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1''Series/TheBigBangTheory''
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7* FourOneNineScam: A "Nigerian prince" offers to track Sheldon's stolen ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' equipment for a fee.
8* AGoodOldFashionedPaintWatching: In "The Clean Room Infiltration," Amy organizes a traditional [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian]] Christmas party. For entertainment there are ParlorGames dating to this period. The first seen involves blowing a ball of wool across a table. Penny and Dr. V. M. Koothrappali play along. But by their reactions, they find this game extremely boring.
9* AbominableAuditorium: Penny was once part of a performance of The Diary of Anne Frank in a theater over a bowling alley. She says they used the sound of bowling balls to represent artillery.
10* AboveTheInfluence: Leonard in "The Middle-Earth Paradigm." After a brief confrontation between Leonard and Penny's ex at her Halloween party, Penny visits Leonard in his apartment a little drunk and upset over what happened. Leonard ends up comforting her and she starts kissing him. While obviously enjoying it, he pulls away:
11--> '''Leonard:''' Does the fact that you've been drinking and that you're angry at Kurt have anything to do with this?\
12'''Penny:''' It... might. ''[sigh]'' Wow, you are really smart!\
13'''Leonard:''' [[SarcasmMode Yeah, I'm a FREAKING genius.]]\
14'''Penny:''' You are so great, why aren't all men like you?\
15'''Leonard:''' Because if all men were like me, [[SelfDeprecation the human race wouldn't survive!]]
16** [[spoiler:Subverted in the third season finale where a drunken Penny takes Leonard to bed, though he did genuinely mistake it for a desire to get back together and was upset when that wasn't the case]].
17** In "The Hesitation Ramification" Penny is drunk and depressed because her part in a TV episode gets cut and she [[spoiler:proposes to]] Leonard. He turns her down but questions himself later.
18* AbsentAnimalCompanion: Amy Farrah Fowler has a smoking pet monkey in one episode that is never mentioned again afterwards. Fowler is actually forced by her academic superiors to relinquish the monkeys she keeps at home. Not because of the smoking or the unauthorized taking her work home with her, but for "unprofessional behavior": when monkeys crazed by nicotine deprivation started flinging excrement at her in protest, she ''threw it right back''.
19* AccidentalHero: Sheldon on multiple occasions. He really liked Leonard's girlfriend mid-Season 2, Dr. Stephanie, and thus worked extra hard to try and make their relationship work. It got to the point he hacked Leonard's Website/{{Facebook}} profile and sent a relationship request; when Leonard found out, he was furious, although it turned out okay when Stephanie confirmed the request. When Leonard and Penny broke up late Season 3, it was his antics trying to be with both Penny and Leonard that ended up getting the two back to being friends.
20** Then there was the time he unintentionally sabotaged Leonard's relationship with an Asian co-worker. As it happened, she turned out to be a North Korean spy trying to exploit Leonard's national security clearance. Sheldon drove her away before Leonard revealed anything really important.
21** Leonard's first day in the apartment. Sheldon saves his life by sacrificing the elevator when the rocket fuel experiment goes awry.
22* AccidentalKiss: When a drunk Rajesh attempts to kiss Bernadette, Howard gives a BigNo and interposes himself between the two. And he doesn't kiss his girlfriend.
23* AccidentalPervert: In "The Mommy Observation", the gang appear in one of Raj's murder mystery dinners. Stuart is playing the corpse, lying on the floor. At one point Bernadette stands right next to him. His gaze goes up and he mentions: "I can kind of see up your skirt."
24* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Rajesh, episode "The Griffin Equivalency." At the least, he is drunk throughout most of the episode, and when drunk, he tends to be somewhat insufferable regardless of the situation.
25** Howard claims he's insufferable even when he's not drunk, but because of his [[CannotTalkToWomen selective mutism]], Penny just doesn't hear it.
26* AcronymsAreEasyAsAybeecee: Inverted. Penny interrupts Sheldon in the middle of an online game and he says "AFK" before pausing. Penny asks what AFK means and he responds, "Away From Keyboard." Penny says, "Oh, I see," and Sheldon misinterprets that as "OIC" and asks what that acronym means.
27* ActionFigureJustification: After an effort to order custom action figures of themselves delivers disappointing results, Raj and Howard buy a 3-D printer to custom make the toys themselves. Howard shows off the results to his wife, Bernadette, who is [[WomenAreWiser less than pleased that Howard dropped that kind of money without consulting her.]] She furiously asks him if he thinks $5000 for a couple of "dolls" was worth it. Howard wisely doesn't choose to correct her terminology, even though he'd been calling them "action figures" before, as Bernadette is quite frightening when enraged.
28* ActorAllusion:
29** In Season 1, Episode 3, "The Fuzzyboots Corollary," Leonard says that if anyone asks why Sheldon cancelled, Sheldon had a chicken carbonera sub at Quizno's for lunch. Creator/JimParsons gained internet infamy for his squicky appearance in the "Hungry Like the Wolf" Quiznos commercials.
30** In one episode, Kaley Cuoco's character Penny is talking about an upcoming play and says, "This could be my only chance to play Anne Frank." In ''Series/EightSimpleRules'', Kaley Cuoco's character Bridget was Anne Frank in her school play.
31** Penny later got a commercial gig that showed her riding horses. Kaley is an avid rider, and in fact broke her leg the previous season after she fell and the horse trotted over it.
32** Courtney Ford showed up as a geeky girl and made a reference to ComicBook/{{Superman}}. Ford is not only quite geeky herself, but is married to Brandon Routh of ''Film/SupermanReturns.''
33** In an early episode, the boys consider recruiting "TV's Blossom" (Mayim Bialik) to their Physics Bowl team, as Raj has heard she has a Ph.D. in "neuroscience or something." ''Dr.'' Bialik does, in fact, have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and later appeared on the show as Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist. After the Bialik suggestion gets shot down, he then suggests "that girl from ''Series/TheWonderYears''" and Danica [=McKeller=] later had a guest spot as Abby, one of the girls Sheldon meets and are impressed by his ComicBook/GreenLantern's limited edition Lantern.
34** Sara Gilbert appears throughout the series as Leslie Winkle, a sort of friend-with-benefits for Leonard. She and Johnny Galecki (Leonard) played supporting roles on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'', in which they played a couple (eventually married) with essentially the same dynamics of passive guy/sarcastic dominating girl. Amusingly, Chuck Lorre previously worked on ''Roseanne'' as a writer and producer.
35** Casey Sander plays Bernadette's RetiredBadass father, an ex-cop. He had played Wade, an active cop, in a previous Creator/ChuckLorre work, Series/GraceUnderFire
36** Sheldon makes reference to the theme to ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' as being his favorite tv theme song. A lesser known fact of creator Chuck Lorre is that he used to be a music composer for kids shows before he got into sitcom writing, and one of his songs actually ''was'' that theme.
37** When Emily arrives and says "It's so nice to meet you", it's hard not to smile if you're a fan of ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries''.
38** Emily describes a tattoo she has of Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas that Laura Spencer actually has in real life [[https://twitter.com/itslauraspencer/status/530586521116901376 here]]
39** Katey Sagal also played Kaley Cuoco's mother on ''Series/EightSimpleRules.''
40** [[Creator/PennAndTeller Teller]] plays Amy's father in "The Bow Tie Asymmetry", and throughout the episode, Amy's mom keeps preventing him from speaking, [[spoiler:until they're gathered for Sheldon and Amy's wedding, when he says "Thank you" to Penny for telling off his wife]]. Howard also teaches master stage magician Teller some conjouring tricks.
41** In ''The Space Probe Disintegration'', when Raj goes off on a rant at the elderly Indian man who dents his car in the ashram carpark, the old man in the car looks oddly familiar: he has been identified as an actor who played Mahatma Gandhi in an Indian TV adaptation of Gandhi's life, and does indeed bear a very strong resemblence.
42** In "The D&D Vortex", Penny takes a liking to Creator/WilliamShatner. Shatner and Kaley Cuoco appeared together on multiple commercials for Priceline.
43** In one episode Leonard mentions how he might end up half-eaten by crabs in the trunk of a car. This is exactly what happens to Johnny Galecki's character in ''I Know What You Did Last Summer''.
44** Raj's father, who forced him through a fiercely competitive education in India and who remains ambitious for his son, is played by Creator/BrianGeorge. Who also played the ambitious and competitive father of Doctor Julian Bashir in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', a man who in the 23rd Century actually had his son's brain genetically modified so as to give him a winning edge.
45* ActuallyPrettyFunny:
46** Sheldon almost never laughs out loud, usually managing an idiosyncratic snicker at something that might amuse him or maybe a guffaw at one of his own jokes. But one of the more silly jokes on the show involved an extended scene with Penny mocking Leonard with a "stupid" voice (for thinking her history paper was going to fail when she actually got a B-) and then we cut to Sheldon, laughing hysterically because "[[InsufferableGenius That's exactly what you sound like!]]"
47** Raj's speaker shirt in "The Excelsior Acquisition" has been annoying others throughout the episode, but when Sheldon finds out about a ticket for running a red light:
48--> '''Sheldon:''' I'm not going to pay a fine, that would imply I'm guilty.
49--> '''Howard:''' You '''are''' guilty.
50--> ''[Raj plays [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8lDYrvTILc Law and Order sound effect]] on his shirt. Leonard and Howard start cracking up]''
51--> '''Howard:''' That one I liked.
52** When Kripke fills Sheldon's office with helium while the latter is doing an NPR interview, the entire cafeteria laughs their ass off, including Leonard, Howard, and Raj.
53-->'''Sheldon''': You ''laughed''?
54-->'''Leonard''': I fell to the floor.
55* AdamWesting: A lot of the guest stars that play themselves are this.
56** Creator/WilWheaton is an UnknownRival to Sheldon at first, and plays up being a jerkass celebrity. Part of the joke is that Sheldon actually LOVED Wesley Crusher, while many fans did not, but hated Wheaton for a missed convention in his youth.
57** Creator/LevarBurton pops up as kind of a mooch, easily showing up at fans' requests with the promise of food and gas money.
58** Creator/StephenHawking ends up befriending the group but proving to have a prankster side, he really enjoys trolling people online. "When you spend all your time in a wheelchair, you want to mix things up a bit."
59** Creator/JamesEarlJones shows up milking his role as Darth Vader, not missing an opportunity to hang out with a fan which includes riding a ferris wheel, going to a strip club, going to a sauna and door bell ditching Carrie Fisher's house. Fisher herself is mentioned to be crazy, and [[BatterUp shows up with a baseball bat]].
60--> '''James Earl Jones:''' Let me guess... You love ''Franchise/StarWars.''
61--> ''[Sheldon nods head]''
62--> '''Jones:''' You are aware I've done other movies?
63--> ''[Sheldon nods head]''
64--> '''Jones:''' You don't care about those other movies.
65--> ''[Sheldon shakes head]''
66--> '''Jones:''' ''[{{Beat}}]'' I love ''Star Wars'' too!
67** Leonard ends up recruiting the trope namer Creator/AdamWest to come to Sheldon's birthday party, playing up the has-been actor talking about the glory days of being Batman.
68* AdvertisingCampaigns: To promote the Season 4 move from Monday to Thursday nights, the gang is seen sitting around eating food when Sheldon announces that he invented a transporter to help them move from Monday to Thursday. Everyone 'beams out' of their chairs then 'beam back in' in the exact same positions. Leonard notes that it doesn't feel very different, while Howard complains that his food is now cold.
69** In 2011, American cable channel TBS bought the rights to air ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and advertised it by showing a clip from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' of Peter jumping into midair and getting frozen there. After he says "Call a Scientist!", we cut to a clip from ''Big Bang'' of Leonard answering the phone. Oddly enough, the footage of Peter came from an episode which only five minutes earlier had featured a ''Big Bang'' parody, complete with [[InkSuitActor stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki]] voicing their characters.
70* AdviceBackfire: Inverted -- When Stuart is about to go on a date with Penny, Leonard deliberately gives Stuart what he thinks is bad advice about what to do on the date. Stuart follows the advice and ends up making out with Penny anyhow. Penny called out Leonard's name rather than Stuart's, though, and since the advice was exactly what Leonard had done himself, the implication is that Penny was simply trying to replace Leonard with someone very similar.
71* AesopAmnesia:
72** Multiple, multiple episodes have Sheldon being called out on how much of a jerk he is and learning not to be such a jerk. Then in the next episode he's right back to being a jerk.
73** "The Space Probe Disintegration" has Sheldon calling out Leonard for his hypocritical attitude and how mean he is to Sheldon much of the time. Leonard says that he's sorry... and then goes right back to being a jerk to Sheldon in the episodes after that.
74** "The Champagne Reflection" has Bernadette realizing how much of a jerk she is and feeling awful about it. After this episode, she goes right back to being a jerk.
75** "The Maternal Combustion" has Beverly realizing that there is more than one way to raise a child and she promises that from now on she will shower Leonard with unconditional love. After this episode, she is back to being a jerk in most appearances until "The Maternal Conclusion" where she and Leonard make amends when he forgives her.
76* AFoolForAClient: Sheldon represents himself when he receives a ticket for running a red light. He loses.
77* AfraidOfNeedles: Leonard is so afraid of having to get stitches for his hand that he vomits -- and when Howard sees them, he nearly does as well.
78* AllGermansAreNazis: Subtly invoked to nip Sheldon's bachelor party suggestion in the bud;
79--> '''Sheldon''': You know, Germans have an interesting pre-wedding custom--
80--> '''Howard''': Then it probably isn't for me!
81** Also subtly invoked in a TBS commercial for the show, as part of the "What does TBS stand for?" series of ads:
82--->'''Sheldon:''' It stands for "Text Bau Steine."\
83''[Scene switches to episode clip]''\
84'''Sheldon:''' The Germans have always been a very comforting people.\
85''[Ad cuts to Howard giving the camera a "'''Really?!'''" sort of look]''
86* AlcoholInducedBisexuality: Penny, who has a storied history with both a number of male partners AND alcohol, asks the other girls about a story where a guy picked her up at a bar, then picked up another girl, and they all left together, wondering if, by the terms of their current discussion, it means she picked up the girl, too.
87* AllegedlyDateless: We are supposed to believe Leonard is awkward with women, and in a way, he is. However, his dating history includes many hot women -- Penny, Dr. Stephanie, Joyce Kim, Leslie, and now Priya -- so one has to wonder why would he think he is unlucky with women.
88* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Penny seems to be attracted to muscular and obnoxious guys (Kurt from the pilot episode and the unseen boyfriend of the first season finale) and subsequently hates herself for it. One of the main reasons she gives Leonard a chance is that he was so far removed from the previous guys she would date.
89** Inverted in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition" with Sheldon, Amy, and Stuart. Stuart asks Leonard about Sheldon and Amy and, after being told that they're not dating, asks Amy out. Stuart and Amy go on two dates before Sheldon charges back and asks Amy point-blank (after Amy insists on him removing his weasely ''quadruple''-negative) to be his girlfriend.
90** ''The Barkersfield Expedition" has Amy declare that she likes bad boys, prompting Penny to snark back "as evidenced by your boyfriend and his fear of hamsters..."
91* AllJustADream: The majority of [[spoiler:"The Recombination Hypothesis" consisted of Leonard daydreaming/wargaming a date with Penny]].
92* AllPsychologyIsFreudian:
93** Leslie (not to mention Howard and Sheldon) is convinced Penny's addiction to ''Age of Conan'' is a result of sexual frustration.
94** Averted and played straight by Leonard's mother, a psychologist (and TVGenius ala Sheldon), who acknowledges briefly that many of Freud's theories are obsolete. [[RuleOfFunny She still uses informal Freudian analysis]] on Penny, Howard, and Raj, the latter of whom she insists are in [[HeterosexualLifePartners an ersatz homosexual relationship]]. They immediately begin arguing the point... LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.
95* AllTakeAndNoGive: Sheldon has this relationship with pretty much everyone the Roommate/Relationship agreements require Leonard and Amy to do a ridiculous amount of things for him while his contributions is to go from completely unbearable to just barely. The moment Leonard was able to make the agreement to work for him Sheldon changed it to make sure something like that never happens again.
96** It came to a head with Amy in The Spoiler Alert Segmentation where after telling her that he didn’t want her to move in with him Amy exploded at him saying she is tired of waiting on him hand and foot while getting nothing in return and demanded to know why. Knowing he didn’t have a leg to stand on Sheldon blamed Penny.
97** Coincidentally, this is also how Sheldon sees his friendship with Penny. She comes over and eats dinner practically every night without paying for it and without a formal invitation, and she hardly ever gives anything of equal value in return, at least in Sheldon's opinion (fashion and dating advice clearly don't have the same value as Chinese take-out to Sheldon until he meets Amy).
98* AllWomenHateEachOther:
99** When Raj's sister Priya dates Leonard, she and Penny have an icy relationship. Penny still secretly harbors feelings for Leonard, and Priya acts condescendingly toward's her and even tries to get Leonard to stop seeing her.
100** When Penny meets Raj's girlfriend Emily, she finds that Emily acts distant towards her. She later finds out it's because Raj told Emily about the time he and Penny shared a bed, even though nothing happened. (Raj: "In my defense, I'm telling everybody.") In the end, they seem to patch things up, but after Penny sees Emily out, after the door closes they both say to themselves "I hate her."
101* AllWomenLoveShoes: Penny, many examples. She even has Sheldon write her a "shoe-scanner app" for her phone, just so she can find the cheapest price on any pair of shoes she sees just by taking a photo of them!
102* AlmightyJanitor: The janitor in "The Bat Jar Conjecture" solves the final question in a physics quiz competition after a casual glance. Made especially hilarious by the rest of the cast being unable to even identify it.
103--> '''Janitor''': Here, I am janitor. In former Soviet Union, I am physicist. Lenigrad Polyteknika. *''{{Beat}}''* Go Polar Bears!
104* AltarTheSpeed:
105** Leonard and Penny spend a season engaged but putting off any real plans on getting married. When Sheldon calls them out on it, Penny suggests VivaLasVegas to Leonard and they get married later that night. A season later, after realizing that [[DidYouThinkICantFeel Beverly Hofstader is actually upset]] not getting to see them get married, they hold a second wedding where their family got to attend.
106** Sheldon and Amy get engaged but struggle with collaborating with wedding details (Amy wants a rustic ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' style carriage ride, Sheldon wants her to arrive at an honor guard of [[Franchise/StarWars Stormtroopers]]). They decide to do a quick marriage at the court house, but Sheldon backs off as he realizes he wants a big wedding ''because'' he never thought he would meet someone like Amy and actually want to get married.
107* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: All of the four main characters have them.
108** Howard's mother is featured most prominently. She's loud, over-bearing and treats Howard like a little boy.
