board), Mr. Boynton impersonates Mr. Conklin, Mr. Conklin imitates Walter Denton, and Walter Denton claims to be Stretch Snodgrass. It all MakesSenseInContext.
* EntertaininglyWrong: Happens several times. From Miss Brooks' perspective, the events of "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton" and "Mrs. Davis Reads Tea Leaves" are particularly infamous!
* EtTuBrute: In "Mr. Conklin Plays Detective", Principal Osgood Conklin is shocked to discover that Mr. Boynton seems to be the one that stole his typewriter and made a long-distance call to Rockaway, Minnesota on his office phone. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a misunderstanding. Mr. Boynton oiled the typewriter and put it in the office closet. Boynton left the money for the long distance call in an envelope on Mr. Conklin's desk]].
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Et-tu, Boynton?
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Walter has at least once said Mr. Boynton is "tall, dark, handsome..." as well as "Boy, is he good looking!"
* EveryProperLadyShouldCurtsy: Mrs. Davis curtsies on a few occasions, usually when the situation doesn't warrant it. In one episode, she even does a curtsy for a hobo calling himself "The Earl of Peoria".
* EverythingMakesAMushroom: In "Writing Magazine Articles", Miss Brooks [[ItMakesSenseInContext tells the editor of "True Family Romance" that her entirely-made-up quiz kid son]] made a mushroom with his home chemistry set the other day.
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: In "Life Can Be Bones", Miss Brooks interests LoveInterest Mr. Boynton in a fossil dig in her backyard, by describing to him a bone of what might be a prehistoric "missing link". For some reason, on said dig Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin forget about the "missing link" and dig up presumed dinosaur fossils. It turns out the fossils were planted by Walter Denton, in place of the entirely unconvincing soup bones Miss Brooks herself had buried for the "archeological expedition."
* EvilGloating: Mr. Conklin likes to gloat.
** In "Faculty Cheerleader", Mr. Conklin gloats to his daughter over his morning coffee. He considers the sight of Miss Brooks, appointed faculty cheerleader, tossing a baton up in the air and it hitting her on the head. [[spoiler: When Mr. Conklin decides to make himself faculty cheerleader, he's a victim of LaserGuidedKarma.]]
** Mr. Conklin gloats to Miss Brooks in "Two Way Stretch Snodrgass" about his plans for the school football team, see EvilLaugh below.
* EvilLaugh: Mr. Conklin laughs ''evilly'' on a couple occasions. This example is from the episode "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass'':
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': I just learned that Biff Mooney, one of the greatest college football players, is interested in a high school coaching job in this part of the country. I've already opened negotiations by mail, and it's a foregone conclusion that he'll accept my offer. Ah-ha-ha-ha (''evil laugh''), ah, I can't wait to see the expression on Brill's face when I tell him about it. Heh, heh, heh (''evil laugh'').
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker In some states, that laugh would be banned.]]
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The series naturally stars Miss Brooks. Additionally, episode titles often describe what the episode is about, i.e "Angela's Wedding" or "Birthday Bag".
* ExactWords:
** In "The Big Game", Miss Brooks takes Mr. Conklin's exact words at their literal value to pass former football star Gus "Snakehips" Geary and give him his high school diploma.
** Similarly, in "The Yodar Kritch Award", Miss Brooks gives [[DumbJock Bones Snodgrass]] (or Stretch Snodgrass, in the radio version of the episode) the Yodar Kritch Award for Unique Achievement in English. The unique achievement? Not answering a single question right.
* ExcitedShowTitle: "Spare That Rod!"
* TheExitIsThatWay: In "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton", [[ItMakesSenseInContext Miss Brooks accidentally offers to masquerade as Mr. Boynton's mother]] in front of Dean Faraday of State University. Playing the "wrong" Mrs. Boynton requires her to go to Mr. Boynton's apartment and entertain the dean. Unfortunately, Mr. Boynton's apartment features mainly wildlife specimens . . . ''and doors''. Miss Brooks, at various times, mistakenly goes into the bathroom, closet, kitchen, bedroom, and once even locks herself outside the backdoor and has to be let in the front by the dean.
* ExtendedGreetings: Walter Denton likes to carry on. This exchange with Miss Brooks is in the episode "Wild Goose Chase":
-->'''Walter Denton:''' And to you, fair flower of the faculty, a thousand salaams!\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Thank you, Walter Denton, and I've had my share, thanks.]]
* ExtremelyShortIntroSequence: The syndicated opening sequence for Our Miss Brooks [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rr1i9hp-3w is only 13-seconds long]]. Notable in that the syndicated version dates back to the 1950's. The theme itself dates to the 1948 radio premier, when it was played briefly at the start and end of the radio episodes. A much longer version of the tune plays over the closing credits.
* ExtracurricularEnthusiast: Walter Denton. He's been manager of the football, baseball and basketball team. He's been on the debating team, editor of the school paper "The Madison Monitor" and Vice-President of the Student Council. Walters also helps Miss Brooks' with the Spring Garden, and joins Madison High School's (short-lived) student Traffic Police. He's also tried out (unsuccessfully) for the baseball, basketball and water polo, before finally (and barely) making it onto the school football team.
* EyeTake: Miss Brooks bugs out her eyes from time to time. One example is early in [[GrandFinale the film]], after Mrs. Davis greets her with an apparent non sequitur.
* FacialDialogue: In "Home Cooked Meal", Miss Brooks' facial expressions as Mr. Conklin is about to light a match in a gas-filled room....
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Miss Brooks can't get Mr. Boynton to propose marriage . . . that is until the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale grand finale]] where, with the help of Mrs. Davis, she succeeds in marrying Mr. Boynton and living [[HappilyEverAfter happily ever after]].
* FailuresOnIce: In "Swap Week", school board head Mr. Stone is forced to recuperate at his vacation cabin. Stone had injured his ankle using the pair of ice skates Mr. Conklin bought him.
* FaintInShock: In the concluding film, Mr. Conklin faints when he learns that [[spoiler:the position he's been campaigning for pays only a nominal amount.]]
* FairWeatherFriend: Sometimes, when the going gets tough, Walter Denton gets going, i.e. "Trial By Jury".
* FairyTaleEpisode: "Cinderella for a Day". A mysterious shoe salesman lends Miss Brooks a custom-made gold slipper until midnight. Miss Brooks is treated to several Cinderella-style presents, from the same mysterious donor, that allow her to attend the masquerade ball at the country club in style. [[spoiler: It turns out the shoe salesman was a millionaire gambler who had placed a bet with a expert shoemaker that he could find a pair of feet that would perfectly fit the custom made slippers. The gifts were partly his reward to Miss Brooks, and partly for laughs.]]
* FairyTaleWeddingDress:
** "Angela's Wedding" begins with Mrs. Davis' sister Angela trying on her wedding dress while carrying her bouquet. It is an elaborate white dress with a veil and a train, with humour coming from the fact Angela is in her latter middle-aged and is quite plump.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale to the series, Miss Brooks pictures herself in one as she fantasizes about marriage to Mr. Boynton. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks finally gets her man at the end of the film]]
* FakeCharity: In the episode "Bobbsey Twins in Stir", a conman is tricking people into [[RefugeInAudacity selling fake tickets to the policemen's ball.]] The proceeds are supposedly going to "widows and orphans".
* FallingInLoveMontage: PlayedForLaughs. Mr. Boynton takes Miss Brooks to the zoo, where they feed an elephant mother and her baby. Then Miss Brooks lures Mr. Boynton away from the zoo, to a sale on furniture in the ''Sherry's Department Store'' window, as a way of suggesting matrimony. Mr. Boynton again starts taking Miss Brooks again to the zoo, where a camera fade shows how much the baby elephant had grown in a couple years.
--> '''Miss Brooks (narrating)''': Ours was not the fastest romance in history, but it took no time to develop into one of the slowest.
* FamilyBusiness:
** Mrs. Nestor's private elementary school in the last television season. Mrs. Nestor is principal, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute her sister (also named Mrs. Nestor) become the new principal,]] her brother Munsee is vice principal.
** ''The Madison Express'', the Madison daily newspaper owned by Lawrence Nolan. He expects his son Gary to run the paper after he retires.
* FamilyVersusCareer: Several episodes (i.e. "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton) suggest that upon achieving her series goal of marriage to Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks intends to resign her position as Madison English teacher. In the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] this is also the case. Family first for Miss Brooks, as her HappilyEverAfter is to become a wife and mother.
* FancyDinner:
** The School Board Banquet in "Stretch is in Love" (radio) and "Suzy Prentisss" (television). It's a black tie event, tuxedos for men and evening gowns for women.
** To a lesser degree, Miss Brooks' dinner at an expensive [[FrenchCuisineIsHaughty French restaurant]] in "French Sadie Hawkins Day".
* {{Fanfare}}: The movie dispenses with the usual series theme, and opens with a fanfare heavy composition.
* TheFashionista: Wealthy Miss Enright, Miss Brooks' rival, is always impeccably dressed.
* FashionMagazine: In the episode "Cosmopolitan Magazine", a photographer arrives from the real-life ''Magazine/{{Cosmopolitan}} Magazine'' to do an article and photo-spread about an average American high school. The trope is somewhat averted, as at the time (1953) Cosmopolitan was an esteemed literary and general interest periodical, and not the sex and fashion magazine it is today. The radio episode was broadcast to coincide with Cosmopolitan's publication of an article on Eve Arden and ''Our Miss Brooks''. [[OlderThanTheyThink An example of the application of media "synergies", at least fifty years before the modern word was coined.]]
* FatalFireworks: In the episode "School Safety Advisor", DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass brings an enormous firecracker to school, preparatory to setting it off for the Fourth of July. Stretch accidentally gets the fuse wet, so he ''attempts to dry it off with a match''. This lights the fuse; fortunately a quick-thinking Miss Brooks throws the firecracker into an empty supply room. Alas, the room wasn't so empty after all! Fortuantely, Mr. Conklin emerged relatively unharmed from that minor explosion!
* FavorsForTheSexy: This happened most notably in the episodes "The Model Schoolteacher" (the radio original) and "The Model Teacher" (the television remake). Walter Denton, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin trip over themselves helping a glamorous ImmoralJournalist from "Snap Magazine". She is at Madison High to do a profile on the day in the life of a schoolteacher, but really views her role as that of doing a hatchet job on Miss Brooks.
* FawltyTowersPlot:
** "Head of the Board": The trouble begins when Walter Denton makes a prank call to Mr. Conklin, claiming to be Wallace T. Hewitt, head of the State Board of Education. Miss Brooks is forced to find an impersonator to play the role and avert Mr. Conklin's wrath. HilarityEnsues.
** "Two-way Stretch Snodgrass": Happens when Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin have Walter Denton masquerade as student athlete Stretch Snodgrass.
* FeelingTheirAge: In "Old Age Plan" the power of suggestion turns Boynton and Conklin into shambling wrecks with one foot in the grave. Miss Brooks is trying to sell an old age savings plan to the two men and, after reading the signs of old age to them, they come down with all the symptoms.
* FeigningIntelligence: In "Magazine Articles", Miss Brooks enlists Walter Denton to masquerade as her nonexistent fourteen year old quiz kid son. Miss Brooks had written an fictional article for "True Family Romance" magazine about her quiz kid son, and needed to prove the story was true in order to collect her payment. HilarityEnsues, especially as Mr. Conklin gets involved . . . .
* FellAsleepStandingUp: Stretch Snodgrass in "Stretch Is In Love Again" falls asleep standing in the school hallway. Judy Brille, daughter of rival high school principal Jason Brille, was colluding with her father to keep Stretch out dating her and dancing to the wee hours of the morning. In that way, they hoped to keep him useless in the big game.
* FileMixup: The episode "Have Bed - Will Travel" sees Mrs Davis' medical records mixed with an ill nonagenarian friend, making Miss Brooks believe her landlady is mortally ill.
* FillItWithFlowers: In "Poetry Mix-Up", Mr. Boynton advises Miss Brooks to request some flowers from the school nursery, in order to brighten up her dreary classroom.
* FilmNoir: The latter part of "Postage Due" is very much film noir influenced, with Miss Brooks providing a PrivateEyeMonologue.
* FinalSeasonCasting: The chaotic and controversial last season of the television series. ExecutiveMeddling saw Miss Brooks take a new job as a teacher at a private elementary school in California (versus the EverytownAmerica setting of Madison). The last season initially sees the departure of everybody but Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin. Mrs. Davis was briefly replaced by her sister Angela, before returning to the picture a couple episodes later. Mrs. Nestor is introduced as Miss Brooks' new boss, only to be replaced by her sister, [[FridgeLogic also named Mrs. Nestor]]. Mr. Boynton is replaced as Miss Brooks' love interest by two gym teachers in quick succession, until finally returning at the end of the program. Harriet Conklin and Walter Denton disappear entirely from Miss Brooks' life, although Mrs. Conklin again made a few appearances toward the end. This was averted on the radio, as the program continued at Madison High School in the [[EverytownAmerica City of Madison]] as per usual. The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] followed the radio continuity, ignoring the final television season completely.
* FireOfComfort: In the episode "Magic Tree", Miss Brooks spends Christmas Eve in a rocking chair in front Mrs. Davis' fireplace
* FirstNameBasis: [[spoiler: Significantly, making up after an argument midway through the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale grand finale]], Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton finally move to a first name bais, "Connie" and "Phillip" respectively.]]
* FiveFingerDiscount: In "The Bicycle Thief", Stevie, a poor but otherwise honest honor student just can't help himself; he borrows Mr. Conklin's bicycle for his birthday. Miss Brooks tries to prevent Mr. Conklin from discovering the identity of the borrower.
* FlashbackEffects: Visual effects and music were used to signify dream sequences in "Magic Christmas Tree", "The Dream", "King and Miss Brooks" and "Mr. Boynton's Return". Just the music was used for the radio in "Connie's New Job Offer" and the radio version of "Magic Christmas Tree".
* FloorboardFailure: In the GrandFinale, when campaigning for the position of Coordinator of Education, Mr. Conklin falls through the floor of the temporary stage Walter Denton constructed. Walter didn't use enough nails.
* FlorenceNightingaleEffect:
** In the episode "Pensacola Popovers", Miss Brooks tries to work the Florence Nightengale Effect to her benefit by buying Mr. Boynton snacks throughout the morning. Including the titular cookies, which made everyone ''aside from Mr. Boynton'' sick. Mr. Boynton eventually telephones Miss Brooks, asking for her nursing aid. However, it turns out that Mr. Boynton wants Miss Brooks to nurse his pet frog (who had also eaten a Pensacola Popover).
** In "Reunion", one of Miss Brooks' friends had met her husband while she working in a doctor's office. He had visited the doctor due to a slipped disk.
* TheFoodPoisoningIncident: Mrs. Davis is often a CordonBleughChef (try her Limburger omelet), but once she goes straight into LethalChef territory. "Pensacola Popovers", in the episode of the same name, are guaranteed to give man or beast gastric distress. Walter Denton tries one and is sick as a dog. Principal Osgood Conklin tries one, and goes home sick within a half an hour. Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall licks one, and is reduced to hopping around on his head in a frenzy.
** [[spoiler: Miss Brooks gives a few to LoveInterest Mr. Boynton, in a plot to make him sick so she can nurse him back to health. Alas, Mr. Boynton's cast-iron stomach makes him immune. For awhile, at least. Mr. Boynton calls Miss Brooks as he needs someone to nurse . . . his pet frog Mcdougall. Eventually, the popovers have their effect, and Mr. Boynton faints away at the Biology Club luncheon and is taken to the hospital.]]
--> '''Miss Brooks''' Well, what do you know? A delayed popover!
* FlowersOfFemininity:
** Elderly landlady Mrs. Davis prefers floral wallpaper at home, and dress patterns generally.
** In "Bones, Son of Cyrano" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Poetry Mixup"), Miss Brooks requests six small flowerpots for her classroom.
* FoodPorn:
** In "Carelessness Code", a SoundToScreenAdaptation, Miss Brooks has no money for lunch due to Mr. Conklin's arbitrary "carelessness code" fines. A lot of time is spent with Miss Brooks looking hungrily upon Harriet's cafeteria lunch of roast beef and mashed potatoes.
** In the "Thanksgiving Show", Walter Denton describes his typical thanksgiving dinner to Miss Brooks:
--->'''Walter Denton''': Well, usually Mom cooks a big turkey. And we have dinner at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Oh gosh, I'll never forget last year's meal. First we had a fresh fruit cup and then some delicious vegetable soup. And then this golden brown turkey was served with a special dressing of raisons and chestnuts. And then we had some candied yams with a baked marshmallow covering and . . . .
* ForeignQueasine: A staple of early radio episodes, was landlady Mrs. Davis' reliance on outlandish foreign recipes for Miss Brooks' breakfast. One such dish were Armenian Pancakes, which relied on sour goat's milk. Another was an Eskimo recipe for "blubber burgers", whale meat fried in seal fat. Mrs. Davis become more staid as time goes on, and the show moved to television. However, Miss Brooks complains of eating Hungarian Goulash in a later episode. Miss Brooks outright refuses to touch a plate of Veal Scallopini and Garlic Bread Mrs. Davis presents her with one morning.
* ForgottenAnniversary: In "24 Hours", Miss Brooks talks to an irate Martha Conklin; she's furious that Osgood Conklin hadn't bought a present or even mentioned their anniversary. Miss Brooks tries to patch things up by buying a pair of andirons and sending it as a gift in Osgood Conklin's name. Later, Miss Brooks is surprised to find Martha Conklin is angry at Osgood Conklin for buying an expensive pair of andirons. It's made worse when she receives the pair of andirons ''Osgood'' bought for her. He hadn't forgotten after all.
* ForgottenBirthday: In "The Birthday Bag". Miss Brooks forgets her own birthday, while everybody else remembers.
* ForgotToMindTheirHead: Occasionally happens to Mr. Conklin. For example, in one episode he's looking for something under his desk and bumps his head when he gets up.
* ForgotToPayTheBill: In "Public Property on Parade", the electricity is disconnected when Mrs. Davis fails to pay the bill. Miss Brooks is forced to type out a speech by the light of a streetlamp.
* FortuneTeller:
** Mrs. Davis believes tea leaves to be a reliable method of telling the future. Most notably, in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Mrs. Davis Reads Tea Leaves"]], Mrs. Davis' dresses up as gypsy to read Miss Brooks' tea leaves. Her predictions appear to come true . . . until HilarityEnsues.
** Mrs. Davis also reads tea leaves in the radio episodes "The Weighing Machine" and "Friendship" to varying results. In "Weighing Machine", Mrs. Davis' reading is prompted by the need to double check a fortune Miss Brooks' receives from a penny weighing machine. Here, the readings turn out to be correct . . . but not in the way Mrs. Davis or Miss Brooks expects.
** Mrs. Davis switches to playing cards in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]]. However, Mrs. Davis simply uses the cards as a device to reveal Mr. Boynton's intention to Miss Brooks, in spite of having previously been pledged to secrecy.
* ForYourOwnGood: In "Spare That Rod!", Principal Conklin's rationale for his severe discipline policy. It's for the benefit of the students, the faculty and Madison High School alike.
* FourLeafClover: In "Four Leaf Clover", Miss Brooks picks a four leaf clover that brings her nothing but ''bad'' luck. She eventually pawns it off to a crooked auto mechanic.
* FreePrizeAtTheBottom: [[spoiler: The fateful box of Cracker Jacks, at the end of the film.]]
* FreeRangeChildren: Teenagers Walter Denton, Stretch and Bones Snodgrass tend to be able to go where they please and when. Averted with Harriet Conklin, who Mr. Conklin is (sometimes) seen to keep an eye on.
* FrenchCuisineIsHaughty: In the episode "French Sadie Hawkins Day", Miss Brooks accidentally orders "Parking in Rear" from the snobby maître d'hôtel. She then proceeds to order expensive meals for everybody, ignorant of the fact that she has agreed to pay for the entire dinner.
* FreudianSlip: Miss Brooks sometimes slips something marriage or romance related when talking to Mr. Boynton.
* AFriendInNeed: Miss Brooks can always be counted on to stand by her friends; even Mr. Conklin, her FriendlyEnemy.
** On multiple occasions, she protects Walter Denton from having one of his practical jokes exposed and backfiring on him. "Cure That Habit" and "Mr. Conklin is Honored" are cases in point.
** Miss Brooks is eager to protect [[LoveInterest Mr. Boynton]], naturally enough. "Mr. Conklin Plays Detective", where Miss Brooks believes Mr. Boynton used Mr. Conklin's phone to make a long distance call, is a case in point. Likewise, "The Jewel Robbery", where Miss Brooks wrongly believes Mr. Boynton robbed a store.
** Miss Brooks saves Mr. Conklin's job in "Wake Up Plan" and "Saving the School Newspaper". When Miss Brooks wrongly concludes Mr. Conklin has been fired in "Rumors", she sets up a laundry to raise money.
** Miss Brooks saves Mrs. Davis from a hurried marriage in "Marriage Madness".
* FriendlyEnemies: Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin often kvetch about being the bane of one other's existence. However, depending on their goals, they'll either be working together on friendly terms ("Citizen's League", "Two-way Stretch Snodgrass", "Postage Due"), helping one another ("Cure That Habit", "The Hobby Show"), socializing with one another ("Parlor Game" and "The Birthday Bag") . . . or at loggerheads as if they were sworn enemies ("Old Marblehead", "Business Course", "Secondhand First Aid").
* FriendshipSong: In the episode "Friendship", "Friendship" (''from Theatre/AnythingGoes'') is played between scenes, ever more manically as Miss Brooks' loses friends. Unusually, the two buddies singing the song don't have a role outside the song. In the song's last appearance, about midway through the episode, one friend decides to murder the other:
-->'''The Two Friends''': Friendship\\
Friendship\\
Just a perfect friendship\\
When other friendships be forgot\\
'''Gunshot'''\\
'''Surviving Friend''': '''I''' will still be hot.
* FrivolousLawsuit: In the episode "Mr. Travers' Three Acre Lot". Mr. Conklin ''literally'' sets Miss Brooks up for a fall so he can sue Mr. Travers and force the sale of the eponymous lot.
* FruitCart: Memorably, in "Trial by Jury", Miss Brooks finds herself charged with speeding, reckless driving, driving the wrong way, and crashing into a fruit stand. The unfortunate fruit stand owner again suffers at the hands of Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin's automobile mishaps in "Miss Brooks' New Car". At the end of the episode, Miss Brooks takes a wagon load of fruit to the Conklins as a peace offering. The fruit stand owner had decided to give Miss Brooks his stock and start again in another city.
* FryingPanOfDoom: In "Angela's Wedding", Mrs. Davis uses a frying pan to great effect on the noggin of a gym teacher who [[BerserkButton insults her deviled eggs.]]
* FunWithForeignLanguages: Guaranteed whenever French teacher Mr. [=LeBlanc=] appears.
* FurAndLoathing: Miss Enright, Miss Brooks' snooty, catty [[SitcomArchNemesis rival]], brags about her furs as well as other expensive clothes.
* GagEcho: A notable example occurs in the episode "Miss Brooks Writes About a Hobo." The titular hobo calls himself "The Earl of Peoria." Miss Brooks responds by asking "How is the Princess Margaret-Rose?" The hobo introduces himself to Mrs. Davis. Mrs. Davis inquires "How is the Princess Margaret Rose?" Walter Denton appears, again asking "Then how's the Princess Margaret Rose?" Finally, Mr. Conklin is introduced to the hobo. He asks "Then how's the Duke of Edinburgh?" Mr. Conklin laughs at his own joke.
* GagHaircut: In "The Hairdo". Miss Enright instructs the hairdresser to sabotage Miss Brook’s hairdo.
* GambitPileup: In "Writing Magazine Articles", Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin each write fictional articles for "True Family Romance" magazine, neither knowing of the other's "indiscretion". Both are forced to prove the veracity of their fake tale in order to collect their fee. Both enlist Walter Denton to play the part of their respective fake fourteen year old sons . . . in the same place, at the same time. HilarityEnsues.
* GamesOfTheElderly: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mrs. Davis mentions how Mrs. Boynton (Mr. Boynton's mother) "beat my brains out" in canasta. [[spoiler: At movie's end, Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Boynton finally get Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton married]]
* GenderEqualEnsemble: The six major characters are equally balanced by gender. Three girls: Constance (Connie) Brooks, Margaret Davis and Harriet Conklin. Three boys: Phillip Boynton, Osgood Conklin, and Walter Denton.
* GenreRefugee: Tex Barton, a teenaged cowboy.
* GentlemanAdventurer: Safari O'Toole, in the episode of the same name. He is Mrs. Davis' faithful pen pal, and is noted for his travels through the wilds of DarkestAfrica. [[spoiler: He's also a fake.]]
* GettingTheBoot: Walter Denton complains about his dates with Harriet ending with Mr. Conklin kicking him down the porch steps.ca.
* TheGhost:
** Mrs. Davis' eccentric sister Angela is frequently discussed by Mrs. Davis at the breakfast table. Angela, however, remains unheard (on the radio) and unseen (on television) for quite awhile. Eventually, Jessica makes several appearances on the television series (sometimes as her sister's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, at a time when actress Jane Morgan suffered a stroke). The role was played by Canadian actress Jesselyn Fax. Fax also performed the role at least twice on the radio.
** Similarly, Mrs. Davis' much discussed brother Victor goes several years without being seen. He finally makes one appearance in the second television season, the episode "The Egg."
* GiftOfTheMagiPlot: In "Easter Parade", Miss Brooks works during her Spring Break in order in earn money so she can accompany Mr. Boynton to the Easter Parade in a new dress. Meanwhile, Mr. Boynton's working to earn money for a new suit to wear when he takes Miss Brooks to the Easter Parade. Due to TaxDeductions, Miss Brooks doesn't earn enough for the new dress. Mrs. Davis lends her the extra money, Miss Brooks doesn't learn the money is actually coming from Mr. Boynton. Mr. Boynton no longer has enough money for the new suit. Miss Brooks' new dress is messed up when she accidently sits on a couple of Easter Eggs Mrs. Davis hid under the sofa cushions. So she too goes to the parade in her old dress of which she's positively ashamed. Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton both enjoy a heartwarming moment as a result.
* GirlOfTheWeek:
** "New Girl In Town" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Walter Denton dates the new girl, while Miss Brooks' LoveInterest Mr. Boynton is attracted to the girl's widowed mother.
** "Life Can Be Bones" sees Miss Brooks romantically threatened by Mr. Boynton's temporary laboratory assistant.
** In "Hello, Mr. Chips", Miss Brooks tries to date an English schoolmaster to make Mr. Boynton jealous.
** In "Clay City English Teacher", scheming Clay City High School principal Jason Brille tries to lure Miss Brooks to his school with the eponymous male teacher. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks won't go unless there's a job for Mr. Boynton too.]]
* GirlsBehindBars:
** In "The Embezzled Dress" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Student Banking"), Miss Brooks fears being sent to prison. Landlady Mrs. Davis had unknowingly spent the students' bank money left in Miss Brooks' care, thinking it was Miss Brooks' back rent. Walter Denton, trying to teach Miss Brooks up, tells her about the conditions at the State Prison for Women. It involves mopping the floors all day; as there are not enough mops to go around, many of the inmates have to clean the floors on their hands and knees.
** In "Bobbsey Twins in Stir", Mrs. Davis, and later Miss Brooks, are briefly in jail after they're tricked into selling phony tickets to the policeman's ball.
* GirlsWithMustaches: In "Madame Brooks Dubarry", Mrs. Davis wears a fake mustache when she dons a UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt costume for a party.
* GirlySkirtTwirl: Miss Brooks does one in her fantasy sequence in the series' [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]]. She's dreaming about her life married to Mr. Boynton.
* GiveMeBackMyWallet: In "The Burglar", Mr. Conklin wakes up from his nap discovering a burglar in the process of absconding with the basket of fried chicken his wife cooked for him.
* GladIThoughtOfIt: Mr. Conklin uses this trope from time-to-time, usually at Connie's expense. However, being a DeadpanSnarker, Connie doesn't let this go without remark.
* TheGlassesGotToGo: Said by Miss Brooks in "The Dancer." She had tried on a pair of glasses to see if Mr. Boynton will find her attractive in them. Mr. Boynton complimented Miss Brooks on how "mature" she looks.
* GoGetterGirl: Harriet Conklin is a straight A student, Student Council President, and member of a number of clubs. Next to her boyfriend, Walter Denton, she's probably Miss Brooks' biggest TeachersPet. She's also seen as the only student who likes the principal, likely because she's his daughter.
* GoingDownWithTheShip: In "An American Tragedy", Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks are stranded on a rowboat in the middle of Crystal Lake. Mr. Conklin proclaims himself captain, however it turns out the rowboat is leaking and starts to sink. Neither Mr. Conklin nor Miss Brooks can swim . . . .
-->'''Mr. Conklin''' (panicking): [[HypocriticalHumor Well keep your head, Boynton!]] Don't get panicky! Don't get panicky, boy! You need all your strength, every ounce of it to tow '''me''' ashore!
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Tow you ashore? What about me, sir? I can't swim either, and you know the tradition of the sea, the captain goes down with his ship!
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Not in this ship!
** [[spoiler: Fortunately, they had unknowingly drifted near the shore and the water under the boat was only three feet deep]]
* GoldDigger: In "Marriage Madness", the butcher's new business partner tries to marry Mrs. Davis for her money. It seems as if he's been often married, starting with the time in school he ran off with his French teacher.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': If he had said English teacher, I would have screamed!
* GoodGuyBar: Marty's Malt Shop is the usual hangout for teachers and students alike, outside school.
* GoodOlBoy: In "Four Fiances", the Texan to whom Miss Brooks finds herself unwittingly engaged. The gentleman is portrayed sympathetically.
* GoodParents: Martha Conklin, mother of HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Harriet Conklin. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to Harriet's father, Osgood Conklin. Although Harriet and her father are close, Osgood Conklin is pompous and [[OverprotectiveDad overprotective.]]
* GoshDangItToHeck: Used from time to time, often making the avoidance humorous in itself:
** Sometimes, swear words are referred to obliquely. For example, in "Stretch is Accused Of Professionalism, there's this exchange between Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks:
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Stretch has as much chance of passing that test as, well, . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Maybe one of them didn't melt down there.
** Miss Brooks censors Walter Denton at breakfast when he's complaining about Mr. Conklin:
-->'''Walter Denton''': Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin is making my otherwise placid existence a living . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Walter!
-->'''Walter Denton''': Inferno?
** Words like "dang" and "heck" are often treated seriously. When Mr. Boynton uses it in the cafeteria HilarityEnsues:
--> '''Walter Denton''': Language!
--> '''Mr. Boynton''': Oh, sorry Miss Brooks.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': That's all right, Mr. Boynton. In such times, even I resort to a mild profanity. ''Whoa Nelly''!
** On a more serious note, Mr. Conklin's favourite exclamation is the mild"Gad!"; likely to avoid blasphemy and breaking The Third Commandment.
** In a RealLife Moment of Heartwarming, Creator/EveArden asked the radio and later the television crew not to swear on set as there were kids working on the show.
* GossipyHens:
** In "The Party Line", the two woman who share Miss Brooks' party telephone line hold up the phone gossiping all day. The women also listen in on Miss Brooks' conversations and gossip about Miss Brooks, Mrs. Davis and Mr. Boynton.
** Mrs. Davis and her sister Angela, on occasion. Of course, they'll deny being gossips...
* GoToSleepEnding: The episode "Wake-Up Plan" ends with Miss Brooks finding Mr. Boynton sleeping on a bench in the hallway, just outside Mr. Conklin's office. Miss Brooks sits on his lap.
--->'''Miss Brooks''': Oh well, might as well make it unanimous. Good night all.
--->'''Mr. Boynton''': (whistles in his sleep)
* GotVolunteered: Miss Brooks often finds herself volunteered by Mr. Conklin to do his secretarial, typing or speechwriting work; i.e. Aunt Mattie Boynton, Public Property on Parade.
* GrammarNazi: Miss Brooks herself is a mild example, as an English teacher she's often heard correcting Walter Denton or Stretch Snodgrass' grammar. Here, it's [[JustifiedTrope justified]].
* GrandeDame: Mrs. Grabar in "Madison Country Club". Mr. Conklin intends to squeeze money out of the rich dowager so he can redecorate his office. When she arrives, he plans on staging quite a show of poverty, complete with the staff dressed like hobos. Miss Brooks and company have other plans. HilarityEnsues.
* GrandRomanticGesture: In the episode "Clay City English Teacher", Mr. Boynton tries to impress Miss Brooks by imitating Literature/SamSpade. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It makes sense in context.]]
* GrannyClassic: Mrs. Davis is often portrayed this way; she's kind, loves to cook, sews and knits, and has a pet cat named Minerva. [[spoiler: In TheMovie GrandFinale she's responsible the marriage of Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton]]
* GratuitousSpanish: Mexican boy Ricky Velasco in "The Miserable Caballero" and "Buddy", in the last television season Mexican student Benny Romero. Both parts were played by child actor Ricky Vera.
* GrayRainOfDepression: In "The Pet Shop", a misunderstanding means that Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton are likely to stand one another up for their date. At the last moment, Miss Brooks decides to go wait for Mr. Boynton outside the pet shop as promised. Miss Brooks waits, likely in vain, as a grey rain of depression falls. [[spoiler:Mr. Boynton also cannot stay away, and the misunderstanding is cleared. The rain likewise clears, and Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton go out on their date.]]
* GreasySpoon: Miss Brooks moonlights in one, taking the identity of her nonexistent identical twin, in the episode "Connie and Bonnie".
* GretzkyHasTheBall: Miss Brooks' knowledge of sports ranges from the excellent to the ridiculously inadequate.
** In "Bronco Dismissed" the trope is averted, as Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton substitute coach for the football team without any difficulty. Likewise in other episodes such as "Baseball Slide" and "The Big Game". In some episodes, however, Miss Brooks is very much in the dark . . . .
** In "Game At Clay City", Miss Brooks' football knowledge isn't lacking, but Mr. Boynton admits to being clueless as to most if not all sports. He even asks who's pitching for the football team.
** In "The Grudge Match", Miss Brooks confuses the baseball term "bullpen" with "pigpen". She also mistakenly calls pitchers "chuckers". She later redeems herself, by serving as the announcer for the titular boxing match.
** In "Stretch Is In Love Again", Miss Brooks cheers on a dead tired Stretch Snodgrass when he runs the wrong way and scores on Madison.
** In "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass", when Mr. Conklin calls Stretch one of the most promising high school tailbacks in the country, Miss Brooks look behind Stretch to see if he had a tail.
* GreyscaleOfEvil: Osgood Conklin prefers to dress in black three-piece suits, or at least dark colors. Although the program appeared on television and film in black and white, and didn't "appear" at all on the radio, this tendency is mentioned several times:
** "First Day": Mr. Conklin not only dressed in black, but drove a large black sedan that Walter Denton compares to a hearse.
** "Friday The Thirteenth": Mr. Conklin brags about his respectable black suit and hat to his daughter. He worries that his "midnight blue" tie might be loud.
* GrinOfAudacity:
** Sported by Walter Denton, whenever conniving to pull an especially severe prank on Mr. Conklin. Being told off sometimes serves to encourage the grin (except by Mr. Conklin himself, of whom Denton is somewhat afraid). Noticeable in "Wild Goose", "Space, Who Needs It?", "Cure That Habit", "Marinated Hearing" and "Spare That Rod!".
** Walter is also proud of having a "dark secret". In "Citizen's League", Miss Brooks suffers from guilt for having [[spoiler: accidentally stuck a pin in the seat of the church organist Mrs. Dunfy when fitting her dress for the governor's wedding]]. Miss Brooks asks Walter if he himself has a dark secret. Walter [[AnnoyingLaugh smirks, laughs, and says he does.]] [[spoiler: However, after being chewed out by Miss Brooks, Walter admits it's far from terrible, and again in the nature of a teenage prank.]]
** In "Wake Up Plan", Mr. Conklin laughs at his having sent a letter to the board of education, reporting Miss Brooks for missing her morning classes. This is in spite of admitted to himself, out loud, that it was a terrible thing to do.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale, Mrs. Davis suggests to Mr. Boynton that Lawrence Nolan had induced Miss Brooks to take a trip on his yacht so he might seduce her. Mr. Boynton is outraged, and begins frantically checking his address book. Meanwhile, Mrs. Davis smiles and stifles a giggles, overjoyed that her use of OperationJealousy was off to a fine start!
* GuysAreSlobs: Walter Denton in "Mr. Boynton's Parents". Walter mentions that one of the reasons he wants to honour his mother on Mother's Day is she picks up after him; a typical teen boy, he leaves his room a mess and his clothes all over the floor.
* HalloweenEpisode: The first season of the radio series has an episode where Walter and Stretch convince Miss Brooks to throw a Halloween party with the promise of inviting Mr. Boynton.
* {{Hallucinations}}: In "Halloween Party", Mr. Conklin is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He starts seeing things, such as a large dog in the doctor's waiting room.
* HamToHamCombat: Any episode where Madison High Principal Osgood Conklin faces his archrival, Clay City High School Principal Jason Brill.
* HandGagging: In "Magic Christmas Tree", Miss Brooks puts her hand over Walter Denton's mouth to stop his painfully off-key rendition of "Deck The Halls".
* {{Handgun}}: In "The Stolen Wardrobe", thieves valuable clothes stolen Sherry's with Miss Brooks, tricking her into believing it's a prize for being best dressed teacher at Madison High School. Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton attempt to return the clothes, but are shot at by (in Mr. Conklin's words) "a trigger-happy flat-floot" and flee the store. Later, the police-officer, handgun holdstered, shows up at Mrs. Davis' house.
