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1[[WesternAnimation/HeyArnold Main Page]] | [[HeyArnold/TropesAToI A to I]] | '''J to P'''
2 | [[HeyArnold/TropesQToZ Q to Z]] | ''[[WesternAnimation/HeyArnoldTheMovie The Movie]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/HeyArnoldTheJungleMovie The Jungle Movie]]''
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7* JabbaTableManners: Helga is occasionally shown to be a messy eater, as seen in "Heat", "Helga's Masquerade", and "Big Bob's Crisis", where she has ice cream ("Heat"), chocolate syrup ("Helga's Masquerade"), and barbecue sauce ("Big Bob's Crisis) all over her face.
8* {{Jerkass}}: Big Bob, Jamie O, The Jolly-Olly Man, Nick Vermicelli, and Wolfgang are consistently shown as very unpleasant and rude people. A lot of the kids (Helga, Harold, Sid, Stinky, Curly, etc.) have their moments frequently as well. There are also several one-time characters that are like this (Doug, the Jolly-Olly Man's father, Frankie G, Ludwig, The Sewer King, Mr. Bailey, etc)
9* JerkassBall: Arnold has a few moments of being uncharacteristically cruel, such as in "New Teacher" (where he assists the students in bullying Mr. Simmons into quitting his teaching job) and especially in "Egg Story" (where he rips Helga a new asshole even though she was trying to be nice to him for a change, telling her that he doesn't like her and would rather work with anyone else but her, this one, in particular, seemed like an OutOfCharacterMoment).
10* JerkJock:
11** Wolfgang, and most of the fifth-graders are bullies who happen to be athletically inclined.
12** [[BigBrotherBully Jamie-O]] is also athletically inclined and tends to pick on his brother Gerald.
13* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Helga, Big Patty, Harold, Stoop Kid, Ernie Potts, Oskar, and (buried ''quite'' deep) Big Bob are all frequently rude, but sometimes show that they're not completely bad people.
14* TheJinx: Eugene is considered by everyone to be a magnet of misfortune. To him, however, Arnold is the jinx since almost everything bad that happens to him happens whenever Arnold is around.
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18* KaizoTrap: After Arnold's boat wins the race in "Tour De Pond" it crashes into the edge of the pond and sinks. Rex's boat which finishes the race in second explodes and sinks shortly after.
19* KangarooCourt: In "False Alarm", the trial for deducing who pulled the fire alarm goes through an unorthodox and unfair process, which makes Arnold's vindication of [[spoiler:Eugene]] that much more effective.
20* KafkaKomedy: Almost any moment with [[TheChewToy Eugene]]'s misfortunes qualifies as BlackComedy that doesn't involve death (other than his pet fish dying in "Eugene's Pet").
21* KaraokeBondingScene: Principal Wartz [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt leaves his job as school principal in frustration]] after teacher Mr. Simmons criticizes him for his [[DeanBitterman strictness on the students]]. With Mr. Wartz's newfound independence, he goes to a karaoke session and sings [[AwardBaitSong "I Will Prevail"]], about the singer [[BreakUpSong prevailing despite being apart from another]]. [[InAnotherMansShoes Mr. Simmons temporarily fills in as principal]] until he reconciles with Mr. Wartz, admitting that he wasn't suited for school principal. Mr. Wartz, after [[TenMinuteRetirement reclaiming his role as school president]] and bringing the school back in order, sings "I Will Prevail" at karaoke once again, but this time as a [[TriumphantReprise triumphant duet with Mr. Simmons]].
22* KarmaHoudini:
23** Most of the bullies who pick on the kids never get punished by adults. A lot of people do some very rude/mean things and get away with it. ''Especially'' the older kids like Wolfgang. Only once do we see a couple of them get told off or called out on their actions... and they were one-shot characters with no names.
24** Tragically {{deconstructed|Trope}} in "Helga and the Nanny". When Miriam gets a new job, Helga's parents hire a nanny named Inga to look after Helga. However, while Inga actually cares for Helga, Helga feels as though Inga is trying to control her life, especially when Inga calls her out on her bad behavior, telling her that sewing is a sane way to canalize anger. Finally, Helga loses her patience completely and frames Inga for theft... only to be surprised when the other kids [[WhatTheHellHero call her out]]. Inga is fired and has to return to her country. When Helga finds her, her guilt gets the better of her, and she confesses to the framing, only for Inga to tell her she knew it all the time. Helga is confused as to why she is getting off scot-free until Inga explains that she is not: at the end of the day, Helga is nothing but an angry and sad kid, who pushes away those who care about her, and because of that she cannot be happy. The show ends with Helga in her unhappy home, sadly sewing something, realizing that her actions have cost her a happy home and someone who cares about her.
25** Eugene was facing a possible expulsion for pulling a fire alarm, but when it was revealed that Curly framed him, Curly never faced such a punishment, even after pulling the alarm ''again'' right in front of Principal Wartz. Or if anything, he was never sent to seek the psychiatric help that he so obviously needed. In "Eugene Goes Bad", Eugene pulls the fire alarm himself and doesn't get expelled either.
26** Gerald's little sister Timberly has twice avoided the consequences of her actions. The first time by staging a theft of her favourite toy causing Gerald and Arnold to go around town questioning potential suspects in "Ransom", and again after eating 40 boxes of chocolate turtles Gerald and Arnold planned to sell in "Chocolate Turtles". Both times she avoids consequences simply by crying.
27** In "Mr Green Runs", Councillor Gladhand's assistant Lorraine, who was an accomplice to his inaction, gets off by changing sides. Er right... because that makes her a good person, right?
28* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Iggy getting canned head-first by a 5th grader in "Longest Monday" can be considered karma for his actions in "Arnold Betrays Iggy".
29* KidsAreCruel:
30** If a kid is not the [[ADayInTheLimelight focus of the episode]], chances are they will be part of a crowd, laughing at the current protagonist's misfortune. "Phoebe's Little Problem" is probably the cruelest example, where nearly everyone at school won't stop laughing at Phoebe for breaking wind into a microphone.
31** {{Invoked|Trope}} in "New Teacher", when everyone (even generally nice kids like Pheobe and Arnold) plots to break Mr. Simmons' spirit by deliberately being disrespectful and mean to him.
32* KillerOutfit: "Headless Cabbie" was about the eponymous legend of a horse drawn carriage driver being loaned a scarf from a woman passenger looking for her missing dog. Later, hearing a dog's barking, she begins urging him to drive faster and faster through a dark and foggy forested path until his scarf inevitably snags on a tree branch, getting his whole head snatched off.
33* KnowYourVines: "Roughin' It" ended with Big Bob Pataki rushing through a small bush to get back to his campsite after a disastrous hike, cutting off Arnold telling them to go around it. This bush was poison ivy, causing him more misery.