109** Penny's dad. He constantly tells Leonard about Penny's previous boyfriends, though in his case, it's more about trying to convince Penny about how Leonard is so much better for her.
110** Leonard's mother is a cold, icy woman who belittles him and tells everyone how she treated her son like a scientific experiment.
111* AmbiguouslyGay:
112** Raj. His sister even admitted that his family was wondering that about him. But besides some awkward moments both in the show and [[NoodleIncident spoken of in passing]], it's made pretty clear that he isn't gay... through a series of daydreams about his attraction to Bernadette. "Dance number aside, I am SO not gay." So he may be more CampStraight. There was that time Leonard's psychiatrist mother described Raj and Howard as being in "an ersatz homosexual relationship". In the episode before he daydreams about Bernadette, however...
113--> '''Raj (to Howard)''': Last night I had a dream, we got so rich from the app we made, you and I bought matching side by side mansions. [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything But, there was a secret tunnel connecting your front yard to my back yard. What do you think it means?]]\
114'''Howard''': It means next time we play handball I'm showering at home.
115** Amy has all but stated she has a big crush on Penny (and has admired both Bernadette and Priya as well), but could be interpreted as a StupidSexyFlanders in that she appreciates her own gender but is otherwise straight.
116---> '''Sheldon (to Amy regarding letting Penny cut his hair)''': Amy, what do you think?\
117'''Amy''': There's not a hair on my body I wouldn't let this woman trim.
118** Penny casually refers to the fact her high school PE teacher had a crush on her and that they went to a [[DudeShesALesbian Melissa Etheridge]] concert together. She does not disclose if she exchanged sex for grades, but offhandedly says it all worked out OK.
119** This scenario recurs in "The Big Bear Precipitation", when Penny secures a colleague's country lodge for the weekend, Leonard assumes the colleague is hitting on her and is male. Penny corrects the gender and casually remarks the price to be paid is her going to a [[DudeShesALesbian Indigo Girls]] concert with the ''female'' doctor.
120* AmicableExes: [[spoiler:Penny and Leonard after their break-up. This of course causes friction when Leonard gets with Priya.]]
121* AmbiguouslyJewish: Leonard. Who expresses an interest when Raj buys lobsters and prawns online for a post-Lucy binge-out.
122* AmusingInjuries:
123** There is sort of a RunningGag of the characters getting hit in the face and getting black eyes in the process. Admittedly, they try to avoid the DoubleStandard and Penny is sometimes hurt on a similar level.
124** Sheldon learning the hard way that one should not play bongos while walking down the stairs.
125* AmusinglyShortList:
126** "The Locomotion Interruption": Penny is nervous about her job interview arranged by her friend Bernadette. Bernie lists Penny's personality traits, trying to convince her she's gonna be fine.
127--->'''Penny:''' I haven’t been on a job interview in years. I’m really nervous.\
128'''Bernadette:''' Don’t be. You are built for pharmaceutical sales. You’re cute, you’re flirty and I started that like there were gonna be three things.
129** In "The Sibling Realignment", Leonard tries to list things Sheldon and his brother George have in common.
130--->'''Leonard:''' I... I know you two have your differences.\
131'''George:''' You mean pretty much everything about us?\
132'''Leonard:''' Well, not everything. You're both tall, you have the same last name. Maybe I shouldn't have started this like it was a list.
133* AnachronismStew: In-universe at a Renaissance Faire the main characters attend, with historical inaccuracies discussed by Sheldon. Later, Sheldon invents Three Person Chess and adds several new pieces and rules to the game, the result being that the medieval-styled classical chess pieces can now move using golf carts, time machines, transporter pads, and jetpacks.
134** After discussing the inaccuracies of the Renaissance Faire, the next time they visit at the end of the episode, Sheldon goes dressed as a ''Star Trek'' science officer, sporting a Tricorder and everything, recording the Anachronisms.
135** In a flashback to when Leonard moved in with Sheldon, set in 2003, he, Howard and Raj are dressed like it's The80s. Or rather, a parody version of that decade.
136* AnalogyBackfire:
137** A variation in that the analogy was horrible to begin with. Howard tried taking Leonard to a bar to teach him how to pick up women, only to fail miserably. Howard tries to shrug it off as he is normally doing it alone and Leonard is cramping his style.
138--->'''Howard:''' I'm a falcon who hunts better solo.\
139'''Leonard:''' Fine, I'll sit here, you take flight and hunt.\
140'''Howard:''' Don't be ridiculous, you can't just tell a falcon when to hunt.\
141'''Leonard:''' ...Actually, you can. There's a whole sport built around it. Falconry.\
142'''Howard:''' ...Shut up.
143** Raj's attempt to convince Leonard to ditch his current girlfriend (Raj's sister) for an evening in order to retrieve Sheldon's stolen ''World of Warcraft'' account:
144---> '''Raj''': Bros before... my sister.
145* AndZoidberg: Usually done by Sheldon with Howard, the only one of the guys without a doctorate. Invoked verbatim in S4E11:
146---> '''Sheldon (talking about Penny):''' "And then, one day, she meets a group of geniuses, and their friend Howard."
147* {{Angrish}}: Somewhere between this and {{Metaphorgotten}}, Penny got really angry at Leonard checking out a history paper she wrote and rewriting it for her, trying to calm her down with an analogy of "The shoemaker and the elves." After storming out, she came back in and tried screaming at him with her own analogy and got halfway through the "Feed a man a fish" story before giving up and just calling him an ass.
148* ArousedByTheirVoice:
149** Raj wants Howard to tell his new deaf love interest that he has a deep sexy voice like James Earl Jones, not realizing she wouldn't know the appeal anyway.
150** Bernadette and Howard are dog-sitting for Raj and they lose the dog. While out searching for it, they decide they should call the dog's name using Raj's accent, leading to this HoYay-packed exchange:
151--->'''Howard''': When this all blows over, remember that voice. It’s kind of a turn-on.
152--->'''Bernadette''': It turns you on when I sound like Raj?
153** Howard has mentioned that he finds Bernadette's voice sexy when she shouts in the same tone as his mother.
154* ArmorPiercingQuestion: In a girl's night out when they ended up playing "Truth or Dare", Bernadette asked Penny why she hung out and talked with Leonard so much even though she broke up with him. Penny replied that he was a great guy but felt he got too serious, which led to another question that what if she wanted him back and he was taken by someone else ''because'' he is a "great guy?" Penny didn't know how to respond to that and declared the game over.
155** Sheldon delivers a ''brutal'' one to Penny when she offers to give him advice about dating when she is chaperoning him to his first date with Amy:
156--->'''Penny''': My point, is that if you were as smart as you think you are, you would ''listen'' to me, since I know more about dating than you.
157--->'''Sheldon''': If you know so much about dating, how come ''I'' have a date tonight and you have nothing better to do than drive me to it?
158--->'''Penny''': *long, stunned silence* Fair point.
159** Sheldon in the Season 6 finale is trying everything he could to convince Leonard not to take a job working on a Creator/StephenHawking project on a boat. After various attempts with seafaring disaster statistics and general fear of sharks, Leonard tells him to stop it. Sheldon then points out Leonard and Penny are in a really good place right now and him leaving for 3-4 months could affect that, which obviously hit Leonard hard.
160--->'''Sheldon''': I should have led with that one.
161* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
162** Howard compares [[EpicFail the reception to one of Sheldon's lectures]] to "the Hindenburg meets Chernobyl meets ''[[Film/TRONLegacy Tron 2]]''".
163** Sheldon's assessment of Hawaii: "a former leper colony on top of an active volcano where the disappointing ending to ''Series/{{Lost}}'' was filmed."
164** Raj explains why he's stressed out in "The Space Probe Disintegration":
165-->'''Raj:''' A space probe might be destroyed, my parents are going through an awful divorce, the guy who cuts my dog’s hair just gave her bangs! ''[to Howard]'' You saw her. She looks like Jim Carrey from ''Dumb and Dumber''.
166** Sheldon names things that people can become addicted to after one use: “Crack cocaine, nicotine, Pringles”.
167* ArtisticLicenseAwards:
168** In the series’ penultimate episode [[spoiler: Amy and Sheldon are awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their discovery of superasymetry earlier in the season. The Nobel Prize in physics is only given to people whose discovery has stood the test of time, meaning 20 years or more need to have gone by after a discovery is made. Sheldon and Amy simply aren’t eligible and won’t be until the year 2039.]]
169* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
170** Sheldon. Yes, ''[[InsufferableGenius Sheldon]]''. When [[DrivesLikeCrazy he is unable to learn to drive on a driving simulation without]] crashing into a pet store or [[RefugeInAudacity ending up on the second floor of a building]], he claims that because he is the [[EvolutionaryLevels next stage in the evolution of humanity]], citing his [[WeWillNotHaveAppendixesInTheFuture small incisors]] and his massive brain, he does not need to learn how to drive, because the task is beneath him. Evolution does ''not'' work that way! Sheldon Cooper is also egotistical and occasionally delusionally convinced of his own superiority. He has been known to occasionally ignore various scientific principles in order to win arguments, particularly when it comes to superhero physics.
171** The theme song, performed by Music/BarenakedLadies, contains the line "the autotrophs began to drool". Autotrophs are organisms that sustain themselves by refining sunlight into energy, colloquially known as "plants", which are not generally noted for their capacity to drool. The appropriate term would be "heterotrophs", which refers to any organism that does not get energy directly from sunlight.
172*** They might have meant the autotrophs evolving into heterotrophs, though; a plausible evolutionary step between heterotrophs like pitcher plants and fly traps and their autotroph ancestors is producing a sap that distracts predatory insects from vital structures.
173* ArtisticLicenseCars: Sheldon claims Penny's car's check engine light is on, and promptly freaks out. Penny's car is a 1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet, made before check engine lights were available in Volkswagens (1991-93 Cabriolets sold in California were required to have OBD installed. All other 1979-93 models were not equipped). Sheldon goes on to claim it weighs 4,400 pounds (1995.80 kilos). It doesn't. The GVRW of a Volkswagen Cabriolet is 2,200 pounds (997.90 kilos) (or 2,400 pounds/1088.62 kilos , depending on options and year).
174** Nearly every vehicle appears to have had its head restraints, rear-view mirror and sun visors removed, presumably to provide a better view of the actors.
175* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Amy's ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' FanFic exaggerates the lower life expectancy of 19th century people. The protagonist Amelia converses with Cooper, a time traveler from the 21st century. She finds "strange" and "incredible" the concept of people living past thirty. But this was not an unusual occasion in this century. There is a paper called ''[[http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/Eng/Docs/DEIP_Gallop.pdf Mortality improvements and evolution of life expectancies]]'' written by demographer Adrian Gallop, examining the life expectancy changes in the [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} United Kingdom]]. According to it: "Period life expectancy at birth in the mid-19th century was around 40 years for males and 42 years for females." The statistics on life expectancy for earlier time periods are often skewed by high infant mortality rates; when this is compensated for, life expectancy is a lot closer to modern levels than most people would think. Living past 70 was hardly unheard of.
176** The theme song has the line "Neanderthals developed tools." ''Homo habilis'' developed tools long before Neanderthals evolved - ''Homo habilis'' actually means "handy man" in reference to this.
177* ArtisticLicenseLaw:
178** InUniverse by Sheldon when he [[AFoolForAClient represents himself]][[note]]There's a saying when it comes to representing oneself in court: He who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. On top of this, Sheldon was photographed doing it, so he doesn't have a defense.[[/note]] and tries to fight a ticket for running a red light while driving Penny's car. His defense is little more than [[NeverMyFault blaming Penny]] for goading him into running the light and owning the car[[note]]Because he was driving, he is 100% at fault as he could have ignored her advice; Penny, as a passenger, cannot be held responsible for his actions -- the fact it's her car is irrelevant; she wasn't driving[[/note]], claiming it was necessary and therefore legal for him to run a red light because Penny's shoulder was dislocated,[[note]]It's not, and a dislocated shoulder isn't life threatening. A life threatening injury may have tipped the balance, but it's not likely, because the police and/or judge would probably say an ambulance should have been called[[/note]] and that it's unconstitutional for a camera to issue a ticket[[note]]it's not; red light cameras are entirely constitutional[[/note]]. The judge rules him guilty, which Sheldon tries to contest through ''incredibly'' disrespectful backtalking and ends up in jail for contempt of court.
179** For that matter, that's not how camera-issued tickets work. Sheldon mentions he received three demerits; in the state of California, tickets issued by red light cameras carry a fine and a maximum of one point, and even then, not all violations are issued with a point. Then again, it could be a sign that he screwed [[EpicFail that badly]] that the judge went through the trouble of increasing the sentence (generally possible, though difficult).
180** Also InUniverse, Sheldon's roommate agreements are easily dismantled by Priya, Leonard's girlfriend at the time and, by the way, a lawyer. The only reason Leonard continues to live under one at the end of the episode is Sheldon threatens to tell Priya's parents that she's dating an American.
181* ArtisticLicense - Space Exploration: There’s simply no chance that Howard Wolowitz would even have been considered for the astronaut program. Going into space is (still) an extremely hazardous undertaking that requires a singular type of person with the physical, mental and emotional resilience and fortitude to handle whatever is thrown at them. Howard with his physical frailties (including asthma, transient idiopathic arrhythmia, prone to seasickness, a very high genetic disposition towards heart disease etc.) and emotional instability wouldn’t have gotten a foot through the door. In RealLife UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} would have brought him in as a consultant to train a ''real'' astronaut how to install the telescope he designed and constructed.
182* AscendedExtra:
183** Stuart has been hanging around the group since Season 2, showing up a couple of times a year but never really significant. Season 6 practically upgrades him to main cast, at the least supported by Word of God that he will have an expanded role. While he didn't stay in the main cast listings for long, unlike Leslie Winkle he still shows up more often than before and usually with a significant role involved.
184** Leslie Winkle start from this to DemotedToExtra. She showed up three times in the first season, and her character was liked enough that the production team announced her as becoming a regular early in the second season. After about four episodes in, they quickly realized that she worked largely because she was a staunch, stubborn ArchEnemy to Sheldon with no real room for her own stories or even CharacterDevelopment. They quietly put her character aside and she shows up more sporadically since.
185* AskAStupidQuestion: When Penny locks herself out of her apartment and has to call a locksmith, Sheldon asks her if she would like to wait in the guys' apartment.
186-->'''Penny:''' No, Sheldon. I would rather sit on this freezing floor, sobbing like a three year old.
187-->'''[[SarcasmBlind Sheldon]]:''' Oh, okay. (Goes inside. Penny sighs in exasperation and runs in.)
188** In "The Large Hadron Collision," Penny is throwing up in the bathroom when Leonard asks what's going on.
189--->'''Penny:''' I'm having a tea party, what do you think's going on!?
190* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: In the second Season 5 episode, Amy Farrah Fowler is playing the harp and singing "The Girl From Ipanema" when Sheldon pays her a visit.
191-->'''Amy:''' "When she walks, she's like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gentle that when she passes, each one she passes goes..."
192-->'''Sheldon:''' (Knock, knock, knock) Amy? (Knock, knock, knock) Amy? (Knock, knock, knock) Amy?
193** Also [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by Penny, who knows that Sheldon always knocks on her door in a certain way with three knocks and then saying her name:
194--->'''Sheldon:''' (Knock, knock, knock)
195--->'''Penny:''' WHO DO WE LOVE?
196--->'''Sheldon:''' Penny?
197** Sometimes Penny has clever responses for Sheldon:
198--->"What's the gist, physicist?
199* AsYouKnow: Lampshaded by Sheldon when Leonard is filling him in on developments in the A plot as a lead in to part of the B plot (specifically that of Howard and Bernadette getting back together):
200--> '''Sheldon''': Why on Earth are you telling me all this?\
201'''Leonard''': I don't know... sometimes your movements are so lifelike I forget you're not a real boy.
202* AthleticallyChallenged: The main cast are all very poor athletically. One episode that highlights this is "The Rothman Disintegration", where Sheldon and his SitcomArchNemesis Barry Kripke compete over a newly vacated office with a one-on-one game of basketball, on the reasoning that both being equally bad at sports gave them an even playing field. 45 minutes in, neither of them has sunk a single basket. They move on to a free throw contest, but that too is a bust. Sheldon finally wins when they resort to seeing who can bounce the ball highest. ("Who's 'unsatisfactory in PE' now?").
203** In a later series, in contrast to this, Kripke is shown to be good enough at fencing to teach it to the others.
204* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Sheldon. Penny sometimes, most often when she attends any of their science lectures but there is also this gem "My mother smoked pot when she was pregnant with me and I turned out fine... Oh, more wine!"
205* AuthenticationByNewspaper: When Leonard is getting ready to go to the Bakersfield [=ComicCon=], he takes a picture of him kissing Penny's cheek while she holds the day's paper to prove to the other attendees that he not only has a girlfriend but that she is also hot.
206* AuthorVocabularyCalendar: Sheldon and Amy might have a game in which they decide on their word of the day. In "The Desperation Emanation", they choose 'cornucopia' and 'mellifluous' for the next day.
207* AwkwardFirstSleepover: Amy is excited to have her first slumber party at Penny's with Penny and Bernadette. She's in her thirties and Penny and Bernadette pity her as she had no friends prior to meeting her boyfriend Sheldon and his social group. She's very awkward about the whole sleepover, e.g. she thinks girl talk is talking about female anatomy, she wants to play all the games (like truth or dare) and even tries to make a pass at Penny off-screen, claiming her internet sources list lesbian experience as a vital part of sleepovers.
208* AxCrazy: The (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist'' features a "psychotic" gorilla who kills women with an axe. In one known scene, the gorilla kills a character played by Penny. In the sequel, Penny turns into the killer gorilla herself and has homicidal urges.
209[[/folder]]
210
211
212[[folder:B]]
213* BackFromTheDead: Penny's character died in the (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist''. In the sequel ''Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill'', a MadScientist clones her. Since the clone retains the memory and personality of the original, this is treated as a resurrection.
214* BadBadActing: Sheldon and Amy trying to put on a web series "Fun with Flags." They always stare straight into the camera, even when having a "conversation" with each other.
215* BadLiar:
216** Never, ever get Bernadette to lie. It will go very badly indeed. For tropes involved see: SuspiciouslySpecificDenial, HurricaneOfExcuses, ActingUnnatural, and InventionPretension.
217** Sheldon is not a very good liar. In "The Lizard-Spock Expansion," Leonard is going to sneak out and see Stephanie, but he tells Sheldon to tell Raj and Howard that he is going to the office. Sheldon's delivery of this line is very unconvincing due to his unnecessary emphasis on the word "office" and his exaggerated innocent expression. Though it turns out that Sheldon is only bad at coming up with a lie on the spot. If given ample time, not only can he come up with a plausible and convincing lie, he can even come up with falsified evidence to support it.