* HappilyEverAfter: After eight years on the radio, and four on television, Miss Connie Brooks finally gets her happily ever after at the end of TheMovie GrandFinale. Or, to be more accurate, '''Mrs. Connie Boynton''' gets her happily ever after!
* HappilyMarried:
** Osgood and Martha Conklin are very much in love. In the episode "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Mr. Conklin even buys his wife a black sheer negligee for Mother's Day!
** At the end of The Movie Grand Finale, the same applies to Phil Boynton and Connie Boynton nee Brooks. The last few moments of the film sees them leave the zoo arm and arm, and their future home with "The End" superimposed over the shot.
* HappyBirthdayToYou: Miss Brooks' friends gave her a surprise party on the radio, in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Suprise Party"]]. The episode was later remade for television under the title "The Birthday Bag". Miss Brooks starts the rendition to dodge Mr. Conklin's question, ''How old are you?"
-->'''Miss Brooks:''' ''Happy Birthday to me\\
Happy Birthday to me\\
'''Everybody''': Happy Birthday dear [[LastNameBasis Our Miss Brooks]]\\
Happy Birthday tooo you!''
* HardboiledDetective:
** In "Postage Due", Miss Brooks plays the hard boiled detective as she searches for the missing postman.
** "Clay City English Teacher" has Mr. Boynton consciously imitates Sam Spade in an attempt to lure Miss Brooks away from the eponymous teacher.
* HarmlessVillain: Mr. Conklin, when he serves as the antagonist on the series. His schemes usually involve some petty mischief serving his self-aggrandizement or his greed.
** For example, in "Old Marblehead", he shakes down students and faculty by creating a "Carelessness Code" and fining them mercilessly. His goal is to pay for a bust of his head in the school library - and he intends to destroy the existing bust of Julius Caesar to ensure he takes his rightful place. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks simply tricks him into busting the wrong bust.]]
** Another episode, "Home Cooked Meal", sees Mr. Conklin use the cafeteria freezer to freely store his own food. [[spoiler: He buys a freezer of his own, after Miss Brooks and Walter Denton accidently lock him inside]].
** In "The Big Jump", Mr. Conklin plots to force Miss Brooks to jump off the roof of the school as a publicity stunt for a civil defense drill. [[spoiler: Walter Denton lights some smudge pots on the stairs to the roof, leading to Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton jumping off in a panic]]
** In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mr. Conklin plots to be elected the new Coordinator of Education. [[spoiler: Mr. Stone, the existing board superintendent (or equivalent), forces Mr. Conklin to withdraw by setting the new post's salary as a measly honorarium of %500.00.]]
* HatOfAuthority: In "Public Property on Parade", the Mayor of Madison is seen either wearing his top hat or carrying it about.
* HeadTurningBeauty:
** In "New Girl", all the boys at Madison immediately fall for the titular girl. Worse, from Miss Brooks' perspective, Mr. Boynton starts to fall for her mother.
** The ''Madison Express's'' new lonely hearts columnist. Every man (and boy) in the newsroom literally turns their head to look at her as she walks by.
* HeelFaceTurn: In "Mr. Whipple", Miss Brooks, Walter Denton and Mr. Conklin are so affected by the story of the eponymous Mr. Whipple, a man who hasn't has a bite of solid food for a week. It turns out Mr. Whipple is a bad tempered miser who's on a liquid diet. No matter, the show of kindness melts Mr. Whipple to the point where he undergoes a heel-face turn and donates the money for Madison's new gymnasium.
* HeldGaze:
** In ''The Magic Tree", before Mr. Boynton kisses Miss Brooks. [[spoiler: It's AllJustADream]].
** Just before, and after, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton share a kiss in the series' [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]].
* HeroicBystander: Clay City High School Principal Jason Brill plays the part when he saves Miss Brooks from falling down an open elevator shaft. Madison High School Principal Osgood Conklin tries to match this feat with a "fake" heroic bystander rescue. [[spoiler: Conklin stages a real rescue when the superintendent, Mr. Stone, himself falls into an open elevator shaft.]]
* HerosClassicCar: Through the series, Walter Denton drives a 1930's style jalopy; also qualified as TheAllegedCar. In TheMovie GrandFinale, Mr. Boynton borrows the car to drive to Crystal Bay and "rescue" Miss Brooks from Lawrence Nolan.
* HiccupHijinks:
** In "Cure That Habit", Mr. Conklin has a bad case of the hiccups and suffers through two hiccup remedies. One is a revolting and ineffective mixture cooked up by Mrs. Davis. The second is student athlete Stretch Snodgrass' attempt to cure Mr. Conklin's hiccups by spinning him around in a chair.
** In "Trial by Jury" and "Mr. Conklin's Love Nest", Mr. Boynton suffers psychosomatic cases of the hiccups from either lying or acute embarrassment.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Mr. Conklin, a.k.a. "Old Marblehead", may be a pompous, dictatorial, underhanded dictator of a principal, but from time to time he shows his good side:
** In "The Hobby Show" he helps fix broken toys to give to needy children.
** He's a member of the "Citizen's League."
** He helps throw a Christmas Party when he believes Mrs. Davis' sister Angela is dying in "A Dry Scalp is Better Then None."
** He helps Miss Brooks and co. find a missing postman in "Postage Due."
** Offers to adopt orphans in "The Twin Orphans" and "The Miserable Caballero."
** He helps Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis out of problematic situations in "Four Fiances" and "Marriage Madness," among others.
** In "Weekend at Crystal Lake" he is worried that Mr. Boynton is going to repeat ''Literature/AnAmericanTragedy'' and hides under the boat tarpaulin to try and save Miss Brooks.
* HighSchoolDance: A school dance drives the plot in several episodes. "Wishing Well Dance" sees Miss Brooks' hair clipped throughout the day as a gift for Mr. Boynton (to make a pillow for his pet frog). "Mr. Whipple" features Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton as Queen and King of the last dance to be held in the old gymnasium. The costumed dance in "Oh, Dem Gold Slippers" is shown, where Miss Brooks is dressed in a gown.
* HighSchoolHustler: Walter Denton, who was the bane of Principal Osgood Conklin's existence. Not least, because Walter was dating Mr. Conklin's Harriet. On several occasions, Mr. Conklin was the victim of Walter's pranks. For example:
** In "Cure That Habit", Walter applies to an alcoholism treatment program in Mr. Conklin's name; HilarityEnsues when the president of the company warns the head of the board of education that Mr. Conklin is a hopeless drunk.
** "Wild Goose" has Walter trick Mr. Conklin into thinking that he's won a free t.v. from Sherry's Department Store. HilarityEnsues as Mr. Conklin sends Miss Brooks to pick up his "prize".
** In "Space, Who Needs It?", Walter hides a shotgun pellet and buckshot in Mr. Conklin's homemade telescope. Mr. Conklin thinks he's discovered a new planet and her three moons, which he immediately christens "Conklin Junior". Walter then uses a toy flying saucer and wind-up space men to make Mr. Conklin think Madison is being invaded by space aliens.
* HilarityInZoos: It's a running gag that Mr. Boynton usually takes Miss Brooks to the zoo on their dates.
* TheHilarityOfHats: In "Bargain Hats For Mother's Day," Mrs. Davis asks Miss Brooks to sell the homemade hats she made. They feature an imitation sparrow perched upon imitation fruit. Mr. Conklin buys one for his wife Martha, Mr. Boynton buys one for his mother, Walter Denton gets one to use as a table centerpiece, while GenreRefugee Tex Barton buys one for his horse Lucy. [[HilarityEnsues Unfortunately, the recipients, even Lucy, are fanatics about having individualized wearing apparel . . . .]]
* HintDropping: Miss Brooks drops plenty of hints for Mr. Boynton. He rarely catches on.
* HiredForTheirLooks: In TheMovie GrandFinale, it's implied that the city editor hired the new "Miss Lonely Hearts" entirely on her looks. When she walks to the water cooler, she's the subject of the MaleGaze of every reporter in the room. Including the boss's son (Gary Nolan) and later the boss, Lawrence Nolan.
* HobbesWasRight: This is Mr. Conklin's belief, leastways when it comes to running a high school. Conklin essentially says as much to Miss Brooks in "Spare That Rod!". Conklin's military strictness would later put him under the opprobrium of the school board president, Mr. Stone, in the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale.]]
* {{Hobos}}: Miss Brooks deals with hobos in the episodes "Hobo Jungle" and "Miss Brooks Writes About a Hobo".
* HollywoodDarkness: Night scenes were usually shot uncommonly well. "The Burglar" and "Public Property on Parade" have nighttime scenes that are about as dark as you'd expect. However, the trope arises in "Wake-Up Plan", where the Conklin's hallway is suspiciously bright.
* HollywoodGenetics: Brown-haired Mr. and Mrs. Conklin have a blonde daughter, Harriet.
* HollywoodKiss: Miss Brooks [[spoiler: dreams she gets one from Mr. Boynton]] in "Magic Christmas Tree". Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks finally share a Hollywood kiss midway through the film.
* HollywoodLaw: In the episode "Hospital Capers". A lawyer (a literal ambulance chaser) gets Mr. Boynton to sign a contract hiring him a counsel; the contract features a hefty penalty if Mr. Boynton chooses to terminate his representation. When Miss Brooks visits the lawyer, he hands her ever larger magnifying glasses to [[ReadTheFinePrint read the contract's fine print]]. {{Lampshaded}} when the lawyer admits to Miss Brooks that he's been disbarred in several states.
* HollywoodNatives: In "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud", the eponymous chief and his wife.
* HollywoodSpelling: Averted in the episode "Suzie Prentisss", where the eponymous Suzie misspells her last name by giving it an extra "s".
* HomemadeSweaterFromHell: In "Home Cooked Meal", Miss Enright knits one for Mr. Boynton. One arm is terribly short, tight, and cuts off his circulation. The other is far too long.
* HomeSweetHome: [[spoiler: At the end of the film, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks marry and move into the house across the street from Mrs. Davis'.]]
* HotSauceDrinking:
** Mr. Boynton likes hot food. In "Mr. Boynton's Barbeque" he treats Mr. Conklin and Miss Enright to his [[BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce "mild" barbecue sauce]]. The two run for water.
** In the episode, "The Miserable Caballeros", Mexican boy Ricky Velasco proceeds to put an extraordinary amount of pepper and spices on his lunch. He tells Miss Brooks that he finds American food too bland.
* {{Housewife}}:
** Martha Conklin is a housewife
** Miss Brooks' SeriesGoal is to marry Mr. Boynton. In several episodes (i.e. "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton") it is made explicit that Miss Brooks wants to become a fulltime housewife and mother.
* HourglassPlot: The penultimate episode of the television series, "Principal For A Day", has Miss Brooks appointed principal and Mr. Conklin become a History (not English) teacher. Because StatusQuoIsGod, their respective positions are restored at the end. Neither seem to learn much from the episode. Miss Brooks enjoys herself thoroughly, and other than adding feminine touches to her office and spending some quality time with [[LoveInterest Mr. Boynton]] doesn't abuse her power. Mr. Conklin's temporary humility, and appreciativeness to Miss Brooks' giving him the teaching position, is cast off as soon as he becomes principal again. It helps that Mr. Conklin is a pompous JerkWithAHeartOfGold and not an outright villain.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Said by Stretch Snodgrass ([[DumbJock of all people]]) of Mr. Conklin, in the episode "Letter From The Board of Education. Walter Denton speaks the line in the [[SoundtoScreenAdaptation television remake]], "Spare That Rod". [[spoiler: Walter Denton had forged a letter threatening Mr. Conklin with dismissal for being "flagrantly dictatorial" in his disciplinary methods. Mr. Conklin was forcing himself to be meek and humble as a result.]]
* IAmVeryBritish: The visiting English headmaster in "Hello, Mr. Chips".
* IAteWhat: In "The Model School Teacher". The editor of ''Snap Magazine'' has eatten CordonBleughChef Mrs. Davis' waffles. He thinks they're good, until he learns what was in it. The joke is ommitted (along with the magazine editor's character) in the [[SoundToScreenAdaptation television remake]] "The Model Teacher".
* IdenticalGrandson: In "The Dream", Miss Brooks' daughter Cleo Boynton is her mirror-image. Similarly, Osgood Conklin Junior looks just like his father.
* IdiotBall:
** Whenever Stretch Snodgrass appears he has idiot ball firmly in hand. i.e. "The Auction", "Stuffed Gopher".
** The same applies to Stretch's brother [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Bones]], i.e. "Marinated Hearing".
** The idiot ball also passes into Walter Denton's clutches on occasion, i.e. "Living Statues", "Cure That Habit".
* IdioticPartnerConfession: The episode "Blue Goldfish" sees Harriet Conklin reveal the truth about Mr. Conklin's much vaunted tolerance to the cold.
* IfIWereARichMan: In "King and Brooks", Miss Brooks dreams about what life would be like married to a maharajah.
* TheIllegal: In the episode "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass", Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks, [[ItMakesSenseInContext pretending to be Stretch Snodgrass' parents]], spin [[BlatantLies a story of illegal immigration and a secret marriage to preserve their masquerade]]. Mr. Conklin's daughter Harriet walked in the room, threatening to blow up the scheme when she identifies Mr. Conklin as her father and claimed her mother (Martha Conklin) was nowhere in sight.
--> '''Miss Brooks'''; Your father and I, your father and me, we've been secretly married for sixteen years.
--> '''Harriet Conklin''': But I'm almost seventeen.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': I'm over seventeen. I was hoping you wouldn't notice it.
--> '''Biff Mooney'''': What is this all about? Mrs. Snodgrass, I demand to know the truth!
--> '''Harriet Conklin''': Mrs. Snodgrass!
--> '''Mr. Conklin''': You might as well know the whole story Harriet. As a poor but honest immigrant, I entered this country illegally. Your mother and I started out from the old country together.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': But I, your mother, couldn't make it. They shot me at the border. Of course, years later I was smuggled into the country.
--> '''Mr. Conklin''': With a group of Oriental laborers.
--> '''Harriet Conklin''': Oriental laborers?
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Don't look down your nose at me, girl. I helped build Boulder Dam!
* TheIllegible: In the radio episode "Letter to the Education Board", Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton struggle to read Stretch Snodgrass' essay. It was remade on television as "Marinated Hearing", where the sloppy essay was written by Stretch's brother Bones.
* ImmoralJournalist: Stephanie Forest in the episodes "The Model Schoolteacher" (the radio original) and "The Model Teacher" (the television remake). Forester is at Madison High School to do a profile on the day in the life of a schoolteacher, but really views her role as that of doing a hatchet job on Miss Brooks - taking as many insulting and unrepresentative photographs as possible. Miss Brooks covertly removes the unflattering photos, and, in the television version, disposes of Miss Forest by noon; Miss Forest receives a telegram stating her editor wants her in Florida, ''immediatley''.
--> '''Stephanie Forest''': Now, as I was saying my dear. I don't want you to do a thing for this picture. Realism is what our readers want. The eyelids practically stuck together, the little straggly clumps of hair flopping over the ears, and those little tired lines around the mouth that look as if you just tasted a raw lambchop. We want you just the way you are!
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Used in the episode "Suzi Prentiss". Miss Brooks tells Mr. Conklin, "I'm a teacher, not a psychiatrist."
* ImplausibleDeniability: In "Taking the Rap for Mr. Boynton", Miss Brooks tries to frame Mr. Boynton by drawing a cartoon with Mr. Conklin as a mouse in with Mr. Boynton's reports. Mr. Boynton catches her redhanded, and Miss Brooks tries to deny it.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[SarcasmMode Eek, a mouse.]]
* ImprobablyCoolCar: Walter Denton's car is stated to be a jalopy. On the radio, one can leave it up to one's imagination or various uncomplimentary descriptions of the vehicle. However, on television, it was different. On the rare occasion when it's seen up close, or being driven on the street, it appears to be a vintage 1930's or 1940's roadster. If one looks closely, in an early episode Walter placed a custom badge naming his car the "Denton Special". Somewhat averted in TheMovie GrandFinale however, when Mr. Boynton borrows the car four inner tubes go flat. The car is also visibly smoking when Mr. Boynton drives Miss Brooks home from Crystal Bay ([[CanonDiscontinuity Crystal Lake in the rest of the series]]).
* ImprovisedSail: In "An American Tragedy", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin are stranded on a rowboat in the middle of Crystal Lake. Mr. Conklin suggests using Mr. Boynton's shirt as a sail. Miss Brooks ups the ante:
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Let's try to get organized, shall we? Clear thinking is the ticket. Lacking an oar, we shall need to improvise a sail immediately. I shall need a large, white garment. Miss Brooks?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': You won't get a stitch from me.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Well, then, Boynton. I suggest we use your shirt as a sail.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[LoveInterest Second the motion. And let's throw in his undershirt, too, sir. Ha. His shirt ought to do nicely.]]
* InadvertentEntranceCue: In the episode "Stuffed Gopher", Miss Brooks asks Walter Denton the fatal question "Who could be so stupid?". Into the cafeteria walks [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]].
* IncorruptiblePurePureness:
** Harriet Conklin. Her motives are always displayed as unselfish or honest, in spite of her father Mr. Conklin being oft unprincipled and her boyfriend Walter Denton being an inveterate schemer and practical joker.
** Phillip Boynton, Miss Brooks' LoveInterest. He's considered by everybody to be the "soul of honesty". In "Trial by Jury", it's revealed that trying to lie makes Mr. Boynton break into the hiccups.
* IndianBurialGround: The promise of a large reward sees Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton searching for one in the episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Indian Burial Ground"]]. The trope is partially subverted as the supernatural plays no role in the program. This is fortunate for Miss Brooks and company, as they end up digging up an empty lot in search of artifacts!
* IndubitablyUninterestingIndividual: Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks' {{Adorkable}} LoveInterest lives this trope. He likes to play chess. He hangs out at the Biologists Club. His other hobbies include leading a Boy Scout troop and taking care of his pet frog [=McDougall=]. He likes to take Miss Brooks to the zoo on their dates. His bedtime is usually ten o'clock, but is known to stay up until eleven on New Year's Eve. In "Hello Mr. Chips", Mrs. Davis remarks his habits are like those of a much older man.
* IndyPloy: In the episode "April Fool's Day", Miss Brooks attends an "Everybody Must Do Something Party". [[spoiler: She stalls for time to avoid Miss Enright embarrassing her with an April Fool's Day joke. Miss Brooks plays the ukulele, sings, recites poetry, finally resorting to reading the phonebook aloud.]]
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: In "Heat Wave", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton, Harriet Conklin and Stretch Snodgrass all get excused from school and find themselves at a farmer's swimming pond through a variety of lame excuses. Miss Brooks, in fact, runs off telling Mr. Conklin that she has to go to the pond to get water [[ItMakesSenseInContext to put out the fire she accidentally started in his office.]]
* InformedAbility: Miss Brooks is said to be a wonderful English teacher. But given that an episode that was actually showed Miss Brooks teaching high school would be rather dull, one has to take it on trust. The few times she is shown tutoring English, it's played for laughs i.e. The radio episode "English Test" sees her give a crash course to DumbJock Stretch Snograss. This was remade into the television episode, "The Yodar Kritch Award", with [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Stretch's brother Bones]].
* InformedAttractiveness: Apparently, the visiting English schoolmaster in "Hello, Mr. Chips" is attractive. You can tell by the reaction of Miss Brooks, Harriet Conklin, and even Mrs. Davis.
* TheIngenue: Harriet Conklin is kind, sweet and optimistic, suprisingly given her father Mr. Conklin is a MrViceGuy. While Miss Brooks is a nice person, she's somewhat too much a DeadpanSnarker to meet this trope.
* InstantIllness: In "Measles", Miss Brooks catches the measles within twelve hours of being exposed to them.
* InstantWakingSkills: Miss Brooks when waken by her alarm clock. Also happens when she's waken by a reporter in "Model Teacher". Sometimes, however, Miss Brooks is simply NotAMorningPerson.
* InstructionalFilm: In "Audio-Visual Experiment", Miss Brooks rents a filmed version of the poem "Lady of the Lake" to show her class after she's left early for the day. Unfortunately, a disgruntled employee of the educational film company had mixed up films and canisters in revenge. The boys in the class stay late to repeatedly watch "Sirens of the Screen, Past and Present". Later on, Mrs. Davis' lady's aid meeting rents "Shearing Sheep in Big Billibong, Australia" only to have a film with scenes backstage in a women's dressing room. The company tries to rectify the mistake by giving Miss Brooks a film about the workings of the board of education, but end up giving her one all about Las Vegas and gambling.
* {{Instrumentals}}/InstrumentalThemeTune: The opening and closing themes, composed by Wilbur Hatch.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Miss Brooks is friends with sixteen-year-old Walter Denton, and, to a lesser extent, Harriet Conklin and Stretch Snodgrass. However, Miss Brooks herself would surely object to the label!
* InternalReveal: Many times. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity always ensues]]. Here are a few examples:
** In the "Wrong Mrs. Boynton", Miss Brooks offers to pretend to be Mrs. Boynton - that is, to say Mr. Boynton's ''wife'' - in order to impress the dean of the local college. What Miss Brooks doesn't know, but the audience does, is that she had unwittingly agreed to play the part of Mr. Boynton's ''mother''.
** In "Mrs. Davis reads Tea Leaves", Miss Brooks overhears a conversation between Mr. Boynton and Harriet, and jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Boynton is finally going to marry her and move with her to honeymoon cottage on the edge of town. [[spoiler: The audience hears the entire conversation. It turns out that Mr. Boynton wants to open a summer camp. Cue Miss Brooks stunned reaction when he proposes they have twenty kids (that is to say, campers). Not to mention the fact that Mr. Conklin also attempts to "propose".]]
** Similarly, in "June Bride", Walter Denton and the Conklins assume that Mr. Boynton has finally proposed to Miss Brooks, and the two are to be married that same day. In actuality, Miss Brooks had agreed to be the proxy for Monsieur [=LeBlanc=]'s French bride.
** In "Radio Bombay", a newscast on Walter's homemade radio forecasts the imminent arrival of a strong hurricane. Unfortunately, nobody is around to hear that the newscast originates from Bombay, India.
** In "Spare That Rod", Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass alter a ten year old letter they find addressed to a previous principal. The letter was from the head of the board, accusing the principal of being "flagrantly dictatorial" in his management of the school. They use a typewriter to readdress the letter to Principal Conklin.
** In "Bobbsey Twins In Stir". Mrs. Davis had been arrested after having unwittingly sold forged tickets to the [[RefugeInAudacity policeman's ball]]. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Stone soon end up being drawn into the scheme - and arrested - as well.]]
** Most significantly, in TheMovie. [[spoiler: Mr. Boynton tells Mrs. Davis that he finally intends to propose to Miss Brooks. Mrs. Davis soon reveals all to Miss Brooks, while pretending to tell her fortune.]]
* InTheLocalTongue: "Oo Oo Me Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo", in the episode of the same name. It's the name of an isolated lake deep in the wilderness. It's the local Indians' word for blue.
* IntimidatingRevenueService: In "Mrs. Davis Reads Tea Leaves", Miss Brooks is aghast to discover she's recieved a letter from the IRS:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Collector of Internal Revenue! Not what's the matter with him! I paid my taxes in January!
* IResembleThatRemark: In one episode, Miss Brooks suggests Mr. Conklin never had any friends. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Mr. Conklin replies that as a boy he was very good friends with his mother.]]
* IronicNickname: In "Wild Goose", Miss Brooks refers to DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass as "the brain."
* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: In the episode "Miss Brooks Writes About A Hobo," Miss Brooks seeks out a hobo to write an article entitled "The Vanishing Hobo." At the end of the episode, the hobo relates he had bought a set of new clothes with the money he earned from writing about "The Vanishing Schoolteacher."
* IsThisThingOn: Miss Brooks tests the microphone before beginning announcing duties at the titular "Walter v. Stretch Grudge Match".
* ItaliansTalkWithHands: Mr. Morelli, an Italian barber in "Four Leaf Clover", lives this trope. He never speaks without gesticulating.
* ItsALongStory: Sometimes, an episode will end with Miss Brooks returning home in the evening to discuss the events of the day with Mrs. Davis.
* ItsThePrincipleOfTheThing: In "Spare That Rod!" Mr. Conklin berates Miss Brooks for not having her blackboard cleared at the end of the day. He had gone into her classroom after school and found that a student had written "Old man Conklin is a birdbrain." When Miss Brooks protests her punishment, Mr. Conklin tells her it's the principle of the thing.
* ItWillNeverCatchOn: In "Wild Goose Chase", Miss Brooks jokes about T.V. being a temporary fad. This had been a common prediction just a few years before the episode aired on television. It ''was'' still a common view when the radio version had played a couple years before.
* IWasHavingSuchANiceDream:
** The earliest radio episodes, including the premier "First Day", would often begin with Miss Brooks dreaming of some romantic/comedic adventure with Mr. Boynton. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness The format was very quickly dropped]], in favor of a brief introductory narration with Miss Brooks before the main action, and/or a typically offbeat breakfast conversation with landlady Mrs. Davis and student Walter Denton.
-->'''Narrator''': Yes, Connie Brooks can dream . . . .
** Occasionally, later television and radio episodes would feature dreams and abrupt ending thereof.
*** "The Magic Tree" sees Miss Brooks wake up after kissing a [[ItMakesSenseInContext magic-Christmas-tree-influenced]] Mr. Boynton.
*** "King and Brooks" sees Miss Brooks abruptly waken from a dream where she marries a maharajah.
*** [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Dream"]] sees Miss Brooks waken from a dream where she finally marries Mr. Boynton. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton for real in TheMovie GrandFinale.]]
* IWasQuiteALooker: In "Angela's Wedding", Mrs. Davis' sister Angela claims to be a bathing beauty and provides her future husband, Gregory Farnsworth, with a photo of her from over thirty-years-before. Miss Brooks is asked to break the news that Angela is now a plump, middle-aged woman. Miss Brooks brings along smelling-salts to help break the news. Fortunately, Angela's fiance finds her to be still very attractive.
-->'''Gregory Farnsworth''': Oh, what a doll baby!
-->'''Miss Brooks''': ''(sniffs smelling salts'')
* JadedProfessional: Mrs. Carney in the 1952 "Christmas Show". Mrs. Carney is in charge of the gift exchange office at Sherry's Department Store. However, it is clear from the start that she is anything but cheerful about her duties. In fact, she is extremely frustrated by people exchanging their Christmas gifts (especially exchanging their gifts before Christmas). Outside her job, she is actually a charitable person, being part of Mrs. Conklins "Helping Hand Committee".
* {{Jingle}}: The show's sponsors had some pretty catchy ones:
** "Brush your teeth with Colgate/Colgate dental cream/It cleans your breath (what a toothpaste)/While it cleans your teeth."
** "Dream girl, dream girl/Beautiful Luster Cream girl/You owe your crowning glory to/A Luster Cream shampoo." (This one was set to the tune of "Toyland" from ''Theatre/BabesInToyland''.)
* JailedOneAfterAnother:
** Happens in "Bobbsey Twins In Stir". Mrs. Davis is tricked into selling counterfeit tickets to the Policeman's Ball and jailed overnight. When released she goes to stay with her sister Angela, too embarrassed to tell how she had been tricked. Mrs. Davis really should have said something; Miss Brooks decides to sell the tickets to help the charity drive. Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Stone end up jailed in quick succession.
** In the radio episode "Student Government Day". The Madison High School students were supposed to be elected to city positions for the day, but the police didn't get the memo. "Police Chief Denton" and "Mayor Harriet Conklin" try to order a raid on the "Jackpot Amusement Company", but are foiled by a patrolman. Walter Denton threatens to have the cop "pounding a beat in a swamp". Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, the "mayor" and "chief of police" and a number of other student government officials are jailed.
* JingletheCoins: In "Old Marblehead", a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Mr. Conklin's Carelessness Code". Mr. Conklin jingles the coins in the tin with which he to collects the fines he levies under his "carelessness code". More notable in the radio original, for obvious reasons.
* JiveTurkey: Orville Mason, a dance instructor who hangs out at Elmer's Malt Shop, in "The Mambo". Walter Denton chooses to describe Mason as a "jive hound" instead of as a turkey.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe:
** In "Two-way Stretch Snodgrass", Mr. Conklin explains to Miss Brooks his plan to get All-American football player and high school coach Biff Mooney to work for Madison High School. Rather than first going about his plan and bragging later.
** In the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mr. Stone threatens to fire Mr. Conklin once Stone's elected to the new post of "Coordinator of Education". This sets up the subplot where Mr. Conklin runs against Mr. Stone to head the school board.
* KarmicJackpot: Happens several times:
** One example is "The Festival", where, by loaning their money and exchanging outfits with the hardworking cleaning women and custodian (so they'll have something nice to wear to the festival) - Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton win the prize for best costume. True to form, they proceed to split the proceeds with the cleaning woman and custodian.
** Also happens in the episode "Mr. Whipple". Miss Brooks organizes a food drive for Mr. Whipple, who she mistakenly believes is impoverished. This so affects the misery millionaire, that he donates the money to build the new gymnasium Madison High School needs.
** Miss Brooks wins the Karmic Jackpot grand prize in TheMovie GrandFinale. Miss Brooks' good deeds are finally awarded, when she achieves her SeriesGoal, marriage to Mr. Boynton.
* KeepingSecretsSucks: Connie Brooks is often unwillingly made privy to Walter Denton's latest prank. Miss Brooks has to keep quiet or risk having Walter suspended or expelled, sometimes making her an almost ''de facto'' confederate to his schemes.
** i.e. "Cure That Habit" forces Miss Brooks to stay quiet about Walter's having sent a postcard to the titular alcoholism support group in Mr. Conklin's name.
** "Wild Goose Chase" has Miss Brooks be forced to keep quiet about Walter pretending to be a quiz show host, and having tricked Mr. Conklin in believing he won a free T.V. set.
** "The Cafeteria Strike" sees Miss Brooks have to cover up an impending protest by the students, led by Walter Denton.
** "Dress Code Protest" sees Miss Brooks try to dodge Mr. Conklin's discovering Walter's idiotic scheme to protest the principal's new dress code.
** "The Sweater" has Walter Denton put Miss Brook's name to an expensive present purchased by Miss Enright and gifted to Mr. Boynton. Miss Brooks is quite unwittingly pulled into the deception, but is loathe to reveal it as it results in an atypically amorous Mr. Boynton.
** "Stretch Has A Problem" sees a different kind of secret kept by Miss Brooks. Miss Brooks must keep secret Stretch's crush on Harriet Conklin, while keeping the lovesick DumbJock ready, willing and able to play in the state basketball tournament.
** "The Grudge Match" again deals with the Stretch-Harriet-Walter love triangle, as Miss Brooks must cover up the fact that Stretch Snodgrass went to the movies with Harriet Conklin, Walter's designated [[LoveInterest squeeze.]]
** Miss Brooks is quite the unwitting secret keeper. In "New School Bus", she has to hide the fact that Mr. Boynton bought an old paddy wagon to serve as a bus for Madison's sports teams.
* KidSidekick: Walter Denton usually drives Miss Brooks to school. He often sees her at lunch in the cafeteria, and will play a major part or even instigate the ZanyScheme of the week.
* KissDiss: At the end of "Capistrano's Revenge", Miss Brooks kisses Mr. Conklin, Bones Snodgrass, and Walter Denton on the cheek in appreciation for helping her save a swallow's life. When she goes to kiss her LoveInterest, the shy Mr. Boynton, he blushes and runs out the door!
-->'''Miss Brooks''': The big one always gets away!
* KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement: Misread by Miss Brooks in "Little Visitor". The fact that Mrs. Conklin hasn't been seen at school for months, and is known to be knitting many of tiny outfits leads Miss Brooks to jump to the conclusion In fact, the only thing the Mrs. Conklin is expecting is to take care of her sister's pet monkey for a couple weeks.
* LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine: Mr. Boynton typically wears a labcoat whenever he's seen in his classroom, the Biology room, at school. In "Madison Country Club", Mr. Conklin dismissively refers to the coat as a "burlap smock".
* LabPet: Mr. Boynton has a habit of naming many of his lab animals. However, that doesn't prevent him from doing fatal tests on them. In "New Girl in Town", it's revealed that he has been burying his mouse martyrs to science in the athletic field. Moreover, Miss Brooks has been (reluctantly) helping him.
** The trope is averted in the case of Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall. Although Mac is usually kept in the lab, he's a personal pet and not used for lab tests. Usually Mac's kept in a separate cage. However in the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mr. Boynton seems to have temporarily placed Mcdougall with a number of other frogs.
* LadyInWaiting: In "King and Brooks", Miss Brooks' dream sequence features several ladies in waiting serving her.
* LargeHamAnnouncer: In "The Grudge Match", Miss Brooks plays this trope to the hilt, sardonically giving a play-by-play of the boxing match between Stretch and Walter. Complete with faked commercials:
--> '''Miss Brooks''': As the fighters go the center of the ring, just a word of reminder. Boys, if like Walter Denton you're about to get your head knocked off, why not put an Adam patch on it first.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: "Mr. Conklin is Honored" begins with Mrs. Davis relating her sister Angela's recent brush with laser-guided amnesia. Later, Mr. Conklin ''fakes'' a case of his own.
* LaserGuidedKarma:
** A good example is ''The Festival''. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton lend their clothes and cash to the hardworking cleaning woman and custodian, so they can attend a costume party. Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton wear the clothes of the cleaning woman and custodian. They win a large cash prize - and of course split it with the custodian and the cleaning woman.]]
** In TheMovie, [[spoiler: Miss Brooks spends the movie tutoring Gary Nolan and helping him reconcile with his father. This, with a little subterfuge by Mrs. Davis thrown in, makes Mr. Boynton jealous enough to finally get serious. Later, Mr. Boynton's invitation for his lonely, recently widowed mother, to move to Madison, has him buy a house. Again, Mrs. Davis steps in and arranges to have the elder Mrs. Boynton as her new boarder. The upshot: Miss Brooks finally gets to marry Boynton, the two have their HappyEnding.]]
* LastMinuteHookup: After eight years on the radio, and four years (concurrently) on television, Connie Brooks finally gets Phillip Boynton to propose marriage in the last ten minutes of the [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale. Even then, the proposal is ''de facto'' delivered by [[TheMatchmaker Mrs. Davis and Mr. Boynton's mother.]]
* LastNameBasis: Brooks, Boynton, and Conklin always address each other formally, even outside of school.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Used from time to time. This example comes from "Hawkins Travel Agency". Miss Brooks is trying to sell Mr. Stone on a trip to France...
--> '''Miss Brooks''' (speaking with a French accent): Oh, there is nothing like [[GayParee Paree]] in the summer. The Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre Palais, the Place de Concorde... and Piccadilly Circus.
--> '''Mr. Stone''' Miss Brooks, Piccadilly Circus happens to be in London.
--> '''Miss Brooks''' (speaking with an cockney accent) : Right-O governor, but if you were so nearby, you wouldn't want to miss that now, would you?
* LateToThePunchline: Miss Brooks remarks to Mr. Boynton that stealing a kiss is "petting larceny". A couple minutes later, Mr. Boynton gets the joke and starts to laugh.
* LateForSchool: Miss Brooks is late for school a couple of times. It's SeriousBusiness, because she's a teacher!
** In "The Party Line", Miss Brooks is too late to catch the city bus to school. Walter Denton tried to warn her that his car was in the shop, but her [[GossipyHens chatty]] party line neighbor had the phone tied up.
** In "Wake-Up Plan", Miss Brooks sleeps in and misses half a day of school. Mrs. Davis had accidentally given Miss Brooks a sleeping pill instead of an aspirin.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale Walter Denton is late for English class. He nearly barrels over Mr. Conklin running through the hall. He arrives just in time to tell Harriet the drive shaft from his car fell out... then the bell rings and the class ends.
* LaughingAtYourOwnJokes: Mr. Boynton did this on a regular basis, both on radio and on television. His jokes are rarely that funny.
** In "Red River Valley", Mr. Boynton gives Miss Brooks a joke-book and cracks himself up trying to tell the joke.
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Now, when I first pick "My Dog Has Fleas" on the banjo like that, Miss Brooks, we spring our first humorous anecdote. You can read it right from the book. Here we are.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Thanks. What's that you played on the banjo, Mr. Interlocutor?
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': "My Dog Has Fleas".
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Funny kind of a dog. My dog has pups. OH NO!
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': (laughs)
-->'''Walter Denton''': (laughs) How corny can you get!
** In "The Auction", Mr. Boynton breaks himself up over the idea of leading his frogs on a leash downtown and telling the public to [[IncrediblyLamePun "get hopping"]] to Madison High.
** At the start of "Non-Fraternization Policy", Mr. Boynton tells a long, involved joke involving three turn-of-the-century Irish policemen and a horse. Mr. Boynton finds the joke funny. Nobody else does.
* LaughingMad: "Hobby Show" ends with Miss Brooks laughing hysterically, and smearing finger paints over her face.