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37* LampshadeHanging: Later episodes (and Gerald specifically) liked to point out Arnold's [[ChronicHeroSyndrome need to go out of his way to help people]]. Becomes a plot point in "Deconstructing Arnold", when Arnold decides to quit giving advice.
38* LandmarkDeclarationGambit: In one episode, Arnold promised one tenant, Ernie, to help him demolish a building (he wanted Arnold to be there as a son sustitute), then promised his grandma to help her save an old theater from demolition, then learns that is the same theater Eenie wants to demolish. The problem is solved when he finds something they both enjoy (Dino Spumoni's music, a Expy of Frank Sinatra) for making the city declare the theater a landmark for his legacy, fulfilling his promise to his grandma while indirectly changing Ernie's wish to demolish, since he wouldn't destroy Spumoni's legacy.
39* LargeHam: There are quite a few characters who chew the scenery and have very loud and expressive dialogue.
40** Helga, of the theatrically melodramatic variety, and Curly, of the [[AxCrazy violently disturbed]] variety.
41** Gerald, whenever he's reciting one of his beloved UrbanLegends.
42** The Jolly Olly Man also can also outclass Curly as a [[AxCrazy dangerous lunatic]].
43** Rhonda sometimes gets this in episodes that focus on her, such as "Rhonda Goes Broke".
44** Harold, anytime ''"[[Theatre/{{Pagliacci}} Vesti la giuba]]"'' acts as his leitmotif.
45* LaserGuidedKarma:
46** In "Phoebe's Little Problem", Harold is the only one who still makes fun of Phoebe after she vindicates herself at the end of the episode (as well as probably being the one who made fun of her the most throughout the episode). He then wets his pants at the end of the episode, becoming the new ButtMonkey.
47** Big Bob always gets his comeuppance for his actions. In particular, Helga ends up plotting against him whenever she realizes that his schemes will wrong Arnold in some way.
48* LastDayToLive:
49** Helga gets kissed by a monkey and believes that she has contracted monkeynucleosis in "Monkey Business". She believes she's going to die and soon finds herself on her death bed, her health failing. She decides to tell everyone exactly what she really thinks of them and give them her stuff. Eventually, she brings Arnold into her room to tell him her true feelings, but before she can, Phoebe barges in and reveals that monkeynucleosis doesn't really exist and that Helga won't die after all. And thus, Helga's secret lives on.
50** In the pilot (later remade into the episode "24 Hours To Live"), when Arnold thought he was going to be beaten to a pulp by Harold the next day, Helga followed him around and shouted "_hours, _minutes, and _seconds until you DIE!" to illustrate the point.
51** Also in the episode "Grandpa's Birthday", where Grandpa believes he will die the moment he turns 81, according to family history. He turns out to still have some time left after Arnold does the math and points out that Grandpa's ancestors actually died when they were 91.
52* LastMinuteHookup: Inevitably, between [[spoiler:Arnold and Helga]] at the end of ''The Jungle Movie''. They have one brief exchange, in the very last scene of the movie, after their official RelationshipUpgrade.
53* LearningToRideABike: In "Gerald's Secret", it is revealed that Gerald doesn't know how to ride a bicycle, and Arnold tries to teach him how.
54* LeftHanging: Will Arnold ever find his parents? Do him and Helga [[RelationshipUpgrade get a happy ending together]]? For over a decade, it looked like we were never going to find out. Thankfully [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with ''The Jungle Movie'' resolving everything.
55* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: In "Olga Comes Home", before Helga admits to changing the grade on Olga's report card, she turns off the radio playing Mozart's Requiem which had played every time Olga was seen moping over her [[TheBGrade B+]].
56* {{Leitmotif}}:
57** Violins tend to start playing whenever Helga's "soft side" is shown. Also, there's a "Helga loves Arnold" theme that plays sometimes when she's goes on one of her love rants or has a special moment with him. This theme is usually played on violin, but there are some interesting variations. For instance, it's a bass riff in the DisneyAcidSequence of "Helga's Love Potion", and it gets a full orchestral upgrade in the movie when she kisses Arnold.
58*** In the original pilot, Helga's love theme was more romantic than sappy and played on a saxophone.
59** Phoebe has one that is apparently, interestingly enough, a faster and slightly modified version of Helga's theme.
60** Lila has one that plays whenever she goes on one of her "ever so" familiar expositions about how much she adores something. It's actually rearranged and set to lyrics in "Eugene, Eugene!", as the song Lila auditions with.
61** Oskar Kokoshka has a theme as well, and is apparently the only one of the boarders with a theme of their own. It plays particularly when he's being especially sneaky.
62*** Ernie also his own theme. It doesn't get much play in the series, but it can be first heard when Ernie is introduced at the beginning of "The Old Building", and when Arnold and Gerald are going into Ernie's room in "Gerald Comes Over". It's especially prominently featured in "Ernie in Love" where a much more sweeter-sounding rendition of it can be heard.
63** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWbGcTxauNs Grandpa Phil]] has a theme as well, that features heavily whenever he has a flashback to his youth.
64** Harold has the Ridi Pagliaccio aria, which frequently plays whenever a scene has him make a tearful confession or apologize for a wrong he's made: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4o5CAV8MKU Look at me Arnold, look at me. I am a.... I am a... Big, Ugly Clowno, a Big Fat Ugly Clowno!]]
65** Stinky has a very country-sounding theme that can usually be heard in his own episodes.
66** Rhonda has her own fancy-sounding theme that is usually featured in episodes that spotlight her.
67** Coach Wittenberg is often accompanied by a rather out-of-tune sounding tuba march.
68* LessonsInSophistication: The episode "Polishing Rhonda" had Rhonda and Big Patty signed up for a finishing school by their parents when the two of them got into a scuffle in school. Rhonda hadn't done very well due to her SpoiledBrat tendencies, while [[HiddenDepths Patty]] excelled. Eventually Rhonda asked Patty for help and eventually the two of them passed.
69* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain:
70** In "The Flood", when Helga attempts to leave the school, only to find the doors locked, Principal Wartz comes out of his office, dancing flamenco, leading into this exchange:
71--->'''Principal Wartz:''' Are you attempting to leave the school grounds without permission, Miss Pataki?\
72'''Helga:''' Are you attempting to dance the flamenco, Principal Wartz?\
73'''Principal Wartz:''' This moment didn't happen.\
74'''Helga:''' Gotcha.
75** The above could possibly be a parody of the fact that Helga sometimes has exchanges like this with Phoebe. Helga will wrap up a conversation, then proclaim "Oh, and Phoebe? This conversation never happened," usually prompting Phoebe to respond with a cheerful "Forgetting!"
76* LethalChef: Arnold's grandma is implied to be lousy at cooking at least twice. According to Grandpa in "Eating Contest", one of her recipes even included socks.