218* BarrierBustingBlow: Penny is casually climbing upstairs, minding her own business, when Sheldon and Leonard's door bursts apart and a killer robot of their own invention rampages into the hallway, making her flee in terror.
219** Howard tries to perform one, but just [[EpicFail bounces right off the door]].
220* BasementDweller: Howard, only without the basement apartment. He essentially lives like he's still 15 for American standards. The norm of an adult Jew still living with their mother is even commented upon several times.
221** Though this seems to be more his mother hanging on to him than him wanting to stay though in his mind he likely does want to stay.
222* BathroomControl: The "Roommate Agreement" Sheldon makes all of his roommates sign whenever they move in includes a mandate that they are only allowed use of the bathroom for a certain block of time in the morning and specifically excludes the time he has allotted for himself.
223--> '''Sheldon:''' What time do you evacuate your bowels?
224* BavarianFireDrill: In "The Einstein Appromaxion", Sheldon decides to relax his mind by doing menial tasks in hopes of a scientific breakthrough, and ends up at the Cheesecake Factory with Penny. When she expresses surprise he was hired, he clarifies that he's not doing this for money so he didn't bother with getting hired. He just walked in, put on an apron and started bussing tables.
225* TheBeard: Penny asked Leonard to pretend that they are still together when her father came to visit, because Leonard is "the first guy he ever approved of. [[LongList You're a scientist, you went to college, you don't have a neck tattoo or outstanding warrants... or a baby.]]" Leonard, delighting in the irony, proceeds to make out with her at every opportunity.
226** Amy asked Sheldon to pretend to be her boyfriend so that her mom would get off her back. Sheldon initially confused it for an invitation to actually ''be'' her boyfriend, and was relieved when that wasn't the case. As they meet her mom over web cam, he made certain to talk about [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday how much sex they have together]].
227** Raj is set up by his parents with an Indian girl who admits she is a lesbian and wants to marry him to dispel suspicion. A twist is that she (and others, including his friends and parents) think that Raj is in the closet as well so it would be a mutual beard relationship.
228** This was the excuse used by Sheldon when he discovered [[spoiler: that Kripke was further along in his research than Sheldon was. When Kripke calls him out on this, he gives Sheldon an out by stating that Sheldon must be DistractedByTheSexy. Sheldon, not willing to admit his mental inferiority to Kripke , readily agrees. He then goes into extremely inaccurate detail about his sex life.]] Includes the gem "I gave her genitals a good rogering."
229*** In this same scene, when Kripke asks if they use "toys" meaning the adult sense of the word, Sheldon naturally assumes he is talking about his collection, not making the connection.
230--> '''Kripke:''' What about toys?\
231'''Sheldon:''' Well, yes, there's lightsabers and action figures...\
232'''Kripke:''' You're a FWEAK, Cooper!
233* BeastMan: Penny plays a Beast Woman in the (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill''. The character has mostly human features, but gorilla hands and feet. She struggles with violent, animalistic urges, triggered when she seen bananas. In one scene of the film, she bites off the finger of her doctor's receptionist. She's slowly turning more and more into a gorilla, [[{{Fanservice}} with the last part being her cleavage]].
234* BedmateReveal: In the final episode of Season 4, Raj and [[spoiler: Penny]].
235** Later on, Sheldon and [[spoiler: a book. [[{{MyGodWhatHaveIDone}} A Geology book]]]].
236* BerserkButton: Howard Wolowitz doesn't like being reminded that he doesn't have a [=PhD=]. Every time he tries to start something, Leonard tells him to sit down and he complies. He might not have a [=PhD=] but he recognizes he's too puny to do anything about it.
237** Sheldon has numerous examples:
238*** Perhaps it would be best to begin with an in-universe listing...
239---> '''Raj:''' What did you do? Did you change the contrast or brightness settings on the television?
240---> '''Leonard:''' No.
241---> '''Raj:''' Did you take a Band-Aid off in front of him?
242---> '''Leonard:''' No.
243---> '''Howard:''' Did you buy generic ketchup, forget to rinse the sink, talk to him through the bathroom door?
244---> '''Raj:''' Adjust the thermostat, cook with cilantro, pronounce the T in often?
245---> '''Leonard:''' No!
246---> ''[{{Beat}}]''
247---> '''Howard:''' ...Did you ''make fun of trains?''
248*** Don't mention Creator/WilWheaton around Sheldon, unless you want a "WHEEEEEAAAATOOOOOONNN!" that would make [[BigWordShout Shatner proud]]. They made up at the end of "The Russian Rocket Reaction" and are now good friends (according to Sheldon, anyways). Unfortunately, Creator/BrentSpiner then inadvertently replaces Creator/WilWheaton on Sheldon's Mortal Enemy list.
249*** And don't sit in Sheldon's spot on the couch. You will regret it.
250*** While Sheldon is perfectly fine with cheap shots aimed at his mother, ''do not insult his Meemaw.''
251*** Being let down by his friends, but ''especially'' Leonard, is another one. After Kripke humiliated him on NPR, his misery is compounded when he finds out Leonard laughed.
252*** Sheldon usually doesn't resort to physical violence, but question the legitimacy of his work and back up your claims with tangible proofs and all bets are off.
253*** The following exchange:
254--->"You want me to share credit?"\
255"Yes."\
256"[[GetOut GET OUT.]]"
257*** A minor example, but only his mother and sister are allowed to call him "Shelly". Furthermore, only his Meemaw is allowed to call him "Moon Pie".
258*** Amy is a new one -- Sheldon actually physically assaulted Leonard (via a karate chop to the neck), when he mistakenly believed that Leonard had been up to something with her. He also attacked Bert the geologist when he said he's over Amy now that he became rich with a grant, but looking at him, Sheldon [[NoSell literally hurt himself more than he hurt him.]]
259*** Oh and speaking of Bert, it's killing Sheldon someone in that particular science, geology, is given a grant.
260*** Four words: "'''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH0Q8NOsIR8 YOU USED MY TOOTHBRUSH?!]]'''"
261*** In the (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill'', Penny's character is a HalfHumanHybrid with both human and gorilla DNA. She has killer urges, triggered when she sees bananas.
262** Though not quite as insane as Sheldon, Bernadette is a walking panel of tiny berserk buttons. Try and dress as Cinderella when she called it.
263** More Hysteric Button, but Raj collapses in panic when anything threatens his residency status and the prospect of having to return to India looms.
264** Leslie Winkle will do anything to show up Sheldon if he's mentioned.
265* BestedAtBowling: A rare male-on-male example as Sheldon gets bested by Creator/WilWheaton in [[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS3E19TheWheatonRecurrence "The Wheaton Recurrence"]]. Also {{subverted}} in that the others acknowledge that Penny is the best bowler in the team, as she is the most physically strong. First-timer Penny beating Leonard at chess fits as well.
266* BestialityIsDepraved: What Raj believes "get back on the horse" means.
267-->'''Raj''': I'm telling you dude, the only way to make you feel better about Penny going out with other guys, is for you to get back on the whores.\
268'''Howard''': ... "horse".\
269'''Raj''': What?\
270'''Howard''': The phrase is "get back on the horse"... not "whores".\
271'''Raj''': That's disgusting, dude!
272* BetaCouple: Both Bernadette/Howard and Amy/Sheldon are relatively stable compared to Penny and Leonard's relationship. As of "The Herb Garden Germination", [[spoiler: Howard and Bernadette are engaged]] -- and in the Season 5 finale, [[spoiler:they tied the knot.]]
273* BetweenMyLegs: This shot is used with Penny's legs framing a remote control car with a camera that's trying to see... well, between her legs.
274* BewareTheNiceOnes: Bernadette, several times in Season 5. In "The Skank Reflex Analysis", when she snaps on Raj, after Leonard reveals to the group Raj's crush on her. Bernadette flips out and angrily confronts Raj, berating him to tell Howard that nothing is going on between the two of them. This is somewhat Lampshaded in the scene.
275** In "The Recombination Hypothesis", Bernadette flat-out states to Howard that she is [[{{Yandere}} a "vengeful person" and has access to "weaponized smallpox" if Howard were to ever hurt her]].[[spoiler: Although, at the end, it's revealed that Leonard was imagining most of the episode, including this comment from Bernadette]]
276** Bernadette, when pushed far enough (which doesn't take much due to her short temper), screams/talks in the same manner as [[TheUnseen Howards's mother]]; he finds this sexy. Although Bernadette is more of a [[CuteAndPsycho Yangire]] than an actual nice one.
277** Penny assumes her friend Emily is automatically nice because she's deaf, and people with disabilities can't afford not to be kind to everyone. Not quite.
278%%** Bernadette with children.
279%%* BigBookOfWar: The Roommate Agreement
280* BigBrotherInstinct: Sheldon briefly becomes [[KnightTemplarBigBrother very protective]] of who his twin sister dates, though subverted as its only because he comes to the conclusion that residing in her loins possibly lies the potential building blocks for her to have an offspring who is ''another'' remarkable individual like himself; Sheldon 2.0, if you will.
281** Cue one GroinAttack from Missy.
282* BigDamnHeroes: Sheldon describes this trope as well as merging it with ChangedMyMindKid to explain a resolution when Raj was getting downsized and possibly deported.
283--> Like the supporting character in a movie where they disappear for much of the second reel, only to return in the third act coming to the rescue, I have a solution... (complete silence) Odd, they usually cheer.
284* BigNo:
285** Sheldon lets one out when he realizes that he locked himself out of his apartment, ruining his perfect night alone.
286** Sheldon when a "terrifying" song bird flies through the apartment window and lands on his couch space.
287** Raj when he gets too attached to the female voice on his phone, has a sex-dream about her as a woman, only to find out that once again, he can no longer speak.
288** Leonard gives a spontaneous BigNo the moment after Bernadette introduces her ex-boyfriend Glen, to Penny, in "The Love Car Displacement", as a ride for Penny back to Los Angeles. Leonard is understandably worried as it is strongly implied that Glen is well-endowed, and Leonard was attempting to rekindle his romance with Penny.
289* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Bernadette's old boyfriend Glen in "The Love Car Displacement" is strongly implied to possess a massive cock due to his physical size. The episode revolves around the guys' notion that BiggerIsBetterInBed and their insecurities about that.
290** It's strongly implied the guys were assuming Glen was well-endowed due to his race as well (he was played by Rick Fox)
291* BilingualBonus: Amy Farrah-Fowler invokes this in Episode 22 of Season 4. You can still get the gist of the sentence, but Amy was called a whore in Spanish.
292-->'''Amy Farrah-Fowler''': I used to take my lunch down to the maintenance room and eat with the janitor. It was nice until his wife called me a 'puta' and made me stop.
293** Chinese speakers will recognize that Sheldon asking the Chinese restaurant owner to "[[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels show me your mucus]]" in "The Tangerine Factor" is indeed a very mangled attempt to say "show me your tangerine peels".
294** On the whiteboard in shot during ''The Staircase Implementation'' are references to ''B-Stoff'' and ''C-Stoff''. Anyone fluent in German who also knows a little about Werner von Braun, who designed the V1 and V2 rockets used to blitz England in 1944-45 and went on to lead the American space race, will recognize the ''x-Stoff'' references as shorthand for the various lethal components of wartime German rocket fuels. And of course, in this episode, Leonard gets hold of some NASA rocket fuel and ends up destroying the elevator with it. As surely as if he'd dropped a V-2 down the shaft.
295** The guys occasionally converse in fluent Klingon. In one episode, Sheldon and Leonard do so to prevent Penny and Amy from understanding them; the girls respond by talking in Ubbi Dubbi, confounding the guys.
296* BirthdayEpisode: "The Peanut Reaction". After learning that Leonard has never had a birthday party, Penny decides to throw him one and drags the others into helping her. It doesn't go well, naturally. The title, for instance, refers to [[spoiler: Howard triggering his peanut allergy as a desperate attempt to keep Leonard away until the party]].
297** The Season 9 episode "The Celebration Experimentation" has Sheldon get a proper birthday celebration with friends after getting mistreated on past birthdays, just as noted in the next trope below. But at first, Sheldon is so briskly overwhelmed by it he has a panic attack.
298* BirthdayHater: Sheldon has some mental scars from past birthdays relating to his general aversion to socialization. Leonard is pretty apathetic as far as birthdays go because his mother didn't like the concept, but appreciates the gesture when his friends plan a surprise party for him.
299** Sheldon finally has a positive & comforting birthday celebration in "The Celebration Experimentation." But before he can celebrate he has a panic attack due to being adapted to much abuse on his past birthdays that such a positive change in this birthday's overwhelming.
300* BitchInSheepsClothing: Priya, since she refused to let Penny see Leonard when they were dating, pressured him to wear contacts despite the fact that they put him in the hospital, strung him when she knew that she was going back to India, and [[spoiler:slept with her ex-boyfriend when she was back in India]]. Not to mention telling Leonard she'd break up with him if he didn't sign the ridiculous new roommate agreement, because Sheldon was threatening to tell her parents about their relationship.
301** Raj can also be a bit like this. Howard lampshades it in "The Zazzy Substitution".
302* BitingTheHandHumor: [[https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/116821698597553773070 One 2015 Chuck Lorre Productions ending plate]] complains about the decision to make the 2017 ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series exclusive to CBS All-Access.
303* BizarreAlienBiology : Discussed in Season One. "How come everyone on 'Franchise/StarTrek' has the same body parts? No one ever says 'Hey, Spock, get that thing out of my nose.'?"
304* BlackHumor: Pretty much anything involving Bernadette's microbiology research. Amy's neurobiology work with monkeys sometimes qualifies as well.
305* BlahBlahBlah:
306-->'''Leonard''': Are you even listening to me?\
307'''Sheldon''': Of course I'm listening. Blah, blah, hopeless Penny delusion, blah, blah, blah.
308* BlandNameProduct:
309** Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon watch an episode of ''Oshikuru Demon Samurai''. The actual dialogue heard played is from real series ''Anime/BoogiepopPhantom''. ''Oshikuru'' is a fictional anime series also mentioned in ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen''.
310** While the show accurately describes the premises of both ''VideoGame/AgeOfConan'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', any specific location, weapon, or other equipment mentioned in the show is probably fake. For now, at least; Blizzard has no problem [[AscendedMeme embracing a fictional representation]] of ''[=WoW=]''.
311*** However, in "The Zarnecki Incursion," many of the ''[=WoW=]'' references were true to the game.
312** If you pay attention during the cafeteria scenes at the university, the coke cans say things like "Dr Peeper".
313* BlatantLies: When attempting to get information out of a male character in ''World of Warcraft'', Raj (playing a female character) sighs and volunteers, "I see where this is going. Fine. I'll have sex with him." Everyone gives him a look and Leonard responds "That's not where this was going." Raj gives the most unconvincing shifty-eyed look ever while saying "Oh. Good. Because I would hate that."
314* BlindDate: Penny sets Raj up with a DisabledLoveInterest.
315** Howard meets Bernadette through a blind date, after Leonard convinces Penny to have one of her friends go on a double date. It goes poorly until [[BirdsOfAFeather they bond over their overbearing mothers]].
316** Bernadette sets Leonard up on one in Season 4. Leonard finds his date to be completely miserable.
317* {{Blipvert}}: The title sequence presents a chronological series of [[http://www.haraldkraft.de/thebigbangtheory/ together 109 images]] of the great moments and inventions in human history. Even in the early days, each image appears for a fraction of a second, but the pace really picks up when we get to the Industrial Revolution; progress occurs so quickly that each image appears for only a single frame.
318* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Sheldon Cooper has a unique and well-developed sense of right and wrong that makes absolute perfect sense... to Sheldon. To everybody else, this can often make him come across as hard to understand, awkward, arrogant, selfish, and insensitive at times. Justified by whatever unnamed and undiagnosed personality disorder he exhibits, which makes him see the world in pretty black-and-white terms, have obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and have a general inability to understand social mores.
319** His weird personal moral rigidness often comes bouncing back in surprising ways. For example, he loans Penny a large amount of money and is completely casual about when she should repay him, reasoning that it is money he isn't using and will not need.
320* BluntYes: A common gag involves one character making a convoluted yes/no question, often rhetorically, only for another character to answer it bluntly.
321* BodyBackupDrive: Sheldon wants to do this, but is concerned that the technology won't be ready by the time his body dies.
322* BollywoodNerd: Raj milks this for all its worth, claiming to have grown up in poverty before moving to America to pursue his dream of becoming an astrophysicist.
323-->'''Howard''': Your dad's a gynecologist! He drives a Bentley!
324** He later admitted that he grew up in a large home with servants and according to him "We don't allow our poor people to have dreams."
325* BookDumb: Although Penny is more street-smart, sociable, and tolerant than any of the guys, she's easily exasperated and put off by even trying to learn anything related to science. Except that fig Newtons are named after the town in Massachusetts, not the scientist.
326** "Don't write that down!"
327** This dynamic is reversed in "The Thespian Catalyst", where Penny, during an acting lesson to Sheldon, suggests they read lines from Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof''. Sheldon has no idea who Tennessee Williams is, and insists they work with his own ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfiction.
328** During one episode, Bernadette and Amy are talking about some complicated scientific subject, and Penny chimes in with comments that are right up to snuff with them. As they look on astonished, she quips, "See, my phone is as smart as you two!" with a big grin on her face.
329* BookEnds: The final shot of the entire show is the gang enjoying takeaway while a slow version of the theme song plays, referencing the intro.
330* BookSmart: All the main characters except Penny are brilliant when it comes to science and academics.
331* BoringBroadcaster: Played with in the episode "The Vengeance Formulation". Sheldon gets an interview with Ira Flatow on NPR's ''Science Friday'' to a discuss a "recent so-called discovery of magnetic monopoles in spin ices", since they wanted to [[RatingsStunt "goose the ratings" for pledge week]] with something controversial. When [[SitcomArchNemesis Barry Kripke]] [[HeliumSpeech pumps helium]] into the office where Sheldon was doing the interview from, [[HilarityEnsues hilarity]] (and [[CoveredInGunge payback]]) ensues.
332* BrainsAndBondage: Dr. Elizabeth Plimpton from "The Plimpton Stimulation." Smart enough to earn Sheldon's regard; tries to get Raj, Howard, and Leonard into a four-way and is very enthusiastic about sexual roleplay.
333* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Sheldon's comment during his therapy session with Leonard has this:
334-->'''Sheldon:''' Let me save you some time, my answers to the standard Rorschach ink blot test are A) a bat, B) a bat, C) a bat and D) my father killing my mother with a hypodermic needle.