* LaughOfLove: "Poetry Mixup" and [[SoundToScreenAdaptation "Bones, Son of Cyrano" (the TV remake)]], Mr. Boynton writes down a poem from ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac''. Boynton lends it to Walter Denton so the teen could use it to woo "the fair Harriet" [[ItMakesSenseInContext by anonymously hiding the poem in Harriet's lunch]]. Unfortunately, Harriet recognizes Mr. Boynton's handwriting and immediately becomes a SmittenTeenageGirl. Harriet returns Mr. Boynton's poem as a gesture of her love, madly giggling.
* LaymansTerms: In "Life Can Be Bones", Mr. Boynton explains the concept of the "missing link" to Miss Brooks and Walter Denton. He uses layman's terms to describe what exactly the "missing link" between ancient man and the primates would be and how it's fossilized skull would look. Mr. Boynton doesn't realize that Miss Brooks had just read his definition in a introductory book on paleontology; in fact, Mr. Boynton plagerized the book's description word-for-word.
* LayoutOfASeason: The fourth season of the television series began with the aptly named "Transition Show". Madison High School is torn down for a freeway, and Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin find new work at Miss Nester's Private School.
** The concurrent radio show and subsequent [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale finale]] [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored this move]] and continued at Madison High as per usual.
* LazyBum: The hobo calling himself "The Earl of Peoria" in "Miss Brooks Writes About a Hobo".
* LeadIn: Often, an episode begins with Miss Brooks conversing with Mrs. Davis over breakfast. While the conversation is usually relevant to the plot of the episode, occasionally it will just be a wacky interlude before the main story comes into play.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: An interesting example is found in the radio episode "Reckless Driving".
** Miss Brooks, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton, Harriet and Walter are on Mrs. Davis' porch listening to the radio.
** Creator/SteveAllen suddenly drives up asking for the way to Hollywood - turns out he's going to host the summer replacement for ''Our Miss Brooks''.
** The radio is tuned to ''Our Miss Brooks'' Miss Brooks calling it the show "with the school teacher with my name".
** Miss Brooks, incidentally, thinks Eve Arden is "a doll". Mr. Conklin hates the pompous principal, while Walter Denton likes "one character in particular."
** Eve Arden announces her summer replacement, saying she would be listening to Steve Allen's show that summer. Everybody on the porch commending her nice speech. Allen, however, wonders if she'll really be listening. Cue Eve Arden saying of course she would, he has her job!
*** This scene wasn't duplicated in the television remake, "Trial by Jury". [[spoiler: There, the program ended with Miss Brooks pleading her innocence in court before a jury with Mr. Conklin as a member.]]
* LetsYouAndHimFight: In "Stretch Is Accused of Professionalism", teenaged DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass enters a circus wrestling contest and wins a prize. Unfortunately, this came to the attention of rival Clay City High School principal Jason Brille. By a technical reading of school board rules, this makes Stretch a "professional athlete" and ineligible for school sports. Miss Brooks tries to get the wrestler, visiting Madison High School to deliver Stretch the prize money, to attack school board head Mr. Stone. In that way, she hopes proof of the wrestler's violent nature would lead to Mr. Stone waiving any penalty against Stretch.
* LetXBeTheUnknown: "Project X" has Mr. Conklin develop the eponymous secret project as a way of impressing school board president Mr. Stone.
* LickedByTheDog: Mr. Conklin softens on several occasions. One such example is the episode "The Miserable Caballero", where Mr. Conklin softens toward Benny Romero, a runaway Mexican boy.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: At work with the adults characters. Miss Brooks, from near the start, is after the position of Madison High School Head of the English Department. She never gets it; obstructions include blabbermouths sharing the "Party Line" and a nervous nerve-specialist claiming she's overwrought "Noodnick, Daughter of Medic". At least once, Mr. Boynton suffers from this trope; his attempt to be hired as a college professor ends in HilarityEnsues with Miss Brooks trying to masquerade as his mother ("The Wrong Mrs. Boynton). Even Mr. Conklin can't get a promotion; he's the subject of a false scandal in "The Little Visitor", and otherwise embarrassed in "Project X". In the penultimate television episode, "Principal For A Day", Miss Brooks' leadership of Mrs. Nestor's Private Elementary School is short-lived.
* ListOfTransgressions: In "Spare That Rod!", Mr. Conklin is tricked into believing he's about to be fired for being "flagrantly dictatorial" in his [[DeanBitterman administration of Madison High School]]. As a result, he requests Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass provide him with a list of his transgressions:
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Now, if you will read me your bill of particulars considering my various infamies...
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': We're all going to read some of it, Mr. Conklin. Will you begin Miss Brooks?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Thank you, Mr. Boynton. Whereas I, Osgood Conklin, Principal of Madison High School, desiring to improve relations between myself, the faculty, and the student body... your turn, Walter.
-->'''Walter Denton''': Ahem. Do promise to keep the following ever before me as a reminder of past sins of which I am heartily ashamed.
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Which I ain't never gonna repeat no more.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Splendid. Splendid. Please continue.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Wait until you hear this! I readily admit on many occasions I have acted like a pompous, puffed up, ill tempered, addlepated blowhard.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Forgive me, but it seems to me you have omitted maladjusted.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Please don't interrupt, that's in the next paragraph. Now, where was I?
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Addlepated blowhard.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Oh yes. Addlepated blowhard. And on other occasions, I have bellowed like a bull...
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Screamed like an elephant...
-->'''Walter Denton''': Hissed like a viper...
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Snorted like a buffalo...
-->'''Miss Brooks''': And otherwise exhibited the behavior of a maladjusted nincompoop.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Oh, oh, oh, there it is!
* LiteralMinded: Mr. Jensen, the school custodian, makes a few radio appearances. He insists on interpreting figures of speech and phrases literally. Thus, to Miss Brooks' consternation (i.e. "School Safety Advisor") any attempt at conversation with him quickly turns into a chore.
* TheLittleDetecto: Walter and Miss Brooks use a Geiger counter in "Rare Black Orchid" to search for uranium. Walter had discovered some on his shoe and concluded he had unknowingly stepped in uranium recently.
* LivingLegend: Two, at least:
** In "The Big Game", there's former high school football star "Snakehips", whose high score in the big game won him a job as a vice-president.
** In "Safari O'Tool", there's Mrs. Davis's beau, a famous jungle explorer. [[spoiler: He's a fraud.]]
* LivingStatue:
** In "Living Statues", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Walter Denton are accidently glued into place.
** In "Hobbies", Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin pretend to be wax figures in order to dodge Mr. Stone. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* LocalHangout: Marty's Malt Shop, located across the street from Madison High School, is popular with students and faculty alike.
* LockedInAFreezer: Happens twice:
** In "Home Cooked Meal", Mr. Conklin is locked in the cafeteria freezer.
** In "Male Superiority", Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks and Walter Denton are trapped in a meat locker. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks is the only one who doesn't panic.]]
* LoopholeAbuse:
** In "Wakeup Plan", [[spoiler: after accidently ingesting Mrs. Davis' sleeping pills, Mr. Conklin is caught sleeping in his office by the head of the board, Mr. Stone, and his assistant, Mr. Gleason. Miss Brooks successfully argues that Mr. Conklin was only seen sleeping during the lunch hour and after school - that is, on his own time.]]
** "Department Store Contest" [[spoiler: features an unusual case of ''accidental'' loophole abuse. Miss Brooks wins a prize when a childhood letter to Santa Claus is accidently entered in a children's contest at Sherry's Department. As she wrote the letter ''when she was a child'', she was able to walk away with the prize and avoid trouble.]]
* LostFoodGrievance:
** In "The Honest Burglar", and "The Burglar, [[SoundToScreenAdaptation the television remake]], Mr. Conklin is furious at a food thief who stole the fried chicken his wife left for him.
** In the radio episode "Taking the Rap for Mr. Boynton", Miss Brooks tries to impress Mr. Boynton by framing Mr. Boynton for eating Mr. Conklin's chicken dinner and then taking the blame for him. ItMakesSenseInContext. The plan goes south when teenager [[BigEater Walter Denton]] eats Mr. Conklin's chicken dinner before it can be delivered to Mr. Boynton.
* LostVoicePlot: Mr. Conklin loses his voice in "Public Speaker's Nightmare", just before he's about to greet important officials from the national board of educations. Unusually for the trope, the cause is psychosomatic.
* LovableJock: Stretch Snodgrass, Madison High's star athlete. He's [[DumbJock dimwitted]], but good natured to the point where he's willing to transfer schools if it'll get his best friend Walter Denton on the Madison football team ("Two Way Stretch Snodgrass). Stretch is apparently very popular, when he [[ItMakesSenseInContext accidentally vandalizes the school]] in "Stuffed Gopher", Miss Brooks and Walter gets a crew of students to fix the damage and cover for him.
* LoveAtFirstSight: In TheMovie GrandFinale, Miss Brooks falls in love with Mr. Boynton the first time they meet.
* LoveHurts: Miss Brooks is deeply in love with largely ObliviousToLove Mr. Boynton. Because FailureIsTheOnlyOption, Miss Brooks' schemes to get Mr. Boynton to marry her inevitably fail [[spoiler: until TheMovie GrandFinale when Miss Brooks finally marries Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter]].
* LoveLetter / LoveLetterLunacy: The plot of the episode "Bones, Son of Cyrano". A love letter gets misdirected and misinterpreted multiple times. HilarityEnsues. [[spoiler: Especially, when Mr. Conklin believes Miss Brooks is in love with him!]] This is a remake of the radio episode "Poetry Mixup". The only difference is Stretch Snodgrass is replaced by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute his brother]].
* TheMagazineRule: In "Miss Brooks Writes About a Hobo", Miss Brooks seeks out a hobo to write an article about "The Vanishing Hobo" to submit to a schoolteacher's magazine. It so turns out the titular hobo is also writing a magazine article. The hobo's article is entitled "The Vanishing Schoolteacher" and he is paid handsomely by a ''hobo magazine'' for its publication.
* MakeAnExampleOfThem: Part of Principal Osgood Conklin's modus operandi at Madison High School. There is, after all, a reason Miss Brooks considers Conklin to be Madison's dictator:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Having expected a one way trip to Devil's Island, I thought the punishment Mr. Conklin meted out was comparatively just. However, it was just after 7:00 that evening when I got home.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': Why Connie, I was getting to get worried about you! Where in the world have you been all afternoon?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': I was doing a little writing, Mrs. Davis.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': Writing? What were you writing?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': Oh, I don't think you'd be interested, it's not your type of stuff.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': I'm interested in everything you do, Connie. Please, tell me all about it.\\
'''Miss Brooks''': Well, if you insist, Mrs. Davis. But you'd better sit down, this may take quite a while.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': Alright. ''(sits down)'' There. Now, what did you write?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': [[WritingLines I wrote "Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had. Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had. Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had..."]]
* MakeOutPoint:
** On radio and television, the EverytownAmerica setting of Madison had Outpost Road, a scenic sight in the country outside of town. It's the focus of the radio episode "Outpost Road". Walter Denton and Harriot Conklin had been caught necking out on Outpost Road, but to avoid being identified after their narrow escape, they claimed to have loaned his jalopy to Miss Brooks and Mr Boynton. An interesting prospect for Connie, but she doesn’t want to be dragged into the mess. Connie only agrees to play along if Mr Boynton does. Amazingly, he does, and the two teachers plan to return to the scene of the crime for their own necking session.
** Due to ExecutiveMeddling, the fourth season of the television program was set in the Los Angeles area with little explanation. On a couple occasions, gym instructor Gene Talbot attempts to take Miss Brooks out to Mulholland Drive. Miss Brooks resists.
* MalevolentMugshot:
** Mr. Conklin has an extremely large portrait of himself over his living room fireplace, as first seen in the television premier "Trying to Pick A Fight". It's PlayedForLaughs, as it indicative of his pomposity and his self-regard. It's worth noting, although Mr. Conklin has a wife and teenage daughter, ''their'' portraits are nowhere to be seen.
** The episode "Old Marblehead" sees Mr. Conklin scheming to get a bust of his head to replace that of Julius Caesar's in the school library. He makes the students and teachers pay for it by levying arbitrary fines via his "Carelesslessness code."
** In "Friday the Thirteenth", Mr. Conklin posts a photo of himself on the school bulletin board. He is regaled complete in black suit, black hat and midnight-blue tie. His photograph is there to suggest to students and faculty the value of proper dress and deportment. Walter Denton nails a picture of Miss Brooks' body in a French bathing suit beneath Mr. Conklin's head.
** In "Mr. Conklin's Wax Effigies," Mr. Conklin makes a wax statue of himself. Miss Brooks believes it to Mr. Conklin himself.
** "Space, Who Needs It?" sees Mr. Conklin, again pranked by Walter Denton, firm in the belief he's discovered a new planet. Conklin names it "Conklin Junior."
** In "Fargo Whiskers", Mr. Conklin has a small portrait of himself upon his desk. State school-board official Mr. Fargo can't stand sitting there, looking at the photgraph. So, Fargo pushes the portrait face-down.
* MaliciousSlander: In "April Fools' Day", Miss Enright writes to a romance columnist using Miss Brooks' initials. She plans to use it to humiliate Miss Brooks in front of Mr. Conklin and his dinner guests.
* MaltShop: Marty's Malt Shop, found across the street from Madison High it's practically an institution amongst students and faculty alike.
* ManInAKilt: Mr. Conklin dresses as a Scotsman in "The Festival", complete with kilt. He's also carrying about bagpipes for good measure.
* ManipulativeEditing: In "Public Speakers Nightmare" and "The Tape Recorder", innocuous recordings are accidentally misplayed to produce Miss Brooks saying scandalous things about Mr. Conklin, and Mr. Conklin insulting Mr. Stone, Head of the Board of Education. These recordings, incidentally, are played in front of Mr. Stone...
* MarriageOfConvenience:
** In "King and Brooks", a Indian maharajah proposes marriage to Miss Brooks. Miss Brooks refuses to marry for convenience, it's only a marriage for love that appeals to Connie. However, the fact that Miss Brooks would be the polygamous maharajah's ''fourth'' wife had something to do with her reluctance!
** Refused in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale, Miss Brooks refuses a heartfelt marriage proposal from Lawrence Nolan because she likes, but doesn't love him. Miss Brooks again refuses to marry for anything but love, although Nolan is very wealthy. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie, Miss Brooks married Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter]]
* MarriedAnimals: In the episode "Minerva's Kittens", Mrs. Davis and Miss Brooks wait at the veterinary hospital for Minerva to give birth. They share this exchange:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Please, Mrs. Davis, calm down. Even Timothy isn't as jumpy as you are. You're as nervous as a cat.
-->'''Timothy''': [[NearlyNormalAnimal ''Meow'']].
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': What is ''he'' doing here?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Why shouldn't he be here? He's Minerva's husband. It's very nice of him to take such an interest.
* MarriedInTheFuture:
** In "The Dream", not only does Mr. Boynton marry Miss Brooks, but teenagers Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin also get married. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin also have a son. Time flash-forwards many years, where it turns out that Mr. Boynton's and Miss Brooks' daughter is going steady with Mr. Conklin's son Osgood Junior.
** In TheMovie [[GrandFinale Series Finale]], Miss Brooks fantasizes about her future married life with Mr. Boynton.
* MarriedToTheJob:
** Mr. Conklin is devoted to his job at Madison High School. Although he doesn't really need the money, he acts as principal during the summer school months. In the radio episode "Carelessness Code", Mr. Conklin gives his reasons:
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': It doesn't matter what time of year it is, Madison High is my baby!
** In the episode "The Hobby Show" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "The Work Horse"), Miss Brooks' friends fear she's overworking herself. They throw her a hobby afternoon. HilarityEnsues.
** In TheMovie GrandFinale, Lawrence Nolan is so focussed on running his newspaper that he neglects his son Gary, most nights leaving him to eat with the servants. Gary becomes moody and resentful, deliberately failing English and becoming disliked by his peers. Connie does a good job diagnoising the problem, and helping set father and son to right. [[spoiler: Lawrence is so taken with Connie he proposes marriage; Connie likes but does not love him, so she declines. Ultimately Connie marries longtime LoveInterest, shy biology teacher Phillip Boynton at film's end.]]
* MasqueradeBall: Not one, but two:
** In "The Festival", a masquerade festival is being held in a park near Madison High School.
** The masquerade in "Cinderella for a Day" is a swankier event, a dance held at the local country club.
* TheMatchmaker:
** In "Weekend At Crystal Lake", Mrs. Conklin tries to play matchmaker for Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton. [[spoiler: It backfires horribly.]]
** Many times throughout the series, teenager Walter Denton lends his "skills", usually with little positive effect. [[spoiler: "Trying to Pick A Fight" and "Life Can Be Bones" are just two of his more flatfooted attempts.]]
** It is, however, Mrs. Davis who eventually emerges as the champ. [[spoiler: Mrs. Davis' advice in "Tears for Mr. Boynton", nearly gets Miss Brooks a proposal of marriage. However, in the TheMovie GrandFinale, it is Mrs. Davis' matchmaking that finally gets Miss Brooks married to Mr. Boynton and achieving her HappilyEverAfter.]]
* MatteShot: Used often. A good example is the final scene of "The Big Jump", where the action takes place on the Madison High rooftop with a matte background in behind.
* MayDecemberRomance: Miss Brooks is the subject of two unwanted aged geriatric suitors. ** In "The Telegram", she's the object of affection for Mrs. Davis' nonegenarian Uncle Corky.
** Meanwhile, the younger, but still senior citizen, Mr. Barlow falls for Miss Brooks in "Puppy Love and Mr. Barlow".
* MayorPain:
** Mayor Rimson in "Student Government Day" is a mix of the evil and incompetent. Rimson is so corrupt, he's even getting a kickback from the gangsters running the "Jackpot Amusement Company". The company puts rigged slot machines in candy stores, getting children and teens to gamble away their money on machines that don't pay out. Rimson is reluctantly forced to turn on the crooks; he only does so because his campaign advisor "Honest John" tells him the situation is too hot. In a glaring example of incompetence, Rimson's police force had arrested the Mayor-for-a-day Harriet Conklin, the Police-Chief-for-a-day Walter Denton, and Miss Brooks for good measure.
** Averted in "Faculty Band" and "Public Property on Parade". Mayor Rimsom had been replaced by an honest, and, based on his appearance in "Public Property on Parade", a competent mayor.
* MauriceChevalierAccent: French teacher Monsieur [=LeBlanc=]. Likewise with any French character that appears on the show (or was heard in the radio version).
* TheMcCoy: Miss Brooks routinely made her life difficult bending to the rules to help students avoid trouble or otherwise help friends in need. Or, particularly in "The Birthday Bag" and "The Festival", she'd contribute more to charity than she could afford.
* MeasuringtheMarigolds: Mr. Boynton is prone to this behavior. In "The Magic Tree", when Miss Brooks points out mistletoe, Mr. Boynton takes it as a cue to begin a lecture on the characteristics of the plant.
* MedalsForEveryone: In "Mr. Whipple", the eponymous Mr. Whipple, a curmudgeonly millionaire, is impressed by the Madison High crew's kindness. Mr. Whipple drives them to a department store in his limousine, buys them new formal clothes, pays for a band for the school dance, and agrees to browbeat the school board into building a new Madison High School gymnasium.
* MeddlesomePatrolman
** In "Four Leaf Clover", Miss Brooks is plagued by a far less courteous cop. When she accidentally knocks over Mr. Morelli's barber pole, the policeman forces her to go to Morelli's house right away - making Miss Brooks (and Mr. Boynton, who she was supposed to drive to school) very late for school. To add insult to injury, no one is at home and Miss Brooks is required to return later in the day. Hours later, the policeman comes by Madison High and makes Miss Brooks settle with the man whose yard from whom she picked the four-leaf clover. It turns out Miss Brooks caused $50 worth of damage to very expesive golf sod. Finally, when Miss Brooks finally finds Mr. Morelli at home, the meddlesome policeman comes by and quarantines Miss Brooks (and Mr. Conklin, whose airplane tickets Miss Brooks had accidentally pocketed) at Mr. Morelli's house. It seems as if Morelli has the measles, and someone stole his quarantine sign!
* MenCantKeepHouse: Averted. Mr. Boynton's apartment is seen in "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton". All Miss Brooks has to criticize is the abundance of wildlife specimens and an abundance of doors.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Not bad. If you like wildlife... and doors.
* TheMentallyDisturbed: Mrs. Davis' reference to increasing "absentmindedness" (as well as that of her sister Angela's and brother Victor) isn't funny if you view it as the first signs of dementia. Most of the time Mrs. Davis' absentmindedness is plain forgetfulness. However, there are exceptions. Especially notable is "Phone Book Follies", where Mrs. Davis' is inadvertently and absentmindedly pocketing people's phone books when she visits.
* MessOnAPlate: Some of Mrs. Davis' CordonBleughChef dishes fall into this category.
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Miss Brooks' [[CoolOldLady elderly landlady]], Mrs. Davis, is shorter than the other characters - including the teenagers. Mrs. Davis' sister, Angela, is also short.
* MirthlessLaughter: An overstressed Miss Brooks laughs nervously in "Hobby Show".
* MisplacedWildlife: In "Indian Burial Ground", Miss Brooks reads a newspaper article about the lost burial ground of a Arapaho war party that used gold spears decorated with ''peacock'' feathers. This raises the question where an Indian tribe would have obtained a supply of peacock feathers in the 19th century United States.
* MissedHimByThatMuch: Miss Brooks keeps missing Mr. Boynton in "Mr. Boynton's Return". She finally catches him at the airport as he's about to leave town to visit his parents. Mr. Boynton decides to skip his flight, and spend the weekend in town so he can spend time with Miss Brooks.
* MissingMom: In The Movie Grand Finale, Gary Nolan's mother succumbed to Death by Childbirth, leaving his father Lawrence a widower. [[spoiler: Lawrence proposes to Connie Brooks, but Connie ultimately marries longtime Love Interest Mr. Boynton.]]
* MistakenAge:
** In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mr. Boynton's parents]] mistake a housecleaning Miss Brooks for old Mrs. Davis.
** In "Former Student Visits", Miss Brooks is desperate to appear young. She tries to hide the fact that she's already been teaching high school for several years. Unfortunately for her, the "former student" visiting had been in her very first class. He's since graduated from medical school and become a doctor!
* MistakenForDying: The episode "Have Bed - Will Travel" sees Mrs Davis' medical records mixed with an ill nonagenarian friend, making Miss Brooks believe her landlady is mortally ill.
* MistakenForFakeHair: In the episode "Mister Fargo Whiskers", Miss Brooks has reason to believe that [[TeachersPet Walter]] will be impersonating a state school board official by the name of Fargo. Especially when it turns out that Mr. Fargo's first name is Walter! When Miss Brooks meets Fargo, she insulting mimics his twang (thinking it's a fake accent of Walter Denton). Then she tries to pull of Mr. Fargo's titular whiskers. Miss Brooks makes a hasty retreat when Walter Denton walks into the room... asking for help putting on his fake beard!
* MistakenForServant: In "Marriage Madness", Mrs. Davis pretends to be Miss Brooks' maid. Mrs. Davis wants to test her fiancé to see if he wants to marry her for the Davis money. [[spoiler: The man's a con artist. He does only want to marry Mrs. Davis for her money.]]
* MistakenIdentity: Several times, naturally HilarityEnsues:
** In "Red River Valley", Mr. Conklin, Harriet, Walter, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton confuse state board official Mr. Jones with Deacon Jones, the "Hillbilly Heifetz" and leader of a square dance troupe.
** In "Fargo Whiskers", Mr. Conklin believes school official Fargo is a disguised Walter Denton.
** In "Head of the State Board of Education", thanks to Stretch Snodgrass' bungling, Miss Brooks and company accuse the man with the eponymous title of being an unemployed park bench loafer.
* MistakenMessage: Figures prominently in "Bones, Son of Cyrano".
* MockMillionaire: Occasional episodes have Miss Brooks play this trope, either to impress a snooty dowager ("Madison Country Club"), protect Mrs. Davis' feelings ("The Return of Red Smith"), or even to derail Mrs. Davis' engagement to a confidence man ("Marriage Madness").
* ModestRoyalty: The titular king in "King and Brooks". He wears an ordinary suit. Subverted in Miss Brooks' dream, where ErmineCapeEffect applies.
* ModelingPoses: In "Acting Director", Miss Brooks makes several quick poses for the camera as a ''Creator/WarnerBros'' photographer takes snapshots.
* MonkeyMoralityPose: Two examples:
** In "The Loaded Custodian", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton mime the three wise monkeys when caught looking for hidden treasure in Mr. Barlow's office.
** In "Wild Goose", again Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton mime the three wise monkeys when asked by Mr. Conklin who had tricked him into thinking he had won a free television set.
* MorallyBankruptBanker: The titular Mr. Travers in "Mr. Travers' Three Acre Lot".
* MoralMyopia: In "Clay City English Teacher", Mr. Conklin views it as perfectly acceptable to use incentives to lure teachers away from other schools to Madison High. However, he is disgusted by any effort to lure his teachers away to other schools; in this case, a plan by his SitcomArchNemesis Jason Brille of Clay City High School to steal Miss Brooks.
* MotorMouth: Walter Denton sometimes talks rapidly when nervous, or when trying to polish the apple. In the episode "Cafeteria Strike", he motors through a student's petition:
--> '''Walter Denton:''' [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Whereas and to wit...]]\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[RedScare That's pretty strong language, isn't it? A little on the pink side.]]\\
'''Harriet Conklin:''' Listen, Miss Brooks.\\
'''Walter Denton:''' When in the course of student's events, it becomes necessary to turn one's back on one's stomach, we the undersigned, exercising our constitutional right to peaceably assemble, and to form a committee to seek the redress of grievances, do hereby announce our firm intention of the Madison High School Cafeteria only to use the tables, chairs, water, napkins and toothpicks provided therein. Until such a time that the duly appointed party or parties, namely Mr. Osgood Conklin, principal, or the Board of Education, responsible for the operational bog-down that has befallen this installation, do take such action that will improve the food, lower the prices and better the service in said cafeteria. It is also recommended the person, or persons, in whom this authority is vested, immediately see that the present chef in charge of preparing the food, and without any further frippery or fanfare, [[GoshDarnItToHeck chuck him the heck off the premises.]] Well Miss Brooks, what do you think of it?\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[DeadpanSnarker How much do you want for the picture rights?]]
* MountainOfFood: Walter Denton gets a large breakfast at Mrs. Davis, whenever he arrives to take Miss Brooks to school. [[BigEater This is usually after he has eaten breakfast at home.]]
* TheMovie: In 1956. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter.]]
* TheMunchausen: [[spoiler: Safari O'Toole, Mrs. Davis's friend in the episode of the same name, pretends to be a gentleman explorer. In spite of his tall tales, he's a likeable character who only mades up his stories so he could impress Mrs. Davis.]]
* MustHaveLotsOfFreeTime: Sixteen-year-old Walter Denton is almost always driving Miss Brooks to school, and often sees her during the day. This in spite of the fact that he is usually portrayed as relatively popular, and likewise has a steady girlfriend.
* MyBelovedSmother: Mr. Boynton hangs on his mother's every word:
** A few episodes suggest Mr. Boynton is still receiving money from home.
** In "Mr. Conklin Plays Detective", Mr. Boynton gets into trouble for using Mr. Conklin's telephone to make the long distance call his mother told him to make.
** The radio episodes "Mr. Boynton's Parents" and "Former Student Visits", suggest Mrs. Boynton has very definite ideas as to the type of woman M. Boynton should marry...
** In the series' [[TheMovie the cinematic]] GrandFinale, Mr. Boynton ends up buying a house to take care of his ailing mother. However, the elder Mrs. Boynton is ultimately a kind woman, and eventually conspires with Mrs. Davis to ensure Miss Brooks is able to marry her son and live HappilyEverAfter.
--> '''Mrs. Boynton''': Believe me, my dear, I wouldn't stand in the way of your happiness for all the world!
* MyCarHatesMe: Miss Brooks' car, when she has one. It's almost always in the shop. In fact, the number of episodes (on either radio and television) where she gets to drive her car can be counted on one hand; namely "Game At Clay City", "Who's Going Where", "Four Leaf Clover", "Brooks' New Car" and "Head of the State Board of Education".
* MyCard: The shyster lawyer in "Hospital Capers" gives his card to Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton.
* MyNaymeIs: In "Suzie Prentiss", Suzie spells her surnmame "Prentisss". A SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Stretch Is In Love".
* MysteryEpisode: At least three:
** "Mr. Conklin Plays Detective": Someone sneaks into Mr. Conklin's office one Friday afternoon, steals his typewriter and makes a long-distance call to Rockaway, Minnesota. [[spoiler: It's Mr. Boynton. But he left the money for the call, along with an explanation. He oiled the typewriter and put it away in Mr. Conklin's closet]]
** "Postage Due": Miss Brooks wants to return the ten cents postage due the friendly old neighborhood postman. When a postman delivers a letter with postage due, he's deducted the money from his salary. Unfortunately, the postman has retired and apparently disappeared. Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin are worried about his well-being and try to find him. [[spoiler: the postman is a crook about to board a ship to South America. Miss Brooks' honesty and concern actually prompted the US post office to investigate his whereabouts to help their former employee. To everybody's surprise, he's been embezzling cheques and cash placed in his trust]]
** "The Jewel Robbery": Miss Brooks mistakenly believes Mr. Boynton robbed a jewelry store [[spoiler: It's actually a dishwasher in the school cafeteria. The dishwasher was also stealing cafeteria funds]]
* TheNapoleon: Invoked in the first season radio episode "Easter Outfit". In a prime example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, Walter Denton mentions that Principal Conklin's nickname amongst the students is "Napoleon", due to his pompousness, irascibility and bad temper. A few months later, that nickname was [[RetGone RetGoned]], the radio version of "Mr. Conklin's Carelessness Code" [[SoundToScreenAdaptation (later remade for television)]] forever established Conklin's nickname amongst the students and faculty as being "Old Marblehead".
* NarratingTheObvious: Lampshaded by Miss Brooks in "School Mascot":
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Well, as they used to say before television, let's go in.
* {{Narrator}}: On the radio, a narrator introduces the show and gives a brief introduction. Often enough, the introduction passes to Miss Brooks who gives comments of her own on her role and reaction to the upcoming events. Sometimes, the narrator or Miss Brooks give another short narration after the message from the the sponsor.
* NearlyNormalAnimal : Type three, Almost Normal Animals.
** Mrs. Davis' cat Minera and Mr. Boynton's frog Mcdougall are, on occasion, much smarter than your average cat or frog.
** In the radio episode "The Frog" Miss Brooks receives a call from a tom cat meowing for Minerva.
** When Minerva has kittens ("Minerva's Kittens"), her "husband" Tim is with Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis in the vet's waiting room. Tim faints when he's told he's the father of six.
* NeedleworkIsForOldPeople: Mrs. Davis' hobby is knitting ("Hobby Show"). However, she is also adept at sewing and dressmaking ("Madison Country Club"). A few episodes reference the fact Mrs. Davis is a member of a sewing circle ("The Stolen Wardrobe" and "Mr. Casey's Will").
* {{Nepotism}}:
** In the episode "Cafeteria Strike", Mr. Conklin hires Mr. Turnbull, his unemployed brother-in-law, as the school chef. His cooking is so bad the students at Madison High School boycott the cafeteria.
** In the final television season, the vice principal of Mrs. Nestor's private elementary school is Oliver Munsee, brother to Winona and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Ruth Nestor.]]
** In "New Gym Instructor", Miss Brooks is given the opportunity to choose the new gym instructor. Mr. Conklin tries to get Miss Brooks to choose his brother, Sam Conklin.
** In "Twins at School", Mr. Conklin tries to get Miss Brooks fired so he can hire his sister in her place.
* NeverForgottenSkill:
** "Mr. Whipple" sees Mrs. Davis fill in as a nurse for the titular miserly millionaire... in spite of having left the nursing profession many years before.
** Subverted in the episode "The First Aid Course", [[spoiler: where Miss Brooks pretends to have forgotten first aid in order to avoid teaching a night course. This backfires when romantic rival and fellow teacher Miss Enright ends up continuing the course - and Mr. Boynton signs up.]]
* NeverMessWithGranny: In "Angela's Wedding", Mrs. Davis beats up a hulking gym teacher when he [[DisproportionateRetribution criticizes the deviled eggs she prepared.]]
* NeverRecycleABuilding: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] the house across the street from Mrs. Davis' remains vacant and "For Sale" from the time Miss Brooks moves in. [[JustifiedTrope Explained in story]] by Mr. Webster, the realtor, as being due to the fact the owner is asking too much money. [[spoiler: From the start, Miss Brooks sees this as her future dream house where she will live in wedded bliss. At the end of the film, Mr. Boynton buys the house, and marries Miss Brooks.]]
* NeverWinTheLottery: Miss Brooks falls victim to this trope in "The $350,000 Question".
* NewJobEpisode: "Vitamin E-12" and "Le Chien Chaud Et Le Mouton Noir" see Miss Brooks get positions outside school.
* NewTransferStudent: The titular "New Girl in Town". Harriet Conklin is jealous because the new girl is after Walter Denton. Things don't become serious, until Miss Brooks finds out that the girl's mother has eyes for LoveInterest Mr. Boynton.
* NewYearSameClass: Walter Denton, Harriet Conklin and Stretch Snodgrass are always in Miss Brooks' English class and Mr. Boynton's Biology class. Subverted once in "Faculty Cheerleader", where Mr. Conklin places Walter, Harriet and Stretch in separate English classes to punish Walter Denton; however the status quo is restored by the end.
* NiceGuy:
** Miss Brooks is a nice girl example, who is always trying to help others (and marry Mr. Boynton). Mr. Boynton is also a nice guy, unfortunately for Miss Brooks, he's [[ObliviousToLove oblivious to love]].
** Harriet Conklin also counts as a nice girl example. Her father, scheming and domineering Mr. Conklin, is definitely not a nice guy. Walter Denton is likely too much of a prank player and troublemaker to qualify.
** Stretch Snodgrass (and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute his brother Bones]]) also qualify.
* NiceHat: Mr. Conklin's often seen wearing a fedora out of doors. Mr. Boynton and Mr. Stone also wear fedoras on occasion. Subverted in "Bargain Hats for Mother's Day", when Mrs. Davis produces homemade women's hats that Miss Brooks finds hard to sell.
* NiceKitty: Happens with "Peanuts, the Great Dane" in the episode of the same name.
* NightmareSequence: Miss Brooks suffers through nightmare sequences on at least three different occasions:
** In "Connie's New Job Offer," Miss Brooks dreams she leaves Madison and becomes the mayor of a city in New Jersey. However, the dreams ends with Councilman Conklin impeaching her for her tyrannical rule over the city.
** In "Connie Tries To Forget Mr. Boynton," Miss Brooks' efforts to forget about Mr. Boynton leads her to see his face on everyone: the American ambassador to India, a society matron, a fourteen-year-old boy, even a baby. Fortunately, it was just a dream.
** In "Friendship," Miss Brooks suffers a recurring dream where a man chases her with a knife.
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: In "Hobbies", Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton masquerade as wax figures to hide from Board Superintendent Mr. Stone.
* NoirEpisode: "Postage Due" sees Miss Brooks search for a vanished postman wearing a trench coat and narrating the action with a PrivateEyeMonologue.
* NonFatalExplosions: In "Home Cooked Meal", Mr. Conklin lights a match in a kitchen that has filled with natural gas. Mr. Conklin only ends up slightly blackened, although the roast turkey that had been sitting in the oven ends up mushed all over Mr. Conklin.
* NoSnackForYou: In "The Weighing Machine", the eponymous machine takes a penny from Miss Brooks but doesn't give her weight. Egged on by her friends, Miss Brooks spends the rest of the episode trying to get the penny returned on principle.
* NoSuchThingAsHR: For all intents and purposes, Miss Brooks only has two superiors.
** Mr. Conklin, the principal of Madison High School, is Connie Brooks' immediate superior. He can order Connie around at school; and even assign her to type his speeches or paperwork at night. The one power Mr. Conklin doesn't seem to have is the power to fire Miss Brooks.
** Mr. Conklin's superior, Mr. Stone, the Head of the Board of Education, ''does''. Stone also has a veto over all staffing decisions at the various schools; including the appointment of department heads. Stone is usually able to dismiss or retire principals and teachers at will, something he does with several over-the-hill principals in "Noodnick, Daughter of Medic". However, in "Foreign Teachers" and TheMovie GrandFinale, Stone needs to get permission from the rest of the school board to actually dismiss a principal. [[spoiler: at the end of TheMovie, Miss Brooks' marries Mr. Boynton]]
* NosyNeighbor: A variation on the trope appears in the episode "The Party Line". Here, Miss Brooks (and landlady Mrs. Davis) are plagued by "Grace". Grace is a woman on their party line who ties up the line constantly talking to her best friend Bertha. However, she doesn't stop there. Grace and her husband consistently listen in on Miss Brooks' conversation. At the end of episode, Miss Brooks succeeds in having the party line changed, only to end up sharing a phone with ''Bertha'' who is always talking to Grace. The episode ends with Bertha interrupting Miss Brooks' conversation with Mr. Boynton, and trying to get his phone number!
