History Series / EverybodyLovesRaymond

!!Everybody Loves Raymond provides example of:

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''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is a CBS DomCom about Ray Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday, desperately attempting to keep the peace in his dysfunctional family. He's a fairly typical TV husband, loving the simple things (sports, TV, lying around), but he's pretty lazy, and occasionally delves into man-child status. He's married to a horrid stay-at-home wife. His brother is usually jealous of his status as the favorite child, and openly whines about it. His obnoxious parents live across the street and provide him and his wife no end of headaches by intruding upon their daily lives.

[[caption-width-right:349: From left to right: [[ManChild Ray]] (whom everybody loves), [[TheUnfavourite Robert]], [[MyBelovedSmother Marie]], [[GrumpyOldMan Frank]], [[{{Tsundere}} Debra]]]].

''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is a CBS DomCom about Ray Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday, desperately attempting to keep the peace in his dysfunctional family. He's a fairly typical TV husband, loving the simple things (sports, TV, lying around), but he's pretty lazy, and occasionally delves into man-child status. He's married to a harried stay-at-home wife. His brother is usually jealous of his status as the favorite child, and openly whines about it. His obnoxious parents live across the street and provide him and his wife no end of headaches by intruding upon their daily lives.

Now has a [[Characters/EverybodyLovesRaymond character sheet.]]

[[caption-width-right:349: From left to right: [[ManChild Ray]](whom everybody loves), [[TheUnfavourite Robert]], [[MyBelovedSmother Marie]], [[GrumpyOldMan Frank]], [[{{Tsundere}} Debra]].

[[caption-width-right:349: From left to right: Ray (whom everybody loves), Robert, Marie, Frank, Debra]]

[[caption-width-right:349: From left to right: Ray (whom everybody loves), Robert, Marie, Frank, Deborah]]