335** Also, Sheldon's response when Raj is facing deportation:
336-->'''Sheldon:''' I believe it means that the U.S. Government is going to expel him from the country. He could then either return to his native India, emigrate to another country that’s willing to accept him, or wander the high seas as a stateless pirate. Personally, I’d choose pirate.
337* BreakTheHaughty: Sheldon is sometimes caught up by karma. The rest of the gang occasionally succeeds in proving him wrong, humiliating him or shutting him up but it's subverted by the fact that he never seems to lose his arrogance. Usually, he won't admit he was wrong, even to himself, and will go through incredible contortions to maintain his self-image as perfect.
338* BreakfastInBed: Sheldon makes Leonard a set of Hobbit themed pancakes, ostensibly as an apology for his recent {{Jerkass}} behavior but actually a thinly veiled bribe attempt to get Leonard to choose him over Penny to go the the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, as Leonard had been invited and permitted one guest.
339* BreakingBadNewsGently: Leonard says he's in bed when told to sit down.
340* BreakingInOldHabits: Howard + cutting-edge robotic hand.
341* BreakoutCharacter: Both Bernadette and Amy Farrah Fowler started out as sporadic recurring characters introduced in the third season and given their own little plot lines in the fourth. While they may not always show up unlike the core 5, they are credited as stars in the episodes they appear, and have appeared much more frequently than before. Starting from Season 5, they can be expected to appear in any given episode and get just as much focus as any of the other characters. By the end of the show they were an integral part of the main cast with equal screentime.
342* BrickJoke:
343** In Season 1 Episode "The Grasshopper Experiment," the guys discuss their enjoyment of ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof.'' At the very end, Sheldon plays and sings a drunken song from the play.
344** In one episode, Wolowitz, Raj, and Leonard reveal in a passing joke that they always thought that Sheldon reproduced asexually via mitosis. At the very end of the episode, Leonard has a nightmare about this very thing happening, after not being mentioned for half an episode.
345** There's an extremely delayed one hiding in the first episode. The "200-pound transvestite with a skin condition" shows up in the flashback episode at the end of Season 3.
346** In one scene, Penny is violently breaking up with unseen boyfriend. She storms to the guys' apartment, opens the window and throws out his iPod. When Raj walks in moments later, guess what he found on the street? Jackpot, an iPod.
347** In "The Friendship Algorithm," Sheldon mentions his fear of birds. It's revisited in Season 5.
348** In "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary", Leonard says "Warlord beats Troll, Troll beats Elf, Elf beats Water Sprite, and basically everything beats Enchanted Bunny". During Sheldon and Raj's final match with Creator/WilWheaton and Stuart, [[spoiler:Sheldon feels bad for Wil's grandma dying, so he plays Enchanted Bunny... and loses.]]
349** In Season 3 episode, in the first scene, Raj, Howard and Leonard run down the stairs shouting "Kites ho!", incurring Sheldon to give a speech on the correct use of the term 'ho'. Later, when Sheldon asks why Leonard went through the trouble of learning the rules of American football so as not to embarrass himself in front of Penny's friends -- and therefore still be able to see her -- when he could have more easily paid someone else to have sex with him.
350--->'''Sheldon''': Am I correct in assuming that your attempt to be accepted by Penny's peers is based on your desire to continue your mating privileges with her? Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for intercourse. Don't you have access to women who will do it for money? By the way, another accepted use of the term 'ho'.
351** In The "Hamburger Postulate", Sheldon points out that the name "The Soup Plantation" is odd since you can't grow soup. A few minutes later, after an unrelated conversation, Leonard remarks that you can grow the ingredients for soup.
352** In Penny's car, a 'check engine' light is on and people keep reminding her that she should do something about it. Finally pays off in Season 7 when Penny's car breaks down for good.
353** Combined with a running gag: Everytime Sheldon is called either 'insane' or 'crazy' he counters by saying that his mother had him tested. Until S05E06, when Leonard calls him crazy in his mother's presence, she mentions that she *did* have him tested, and the doctor said he was fine... but that she should rather have consulted a specialist.
354** In "The Prestidigitation Approximation", Leonard suggests the possibility of Priya wearing Raj's Uhura costume during sex. Six episodes later, Raj hears their "astronomically inaccurate Franchise/StarTrek sex" from the living room.
355** In Season 6, one episode opens on Sheldon discussing the possibility of a Frisbee sized wormhole. At the end of the episode, Raj and Howard discover he's created one. [[spoiler:Turns out it's a prank.]]
356** An almost-literal brick joke happens in Season 2, when Howard tests his modifications to the [[spoiler:space toilet]] [[note]]"It's classified!"[[/note]] with his mother's meatloaf. The toilet shoots the meatload upward, and it sticks to the ceiling. It falls back down, just like a falling brick, by the end of the episode.
357** In Season 6, the crew of the International Space Station make Howard clean out the space-toilet he designed, as revenge for the incident back in Series 2, when it malfunctioned and covered the entire interior of the station in excrement.
358** In "The Convention Conundrum", Sheldon is scared to call Carrie Fisher because he thinks she might be a little crazy. Later, when hanging out with James Earl Jones, James Earl Jones confirmed she is a bit crazy [[spoiler:from James Earl Jones ringing her doorbell and then running]].
359** Howard's exclamations of "I'm Batman!" while in full costume, which are hilarious both due to his pint-sized stature and overall imitation of Christian Bale's deep and gravelly voice in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.
360* BriefAccentImitation:
361** Howard occasionally imitates an exaggerated Indian accent. For example, in “The Grasshopper Experiment” he pretends to be Raj on the phone.
362** Once, when high on hippie cookies, Raj made fun of Leonard's American accent by replicating it with a surprisingly good American accent of his own.
363** In the fourth season finale, Penny does a pretty good impression of Raj's Indian accent.
364** Bernadette tries her hand at it in Season 6. She's rather horrified when she realizes that it [[HomoeroticSubtext turns Howard on when she sounds like Raj]].
365*** (or maybe, Priya?)
366* BrainyBrunette: All of the main four have brown hair, and all have anywhere from above average to freakishly high intelligence levels. Leslie Winkle and Sheldon's graduate assistant, Alex, are female examples.
367** In later seasons, we have Amy Farrah Fowler.
368* BrilliantButLazy:
369** ''Leonard'', at least according to his mother and Sheldon. Both express the opinion that Leonard is slumming it by doing no original research and baffled at why he's content confirming the results of experiments done by others. Leonard does point out that confirming results ''validates'' the major scientific experiments and that just because it's not cutting-edge research, doesn't mean its not very important work. When Sheldon came up with a new theory that was highly praised, Leonard was quick to remind him that he created the experiment that ''proved'' it; the scientific community wouldn't just "[[InsufferableGenius take his word for it]]".
370** Sheldon seems to be a fairly accomplished cook. Amy notes that his sourdough bread is excellent and he prepares Leonard a delicious looking and pretty complex breakfast in bed (Frodo-shaped pancakes, butterscotch scones etc). Despite this, he almost never cooks (instead ordering different takeaway food every night), and Leonard usually does any home cooking, despite Penny noting that "he can't."
371* BrokenAesop: The Habitation Configuration. This episode has Amy being hard and ruthless about Wil Wheaton's "wooden" acting on Fun with Flags, and he rightfully calls her out on being a pain in the ass. Amy then asks him to leave, which Sheldon objects to, and then she acts like a ClingyJealousGirl about it. Throughout the episode, Sheldon is told by the likes of Leonard and Penny that he should have had Amy's back. At the end of the episode, when she is treating [=LeVar=] Burton in the same manner, Sheldon comments, "I don't know what she's talking about, but I'm obligated to agree with her. She's my girlfriend." Sheldon's behaviour is supposed to be typical of his oddness, but in fact, other than the two said celebrities, he is the OnlySaneMan throughout this situation.
372* BrutalHonesty: Sheldon is a practitioner.
373-->'''Sheldon:''' Dr. Stephanie is the only person Leonard has dated that I can tolerate.\
374'''Penny:''' Hey! What about me?\
375'''Sheldon:''' ...the statement stands for itself.
376* ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt: Amy invokes changing the physical parameters of her relationship with Sheldon at various points.
377--> '''Amy''': *''drunk''* What would it take for you to go into that liquor store, buy a bottle of hooch, then go to the motel over the street and ''have your way with me?''\
378--> '''Amy''': Proposal: one wild night of torrid lovemaking that soothes my soul and inflames my loins.
379* ButNowIMustGo: Amy's time traveler FanFic character Cooper uses this reasoning. He stays in the 19th century for a while, and then explains to his love interest Amelia: “I can’t stay, but I will never forget you.” Just before attempting to leave with his TimeMachine.
380* ButThatIWouldBelieve: Leonard and Raj think they see Creator/NathanFillion eating lunch while they're picking up a meal they've ordered and ask him for an autograph. He politely declines, explaining that he's just a lookalike. Leonard apologizes for bothering him on the way out, so he admits that he ''is'' Nathan Fillion but he just wanted privacy. Since they were respectful, he offers them a picture... but now Raj thinks he ''isn't'' Nathan Fillion after all. When convincing Raj doesn't work, he (annoyedly) offers a picture with a Nathan Fillion lookalike, which Raj happily accepts.
381* ButtMonkey: All four of the main male characters, in different ways:
382** Leonard. The show has gone out of its way, particularly in recent seasons, to make his life more miserable...and it's always PlayedForLaughs, regardless of Leonard's progressively damaged psyche.
383** Sheldon is often on the receiving end of a lot of humiliation and punishment, not that he doesn't bring it on himself, though.
384** Howard is often made fun of by everyone else (sometimes, even [[HypocriticalHumor Penny]]) for his lack of a doctoral degree, his relationship with his mother and his being a CasanovaWannabe. He was also the ButtMonkey to the other astronauts when he was in the space.
385** Raj's inability to speak around women often makes him this, as he has to whisper his comments to Howard, who pretends he said something completely different.
386** Stuart Bloom as well for that matter. Everything he says is [[TheEeyore depressing.]] His idea of being "cocky" is to claim that he's "unobjectionable." He can be stood up by a stray cat.
387** Alex. Only natural since she is Sheldon's assistant.
388[[/folder]]
389
390
391[[folder:C]]
392* CalculatorSpelling: In one episode, Raj maintains that 5,318,008 is the best number specifically because it spells "boobies" when turned upside down on a calculator.
393* CalculusIsArcaneKnowledge: Four of the five main characters know advanced physics, and the math behind it. But most non-scientists on the show seem to have not even gotten to linear algebra.
394* CaliforniaUniversity: Averted; Caltech is of course a real (and well-known) university in Pasadena, CA. In a strange variation though, given the ages of each character it is unlikely they would have stayed with the same university as long as they have, at least since about 2002. It's largely just practical for the purposes of a show but it could also be that they are just comfortable with the [[StatusQuoIsGod current status of their careers]].
395** Also averted in the sense that everyone in the cast grew up in different locations and went to school at different places, they all found a job at Caltech. Raj is from India and went to Cambridge, Howard appears to be a local but he went to school at MIT, Leonard is from New Jersey and went to Princeton, and Sheldon is from Texas and went to East Texas.
396* CallBack:
397** Early in the second season, you catch the tail end of a conversation Penny was having with a boyfriend of the week, where she was trying to explain UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat to him. In the first season, Sheldon used that principle of quantum physics as an analogy towards the possibility of a relationship between her and Leonard. This also doubles as {{foreshadow}}ing, showing that Penny is starting to enjoy or at least retain the scientific concepts and mental exercises the others often explain to her.
398** In the fourth season, Penny gave Leonard a surprise kiss in front of her father, trying to placate him by pretending she and Leonard were together. Leonard stumbled back into his apartment and explained what happened to the guys, and they started joking over Leonard pining after Penny again, with Raj making a direct quote from the pilot episode as a Leonard classic "Our children will be smart ''[[NerdsAreSexy and]]'' beautiful."
399** In Season 1, a sick Sheldon asks Penny, who is nursing him, to sing him a song his mother use to sing to him when he was sick, "Soft Kitty." The next season, Sheldon was homesick after being locked out of his apartment and asks Penny to sing the song to him, seeing homesick as a type of sick. The following season, after Sheldon is betrayed by the guys, Penny attempts to console him with "Soft Kitty," but is interrupted by Sheldon since 'Sad is not sick.' Again in the third season, when Sheldon is taking care of Penny after she dislocated her shoulder and was doped up on pain medication, she asks him to sing the song to her. In Season 5, Sheldon's mom actually sings it to him.
400** Way back when Penny and Leonard started dating, Leonard makes a reference to Music/TheBlackEyedPeas, only for Penny to point out he had no idea who they were until he started dating her. Fast forward a few seasons and we catch Leonard rocking out to "I've Got a Feeling" on his way to work.
401** In the first two episodes of the series, Sheldon and Leonard talk about "Louis/Louise," the transvestite cop who was the previous occupant of Penny's apartment. Later, during the WholeEpisodeFlashback "The Staircase Implementation" in Season Six, Leonard knocks on the door of that apartment, which is opened by Louis--who's wearing a full evening gown and diamond earrings.
402** Way back in season 1, Dennis Kim tells Sheldon string theory is a dead end and he'll see it one day. Well...
403** In season six, Amy says that she has a five-year plan to get Sheldon to marry her. Sheldon proposed in season ten. They married in the end of season eleven; thus she timed it perfectly.
404** Sheldon recalls Leonard's insistence on his babies with Penny being "smart and beautiful" [[spoiler:during Sheldon's Nobel Prize acceptance speech]], and actually agrees with the statement [[spoiler:now that they're expecting]] instead of scoffing at the idea.
405* CallingYourBathroomBreaks: Sheldon actually insists on a bathroom schedule, occasionally attempting to discuss it with others. Leonard's mother, likewise, stands and says "I have to urinate," before going to the bathroom.
406* CameBackWrong: Penny's character died in the (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist''. In the sequel ''Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill'', a MadScientist clones her. Since the clone retains the memory and personality of the original, this is treated as a resurrection. Only a mistake caused her DNA to be mixed with that of the KillerGorilla who killed her. So the clone is more BeastMan than human and has killer urges inherited from the gorilla.
407* TheCameo:
408** In the episode where Raj gets in ''People'' Magazine's "Top 30 under 30", he brags about it to some guy sitting nearby. This turns out to be Charlie from ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', who tells him to call when he's on the cover. (This is a direct reference to the fact that Creator/CharlieSheen has indeed been on the cover of ''People'' many, ''many'' times.)
409** In Season 3, Creator/LewisBlack plays an entomologist who settles a dispute between Sheldon and Howard.
410** Quite a few famous scientists and other nerd-based celebrities have popped up playing themselves. Creator/StephenHawking, Brian Greene, George Smoot, and UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson on the science side. Creator/SummerGlau, Creator/StanLee, Creator/GeorgeTakei, Creator/KateeSackhoff (twice), Brent Spiner, [=LeVar=] Burton (twice), and Creator/LeonardNimoy on the nerd side.
411* CampStraight: Apparently, the reason why many people (including his parents) think that Raj is gay, much to his chagrin;
412--> '''Raj''': Wait, you don't want to put a bite of that in your mouth without trying my homemade Chantilly cream!
413--> {{Beat}}
414--> '''Raj''': Yeah, okay, ''that'' time I heard it!
415* CannotSpitItOut: In the last few episodes of season two it becomes apparent that Penny has started to fall in love with Leonard, but was not ready to tell him (likely because of how awkward things got when they tried dating earlier). In the season finale "The Monopolar Expedition", Leonard and the others are preparing to leave for a three-month long expedition to the North Pole and Penny starts acting oddly: upset about not being informed earlier, buying him a blanket (with sleeves) and giving him an unusually long hug goodbye. Leonard catches on to the hints and tries confronting her about it, which she deflects and denies. Once Leonard leaves she privately admits sadly she wished he wasn't going. When they return the first thing she does is plant a big kiss on him, seeming after having plenty of time regretting not telling him how she felt.
416** This is once again brought up during "The Justice League Recombination where, it's clearly evident that Penny is regretting her break up with Leonard and is only dating Zack simply to distract herself. When Leonard questions her to why she's sad, she's unable to tell him and instead chooses to attend the comic book store party instead.
417** Penny is also reluctant to tell Leonard she loves him due to her CommitmentIssues, she evetually does tell him after they get back together and the emotional gravity of the moment makes her cry.
418** PlayedForLaughs In "The Cooper Extraction", where the gang explore WhatIf scenarios with the premise that Sheldon isn't in their lives. Leonard and Sheldon aren't roommates, and Leonard and Penny are not neighbours. In Penny's scenario, Leonard meets Penny at the Cheesecake Factory and wants to ask her out. He fails to say anything other than asking for directions to the restroom. Preventing any relationship from occuring.
419* CannotTellAJoke: In "The Hesitation Ramification", Sheldon attempts to develop a unified theory of comedy to make anyone laugh at any time. Pretty much every attempt he makes to tell a joke falls into this category.
420* CantHoldHisLiquor:
421** Sheldon. [[spoiler:It helps him get over his stage fright, but boy, does it send him off the deep end.]] In a later episode, he uses tequila as an impromptu mouthwash and admitted he might have swallowed a teeny bit. He immediately follows by an offhand "I love you so much" to Leonard. Even coffee to keep him awake makes him quite hyperactive.
422*** Likewise, [[DistaffCounterpart Amy]]. [[spoiler:It not only renders her incapable of multiplying 14x16 and causes massive vomiting followed by passing out, but she also flirts with and ''kisses'' Sheldon.]]
423---->'''Sheldon:''' [[DullSurprise Fascinating]].
424** In an interesting case of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome, Raj finds that he can't talk to woman without a little bit of a buzz (it has sometimes just required one sip or at least the PlaceboEffect). Initially, while capable of talking to women he also very quickly became drunk and obnoxious. As he continued, his ability to hold his liquor improves drastically, and that trailed into his success with women.
425* CaptainObvious: Sheldon. An example in "The Financial Permeability", when Penny tells him that she's behind on her bills:
426--> '''Sheldon:''' It occurs to me you could solve all your problems by obtaining more money.
427--> '''Penny:''' [[DeadpanSnarker ...Yes, it occurs to me, too.]]
428** When Leonard's car gets stolen in "The Bakersfield Expedition":
429---> '''Sheldon:''' STEALING IS AGAINST THE LAW!
430* CaretakerReversal: In Season 1, Sheldon gets sick and makes Penny take care of him. In Season 3, Penny gets injured and makes Sheldon take her to the hospital and take care of her afterwards. What connects these two instances most solidly is the song "Soft Kitty." Sheldon teaches the song to Penny to sing to him ('cause that's what his mother did when he was sick as a youngster). Then, when Penny is injured, she makes him sing it to her.