* NotablyQuickDeliberation: In "Trial by Jury" (and its radio equivalent, "Reckless Driving"), Miss Brooks notes the jury made a quick decision, punishing her with "a rather stiff fine". Mr. Conklin, [[HollywoodLaw who was on the jury]], wanted to hurry out of court and go fishing.
* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore:
** In "Spare That Rod!", a temporarily humbled Mr. Conklin tries to curry favor with his students and faculty - after being tricked into thinking his job was hanging by a thread for being "flagrantly dictatorial". Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass take advantage of this to present him with a petition. Mr. Conklin, again assured that his job is safe, shouts them out of his office.
** In "Marinated Hearing", Miss Brooks decides to tell off a temporarily deaf Mr. Conklin. Unfortunately for Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin had ''just'' recovered his hearing...
* NotAMorningPerson: Miss Brooks sometimes finds it hard to get up in the morning.
* TheNounWhoVerbed: ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'' had a few episodes named in this format. For example, on television there was "Mr. Conklin Plays Detective". On the radio, the episode "Connie Tries To Forget Mr. Boynton" followed this trope.
* ObstacleSkiCourse: In "Skis In The Classroom", Miss Brooks ends up skiing downhill without knowing how to ski. Miss Brooks ends her ski with a very ill advised maneuver; she skis toward a tree, grabs onto the branches and tumbles into the snow!
* ObstructiveBureaucrat:
** Miss Brooks runs into an obstructive clerk (played by Frank Nelson) in "Custodian of Students Funds". Mrs. Davis accidently uses school money to buy Miss Brooks a present from Sherry's Department Store. Miss Brooks tries to return the dress to Sherry's, a store that promises if the customer isn't satisfied their money will be [[BlatantLies "cheerfully refunded"]]. After being given the third degree on the reason for the return, Miss Brooks is turned down because the dress was sold on sale. The scene is ommitted in the SoundToScreenAdaptation "The Embezzled Dress"
** Another obstructive clerk from Sherry's appears on the television episode "Christmas Show". This time it Sherry's promises to [[BlatantLies "cheerfully exchange"]] goods. Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin each face the ill-tempered Mrs. Carney as they try to exchange their presents before Christmas.
* OddballInTheSeries: The last season of the television series, the product of ExecutiveMeddling. Madison High School turns out to have been in Los Angeles. Not the City of Madison - as had been the case before. What's more, it's immediately being torn down for a new freeway. Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin start working at Mrs. Nestor's private school.
** These changes were [[CanonDiscontinuity completely ignored]] by the radio series. Our Miss Brooks ended with a [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] that followed the radio continuity and ignored the final TV season entirely.
* OdeToIntoxication: In "Old Clothes for Party" Miss Brooks is annoyed by a drunk who interrupts her call on the telephone party line. After finally managing to get rid of him, she sings a parody of "Comin' Through the Rye":
-->'''Miss Brooks:''' When a buddy meets a buddy, he's had too much rye!
* OfficeSports: In "Trial By Jury", Mr. Conklin practices his casting in his office.
* OfficialCouple: Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton don't formally get together until TheMovie, but everyone sees it coming (even, eventually, Mr. Boynton). Teenagers Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin are boyfriend and girlfriend as well.
* OfficialKiss: Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton finally get one in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]].
* {{Oktoberfest}}: Discussed by Miss Brooks in "Hawkins Travel Agency", when trying to sell Mr. Stone on a trip to Switzerland:
-->'''Miss Brooks''' (''speaking in a German accent''): And then we go to the Bavarian Alps. Immediately you notice there is a big difference.
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': A big difference?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Ja. There with the women and the song, you get beer. Achtung what beer! Two bottles and you ski down the whole mountain without your skis.
* OffscreenCrash: In "Brooks' New Car", Mr. Conklin buys a car and goes roaring into his driveway. Unfortunately, Miss Brooks had left a small wagon in the driveway. Miss Brooks and Mrs. Conklin wince as they hear a terrible crashing sound. Following the car crash, Mr. Conklin is himself crashed through the wall of his house, riding the hand wagon gripping the cars' steering wheel. According to Mr. Conklin, the rest of the car had ''flown'' over the garage.
* OldNewBorrowedAndBlue: Miss Brooks prepares for her role as proxy in "June Bride" as if she were really getting married.
* OldFashionedRowboatDate: Miss Brooks goes on a couple with Mr. Boynton:
** In the radio episode "An American Tragedy", the date is marred when Miss Brooks jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Boynton is going to try to kill her so he can date a rich society girl. Matters get worse when Mr. Conklin jumps to the same conclusion, and hides aboard. Things get even worse when the rowboat starts to sink . . . .
** The television episode "Blind Date" ends far more romantically. Their spat ended, Mr. Boynton invites Miss Brooks to spend the evening out on the lake as he serenades her with his ukulele. As Mr. Boynton gets his ukulele, Miss Brooks goes to the wishing well to make a wish. Instead of tossing in one coin, she decides to throw in every coin in her purse!
* OldTimeyBathingSuit: In "Heat Wave", Miss Brooks notices Mr. Boynton, Harriet Conklin, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are wearing bathing suits beneath their regular clothes. They're quite evidently in the old timey style, given the fact Miss Brooks sees the suits sticking out of their collars.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Mr. Boynton is supposed to be a biology teacher. However, he's also an expert in chemistry ("Living Statues") and paleontology ("Life Can Be Bones"). Besides that, he was once chosen to grade the final English exams ("Head of the English Department").
* OnePhoneCall: In "Bobbsey Twins In Stir", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin are all locked up in gaol for [[ItMakesSenseInContext selling forged tickets to the policeman's ball]]. They pool their change, so they can use their one phone call to contact the head of the board of education, Mr. Stone (Mr. Stone lives in the country, thus it's a toll call). Lo and behold, before they're finished counting their change Mr. Stone is brought to gaol, having also been caught selling fraudulent tickets!
* OnionTears: In the episode "Tears for Mr. Boynton", Mrs. Davis advises Miss Brooks that she has to appear more vulnerable to attract Mr. Boynton. Mrs. Davis hides onions in Miss Brooks' purse.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Stretch (Fabian) Snodgrass, and his brother Bones (Winston).
* OnlySaneEmployee: Miss Brooks is oftentimes the only reliable person at Madison High School. Surprisingly often she is called upon to get Principal Osgood Conklin out of trouble or alternatively to stand up to his dictatorial edicts, i.e. "Blue Goldfish", "Public Property on Parade", "School on Saturday", "Wakeup Plan". Other times, she's just around to save the day for a student, i.e. "Stuffed Gopher" and "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass".
* OnlySaneMan: Miss Brooks often serves this role, as she is constantly dealing with the eccentricities of the people around her.
* OnTheMoney: Miss Brooks often finds herself short of cash, as in "Easter Outfit", "Fischer's Pawn Shop", "The Festival", and "School T.V. Set".
* OpeningNarration: On the radio, each episode began with a short narration by a male narrator. He would introduce Miss Brooks as an English teacher at Madison High School. Often, he would go on to provide more information relevant to the current episode. This, in turn, would prompt a wry remark or two by Miss Brooks. Miss Brooks' narration led into the episode proper.
* OperationJealousy: Used by Connie a few times on [[ObliviousToLove Phillip Boynton]], to varying effect, i.e. "Hello Mr. Chips". [[spoiler: Proves highly potent in the [[TheMovie movie]], enough for Connie to [[SeriesGoal finally get her man]].]]
* OppositeDay: "Turnabout Day" at Madison High School, the brainchild of Walter Denton. Teachers were students and students were teachers, and Walter Denton was principal, regaled in a Osgood-Conklin style three-piece-suit. Miss Brooks wore a pair of tight jeans to school. [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]] taught English while wearing a dress (and carrying a football). Mr. Conklin wore a three-propeller beanie and a Mickey Mouse shirt. Mr. Conklin had wanted nothing to do with the notion; but the head of the board of education, Mr. Stone, had "ordered" it. That is to say that Walter Denton forged Mr. Stone's signature on a letter to Mr. Conklin . . . .
* OppositesAttract:
** Snarky Connie Brooks and shy Phillip Boynton. Connie is more perceptive than Mr. Boynton, but several scenes show that they are both kind, generous and intelligent individuals. [[spoiler: Connie and Phillip marry at the end of TheMovie GrandFinale]]
** HighSchoolHustler and BookDumb Walter Denton and principal's daughter BookSmart HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Harriet Conklin.
** Osgood Conklin, the blustery, pompous school principal. Martha Conklin, his kindly wife . . . who is known to put her foot down on occasion (i.e. "Trying to Pick a Fight").
* OrderVersusChaos: At Madison High School, there was order represented by Osgood Conklin, the DeanBitterman who ran the school in a orderly manner (in "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Miss Brooks has a nightmare of Mr. Conklin telling her to "stay on the ball", "hold the line" and "run the school in an orderly manner"). He goes so far as to hang signs such as "Respect through Power" ("Spare That Rod!) and "No Goldbricking" (TheMovie GrandFinale) through the school. Opposed to Mr. Conklin was chaos in the form of HighSchoolHustler Walter Denton, who played pranks like making Conklin look like a drunk ("Cure That Habit"), blasting an ancient cannon ("Marinated Hearing"), and writing a fraudulent letter forcing Mr. Conklin to let the students act as teachers for the day ("Turnabout Day"). In between these two extremes was Miss Brooks, who disapproved of Mr. Conklin's strict and overbearing manner in running the school - once even calling Conklin the most "unprincipled principal in the country" ("The Novelist"). However, she indeed wanted to teach while shielding TeachersPet Walter Denton from the consequences of his more outrageous pranks. The conservative and shy Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks' LoveInterest, was between Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks' in outlook, although a NiceGuy without Conklin's faults.
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin meet the bill, although Harriet's somewhat atypical in the fact her father is the high school ''principal''. Neither are the program's protagonist, that honor goes to English teacher [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Miss Brooks]].
* OriginStory:
** The first radio episode, appropriately titled "First Day", relates Mr. Conklin's arrival as newly appointed principal.
** In "Borrowing Money To Fly", it's Miss Brooks' arrival in Madison that's explained. Mr. Conklin has already long been comfortably ensconced as principal of Madison High School.
** The first ten minutes of [[TheMovie the cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] again relates Miss Brooks' initial arrival in Madison.
* OurFounder: Mr. Conklin keeps a bust of Yodar Kritch, the estemeed founder of Madison High School, upon a pedestal in his office. It stands prominently beside the door through the first season. Yodar Kritch, whenever he's mentioned at Madison High School, is refererred to in an almost reverential air.
* OutOfGenreExperience: "Postage Due" is a mystery, turning into a NoirEpisode by the end.
* OverallsAndGingham: In "Red River Valley", Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton and Walter try to get jobs with Deacon Jones' hillbilly dance troupe. Miss Brooks dresses in Gingham, while Mr. Boynton dresses in overalls. Mr. Conklin and Walter don't follow the trope; Conklin wears a dirty shirt and suspenders while Walter wears a ragged hat and vest.
* OverlordJr: In "Babysitting New Years Eve", Miss Brooks babysits Mr. Conklin's bratty nephew, who's constantly yelling "I want a drink of water!". Averted with Mr. Conklin's daughter, Harriet, a series regular who is very much a friend of Miss Brooks'.
* OverlyLongName: One episode featured an attempt by Mr. Conklin to borrow Mrs. Davis's house trailer from Miss Brooks. He wanted to go fishing on an isolated lake, deep in the wilderness. The name of the lake, and the title of the episode? "[[InTheLocalTongue Oo Oo Me Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo]]." It's the local Indians' word for "[[TranslationYes blue]]."
* OverprotectiveDad: Mr. Conklin has this attitude toward his daughter Harriet, sometimes kicking off the plot of the week:
** In "Madame Brooks Dubarry", Mr. Conklin unaccountably thinks that Miss Brooks is a "modern day dubarry" and carrying on with Mr. Boynton. This leads to him ordering Miss Brooks to have a talk with Harriet and ultimately leading to Mr. Conklin and Harriet spying on Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks, and landlady Mrs. Davis from a hiding place in Mrs. Davis' living room.
** Again, in "Parlor Game", Mr. Conklin believes that Harriet is growing up "far too fast". He's disgusted with her relationship with Walter Denton. To fix this, he plans Harriet, Walter, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton to spend a quiet evening at the Conklin house.
** In "Cat Burglars", Harriet is mortified that her father forces her to have a babysitter after a series of cat burglaries in town.
* OvertheShoulderCarry: When Mr. Boynton joins the "Volunteer Fire Laddies", Miss Brooks offers to help him practice his over-the-shoulder carry. They do this at the two-storey Conklin house with Walter Denton's help in setting-up the ladder. [[HilarityEnsues Unfortunately, when he comes home Mr. Conklin jumps to the conclusion that Walter is eloping with his daughter Harriet.]]
* ParallelParking: In "Taking the Rap for Mr. Boynton", Miss Brooks "helps" Mr. Boynton parallel park his car. [[WomenDrivers She advises him to back up just a little more . . . resulting in him destroying Mr. Conklin's bumper.]]r
* ParanormalEpisode: "Music Box Revue" sees Miss Brooks purchase a magic music box that can only be heard by people in the proper Christmas spirit.
* ParasolOfPain: In "Plaque for Mr. Conklin", Mrs. Davis belts Mr. Conklin with a mahogany handled umbrella. She thinks Mr. Conklin has [[EasyAmnesia amnesia]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* ParkingProblems: While Miss Brooks has had trouble parking off and on through the series, "Trial by Jury" features a truly EpicFail. She leaves her car parked on a hill, another driver bumps her car forward. The parking brake is released, and her car rushes downhill and crashes into a fruit stand. Miss Brooks returns just in time to get the blame.
* ParlorGames: In "Parlor Game", Miss Brooks invents a complicated parlor version of {{Calvinball}}, in order to push Mr. Conklin into taking his family out for the evening as a more palatable alternative.
* ParodyEpisode: The second-half of "Postage Due" is a parody of ''Series/{{Dragnet}}''.
* PassingNotesInClass: In "Bones, Son of Cyrano", Mr. Boynton confiscates a love poem Walter was writing for Harriet.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: This descibes Miss Brooks' relationship to her SitcomArchNemesis Miss Enright. Whenever the two meet, prepare for a cavalcade of catty remarks. Miss Enright takes the matter further, often dropping a StealthInsult or two about Miss Brooks in front of her students.
-->'''Walter Denton''': Miss Enright's always saying nice things about you, Miss Brooks."
-->'''Miss Brooks''': She is? Miss Enright?
-->'''Walter Denton''': Yes, just the other day Miss Enright said you have the most natural blonde hair she's ever seen on a brunette.
* ThePatriarch: Mr. Conklin. In addition to being the dictatorial principal at Madison High School, he views himself as head of his family in the traditional sense. He is very pompous, having a large photo of himself above the fireplace. He is unmovable when he makes a decision, as his daughter Harriet well knows. He shouts out orders. In "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud" (he orders the visiting Miss Brooks to answer the door). In the "Yodar Kritch Award", Walter Denton relates how Mr. Conklin couldn't find a sock and shouted orders at everyone in the house. However, Mr. Conklin's authority isn't absolute. Episodes like "The Embezzled Dress" and "Connie and Frankie" show that Mrs. Conklin can also put her foot down.
%%%* Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham, in ''Series/DowntonAbbey''.
* PeacePipe: In the episode "Bartering with Chief Thundercloud", Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin smoke a peace pipe with the eponymous chief.
* PerformanceAnxiety: "Public Speaker's Nightmare".
* PerplexingPlurals: How do you refer to two men with the same surname? In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", nervousness sees Miss Brooks momentarily confused as to the correct manner in referencing Mr. Boynton and his father:
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Where's Mr. Boynton? Or should I say where are Mr. Boyntons . . . or Misters Boynton . . . where's everybody?
* PetBabyWildAnimal': Miss Brooks and the Madison High crowd adopt an injured swallow in "Capistrano's Revenge".
* PetHeir: Discussed by Miss Brooks and her landlady Mrs. Davis at the beginning of "Mr. Casey's Will". Then inverted: Mrs. Davis' sister Angela is heartbroken over the demise of her cat Mr. Casey. To honour her late cat, Angela has her lawyer write a will with ''Mr. Casey at the testator''. Angela wishes to use this to honour Mr. Casey's (human) friends. Miss Brooks finds herself acting as the executrix of the will. HilarityEnsues.
* PhoneyCall: Used in "Connie and Frankie". Mr. Conklin pretends to call his wife Martha over his disconnected office phone, to ''order'' her to let the (female) Frankie stay as their house guest. The scheme fails as Martha shows up to visit Mr. Conklin at school.
* PickyEater: In "Mr. Boynton's Barbeque" this is part of the plot. Osgood Conklin hates Cdfish Balls. Yet, once a week Martha Conklin makes them for dinner. Mr. Conklin goes so far as to "accidentally" vaccuum the fishy dinner up, and get himself invited to the eponymous barbeque to avoid them.
* PicnicEpisode: "Our Miss Brooks" has three picnic episodes, each of them ending with picnic basket mishaps:
** The fourth season television episode "Burnt Picnic Basket" sees the picnic baskets thrown into the incinerator by mistake. ''And'' it rains!
** The radio episode "Head of the Board", has Miss Brooks and company take Mr. Boynton's car to their before-school-year picnic. Unfortunately, the picnic basket had been left in Miss Brooks' car!
** Finally, in "Winter Outing", Madison High School is set to enjoy the annual mid-winter picnic started by Madison High's esteemed founder, Yodar Kritch. Unfortunately, this time the food for the picnic is send to the laundry. Meanwhile, the faculty and students of Madison have a unappetizing lunch of dirty football uniforms.
* PictureDay: In the episode "Friday the 13th", a tasteless prank by Walter Denton, combined with Stretch Snodgrass's bungling, result in yearbook proofs being printed with Miss Brooks' head atop Mr. Conklin's body.
* PieInTheFace: Mr. Conklin finds himself the victim of this trope a couple times.
* PimpedOutCar: Walter Denton's jalopy. Although usually a wreck, sometimes he amps up the engine, other times he simply adds seat covers.
* PinkElephants: Referenced in "Cure That Habit", when Mr. Stone wrongly suspects Mr. Conklin of being drunk and having hallucinations.
* PinkIsFeminine: In the penultimate episode of the television series, "Principal for a Day", Miss Brooks is principal for a day of Mrs. Nestor's Private Elementary School. Miss Brooks' decides to make the school more attractive to mothers visiting the school and thinking of enrolling their children; she decorates the school with a lot of chintz. Including the animal cages of the science room. She goes so far as to paint Vice Principal Mr. Munsee's desk and office a "shocking pink".
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: We almost never see (or in the radio version, hear) Miss Brooks actually teaching English, although [[InformedAttribute she's said to be quite good at it]]. The rare glimpses seen of Miss Brooks ''actually'' teaching are usually played for laughs, such as her tutoring of Stretch Snodgrass in "The Yodar Kritch Award". The same goes for Mr. Boynton, whose canonical biology lectures consist of one about the skeletal structure of frogs in "Mr. Conklin's Wake Up Plan".
* PlankGag: In "Going Skiing", Miss Brooks knocks off a pair of Mr. Conklin's glasses with one of her skis.
* PlatonicValentine At play in Valentine's Day episodes such as "The Frog" and "Valentine's Day Date". Miss Brooks gets platonic valentines from students like Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass. She also receives valentines from various tradespeople, including an advertisement from a scissors-sharpener. In "Valentine's Day Date" she does receive the one valentine she wants . . . from Mr. Boynton, albeit not as romantic as she hoped.
* PlayingCyrano: ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' is behind much of the [[HilarityEnsues mayhem]] in the radio episode "Poetry Mixup" and [[SoundToScreenAdaptation its television remake]] "Bones, Son of Cyrano". Mr. Boynton provides Walter Denton with a poem from Cyrano to gives to Harriet Conklin. Harriet thinks that Mr. Boynton intended the letter for her. Harriet puts the letter in an old enevelope and hands it back to Mr. Boynton. Mr. Boynton hands it to Miss Brooks. Miss Brooks gives Stretch Snodgrass ([[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Bones in the remake]]) the poem as something with which to woo Harriet. Through yet another mixup, Stretch delivers the love poem to Principal Osgood Conklin instead of Miss Brooks' requisition for flowerpots.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': (reading) "Your name hangs in my heart like a bell's tongue." Now ''really!''
* PlayingSick:
** In "Babysitting for Three", an early radio episode, Miss Brooks phones Mr. Conklin to say she won't be in today as she's sick. In reality, she was roped into babysitting for three children while their mother is in the hospital.
** In "Blue Goldfish", Walter Denton and Miss Brooks play sick in order to convince Mr. Conklin to raise the temperature in the school. They are convinced that if Mr. Conklin thinks he's causing an epidemic, he'll spend more money on coal for the furnace. A SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Not Enough Coal At Madison High".
** In "Trial by Jury", Miss Brooks has to appear in traffic court and does not want Mr. Conklin to hear about it. She decides to play sick. Unfortunately, Walter Denton, Bones Snodgrass and Mr. Boynton each try to help. They each play sick and ask for Mr. Conklin to have Miss Brooks escort them home. Mr. Conklin is less than convinced; the four of had come to his office feigning illness at almost the exact same time. A SoundToScreenAdaptation of the radio episode "Traffic Court".
* PlotCoupon:
** In the episode "Phonebook Follies", Miss Brooks must find Mrs. Davis' copy of last year's phonebook. Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis are ineligible to receive a new phonebook otherwise.
** In "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud", Miss Brooks needs to get Mrs. Davis' old lamp in order to barter for a new coat.
* PlotImmunity: Plot immunity guarantees Miss Brooks' position at Madison High School. Even [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], where Miss Brooks resolves to leave in a moment of despair, WithThisRing intervenes.
* PointyHairedBoss: Mr. Conklin, the Principal of Madison High School, is a competent administrator, albeit in the RepressiveButEfficient mold. He is also very pompous, for example being known to answer his phone "Principal's Office, Osgood Conklin himself speaking!". He also likes to take credit for his teacher's good ideas ("Public Property on Parade"), force them to type his reports ("Aunt Mattie Boynton"), and of course blame his teachers when something goes wrong ("The Dancer"). He also abuses his position for petty gains; in "Carelessness Code" he fines students and uses the money to place a bust of himself in the library in place of the bust of Julius Caesar. In "Home Cooked Meal" he simply breaks school rules to secretly store his family's meat in the cafeteria freezer. Still, on occasion he shows himself to have a HiddenHeartOfGold. In "Hobby Show", for example, his hobby is shown to be fixing broken toys to donate to underpriviledged children. Therefore, other than a outright villian, he's more of a {{Frenemy}} to Miss Brooks.
* PoliceLineup: In "Reunion," Miss Brooks imagines Mr. Conklin, Mr. Munsee and Mr. Talbot in a police lineup.
* PowderKegCrowd: In "School on Saturday", Madison High's students are in an angry protesting mob outside the school. They're angry because, you guessed it, they're being forced to go to school on Saturday. They even have plans to burn Mr. Conklin in effigy. Mr. Conklin sends Miss Brooks outside to make a speech to calm them down.
* PracticalEffects: Seen in several episodes, including:
** "Life Can Be Bones": A prop-cat subs for Minerva when she jumps over the fence after tasting Mrs. Davis's spicy soup.
** "Public Property on Parade" Similar to the preceding example, prop-birds flee Mrs. Davis' Limburger omelette.
** "Here is Your Past": The effects from Mr. Conklin's big sneezes.
** "Brooks' New Car": Mr. Conklin going through the wall when he drives his car atop a wagon left in the driveway.
** "Do It Yourself": The garage Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton built falls apart.
** "Pet Shop": The rainstorm.
* PrankCall: The events of "Wild Goose" are set off when Walter Denton makes a prank call, disguising his voice in so doing. Denton tells Mr. Conklin he's won a television set from Sherry's Department Store. HilarityEnsues.
* ThePratfall: Mr. Conklin is the occasion victim of pratfalls. He's an easy target given his pompous nature:
** In "Connie and Bonnie", Mr. Conklin has multiple tumbles in the hallway trying to rush from his office to the Vice Principal's office next door.
** In the episode "School on Saturday", Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass loosen the doorknob to Mr. Conklin's office so when he next pulled the knob he's fall to the floor.
* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Mr. Conklin is very protective of his vehicle in "Brooks' New Car" and "Taking the Rap for Mr. Boynton".
* PreciousPuppy: Miss Brooks finds an abandoned puppy in "Here is Your Past".
* PrehistoricMonster: In "Madison Mascot", a torn note has Walter Denton, Stretch Snodgrass, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton mistakenly believe that the new name for the Madison High football team will be the "Madison Mammoths".
-->'''Walter Denton''': What do you think of the new setup Mrs. Davis? The Madison Mammoths! That's what the team will be called of course.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': The Madison Mammoths?
-->'''Walter Denton''': Sure. Because of the elephant mascot. You remember those prehistoric hairy old elephants, don't you Miss Brooks?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Not personally.]]
* PrepositionsAreNotToEndSentencesWith: Miss Brooks more than once corrects herself after ending a sentence with a preposition. Or others. One example is found in the episode "Heat Wave", when Stretch Snodgrass pretended to faint on a hot day. Miss Brooks unbuttons his collar, which had concealed the OldTimeyBathingSuit. The students were trying to trick Miss Brooks into releasing class so they can go to the swimming hole at Phillip's Farm.
--->'''Miss Brooks''': Nice to hear from you Stretch. Let me open your shirt collar.
--->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': No, don't open it.
--->'''Miss Brooks''': I don't know why you button it on a day like today anyhow.
--->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Oh, please Miss Brooks, don't open my shirt.
--->'''Miss Brooks''': You just be quiet. There. No wonder you didn't want your shirt opened. Embroidered undies. [[SarcasmMode And what a lovely sentiment on your undershirt.]] "Crystal Beach Bath House. If not returned by 6 pm, another day will be charged for. Charged for? Oh Stretch, this is awful.
--->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': What is, Miss Brooks?
--->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Ending a bathing suit with a preposition.]]
* PreppyName: Osgood Conklin isn't rich, but he is as pompous as his first name would suggest.
* PresentPeeking: In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Mr. Conklin leaves his Mother's Day present with Miss Brooks, as his wife and daughter are inveterate snoopers. When Mr. Boynton's parents stay with Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Boynton finds the present in her room. Mrs. Boynton's a present peeker as well, she can't wait for Mother's Day, so she opens it.
--> '''Mrs. Boynton''': A black sheer negligee!
--> '''Mr. Boynton''': Well Happy Mother's Day!
* PrivateEyeMonologue: "Postage Due" sees Miss Brooks search for a vanished postman wearing a trench coat while narrating the action in [[NoirEpisode film noir style]].
* PrivateTutor:
** Miss Brooks tutors Stretch Snodgrass to keep him eligible for athletics . . . not to mention, to keep him from flunking outright.
** The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] sees Miss Brooks tutor Gary Nolan, who's struggling in English.
* TheProfessor: Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks' LoveInterest and Madison's Biology teacher. His knowledge of his subject is prodigious, but his favorite topic of study ''has'' to be frogs.
* ProjectileToast: Mrs. Davis' toaster was a repeat offender.
* ProperLady: Mrs. Conklin. She's the kindly, intelligent and dignified wife of bombastic Mr. Conklin.
* ProudBeauty: Women like this appear once in awhile, and are always at least a nuisance to Miss Brooks or Harriet Conklin:
** In "The Model Teacher", an obnoxious but attractive reporter competes with Miss Brooks for Mr. Boynton's affections.
** "New Girl" sees the titular new girl go after Harriet's boyfriend Walter Denton. The girl's mother has eyes for Mr. Boynton.
** "The Dancer" sees a burlesque dancer audition for a job at a bachelor party being arranged by Mr. Conklin. The usually shy Mr. Boynton is very interested in seeing her do her work.
** In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], the ''Madison Express's'' new lonely hearts columnist walks this way whenever she goes through the newsroom. But fortunately, this proud beauty stays out of the way of Miss Brooks.
* PulledFromYourDayOff:
** In "School on Saturday", Mr. Conklin pulls ''everybody'' from their day off.
** "Head of the Board": Mr. Conklin again plots to do the same.
** In "Who's Going Where", it's just Miss Brooks whom Mr. Conklin intends to send to work on her vacation.
** In "Trouble Paying Taxi Fare", Mr. Conklin gets a taste of his own medicine at the hands of school board superintendent Mr. Stone.
* PungeonMaster: Mr. Jensen, the custodian on several radio episodes. He insists on taking things literally and out-of-context. When Miss Brooks asks about his new son, she asks "How is the little dear?" Mr. Jensen replies they didn't have a "deer." One exchange with Miss Brooks ends with Miss Brooks ''thinking'' she finally has him in his own trap.
--> '''Mr. Jensen''': While I'll be running off.
--> '''Miss Brooks''': Now I've got you Mr. Jensen. You won't really be running off!"
--> '''Mr. Jensen''': Oh, yes I will. (is heard running away)
--> '''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.]]
* PurpleProse: As befits his SesquipedalianLoquaciousness, Walter Denton often packs his newspaper editorials and other compositions with purple prose.
* PutOnABus: Mr. Boynton, Walter, Harriet, and Stretch in the fourth season when the high school was torn down and the setting moved to a private elementary school.
** Mr. Allbright, who was intended to be the new love interest, left after only a few episodes and was replaced by SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Gene Talbot as the athletic director.
** Finally, Talbot himself, who was on long enough to actually date Miss Brooks, was written off when TheBusCameBack with Mr. Boynton returning and looking for work at the elementary school.
* QuestioningTitle: The episode "Space, Who Needs It?"
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: A quintessential British public school principal visits in the episode "Hello Mr. Chips." Miss Brooks uses him to make [[OperationJealousy Mr. Boynton jealous]].
* QuirkyUkulele: In "Blind Date" one of the items Miss Brooks returns to Mr. Boynton is his ukulele, that he serenades her with on her back porch. Ukulele playing is featured by Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin in a few episodes of the series, notably "Special Party", "Hawkins Travel Agency" and "School Band". In TheMovie GrandFinale, Walter Denton enjoys a brief ukuele solo accompanied by his "singing". Walter sings "It's Magic" to his girlfriend Harriet Conklin on the family's front porch; his breaking voice and off-key notes gets Mr. Conklin to stick his head through the window and threaten to throw Walter down the porch steps!
* QuotingMyself: Walter Denton uses fake quotes from time to time.
-->'''Walter Denton:''' It's as the saying goes, "When love enters the heart, appetite flees the stomach."\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' Who said that?\\
'''Walter Denton:''' I don't know. I guess it's anonymous.\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[DeadpanSnarker It deserves to be.]]
* RadioContest: In "Wild Goose", Walter Denton, pretending to be a radio quiz host, tricks Mr. Conklin into believing he's won a television set from Sherry's Department Store.
* RadioDrama: Our Miss Brooks ran on CBS Radio starting in 1948. It was joined by a television adaptation in 1952. The series [[GrandFinale concluded]] with a [[TheMovie feature film]] in 1956.
* RageBreakingPoint: Mr. Conklin lives this trope, flying off into fits of rage that makes him purple in the face.
* RambunctiousItalian: Mr. Morelli, a OneSceneWonder appearing at the end of "Four Leaf Clover". Miss Brooks ends up going to his house to pay for the barber pole she accidentally broke; Mr. Conklin goes after Miss Brooks to get the airplane ticket she accidentally pocketed. The very animated Mr. Morelli literally tries to shoo them both away.
* RapidFireTyping: A time-pressed Miss Brooks is at it in "Public Property on Parade".
* ReactionShot: Many throughout the television series. Perhaps the most notable ones, however, occur in the[[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]]. We see Miss Brooks reaction to the wackiness of the characters around her, especially in the first fifteen minutes as we see her arrival in Madison retold in cinematic form.
* ReadingIsCoolAesop: As an English teacher, Miss Brooks is normally all in favour of reading. However, the trope is subverted in "Bones, Son of Cyrano", where Mr. Boynton breaks a date with Miss Brooks to read the rest of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac''. Miss Brooks had advised Mr. Boynton to read it in the first place in the hope it would make him less ObliviousToLove!
* ReadingTeaLeaves: Mrs. Davis considers tea leaves to be an effective method of telling the future. In [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Mrs. Davis Reads Tea Leaves"]], Mrs. Davis predicts that Mr. Boynton propose to Miss Brooks. The pair would settle down at honeymoon cottage, and the two would be surrounded by children. Unfortunately, Mrs. Davis misinterprets the tea leaves. Mr. Boynton isn't proposing marriage, but proposing starting a summer camp with Miss Brooks and boarding anywhere from five to fifty kids!
* ReadTheFinePrint: In the episode "Hospital Capers". A lawyer (a literal ambulance chaser) gets Mr. Boynton to sign a contract hiring him a counsel; the contract features a hefty penalty if Mr. Boynton chooses to terminate his representation. When Miss Brooks visits the lawyer, he hands her ever larger magnifying glasses to [[ReadTheFinePrint read the contract's fine print]].
* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: One of Miss Brooks' students in "King and Brooks".
* RealMenTakeItBlack: Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks ''both'' take their coffee black in "Space, Who Needs It?"
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** In "Board of Education Day" [[SoundToScreenAdaptation , a radio episode remade for television as "Marinated Hearing"]], Miss Brooks tells-off a temporarily-deaf Mr. Conklin.
** In "Spare That Rod!", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton and Stretch Snograss produce a paper documenting Mr. Conklin's "various infamies".
** In TheMovie GrandFinale, with a ContinuityNod to "Spare That Rod!", Mr. Stone tells Mr. Conklin he would fire him if he could. Mr. Stone considers Mr. Conklin's severe manner of running Madision High School to be "tantamout to malfeasance".
-->'''Mr. Stone''': It's zero hour, Osgood!
* RecurringDreams: In "Friendship", Miss Brooks suffers from a recurring dream where she's being chased by a man with a knife. [[spoiler: It turns out a broken bedspring poking through her mattress is the cause of her nightmares.]]
* RedScare: A few times it was PlayedForLaughs by DeadpanSnarker Miss Brooks.
** In "Walter's Radio", after Mr. Boynton makes a non-committal statement about the weather, Miss Brooks snarks:
--> '''Miss Brooks''': There's a statement you won't be investigated for."
** In "The Cafeteria Strike", Walter Denton starts a student petition against the terrible food in the school cafeteria:
-->'''Walter Denton''' (reading the petition): Whereas and to wit . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': That's pretty strong language, isn't it? A little on the pink side . . . .
* RefugeInAudacity: In the episode "Bobbsey Twins In Stir", a con-artist tricks Mrs. Davis into selling phony tickets to the ''policeman's ball''. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin and Mr. Stone are all unwitting drawn into the scheme, and all end up in gaol as a result.]]
* RegalRuff: Walter Denton and Mr. Boynton have each worn ruffs when dressed in costume:
** Walter wears a ruff when dressed as Romeo in "The Festival".
** Mr. Boynton's Prince Charming costume in "Oh Dem Gold Shoes" features a regal ruff.
* RelativelyFlimsyExcuse: In "Connie and Bonnie", Miss Brooks impersonates her non-existent twin sister so as to earn extra money moonlighting as a waitress.
* RememberedTooLate: In "Wishing Well Dance", Miss Brooks get in trouble with Mr. Conklin after [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]] gives her a message to see him ''immediately''. The problem? Stretch Snodgrass forgot about the message, only remembering to give her the message hours later.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Bones Snodgrass is introduced in the episode "The Yodar Kritch Award". He was never before seen or mentioned, in spite of being the [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute brother]] of recurring character Stretch Snodgrass.
* RemovableSteeringWheel: In "The Oakhurst Music Festival", while giving driving lessons to [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]], Miss Brooks asks him to give her the wheel. Snodgrass [[LiteralMinded literally]] gives Miss Brooks the steering wheel.
* RemovingTheRival: On several occasions, Miss Enright schemes to put Miss Brooks out of the running for Mr. Boynton's affections:
** In "First Aid Course", Miss Enright threatens to move away to nurse her sick sister . . . in order to convince Mr. Conklin to tie up Miss Brooks during the evenings teaching the eponymous course.
** In "Four Fiances" Miss Enright corresponds with four men, and proposes marriage to each of them . . . in Miss Brooks' name.
** In "Mr. Boynton's Barbeque", Miss Enright transfers a sick student to Miss Brooks' class so Miss Brooks would catch a cold. That left Miss Enright a clear field with Mr. Boynton.
** In "Teacher's Convention", Miss Enight relays a message to Walter Denton that Mr. Boynton was "laid up" and wouldn't be attending the convention with Miss Brooks. Walter tells Miss Brooks, leading her to cancel. Mr. Boynton wasn't the least bit sick.
* RenaissanceMan:
** Mr. Boynton. He teaches Biology, but also was a Chemistry teacher in the past. In one episode, he almost receives a job as a College Professor ("The Wrong Mrs. Boynton"). In another episode, Mr. Conklin has Mr. Boynton mark the school's English tests ("Head of the English Department"). He also acts as Mr. Conklin's typist on occasion ("Who's Going Where?). On top of all that, Mr. Boynton has, in various episodes, coached the school basketball, football, and baseball teams.
** Miss Brooks is also an example, in addition to teaching English, teaching French and Spanish as well on one occasion ("Saving the School Newspaper"). Miss Brooks is also a great typist, and once worked as a secretary ("Connie's New Job Offer"). "First Aid Course" suggests Miss Brooks is also a trained nurse. Miss Brooks has also taught civics ("Student Government Day") and physical education, even receiving an offer to play on a women's baseball team ("Baseball Slide").
* RepressiveButEfficient: Miss Brooks is justified in calling Mr. Conklin "dictator" of Madison High School. However, the school seems to operate well nonetheless.
* ResistanceIsFutile: Mr. Conklin once uses a variation, when Miss Brooks tries to avoid having him assign some unpaid overtime work.
* TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised: The GrandFinale appeared on neither radio nor television, but instead took the form of a [[TheMovie feature film]].
* {{Retool}}: In the fourth season of the TV series, Madison High was razed to make room for a freeway, Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin went to work for a private school, Walter and Harriet disappeared from the show along with Mr. Boynton (although the latter would [[TheBusCameBack eventually return]]), and Miss Brooks was given a new love interest in phys ed instructor Gene Talbot (Creator/GeneBarry).
** CanonDiscontinuity was the result. The radio program continued at Madison High as per usual. TheMovie also ignored the fourth season of the TV series.
* ReverseWhodunnit: The episode "Jewel Robbery" see a criminal break into a jewelry store and flee when the alarm sounds. Miss Brooks, standing around the corner, sees Mr. Boynton look into the broken window. The episode then follows Miss Brooks as she suspects Mr. Boynton, and then catches the actual villain.
* RevolvingDoorCasting: The radio series and the first three seasons of the television series largely shared the same cast and characters(the major exception being Jeff Chandler's replacement by Robert Rockwell in the role of Mr. Boynton). The same applies to TheMovie GrandFinale. The final television season, however, saw several casting changes through its run:
** "Transition Show" sees high school students Walter Denton, Harriet Conklin and Mr. Boynton PutOnABus. This also marks the end of appearances by recurring characters Miss Enright and Stretch Snodgrass. Enter Mrs. (Winona) Nestor, Mr. Munsee, Mr. Albright.
** ''Who's Who" sees Miss Brooks take leave of longtime landlady Mrs. Davis to be a tenant of her sister Angela. Elementary school student Benny Romero becomes a RecurringCharacter.
** "Big Ears": Mrs. Ruth Nestor replaces her sister, last appearance by Mr. Albright.
** "Have Bed, Will Travel" Mrs. Davis moves in with her sister (and Miss Brooks) and begins to share landlady duties with Angela.
** In "Gym Instructor", Mr. Talbot is appointed to the faculty as the new phys-ed teacher.
** "Land Purchase" Exit Angela, who sells her sister her house. Angela has built a motel and leaves to run her new business (never mentioned before).
** "Library Quiz" sees Mr. Talbot's last appearance.
** Finally, in "Connie and Frankie", TheBusCameBack and LoveInterest Mr. Boynton returns to teach at Mrs. Nestor's Elementary School for the final seven episodes.
* {{Rewrite}}: There are two versions of Miss Brooks' arrival in Madison. The first episode ("First Day") and the later episode "Spare That Rod!" have Miss Brooks already teaching at Madison when Mr. Conklin is appointed principal. However, "Borrow Money To Fly", features a major rewrite. Miss Brooks arrives to teach at Madison High School, and is greeted by longtime principal Mr. Conklin. The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] follows the new continuity, albeit having Miss Brooks meet Mr. Conklin and Mr. Boynton in a slightly different manner.
* RhymingWithItself: The radio episodes "Clay City English Teacher" and "Mr. Laythrop returns to School" feature the Madison anthem, "O Madison". The offical version rhymes "Madison" with "Madison". Miss Brooks makes the song longer in "Clay City English Teacher by adding the paranthetical lyrics in parody:
-->O '''Madison!'''\\
Thou '''Madison!'''\\
(As old as Thomas Addison!)\\
O hallowed halls!\\
(O basketballs!)\\
How short the day!\\
(how short the pay!)\\
When we gray hair at '''Madison!'''\\
We'll still be there at '''Madison!'''\\
(Hello, Clay City!)
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale to the series, wealthy Lawrence Nolan proposes to Miss Brooks. Although Miss Brooks likes Nolan as a friend, and he's overall a good person, she can't see herself in love with him. Miss Brooks prefers longtime LoveInterest, shy biology teacher Phillip Boynton. At the end of the film, they finally marry and live HappilyEverAfter.
* RightBehindMe: In the "Yodar Kritch Award", Walter Denton comes into Mrs. Davis' house complaining about Mr. Conklin, oblivious to the fact Mr. Conklin is seated at the dining room table.
* TheRival: Miss Brooks has Miss Enright, her rival for [[LoveInterest Mr. Boynton's]] affections and the position of head of the English Department.
* RousingSpeech: Several, played for laughs, in "School on Saturday". Miss Brooks persuades the angry students to go to school, or to go home, as Mr. Conklin repeatedly changes his mind.
* RoyalBlood: In "King and Brooks," Miss Brooks discovers one of her students in an Indian prince. The boy's father, the maharajah, proposes marriage to Miss Brooks.
* RoyalHarem: In the episode "King and Brooks", the king mentions having a harem.
* RoyalWe: Mr. Conklin occasionally, and pompously, uses "we" to address others. Really, he means "you". Miss Brooks is unamused when he uses it with her.
* RunningGag: Many, including Mr. Conklin's [[SneezeOfDoom huge sneezes]] and the 'glug' greeting of Boynton's pet frog [=McDougal=]. Miss Brooks' car was always in the shop (see WomenDrivers for the reason of the week).
* RussianRoulette: At the crisis point of TheMovie GrandFinale, a depressed Miss Brooks jokingly suggests to Mrs. Davis that they play Russian Roulette when she returns home from school. [[spoiler: Fortunately, Mrs. Davis and Mr. Boynton's mother repair the misunderstanding that caused Mr. Boynton to invite his mother to live with him, and Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter.]]
* SabotageToDiscredit: In "Madison Country Club", Miss Brooks sabotages what she believes is Mr. Conklins attempt to mock the teachers' relative poverty in front of a snobbish rich women. [[spoiler: It really was an attempt to play poor and convince a GrandDame to fund a renovation of his office.]]
* SafetyInIndifference: In the episode "Trying to Forget Mr. Boynton", Miss Brooks [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin tries be indifferent and forget about love interest Mr. Boynton]].
* {{Sampling}}: At least four examples:
** "April Fools": "As Time Goes By", from ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', plays as Miss Brooks stalls for time.
** "Wild Goose": "I Must Go Where The Wild Goose Goes" plays as Miss Brooks is sent on the wild goose chase Walter Denton had intended for Mr. Conklin.
** "Weekend at Crystal Lake": A stanza of the "Anniversary Song" plays after Miss Brook parodies it.
** "Friendship": The song "Friendship" is played as an ironic chorus whenever Miss Brooks loses a friend.
* SarcasmBlind: Miss Brooks' [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] occasionally backfires when she aims it as Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton or Stretch and Bones Snodgrass. Mr. Boynton's so ObliviousToLove that sarcasm has a habit of sliding right off him. Walter Denton occasionally mistakes the sarcastic for the serious. As for the Snodgrasses, it's unlikely [[DumbJock they even know what sarcasm is]].
* SavageSouth: In "Safari O'Toole", the eponymous adventurer spends much of his time here. [[spoiler: He's a fake, but a nice one, who's only trying to impress Mrs. Davis.]]
* SayingTooMuch:
** In "The Model Teacher", Miss Brooks is desperate to avoid having glamorous but ImmoralJournalist Stephanie Forester learn about [[LoveInterest Mr. Boynton]]. When Mrs. Davis mentions Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks goes so far as to claim that Boynton is the school mascot, a schnauser. Unfortunately, Walter Denton arrives to drive Miss Brooks to school and ends up describing Boynton for Miss Forester. Miss Forester almost immediately decides to romantically pursue Boynton.
** In "Stretch Is In Love Again", Judy Brille, the daughter of Clay City High School principal Jason Brille, was assigned by her father to keep [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass]] busy on dates long into the evening. As a result, he's so tired he's useless playing football; once he even ran the wrong way. Madison High looks to have an embarassing defeat to its principal rival. And nobody at Madison knows what's going on. Stretch is sworn to secrecy by his double-agent girlfriend. So, Miss Brooks, assigned to discover what's going on, interrogates Stretch.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Who is this new girlfriend, Stretch?
-->'''Stretch''': Oh, no you don't!
-->'''Miss Brooks''': No I don't what?
-->'''Stretch''': You don't get Judy's name out of me! ''(audience laughs)'' I promised to keep it a secret.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Well, that's your privilege. [[BlatantLies If you don't want me to know Judy's name, I'm not going to know Judy's name. That's all there is to that.]] Judy ''what''?
-->'''Stretch''': Gosh, I didn't even want that part of her name to get out. It just slipped. Look, Miss Brooks. You wouldn't want me to break a promise, would you?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Fervently. Listen, Stretch. Even if you enjoy all this "rumbering", don't your girl's parents object to these late hours every night?
-->'''Stretch''': Oh, I'm sure they don't.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': How can you be so sure?
-->'''Stretch''': Her old man gives me the money to take her out.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': What!
-->'''Stretch''': Sure! He's not like our principal. Mr. Brille's a good sport.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Stretch, you're telling me you're taking out Judy Brille?
-->'''Stretch''': [[WhatAnIdiot How did you know?]]
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker A little birdbrain told me.]]
* TheScapegoat: Mr. Conklin is constantly scapegoating Miss Brooks for one thing or another. Fortunately, Miss Brooks is always able to escape the consequences by episode's end.
* SceneOfWonder: In "Le chien chaud et le mouton noir" Miss Brooks is dismayed when she enters the "Salon de Chien Chaud". She had taken an evening position as a receptionist to augment her income, only to find out it was really a job as working as a waitress at a rundown roadside diner. Miss Brooks looks about the "Salon de Chien Chaud" with dismay.
* SchoolFestival: "The Festival". It's a [[MasqueradeBall costume]] festival held in the park across from the school.
* SchoolNewspaperNewshound:
** Walter Denton is editor of the school paper, the "Madison Monitor". From time to time he gets himself into trouble by writing editorials critical of Mr. Conklin or Madison High School in general, i.e. "Cafeteria Strike" and "Threat to Abolish the School Paper". "Marinated Hearing" revolves around Miss Brooks' attempt to keep Walter Denton from publishing an editorial insulting the Board of Education in revenge for only giving students 2 1/2 instead of 3 weeks of Christmas Vacation.
** Walter also plays the gossip columnist in a couple episodes, with a column entitled "Campus Dirt: Shoveled by Walter Denton". This is to Miss Brooks' dismay, as he uses the column to blab about her being disappointed that Mr. Boynton is away at a Biologist's Convention.
** Like any good high school reporter, he also on the prowl for news. We see him at it in the episode "Kritch Cave".
* SchoolOfHardKnocks: In "The Grudge Match", Walter Denton challenges star athlete Stretch Snodgrass to a fight when he discovers that Harriet Conklin had sat next to Stretch at the movie theatre. Much to Miss Brooks' consternation, Mr. Boynton decides that it would be best to have the fight in the gymnasium in front of the whole school. Principal Conklin not only goes along with it, but referees the fight, as he wants to see Walter Denton "clobbered."
* SchoolPlay: A few episodes (i.e. "Madison Country Club" and "Hawkins Travel Agency") have Miss Brooks and company wear school costume. In "The School Board Psychologist", an upcoming school play (where the students would dress as animals) is a major plot point.
* ScienceHero: Mr. Boynton ends up saving the day in "Living Statues". Walter Denton had invented a new type of paint to remove scratches. Unfortunately, at the last minute he mistakenly adds liquid cement to the concoction. After using the paint in Mr. Conklin's office, Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin, Mr. Boynton, and Walter Denton get stuck to the wall or the furniture. Mr. Boynton managed to free himself and go off to his laboratory to mix up a dissolvent to free everyone else. As for Walter Denton; he goes to help, limping off still stuck to the pedestral that usually held the bust of the school founder, Yodar Kritch.
* ScoobyDooHoax: In "Space, Who Needs It?", Walter Denton fakes an invasion by miniature space aliens to prank Mr. Conklin.
* TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Miss Brooks and Lawrence Nolan play a game of Scrabble aboard the ''Paradise'', Nolan's yacht. Not surprising, the board is plainly the deluxe edition, with built-in turntable.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Mr. Conklin ''lives'' this trope. One example, out of many, is his using the high school cafeteria freezer to store his meat in "Home Cooked Meal".
* ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful: Connie Brooks is free to pursue ObliviousToLove Mr. Boynton in way that would be questionable if she weren't an attractive English teacher. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Mr. Conklin, when he wryly comments on how he was sure to always find in in Mr. Boynton's biology lab. Party [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that Mr. Boynton likes Miss Brooks, and Miss Brooks' extraordinary pursuit doesn't violate any laws. This bit of dialogue from "Student Government Day" describes Miss Brooks' pursuit of Mr. Boynton in a nutshell:
-->'''Mr. Boynton:''' Fate seems always to be pitching us together\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Compared to me, fate's only a sandlot pitcher]].
* ScriptSwap: In "Poetry Mix-up", a love poem intended for Harriet Conklin is given to Mr. Conklin by mistake.
* SecretWeapon: In "Project X", the eponymous project is Mr. Conklin's secret weapon to get a promotion. [[spoiler: It's a device that allows Mr. Conklin to listen in on and communicate with every room in the school.]]
* SelfDeprecation: Miss Brooks sometimes aims her [[DeadpanSnarker deadly sarcasm]] at herself, usually when she finds herself dragged into a preposterous situation or scheme.
* SentimentalDrunk: "Old Clothes for Party" sees a sentimental (and exceptionally annoying) drunk invades Miss Brooks' conversation when she tries to use the party line telephone. The drunk falsely thinks Miss Brooks is married to his best friend, and starts wailing as she's making a date with Mr. Boynton. Later, the drunk starts crying about how he doesn't know where his father is.
* SeparatedByACommonLanguage: An English schoolmaster visits in "Hello Mr. Chips". HilarityEnsues.
* SeriesGoal: From day one, Miss Brooks wants to marry oblivious Mr. Boynton. [[spoiler: They finally marry in TheMovie GrandFinale]]
* SeriousBusiness: HilarityEnsues at Madison High School, whether the problem of the day happens to be Mr. Conklin's latest edict, Walter Denton's latest prank, or keeping the Madison High School (football, basketball or baseball) team contenders in the big game:
** "Blue Goldfish" revolves around Mr. Conklin not heating the school to a sufficient temperature, and making everyone cold.
** "Madison Country Club" sees Mr. Conklin try to raise money to renovate his office.
** "Carelessness Code" is another episode where Mr. Conklin runs his staff and students ragged. This time he nickle-and-dimes teachers and students for violations of the carelessness code, violations that he makes up on the fly. This is all to pay for a bust of his head to grace the school library in place of that of Julius Caesar.
** "Letter From the Education Board" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its television remake, "Spare That Rod!"]]) sees Walter Denton alter an old letter to make Mr. Conklin think he's in danger of losing his job for being "dictatorial in his method".
** "Board of Education Day" (and its remake "Marinated Hearing"), "Free TV From Sherry's (and its remake, "Wild Goose"), "Cure That Habit", "Turnabout Day", "Sneaky Peekers" and "Friday The Thirteenth" all deal with the aftermath of Walter Denton's pranks.
** "Mr. Whipple" sees Madison High School trying to get a new, larger gymnasium. Similarly, "Mr. Travis' Three Acre Lot" sees Madison High School try to acquire property next door to get a proper regulation size football field.
** The crisis in "Baseball Uniforms" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its television remake, "Fischer's Pawnshop"]]) is that the opening baseball game of the season may be cancelled because of lack of funds to buy uniforms.
** Several episodes deal with the necessity of keeping [[DumbJock Stretch or Bones Snodgrass]] eligible to play for the Madison High School football, baseball, or basketball teams. "Stretch Has A Problem", "Stretch to Transfer ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its remake, "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass"]], "Stretch is in Love" (and its remake "Suzy Prentiss"), "Stretch is in Love Again", and "Stretch is Accused of Professionalism" all fall under this heading.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Walter, which makes him sound much more intelligent than he really is.
* {{Sexophone}}: A RunningGag in TheMovie is a sexophone riff that plays everytime [[HeadTurningBeauty Miss Lonelyhearts]] gets up from her desk and walks through the newspaper office.
* SexySecretary: In "The Dancer", Miss Brooks mistakes an exotic dancer applying for a job at Mr. Conklin's brother-in-law's bachelor party as the new secretary. Miss Brooks tells her to start work in Mr. Conklin's office. HilarityEnsues.
* ShaggyFrogStory: In "Friday the Thirteenth", Mrs. Davis assures Miss Brooks her troubles with Mr. Conklin are merely psychological. Mrs. Davis relates how her brother Victor was afraid to enter a yard because of a dog that was always barking. Victor went to a psychiatrist who told him that the only reason the dog was barking was because the dog was afraid Victor would kick him . . . .
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': After a couple months with the psychiatrist, my brother went right into that dog's yard and they stayed there together for over an hour.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Really, what did they do?
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': They just stood around, biting and kicking each other. Luckily, a policeman came by and stopped it.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[SarcasmMode Yes, that was fortunate. Your brother couldn't have taken much more of that kicking.]]
* ShamedByAMob: Mr. Conklin rigs an election so the Madison High School students will election him the episode's titular "Faculty Cheerleader". Faced with a assembly of grumbling students, he relies on Miss Brooks to get his "election" through.
* ShamelessSelfPromoter: Mr. Conklin, to some extent. He even has a huge photograph of himself hanging above his living room mantelpiece.
* SharedFamilyQuirks:
** Brothers Stretch Snodgrass and Bones Snodgrass are [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname only known by their nicknames]] (their real names are [[EmbarrassingFirstName Fabian]] and Winston respectively). [[DumbJock dumb]] but [[LovableJock friendly]] high school athletes. They speak with [[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker an eccentric grammar (or lack therof)]]. They are also extremely LiteralMinded.
** Osgood, Martha and Harriet Conklins are all snoops and eavesdroppers ("Mr. Boynton's Parents", "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton")
* SharpDressedMan: Mr. Conklin almost always wears a WaistcoatOfStyle. If he's going outside, he's sure to don a fedora hat.
* ShaveAndAHaircut: Walter Denton usually rings the bell at Mrs. Davis', but a few times he knocks to the tune of Shave and a Haircut. Once or twice, he even honked the horn on his jalopy to the same tune.
* ShesGotLegs: Notably in "Friday the Thirteenth", where Miss Brooks produces a photo of herself in a "French-model bathing suit" for the school yearbook. Walter Denton, Stretch Snodgrass and Mr. Boynton notice her legs.
* ShockinglyExpensiveBill: In [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Tape Recorder"]], Walter Denton purchases an expensive reel-to-reel tape recorder, and bills it to Madison High. TruthInTelevision, as tape recorders cost hundreds of dollars at the time.
* ShoeShineMister: In "The Birthday Bag", Harriet Conklin solicits money from Miss Brooks by pretending it's for an impoverished shoeshine boy.
* ShooOutTheNewGuy: Miss Brooks' two successive gym teacher [[LoveInterest love interests]] in the controversial final television season. Clint Albright and Gene Talbot, respectively. They both end up quitting their jobs and leaving with little explanation. They're replaced by Miss Brooks' longtime beau, Mr. Boynton.
* ShortCutsMakeLongDelays: The RoadTrip episode, "Game At Clay City". Mr. Conklin, [[BavarianFireDrill appointing himself navigator of Miss Brooks' car]], determines they should take a shortcut. After the car breaking down going up a steep hill, getting lost, giving a ride to a hitchhiker who misdirects them to a neighboring town, the gang finally arrive at Clay City . . . only to find that the football game is over and that the Madison High team had been clobbered.
* ShowWithinAShow: In "Here Is Your Past", Miss Brooks is unwittingly made a contestant of the titular show.
* TheShrink: In the episode "The School Board Psychologist". A dangerously incompetent psychologist tries to have Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin dismissed.
* SickeningSweethearts: Mr. and Mrs. Conklin can be like that:
** In "Trying to Pick a Fight", it's revealed that one of Mrs. Conklin's pet names for her husband is "Sugar Cookie".
** In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Mr. Conklin buys Mrs. Conklin a black sheer negligee. "To Baby, From Goodie" reads the card.
* SignatureTeamTransport: Walter Denton usually drives Miss Brooks to school in his jalopy.
* SillySimian:
** In "The Little Visitor", the Conklins are expecting to play guest to Mrs. Conklin's sister's pet monkey. Harriet and Mrs. Conklin are excstatic, Mr. Conklin is miserable. Miss Brooks jumps to the conlusion the Conklins are expecting a new baby. HilarityEnsues.
** Miss Brooks often mentions Mr. Boynton taking her to the monkeyhouse at the zoo, both on radio and on televison. It's said to be one of his favourite places. In "The Frog", Miss Brooks mentions her intent to change this because "as a schoolteacher, I can't afford to buy Taboo by the quart".
** At the end of The Movie Grand Finale, Miss Brooks having just finally recieved Mr. Boynton's proposal of marriage, finds Mr. Boynton feeding the monkeys at the zoo. Mr. Boynton finds an engagement ring in a box of cracker jacks. WithThisRing is interrupted by Chiquita, a female money who chooses this moment to steal the ring. No matter, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks walk away arm-in-arm to their future home.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': (winking to Chickita) I hope it doesn't take as long for you as it did for me.
-->'''Chiquita''': (winks back)
* SimpleYetOpulent: Miss Brooks, in the few episodes where she wears an evening gown - most notably, the strapless evening gown she wears in "Suzy Prentiss".
* SingingInTheShower: In "Stretch Has A Problem", Miss Brooks' "feet were ready to come off" after participating in a snake dance. The rally was held in honor of the Madison High School basketball team's departure to the state tournament. The sore and tired Miss Brooks spends the rest of the episode trying to take a bath. And singing! Alas, she's continually interrupted by somebody coming to the door before she can get into the tub:
-->'''Miss Brooks:''' ''[singing, while filling the bathtub with water]'' Singing in the bathtub, nothing can go wrong. Singing in the bathtub....
-->''[doorbell rings]''
-->'''Miss Brooks:''' ''[singing]'' [[DeadpanSnarker Oh, I should live so long!]]
* SingleEpisodeHandicap: In "Marinated Hearing", Walter Denton sets off an old cannon from the Spanish-American War. Mr. Conklin's standing too close, and suffers from temporary deafness as a result.
* SingleTaskRobot: In "Transition Show", Vice Principal Oliver Munsey shows Miss Brooks the robot he built. Its purpose is to be an automatic pencil sharpener.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Miss Brooks' [[SeriesGoal goal]] throughout the radio, television series and [[GrandFinale film]] [[TheMovie adaptation]]. Her heart is clearly set on the very decent and attractively biology teacher Mr. Boynton. Unfortunately, Mr. Boynton is very shy and almost altogether ObliviousToLove.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Miss Brooks has Miss Enright, a fellow English teacher and rival for Mr. Boynton's affections.
* SittingOnTheRoof: Two episodes end with Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton sitting on a roof.
** In "Elopement with Walter, Miss Brooks lures Mr. Boynton atop Mrs. Davis' house to practice volunteer fire fighting maneuvers. ItMakesSenseInContext.
** "Threat to Abolish Football" ends with Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton drafted into fixing the roof of Mr. Conklin's house. Again, ItMakesSenseInContext.
* SketchySuccessor: In the first radio episode, "First Day", Madison High School's Principal Darwell is replaced by Principal Osgood Conklin. Partially averted in that Mr. Conklin is generally competent with a HiddenHeartOfGold. However, he is also pompous, arrogant, bad-tempered and dictatorial.
** The later radio episode "Borrowing Money to Fly", and the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] changed the continuity so as to reflect the fact Mr. Conklin was Madison's longtime principal who had been long ensconced in his position upon Miss Brooks' arrival at Madison.
* TheSlacker: Walter Denton is an early example, although intelligent about ''some'' things, he's BookDumb, constantly taking shortcuts in his studies, once mentions he keeps his room a mess, and tries to minimize the time he spends in school or actually doing school work.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Miss Brooks is sometimes the victim of slapstick gags. For example, in "Business Course" where she gets covered in oil and "Vitamin E-12" where she gets covered in goop. Miss Enright also suffers an oily fate in "Business Course." In "Secondhand First Aid" Miss Brooks wraps Miss Enright in bandages and rips her dress.
* SlaveToPR: Mr. Conklin is desperate to maintain a good ''public'' image on a number of occasions. For example, in "Madison Country Club", he's desperate to one up his rival Jason Brill. In "The Cafeteria Strike", Mr. Conklin's desperate to prevent the school's board food being exposed in the newspaper. Yes, Mr. Conklin is desperate to maintain a good front for the public. However, he never seems to care about the reputation he has amongst Madison's students and faculty.
* SleazyPolitician: The mayor in the radio episode "Student Government Day" is in league with the mobsters running the Jackpot Amusement Company. Averted with the new mayor, who eventually appears in the television episode "Public Property On Parade".
* SlidingScaleofRobotIntelligence: In "Transition Show", Vice Principal Oliver Munsey shows Miss Brooks the robot he built. Definately a type 1, its main purpose is as an automatic pencil sharpener.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Osgood Conklin on ''Radio/OurMissBrooks''. Mr. Conklin is the principal of Madison High School, but had a pomposity out of all proportion to his position. He often answers his office telephone "Principal's office. Osgood Conklin '''himself''' speaking". In the episode "Public Speaker's Nightmare", he has Miss Brooks recite his entire resume before beginning a school meeting.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: One of biology teacher Mr. Boynton's hobbies is chess. In the "Hobby Show", he tries to teach the game to Miss Brooks.
* SmittenTeenageGirl: Although Harriet Conklin is usually Walter Denton's squeeze, and ordinarily quite levelheaded, she's been known to act this way on occasion.
** In "Hello, Mr. Chips," Harriet has a crush on a visiting English headmaster.
** In "Bones, Son of Cyrano" Harriet is enthused when she thinks Mr. Boynton has written her a love letter.
** Similarly, in the radio episodes "Stretch has a Problem" and "The Grudge Match" Harriet is overjoyed to find out that DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass is in love with her.
* SnakeCharmer: In "King and Brooks", Miss Brooks dreams that she's married to a maharajah. In the dream, Mr. Conklin is a snake charmer practicing his craft outsider her windows. Conklin fails to charm the snake with his music, but makes his necktie curl up.
* SnakeOilSalesman: In the episode "Vitamin E-4", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin are tricked by a phony professor into helping him manufacture the eponymous "vitamin". In reality, it's a bunch of gloop whose main ingredient is chicken fat. The "professor" uses teachers to make his presentations more realitic. The head of the school board, Mr. Stone, is incredulous that normally clever people can fall for such a scam. The snake oil saleman is never actually seen, but was voiced by Frank Nelson on the record he left in his "laboratory" to instruct his employees on how to manufacture the "vitamin".
* SnarkingThanks: Miss Brooks is a DeadpanSnarker, so this trope is played from time-to-time. One example occurs in the early radio episode "Game At Clay City", where Miss Brooks "thanks" a mechanic who was supposed to change a headlight but ended up making over a hundred dollars in repairs.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Whenever Miss Brooks and Miss Enright meet, snarking is sure to follow. Usually, Miss Enright gives the first blow, with Miss Brooks giving as good as she gets.
* SneezeOfDoom: Mr. Conklin has some whoppers. The TV version of the sneezes had powerful fans blow objects all over the set, i.e. "Here is Your Past" and "The Magic Tree".
* SocialSemicircle: Sometimes readily apparent. ''Our Miss Brooks'' was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Creator/DesiluStudios, using the same camera equipment as ''Series/ILoveLucy''.
** One example is found in the episode "Spare That Rod!". Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are crowded along three sides of a cafeteria table.
** Another example is in the episode "Madison Mascot", where Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin, Harriet Conklin Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are meeting in Mr. Conklin's to discuss the a mascot for the Madison football team. Mr. Conklin sat at the head of the table, with everybody else either placed at the foot or along one side.
** Averted in "Hobby Show" and "Thanksgiving Show" in scenes taking place at Mrs. Davis' dining room table. Mrs. Davis, one supposes, had little tolerance for Social Semi Circle Seating!
* SoProudOfYou: Lawrence Nolan, praising his son Gary's reporting work, in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]].
* SoundToScreenAdaptation: An interesting example, in that the radio series actually outlasted the TV version.
* SouthernBelle: In "Blind Date", Mr. Conklin is afraid of meeting his old college girlfriend, Lulubelle Calhoun of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He had told his wife Martha that she was the only woman he ever loved. Mr. Conklin, being a vain and pompous individual, convinces himself that Lulubelle was visiting to try and breakup the Conklin's marriage and win him back. In truth, Lulubelle was visiting for unrelated reasons and left the night before. In truth, Lulubelle had told Mrs. Davis that she didn't even know what she had seen in Osgood!
* SpellingSong: In "Mr. Boynton's Parents", Miss Brooks is pleased to hear that LoveInterest Mr. Boynton's parents find her so youthful. That is, until [[TeachersPet teachers' pets]] Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin arrive. To Miss Brooks' chagrin, the teenagers name her the Madison High School student's choice for "Mother away from Mother". After presenting her with a shawl the students bought for her, Walter Denton sings the song they wrote for her:
-->'''Walter Denton''':\\
'''B''' is for the books she helps us study.\\
'''R''' is she is righteous and so pure.\\
'''O''' is for the fact that she's our buddy.\\
The other '''O''' is likewise I am sure.\\
'''K''' is for okay she rates about.\\
'''S''' is for her sadly wrinkled brow.\\
She's motherly just like ''Elsie the Cow''.\\
Miss Brooks we love you dearly!
-->'''Miss Brooks''':\\
Miss Brooks\\
That's me.\\
''(sob)'' I'll always be,\\
Miss Brooks!
* SpitTake:
** The very first television episode, "Trying to Pick a Fight", sees Miss Brooks do a spit take with coffee. Still, Miss Brooks demonstrates good manners by immediately using a linen napkin to wipe her face!
** Mr. Boynton does one ''with chili'' in "Weekend at Crystal Lake".
* SplitScreenPhoneCall: "Blind Date".
* SpringtimeForHitler: In "School on Saturday", Mr. Conklin sends Miss Brooks to quell a mass student protest that arises when he opens Madison High School on Saturday, and demands everybody attend . . . .
*** Mr. Conklin hears from head of the board, Mr. Stone, that Conklin would be in trouble if he dared open the school Saturday. Stone was going to investigate, personally . . . .
*** Too bad for Mr. Conklin, Miss Brooks' speech to the angry teenagers convinced them to come in and attend class.
*** Mr. Conklin has Miss Brooks make another speech, to send the students home . . . .
*** Mr. Stone calls up, saying he's not going to inspect the school after all . . . .
*** Miss Brooks is sent to make ''yet another speech'', and the students attend classes for the day. And stay in detention until 4:00 p.m.
*** Mr. Stone comes by late in the afternoon . . . more HilarityEnsues.
* {{Squee}}: Harriet Conklin, occasionally. One example is in "Hello, Mr. Chips", where she makes a sound of delight upon seeing the visiting English school master.
* SquirrelsInMyPants: In "Cure That Habit", Stretch Snodgrass carries two kittens, a frog and a snake in his jacket. The animals get loose in Mr. Conklin's office and HilarityEnsues.
* StaircaseTumble: Walter Denton's dates with Harriet Conklin often end with him being kicked down the porch steps by her father.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The episode "Here is Your Past" sees Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis being stalked by a mysterious man with a black moustache. [[spoiler: The stranger forces Connie to a TV studio where she's guest of honor on the ''Here is Your Past'' TV program.]]
* StandAloneEpisode: Every radio and television episode of Our Miss Brooks reintroduces the characters, and (except in the fourth TV season) there's no continuity that needs to be followed from one episode to the next.
* StandardizedSitcomHousing: Mostly averted.
** Miss Brooks rents a room from Mrs. Davis, whose home is stereotypically decorated in "old lady style" i.e. old fashioned wallpaper and lots of doilies. The house is a one-story home, although the front windows seen in establishing shots don't appear in the house. The front door opens directly into the living room, but is actually stage right. The house actually has a dining room stage left to the living room. Stage left to the dining room is the kitchen, with a back door leading stage left to the back porch and back yard (which was rarely shown). Depending on the requirement of the plot, the house is described as having either two or three bedrooms. (In TheMovie, Mrs. Davis describes the third bedroom as a "spare room", perhaps reconciling the difference.) There's an easily accessible attic used for storage, mentioned by never shown. On the rare occasions when Miss Brooks' bedroom is shown, it's unclear where it is inside the house.
** In the [[GrandFinale cinematic series finale]], the layout is much the same. However, while the living room was square on television, here it's elongated along the front of the house. The windows outside actually line up. The location of Miss Brooks' room is also shown. It's off a small hallway leading from the living room (and thus not appearing on stage on television.
* TheStateroomSketch: In the episode "Oo-Oo-Me-Me-Tocoludi-Gucci-Moo-Moo". Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis had spent their summer vacation in a tiny house-trailer Miss Brooks nicknamed "mousie". While waiting for a perspective buyer to show up, Miss Brooks and Mrs. Davis clean the trailer. Unfortunately, Walter Denon, Harriet Conklin and Mr. Conklin all come to visit. HilarityEnsues.
* StealingTheCredit: Mr. Conklin likes to steal the credit from Miss Brooks, on occasion. For example, there was his attempt to claim authorship of a speech written by Miss Brooks in "Public Property on Parade".
* StealthInsult: In the series' [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Miss Brooks is Mr. Conklin's campaign manager for his crack at the new post of Coordinator of Education (essentially, School Board Superintendent). Collecting donations from students and teachers, Miss Brooks tells Mr. Conklin that many of them were behind him. They were willing to give him a ''push'' out of Madison if necessary. Mr. Conklin's change of expression from glowing pride to a perplexed frown suggests he quickly realized the import of Miss Brooks' comment.
* SteamNeverDies: In the film, when Miss Brooks arrives in [[EverytownAmerica Madison]], she's seen disembarking from a passenger train drawn by a steam locomotive. Very much [[TruthInTelevision truth in film]], as the fifties were the twilight of the steam age in North America.
* StereoFibbing: Happens a few times in the radio version:
** In the episode "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton", Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton fib in stereo to the Dean Faraday of State College.
** In "Trial By Jury", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton and Bones Snodgrass play possum with multiple fake illnesses.
* SternTeacher: At Madison High School, Miss Enright, [[SitcomArchNemesis Miss Brooks' personal and professional rival]], is ''always'' described by Miss Brooks and others as a very competent teacher. However, she appears to be much stricter than Miss Brooks. In "Stretch the Basketball Star", the episode introducing DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass, Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin plot to have the student athlete moved to Miss Brooks' class. They view "old lady Enright" as being unsympathetic.
* StickFigureAnimation: Used in a few episodes at the start of the fourth television season. For example, in "Who's Who", Miss Brooks narrates her efforts to beg a favor from Mrs. Nestor. The backdrop to Miss Brooks' narration is a stick figure picture of Miss Brooks pleading with Mrs. Nestor.
* StickyFingers: Somebody is stealing phonebooks in the episode "Phonebook Follies".
* StickySituation: In the episode "Living Statues", Mr. Conklin orders Miss Brooks to fix the cracks and scratches on his office walls. Joined by Walter and Mr. Boynton, Miss Brooks' redoes his office using a clear paint invented by Walter in the school lab. [[HilarityEnsues Unfortunately, Walter unknowingly added liquid cement to his concoction . . . .]]
* StockAnimalDiet: Minerva, Mrs. Davis' pet cat, shows an affinity to several stock cat foods.
** Minerva likes milk, but prefers cream. One episode has Miss Brooks telling Minerva there's no cream left, so she'll have to take milk. Minerva meows angrily in protest.
** In "Taxidermists", Minerva gobbles up a large fish Mr. Conklin intends to enter in a fishing contest.
** Minerva shows excitement anytime someone mentions mice in her presence.
* StockYuck: The episode "Public Property on Parade", sees CordonBleughChef Mrs. Davis cook a limburger omelet for Miss Brooks. Brooks wisely declines, so Davis leaves it in the front yard for the birds. Cue a flock of birds flying a frantic retreat.