77* LighterAndSofter: The show at the beginning of its production focused a lot on real life issues and how to deal with them (like getting mugged, loners who are DrivenToSuicide and the like), but the writers felt that the show was heading in a too depressing direction for a kids' show. Therefore, they lightened up the mood by having the characters behave happier, as well as being [[DenserAndWackier funnier]] rather than being uncomfortable to watch, which altered into the wacky humor of the show we know today.
78* LikesOlderWomen:
79** Arnold, who's in fourth grade has had crushes on Ruth (a brunette girl with braces) and Maria who are sixth graders, and his teacher Ms. Felter, there was also Inga and quite possibly Olga Pataki.
80** Gerald had a crush on an attractive 13 year old neighbor of his, Connie, Bridgette, and there was that secretary whom he flirted with who works at Mr. Smith's building.
81* LimitedWardrobe:
82** Roughly 90% of the time, the kids are in the same clothes. There are quite a few episodes that subvert this, however, by giving them different clothes.
83** Justified in Helga's case of always wearing a pink bow, since Arnold complimented her bow when they first met.
84* LogicalFallacies: [[DrillSergeantNasty Lieutenant Major]] [[SadistTeacher Goose]] gives us this gem: "YOUR HAIR'S NOT CURLY! WHAT IS YOUR ''REAL'' NAME?" Granted, [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight he was]] ''[[TheCuckoolanderWasRight right]]'' about it not being Curly's real name (his real name's Thaddeus), but that doesn't make it any less ridiculous. [[RuleOfFunny Just a lot funnier.]]
85* LoopholeAbuse: In "Mud Bowl", the fourth graders attempt to gain an advantage in their football game against the fifth graders by having Torvald (who is in fact a fourth grader, but has been held back three times) play for them. It works until he trips in a pothole and hurts his ankle, making him unable to play.
86* LongLostRelative: Mai Hyunh, Mr. Hyunh's daughter. They were separated during the chaos of the Vietnam War. The ChristmasEpisode centered around Arnold finding his daughter and reuniting them for Christmas.
87* LotsOfLuggage: This one's a stretch, but "Roughin' It" had Big Bob Pataki take his daughter Helga and her friend Phoebe out camping with a lot of high-tech camping equipment because he was testing out the merchandise for his company. It turns out to be all junk that he later throws away angrily while Arnold and Gerald use the skills they learned from Arnold's Grandpa earlier to get back to their campsite.
88* LoveDodecahedron:
89** "Weird Cousin" and "Arnold visits Arnie" make one of these where AllLoveIsUnrequited. With both towns combined, we have a chain: Arnold->Lila->Arnie->Lulu->Arnold->Hilda->Arnie->Helga->Arnold. Graphically, this would resemble a figure-eight. However, one must also consider that [[spoiler: "Arnold Vists Arnie" is AllJustADream, so it is unlikely that Lulu and Hilda actually exist, and they are more likely Arnold's subconscious representations of Lila and Helga]].
90** The actual shape of love between the non-dream characters is complicated. At its most convoluted, it's around this: Brainy has a crush on Helga, who has a crush on Arnold, who has a crush on Lila, who has a crush on Arnie, who's got a crush on Helga instead.
91* LoveDoodles: Helga is often seen drawing love doodles about Arnold whom she crushes on.
92* LoveMakesYouCrazy:
93** Helga, Brainy, Arnold, the whole series centers on unrequited love that indeed makes the characters crazy.
94*** Amusingly, love is also the only thing that consistently makes Arnold act in ways his conscience would normally disagree with, especially later on in the show when he's almost exclusively squeaky clean.
95* LoveTriangle: More like Love Square. Arnold likes Lila, who likes his cousin Arnie, who likes Helga, who likes Arnold. In "Arnold Visits Arnie", the love chain is reversed; Arnold likes Hilda (Helga) who likes Arnie, who likes Lulu (Lila) who likes Arnold. This show just screams AllLoveIsUnrequited.
96* LovesMyAlterEgo: Arnold, Helga, and "Cecile" make this a very odd incarnation of the trope, since Cecile was a pen pal of Arnold's that Helga tried to impersonate to get closer to him in "Arnold's Valentine".
97* LovingAShadow: In "Helga's Masquerade", Helga tries to be more like Lila so Arnold would like her more. He does, but only because of thinking of her as Lila.
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102* MadLibsCatchPhrase: Phoebe's "[verb]-ing!" in response to Helga asking her to do things. Most often it's "Forgetting!" whenever she and Helga have a conversation that [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain "never happened."]] Helga borrows it in "Phoebe Breaks a Leg" as part of the HourglassPlot.
103* MagicFeather: In "The Aptitude Test", after a mix up results in Harold believing he scored high on a career aptitude test, he starts performing better in school and takes an interest in areas such as finance and horticulture. When the mix up is revealed, he is distraught and thinks he's a dumb failure. However, Mr. Simmons points out that the only reason Harold did poorly on the test was because he was lazy and answered "E" for every question and that the way he performed in class that week shows he does have the potential to do great if he tries.
104* MagicRealism: While Arnold's world is mostly realistic, things such as Pigeon Man's take off and Eugene's excessively bad luck fall under supernatural and unusual things somehow existing in this setting.
105* MalingeringRomancePloy: in the episode "Beaned", Arnold accidentally hits Helga on the head, giving her EasyAmnesia. Feeling guilty, Arnold takes care of Helga. After she recovers, Helga acts like she's still amnesic so Arnold can continue doting on her.
106* MatchCut: Accompanies Helga's GilliganCut examples in "Das Subway" and "Dinner For Four," with her drawn in the same composition and expression, but with the background changed.
107** An audible variant happens near the end of "The Aptitude Test". When Helga screams in horror among seeing Miriam burning her poetry, it fades to Harold's house where Harold is also screaming in horror, but because he found out he actually flunked the titular test.
108* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In many episodes, the characters will investigate an urban legend. Almost every time something related to the tale comes up, a logical explanation for it is provided seconds later. Toward the end of the episode, they decide it was all just a story and don't believe it, only to have the episode conclude with [[RealAfterAll a heavy implication or just blatant proof that the legend was true]].
109* MeanCharacterNiceActor: In universe - Arnold of all people is chosen to play the "black-hearted villain" for the titular school play in "Eugene, Eugene". But so nice is Arnold that he can't go through with the director's ultra-cynical rewrite of the ending in which his character wins and the hero dies crushed because it's just too cruel, so he helps scheme to change the ending back into its original HappyEnding.
110* MeaningfulName: Eugene's name is ironic in that it means 'born lucky' and he's the show's ButtMonkey.
111* MeetTheCelebrityContest: In "Pre-Teen Scream", Phoebe wins an evening with pop star Ronnie Matthews, only to be [[BrokenPedestal disappointed]] when she finds out that he’s a vain, egotistical fraud who not only doesn’t write his own songs, but can’t even really sing.
112* {{Meganekko}}: Phoebe is a cute girl with glasses.
113* MerchandiseDriven: In universe, Timberly's favorite show, Wally the Alligator is this to the point where his products are advertised in his theme song.