431--> '''Penny:''' Sing "Soft Kitty" to me.
432--> '''Sheldon:''' "Soft Kitty" is for when you're sick. You're not sick.
433-->'''Penny:''' Injured and drugged is a kind of sick.
434* CarRideGames: Throughout the show, Sheldon is shown to be a big fan of car ride games. He doesn't drive and his friends usually have to give him a lift to work. He can be quite anal about the games, and it usually shows him as the InsufferableGenius obsessed with science and facts or an adult man who still behaves like a small child.
435** "The Euclid Alternative": Sheldon attempts to play Element Letters with Penny who drives him, but he ends up playing by himself. One player begins by saying an element, then the other player says an element where the first letter starts with the last one that the first player said.
436--->'''Sheldon:'' Okay. I'll say an element, and uh, you say an element whose name starts with the last letter of the one I said, okay? I'll start. Helium. Now, you could say Mercury. That would give me a Y. Ooh. Very clever, that’s a tough one. So I go Ytterbium, which gets you back to M. So you go Molybdenum, and I say Magnesium, you say Manganese, and I say Europium, and, and you're left with Mendelevium, and there are no more M's because I believe that Meitnerium should still be called Ekairidium, so congratulations, you win. Do you wanna go again?
437** "Love Car Displacement": Sheldon acts like a travel supervisor for two cars of them travelling to a conference together.
438*** Sheldon insists on communicating over walkie-talkies using code names which is portrayed as annoying to the people in the other car.
439*** They play a game with yes/no questions.
440---->'''Leonard:''' Are you an element in the actinoid series?\
441'''Sheldon:''' No. Amy?\
442'''Amy:''' Are you usually radioactive when found in nature?\
443'''Sheldon:''' No.\
444'''Amy:''' Are you in the lanthanoid series?\
445'''Sheldon:''' Amy, it's Penny's turn. Penny?\
446'''Penny:''' Uh, I don't know. Are you food?\
447'''Sheldon:''' That’s not apropos. We’ve already established I'm found in the periodic table.\
448'''Penny:''' Well, it's a table, right? I mean, why can't there be food on it?
449*** At the end, Sheldon tries to play a game with people from the other car over radio, but Howard throws his walkie-talkie out of window.
450----> '''Sheldon:''' Red Leader to Red Five. Red Leader to Red Five. Anybody up for a little game? I spy with my little eye, a nonferrous metal.
451** "The Bakersfield Expedition": On their trip, Sheldon keeps insisting that they enable the turn-by-turn voice option on the GPS. When Leonard finally turns it on, they discover that Sheldon has downloaded his voice with "fun" trip facts and quiz questions into the GPS software. Raj thinks that it's cool, while Howard wants Leonard to drive off the next bridge. In the final scene, the car thieves are seen driving Leonard's car while listening to Sheldon's modified GPS. The two find the facts interesting and the quizzes fun.
452** In "Workplace Proximity", Amy is invited to consult on an experiment at Caltech university for a few months. She thinks she and her boyfriend Sheldon could carpool and have lunch together. Sheldon mentions that riding with Leonard has gotten a little tedious lately. The only car game he ever wants to play is the Quiet Game. And Leonard's terrible at it because Sheldon always wins.
453** "The Large Hadron Collision" is a Valentine's Day episode where Leonard suggests playing a car game to cheer Sheldon up. Sheldon is being a sourpuss because Leonard is going to Switzerland on a business trip and is taking Penny with him as a romantic getaway while Sheldon insists he should go with him. Sheldon thinks up a game titled Traitor. He names a group of three people, one of them being Leonard, and while Leonard is supposed to put them in order of the heinousness of their betrayal.
454--->'''Leonard:''' Okay, I know what'll cheer you up, let's play one of your driving games.\
455'''Sheldon:''' All right. This game is called Traitors. I will name three historical figures, you put them in order of the heinousness of their betrayal. Benedict Arnold, Judas, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter.\
456'''Leonard:''' You really think I belong with Benedict Arnold and Judas?\
457'''Sheldon:''' You're right. Judas had the decency to hang himself after what he did.
458** In "Skywalker Intrusion", Sheldon wants to play a physics car game called I Can't Spy.
459---> '''Sheldon:''' Would you like to play a physics car game I invented called I Can't Spy? It's all the nail-biting tension of I Spy but the added fun of subatomic particles and waves outside the visible spectrum.
460** "The Guitarist Amplification" is an episode where Leonard and Penny fight. Sheldon wants to play a car game called Scientists, but Leonard completely ignores Sheldon and keeps talking about his fight with Penny.
461--->'''Sheldon:''' It’s called Scientists. Now, I will name three scientists, then you will put them in order of the size of their contribution to their respective fields. To make this game even more compelling, you must consider only the contribution of the man to the field, not the validity of the field itself. For example, Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayn made a greater contribution to the discredited field of alchemy than Halbert Vanderplatt made to neurobiology. Okay, ready to have some fun?\
462'''Leonard:''' An old boyfriend who’s definitely not gay. That's what a guy likes to hear, definitely.\
463'''Sheldon:''' All right, I’ll start with an easy one, um, Isaac Newton, Madame Curie and Niels Bohr.\
464'''Leonard:''' And then I say one little thing and I end up being the bad guy!\
465'''Sheldon:''' Hint, Madame Curie had her husband to help her.
466** "The Collaboration Contamination": Sheldon wants to to play an extremely annoying car game "What Siren Am I?" and later has an idea for "What Whistle Am I?" He wails and imitates a siren. Leonard guesses it's French police, but it's actually Belgian ambulance.
467* CasanovaWannabe:
468%% ** Howard.
469%%** Raj when he's drunk -- although at those times he often also has at least a touch of TheCasanova, DependingOnTheWriter... or the type of intoxication.
470* CastingGag:
471** The actors who play Leonard and Leslie previously played David and Darlene on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''. Sheldon's mother is played by Laurie Metcalf, also from ''Roseanne''. Christine Baranski co-starred in ''Cybill'', also written/produced by Chuck Lorre (who was writer/producer for ''Roseanne''). Bernadette's father is played by Casey Sander, who co-star Ed in Lorre's Series/GraceUnderFire
472** Judd Hirsch as Leonard's father. Johnny Galecki mentioned in interviews that he was inspired by Hirsch's role in ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' when it comes to being the StraightMan of the cast, and was influential in bringing him on the show.
473** Katey Sagal is once again Creator/KaleyCuoco's mother, as in ''Series/EightSimpleRules''.
474* {{Catfight}}: Occurs when Penny and new neighbor Alicia's rivalry over her leading Raj, Leonard, and Howard on culminates in a "What're you gonna do about it, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch]]?"
475** Somewhat lampshaded by Wolowitz:
476--->'''Howard''': Oh, my God... GIRLFIGHT! [''pins Leonard's arms behind his back'']\
477'''Leonard''': What're you doing?\
478'''Howard''': I know you, you're stupid enough to break it up!
479** Almost reached that point with an argument between Amy and Bernadette that spilled over from an argument between Sheldon and Howard. The only thing that prevented it was the first swing hitting [[TheHeart Penny]] in the face.
480* CatharticChores: In the last season, Amy is distressed because she feels too much pressure once she's told she has a chance to be the fourth woman to receive Nobel Prize for Physics. As such she could inspire numerous women to choose a career in STEM. (Two scientists stole a credit for her and her husband's groundbreaking work and her public outburst at them didn't help at all.) They try sensory deprivation therapy: Sheldon is calmed down, but Amy is still anxious and once they get home, she starts scrubbing their fridge.
481* CavemenVsAstronautsDebate: Often done with the guys getting into massive arguments over geek items or general discussions like whether mummies and zombies are basically the same thing. Although it gets epic when the girls try experimenting with reading ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' and found it to be stupid, but ended up getting into a complicated and intense debate over the mechanics of lifting Mjölnir.
482-->'''Penny:''' If Franchise/HarryPotter's wand can make decisions why not Thor's hammer?\
483'''Amy:''' If you are going to start comparing wands and hammers... I cannot take you seriously!
484* CelebrityParadox: Given the sheer number of references to pop culture, any major guest star is likely to fall into this if they are not already [[AsHimself playing themselves]].
485** The geeks have a discussion about both Danica [=McKellar=] and Creator/MayimBialik in one first season episode. It would've been weird enough if just the former had played a bit part later in the series, but when the latter plays Sheldon's ''date'' and eventually gets a starring role, this gets a bit weird''er''...
486** Creator/WilWheaton wears a t-shirt of "''WebVideo/TheGuild''", which Simon Helberg (Howard) once appeared in as the "Kevinator".
487** A Season 2 episode has the boys watching ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' and even go to the model house to meet some of the contestants [[AsHimself playing themselves]]. However, [[Creator/LioTipton one of those contestants]] guest starred again [[YouAllLookFamiliar many years later as a different character]].
488** Raj's dad is played by Brian George, the same actor who plays Julian Bashir's father in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', but none of the guys (who are all avid ''Star Trek'' fans) have noticed.
489** Sheldon's previous flatmate was played by Creator/StevenYeun, who plays Glenn in ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. A few seasons later, Sheldon asks Leonard if he wants to watch that very show.
490** In the first season, they group mention their love of the show ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. Raj later has a brief, and doomed, relationship with Lucy, who is played by Kate Micucci. Micucci was Stephanie Gooch on ''Scrubs''.
491** When Creator/NathanFillion makes a cameo, Raj mentions loving Dr. Horrible, which Simon Helberg played a role in (Moist).
492** A small one, but in the season 2 episode "The Euclid Alternative", the woman Sheldon gets in an argument with over the driver's test is played by Octavia Spencer. Spencer also had a brief cameo as the check-in woman in the 2002 ''Film/SpiderMan1'' film, which Sheldon is a fan of. Her role in that film is also to have small argument over a desk.
493** There's been at least two references to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. In the season 3 episode "The Einstein Approximation", Sheldon applies for a job where the woman at the counter is played by Yeardly Smith, the voice actor of Lisa.
494** In Season 9, Raj meets and even dumps his girlfriend to try to go out with an aspiring screenwriter played by Alessandra Torresani, who starred on ''Series/{{Caprica}}''. The show has also acknowledged the existence of its parent series, ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'', with Howard masturbating about Katee Sackhoff (AsHerself), who played Starbuck. Michael Trucco, who played Starbuck's husband Sam Anders, has also appeared in ''The Big Bang Theory'' as a physicist Penny dated.
495** Creator/ElizaDushku plays an FBI agent interviewing the cast for Howard's security clearance. She is especially known for ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', with both it and Creator/JossWhedon having been mentioned several times on this show.
496** Creator/ChristopherLloyd played a homeless man Sheldon recruited as part of a revenge prank on Leonard and Penny. ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' has been mentioned many times on the show.
497** With Creator/WilWheaton playing AsHimself, Sheldon once made a direct reference to ''Film/StandByMe''. Creator/JerryOConnell ends up playing Sheldon's brother George. Both he and Wheaton end up at Sheldon's wedding, some fans were hoping for some sort of in-joke on the matter as they cross paths.
498** Throughout the series, Leonard is a huge fan of the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' films. Sheldon's mom is played by Creator/LaurieMetcalf, who voices Andy's mom in ''Toy Story''.
499** Later in the shows run, both Melissa Rauch and Creator/KaleyCuoco ended up playing ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in different animated adaptations. Can't help but wonder what the guys would think watching them and hearing their voices.
500* CelibateEccentricGenius: Dr. Sheldon Cooper before Amy Farrah Fowler came along. Even his dynamic with Amy isn't particularly conventionally romantic.
501** In the backstory, Leonard's parents only had sex in order to procreate. Once that was done, they were done.
502* CelibateHero: Played with. This is Sheldon's "deal." He's familiar with the concepts of physical or romantic attraction, but doesn't apparently experience those things himself. Any time he "clicks" with someone in a romantic way, it is always juxtaposed with a common scientific enthusiasm. While the possibility of sexual attraction has appeared from time to time (when Amy kisses him in Season 4, he says "Fascinating", which ''could'' indicate that he found the experience pleasurable or at least interesting), he is written largely as someone who puts intellect and science first and mocks his friends for not doing the same.
503--> '''Leonard:''' I can't believe you're going to have Howard choose between sex and ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}!''\
504'''Sheldon:''' No, I'm asking him to choose between sex and ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''. As far as I know sex hadn't been upgraded to include hi-def graphics and advanced weapon systems.\
505'''Leonard:''' Right, all sex has is nudity, orgasms, and human contact.\
506'''Sheldon:''' [[SarcasmBlind My point.]]
507** In the Season 3 episode ''The Adhesive Duck Deficiency'', Penny falls in the shower and dislocates her shoulder. Sheldon spends more time whining about the possibility of getting injured driving than appreciating the fact that he got to enjoy Kaley Cuoco "in the altogether."
508** Similarly, his [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Not-Girlfriend]] / DistaffCounterpart Amy Fowler refuses to touch or have sex with him. But as she hangs out with Penny, she displays more signs of sexual repression rather than straight asexuality, along with hints towards seeing the appeal of either side. Further realized when Amy gets roaring drunk and demands to know what or how much it would take for Sheldon to "take her to that skeezy motel and have his way with her" and later, when asked if Sheldon's knocking annoys here, says that she "plans to put his love of repetition to good use."
509** Joked about in Season 9, when Sheldon is contemplating what to give Amy for her birthday, he consults Penny and Bernadette for help, since they might know better what Amy might want. The first two suggestions don't really seem very interesting in Penny's view, and she asks what the third option is, to which Sheldon answers: "I was thinking of having coitus with her." Cue Penny snapping the wineglass in her hand in half.
510* CharacterCatchphrase:
511** Sheldon created his own with "Bazinga!" whenever he attempts a joke or prank. Unusually, it is only used a handful of times a season. ((A species of bee has been named "Euglossa bazinga".)
512** "Excuse Me" when Sheldon has to interject with someone's statement.
513** "You're in my spot." Used by Sheldon when [[ThisIsMyChair someone sits in his spot]]. Alternatively rendered as "that's my spot" or "that's where I sit".
514** "Good lord!" when Sheldon when he is shocked, though ironically Sheldon is atheist.
515** "Rats!" and "Drat!" when Sheldon is unsuccessful at something.
516** "Here we go...." whenever someone causes Sheldon to go into an explanation he has apparently said previously numerous times. Usually said by Leonard.
517** "I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested." Used by Sheldon when someone is exasperated with him and questions his mental health.
518** Penny's favorite slur is "Rat bastard".
519** The episode "The Gothowitz Deviation" features a one-shot character with her own catch phrase. Sarah the {{Goth}} girl finishes most of her lines with the phrase: "Not that anyone cares."
520* CharacterDevelopment: The show is ultimately still a sitcom and thus character development happens at a very slow pace, but the [[LongRunners sheer length of time]] the show has gone on has shown an immense level of change for every character.
521** Leonard's crush on Penny was hampered by his low self-esteem and he wasn't a guy who understood what a relationship with a "normal" girl really meant. Through being a DoggedNiceGuy they do eventually end up together, but still having traits of being an ExtremeDoormat and his desperation to stay with her did not help. When he started becoming more assertive, standing up for himself, not be so cloying and be more willing to criticize Penny's actions it proved to actually strengthen their relationship. This, in turn, had a ripple effect in his relationship with both Sheldon and his Mother.
522** Penny was very [[TheDitz ditzy]] in the early episodes and [[BrainlessBeauty easily confused]]. She was friendly with the group but kind of aloof at times, but gradually came to enjoy spending time with them and pick up on some of their science topics over the years. She later realized that being with Leonard spoiled her ability to date dumb guys. She started expanding her own education, moving on from her aspirations to be an actress and became a pharmaceutical rep. Along the way she expresses some regret towards her AlphaBitch past and tries to treat both Sheldon and Leonard better.
523** When Howard started dating Bernadette, he grew out of his CasanovaWannabe tendencies and learned to be in a real relationship (it's implied that he never had a third date with the same woman before). This culminates in him being the first member of the group to get married. Howard's sincere and heartfelt apology to Bernadette after she learns how he used to be, admitting that he's no longer that creepy loner since he met her and that she's the reason why he's become a ''better'' man. This actually ends up reducing ''Penny'' to tears at how far he's come since they first met. After several seasons of Bernadette ParentingTheHusband, he makes some strides to be more attentive to raising their kids and doing household chores.
524** Raj has come to master the art of drinking to talk to women, but not so much to become an obnoxious slob. In the Season 6 finale, he talked to Penny while completely sober. After a string of unsuccessful relationships he comes to learn that being a MommasBoy was not an attractive trait and relying on his parents money made him spoiled and avoid his problems, so he cuts himself off from their wealth. Being self-reliant gave him a newfound bout of confidence and he started a new job at the planetarium.
525** Sheldon, despite all of his eccentricities and very regimented lifestyle, has come to appreciate social interaction much more. He often complained about Penny hanging around them since she didn't have much, if any, of the same interests, but has admitted he had come to enjoy her presence. In Season 5, he also began pushing against the boundaries of his regimented life more often and admitted that his life didn't fall apart as a result, and he pursued an official relationship with Amy. After years of being together [[ChastityCouple with no sex involved]], he grows more comfortable with acts of affection and eventually decides he is ready to be intimate with Amy.
526** Amy started off in the series as a straight DistaffCounterpart to Sheldon, having no sexual impulses, is condescending to others, and even speaking in a similar manner with a dry wit. She started to show an interest in social activities with Penny and Bernadette and now considers Penny to be her "bestie" (best friend). By the beginning of the fifth season, she still has a little of the Sheldon-esque weirdness about her, but is otherwise a very social and friendly individual who knows how to have fun. They end up becoming an official couple... complete with documentation, i.e. The Relationship Agreement. Amy finds her patience being tested to the extreme because of how little interest Sheldon has with physical acts, and even breaks up with him for a time to explore life without him.
527** Bernadette was fairly uninterested in having kids, after being burned out on children because of her mothers day care. She initially agrees to kids only if Howard becomes a HouseHusband, but comes around to the idea. When she does become a mother she surprises herself with how much she loves her child.
528* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
529** In the first episode Sheldon was basically just Leonard's even more geeky roommate with a dry sense of humor, although he still largely had the same quirks and qualities that have come to define him. The first episode has the "his spot on the couch" gag and he criticized Leonard's board of equations. But he seemed to be more socially astute (recognizing Leonard's crush on Penny and his chances with her) and not completely asexual (he appreciated the attention Penny gave him and was described as a "semi-pro" when at a sperm bank). It wasn't until the second episode that his arrogance and social ineptitude took hold (where Leonard had to make a "[[SarcasmMode sarcasm]]" sign for him). Not to mention, in one of the first episodes he's made to throw his dinner in the trash and proceeds to pick it back out moments later to eat as nothing happened. Compare this to his later self who won't even touch a used napkin or share a drinking glass without thinking he's doomed. Also, he swears now and then in the first season, but later shows an aversion to doing so, much like some children.