* StolenCreditBackfire: In "Public Property On Parade", Mr. Conklin takes credit for a speech Miss Brooks wrote about respecting public property and condemning theft and vandalism. Conklin initially dislikes the speech, but when the Mayor praises the document he takes full credit. Later, Conklin tells Miss Brooks that the Mayor would never find out that she wrote the speech; he's immediately embarassed to find the mayor is standing just outside the room and has heard everything.
* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker: [[DumbJock Stretch Snodgrass's]] grammar is atrocious. It's a toxic combination of current slang, malapropisms and double negatives.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Stretch, it is incorrect to use a double negative in a sentence. You've just used four of them.
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Oh! So what I said was alright then?
** Stretch's brother [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Bones]] is the same way.
* StrictlyProfessionalRelationship: Sometimes invoked by Mr. Boynton. In fact, according to TheMovie, when Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks first met, it is Mr. Boynton's insistence that has the two on a strictly LastNameBasis.
** It is noteworthy that Miss Brooks '''never''' sees her relationship with Mr. Boynton as strictly professional.
* StrikeEpisode:
** The episode "The Cafeteria Strike" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation a remake of the radio episode "The Madison High Cafeteria Boycott]]). The students, dismayed by the awful food in the cafeteria, plan a strike with placards and all the other paraphernalia.
** In "School on Saturday", the Madison High students initially [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin refuse to go to class when Principal Conklin orders them in on Saturday.]] They even have plans to burn Mr. Conklin in effigy.
* StronglyWordedLetter: In "Stuffed Gopher", Mr. Conklin thinks he's going to be fired as principal from Madison High School. He writes a strongly-worded letter of resignation to Mr. Stone, the head of the school board.
* StudentCouncilPresident: Harriet Conklin is Student Council President at Madison High School. As such, and especially as she is the daughter of Principal Conklin, she has . . . absolutely no power whatsoever.
* StudentsPlayingMatchmaker: High School Students Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin often try to further Miss Brooks' romance with ObliviousToLove Mr. Boynton. One such example is the episode "Blind Date", where Walter and Harriet work together to reunite Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton after a quarrel.
* StunnedSilence: A horrorstruck Miss Brooks is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin stunned into silence]] in the episode "Home Cooked Meal". [[spoiler: Miss Brooks realizes that Mr. Conklin has gone into a dark kitchen that has filled with natural gas. When Mr. Conklin announces he's going to light a match, horror stricken, she can only ''mouth'' a warning. Fortunately, Mr. Conklin's alright, although a little worse for wear.]]
* SuddenHumility:
** In "Spare That Rod!", when Mr. Conklin believes Mr. Stone has threatened to fire him for being "flagrantly dictatorial." Mr. Conklin humbly helps out his teachers and is even obsequious toward his students.
** In "Turnabout Day", by the authority of a forged letter Walter Denton becomes the principal on the titular "Turnabout Day". Cue Mr. Conklin pretending to be a student. He arrives on bicycle, wearing a propeller beanie and a Mickey Mouse T-shirt.
** Again, in the penultimate television episode "Principal For A Day". Miss Brooks [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is briefly promoted to principal]], and Mr. Conklin takes a position as history teacher.
** Finally, in TheMovie GrandFinale, Mr. Conklin ''is'' actually threatened with dismissal by Mr. Stone; in a ContinuityNod, Mr. Stone considering Conklin's strict rule of Madison High School "to be tantamount to malfeasance." Mr. Conklin tries acting humble. When that doesn't work, Conklin decides to run against Mr. Stone for the newly created post of "Coordinator of Education" (aka school board president/superintendent) to save his position.
* SuddenIntelligence: The episode "Dress Code Protest" has [[DumbJock student athlete]] Stretch Snodgrass volunteer some good advice to Miss Brooks.
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': I've got an idea, Miss Brooks.\\
'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker Not so loud, it'll get away.]]
* SuddenNameChange:
** Marty's Malt Shop, the restaurant across the street from Madison High School, goes by a different name in its first radio appearance ("The Model School Teacher"). Subsequent appearances have the local hangout go by the name "Marty's Malt Shop". This includes the television remake of "The Model School Teacher", simply entitled "The Model Teacher."
** Sherry's Department store has a similar backstory. In the store's first appearance, "Surprise Party", Madison's department store goes by a different name. In subsequent episodes, "Sherry's" prevails, including the television remake of "Surprise Party", "The Birthday Bag."
** In the third season, Madison High School's principal rival, "Clay City High School", is suddenly redubbed "Henry Clay High."
* SuperStoicShopkeeper: Mr. Fisher in "Mr. Fisher's Pawn Shop," played by the indomitable Frank Nelson. He doesn't get upset in spite of the wacky hijinks going on all around him.
* SurpriseParty: "The Birthday Bag" and "The Surprise Party". Miss Brooks' friends plan a surprise party at the Conklin's house. Unfortunately, Miss Brooks turns up an hour too early. HilarityEnsues.
* SweaterGirl:
** Harriet Conklin often favors a tight sweater.
** The ''Madison Express" lonely hearts columnist, in the series' [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale. She wears a tight sweater as she walks around the office, to the accompaniment of [[{{Sexophone}} saxophone]] music. [[spoiler: She is a minor a character, the movie ends with DisposableLoveInterest Mr. Nolan asking her for a date on his yacht. Meanwhile, in the main plot, Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton and lives HappilyEverAfter.]]
* SwivelChairAntics: In "Cure That Habit", Stretch Snodgrass swivels Principal Conklin around quickly, [[InsaneTrollLogic in an attempt to cure his hiccups]]. HilarityEnsues.
* {{Tableau}}: When Head of the Board of Education, Mr. Stone, visits Mr. Conklin, he finds Conklin, Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, and Walter Denton motionless. They're stuck to the furniture. Walter Denton had unknowingly mixed his touch-up paint with liquid cement:
-->'''Mr. Stone''': I must be having hallucinations! What is the meaning of this '''grotesque tableau!'''
* TakeAThirdOption: Happens in "The Big Game". After Assistant Coach "Snakehips" Geary fails his makeup test to get his high school diploma, Miss Brooks must either flunk the old high school football hero from the "Big Game of 1912" or give him a fake pass. However, she uses Loophole Abuse and TakesAThirdOption. Earlier Mr. Conklin told Miss Brooks, when marking the test, to give him full credit for his contribution to Madison, his winnning the big game forty years before. Miss Brooks adds the points Snakehips scored to his test results as extra credit. Snakehips gets his High School Diploma and remains the Assistant Coach.
* TakingTheFightOutside: Attempted by Mr. Boynton and new gym teacher Mr. Greeley in "Angela's Wedding". They had been invited to a small party to welcome Angela's fiance. Greeley, who had been mocking Boynton in the episode, is on the verge of provoking a fight - much to Miss Brooks' disdain. Boynton and Greeley are about to step outside, when, to Greeley's amusement, Mr. Boynton is drafted by Mrs. Davis to help her toss a salad.
* TalkingHeads: The radio programs adapted to television are often "talky" episodes. However, visual gags are often thrown into the script (indeed, many are carried over from the radio where they are described, but not shown). The show, humorous on the radio, definitely '''does not''' suffer in the adaptation to television.
* TalkingInYourSleep: In a couple episodes, Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks are heard talking in their sleep. "Mr. Conklin's Wakeup Plan" is one such example.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mr. Boynton [[spoiler: Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton in TheMovie GrandFinale]]
* TagalongKid: Benny Romero in the last season. In "Geraldine", he stowsaway aboard the trailer Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Munsee are taking to Arizona.
* TapOnTheHead:
** In "Mr. Conklin is Honored", Mr. Conklin receives several hits on the head with Mrs. Davis' mahogany handled umbrella. ItMakesSenseInContext. Mr. Conklin falls to the ground each time, but suffers no effect more severe than the loss of a couple teeth.
** The trope is used in the episode "The Skeleton in the Closet". Miss Brooks' desperately tries to prevent a blackmailer, "Charlie", from revealing an embarassing incident in her life to Mr. Conklin. Gym teacher Gene Talbot knocks out Charlie using a gym bag holding a barbell. Later, Mr. Waddley, the school publicist, and Mr. Conklin himself get knocked out with a tap on the head.
* TaxDeductions: Happens to Miss Brooks in "Easter Outfit". Miss Brooks finds the $50.00 she earned working at the board of education during spring break to be considerably eroded by tax deductions.
* TaxidermyTerror: The Snodgrass brothers' not only live behind a pet shop, but their father's a both former veterinarian ''and'' taxidermist, DependingOnTheWriter. Miss Brooks briefly (and squeamishly) forays into the business of taxidermy herself on the radio, in the episode "Taxidermists" - accompanied by Harriet Conklin, Walter Denotn and Stretch Snodgrass. However, where TaxidermyTerror really comes into play is in the episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Stuffed Gopher"]]. Stretch Snodgrass wrecks Mr. Conklin's office, Mr. Boynton's lab, and the school Cafeteria in his attempt to catch the rodent. Snodgrass then has the rodent stuffed and brings it to school in a large suitcase to show Miss Brooks, Walter and Mr. Conklin. All three are suitably, and [[HilarityEnsues comically]] repulsed.
* TeachersPet:
** Walter Denton, who likes Miss Brooks so much he's usually driving her to school.
** Also applies to Harriet Conklin, who is Miss Brooks' best student. She's also the daughter of the principal to boot.
* TeamChef: Mrs. Davis is the only main character typically seen cooking. In one episode, Miss Brooks goes so far as to describe her own specialty as Campbell's Soup. Subverted in episodes where Miss Brooks assists Mrs. Davis with her cooking, and in episodes where Mrs. Conklin appears. Most notably subverted in "The Cafeteria Strike" when Mr. Boynton uses his mother's meatball recipe to get Miss Brooks out of trouble.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: This happens whenever Mr. Conklin forces Miss Brooks to go along with a scheme of which she does not approve.
* TeethFlying: Mr. Conklin loses several teeth in "Plaque for Mr. Conklin" as he's hit several times in an attempt to cure his faked case of [[EasyAmnesia amnesia]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* TemporarySubstitute:
** Stretch Snodgrass was substituted with his brother Bones in several first and second season episodes of the TV Series. The actor who played Stretch, Leonard Smith, wasn't available.
** Mrs. Winona Nestor was replaced by her sister, Mrs. Ruth Nestor, in the fourth season of the TV series. Sadly, the actress playing Winona, Nana Bryant, was forced to leave the show due to illness after making only a couple of appearances.
** The temporary replacement of Mrs. Davis, with her sister Angela, for a few episodes in the third season of the TV series and contemporaneous radio program. Jane Morgan, the actress who played Mrs. Davis, had suffered a stroke (fortunately, she made a quick and full recovery). This counts as a subversion as the character of Angela had often been mentioned on the radio program, and was eventually portrayed by Jesselyn Fax on both radio and television. The two sisters appeared side-by-side in several episodes.
** In the fourth season of the TV series, Mr. Boynton was replaced as Miss Brooks' love interest by phys-ed instructor Clint Allbright (William Ching). Then Allbright himself was replaced with Gene Talbot (Gene Barry) before Boynton finally returned to the series.
* ThanksgivingTurkey: ''Our Miss Brooks'' had two Thanksgiving episodes; both times Miss Brooks finds it difficult to procure a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
** In the television episode "Thanksgiving Show" (a remake of the radio episode "Thanksgiving Weekend"), Mrs. Davis only buys a tiny squab for thanksgiving dinner. Miss Brooks attempts to get herself invited to a more substantial dinner results in Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton, Stretch Snodgrass and the entire Conklin family invited over to dine on Thanksgiving squab at Mrs. Davis' house.
** In the radio episode "Thanksgiving Turkey", facing buying a turkey with only $5 to spend, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton, with the assistance of Walter Denton, buy a live turkey from a farmer. Only thing is the turkey was a pet, and answers to the name Bernice (and falls in love with Mr. Boynton's pet frog [=McDougall=] to boot). HilarityEnsues.
* ThatsAllFolks: At the end of the episode "Buddy", Ricky Velasco states that although it would be "corny", it would be great if "The End" should appear above the cape he's holding. And "The End" appears.
* ThatsAnOrder: Mr. Conklin uses this phrase from time to time.
* UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt: In "Madame Brooks Dubarry", Mrs. Davis dons a Theodore Roosevelt costume for a party.
* TheyDo: At the end of TheMovie GrandFinale, Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton.
* ThemeMusicAbandonment: The movie dispenses with the usual series theme, opening with a fanfare and a cheery new tune.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Happens often on Miss Brooks. Many episodes begin with Miss Brooks having breakfast with Mrs. Davis. Often enough Walter Denton joins them, proclaiming himself willing to eat another breakfast. However, you rarely see anybody eat more than a few bites or Miss Brooks take a few sips of coffee. The trope is carried over to scenes in the Madison High School cafeteria, where teachers and students talk far more than they ever eat.
* ThiefBag: The thief in "The Jewel Robbery" carries away the loot from the burgled store in a bag. However, the crook later stores it in a suitcase.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
** Walter Denton's expression at the end of "Cure That Habit". Walter had mailed an application for an alcoholism cure in Mr. Conklin's name. For the second time in the episode, he brags to Miss Brooks about his prank. Unfortunately for Walter, this time Mr. Conklin's standing right behind him.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': [[SarcasmMode I bet he'll be positively purple.]]
-->'''Walter Denton''': [[DelayedReaction Purple? I'll bet he turns all the colors of the rain-bow-oh-oh-oh-oh!]]
** Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Walter Denton, and Stretch Snodgrass cower at the end of "Spare That Rod!" Miss Brooks, in fact, flees the principal's office! Mr. Conklin had, all day, been meek and courteous in response to a letter threatening his dismissal for running the school in a "dictatorial manner". Only at the end of show does he discover the letter was addressed to his predecessor Mr. Darwell, and was postmarked 1944. His name was only that day typed on the envelope by Walter Denton.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Run for the hills, the dam has broke!
** At the end of "Transition Show", Miss Brooks realizes she's working for, and at the mercy of, Mrs. Nestor and Mr. Conklin. Her near-sobbing expression says it all.
* ThoughtAversionFailure: The episode "Connie Tries To Forget Mr. Boynton" is based on this trope. The concept is explained by Mrs. Davis near the start of the episode:
->'''Mrs. Davis''': Remember, the one thing most difficult to forget is what you're trying to forget. If you'll cooperate with me, Connie, I'll show you just what I mean with a simple little experiment. Just try to forget an object on this table. Anything at all. Well, the coffee pot for example.\\
'''Miss Brooks''': This coffee pot?\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': Any coffee pot. Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. Close them tightly. Mm. That's it. Now, Connie Brooks, I command you not to think of a coffee pot. There's no such thing as a coffee pot. No coffee pot at all. Just keep telling yourself you must not think of a coffee pot.\\
'''Miss Brooks''': No coffee pot. I must not think of a coffee pot.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': That's right. No coffee pot. No coffee pot. Now, quickly Connie, what are you thinking of?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': A coffee pot.\\
'''Mrs. Davis''': I can't understand it. Something must have gone wrong. Try again now. Are you still thinking of a coffee pot?\\
'''Miss Brooks''': Yes, but it looks like Mr. Boynton.\\
-- ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'' '''"Connie Tries to Forget Mr. Boynton"'''
* ThreeAmigos: Walter Denton, his girlfriend Harriet Conklin, and his best friend Stretch Snodgrass.
* ThreeWallSet
* TimePassesMontage: in TheMovie GrandFinale, time passes as Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks visit a mother and baby elephant at the zoo. The baby elephant grows to be nearly as big as his mother:
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Remember when he was just a baby?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker As if he were my very own.]]
* TimeShiftedActor: "The Dream" features older versions of Mr. Conklin, Walter Denton, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Boynton and Mrs. Boynton nee Brooks played by series regulars Gale Gordon, Richard Crenna, Jane Morgan, Robert Rockwell and Eve Arden respectively.
* TitleDrop: Every so often, Miss Brooks would be introduced as "Our Miss Brooks" just for the fun of dropping the title of the program. Mr. Conklin usually gets to do the honors, as the principal of Madison High School, the "our" refers to Miss Brooks belonging to or being associated with Madison High School.
** In "First Day", outgoing principal Mr. Darwell has the pleasure of introducing "Our Miss Brooks" to incoming principal Mr. Conklin.
** In "The Grudge Match", Mr. Conklin names "Our Miss Brooks" to the students as their ringside commentator. It's a little redundant as they already know who she is.
** In "Hello Mr. Chips", Mr. Conklin introduces "Our Miss Brooks" to visiting British Schoolmaster Heatherington Philpott.
* TitleSequenceReplacement: ''Our Miss Brooks'' adopted the short "blackboard" opening for syndication.
* TodayXTomorrowTheWorld: In "Letter From the Board of Education", Miss Brooks' criticizes Mr. Conklin's choice of adages decorating the walls of his office by asking what happened to the one that read "Today Madison, tomorrow the world!". Mr. Conklin states that the janitor ripped it cleaning. In the [[SoundToScreenAdaptation television remake]] "Spare That Rod!" the joke is dropped. The janitor ripped the adage reading "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick".
* TonightSomeoneKisses: As seen in the trailer for TheMovie.
* TontoTalk: Chief and Mrs. Thundercloud in the episode "Bartering With Chief Thundercloud".
* TookALevelInCynic: Miss Brooks becomes extremely depressed at the crisis point of the [[GrandFinale series-concluding]] [[TheMovie film]].
* TheToothHurts: In "Mr. Conklin is Honored", Conklin loses several teeth when repeatedly hit on the head. The hits on the head weren't maliciously intended, but meant to cure a case of EasyAmnesia he had foolishly faked earlier in the episode.
* TranslationYes: "The House Trailer" featured an attempt by Mr. Conklin to borrow Mrs. Davis's house trailer and go fishing on an isolated lake, deep in the wilderness. The name of the lake, and the ''alternate title'' of the episode? "Oo Oo Me Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo." Mr. Conklin explains that ''Oo Oo Me Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo'' is the local Indians' word for "blue."
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker I hate to hear their word for purple.]]
* TrapDoor: In "Sneeky Peepers", a copy of Rodin's "The Kiss" is ordered by mistake. Mr. Conklin orders the offending statue to be covered by a tarpaulin until it can be returned. Walter Denton even installs a trap door to catch anyone [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin sneaking up to the statue to take a peep]]. It turns out, by the end of the day, Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin, Mr. Stone [[WhatAnIdiot and Walter Denton himself]] have fallen through the trap door and are trapped in a vacant (and locked) storage room in the basement.
* TravelingSalesman: In the episode "Spring Cleaning", Miss Brooks, Mrs. Davis and Mr. Conklin fall prey to the salespeople of the "Jiffy Vacuum Cleaner" company.
* TriggerHappy: In "New School Bus", Mr. Boynton buys an old paddy wagon for use as a school bus. Mrs. Davis uses the opportunity to drive around in the wagon, pretending to be a trigger happy cop. Fortunately, she's using a toy gun and shooting blanks!
* TheTriple: Several times. Here, Miss Brooks is having a rapid-fire breakfast "conversation" with Mrs. Davis:
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Toast?
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': Toast.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Cereal?
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': Cereal.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Hat-coat-and-bicarbonate?
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': ...
* TrrrillingRrrs: Osgood Conklin, just to be all the more pompous.
* TrueCompanions: Miss Brooks is not only is pushed (or pushes herself) close to Mr. Boynton, but is frequently involved in the ups and downs of Mr. and Mrs. Conklin's lives, as well as those of her landlady Mrs. Davis.
* TurtlePower: In "Madison Mascot", Stretch Snodgrass offers his pet turtle as Madison's mascot:
--> '''Stretch Snodgrass''': I know, maybe I can bring my turtle over as a mascot.
--> '''Walter Denton''': The Madison Mudturtles! [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal That's sort of alliterative]]. How big a turtle have you got, Stretch?
--> '''Stretch Snodgrass''': [[DumbJock He's exactly three inches square!]]
--> '''Mr. Conklin''': [[SarcasmMode Now there's a brilliant suggestion.]] How could the crowd in a football stadium possibly see a three inch turtle?
--> '''Miss Brooks''': [[DeadpanSnarker I know. We can paint Madison in huge red letters on his back.]]
* TVTeen:
** Features HighSchoolHustler and TeachersPet Walter Denton, who carried a very squeaky voice over from the radio. ** In the main cast is Harriet Conklin, the principal's daughter.
** Showing up from time-to-time, the [[DumbJock dumb]] but [[LovableJock good-natured]] Stretch Snodgrass.
** Stretch's brother [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Bones]].
* TwoTeacherSchool: Brooks and Boynton; there was also Brooks' rival Miss Enright and occasional visits from other teachers.
* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Principal Osgood Conklin's daughter Harriet.
* UnableToSupportAWife: [[spoiler: At the start of the film. Mr. Boynton's saving money and hoping for a promotion so he can propose to (and support) Miss Brooks]].
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: In the episode "The Dream", Miss Brooks has a daughter that looks just like her, while Mr. Conklin has a grandson that looks just like him. A JustifiedTrope, as it is AllJustADream.
* UnconventionalSmoothie: Some of the health drinks Mrs. Davis prepares for Miss Brooks at breakfast fall into this category.
* UndesirablePrize: In "Peanuts the Great Dane", [[spoiler: Miss Brooks wins the titular dog after spending the episode trying to get rid of him.]]
* UnplannedCrossdressing: In "Dress Code Protest", a series of mix-ups results in Miss Brooks wearing Mr. Conklin's pants after tearing her skirt and being unwilling to go about in a borrowed pair of Harriet's gym bloomers. Mr. Conklin had pushed his pair of pants through the transom, telling Stretch Snodgrass to get them cleaned. However, Stretch had left leading Walter to find them and take them to Miss Brooks. This leaves Mr. Conklin is stranded in his office with no pants, and only Miss Brooks' torn skirt.
* UnreliableNarrator: Sometimes done for laughs in the introductory narration on the radio. This would always prompt a quick correction by [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan snarker]] Miss Brooks.
* UnwantedGiftPlot: "Christmas Gift Returns" and "Exchanging Gifts".
* UnwantedGlassesPlot: In "The Dancer", Miss Brooks goes to an optometrist after Mr. Conklin accuses her of needing glasses. She borrows a pair of glasses to see their effect on Mr. Boynton. He compliments her on how ''mature'' she looks. So much for any chance of Miss Brooks wearing glasses!
* UptownGirl: In "An American Tragedy", Miss Brooks relates that LoveInterest Mr. Boynton had been dating a society girl. On Miss Brooks giving him an ultimatum to choose the society girl or Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton chooses Miss Brooks.
* ValentinesDayEpisodes: There are two Valentine's Day Episodes:
** "The Frog" sees Miss Brooks adopt a pet frog, in an effort to set up a "double date" with Mr. Boynton somewhere outside the zoo. ItMakesSenseInContext.
** "Valentine's Day Date" see Miss Brooks again try to keep Mr. Boynton away from the zoo. This time, she uses a gift certificate provided by Stretch Snodgrass to lure Mr. Boynton to Turk's Turkey Heaven. HilarityEnsues.
* VolleyingInsults: Miss Brooks and Miss Enright will unavoidably start throwing catty remarks at one another, should they engage in anything but the briefest of conversations.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Mr. Conklin's often seen wearing three piece suits (i.e. "Living Statues").
* WackyMarriageProposal: In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], the marriage proposal manages to be heartfelt, in character and very much atypical. [[spoiler: Miss Brooks finds out she's been ''de facto'' engaged to Mr. Boynton when Mrs. Davis introduces Mr. Boynton's mother as her new boarder in Miss Brooks' place (so Mrs. Boynton can be close to her son without having to live with Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks). Miss Brooks then goes to the zoo to meet up with Mr. Boynton. WithThisRing comes into play as Miss Brooks finds a ring in a box of Cracker Jack, which is promptly stolen by a female monkey. Nonetheless, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton leave arm in arm and see how the wallpaper Miss Brooks' selected will look in their future home.]]
* WakeupMakeup: Memorably averted in the episode "The Model Teacher". The catty female reporter is pleased to see Miss Brooks unmade up, so she could portray her as poorly as possible.
* WalkingSwimsuitScene: Three examples:
** "Friday the Thirteenth": A key factor in the plot is a photograph of Miss Brooks by the lake in a French bathing suit.
** "Heat Wave" has everybody but Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin scheming to get out of school and pay a trip to the swimming hole. Turns out Harriet Conklin, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass, and even Mr. Boynton have swimming suits under their regular clothes. [[spoiler: At the end of episode, it's revealed Miss Brooks is wearing one too.]]
** In the episode "The Dancer", an exotic dancer wanting Mr. Conklin to hire her for his brother-in-law's bachelor party, strips down to a French bathing suit when left alone in his office.
* WatchOutForThatTree: "Skis in the Classroom" see Miss Brooks' runaway skiing stopped in this fashion:
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Look out, you're heading right for that big tree! Look out for that tree!
-->'''Miss Brooks''': It's the only way I can stop! Oh, if I can just grab one of the branches! Here goes!
-->'''Crash!'''
* WavingSignsAround: The radio episode "Cafeteria Boycott" and its [[SoundToScreenAdaptation television remake]] "The Cafeteria Strike". Walter Denton and the other students make signs protesting the food in the cafeteria, such as "Remember PTO-MAINE" and, in the radio version, "Remember the saying what goes up must come down? In our cafeteria, what goes down must come up!"
* WealthyPhilanthropist: Mrs. Grabar in the episode "Madison Country Club". She gives anonymously to worthwhile causes, especially favoring any causes where children are concerned.
* WealthyYachtOwner: Lawrence Nolan, in the film. He owns a luxurious motor yacht, the ''Paradise''.
* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: "Exchanging Gifts" involves the re-gifting and exchanging of a tie and a handkerchief with the loud design of "a big yellow tree on a cliff by the ocean with a purple owl on top of it playing a bugle. Both presents are for Mr. Boynton, who had just returned to Madison from a biologists' convention. The confusion is sorted out by the end [[DeadpanSnarker (Miss Brooks never missing an opportunity to snark over the ridiculousness of the design) ]], only for Mrs. Davis to ask Miss Brooks an important favor at episode's end:
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': Just a minute, Connie. I have a little favor to ask of you. You know, everyone gave Mr. Boynton a welcome home gift today except me. Unfortunately, I'm a little short of funds so I can't buy him anything. But if you don't mind, I'd like to iron that muffler you gave me last Christmas, and give it to him in the morning.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Please, Mrs. Davis. I've just had . . . .
-->'''Mrs. Davis''': You know the one I mean, Connie. The one with the yellow tree on the cliff by the ocean with the purple owl . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[HypocriticalHumor You're a little late, so Goodnight Mrs. Davis!]]
* WeatherReportOpening: "Radio Bombay" begins with a conversation about the weather.
* WeddingFinale: [[spoiler: TheMovie GrandFinale ends with Connie Brooks and Phil Boynton leaving to get married.]]
* WellDoneSonGuy: Gary Nolan resents his father's inattention.
* WeReallyDoCare: The plot of "Friendship".
* WeWait: Miss Brooks stakes out a burglar in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Burglar"]]
* WhatIsThisFeeling: In the episode "Marriage Madness", Miss Brooks and Walter Denton are shocked to see Mr. Conklin smiling and in such a good mood. Mr. Conklin himself reflects that he doesn't remember being so happy!
* WhatTheHellHero: In "Trying to Pick a Fight", Miss Brooks colludes with Mrs. Conklin to trick Mr. Conklin in believing that she had went home to her mother. Mr. Boynton calls out Miss Brooks. HilarityEnsues, as Miss Brooks gets the fight she desires with LoveInterest Mr. Boynton.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': So, what are you gonna do about it, Frog Boy?
* WhenEldersAttack: Mrs. Davis beats up a gym teacher in "Angela's Wedding". [[SeriousBusiness He insulted the deviled eggs she prepared.]]
* WhenIWasYourAge: In "Blue Goldfish", Miss Brooks is delegated to ask Mr. Conklin to raise the heat in the school. Mr. Conklin subjects Miss Brooks to a lecture about how soft people have gotten, unable to stand a little "fresh air." Mr. Conklin laments that Americans are no longer able to live up to the example set by George Washington at Valley Forge. [[spoiler: An example of HypocriticalHumor, the only reason ''Mr. Conklin'' is able to stand the cold is that he's sitting on a heating pad.]]
* WhiteCollarCrime:
** In "The Embezzled Dress", Miss Brooks fears going to prison for embezzlement after Mrs. Davis buys Miss Brooks a dress with the $25 Miss Brooks had been keeping in her room. Mrs. Davis thought the money was Miss Brook's rent money; in fact, it was the student banking funds.
** Five of Walter's Denton's practical jokes see the actual fraud:
*** Using Mr. Conklin's name to request a cure for alcoholism in "Cure That Habit"
*** Putting Mr. Conklin's name on a ''draft notice'' in "Mr. Conklin's Induction Notice"
*** "Spare That Rod!": Altering the address on a war-time letter to previous Madison principal Mr. Darwell, to read as a current letter to Mr. Conklin. The letter is a threat from Mr. Stone to fire Mr. Conklin (actually Mr. Darwell) if he doesn't cease running the school in a "dictatorial manner".
*** "Turnabout Day" has Walter Denton (with Stretch Snodgrass's help) forge a letter from Mr. Stone ordering Mr. Conklin to put the wacky school holiday into effect.
*** "Wild Goose Chase" sees Walter trick Mr. Conklin over the telephone: he pretends to be a radio quiz host and claims Mr. Conklin has won a free T.V. from Sherry's Department Store.
* WhiteCollarWorker: Miss Brooks is a white collar worker. The same applies for Mr. Boynton, Miss Enright, and Principal Osgood Conklin.
* WhoWillBellTheCat: If a favor or a request for additional funds is to be made at Madison High School . . . it is Miss Brooks who is inevitably nominated to convey the demand to Principal Conklin. The episodes "Blue Goldfish" and "Stretch is in Love Again" are cases in point.
* WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat: Walter Denton says this in the episode "Two-way Stretch Snodgrass". He walks into Mr. Conklin's office, after Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin discuss a plan to have someone imitate Stretch.
* WhyWasteAWedding: In the episode "June Bride". Mr. [=LeBlanc=]'s proxy wedding gets cancelled. Mr. Boynton suggest they don't waste the arrangements, nor the judge. Does he finally propose to, and marry, Miss Brooks? No. [[FacePalm It's a great opportunity for a square dance!]]
* WigDressAccent: Miss Brooks impersonates her non-existent identical twin sister in "Connie and Bonnie" and "Twins At School". At the end of "Twins At School", Mr. Conklin tries to get even with Miss Brooks by inventing and impersonating a cowboy relative.
* WildWilderness: Lake Oo Oo Me Me Tocoludi Gucci Moo Moo, in the episode of the same name.
* WithDueRespect: Occasionally said by Walter Denton to Miss Brooks. Also occasionally used by Miss Brooks with Principal Osgood Conklin.
* WithThisRing: The movie ends with Boynton finally proposing to Brooks.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: Mr. Conklin's given Miss Brooks this ultimatum a couple times, in order to force her compliance with a dubious scheme of his. Usually, however, Mr. Conklin chooses to warn Miss Brooks that it's in his power to make her time at teaching at Madison High "either very pleasant or very ''miserable''."
* WolfWhistle: At the end of "Wake Up Plan", Mr. Boynton falls asleep on a chair in the hall. Miss Brooks doesn't wake him up, but sits beside him. Mr. Boynton wolf-whistles in his sleep!
* WomenDrivers: Miss Brooks' car is always broken down or damaged in some way, forcing her to take lifts in [[TheAllegedCar Walter's jalopy]]. She is portrayed as someone who doesn't pay the best attention on the road, sometimes barely missing pedestrians by swerving and hitting something on the side of the road.
* WordAssociationTest: In "The School Board Psychologist", the psychologist gives Miss Brooks a word association test to determine her "appropriate" career. HilarityEnsues.
* {{Workaholic}}: In "Hobby Show" (and "The Workhorse", its radio predecessor), Miss Brooks is working so hard her friends fear her workaholic behavior will make her old before her time. HilarityEnsues when Miss Brooks' friends try to teach her to relax with a hobby. Miss Brooks knits (with Mrs. Davis), finger-paints (with Harriet Conklin), plays with model trains (with Walter Denton), plays chess (with [[LoveInterest Mr. Boynton]]) and fixes toys for charity (with Mr. and Mrs. Conklin) . . . '''all at the same time'''.
* WorstAid: In the episode "First Aid Course", Miss Brooks purposely inflicts WorstAid on Miss Enright and Mr. Conklin. Miss Brooks was trying to avoid being forced to teach the eponymous course.
* WorthlessTreasureTwist: It happens to Miss Brooks ''twice'':
** In "Indian Burial Ground", Miss Brooks and Walter Denton believe they've discovered a missing Arapaho Indian burial ground on Mr. Conklin's vacant lot. It turned out Harriet Conklin used the area to bury broken toys donated to Mrs. Davis' charity drive.
** In "Rare Black Orchid" Walter Denton enlists Miss Brooks to borrow the school Geiger counter. Walter discovered his shoe was radioactive from uranium. Walter's uranium hunt ends when he discovers he had stepped in the school's uranium sample. He tries to make Miss Brooks split with him the $10 cost of replacing it.
* WritingLines: Happens at the end of "Letter from the Education Board". Mr. Conklin has Walter, Stretch, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks stay after school writing "Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had."
* WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque: ''Two'' of the several mishaps that befall Miss Brooks and company in "Game at Clay City". Mr. Conklin gives Miss Brooks' the wrong directions to Clay City. Later, a pedestrian (voiced by Frank Nelson) intentionally gives Miss Brooks' wrong directions so he could get a free ride home.
* XMakesAnythingCool: "Project X" in the episode of the same name.
* YouAreInCommandNow: In "Radio Bombay", Mr. Conklin places Miss Brooks in charge of Madison High School when he's away for the morning. HilarityEnsues.
* YouMeddlingKids: Happens in a first season radio episode, titled "Student Government Day". Taking over their duly elected roles as mayor and police chief for a day, Harriet Conklin and Walter Denton raid "The Jackpot Amusement Company," a gambling ring placing crooked slot machines in the backrooms of candy stores.
** This is actually a subversion. Harriet and Walter's insults toward an uncooperative real policeman get them, several other students, Miss Brooks, and eventually Mr. Boynton locked in jail. The only reason the gangsters are run out of town, is that the crooked mayor is terrified of bad publicity from the fiasco. His equally crooked campaign manager convinces him to forgo his cut, and let the kids bust the gambling ring.
** Fortunately, for Madison, it seems this was that mayor's last hurrah. By the following season's "School Band", Miss Brooks notes a new (much better) mayor had been elected and would be visiting Madison High School. When it the time came for the Mayor of Madison to appear on television in "Public Property on Parade", he showed himself to be the very model of a dedicated public servant.
* YouNoTakeCandle: The episode "Bartering with Chief Thundercloud" has the eponymous chief and his wife speak in this matter. Miss Brooks is flattered by Mrs. Thudercloud's compliment, however.
---> '''Mrs. Thundercloud''': Miss Brooks, she very pretty!
* YourWorstNightmare: In "Friendship", Miss Brooks suffers from a referring dream where she's being attacked with a knife.
* YouSayTomato: Notable in "Hello Mr. Chips", where an English headmaster, a QuintessentialBritishGentleman, visits Madison High School. His pronounciation varies greatly from that of the regular characters. So much so, that it's a RunningGag throughout the episode.
* ZanyScheme: There must be a course in zany schemes over at Madison High School. Everybody has had one in the works, one time or another. These are just a few examples. [[ItMakesSenseInContext They all make sense in context.]]
** In "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass," Miss Brooks hatches a scheme to waylay Strech's transfer by having Mr. Conklin and her masquerade as the [[DumbJock dim athlete's]] equally dim parents.
** One of Walter Denton's schemes is a monstrous April Fool's Day joke, in "Wild Goose." He imitates a radio quizmaster, tricking Mr. Conklin into thinking he's won a TV from Sherry's Department Store. Cue Miss Brooks chasing down the stream of notes Walter left, in vain pursuit of the elusive television set.
** Mr. Conklin, pompous though he may be, isn't above the general zaniness either. In "The Big Jump," he plans to jump off the roof (onto a firemen's parachute) as part of a civil defense drill. He chickens out, and volunteers Miss Brooks to act as his stunt double.
** Mrs. Conklin gets into the act in "Non-Fraternization Policy." She's working to derail Mr. Conklin's newly imposed Islamic-style separation of the sexes at Madison.
** Even Mr. Boynton take part. "Clay City English Teacher" sees him try to imitate Sam Spade in an effort to lure Miss Brooks away from the eponymous teacher.
** Goody-two-shoes Harriet Conklin has a zany scheme now and again. In "New Girl", she tricks the titular girl's mother into believing Mr. Boynton is a serial killer.
** To Mrs. Davis, zany schemes are old hat. At least as far as zany schemes go, occurs in the [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]]. Mrs. Davis brings about Miss Brooks' HappilyEverAfter through some clever manipulation of Mr. Boynton and his mother.