114-->Wally loves you,
115-->All you little girls and boys!
116-->Wally loves you,
117-->And he loves you when you buy his toys!
118-->He loves to see your happy faces,
119-->So buy his sheets and pillow cases!
120-->Buy his ribbons for your hair,
121-->And buy his fuzzy underwear!
122-->Buy a Wally salad spinner,
123-->Eat the Wally TV Dinner!
124-->Tell your dad to tell your mom,
125-->To buy you a Wally CD-ROM!
126-->Wally loves you,
127-->All you little girls and boys!
128-->Wally loves you,
129-->And he loves you when you buy his toys!
130* MightyWhitey: Arnold's adventuring parents are Caucasians who are praised by the natives of San Lorenzo.
131* MiracleRally: Arnold and friends end up winning their ball game against the fifth graders in "Mud Bowl" when Arnold takes Helga's place as quarterback.
132* MirrorUniverse: "Arnold Visits Arnie" shows that everyone in Arnie's home is an opposite version of their counterpart in Hillwood, like Phoebe's counterpart being a nitwit instead of a genius and Harold's counterpart being thin instead of obese.
133* MistakenForThief: In "Bag of Money", Arnold, Sid, and Gerald find a paper bag of money and consider sharing it among themselves. Arnold accidentally swaps the bag for one full of birdseed belonging to an old woman on the bus and his friends think he stole the money to keep for himself.
134* MistakenForToilet: The episode "Rich Guy" has two scenes where Grandpa Phil mistakes a sink for a toilet.
135* MoodWhiplash:
136** The infamous pairing of "Arnold Betrays Iggy" and "Helga and the Nanny", two episodes which are [[DownerEnding unusually cynical]] considering how optimistic the rest of the series is. With the former, just for letting Iggy's humiliating secret out, [[DisproportionateRetribution he first gives Arnold the passive-aggressive treatment for months on end]], then forces him to endure a HumiliationConga himself on live TV. The usually-forgiving Arnold treats this as beyond the pale and severs ties with Iggy. With the latter, Helga ends up framing her nanny for theft, ruining her career prospects and leading her to declare Helga beyond help.
137** Two of Gerald's UrbanLegends both feature this; "Wheezin' Ed" and "Pigeon Man". In the former, after using a deep, sinister voice to talk about the titular gangster, he abruptly switches to cheerfully noting that some say Ed was just faking the wheezing for a gimmick. Which then switches back to creepy visuals, ending with a shot of a man's shadow as he points and screams in horror, three candles mounted on human skulls on sticks the only light source. In the latter, after ominously suggesting that Pigeon Man is an alien (something accompanied by spine-tingling music), he then abruptly switches to a chirpy voice and notes the alternative theory is that the Pigeon Man is just a crazy guy in a chicken suit.
138* {{Mooning}}: Harold, Sid, and Stinky prank Principal Wartz by baring their behinds in front of him in "Full Moon", which leaves Arnold to do a month worth of detention for refusing to reveal the troublemakers to the principal.
139* MrImagination: Arnold, during the first season, often had an active imagination.
140* MusicalEpisode: "What's Opera, Arnold?" and "Eugene, Eugene!" both feature musical numbers. The latter was even about the characters performing in a musical in-universe.
141* MythologyGag: In the episode "Monkey Business", Helga gives away her sousaphone when she thinks she's gonna die from monkeynucleosis. In the original Arnold claymation shorts, she played a sousaphone in Arnold's band.
142** "The Baseball" has a similar opening to the pilot, with Arnold daydreaming he is in orbit before it cuts to the kids playing a baseball game.
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146* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Arnold's grandma surfs with a group of nudists in "[[BeachEpisode Summer Love]]".
147-->'''Grandma:''' (''walking by with a surfboard obscuring her'') Up the establishment!\
148'''Grandpa:''' Aw, Pookie, nobody wants to see ''that''!\
149'''Grandma:''' (''laughing'')
150* NatureTinkling:
151** When listing the great things about camping in "Roughin' It", one of the experiences Grandpa Phil lists is "making doody behind a tree".
152** Harold and Sid are shown peeing outside in "Fishing Trip".
153* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous:
154** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka]] should consider being an artist.
155** "New Bully On The Block" Introduces [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart Wolfgang's]] rival: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethoven Ludwig]]. There's a bit of Fridge Brilliance when it's shown that they're forced to engage in art activities such as dance and oboe.
156* TheNapoleon:
157** Ernie, the construction worker that lives at the Sunset Arms. He's so short that he can fit into a briefcase (as demonstrated in the [[GameShow "Fighting Families"]] episode). Played with in "Ernie In Love", in which he falls for the tall and Lovely fashion model, Lola. He also takes a bit too much pride in his work -- demolishing skyscrapers and other ''tall'' buildings.
158** Helga also calls Arnold this in "Phoebe Takes the Fall".
159* NearDeathExperience: Big Bob has one in "Big Bob's Crisis", which makes him decide to turn his life around.
160* NerdsAreSexy: Gerald thinks Phoebe is attractive.
161* NeverHadToys: "Back to School", Grandpa Phil tells Arnold that during his youth in the 1920s, he dreamed of getting his grade school diploma until TheGreatDepression came and that no one could afford toys for Christmas during that time, so he and the other kids had to make their own toys out of dirt. This is accompanied by a young Phil being shown playing baseball with a bat that disintegrates as soon as it hits the ball.
162* NeverLearnedToRead: Oskar is revealed to be illiterate in "Oskar Can't Read?", until Arnold helped him.
163* NeverMessWithGranny: Sure, Arnold's grandma may be a little nuts, but if provoked, she will kick your ass.
164* NeverSayDie: Mostly averted, as several episodes featured death as a plot device (ie: Dino faked his death in attempt to sell more records, Grandpa spent an episode thinking he was about to die, Sid thought he murdered Principal Wartz, and a few other examples). However, when they make allusions to the afterlife, they sometimes mention heaven by name, but always use a euphemism in place of the word "hell," leading to quotes like this:
165-->'''Grandpa:''' ''(after thinking he died)'' Well, that's it, I must be in heaven. Oh no! Oskar's here! This must be the other place!
166** However, he ''does'' say "die" after finding out he's not going to kick the bucket for another 10 years.
167** "HEY ARNOLD! 24 HOURS UNTIL YOU DIIIEEE!!!"
168** In "Freeze Frame", Arnold thinks that two men are plotting to murder someone named Marty (revealed to be Mr. Green), which starts when he hears them say that they're going to "get Marty" ([[spoiler:they were actually just planning a surprise party for him]]). When Arnold discovers more evidence of their plans, he lists several euphemisms for killing ("They're going to 86 him"), and the words "die", "kill", and "murder" are never used in the episode.
169** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the episode "Old Iron Man" where, while under the impression that they're going to die in the water, Phil and his friend Jimmy Kafka exchange various expressions for death, such as "going to Davy Jones' locker" and "waking up to the deep sleep". Phil comes up with "The Last Tango in Paris" which Kafka criticizes for "not being a euphemism for dying".
170** The episode "Monkey Business" has Helga believing she has monkeynucleosis and sees the last symptom to be "Expiration". When Phoebe finally tells her that the disease is completely fake, Helga cheers that she's not going to "expire".
171** Subversion: Helga outright says "We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die!" in "Haunted Train" when she realizes they're on the actual haunted train Arnold's grandpa was talking about.
172** Another subversion when the boarders watch a baseball game on television that Arnold and Gerald are seeing in person. Arnold's grandma shouts, "Kill the umpire!"
173* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
174** Arnold does this to Lila's heart when he reveals that he doesn't ''like'' "like" her, and regrets it afterwards because he realizes that he does genuinely like her after the fact.
175** The whole Arnold and Lila thing would have never happened in the first place if Helga didn't write "Arnold loves Lila" on a wall in an alley. (She originally wrote her own name in place of Lila's but quickly changed it as a group of girls were approaching.) Lila seeing the message resulted in her being interested in Arnold for a bit and later Arnold being interested in Lila, much to Helga's frustration.
176** Towards the end of "New Bully on the Block", Wolfgang's team is down by three with little time left so he tells Arnold to kick a field goal. Out of his earshot, Helga tries to convince Arnold to purposely miss so Ludwig gets the vacant lot and the fourth graders can work out a deal with him and his goons. However, Arnold notices that the bullies are starting to get along and thinks that with them being friends, they'll be willing to share the lot now. Arnold makes the kick and the bullies congratulate each other on a good game and agree to hang out at the lot together. Unfortunately, they also decide they'll use their combined strength to keep the fourth graders out and beat them up when they complain about it.
177* TheNicknamer: Helga, who has a name for everybody: "Football Head", "Hair Boy", and "Arnoldo" (among ''many'' others) for Arnold; "''Tall'' Hair Boy" and "Geraldo" for Gerald; "Pink Boy" for Harold; "Princess" and "Rhondaloid" for Rhonda; "Stinko" for Stinky; "Little Miss Perfect" for Lila. Even her best friend Phoebe isn't immune: Helga usually calls her "Pheebs", but at least that one's pretty common.
178* NoAccountingForTaste:
179** For some unexplained reason, Lila ''like'' likes Arnold's weird cousin Arnie.
180** This also applies to Suzie's marriage to the lazy and irresponsible Oskar.
181** Why Miriam fell for a jerk like Big Bob is also a mystery.
182* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: The credits for "Helga's Locket/Sid and Germs" end with the notice "No frogs or pigs were harmed in the making of this film".
183* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
184** Ronnie Matthews seems to be a one-man version of Music/MilliVanilli. [[MrFanservice Handsome dark-skinned guy?]] Check. Strong European accent that disappears when he "sings?" Check. Complete inability to write music, play music and sing? Check, check and check.
185** Dino Spumoni is a poor man's Music/FrankSinatra.
186** Douglas Cain, the reporter in "Arnold's Halloween", is based on Creator/OrsonWelles, and voiced by Creator/MauriceLaMarche, who is well-known for his vocal impressions of Orson Welles.
187* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Hillwood City is an combination of many different northwestern cities, with some New York thrown in there.
188* NoFullNameGiven: The main character himself. "Arnold...um, the last name's kind of smudged..." His last name is eventually shown in ''The Jungle Movie'' to be [[spoiler:Shortman]].
189* NoMoreLies: In the episode "The Big Scoop", Arnold and Helga argue about how to run the school newspaper. Helga wants to tabloidize it and run big juicy stories that run deeper than the truth, while Arnold wants to stick to the facts and tell the truth. Helga eventually left with her best friend Phoebe to make her own newspaper. Helga finds success in her newspaper by posting fake stories and half-truth stories, while Arnold struggles to compete with her by just posting the truth. Helga is shown to be willing to steal Arnold's stories and add lies to them. Eventually, Arnold and his best friend Gerald heard that Helga planned to post a story that said the school would be torn down and an amusement park would be built in the school place. Arnold and Gerald investigated and asked Principal Warts, who revealed that while the school was going to be torn down because walls were going down, no amusement park was going to be built in its place. [[PoorCommunicationKills Walls would be torn down because they would add to the school, building more classrooms]]. After getting a quote that confirms Principal Wart's story, Arnold and Gerald posted the story, and when Helga tried to post her version of the story, their classmates angrily said that's not what Arnold's stories said, and with Principal Wart's confirmation no one believed Helga story. And when Arnold tells Helga that no one believes anything in her paper, she tries to save face by telling more gossip and reducing her paper's price, only for her classmates to say no more lies. When Helga asks why everyone is so upset, she wants to tell good juicy stories that delve deeper than the truth; Arnold answers that she pushed the truth too far. This causes Helga to finally close down her paper and rejoins Arnold's paper, reporting the weather.
190* NoirEpisode: "Grandpa's Packard" is a spoof of the noir genre, with Grandma Gertie as the detective.
191* NonNudeBathing: Phoebe bathes distraughtly while in her full outfit in "Phoebe Cheats".
192* NonSequitur: Arnold's Grandma will often declare bizarre things in conversation that have little to nothing to do with what everyone else is talking about.
193-->'''Pookie:''' Well, I'm off to raise the Titanic!
194* NonSequiturThud: Quite a few occurrences, usually involving someone get hit in the head with a baseball.
195** In the pilot, after Arnold beans Harold, Helga says to him, "Say something, Pink Boy!", to which Harold absentmindedly replies, "Goodnight, mommy."
196** In "Dangerous Lumber", in different points of the episode, when Arnold beans Harold and then Mickey Kaline, when they are asked to say something, they end up saying, "Easy squeezy lemon peasy."
197** In "Grudge Match", when Helga gets hit with a golf ball, she comes very very close to confessing her love to Arnold.
198* NoodleImplements: "Phoebe Skips" ends with Helga and Phoebe scheming to get back at the sixth grade girls who humiliated Phoebe during the episode. We never find out what the two of them ended up doing with all this stuff, but it was probably nasty.
199-->'''Helga:''' Alright Pheebs, looks like I'm gonna be needing a few things. A box of thumbtacks, a ball of string and a watermelon...\
200'''Phoebe:''' [[BewareTheNiceOnes How about a pack of trick gum?]]\
201'''Helga:''' Good idea, Phoebe! Write that one down...
202* NoSwastikas: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teB_OOvmZDE Grandpa's war story]], all of the Germans wear arm bands with frowny faces. The major's hat even has an eagle gripping a frowny face.
203* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In "Helga's Parrot", the parrot nearly divulges Helga's secret because it's remembered one of Helga's poems. Luckily, [[spoiler:the parrot is devoured by a monitor lizard]] before it can say anything.