530** Similarly, Penny was a lot dumber initially (for example, claiming her screenplay isn't based on her life because she's from Omaha, not Lincoln). She quickly moved from TheDitz to CloserToEarth.
531** Bernadette originally was unable to understand jokes and sometimes even sarcasm, though this might be a bit of CharacterDevelopment as she gradually started explaining when something was a joke. It's later implied she was simply ObfuscatingStupidity.
532** Stuart (the owner of the comic book store) started out ''less'' nerdy than his current self. He easily conversed with Penny, entertained her and managed to get a date with her, and they continued to date in which they had apparently gone so far as to make out and nearly sleep together. Later on, however, he's become much like Raj in that he can barely talk to an attractive girl without being rendered speechless or freaking out, and in general became a lot more awkward and shy. He also takes on some creepy traits; a woman who came into the store posted a review in which she said Stuart stared at her without blinking the entire time.
533** Amy Farah Fowler began as explicitly a genderflipped Sheldon, initially only going on a date with him to satisfy her mother's demands that she date at least once a year. Now she's frustrated by Sheldon's lack of emotional and sexual intimacy, and frequently hitting on Penny.
534* ChekhovsGag:
535** The ObjectCeilingCling in "The Classified Materials Turbulence".
536** The Enchanted Bunny card in "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary".
537%%* ChewbaccaDefense: Sheldon frequently employs this. See main entry for examples. What main entry? I don't see examples anywhere.
538* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: If anyone can let me know what happened to Stephanie from season 3, you'll win a prize.
539* CliffhangerCopOut: The Season 4 finale and Season 5 opener, dealing with the ramifications of [[spoiler:Raj and Penny waking up in bed together]]. At the Comic-Con panel over the summer Bill Prady said they had worked out a solution that should make everyone happy, which ended up being [[spoiler:Raj revealed to Penny that they didn't have sex because he was done when trying to put the condom on and instead just fell asleep]].
540** Again during the season 9 cliffhanger and the season 10 opener. [[spoiler:Sheldon's mom and Leonard's father didn't sleep together.]] It felt like ''another'' ratings stunt.
541* ClingySleepers: After the group attends Penny's Halloween party, Raj wakes up to find himself in the grip of one of Penny's sleeping friends. He tries to free himself from her grip at first, but after a moment decides that he's in bed with a not unattractive young woman who is holding him, and shrugs and goes back to sleep.
542* CloneAngst: In the (fictional) BMovie ''Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill'' Penny plays a clone of her character from the original film. She has problems though. The human DNA of the original character got mixed with the DNA of the KillerGorilla that killed her. So she is more of a BeastMan than an actual human. Further anguish is caused by the killer urges she inherited from the gorilla.
543* CloserToEarth:
544** Almost any of the female characters who appear on the show, but Penny most of all.
545** Also, Leonard compared with the other guys.
546** Most female characters are CloserToEarth than the four guys. Leslie Winkle, however, is more on a par with Wolowitz, Koothrappali and all the other 'average' nerds. Which makes her CloserToEarth than Sheldon, but much further from Earth than Leonard.
547** And then there's Amy, who is about as far out as Sheldon.
548* ClosetGeek: Penny's primary interests at the start of the series was reality shows and fashion, but increasingly becomes this as the series progresses.
549** She saw the new '09 ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' movie alone and of her own accord while the guys were away in the Arctic.
550** Sheldon introduces Penny to MMO gaming, and Penny quickly becomes more addicted than any of the guys are.
551** She learns a few basics of science, although nothing significant. She turns to Sheldon to teach her at least basic physics so she can understand Leonard better and learns how to say some [[TechnoBabble fancy terms]] but that was about it.
552** A late Season 6 episode has Leonard introduce her to ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. She seems to enjoy it but Leonard is disappointed that she's not obsessed with it like he thought she would be. She has a mild personal crisis in realizing she doesn't have the same passion for these things that they do.
553** She watched a lot of ''Series/DoctorWho'' with Leonard and in one episode reveals she knows the mythology rather well. In the same episode, she freely admits loving ''Series/GameOfThrones'' of her own accord because "there are dragons and people doing it."
554* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Raj is a bit like this, and the trait seems to be more prominent in more recent episodes.
555** Sheldon is basically on another planet as far as social norms are concerned.
556** It's revealed in "The Werewolf Transformation" that Sheldon believes that barbers keep "haircut records."
557*** Somewhat TruthInTelevision. Many hairdressers keep records of what color dye they've used on a customer and some also note in which style they cut the hair. Though when you're like Sheldon and you get the exact same cut every time it's probably a lot less likely.
558* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: In the episode where the university has asked the male characters to come up with ideas on how to improve recruitment of women to graduate-level science and engineering programs, Sheldon of all people has arguably the best approach: start the process early, with middle-school girls (so that they'll gain the right preparation in high school to pursue undergraduate science degrees and therefore be in position to enter graduate science programs). When Leonard, Howard, and Raj make a mess of the project by alienating the class they're speaking to, Sheldon rescues things by bringing Amy and Bernadette in via speakerphone to address the class as female role models in the sciences.
559* CluelessChickMagnet: Sheldon has gained not one but ''two'' devoted groupies. As well, he ignores a girl who actually ''[[ReadyForLovemaking goes into his room and sits on his bed]]'', and [[MistakenForGay unwittingly manages to pick up a gay man.]]
560** After Sheldon ends up charming Raj's date (a successful dentist) causing her to leave for the date with him instead, he then completely fails to understand ''why'' he would see her again? He already has ''[[ComicallyMissingThePoint a dentist!]]''
561* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Leonard's mother Beverly is a professional psychiatrist, but she has a very distant and unemotional relationship with her own children, having apparently treated them more like long-term test subjects than a family.
562* ColdOpen: Every episode, although some use the rotating electron diagram and whoosh noise before starting.
563* ComedicSociopathy: Exhibited by various characters at one point or another.
564** Howard and Raj at one point hijack ''N.O.R.A.D'' in order to spy on the ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' girls.
565*** Howard ''driving the Mars Rover into a ditch'' in an attempt to impress his date.
566** Some of Howard's anecdotes include this trope. For example, he was once ''maced'' by one of his "seductees". Whilst it is possible that the girl in question was overreacting (she probably ''has'' to be to keep Howard on the sunny side of the Moral Event Horizon), Howard must have been doing something very wrong for that to happen in the first place.
567** After [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome Bawwy Kwipke]] [[spoiler: humiliates him on national radio]], Sheldon's first thought is to murder him. Although he only briefly discusses it with the others (he notes that there are several neurotoxins that would "leave no trace") before being talked out of it, the speed at which his mind works would suggest that he had actually advanced quite far in his mental planning.
568** Sheldon at one point seriously suggests using negative reinforcement, specifically electric shocks, to change the register of Penny's voice. Don't annoy Sheldon or he'll [[DisproportionateRetribution torture you into better behavior.]]
569** If one subscribes to the theory that Sheldon is on the autistic spectrum, Penny's systematic disruption of his carefully ordered life during their EscalatingWar falls firmly into this trope.
570* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
571** In an episode, where Penny dates Leonard's colleague, David Underhill, and he is jealous:
572-->'''Leonard:''' You said that you didn't want to go out with me because I was too smart for you! Well, news flash, lady, David Underhill is ten times smarter than me!\
573'''Penny:''' Dave is not smarter than you. He's an idiot.\
574'''Leonard:''' Really? Why would you say that?\
575'''Penny:''' Because a smart guy takes the nude photos of his wife off his cell phone before he tries to take nude photos of his girlfriend.\
576'''Leonard:''' He tried to take nude photos of you?\
577'''Penny:''' ''That's'' what you took from that?! The guy is ''married''!
578** After Sheldon gets home after taking off with Raj's date Lalita (a dentist), Leonard asks him if he's going to see her again. Sheldon is puzzled and remarks that he has no reason to because he already has a dentist. The icing on the cake is Sheldon shooting Leonard a look as if it's ''Leonard'' who is missing the point.
579*** One of Sheldon's ongoing gags is that despite his genius I.Q., he is completely clueless about being social, leading to many missed points.
580-->'''Leonard:''' You convinced me. Maybe tonight we should sneak in and shampoo her carpet.
581-->'''Sheldon:''' You don't think that crosses the line?
582-->'''Leonard:''' Yes... For God's sake, Sheldon, do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth?
583-->'''Sheldon:''' You have a sarcasm sign?
584** On his first date with Emily, a deaf acquaintance of Penny's, Raj is trying to think of things to say, and Howard is translating for him.
585-->'''Raj''': I love music. Do you love music?
586-->'''Howard''': You really wanna ask her that?
587-->'''Raj''': Oh, you're right. Everyone loves music.
588** Sheldon with most social interaction, but a notable example that doesn't quite fit into that category:
589---> '''Sheldon's Date''': So, ''Literature/{{Flatland}}'' is not only a mathematical essay, but also a treatise on the social mores of [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian England]].\
590'''Sheldon''': You know, I never considered that! That is going to completely change [[HappyPlace my visits there]].
591** A hurricane of them in "The Plimpton Situation", when Leonard tries to hint to Howard and Raj that he was up all night with the titular scientist.
592** Sheldon considers ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' to be a "wonderful romp" of a movie. One can infer that because John Forbes Nash won the Nobel Prize and revolutionized game theory, Sheldon has utterly overlooked the fact that the film is actually about Nash's struggle with a severe mental illness.
593** From "The Large Hadron Collision", in re Leonard choosing to take Penny to Switzerland on Valentine's Day to see the [=CERN=] [=supercollider=] instead of Sheldon.
594-->'''SHELDON''': "What? That's absurd. Penny has no interest in subatomic particle research."
595-->'''LEONARD''': "Yes, but it'll be Valentine’s Day. We can go sightseeing and skiing and make love in front of a roaring fire in the shadow of the snowcapped Alps."
596-->'''SHELDON''': "But Penny has no interest in subatomic particle research."
597** In "The Engagement Reaction" When Bernadette finds out the real reason why Howard's mother was in the hospital she chews him out for it. (He didn't know until she told her.) When she is asked where she is going she responds back with the following lines, everybody but Howard is surprised that she sounds like Mrs. Wolowitz when she shouts.
598--> '''Howard:''' Where are you going sweetheart?\
599'''Bernadette:''' ''[Wolowitz voice]'' TO THE TOILET!!!! IS THAT OK WITH YOU?!!\
600''[everyone but Howard reacts in surprise]''\
601'''Howard:''' Is it me or does she sound sexy when she's angry?
602* ComicallySmallBribe:
603--> '''Sheldon:''' I brought you some gummy bears.\
604'''Penny:''' (confused) ...thanks?\
605'''Sheldon:''' Now that you are in my debt, could you...
606** See also Sheldon's attempt to entice Raj and Howard away from Leonard's app design project by offering them a bunch of cheap crap he'd clearly just picked up at the university's bookstore.
607** Howard attempts to bribe a (black) E/R nurse with a five-dollar bill:
608--> '''Howard:''' How about I give you a picture of the man who freed your people?
609--> '''Nurse:''' Unless that man was Benjamin Franklin and his five brothers, you're gonna take a seat over there!
610* ComicallyWordyContract: "The Roommate Agreement". It is a lengthy document, with numerous sections, clauses, Articles, and addendums. You can read the various portions that have been televised [[https://the-big-bang-theory.com/roommate_agreement/ here.]] Among its various, incessantly precise clauses, there are rules about what happens if either Sheldon or Leonard [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking become zombies, gain superpowers, or wish to reserve a spot at the ten year apartment reunion]].
611* CommitmentIssues:
612** Penny has this problem in regards to her relationship with Leonard. The couple eventually works through it by Leonard putting the power to propose marriage in Penny's hands, so she won't have the weight of it on her shoulders until she decides she's ready.
613** Sheldon struggles with committing to Amy and then from there moving forward in their relationship. In his case, the issue stems from having previously thought of himself as a CelibateEccentricGenius who is above time wasting romantic notions, and having an aversion to change. In one episode both Leonard and Amy decide to move too fast for their partners and put moving in on the table. Sheldon and Penny are forced to confide their hesitations about it to each other.
614* CompetencePorn: The moment it dawns on Penny that the bunch of nerds across the hall are actually quite effectual and hyper-competent --when they're dealing with their own areas of expertise.
615* CompetitionFreak: Bernadette is ''extremely'' competitive. As Leonard discovers in the scavenger hunt.
616* ConfoundThemWithKindness:
617** Sheldon uses this to wind up and ultimately get back at Leonard in the episode "The Itchy Brain Simulation" '. Not only does his calm demeanor eventually drive Leonard crazy (with the help of his itchy sweater), but it also freaks out/confuses his other friends.
618** At another point, after having annoyed the rest of the guys, Penny suggests that he invert this by making a polite and well-meaning apology while also being heavily sarcastic. It works like a charm. Mostly.
619* ContinuityNod:
620** Sheldon's explanation for "his spot" on the couch used in the pilot is repeated at several other times, once ''verbatim'' by Penny when Bernadette first joins the group. In the {{flashback}} in late Season 3, Sheldon's explanation for his original spot, using a lawn chair, was identical ''except'' that it ''discouraged'' communication in a group, reflecting how far he had come socially.
621** Other nods are used as brief moments, one in particular being when Howard crashed the Mars Rover [[spoiler: and Sheldon confessing the act being the reason Howard loses security clearance on a new project.]]
622** One episode involves Sheldon going to court due to his bad driving when helping Penny in "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency".
623** The first episode mentions Joyce Kim and the transvestite neighbor, who both show up in the flashback episode.
624** The episode "The Hawking Excitation" mentions Sheldon's restraining orders from Leonard Nimoy and Stan Lee.
625** After buying a replica of ''[[Series/GameOfThrones Longclaw]]'' in "The Russian Rocket Reaction" it's shown from thereafter to be hung up on the wall of the apartment.
626** The Convention Conundrum: Sheldon mentions he can't legally contact Leonard Nimoy, Stan Lee and Bill Nye. This is due to the above mention restraining orders including the most recent one filed by Bill Nye.
627*** Amy is seen in this episode, wearing the tiara that Sheldon gave her as an apology.
628* ContinuitySnarl: OnceASeason there's an episode where they guy's fail to get tickets to San Diego Comicon--for the first time.
629** The number of times Leonard and Penny have broken-up and gotten back together: 1. Or maybe so many that their friends have lost count and have names for them, such as [[NoodleIncident the Valentine's Day Massacer.]]
630* ConversationalTroping: Generally on sci-fi and comic book conventions, including things like a FiveManBand.
631* CoolBigSis: Penny ends up being like this to the others, (despite being younger) a normal person who helps them with fashion and relationship issues, lampshaded with a discussion with Sheldon where this is played more literally when she talks him into letting her cut his hair.
632* CoordinatedClothes:
633** One episode features the gang dressed up as superheroes from the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' for a New Year's Eve party in a comic book store. Too bad there were [[DressesTheSame several gangs with the same idea]], but Leonard and co's costumes were the coolest and they won the competition.
634*** It also helped that they had [[spoiler: an actual woman as Wonder Woman, and a guy "that actually has muscles" as Superman.]]
635** "The Holographic Excitation": The newly weds Howard and Bernadette are both small people (as in short and thin), so they dressed as a couple of cute [[Franchise/TheSmurfs smurfs]] for a Halloween party.
636** "The Holographic Excitation": Amy and Sheldon are going to a Halloween party and she tries to convince him to wear couple costumes. Amy wants something romantic that shows everyone that they together, while Sheldon doesn't understand the sentiment and would prefer ''Franchise/StarWars'' characters [=R2D2=] and [=C3PO=], or Hewlett and Packard, founders of the HP company. Their compromise is being dressed as Literature/RaggedyAnn and "Raggedy" [=C3PO=].
637--->'''Sheldon:''' It was a compromise. I lost.
638** "The Imitation Perturbation": For Leonard and Penny's Halloween party, Howard and Bernadette go as Bert and Film/MaryPoppins, while Raj and Anu go as Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the U.S. Constitution. Sheldon and Amy were going as [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Doc Brown and Clara Clayton]], but instead they go as [[spoiler:Howard and Bernadette as payback for Howard dressing as Sheldon earlier]].
639* CornyNebraska: Averted. Penny comes from Nebraska, but her family farm is to do with livestock, not corn. Played straight with her interest in the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers team and the fact that she was a member of the Corn Queen's court in high school.
640* {{Cosplay}}:
641** In one episode they ''all'' dress like ComicBook/TheFlash for Penny's Halloween episode.
642---> Raj: "What if we all stood in different positions and ''looked'' like one guy running really fast?"
643** The episode "The Barkersfield expedition" opens with Sheldon steaming his [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Data]] cosplay and Leonard having to borrow make-up from his girlfriend for his. The A plot of the episode actually revolves around the guys getting stranded in the desert after pulling over on the way to [=ComicCon=] to do a full cosplay photo shoot. Leonard was dressed as Captain Picard, Raj as Worf and Howard as a Borg. They looked awesome.
644** In one episode, the girls decide to go to Disneyland and they buy Franchise/DisneyPrincess line-up with costume, make-up, hairdo... The only problem was that they all wanted to be WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}. Bernadette claimed it was her idea and that she was the driver, so she won. Penny was [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Aurora]] and Amy was [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]]. Howard and Leonard really fancied their wife and girlfriend in their outfits.
645* CostumeTestMontage: Penny takes Sheldon to get a new suit that should give him confidence for his awards banquet.
646--> '''Sheldon''': ''[wearing an all-white, long tailed, frilly collared tuxedo] [when Penny says "no"]'' Okay, but anything I put on now is only going to suffer in comparison. ''[next shot of Sheldon wearing a classy, sharp black-on-black suit]'' This is absurd, I look like a clown.
647* TheCouch: Leonard and Sheldon's couch in their apartment.
648* CoughSnarkCough: As Sheldon tries to explain to Amy that he is not losing his mind over her in "The Zazzy Substitution", Leonard then employs this trope to prove otherwise.
649-->'''Amy:''' Your mother thinks you might be losing your mind over me. As a neurobiologist, I was curious.\
650'''Sheldon:''' Well, your curiosity is unfounded, as I am in full possession of my mental faculties.\
651'''Leonard:''' ''[pretending to sneeze]'' 25 cats!\
652'''Mary Cooper:''' Oh, God bless you, dear.
653* CowTools: You could spend forever looking at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment and the comic book store and see all sorts of geeky collectibles. You can also make out computer manuals and software cases in their bookshelves. One especially interesting device is an antique fuse holder hanging by the back hallway.