!!This show provides examples of:
* AbsentMindedProfessor: In "Who Am I?", Ray and Debra attend a lecture, where the professor appears oblivious to the fact that he's putting Ray to sleep as he drones on in a monotone voice.
* AbusiveParents: In "It's Supposed To Be Funny", Ray says his joke about Jeffrey was nothing, that he used to get worse as a kid. One time, he was combing his hair in the hallway mirror and Frank walked by and told him, "Bad haircut, I can still see your face."
--> '''Debra''': How did that make you feel?
--> '''Ray''': What? Nothing. I knew that he was joking. (Debra doesn't buy it) All right. I felt bad for a moment, but then I forgot about it.
--> '''Debra''': Until ''now''??
--> '''Ray''': Listen, what I did wasn't like that. All I really did was tell a little joke.
--> '''Debra''': Like your ''dad''. You know, you've told me that haircut story before. (Ray realizes he's following in Frank's footsteps and feels bad)
* AccentuateTheNegative: One episode, "Recovering Pessimist", revolved around Ray's inability to look at the positives, even after winning a prestigious writing award. The episode reveals the obvious: that he learned this behavior from Frank and Marie.
** Gerard is perhaps even more this trope than Ray; he can't even accept a compliment without finding a negative way to spin it.
* ActorAllusion: In one Halloween episode, Frank dresses up like Frankenstein's monster (with Marie as his bride). At first this just seems like a quick gag on Frank's name until you remember Peter Boyle played the monster in the hysterically funny parody YoungFrankenstein.
** Ray's crossover on ''TheNanny'' at his, Fran Fine's, and Val Toriello's high school reunion. TruthInTelevision, as actors Ray Romano and Fran Drescher really did attend Hillcrest High School in Queens, NYC in the same class.
** Patricia Heaton's new show TheMiddle has her meet her son's new teacher who is played by Doris Roberts. Their roles are reversed pretty much and "Mari" accuses "Debra" of being a MyBelovedSmother (which ironically is absolutely not true in either show).
*** The third season premire of TheMiddle features a flashback in which we see Heaton's character's honeymoon/camping trip interrupted by a hiker played by Romano. At one point his character tells her "In an alternate reality, you and I could have been happy together."
* TheAdventureContinues: The finale changes almost nothing and other than a last supper inspired shot and a little bit of drama it is a regular episode that if shown out of order would probably be unrecognizable as a series finale by casual viewers.
* AirHugging: In the episode "What's With Robert?"
** A sort-of example in "She's the One" when Ray, not wanting to hug Angela (who ate a fly), simply puts his hands on her shoulders and keeps his distance.
* AllWomenArePrudes: Debra, who, depending on the writer, flip flops around this trope. Sometimes she's absolutely adverse to having sex while other times not so much. Most definitely subverted in her youth as she was shown to have been sexually active in college and instigated Ray and her's first time together.
** Subverted hilariously in two episodes with Marie of all people. First, the revelation that Marie wasn't a "good girl" when she was a teenager, then later the revelation that the elderly Frank and Marie actually have more sex than Ray and Debra.
* AlwaysSecondBest: Debra, to Marie's cooking/cleaning. Robert, to Ray in general.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: "The Sitter": Debra is infuriated by the fact that the kids have more fun with the babysitter than her, and decides to fire her and use Marie as a replacement, in order to guarantee that the kids wouldn't have fun, and thus be relieved to see Debra when she came home. They end up running Marie ragged, and she sprains her ankle tripping over one of the toys. By the time Debra realizes her mistake, the babysitter's employed by another family.
* AndStarring: "With Doris Roberts as Marie and Peter Boyle as Frank."
* {{Angrish}}: Occasionally, Robert will get angry at something and mutter gibberish as he walks away.
* AmazonChaser: Ray in one episode reveals his crush on XenaWarriorPrincess to the audience.
* ApronMatron: Marie. Might be the example that modern audiences and young tropers are most familiar with.
* AscendedExtra: Amy [=McDougall=] most definitely. Started out as an occasional guest star, gradually became involved in some of the Robert-centric plots, and finally married Robert in the later seasons and became a Barone.
** Arguably Amy's entire family could count. They certainly didn't appear as often as she did, but in the later seasons, they became fan-favorite recurring guest stars.
* AsTheGoodBookSays: In "The Nice Talk", Ray says, "As Jesus said: "Blessed are the nice."" Peter immediately remarks, "He never said that."
** Another good example was the episode where Ally asked about the meaning of life. Marie exclaims "Oh I know! It's all in the Bible!" and begins thumbing through the family's copy of the Bible and reads Proverbs 14:4:
-->'''Marie:''' ''Ah, here we go. * reads* "Where there are no oxen, the crib remains empty; but large crops come through the strength of the bull."''
-->''* Ray, Debra, Frank, and Robert all stare blankly at Marie* ''
-->'''Ray:''' ''Ma, that's got nothing to do with this.''
-->'''Marie:''' ''* looking triumphant* Oh no?''
-->'''Ray:''' ''* pauses* No!''
--> ''Marie thinks for a second, then goes back to searching''
** Or, when Frank was offended by Pat killing a bird that flew into their house and couldn't fly anymore, Hank recites Genesis 1:26.
-->'''Hank:''' ''Now Frank, God did say, "Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth."''
-->'''Frank:''' ''*pauses* You creepeth me out.''
** In "A Job For Robert", Marie recites a line that is mentioned many times in Genesis:
--> '''Marie''': But yes, maybe I was wrong to try to create conditions that would encourage you to be fruitful and multiply... ''as it says in the Bible.''