* BluntMetaphoresTrauma: Stretch Snodgrass is prone to this, along with his generally mangled grammar. For example, he once says "let's put all of our heads together". Another time ("Two Way Stretch Snodgrass") he mentions having a "king in his lingament".

* BluntMetahphoresTrauma: Stretch Snodgrass is prone to this, along with his generally mangled grammar. For example, he once says "let's put all of our heads together". Another time ("Two Way Stretch Snodgrass") he mentions having a "king in his lingament".

* ''CareerVersusMan'':

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Mr. Conklin is frequently seen scraping 0% in his popularity amongst the students and faculty of Madison High School. This is mostly due to his strictness, his pompous nature, as well as his occasional unprincipled actions. For example, without authorization, he forces students to go to "School on Saturday" in the episode of the same name. Or pay arbitrary fines, proceeds going to a bust of Mr. Conklin's head to be placed on the pedestal in the library ("Carelessness Code"). Another low moment for Mr. Conklin was his attempt to raise money to renorvate his office from the student body and the faculty. Not only did nobody donate money in the collection box, Walter Denton stole a dime out of the half dollar Mr. Conklin put in to get the ball rolling!

* ShaggyFrogStory: In "Friday the Thirtteenth", Mrs. Davis assures Miss Brooks her troubles with Mr. Conklin are merely psychological. Mrs. Davis relates how her brother Victor was afraid to enter a yard because of a dog that was always barking. Victor went to a psychiatrist who told him that the only reason the dog was barking was because the dog was afraid Victor would kick him . . . .

