History WesternAnimation / WordGirl

* BitingTheHandHumor: This is [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in the short "Play Date". While at Becky's house, Tobey calls the Botsfords "imbeciles" for having a TV. Becky[[note]]who, at this point, doesn't know that Tobey is a villain[[/note]] calls him out for this, saying that she and her family are not idiots because they "only watch Creator/{{PBS}}." She gestures to the PBS logo and smiles.

* TriangRelations: The two main romances of the show make a type 5: [[VillainousCrush Tobey crushes on WordGirl]], who doesn't like him, while ''she'' crushes on Scoops, who [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to notice]].

* BitingTheHandHumor: This is [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in the short "Play Date". While at Becky's house, Tobey calls the Botsfords "imbeciles" for having a TV set. Becky[[note]]who, at this point, doesn't know that Tobey is a villain[[/note]] calls him out for this, saying that they're not idiots because they "only watch Creator/{{PBS}}." She gestures to the PBS logo and smiles.

* HiccupHijinks: "Word (Hicc)Up!" has Becky/Wordgirl get hiccups, which makes it hard for her to fight crime. She's also not fond of her dad's methods of curing her. Eventually, she gets cured thanks to Chuck The Evil Sandwich Making Guy, but then she gets hiccups at the end again when her father scares her.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Becky/Wordgirl constantly misses out on fun things due to her obligations as a superhero, leading her to actually wish she was normal in "A World Without Wordgirl".

* SolidClouds: In "The Rise of Miss Power, Part 3", the episode starts with Wordgirl discussing her frustrations to Miss Power while they are both sitting on clouds.

* SpoilerTitle: [[spoiler:At the beginning of "Two-Brains Forgets", Dr. Two-Brains discovers WordGirl's secret identity as Becky Botsford. Guess what happens at the end of the episode...]]

* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted in "Invasion of The Bunny Lovers". [[spoiler:Scoops learns [=WordGirl=]'s secret identity and promises to keep it a secret, defying both his own reporter's instincts and the long-running tendency of wiping the memories of anyone who learns Wordgirl's identity.]] Followed up in "News Girl", [[spoiler:where the school paper's new IntrepidReporter Rose captures Becky's transformation on tape and presents it to Scoops, but he convinces her to keep it a secret]].

%%* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself:
%%** Implied in "Vocab Bee".
%%** Averted in "Tobey's Tricks and Treats".

* NightmareFuelColoringBook: Tobey has one of these in the episode "Cherish is the Word" - he draws Valentine's Day card for [=WordGirl=] picturing him holding hands with her and a robot ready to destroy her in the background.

[[caption-width-right:200:[=WordGirl=] and her {{sidekick}}, Captain Huggyface]]

* BadassBoast: When a woman tells Miss Power that UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} doesn't need her as a new ruler and they have [=WordGirl=], she responds with, "No she can't. I defeated [=WordGirl=]. And now this planet is mine. And if you don't like that, well, there's a [[DeadpanSnarker nice cozy jail cell]] for you; just ask District Attorney Botsford."

**
--->'''The Butcher:''' Hi! I'm NOT The Butcher!

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-Universe: Chuck the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy, when he decides to reinvent himself as "The Handsome Panther". It quickly becomes clear that he knows pretty much nothing about ''real'' panthers, such as the fact that they're nocturnal.

%%* GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a load of bull.

* TechMarchesOn: Intentionally averted. The producers wanted it to look like it could have been made in the 60s, 80s, or today. No internet, no home computers (the only computers seen take up almost half the room), small corner [=TVs=], a few passing references to home video, and the journalist wannabe works at a newspaper a la Jimmy Olsen. Even the family car looks like a station wagon from the 70s. They claim if cell phones are ever used, they'll be bulky devices circa 1995.

* BadassBoast: When a woman tells Miss Power that UsefulNotes/{{Earth}} doesn't need her as a new ruler and they have [=WordGirl=], she responds with, "No she can't. I defeated [=WordGirl=]. And now this planet is mine. And if you don't like that, well, there's a [[DeadpanSnarker nice cozy jail cell]] for your just ask District Attorney Botsford."

* ThickLineAnimation: It's the ''page image''. What do you expect?

* UpToEleven: Quite literally, as in the episode "Mr. Big Words", Mr. Big turns his mind-control device up to eleven.