* AudienceWhatAudience: In "Ally's F":
--> '''Frank''': Pulled their asses out of two World Wars, the French. What did they give us? A disgusting way to kiss.
--> '''Robert''': ...Who are you talking to, dad?
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Frank and Marie.
** To the point where Frank is appalled and damn near has a conniption when Marie questions this.
** The final episode appeared to address the issue of Debra's treatment of Ray. After Ray [[spoiler: appears to almost die]], Debra actually cries, and spends the middle part of the episode in a state of shock. The episode (and show) ends with Debra and Ray reconciling their differences with a simple, touching scene towards the end where they reiterate that they really do love each other.
* BadassGrandpa: Frank, much to everyone's chagrin.
* BadDate: Even though it ultimately led to a relationship with Debra (culminating in marriage), Ray's first date with Debra had some issues: He didn't get the obvious hint that Debra wanted Ray to eat lemon chicken ''with'' her ("Wrap it up, I'll eat it in the truck.") and unknowingly smacked Debra in the face when he opened the freezer door. That's not even counting what ''would've'' been Ray and Debra's first date at the Chinese restaurant, if only Ray hadn't cancelled because he accidentally saw Debra naked and was too embarrassed to go through with it.
** Robert's date with Erica in "The Young Girl" ends abruptly when she reveals she's nineteen and Debra reveals to Erica that Robert is forty-three.
--> '''Robert''': I've never seen anybody add two numbers so fast.
** In "Meant to Be", Robert and Amy's date turns sour when Robert tells Amy about how he called up his ex-wife but then decided to stay with Amy instead. Amy considered that the equivalent of "settling" for her.
* BadLiar: Ray, who is frequently called out for his bad poker face.
--> '''Robert''': Are you saying that Amy talks too much?
--> '''Ray''': ...No, Robert, I love Amy.
--> '''Robert''': Wow, are ''you'' a liar.
* BeamMeUpScotty: Invoked in "She's the One", when Marie wants Robert to just admit he's gay:
--> '''Marie''': Say it! "Hello, I'm queer, and now I'm here!"
--> '''Ray''': Who says that??
--> '''Marie''': That's the slogan!
* {{Beauty Equals Goodness}}: Played straight with Debra (the male characters often lampshade her physical attractiveness) but subverted with Joanne (Robert's ex-wife).
* {{Beta Couple}}: Robert and Amy. They were an off-and-on couple throughout most of the series, breaking up and then getting back together repeatedly. Finally, Robert proposed to her and Amy agreed to marry him. A great side benefit was that this led to the introduction of Amy's family, who are arguably the best guest stars of the show.
* BigApplesauce: While not actually set ''in'' New York City, the show is firmly set in the New York metro area. {{Truth in Television}}, Lynbrook is located about a mile outside the NYC border (just outside Queens, to be specific). In fact, the show's creators originally wanted the show to be set in Queens. Also, Ray speaks with a very deep New York accent.
* BigFancyHouse: The Barones' (rather infrequently-seen) rival neighbors, the Parkers, live in a big fancy house. In one episode, Ray has to ring their doorbell and is stuck listening to a long, grandfather clock-like chime after he pushes the button, after which he growls "Parkers."
* BigNo: In "Pet the Bunny", Ray lets out one of these when Michael says that he gave one of his drawings to Marie (which had part of Frank's eulogy on the back).
--> '''Michael''': Daddy's weird.
* BigStupidDoodooHead: In "Ally on the Bus":
--> '''Ray''': Debra Debra, lovely wife, why am I stuck with thee for life?
--> '''Debra''': It sounds like you've had that one for a while.
--> '''Ray''': You want one off the top of my head? All right. (briefly thinks, but can't come up with anything witty) You're a stupid idiot stinker B.M.!
* BilingualBonus: If you watch "Italy" Parts 1 and 2 without subtitles enabled, that is.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: In a flashback episode, Robert's ex-wife Joanne is revealed to have been one of these.
** Marie acts sweet and loving, but is very condescending and hypocritical. Not to mention her obsessive control over the lives of Frank, Ray and Robert in the name of keeping up her vision of a perfect, happy family, even if they actually aren't.
** Debra becomes one in later seasons.
* BittersweetEnding: Many episodes feature this, usually played for laughs.
* BlackBestFriend: Judy, Robbie's partner on the police force, was this for him. We didn't see her often on the show, but when we did, she was often trying to help Robert be more confident.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The three loves of Robert: Redheaded Joanne (his bitchy ex-wife), Amy, (his blonde on again, off again girlfriend), and Stefania, (his Italian love interest with the curly brown hair). [[spoiler: He eventually marries Amy.]]
* BorrowedCatchphrase: In "Sex Talk", Ray said "Holy crap", which is Frank's catch phrase.
** In "The Mentor", Amy borrows a catchphrase that Frank used to tell Sammy at the office (and Ray and Robert, for that matter): "Get off your pity pot, Nancy!" Of course, this being Amy, it comes out awkwardly and more silly than anything.
--> '''Debra''': [[BrickJoke You really ARE queer.]]
* BreakTheCutie: Averted. In the later seasons, it appeared that the Barones were going to give Amy the {{Break the Cutie}} treatment after she married Robert, but at the end of the series, she still managed to be, well, {{The Cutie}}.
* BreakoutCharacter: Amy started out as a one-shot who dated Robert and was Debra's friend. She quickly became popular - despite being the co-creator's wife - and was fully added to the regular cast by the later seasons, where she married Robert.