204* NotMeThisTime: Rex Smythe-Higgins I is an understandable suspect for stealing Grandpa Phil's car in "Grandpa's Packard", considering that they're longtime rivals and that Rex's own Packard had recently lost to Phil's in a contest, but when Grandma Gertie and Arnold confront him on the matter, he claims to be innocent and gives the alibi that he was in London when Grandpa's car was stolen.
205* NotMyLuckyDay:
206** Not Eugene's lucky ''life''. He ''always'' has tough luck.
207** "The List", where Arnold has a huge organized list with plans for an awesome day, but everything goes wrong. The song his Grandma sings cheers him up though.
208* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Arnold and Helga's dynamic after the confession. They agreed it was "heat of the moment", but it's not hard to tell Arnold didn't buy that. The tango scene in "April Fool's Day", one of the two episodes set post-movie, has Arnold abandon his passive behavior for a more forward, flirtatious one. (Craig Bartlett confirmed in an interview that Arnold was indeed flirting with Helga.) This is touched upon in ''The Jungle Movie'', as Arnold stated he wasn't ready to digest Helga's confession.
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:O]]
212* ObfuscatingDisability:
213** "Phoebe Breaks a Leg" had Phoebe taking advantage of Helga's niceness when she thought she broke a leg, via using a fake cast.
214** Helga fakes blindness in "April Fools Day" to get revenge on Arnold for his prank on her.
215** Helga fakes amnesia in "Beaned" to get a guilty Arnold to take care of her.
216* ObliviousToLove:
217** Arnold, big time. This is actually subverted in a couple of later episodes where it is implied that his ''subconscious'' knows that Helga is in love with him and is trying to get him to figure it out. Justified because he might be a little reluctant and uncomfortable being involved with someone who has given so much grief over the years... and does it ''right'' after being nice to him. He at least, however, generally shows that he knows she is a much nicer person than she lets on.
218** Helga, meanwhile, seems oblivious to Brainy's crush on her -- even after he tries to give her a ring.
219* OddballDoppelganger: Arnold's cousin Arnie looks similar to him, but is definitely far weirder in behavior. Later in the series, "Arnold Visits Arnie" shows there is a whole group of odd counterparts to every other character in the series. Well, [[AllJustADream maybe.]]
220* OddFriendship:
221** Rhonda and Nadine. Rhonda is a stuck-up primadonna and is into fashion, which Nadine isn't. Nadine is much more down to earth and is fascinated with bugs and arachnids, which gross Rhonda out. But despite this, they've been best friends since they were four years old.
222** Sid and Lorenzo. Sid is poor, crazy, dumb, and has an ambiguous moral compass while Lorenzo is rich, quiet, smart, and very polite. "Arnold's Room" showed that Sid is desperate for Lorenzo's approval and worried his social status would make Lorenzo dislike him. Lorenzo later tells Sid he genuinely likes him as a friend and doesn't care that he doesn't have a cool room like his or Arnold's.
223* OffhandBackhand: Helga frequently punches Brainy in the face without turning around to face him.
224* OffscreenTeleportation: Being offscreen most of the time, it's pretty easy for Brainy to do suddenly appear out of nowhere. Lampshaded in several episodes where he shows up behind Helga in the most ''improbable'' places, such as on Elk Island, the [[spoiler:supposedly]] haunted train, ''inside a tree'', and in an alley that Helga ''made sure'' was empty, which got {{Lampshaded}}:
225-->'''Helga:''' Look, Brainy, this is just ''weird.'' How is it that you're standing behind me again? How did you get in this little arch? Were you waiting for me to come to this alley? What's your ''deal?''
226* OminousPipeOrgan: In the episode "Helga vs. Big Patty", after she told him that Big Patty will still beat her up, even though she apologized for her behavior before, Helga walks away from Arnold having lost hope while a short, but powerful pipe organ tune plays ominously. Organ music, along with DramaticTimpani, is also played at the end of the episode after Helga walked out of the school gym [[spoiler:as if she was beaten by Big Patty]].
227* OnceDoneNeverForgotten:
228** One episode had Rhonda throw a party in which some characters were not invited for being Geeks. They bring up the literal definition of the word, which repeatedly prompts this exchange: "...And none of us bite the heads off chickens! Except Curly." "Yeah! [[NoodleIncident And that was only the one time]]!"
229** Another example (and deconstruction) occurs in "Phoebe's Little Problem". Phoebe, while accepting an award on stage at a school assembly, accidentally farts into a microphone. The rest of the students won't let her live it down, eventually causing her to become a shut-in. Some of the other students (and Mr. Simmons, the teacher) feel bad for her and try to cheer her up, but their attempts end up making her feel worse. Finally, at another assembly, Phoebe gets on stage and goes on a tirade about how, in spite of everything else she's done, all the other students are reducing her to just being "the girl who farted", as if that was the extent of her accomplishments. When Harold still proceeds to mock her for it, [[LaserGuidedKarma he ends up wetting his pants and runs away while everyone laughs at him and Rhonda says "He's never gonna hear the end of it."]]
230* OneeSama: In a rare Western example of this trope, Lila quickly develops the dynamic of a girl looking up to an older woman with Olga due to their similarities. To the point where Helga, who usually can't stand Olga, actually becomes jealous, proving AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther.
231* OneHeadTaller: Gender-flipped with Helga and Arnold. Minus Arnold's spiky hair, Helga is taller.
232* OneOfTheBoys:
233** Helga, being the tomboy, prefers to spend more time with boys than girls. Harold even [[DiscussedTrope commented on this trope]] by telling Helga that the game they were playing is for boys only in the episode "Helga's Makeover".
234** Rhonda is also mostly seen hanging out with the boys. Despite her wealthy upbringing and snobby, self-righteous attitude, she has been known to play contact football and a variety of other sports along with the other children even to the point of destroying her beloved outfits in the process as seen in "Mud Bowl" and "New Bully on the Block".
235* OneSideOfTheStory: "Arnold and Lila" has Lila find graffiti saying Arnold loves her and refusing to let Arnold explain that he didn't do it, both of them unaware that Helga wrote the graffiti and changed it to keep her crush on Arnold a secret.
236* OneSteveLimit:
237** It's explicitly mentioned once that there is only one "Arnold" in the school. {{Averted}}, however, by his cousin Arnie. It's subsequently revealed that Arnold is named after his maternal grandfather; since Arnold gets the football head from his mother's side of the family, and since Arnie himself also has a football head, it's a safe bet that Arnie is ''also'' named for their shared grandfather.
238** Averted again in "Crush on Teacher", making this trope the source of conflict in the episode. The class's substitute teacher Ms. Felter takes a liking to Arnold, saying she likes his name. Gerald later overhears Felter talking about how she's having "dinner with Arnold". Arnold and Gerald think she's talking about him and Arnold ends up visiting her house, later to find out her fiancé is also named Arnold.