* CryCute: Several male cases. For instance, yes, Tobey relishes in EvilGloating and is: [[LongList condescending, petty, vindictive, conniving, and leaves a trial of destruction in his wake]].... However, in "[=WordGirl=] vs. Tobey vs. The Dentist", he makes [[PuppyDogEyes Puppy Dog-like Eyes]] while on the verge of tears due to his cavity.

* ImpliedDeathThreat: This [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoExamples/ImpliedDeathThreat Video Example]] has [=WordGirl=] ''physically folding a large bar of steel into a small, crude ball live on broadcast'' as to what would happen if the Villains were doing any crime. In other words, she literally broadcasts the fact that she allows the villains to live.
** The best part is that she did this to ''ensure'' that she wouldn't get interrupted while watching her favorite TV show again, because she missed the finale the last time she was busy fighting crime.

* ImpliedDeathThreat: * This [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoExamples/ImpliedDeathThreat Video Example]] has [=WordGirl=] ''physically folding a large bar of steel into a small, crude ball live on broadcast'' as to what would happen if the Villains were doing any crime. In other words, she literally broadcasts the fact that she literally allows the villains to live.

** Becky's parents also seem to be getting smarter and more useful throughout the show, as both shows off the ability to outwit villains when needed.

* {{Idiosyncrazy}}: Almost every single villain has some kind of absurd gimmick that all of their crimes are themed around. Discussed in "The Young and the Meatless". Lady Redundant Woman and The Butcher keep trying to steal the same things because they are both meat and matching or redundant sets.

* JekyllAndHyde: Dr. Two-Brains is both the selfless, intelligent, and kind Dr. Steven Boxleitner, and the murderuos, monomaniac, cheese-obsessed Squeaky. An accident in Dr. Boxleitner's lab caused them to fuse.

-->'''The Mayor:''' All by assisting the city's favourite superhero, Smile and put hands up... Uh, what? (Aside) You should have put it in parenthesese.

* SickEpisode: "Chuck E. Sneeze" has [=WordGirl=] come down with a cold, but [[WorkingThroughTheCold still go out to try and fight Chuck]]. He tries to steer clear of her, but catches her cold when she sneezes on him. Bitter that he can't taste sandwiches, he buys a giant nose to blow people away from the deli so they can't have sandwiches either. He and [=WordGirl=] try to fight, but they're way too sick to concentrate. Fittingly, the episode's featured words are "avoid" and "contagious" (i.e., Chuck tries and fails to ''avoid'' [=WordGirl=]'s ''contagious'' cold).

* ContinuityNod: In the episode, Tobey’s Masterpiece, Tobey asks Becky the last time he’s seen her and she references the events of the former’s introduction arc shorts where he destroyed her house with robots.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: They keep adding new villains every season to keep the show fresh. The original shorts originally have five villains, as by Season 4 the show had about two dozen repeat offenders.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:Subverted]]. When Miss Power [[spoiler:takes over Fair City, intending eventual world domination]], Captain Huggyface takes [=WordGirl=] to a Lexiconian lair which holds their tome of "Super-Advanced Secret Battle Rules". While the local villains rampage against Miss Power, [=WordGirl=] gets a montage of devouring the whole book. However, after all the build-up, when [=WordGirl=] shows up for the showdown, she [[spoiler: doesn't have ''any'' new superpowers, but she has the power of ''knowledge''. [=WordGirl=] knows that Miss Power doesn't have ''any'' powers, neither superhuman nor ordinary, as long as other people are happy with themselves. This time, when Miss Power begins showering vitriol at her and the villains' way, [=WordGirl=] doesn't stand for it and begins lifting everyone up. Left powerless, Miss power and Colonel Gigglecheeks are forced to flee. The world is saved]].

* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:Subverted]]. When Miss Power [[spoiler:takes over Fair City, intending eventual world domination]], Captain Huggyface takes [=WordGirl=] to a Lexiconian lair which holds their tome of "Super-Advanced Secret Battle Rules". While the local villains rampage against Miss Power, [=WordGirl=] gets a montage of devouring the whole book. However, after all the build-up, when [=WordGirl=] shows up for the showdown, she [[spoiler: doesn't have ''any'' new superpowers, but she has the power of ''knowledge''. [=WordGirl=] knows that Miss Power doesn't have ''any'' powers, neither superhuman nor ordinary, as long as other people are happy with themselves. This time, when Miss Power begins showering vitriol at her and the villains' way, [=WordGirl=] doesn't stand for it and begins lifting everyone up. Left Powerless, Miss Power and Colonel Gigglecheeks are forced to flee. The world is saved]].