* {{Anvilicious}}: ''Mr. Whipple" sees Miss Brooks and her friends try to help an old man whom they believe is destitute and starving. It turns out he's a [[TheScrooge rich tycoon]] on a diet. However, the generosity of Miss Brooks and her friends so affects Mr. Whipple that he takes them out for dinner, and decides to lobby for a new school gymnasium. It's an entertaining episode nonetheless.

* GirlShowGhetto: The show managed to be popular, in spite of starring love-lorn English teacher Connie Brooks. At the start of its run on radio, Colgate-Palmolive used the half-hour slot to sell articles to women, i.e. Luster-Cream Shampoo, "men folks love it too". Later, they made a 180, switching to promoting Colgate Toothpaste and (men's) Shaving Cream. Anason was a later radio sponsor, while the Armed Forces Radio Network played the program in reruns. On television, the program eventually was used to showcase products aimed for kids, like breakfast cereal and a new type of chocolate milk mix!

* HollywoodPudgy: Mr. Conklin is referred to as fat on several occasions throughout the series, although he wouldn't be noticeable in a crowd.

* ThePeteBest: Joe Forte played Mr. Conklin in the first few radio episodes of the series, before being replaced by the legendary Gale Gordon.

* SweetBaker: Mrs. Davis.

* UnconventionalLearningExperience: This is unavoidable, given that the program is set in a HighSchool and stars an English teacher. For example, in "The English Test", Miss Brooks tutors Harriet Conlin, Walter Denton and "Jerky" Mcguirk for an upcoming examination. Connie Brooks covers such topics as "Concord and Governance", "Gerundial Phrases" and "Sentence Structure". Humour is provided by Walter and McGuirk trying to crib off Harriet. Similarly, the episode "Yodar Kritch Award" features Connie attempting to tutor Bones Snodgrass. Here, she covers the subjunctive mood, using the phrase "If I were John the Fisherman." This is a SoundToScreenAdaptation of the radio episode, only [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute substituting]] Bones for his brother Stretch. ''Our Miss Brooks'' similarly covers scientific topics, due to the fact biology teacher Mr. Boynton is Miss Brooks' LoveInterest. The episode "Life Can Be Bones" relies heavily on a discussion of paleontology. A good deal of time is also spent relating the idea of a "Missing Link".

* AbsentMindedProfessor: Mr. Boynton

* AlliterativeTitle: "Madison Mascot".

* BedsheetGhost: Walter Denton dresses as one in "Halloween Party".

[[spoiler: At the end of the movie, Mr. Boynton and Miss Brooks marry and live HappilyEverAfter.]]

* BigEater: Walter Denton. It comes with being a teenaged boy.

* BigShutUp: Mr. Conklin, to MotorMouth Walter Denton.

* BookDumb: Walter

* BrattyHalfPint: The bank president's son in "Magic Christmas Tree".

* CharacterTitle

* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Miss Brooks performs this role for Mrs. Davis on occasion.

* CluckingFunny: Walter Denton brings a hen to school in "The Egg".

* ControlFreak: Mr. Conklin.

* CoolOldLady: Mrs. Davis. [[spoiler: She's even responsible for Miss Brooks finally marrying Mr. Boynton in TheMovie GrandFinale.]]
* CoolTeacher: Miss Brooks, of course.

* DeanBitterman: Mr. Conklin

* DelayedReaction: Mr. Conklin does this often for comedic effect.

* DetectiveDrama: The episode "Postage Due".

* DressedToHeal: Played straight in the episodes "Hospital Capers" and "Second Hand First Aid".

* {{Dumb Jock}}/DumbMuscle: Stretch Snodgrass.

* Creator/EveArden: The starring role, one of many in a long career, for which Eve Arden is most remembered.

* EverytownAmerica: Madison.

* EvilSoundsRaspy: The titular convict in "Convict Threatens To Kill Mr. Conklin".

* FBIAgent: They appear at the end of "Postage Due."

* FinalSeasonCasting: The chaotic and controversial last season of the television series. ExecutiveMeddling saw Miss Brooks take a new job as a teacher at a private elementary school in California (versus the EverytownAmerica setting of Madison). The last season initially sees the departure of everybody but Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin. Mrs. Davis was briefly replaced by her sister Angela, before returning to the picture a couple episodes later. Mrs. Nestor is introduced as Miss Brooks' new boss, only to be replaced by her sister, [[FridgeLogic also named Mrs. Nestor]]. Mr. Boynton is replaced as Miss Brooks' love interest by two gym teachers in quick succession, until finally returning at the end of the program. Harriet Conklin and Walter Denton disappear entirely from Miss Brooks' life, although Mrs. Conklin again made a few appearances toward the end.
** This was averted on the radio, as the program continued at Madison High School in the [[EverytownAmerica City of Madison]] as per usual. The [[TheMovie cinematic]] [[GrandFinale series finale]] followed the radio continuity, ignoring the final television season completely.

* {{Flashback}}: In "Borrowing Money to Fly".

* FollowInMyFootsteps: What Lawrence Nolan expects of his son Gary in the film.

** Mrs. Davis and her sister Angela, on occasion. Of course, they'll deny being gossips . . . .

* GrandFinale: TheMovie in 1956.

* HeatWave: In the episode titled "Heat Wave", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin naturally enough]].

* HighSchool

* HotScientist: Biology teacher Philip Boynton.

* IncomingHam: Mr. Conklin.

* KindheartedCatLover: Mrs. Davis.

* LargeHam: Mr. Conklin

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Used from time to time. This example comes from "Hawkins Travel Agency". Miss Brooks is trying to sell Mr. Stone on a trip to France . . . .
--> '''Miss Brooks''' (speaking with a French accent): Oh, there is nothing like [[GayParee Paree]] in the summer. The Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre Palais, the Place de Concorde . . . and Piccadilly Circus.

** In TheMovie GrandFinale Walter Denton is late for English class. He nearly barrels over Mr. Conklin running through the hall. He arrives just in time to tell Harriet the drive shaft from his car fell out . . . then the bell rings and the class ends.

[[spoiler: Miss Brooks does achieve her actual SeriesGoal, marriage to Mr. Boynton, in TheMovie GrandFinale]].

-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Now, if you will read me your bill of particulars considering my various infamies . . .

-->'''Miss Brooks''': Thank you, Mr. Boynton. Whereas I, Osgood Conklin, Principal of Madison High School, desiring to improve relations between myself, the faculty, and the student body . . . your turn, Walter.

-->'''Miss Brooks''': Oh yes. Addlepated blowhard. And on other occasions, I have bellowed like a bull . . .
-->'''Mr. Boynton''': Screamed like an elephant . . .
-->'''Walter Denton''': Hissed like a viper . . .
-->'''Stretch Snodgrass''': Snorted like a buffalo . . .

* LonelyRichKid: Gary Nolan in the movie.
* LongList: Usually when Mrs. Davis describes recipe ingredients.

'''Miss Brooks''': [[WritingLines I wrote "Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had. Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had. Our principal is the best principal that any school ever had . . ."]]

* ManipulativeEditing: In "Public Speakers Nightmare" and "The Tape Recorder", innocuous recordings are accidentally misplayed to produce Miss Brooks saying scandalous things about Mr. Conklin, and Mr. Conklin insulting Mr. Stone, Head of the Board of Education. These recordings, incidentally, are played in front of Mr. Stone . . . .

* MeanBoss: Mr. Conklin.

-->'''Miss Brooks''': Not bad. If you like wildlife . . . and doors.

* MistakenForFakeHair: In the episode "Mister Fargo Whiskers", Miss Brooks has reason to believe that [[TeachersPet Walter]] will be impersonating a state school board official by the name of Fargo. Especially when it turns out that Mr. Fargo's first name is Walter! When Miss Brooks meets Fargo, she insulting mimics his twang (thinking it's a fake accent of Walter Denton). Then she tries to pull of Mr. Fargo's titular whiskers. Miss Brooks makes a hasty retreat when Walter Denton walks into the room . . . asking for help putting on his fake beard!

** The radio episodes "Mr. Boynton's Parents" and "Former Student Visits", suggest Mrs. Boynton has very definite ideas as to the type of woman M. Boynton should marry . . . .

** "Mr. Whipple" sees Mrs. Davis fill in as a nurse for the titular miserly millionaire . . . in spite of having left the nursing profession many years before.

* NobleProfession: Miss Brooks is a teacher, of course.

* NoIndoorVoice: Mr. Conklin

** In "Marinated Hearing", Miss Brooks decides to tell off a temporarily deaf Mr. Conklin. Unfortunately for Miss Brooks, Mr. Conklin had ''just'' recovered his hearing . . . .

* ObliviousToHints: Mr. Boynton
* ObliviousToLove: Mr. Boynton

* OneSteveLimit: Scrupulously observed.

* OpposingSportsTeam: Madison High's rival Clay City High.

* PairTheSmartOnes: Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton.

* ThePrankster: Walter Denton. [[CoolOldLady Occasionally, Mrs. Davis as well.]]

* ProtagonistTitle

* RoadTripPlot: "Game at Clay City".

* SeriesOfThe1950s

* TruthTellingSession: Miss Brooks and Boynton argue in the film.

* WorkCom

* PayPhone: Play a key role in the plot in a couple episodes:
** In "Key to the School", Mr. Conkin and Miss Brooks use the payphone at Marty's Malt Shop to call board superintendent Mr. Stone after everybody is locked out of Madison High.
** In "Monsieur [=LeBlanc=]", Walter Denton calls Mrs. Davis' house from a payphone pretending to be a Spaniard interested in purchasing Mr. Conklin's car.

** Another obstructive clerk from Sherry's appears on the television episode "Christmas Show". This time it Sherry's promises to [[BlantantLies "cheerfully exchange"]] goods. Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin each face the ill-tempered Mrs. Carney as they try to exchange their presents before Christmas.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Miss Brooks runs into an obstructive clerk in "The Embezzled Dress". Mrs. Davis accidently uses school money to buy Miss Brooks a present from Sherry's Department Store. Miss Brooks tries to return the dress to Sherry's, a store that promises if the customer isn't satisfied their money will be [[BlatantLies "cheerfully refunded"]]. After being given the third degree on the reason for the return, Miss Brooks is turned down because the dress was sold on sale.