239** "Abner, Come Home" also features Arnold going around the neighborhood, calling for his pet pig Abner, only for a confused man to stick his head out of his window and repeatedly call "What?!"
240** "Helga" and "Olga" are actually just different translations of the same name: German and Russian, respectively.
241** There are actually three Roberts on the show: Big Bob Pataki, Mr. Robert Simmons, and Robert, a background extra student at P.S. 118.
242** There's Gerald's father Martin Johanssen and Mr. Green's first name is Marty.
243** There was Olga's temporary fiancé Doug Lesham and Creator/OrsonWelles {{expy}} Douglas Cain from the Halloween episode.
244* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
245** Patty is called "Big Patty" until Harold stands up for her and tells Sid and Stinky to stop making fun of her and call her Patty.
246** Curly is never referred to by his birth name, and perhaps the only time it's mentioned is when it's {{lampshaded}} by the kids' new teacher in the episode... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "New Teacher"]]:
247--->'''Mr. Goose:''' You! What's your name?!\
248'''Curly:''' "Curly."\
249'''Mr. Goose:''' Your hair's not curly, boy! What's your ''real'' name?!\
250'''Curly:''' ... "Thaddeus."\
251'''Mr. Goose:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' Curly, go stand in that corner!
252* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
253** When Grandma starts acting serious, you know something is wrong.
254** In "Oskar Gets A Job", [[NiceGuy Arnold]] gets so frustrated with Oskar (who has been duping Arnold into doing his job delivering newspapers for him) that he outright calls Oskar a huge loser. This ultimately leads to Oskar deciding to take his job more seriously.
255*** In "Arnold's Cousin", he bluntly tells Stinky to shut up, after the latter insensitively has been going on about how much Lila prefers Arnie to Arnold throughout the episode.
256** In "Chocolate Turtles", Timberley's adorable confession was so touching that ''Oskar'' of all people gave a sock full of dollars with tears in his eyes. In the same scene, one can also see Frankie G. (the one who tried to force Arnold into helping his gang rob an electronics store) in the listening crowd. Timberley's speech was apparently that good!
257* OperationJealousy:
258** Helga somehow convinces Arnold to pretend to be with her to make Lila jealous in "Weird Cousin".
259** Also done when Helga "dates" Stinky in an attempt to make Arnold jealous in "Helga's Boyfriend".
260* OutdatedName: The kids tend to have rather old-fashioned names like Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Harold, Eugene, Rhonda, Nadine, Sid, Olga etc.
261* OutOfFocus:
262** In later seasons, any of Mr. Simmons's fourth grade class who wasn't Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Pheobe, Rhonda, Harold, Stinky, Sid, Eugene, and Lila had less focus and were reduced to being background characters.
263** Arnold himself had very few episodes dedicated to him in Seasons 4 and 5, and when he did appear, it was usually to act as TheConscience.
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:P]]
267* PaperThinDisguise:
268** In "Helga's Locket", Helga accidentally loses her precious Arnold locket -- which she's just had engraved with a signed message declaring her love -- and Grandpa finds it, prompting her to attempt various schemes to get it back before he and Arnold and can open it. At one point, she disguises herself in a black trenchcoat, derby, glasses, and fake mustache and calls herself "Bernard Flotsam," a rich antique art collector. This somehow manages to fool Grandpa despite several near misses (such as a pigtail poking out from beneath the hat or her voice slipping back into its normal register). When she does manage to snatch the locket and make a break for it, (only to lose it again when Grandpa trips her with the rug). As Helga retreats, Grandpa screams "AND YOU FORGOT YOUR MUSTACHE!"
269*** The same episode has Helga hiding in a container of blank mannequin heads when she sneaks into the basement to get the locket back. Despite being the only "head" in the box with hair and facial features, Grandpa ''still'' doesn't recognize her. The poor man probably needs glasses.
270** "Arnold's Valentine" has Helga pose as Arnold's French pen-pal Cecile for a Valentine's Day date. To do this, she gets a new hairdo, puts on a dress and heels and dons makeup. Seems like a reasonable disguise, but there are several flaws. One, [[ChromaticArrangement the dress is still pink]]. Two, she's still wearing her [[SignatureHeadgear trademark pink hairbow]]. Three, no amount of makeup short of full-on Wrestling/{{Sting}} facepaint could disguise someone as instantly recognizable as Helga. And finally, [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent she makes no attempt to disguise her voice or accent despite portraying a French girl.]] What's worse is that Arnold actually buys it.
271** In the episode "Suspended", Harold is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin suspended from school.]] When he discovers that being suspended isn't all it's cracked up to be, he repeatedly attempts to sneak back into P.S. 118. At one point, he hits upon the idea of pretending to be a pizza delivery man, and so dons what he dubs a "foolproof disguise": a fake black mustache, chef's hat, apron, and a striped shirt ''with his name on it.'' Unsurprisingly, Principal Wartz isn't fooled by the trick, even when Harold attempts a horrible Italian accent to convince him.
272* ParentalBonus: "Oskar Kokoshka" was also the name of a real-life modernist artist.
273* ParentalFavoritism: Strong in the Pataki family; [[TheAce Olga]] is praised for her accomplishments and is given more attention than Helga, which causes a one-sided strain between the two. Olga actually wished she could be like Helga, without all the fussing and attention.
274* PartiallyConcealedLabelGag: As a final test to see if Oskar has conquered his illiteracy and learned to read, Arnold drops him off in a far-off part of town with written directions on how to get back home. When Oskar gets to the part where he has to take a subway to Sheffingtown, he looks up at the train schedule, which is partially obscured by a cart carrying a tall stack of luggage, and sees that the next train is going to Sheffing'''ston'''. Once he goes to board it, the cart gets pushed away, revealing more of the schedule and info that the Sheffing'''town''' train was the other way.
275* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Mr. Simmons' [[spoiler:boy]]friend Peter and Mr. Simmons' mother indulge in a bit of arguing during the Thanksgiving episode.
276* PersonalRaincloud: A rain cloud happens at the surprise birthday party Arnold throws for Eugene.
277* PettyChildhoodGrudge: In "Part Time Friends", Mrs. Vitello puts Gerald in charge after she had an accident that hurts her back. [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism He becomes too demanding]] and Arnold has had enough. They avoid each other and Grandpa Phil mentions that he had a fight with his former childhood friend for a similar reason that caused them to cut ties with each other. When Arnold dozes off, he has a nightmare where even as elderly adults, he and Gerald are still angry with each other, and they don't even remember what they argued about to begin with (Old Arnold claims it was school-related, while Old Gerald argues it was baseball-related).
278* PhraseCatcher: "Whatever you say, Helga." Usually said by Arnold, but has occasionally been said by a few other characters, like Gerald.
279** Also "You're a bold kid, Arnold," or some variation. Also counts as a CatchPhrase, because it's only ever said by Gerald.
280* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Helga wears a pink bow and a pink dress, while Arnold's hat is blue.
