* MagnificentBastard: In addition to Vetinari, who's always one, William shows signs of becoming one, particularly in any scene where he has to deal with threats to the press, such as his handling of Slant.
* NightmareFuel: The book describes images resulting from dark light photography in very vivid detail. [[spoiler:Then near the end, where one of photos comes true...]]
* OlderThanTheyThink: The "----ing" joke first showed up in ''Discworld/{{Mort}}''.
** Then again in Men at Arms: "D*mn," said Carrot, a difficult linguistic feat.
* FridgeLogic: Why did William spend 40% of his income on engraving his monthly letter? Why not just use those two days and 20 dollars to write it out four more times?
** Establishing a consistent friendly business relationship with the engraver in case his business expands (IE, he gets contacted by more people who want his news letters)?