History Main / ChubbyMamaSkinnyPapa

* Jack Sprat and his wife. Other depictions often have him shorter as well, emphasising the TinyGuyHugeGirl even more. In Jasper Fforde's Literature/NurseryCrime books, [[spoiler: Jack Sprat is the one from the rhyme (as well as the one from ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', which he says is just a matter of economy), making him a "Person of Dubious Reality," like many of the characters he represents which makes him very good at his job. His first wife was the one from the story, and she died before the events of the first book due to her, well, [[RealityEnsues eating nothing but fat.]] He keeps this secret, vigorously denying it when people comment on his diet and his history of killing giants. ("[[InsistentTerminology Only one was a giant; the others were just tall!]]") He eventually comes clean at the advice of Punch and Judy.]]

This trope can be implemented for a variety of different reasons. In some cases, it could be to allow the wife to have a more [[MyBelovedSmother imposing presence]], while making her husband appear [[HenpeckedHusband more demure and submissive]] in comparison. By the same token, an artist may purposely draw the wife with soft, rounded features in order to convey warmth and hospitality, rather than dominance (the husband, by contrast, will have [[MasculineLinesFeminineCurves sharper, more angular features]]). Note that the couples who fit this trope do not necessarily have to be parents, but the wives and husbands who do will typically have traditional maternal and paternal traits, respectively.

* Freddie's mom and dad in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo!PiratesAhoy''. Fred's dad is lean and tall while Fred's mom is a little chubby.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', The Scotsman is muscular and lean while his wife is very overweight, but calling her fat is her {{berserk button}}.

* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'': Hiroko and Toshiya Katsuki, the protagonist's parents.

** ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' gives us Glenda and Nutt. Nutt appears very skinny (but [[spoiler:he's an orc and stronger than he looks]]) while Glenda is plump and matronly. Unlike Sybil, Glenda is also quite short, though.

* Jack Sprat and his wife. Other depictions often have him shorter as well, emphasising the TinyGuyHugeGirl even more. In Jasper Fforde's Literature/NurseryCrime books, [[spoiler: Jack Sprat is the one from the rhyme (as well as the one from ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', which he says is just a matter of economy), making him a "Person of Dubious Reality," like many of the characters he represents which makes him very good at his job. His first wife was the one from the story, and she died before the events of the first book due to her, well, [[RealityEnsues eating no fat.]] He keeps this secret, vigorously denying it when people comment on his diet and his history of killing giants. ("[[InsistentTerminology Only one was a giant; the others were just tall!]]") He eventually comes clean at the advice of Punch and Judy.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', The Scotsman is muscular and lean while his wife is very overweight, but calling her fat is her [[berserk button]].

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jacksprat_3774.jpg]]

->''Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean,\\
And so between the two of them, they licked the platter clean.''
-->-- "Jack Sprat", an English nursery rhyme

* Jack Sprat and his wife, as pictured above. Other depictions often have him shorter as well, emphasising the TinyGuyHugeGirl even more. In Jasper Fforde's Literature/NurseryCrime books, [[spoiler: Jack Sprat is the one from the rhyme (as well as the one from ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', which he says is just a matter of economy), making him a "Person of Dubious Reality," like many of the characters he represents which makes him very good at his job. His first wife was the one from the story, and she died before the events of the first book due to her, well, [[RealityEnsues eating no fat.]] He keeps this secret, vigorously denying it when people comment on his diet and his history of killing giants. ("[[InsistentTerminology Only one was a giant; the others were just tall!]]") He eventually comes clean at the advice of Punch and Judy.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has the couple that runs Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Mrs. Cake isn't exactly ''large'', but she's considerably more pudgy than her husband. From their few appearances in the show, we can tell that both of the Cakes tend to be even-tempered and sweet, but Mrs. Cake in particular is defined by her affectionate nature, addressing nearly everyone she knows as "Dearie".

** It features a younger version of this. Lord Roose Bolton is a bit of a Medieval health nut, leeching himself constantly and drinking hippocras rather than wine. When he was given his pick of women to marry from the House Frey, he was offered his bride's weight in silver for her dowry. Upon hearing this, Roose purposely chose Walda (called Fat Walda to distinguish her from [[NamesTheSame all the other Waldas]] in the family), [[CaptainObvious the fattest one]]. By the fifth book, she's pregnant with his child.

->''Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean,''
->''And so between the two of them, they licked the platter clean.''
--> - "Jack Sprat", an English nursery rhyme

May overlap with TinyGuyHugeGirl (though that usually refers to a [[StatuesqueStunner different]] kind of 'hugeness').

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime]]

* Old Man Nebbercracker, who lives in the ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'', is lean and wrinkly, befitting a man his age. His wife, Constance, however, was so corpulent that she used to be kept in a cage on display as a circus freak. The ongoing torment and ridicule by the circus patrons has made Constance viciously antisocial. Nebbercracker's cantankerousness is his way of shielding the neighborhood children from his wife's murderous malevolence.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
* ''Ma and Pa Kettle,'' from the film series starting with ''The Egg and I.'' Pa Kettle is a thin man, while Ma Kettle has a "potato sack" figure. Having fifteen children will do that to a woman!