654* [[CrazyCatLady Crazy Cat Man]]: Briefly. After a falling out with Amy in which he terminated his relationship with her, Sheldon buys 25 cats.
655* CrazyPrepared:
656-->'''Sheldon:''' In here, you’ll find emergency provisions. An eight-day supply of food and water, a crossbow, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Season 2 of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' on a high-density flash drive]].
657-->'''Sheldon:''' I have a pre-packed emergency 48 hour survival kit recommended by the Department of Homeland Security... [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles and Sarah Connor]].
658** Sheldon also stages Emergency Disaster Drills every three months for every possible event from floods and earthquakes to Canada invading California.
659** In anticipation for a Scavenger Hunt / Treasure Hunt in "The Scavenger Vortex," Sheldon brings his bowling ball along on the offhand chance the clues lead them to a bowling alley (being germophobic and hating using rented balls). The bowling ball in his backpack slowing him down is [[ChekhovsGun brought up]] several times, but he was correct in that one clue was at a bowling alley. Brandishing his ball in the car, he exclaims "My brain is better than EVERYONE'S!"
660* CreatureOfHabit: Sheldon, to the point where he views the most minor of changes in his life as TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
661* CreditsGag / FreezeFrameBonus: The Chuck Lorre Productions logo and ensuing paragraph at the end of every show. Sometimes manages to get away with things the show probably wouldn't by virtue of the fact that nobody sees them on TV anyway. A complete list of them can be found [[http://www.chucklorre.com/index.php here]].
662** For example, the one at the end of the ''Age of Conan'' episode details Lorre's recent trip to Vegas and his imagining of a man going home and "blowing his brains out" after reflecting on his unsatisfying job.
663** Sometimes CBS' radar ''still'' manages to catch them, and they're blanked out when they actually air (but not on Lorre's web site).
664** FreezeFrameBonus also applies to the opening credits. Among other things, there is a TTC subway train, a 3-1/2" floppy disk, a disco ball, and a Hollywood Ave. street sign.
665* CreepyGymCoach: In one episode, Penny mentions passing gym due to the affections of her (female) coach. In another, Sheldon mentions running from his own coach who was obsessed with taking his temperature with a rectal thermometer.
666* CreepyStalkerVan: Alluded to when the guys decide to start their own comic book shop. One of the guys says that when he was growing up, he couldn't get to the local comic book shop and suggests they get a van to pick up local kids and bring them there. Only Leonard realizes the implications.
667-->'''Leonard:''' Are we going to lure them in with candy?\
668'''Raj:''' ''[[[ComicallyMissingThePoint excitedly]]]'' [[SureLetsGoWithThat We are now!]]
669* CringeComedy: Howard hitting on Creator/SummerGlau in the most obnoxious and creepy way possible. Poor girl.
670%%
671%% the 'Crowning' stuff goes on the crowning pages, not here. Links to said pages can be found on the YMMV tab.
672%%
673* CryingAtYourBirthdayParty: In Amy Farrah Fowler's ImagineSpot of what her life would be like without Sheldon, she is having a OnePersonBirthdayParty where she sings to herself while crying into her cupcake... until Stuart interrupts by blowing a noisemaker in her face, to IRL Amy's annoyance.
674-->'''Amy''': ''[singing sadly while fighting tears]'' Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me... There's tears in the frosting... Happy birthday to me.
675
676* CulturalRebel: Rajesh is not too fond of Indian food, while Howard takes a perverse thrill from not keeping kosher.
677** Raj also can't seem to stand the idea of going home.
678---> "I don't want to go back to India! It's hot, and it's loud, and there are so many people. You have no idea, they're ''everywhere''!"
679** Raj and Howard go back and forth on their respective cultures, as noted by Penny when predicting the guys' orders at The Cheesecake Factory in "The Panty Pinata Polarization"
680---> "Shrimp Caesar salad with no almonds for the highly allergic kosher-only-on-the-high-holidays Howard, and for our suddenly-back-on-the-Hindu-wagon Raj, meat lover’s pizza, no meat."
681** Sheldon is also one regarding his mother's religious lifestyle. He resents that he was forced to go through Cotillion, pointing out the lack of application that having all the social graces to be able to function in ''18th Century Vienna'' presents.
682** Sheldon also affects an more upper-class accent, only slipping into his native Texan drawl when flabbergasted, irritated or angry.
683* TheCSIEffect: Invoked; Sheldon expects too much of the police.
684* CuteBruiser: You don't wanna wind up in a situation where Penny's fist meets your face.
685** Also Bernadette studies Krav Maga.
686%%* CuteButCacophonic: Bernadette, oh God, Bernadette. This needs some context.
687* CuteKitten: Sheldon's favorite childhood lullaby "Soft Kitty" proves you don't even need an actual kitten for this trope.
688** Sheldon does not, however, enjoy WebOriginal/LOLCats; an email of such from Penny gave her her first strike.
689** Sheldon's 25 cats. Especially Zazzles, he's so "Zazzy".
690* CuteMute: Emily, a deaf girl that Raj dates. Subverted when she turns out to be a gold digger, which is not so cute.
691* CuttingTheKnot: Penny has to get Sheldon's flash drive from inside a puzzle box. Before he gives her the instructions on how to open it over the phone, Penny asks if he has any emotional attachment to the box. When Sheldon answers no, she simply smashes it open.
692** In another episode, Howard tries using a robot hand to pleasure himself. After Leonard and Rajesh run out of ideas of what to do, they take Howard to the emergency room. There, the nurse suggests simply restarting the computer attached to the hand, and despite Howard's pleas not to do so, she turns it off, and the hand lets go.
693--->'''Howard:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext Winnie the Pooh is out of the honey tree!]]
694[[/folder]]
695
696
697[[folder:D]]
698* DarwinistDesire: Sheldon tries to find which of his friends is the best genetic match for his sister, on the hope that the offspring might be a genius like him. When she finds out, she lets her feelings be known to Sheldon...by kneeing him in the groin.
699* DeadpanSnarker:
700** Leslie Winkle.
701** Howard also took on this attribute more in later seasons.
702** The entire cast takes turns with this.
703** This is basically all Leonard does now since he got with Penny.
704** Just about ''anybody'' who has to deal with Sheldon becomes this at some point.
705** Sheldon was supposed to be this for Leonard in the pilot, but became a BreakoutCharacter and was delegated to ButtMonkey instead. He still has moments of this, though it's mostly unintentional as he usually doesn't understand sarcasm.
706** Penny, as she gradually became the NerdNanny. This trait seems to [[InTheBlood run in the family]].
707* DeathGlare:
708** Penny has one for Sheldon almost OnceAnEpisode, though he rarely notices.
709** Penny did this to Raj in "The Skank Reflex Analysis."
710** Bernadette took this trope to the extreme in the same episode.
711* DeathRay: Sheldon's mother or Sheldon has mentioned that Sheldon tried to build one as a kid but failed and thus they kept teasing him.
712** Pissed the dog off something terrible though.
713*** Sheldon ended up building a 'death ray' to scare off a bird that tormented him. As it was dubbed this by Howard, Sheldon corrects him, and then goes on to say that if he DID have a death ray, he'd be in his lair enjoying the money the world gave him for not using it.
714* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: Parodied as most of the characters joke that ''Sheldon'' is secretly a robot.
715--> '''Leonard''': Sometimes your movements are so lifelike, I forget you're not a real boy.
716* DefconFive: Leonard falls victim to this trope and is then lectured by Sheldon.
717* DefenestrateAndBerate: When Penny finds out that her boyfriend writes a blog about their sex life, she violently breaks up with him. She storms to the guys' apartment, opens the window and throws out her soon-to-be ex's iPod and calls him a jerk.
718* DefrostingIceQueen: Amy started as a DistaffCounterpart to Sheldon but has received CharacterDevelopment into a more energetic and outgoing person. This showed that her closed-off personality is a result of years of emotional trauma and romantic rejection causing her to cope by suppressing that part of her and now she is experiencing the emotional growth that was denied her.
719* DelayedReaction: [[spoiler: When Penny says "I love you" to Leonard, it takes him, her, and the STUDIO AUDIENCE a second to react to the significance of her saying that.]]
720* DemandOverload: In universe. Penny starts a small business making hair barrettes called "Penny Blossoms." The guys set up a website for her and an order comes in for 1,000, rush overnight delivery. The guys help her out making them all night. Then after they're done they find that the original order has been doubled.
721* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Despite being somewhat of a GrammarNazi, Sheldon himself seems highly prone to describing things this way, with "''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' Lantern" and "''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Rings]]'' Ring" being two prominent examples. Of course it's actually a subversion.
722** >Knockknockknock< "Penny!" >Knockknockknock< "Penny!" >Knockknockknock< "Penny!" -Sheldon, who has also knocked on other people's doors thusly.
723* DependingOnTheWriter: Sheldon's mechanical aptitude. In some episodes, we see him put together a sonic generator to scare off a bird, or reminisce about building a working CAT scan machine as a child. In others, he literally can't figure out how to open a toolbox without Howard's help.
724** Amy can either be a DistaffCounterpart to Sheldon, or CloserToEarth like Bernadette and Leonard. Generally speaking, when she's with Sheldon, [[OnlySaneMan she's more sane, and behaves a bit more normal]], but when she's interacting with Penny or Bernadette she suddenly becomes as antisocial, egotistical, and socially clueless as Sheldon.
725** Bernadette's love/contempt for Howard.
726* DestructoNookie:
727** Leonard once mentions that they ''broke'' Penny's bed.
728** Implied when the entire building heard Penny's "[[TheImmodestOrgasm rodeo thing]]", after she had drunken, meaningless sex with Leonard.
729%%
730%%Development Gag is a Trivia item and belongs on the trivia page. Do not put it here.
731%%
732%%Did Not Do The Research is not a trope and not to be used as a trope. If you have a blunder you MUST report, find one of the tropes on the index and put it in Trivia.
733%%
734* DiedOnTheirBirthday: {{Discussed|Trope}} in the episode "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS8E16TheIntimacyAcceleration The Intimacy Acceleration]]" where Penny and Sheldon are carrying out an experiment together, and Penny asks Sheldon a hypothetical question about him dying on this particular evening. Sheldon responds, "Well, I suppose there's something satisfying about dying on my birthday." He had been keeping his birthday a secret because he [[BirthdayHater doesn't enjoy presents or like the thought of people jumping out and yelling, "Surprise!"]]
735* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Howard's ringtone is the theme that was only used in the unbroadcast pilot.
736* DisabledLoveInterest: Emily, the girl that Penny finds for Raj, is deaf. So he can talk around her.
737* DisappearedDad: Howard's father left when he was 11. He tried to contact his son at a later date through a letter. Howard chose to never read it.
738* DisapprovingLook:
739** Sheldon is often on the receiving end of these Looks, mostly from his roommate Leonard or Penny.
740** Amy got four Disapproving Looks ''simultaneously'' from Leonard, Penny, Raj, and Sheldon when they were all administering Bernadette and Howard's wedding together, and Amy said that she would be happy to be Bernadette's maid of honour again should their marriage fall apart.
741* DisasterDominoes: Leonard gets new contacts and walks into a crowded cafeteria. HilarityEnsues.
742* DisposableSexWorker: Alicia, a neighbour of Leonard, Sheldon, and Penny acted as one in ''Series/{{CSI}}''.
743* DismissiveKick: In "The Geology Elevation", Sheldon is jealous of Burt getting a [=MacArthur=] grant and tried to throw a rock to vent his anger. It fell on his foot, so in frustration he kicked it... thus hurting his other foot.
744* DisproportionateRetribution: Penny touched Sheldon's food while having her own full plate of food and nearly ate his because she was hungry. She then sat in his spot to take a stand. He responded by banishing her from his and Leonard's apartment. Her response was to not serve him at the cheesecake factory, and then imply that she messed with his food. His response was to not let her use his wifi anymore. When she ruined laundry night for him, Sheldon went too far and flung all of her laundry, including her underwear, outside on telephone poles. All of this escalating war stems from Sheldon's deranged responses to small mistakes from Penny.
745* DistaffCounterpart: Amy to Sheldon, for sheer longevity. Leonard's mom Beverly also possesses similar quirks, such as having a very particular way of having her tea.
746** Lucy to Raj? Or is she more of a female Stuart?
747* DistractedByTheSexy: Whenever a new pretty girl shows up. [[UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}} Sheldon]] is immune, and, [[DependingOnTheWriter on occasion]], so is [[DoggedNiceGuy Leonard]]. Howard is ''always'' the first to lose focus. In fact, one time just hearing that Penny's visiting "friend" from Nebraska was [[ReallyGetsAround easy]] meant that between shots, Howard somehow managed to literally ''[[StealthHiBye disappear]]'' from the room!
748** Subverted when they are focused on something else and the Sexy is verbal. Once, Penny and three friends stop by while they are playing ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' and ask if they want to have an orgy. After no response, Penny tells her friends "I told you so," and they leave. Shortly after, Leonard pauses the game and says he thought he heard something, but he shrugs it off. On another occasion the four guys are trying to come up with a better way to set up her entertainment system than the way suggested in the instructions and Penny attempts to get their attention by announcing that she was going to take all her clothes off, to no response.
749** Once when Penny described a falling out with a recently acquired boyfriend.
750--->'''Penny:''' A smart guy takes the nude photos of his wife off his cell phone ''before'' he tries to take nude photos of his girlfriend.\
751'''Leonard:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint He tried to take nude photos of you?]]\
752'''Penny:''' That's what you took from that?! ...The guy is married!\
753'''Leonard:''' Oh yeah. I'm uh... oh, [[AndThatsTerrible that's terrible!]]
754** Amy and Sheldon tried to do a social experiment to see which bits of juicy gossip would be passed quicker around their circle of friends. Being that they have little [[NoSocialSkills social skills]], it was pretty obvious from the get-go their choice of subjects would render the experiment almost irrelevant.
755--->'''Amy:''' ''[all in one breath]'' Sheldon and I engaged in sexual intercourse. In other news, I'm thinking of starting an herb garden. Mum's the word. Gotta go.
756** Howard had admitted he really stops listening to Bernadette when she undressed, focusing more on her body than what she is saying.
757* TheDitz:
758** Many of the female characters. Penny on occasion, especially in the first few episodes.
759** Penny's boyfriend, later ex-boyfriend, Zack Johnson is shown to be stupid and his thought processes are very slow.
760* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
761** When Leonard and Penny are together several episodes deal with them as if they were a married couple with Sheldon as their child. It is heart-breaking.
762** In reference to the ordeal of becoming Sheldon's roommate in "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS3E22TheStaircaseImplementation The Staircase Implementation]]":
763---> After you pass the first three barriers, you kind of want to take it all the way.
764** Leslie and Sheldon's argument about their respective theories in "The Codpiece Topology" was amusingly comparable to an argument over religious beliefs.
765--->'''Leslie:''' I can't be with someone who believes in string theory! How would we raise our children?\
766'''Leonard:''' I figured we'd teach them both theories and let them decide for themselves.
767* DoggedNiceGuy: Leonard. Less so during Season 3, but then he's finally with Penny.
768* {{Dominatrix}}: when Sheldon considers moving out of his old apartment he has a nightmare where Leonard has transformed his former room into a sex dungeon with Penny as his dominatrix.
769* DontExplainTheJoke: Yet another social convention Sheldon doesn't understand.
770--> '''Sheldon''': I see, the humor is derived from...
771* DorkInASweater: The guys, which are [[PlanetOfHats all of them dorks]]. Raj and Howard occasionally wear sweater vests more than the others.
772* DoubleStandard: Leonard learns about these the hard way--after [[spoiler:Penny gets drunk and has meaningless sex with him, post-breakup]], Leonard attempts to do the same, once with Leslie and once with Penny. They're not pleased.
773-->'''Leonard:''' [[LampshadeHanging I'm starting to sense a]] DoubleStandard [[LampshadeHanging here...]]
774* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Howard's mother bearhugs Raj back to her house to imprison him. This is naturally PlayedForLaughs. If Raj was a woman everyone would have screamed rapist.
775* DownOnTheFarm: Penny's from just outside of Omaha.
776* DramaQueen: Debbie Wolowitz is this. If she's not bugging her son Howard dramatically, she's getting dramatic about something else.
777** Also, Sheldon. When even the tiniest thing goes wrong, or not even wrong but just not how he wants it, he acts like it's the end of the world.
778* DreamSue: In "The Cooper Extraction", several WhatIf scenarios are depicted. The one narrated by Stuart is essentially a FantasySequence, featuring a suave version of himself. In this scenario, Stuart is Penny's boyfriend. Fulfiling the needs of awkward and lonely Stuart to be someone better and to have a gorgeous girlfriend.
779* DressingDown: In "The Barbarian Sublimation", hot girl Penny, at a low point in her life, gets addicted the ''VideoGame/AgeOfConan'' online game, at which point she wears only sweats with her hair in a messy ponytail.
780* DrivesLikeCrazy: Penny does not actually drive badly, she drives like a person who has driven for a very long time and will sometimes bypass 'normal' behavior for a quicker route, such as not slowing down much over speed bumps. Her constant ignoring of the Check Engine light is a running gag, though.
781** Sheldon doesn't drive normally; part of the Roommate Agreement was that Leonard would take care of the driving. They eventually forced him to get a learner's permit but he will likely never get his license because even in a simulator he does horribly. In a later episode he had to drive Penny to hospital and while they got there in one piece, it wasn't a relaxing experience.
782* DrivingTest: The gang try to teach Sheldon to drive using a computer simulation. He ends up driving through a virtual mall like in ''Film/TheBluesBrothers''.
783--> '''Leonard''': Awww no, not the pet store!
784--> '''Sheldon''': Remind me to compliment Wolowitz on the software. The detail is remarkable.
785* DropInCharacter: Penny embodies this the most, as she has a tendency to stop by the guys' apartment for random reasons like coffee or tech support (Raj and Howard are usually over there for an actual activity like ''Halo'' night). On the other hand, Leonard often visits Penny in ''her'' apartment in not too dissimilar a manner, although often expressly because Penny needs someone to talk to. Penny does this so much that she will casually drop by the apartment in her sleep clothes, much to the displeasure of one of Leonard's girlfriends.
786* DroppedAfterThePilot: In the unaired pilot there's a girl named Katie whom Leonard & Sheldon rescue from being homeless and moves in with them, and Gilda, geeky female friend/fellow researcher of theirs with whom Sheldon has had sex.
787* DroppedGlasses: and the inevitable BlindWithoutEm, Leonard.