281* PlaceboEffect: In "Helga's Love Potion", Helga drinks a potion to make her fall out of love with Arnold. [[GoneHorriblyRight It worked, but then she desperately wanted to reverse the effects of it because she felt empty]]. [[spoiler:She was cured when she found out that all she drank was some grape soda (with a little chamomile)]].
282* PlanetOfSteves: Every man in Stinky's family is named Stinky.
283* PlayingGamesAtWork: In the episode "Suspended", after Arnold and Harold get suspended from school, they go to the public library do some research on an appeal to the school's constitution. However, only Arnold does any actual research on his computer, as Harold is seen playing a ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}''-like game on his computer, until an unamused Arnold sees it and shuts the computer off.
284* PoliceAreUseless: While Hillwood's police force is shown to be a relatively competent lot, (they quickly begin looking for wayward Sid, Stinky, and Harold in "On The Lam", for example) they do have their moments of being incompetent and of no help to the kids. For example, in "Freeze Frame" where they laugh off Arnold and Gerald when they express their concerns that someone may about to be murdered.
285* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Helga and Big Bob are both implied to be homophobic considering all the pejorative names they call [[WordOfGay Mr. Simmons]]. (i.e. "throw pillow", "cream puff", "tea cozy".)
286* ThePollyanna:
287** Eugene's optimism is almost frightening, given his bad luck.
288** Lila is devastatingly poor and has a MissingMom, but she always smiles and acts polite. This makes sense when you realize that Lila is now taking on the responsibility of caring for her father all by herself at the age of nine. This is already a tough task as an adult, but as a child it has to be even more difficult. Also considering that she doesn't want her father to worry about any of this forces Lila to smile and keep her real feelings tucked away. Much like in real life, Lila is an excellent example of what can happen if a child is burdened with a heavy load at such a young age [[spoiler:considering her repressed dark side confirmed by Craig Bartlett. See StepfordSmiler on [[HeyArnold/TropesQToZ Tropes Q to Z]].]]
289* PoorCommunicationKills: The ending of "Stinky Goes Hollywood". Stinky refuses to sign the million dollar contract to be the spokes-person for Yahoo Soda and doesn't explain why, [[note]] namely, that Stinky heard some of the advertising managers making fun of him behind his back, hurting his feelings and making him rethink his position at Yahoo Soda [[/note]] giving his family and friends every reason to believe that he's refusing to sign a contract that would benefit himself and his family greatly for no reason.
290-->'''Helga:''' What an ''idiot''!
291* PosthumousCharacter: Phil's father and grandfather are long dead, yet both are referred to in many of Grandpa's stories and appear in flashbacks.
292* PostRobberyTrauma:
293** "Mugged" has Arnold traumatized by being mugged on the bus.
294** "Monkeyman" shows Sid not taking the theft of his boots well.
295* PottyFailure:
296** In "Phoebe's Little Problem", [[spoiler:Harold wets his pants in front of the whole school.]]
297** According to Olga in "Student Teacher", Helga had a bed wetting problem until she was seven.
298* PrecociousCrush:
299** In Season 1, Arnold had a crush on Ruth [=MacDougal=], a sixth grader. In "Crush on Teacher", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he develops a crush on his substitute teacher.]] In "Summer Love", he met the eponymous Summer, who is also clearly older than him.
300** Similarly, Gerald's little sister Timberly crushes on Arnold in "Timberly Loves Arnold", much to his embarrassment.
301* PrimpOfContempt: Arnold's crush Ruth files her nails during their TwoTimerDate.
302* ProductPlacement:
303** Harold has ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' posters in his room in the episode "Weighing Harold". Said show premiered shortly after this episode aired.
304** You can actually spot WesternAnimation/CatDog in the background a couple times.
305* ProgressivelyPrettier: Helga for most of Season 1 has an ape like face, a thicker unibrow, a big nose, and a big overbite, from Season 2 onwards (after ArtEvolution kicks in) her features are toned down and she gets cuter as a result.
306* ProperlyParanoid: In most of the episodes centering Sid, he's often wrong about something he suspects, but then there are those rare cases where he is right, like "Sid The Vampire Slayer" (or, at least it's implied he is right about Stinky being a vampire).
307* ProtagonistCenteredMorality:
308** In "Eugene, Eugene!", the protagonist's romantic rival was a {{Jerkass}} indeed, but the NiceGuy protagonist is trying to '''homewreck''' and '''harass''' the girl with his "persistence".
309** In the early episode "Field Trip", Arnold feels sorry for the aquarium's turtle Lockjaw and wishes he could set him free. This is accomplished by Arnold and his grandma sneaking into the aquarium at night, removing Lockjaw from the aquarium right from under the guard's nose, ([[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy not that he was paying much attention in the first place]]) and turning him loose in the river. Um, okay....
310* PsychoSupporter: Helga, at times. Though she often means well in situations where she is made to help others, her idea of the right way to do something is a little... skewed. In episodes where she gives advice or puts down a plan of action, chances are that plan will be harsh, immoral, and ultimately not helpful. She lampshades it in "Deconstructing Arnold" while explaining to Arnold why he is the right person to give advice and she... isn't.
311-->'''Helga:''' ''(cheerfully)'' Look at me! I'm terrible at helping others. I'm the worst! I have no moral conscience whatsoever.
312* PuppyLove: The kids are probably the horniest 9-year olds in history of Western Animation, even though only one or two pairings are established canon by Craig Bartlett saying so (Arnold/Helga and Gerald/Phoebe).
313* PutMeInCoach:
314** Arnold, in "Eating Contest", wins after the only remaining competitor falls face first into bowl of ice cream
315** Arnold again, in "Benchwarmer", with a basketball game. This time, he comes off the bench after being benched for several games for not following his coach's ridiculous strategy and scores game winning points from a set play.
316** Eugene Horowitz, in "Coach Wittenberg", bowling. He throws the ball, falls flat on his face, but makes a wide split.
317* PutOnABus:
318** Arnold would have been put on one in the never-made SpinOff ''The Patakis'', ostensibly so that the focus could be put on Helga. [[SpotlightStealingSquad Plenty of focus was already on Helga]], the real reason was that with Arnold gone [[spoiler:(after having [[AllThereInTheManual dated her for years]])]], she could be miserable again.
319** There was originally a tenant at the boarding house named Lana, but she disappeared after Season 1. There was supposed to be a subplot with her falling in love with Arnold; unsurprisingly, Nick shot down that idea in a hurry, so Lana was removed as a result. But she still appeared in the title sequence, and made several cameo appearances in later episodes.
320** Another tenant removed from the show was Mr. Smith, who was put on a helicopter, apparently permanently.
321** There was yet another unseen tenant who disappeared after the first season, Mr. Purdy. In later episodes we occasionally see a middle-aged bald man with a pet chicken, this was confirmed by |||| WordOfGod revealing it to be him.
322[[/folder]]
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