* Sam Vimes from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is described as being kind of small and wiry due to growing up poor and undernourished. His wife, Lady Sybil, is a woman whose motions are usually described using tectonic metaphors. While the other characters tend to be intimidated by her imposing presence, the book describes her as kind hearted and compassionate. She also abides by most traditional maternal roles, though she does so out of duty and obligation, rather than necessity.
** ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' gives us Glenda and Nutt. Nutt appears very skinny (but [[spoiler: he's an orc and stronger than he looks]]) while Glenda is plump and matronly. Unlike Sybil, Glenda is also quite short, though.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' features a younger version of this. Lord Roose Bolton is a bit of a Medieval health nut, leeching himself constantly and drinking hippocras rather than wine. When he was given his pick of women to marry from the House Frey, he was offered his bride's weight in silver for her dowry. Upon hearing this, Roose purposely chose Walda (called Fat Walda to distinguish her from [[NamesTheSame all the other Waldas]] in the family), [[CaptainObvious the fattest one]]. By the fifth book, she's pregnant with his child.

* Jack Sprat and his wife, as pictured above. Other depictions often have him shorter as well, emphasising the TinyGuyHugeGirl even more.
** In Jasper Fforde's Literature/NurseryCrime books, [[spoiler: Jack Sprat is the one from the rhyme (as well as the one from ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', which he says is just a matter of economy), making him a "Person of Dubious Reality," like many of the characters he represents which makes him very good at his job. His first wife was the one from the story, and she died before the events of the first book due to her, well, [[RealityEnsues eating no fat.]] He keeps this secret, vigorously denying it when people comment on his diet and his history of killing giants. ("[[InsistentTerminology Only one was a giant; the others were just tall!]]") He eventually comes clean at the advice of Punch and Judy.]]

* ''Literature/ThePretenders'': Many married couples in the Filipino aristocracy fit this—for instance, lean Don Manuel Villa and fat Mrs Villa, or tall Ben de Jesus and his pudgy wife Nena. Usually this results from having several children all in succession.
** Explicitly [[InvertedTrope inverted]] with Tony Samson’s sister Betty, who remains lean but muscular despite three kids, and whose husband Bert is more heavily built.

* The ''Series/{{That 70s Show}}'' episode "The Crunge" had a flash-forward of Hyde and Jackie in married life, where Hyde has a bit of a beer paunch (but isn't that big relatively speaking) but former cheerleader Jackie has really let herself go and is quite a bit bigger than Hyde. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VK55-oJ6wA You Tube clip here.]]

[[folder:Musical Theater]]
* In most productions of ''Theatre/{{Hairspray}}'' (as well as in the original John Waters film), Tracy's parents, Edna and Wilbur Turnblad, are cast to fit this trope. This is partially done to visually establish a bond between Edna and Tracy. Part of the reason why Edna is initially reluctant to let Tracy audition for ''Corny Collins'' is her fear that Tracy will be ostracized because of her weight (and she, as a plus- sized woman herself, should know exactly what it's like). Wilbur, on the other hand, plays a relatively minimal role in the plot, so directors usually have no problem casting him as a smaller, more slender man.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Snuffy Smith is a lean and mean li'l runt, while his wife Loweezy has let her girlish figure go south. Loweezy does almost all the work around the homestead, thus she has the build of a bull ox. Snuffy spends most of his waking hours brewing moonshine, stealing chickens, and cheating at cards. His lean figure is partly due to meager jailhouse grub.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Epiphany and White Kryptonite Eddie Diamond in Ohio Valley Wrestling, after the former's HeelFaceTurn anyway. She'd switch between nurturing and [[SassyBlackWoman dominating]] depending on how well Diamond behaved himself.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has the couple that runs Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Mrs. Cake isn't exactly ''large'', but she's considerably more pudgy than her husband. From their few appearances in the show, we can tell that both of the Cakes tend to be even tempered and sweet, but Mrs. Cake in particular is defined by her affectionate nature, addressing nearly everyone she knows as 'Dearie'.

* In ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer,'' MrsClaus is chubby while SantaClaus apparently loses most of his weight during the year. She's pretty aggressive, mostly in trying to get him to fatten up. ("Whoever heard of a skinny Santa?! Eat! ''Eat!''")
* The tall and lean King and the short, obese Queen in ''WesternAnimation/MuzzyInGondoland''.

* Lady Sybil Vimes from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is described as being much larger than her husband, Sam. While the other characters tend to be intimidated by her imposing presence, the book describes her as kind hearted and compassionate. She also abides by most traditional maternal roles, though she does so out of duty and obligation, rather than necessity.

* Molly Solverson and Gus Grimly in Series/{{Fargo}}, once they become a (ridiculously cute) couple.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* Mishima and Lucrèce in Literature/TheSuicideShop. This is used to convey warmth by showing her as the more understanding of the two. More like an InvokedTrope, since it's show that both of them have the same views about suicide and their clients.

* The Wormwoods are this in Roald Dahl's ''Literature/{{Matilda}}''.