788* DumbassHasAPoint: Zack of all people comes out with one in "The Thanksgiving Decoupling" when Penny realises their "fake" Vegas wedding was real and is trying to get him to sign the annulment paperwork:
789--> '''Zack''': I don’t know if I want to sign it.
790--> '''Leonard''': Why won’t you sign it?
791--> '''Zack''': I just think splitting up can be rough on kids.
792--> '''Penny''': We don’t have any kids.
793--> ''''Zack''': Are you sure? Cause you didn’t know we were married until this morning.
794* DumbBlonde: In the early seasons, Penny was flighty at times, but overall wasn't very stupid. The first couple of episodes she was more TheDitz but this was replaced with her generally being more CloserToEarth. Later on, she was {{Flanderized}} to fit this trope quite a bit more, being frequently thrown by easy to understand incidents (for example a simple, yet not short, sentence where the hardest concept was "joined ownership")
795** In one episode Penny takes some physics lessons from Sheldon so she could better understand Leonard and what he does. Although Sheldon is a horrible teacher, she does seem to learn a little, at least enough for a {{Technobabble}} gag.
796* DumbIsGood: Averted by the majority of Penny's boyfriends, who are dim and often rather obnoxious. Fitting the JerkJock type. Played straight for Zack Johnson, one of her most prominent boyfriends. He is dimwitted but one of the friendliest and nicest characters ever depicted in the series. He ends up befriending the guys and even enjoys their hobbies.
797* DungFu: Amy Farrah-Fowler was briefly suspended from working with experimental primates for "unprofessional behaviour". During her studies in addiction in apes, her experimental animals, outraged at being deprived of cigarettes and alcohol, flung faeces at her. Amy ruefully accepted that flinging it back was probably not the most professional behaviour for a scientific researcher.
798* DungeonmastersGirlfriend: [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Not quite a girlfriend]], Penny nevertheless occasionally attempts to get in on the nerd action. [[spoiler: By the third season, she also fits the trope title in its literal sense.]]
799* DysfunctionJunction: Played fairly subtly but most of the main characters had difficult or traumatic childhoods.
800** Very much TruthInTelevision for many nerds.
801[[/folder]]
802
803
804[[folder:E]]
805* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Sheldon is a lot more relaxed in the {{pilot}} episode, and while droll he seemed mostly socially capable. Compare to the {{flashback}} to when Leonard moved in from Season 3, where Sheldon is much ''more'' socially awkward. He also borderline flirts with her and competes for Penny's attention, two things he completely stops afterwards. He also undermines Leonard about his chances with Penny but Penny isn't insulted; this reverses as they become friends. And he uses the phrase "have sex" instead of "engage in coitus."
806** Many early episodes display Sheldon without traits that later become trademark actions. His trademark triple door knock for example just started off as a normal one-time knock where he doesn't even say Penny's name, and then shortly after, there's a couple times where his triple knocks has him hitting the door four times instead of three.
807** Howard and Raj were more like [[DropInCharacter drop-in characters]] in the earliest episodes.
808** Raj's inability to speak to women was originally attributed to just shyness around pretty girls and there were a few times when Raj spoke to the other guys when Penny was present. Later on, he'd be diagnosed with selective mutism and not only could he not speak to any woman besides his mother or sister, but couldn't speak in the presence of a woman (unless it was in front of a large crowd that included women).
809* In "The {{Earworm}} Reverberation," Sheldon is pestered by this trope, which sounds like "low F♯ F♯ E E♭ E E." [[spoiler: It's "Darlin'" by Music/TheBeachBoys.]]
810* EasilyForgiven: Beginning of Season 3. You know the one.
811--> '''Sheldon:''' I forgive you, let's go home.
812** In "The Justice League Recombination" the guys have to apologize to Zach for making fun of him.
813---> '''Sheldon:''' Milk Dud?\
814'''Zach:''' Oh I LOVE Milk Duds! ...okay, we're cool.
815** Well, Milk Duds are the most apologetic of the boxed candies.
816* EerieArcticResearchStation: The boys go to an Arctic station between seasons to conduct experiments. Spending months alone with InsufferableGenius Sheldon was too much for them, so they had to resort to [[spoiler:falsifying data to keep him happy.]]
817* EgocentricTeamNaming: Sheldon tries to get Leonard's app development team to name the app after himself, twice. The first time he uses [[FunWithAcronyms an acronym]] and the second time he spells [[SdrawkcabAlias his name backwards]]. He claims both times it's a "[[BlatantLies happy accident]]".
818** In another episode the guys team up to help Sheldon get over his fear of public speaking, comparing themselves to the X-Men. Sheldon thinks that "since I am Sheldon Cooper, you shall be my [[InnocentInnuendo C-Men]]."
819* {{Egopolis}}: Sheldon's ''VideoGame/SimCity'' he designed, Sheldonopolis. With architecture including Sheldon Square, Sheldon tower, Sheldon Stadium (home of the Fighting Sheldons), and Shel-Mart.
820* ElderlyAilmentRambling: Mrs. Wolowitz, during her life, was often eager to share the latest test results from a doctor's appointment, discuss surgeries she'd had, or ailments she was suffering. Often times to the disgust of her son, Howard. She would also often use it for the purposes of sending her son on a guilt trip if she felt he'd been neglecting her.
821* EldritchAbomination: Not a straight example, but the painting of Penny and Amy from "The Rothman Disintegration" is hilariously treated as though it ''is'' one, by both Penny and Bernadette.
822** There is also Howard's mother who though never clearly seen onscreen is described as an extremely obese, bald(ing) old woman who takes thirty minutes to climb three flights of stairs and needs help putting on dresses as she can't put her front and back in at the same time on her own.
823--->'''Howard's mother:''' It's like tryin' to keep two dawgs in a bathtub!
824* EliteSchoolMeansEliteBrain:
825Because all but one of the main cast is a top scientist in their field (the main four guys work for Caltech), their education generally reflects this:
826** ZigZagged by Sheldon Cooper -- while ''Series/YoungSheldon'' reveals he started undergraduate at the fictional non-elite East Texas Tech [[ChildProdigy since he was too young]] to go away to school, he got his masters and Ph.D. at Caltech, and is arguably the most intelligent member of an already intelligent cast.
827** ZigZagged with Leonard Hofstadter, who went to Princeton, but gets belittled for it by Sheldon.
828** ZigZagged with Howard Wolowitz, who went to MIT, but because he "only has a masters" his doctorate-holding friends often tease him.
829** Raj Koothrapali went to Cambridge.
830** Amy Farrah Fowler went to Harvard.
831** Bernadette Rostenkowski completes her doctorate during the series through the University of California.
832** Played for laughs in "The Bat Jar Conjecture'' when Sheldon asks a Caltech janitor to join his Physics Bowl team, assuming that the janitor is uneducated and thus Sheldon could answer all the questions himself. Dimitri then guesses the correct answer on the final brain-stumper question, and reveals that in the former Soviet Union he studied physics at Leningrad Polytechnic University (now St. Petersburg Polytechnic University).
833* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: [[RecurringCharacter Wecuwwing Chawactuh]] Bawwy Kwipke.
834** Then he gets Siri on his smartphone...
835* EmbarrassingAdGig:
836** When Penny finally gets a TV gig, it's in a hemorrhoid cream commercial.
837** Penny (Creator/KaleyCuoco) was in an embarrassing ad for tampons in an episode of the same show. Penny's an aspiring actress, but the closest she came to fame was a bit part on an episode of ''NCIS'', but that was cut for time.
838* EmbarrassingHobby: Sheldon Cooper goes to a cellar room in Caltech every day to play keepie-up with a beanbag. He tries to hide it from his friends and HilarityEnsues when they try to find out what exactly Sheldon ''does'' in the half-hour he mysteriously takes every day.
839* EmotionalRegression: Many of the characters are still fairly young at heart, so even though they are degree'd professionals they can sometimes act like kids, especially when put into uncomfortable situations. Sheldon is the most notable, being a ManChild on a fairly regular basis, but Leonard always becomes a kid when his mom comes to visit and Howard [[BasementDweller still has a mother/child relationship with his mother]].
840* TheEndingChangesEverything: The [[MilestoneCelebration 100th Episode]] starts with Leonard and Sheldon climbing the stairs, and Leonard glances Penny with Amy and Bernadette in her apartment. He impulsively asks her out, which she accepts, and the rest of the episode is them exploring if they can be together again, which devolves into keeping their new relationship a secret [[PoorCommunicationKills arguments over miscommunication]] and defaulting to having sex to distract them from their problems. Leonard confesses that all scenarios that go through his head about them end badly, and she tells him he is always overthinking things. [[spoiler: We then jump back into the original stairwell scene, as the entire episode was a daydream that happened in an instant the moment he saw Penny. He impulsively asks her out again,]] but this time she asks if he has thought this through and he replies "Yes, and [[ScrewDestiny I think we should go anyway]]."
841* EntertainmentBelowTheirAge: The main guys, particularly Sheldon, get hit with this the most, due to the juxtaposition of their incredible intellects with their manchild tendencies and interests in superheroes, collecting action figures, cosplay, and such. However, ''all'' of the main characters have moments of this, and the changing cultural opinion towards nerdy things during the series run made this get downplayed over time:
842** Sheldon calls Penny out in "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS1E14TheNerdvanaAnnihilation The Nerdvana Annihilation]]" as a hypocrite for calling the guys' interests childish when she herself still keeps stuffed animals in her apartment and wears Hello Kitty lounge shorts.
843** Neuroscientist Amy has a deep fondness for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' children's books, to the extent of writing self-insert fanfics and getting a themed birthday around the series.
844** All three of the women play hooky from work to go to Disneyland and get princess makeovers in one episode. [[note]] ArtisticLicense here, since Disneyland only offers princess makeovers for ages 3-12. [[/note]]
845* EpicFail: Exhibited by both Sheldon and Barry Kripke in their one-on-one basketball game to decide who gets the corner office in "The Rothman Disintegration." Leonard's comment while watching the "game" says it all:
846-->'''Leonard:''' You know all those terrible things bullies used to do to us? I get it.
847** Basically how the producers described the first attempt at a pilot. The only thing that worked was Leonard and Sheldon's interaction, as well as Galecki and Parsons chemistry. The proto-Penny, Katie, was ''despised'' by the test audiences, as her relationship with the guys was reversed. Instead of being (generally) a bright ball of sunshine in their lives she was a manipulator and the guys would work to bring her out of her cynical outlook.
848* EscalatingWar:
849** Between Raj and Sheldon in "The Hot Troll Deviation".
850** Between Penny and Sheldon when Penny finally had enough of Sheldon's insistent quirks, but it started largely because Penny got her "third strike" and Sheldon banished her from the apartment. Penny struck back by using up all the washing machines during Sheldon's laundry day, knowing how regimented his schedule is, but Sheldon has no boundaries he isn't willing to step over.
851** Between Howard and Sheldon in "The Parking Spot Escalation".
852* EscapeCall: Played with. Howard wants the astronauts to nickname him Rocket Man, so he arranges to have Raj call him during a teleconference, with Music/EltonJohn's "Rocket Man" as the ringtone. Unfortunately, they also hear Howard's mother call him down for breakfast, warning him that his Froot Loops are getting soggy. So Howard's astronaut nickname becomes Froot Loops.
853* EscortDistraction: In "The Peanut Reaction", Howard has to take Leonard out so the others can plan a birthday party for him. To do this, Howard fakes an allergic reaction so they have to go to the hospital, and when he can't hold Leonard away any longer, he incurs an actual allergic reaction by eating a candy bar with peanuts.
854* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The pilot gives a good moment to everyone:
855** Leonard's distracted look when seeing Penny in her apartment and subsequently trying to talk to her.
856** Sheldon being more interested in the {{DVD Commentary}} of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' than talking to their new neighbor.
857** Howard trying to flaunt his OmniGlot nature to Penny.
858** Raj when Penny tries talking to him and he just keeps eating his meal as though she didn't say anything.
859** Penny when she hugs Leonard and Sheldon and offers to buy them dinner.
860*** From the rest of the Series:
861** Leonard's mother and her constant psycho-analysing. Capable of reducing Penny to a flood of tears in the space of ''three'' flights of stairs... ''twice''.
862** Amy Farrah Fowler's introduction, leading to a major OhCrap from Howard and Raj for having found Sheldon the ''perfect'' woman;
863---> '''Howard''': [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone My god, what have we done?]]
864* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MACSw5SkF4 Sarcasm Sign]]" of the second episode.
865* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Sheldon's mom is the ''only'' one who can override Sheldon's irrational behavior.
866** While Sheldon loves his mom he still dislikes her religious zealot personality and is fine with jokes at her expense. When it comes to his "Memaw" (Grandma) he absolutely ''adores'' her.
867** The Department of Homeland Security apparently has a plan in place for when Sheldon goes too far with his abilities. It involves telling his mother on him.
868* EvenBeggarsWontChooseIt: When looking through Leonard's wardrobe, Penny picks out several shirts and tells Leonard to throw them away, noting that he shouldn't even give them to charity because: "Seriously, you won't be helping anyone."
869* EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped: Howard is briefly stumped by Raj's deaf love interest fast and furious signing.
870* EveryoneIsASuspect: In "The Mommy Observation", Raj organizes "another classic Koothrappali murder mystery dinner". Stuart is the murder victim, murdered in a room where Leonard, Penny, Amy, and Bernadette were present. The premise is that they are all murder suspects.
871* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Subverted in the episode "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem". Sheldon attempts to use Morse code; however, Leonard claims he doesn't know Morse code and refuses to learn it at three in the morning
872* EmbarrassingTattoo: Penny has one she claims is the Chinese symbol for "Courage". According to Sheldon, it actually means "Soup".
873--> '''Sheldon''': But I suppose it does take courage to demonstrate that kind of commitment to soup.
874** Actually, the two symbols are pretty close [[http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8a/c5/ee/8ac5eedc279be6479706ef260ec986b3.jpg / see here]]
875* EveryoneHasStandards: In "The Re-Entry Minimization", Amy suggests playing real-life ''TabletopGame/{{Operation}}'' at the UCLA cadaver lab. Even ''Sheldon'' objects to this.
876* EveryoneMeetsEveryone: The episode "The Staircase Implementation" is a WholeEpisodeFlashback. In it Leonard first meets Sheldon and moves in with him. Then he invites his friends Howard and Raj to visit the new apartment. Introducing them to Sheldon, when the latter comes home.
877* EverythingIsRacist: ...to Rajesh
878-->"Did you have to make me sound like a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' character!"
879** You kind of have to agree with him about the cell phone voice recognition software.
880--->'''Leonard:''' Let me try one! Calling Mcflono Mcfloonyloo!
881--->'''Cell phone:''' Calling... Rajesh Koothrappali.
882--->'''Rajesh:''' Impressive! ...and a little racist.
883** After Howard imitates the Bollywood Breakdance routine that Raj performed whilst heavily inebriated the night before:
884---> '''Raj''': That's very offensive.
885---> '''Howard''': Yeah, we thought so too.
886** This even applies when the potential racism isn't aimed at Indians:
887--->'''Raj''': Spiders give me the jeebie jeebies.
888--->'''Howard''': It’s heebie jeebies.
889--->'''Raj''': I know, but that sounds anti-Semitic.
890* EvidenceScavengerHunt: In "The Mommy Observation", Raj organizes a murder mystery dinner. Stuart plays the murder victim and everyone searches for the clues Raj planted.
891* EvilCounterpart: Late in the second season, a new neighbor moved in above Leonard and Sheldon, Alicia. She is pretty, blonde, an actress, and very quickly acquires the attention of the guys, much like when Penny moved in. The main difference is that Alicia was a shameless flirt and manipulated the guys to do everything for her. While Penny did many similar things, she generally treated them with respect and didn't abuse them. Partially out of jealousy and partially out of concern for her boys, Penny eventually [[{{Catfight}} clashes]] with Alicia.
892* EvilGenius: Sheldon occasionally invokes this on purpose (see EvilGloating and EvilLaugh below). Leonard has already noted that Sheldon's "one lab accident away from becoming a supervillain".
893** Later, when Leonard states that he's worried about Sheldon, Howard says "So am I. I'm worried that one day, he'll set off a low-yield nuclear device because the cafeteria ran out of lime Jell-O."
894-->'''Prof Proton:''' ''[to Leonard]'' Is he dangerous?\
895'''Leonard:''' Actually, he's a genius.\
896'''Sheldon:''' I am!\
897'''Prof Proton:''' ''[to Leonard]'' That doesn't answer my question....
898* EvilGloating: "Hello, Kripke. This classic prank has been brought to you by the malevolent mind of Sheldon Cooper."
899** "Hello puny insects!"
900* EvilLaugh:
901** Sheldon has a rather droll example.
902** Raj's laugh in "The Bat Jar Conjecture".
903--->"That's more like: We're [[WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians tall thin women who want to make a coat out of your Dalmatians]]."
904* EvolutionaryLevels: Invoked by Sheldon to explain why he shouldn't have to learn to drive. One of the ''many'' indications that Sheldon isn't the OmnidisciplinaryScientist that he thinks he is.
905* EvilCripple: No less a person than Professor Creator/StephenHawking (normally the cameo GeniusCripple) adopts the Evil Cripple persona, when he trolls Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter with abusive critique of their science, just for the fun of it. As Sheldon and Leonard try to puzzle out who the stalking troll is, the camera pans to Hawking grinning and making mechanical cackling noises.
906* EvolvingCredits: As of Season 6, Amy and Bernadette have been added to the open.
907* ExpositionAlreadyCovered: In Season 4 "The Toast Derivation", everyone except Sheldon is gathered at Raj's apartment for dinner, and someone proposes a toast. They then tell Raj's sister Priya that if Sheldon were present, he would talk about why it's called a toast (because of an ancient Roman tradition), even though they all know that, because it's just one of his quirks. Later, when Sheldon joins them, he starts to explain that very fact to Priya only to have her preempt him by repeating what the others have told her, much to his dismay.
908* ExpospeakGag: Sheldon's "I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original trajectory and adheres to you." And this is just one of '''many''' instances.
909** Sheldon's attempt at 'trash talk': "I am given to understand that you mother is rather overweight. Of course, if this is the result of a glandular problem and not over-eating, I will gladly retract my statement."
910** Not to mention this gem from "The Desperation Emanation":
911--->'''Leonard''': What would you be if you were attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis?\
912'''Sheldon''': Screwed.\
913'''Leonard''': There you go.
914* {{Expy}}: (In Universe) When The Science Guy meets Professor Proton.
915-->'''Bill Nye The Science Guy''': Wow it is indeed an honor to meet you, Mr Jeffries. Without you I wouldn't have had a show.
916-->'''Arthur 'Prof. Proton' Jeffries''': Yeah, I know, that's what I told my lawyers!
917[[/folder]]

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