** Amy's entire family actually counts, as the show successfully avoided getting tired in it's last couple seasons with the addition of Hank, Patricia & Peter to the recurring cast.
* BreakupBreakout - Averted, as Romano, Heaton, Garrett and Roberts have all had continued success since the show ended - a very rare (and perhaps unique) event for a sitcom cast. The only exception is Peter Boyle, who died shortly after the show ended. But even then, he was already an established actor going into the show, so in his case the show is seen as the cumulation of his career.
* BrickJoke: In "Ally's F", Mr. Putnam offers Debra a throat lozenge that he keeps in a bowl on his desk. After Mr. Putnam leaves, Ray, annoyed at Putnam, says "I'll give you math: This, (takes all of the lozenges) minus this, equals nothing." Towards the end of the episode, Debra gives Mr. Putnam another visit but he's far less pleasant this time, and Debra walks out after saying "You ''are'' mean, and I wouldn't marry you." (a reference to Ray saying Debra should marry Putnam if she "loves him so much"). Mr. Putnam reaches for his lozenges, but they're all gone. He remarks to nobody: "Who took my lozenges?"
** At the beginning of "Ray Home Alone", Ally shows Ray and Debra a doll that, if you talk into it, will repeat whatever you say in a higher pitched voice. Debra sarcastically remarks: "Thanks a lot, Ray, that's gonna be fun all the way to Connecticut." Later that night, Ray gets out of bed to check if a noise was a burglar (it wasn't); when he climbs back into bed, he's startled by a loud noise in the bed. Turns out he unknowingly activated the doll from the start of the episode.
--> '''Ray''': ...Friggin' doll!
* BriefAccentImitation: Twice in the series, Ray adopted a cockney accent ("You got it, guvnah!").
** Robert once used a Southern accent to say: "Papa didn't go in for all that fancy book learnin'."
** Debra used a Southern accent in "The Power of No" when she said "Oh, how will I ever resist my baser instincts?" (referring to refraining from sex with Ray) Ray replied with: "That's good. That'll be good when you come crawling back saying, (in Southern accent) "Prettah ''please'' with sugah on top!"
* ButtMonkey: Robert for the most part. Ray himself in the later seasons, particularly to Debra. Debra herself is Marie's least favorite.
* ByTheBookCop: Robert is one, to the point where he reminds someone (usually Frank) that what they're considering doing is against the law.
** In "Big Shots", Ray is pulled over by one for speeding. He's about to get a ticket, but Robert tells the cop that he's a cop too, and that he's going to keep a closer eye on Ray's speed. The cop doesn't budge, and while Robert protests ("Look, I don't know how you do things in the ''sticks'', but in the city, cops look out for one another."), the cop looks at Ray's license plate:
--> '''Cop''': I'm glad we had this conversation. It gave me a chance to notice your brother's inspection sticker. Now, I may be a small-town cop, [[DeadpanSnarker don't know about all that fancy book-learnin']], but nearest I can tell, this looks like it's expired. I'll be right back with another little present for "y'all".
* CallBack: Fruit of the Month Club.
** "The Finale" referenced "Ally's Birth", specifically, Ray and Debra's song, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life": On the way home from the hospital (where Ray almost died), Robert had to pull over when the song began playing on the radio.
** Anytime Peggy is part of the plot, one character will always, ''always'' ask Ray: "Isn't that the cookie lady who beat you up?"
** At the end of "Golf", Debra suggests that she and Ray play golf together. Ray is less than thrilled and tries to weasel his way out of it by saying it's going to rain. Much later, in the season 8 premiere "Fun With Debra", Ray and Debra finally go golfing together.
* CantHoldHisLiquor: Ray and Robert seem to have this problem, as seen in two episodes, "Snow Day" and "A Date For Peter", where both go from perfectly normal to drunk behavior within minutes of drinking. For example, in "Snow Day", during a speech where Ray tries to goad Debra into saying she's better than everybody, she asks, "Are you drunk?" After a pause, Ray says in a slurred voice, "Don't be perposterous." And "A Date For Peter", Robert completely forgets that Amy invited Stefania to Ray's house, because he whispers to Ray, "Listen, don't tell Amy, but Stefania's here."
* CaptainObvious: In "The Canister", after Debra realizes she forgot to return the canister to Marie and got an apology from Marie after Debra felt insulted that Marie kept pestering her about it:
--> '''Robert''': You know what's really bad? She [Marie] apologized to you, even though she knew she was ''right''!
--> '''Debra''': Oh shut up! Why do you come over here? To state the obvious? Is that what you're here for?!
--> '''Robert''': ...I must say, Debra, this is ''not'' your most attractive side.
** In "Pet the Bunny", while Ray is playing the "scratch off" lottery game:
--> '''Ray''': You think you're going to win, but then you don't. That's how they get ya.
** In "Older Women", Debra is upset that her father is bringing a date to Thanksgiving:
--> '''Ray''': I'm starting to think that maybe you're not so okay with it.
--> '''Debra''': Oh, you picking up on that, Einstein?
--> '''Ray''': Yeah. I wish I ''was'' Einstein, because then I'd invent a time machine and go back to when you were nice!
* CarMeetsHouse: Marie/Frank crash into Ray/Debra's house once.
* CassandraTruth: Ray sees Robert's date eating a fly and tells Robert and Debra, who adamantly disbelieve him.
-->'''Ray:''' ''Angela ate the fly!''
-->'''Robert:''' ''What?''
-->'''Debra:''' ''What?!''
-->'''Ray:''' ''The fly, that was flying around...Angela killed it, it landed on her napkin, she picked it up...and then [[{{PunctuatedForEmphasis}} SHE. AAAAAAATE IT!!!!!!!!'']]
* CasanovaWannabe: Gianni, one of Ray's best buddies, was usually portrayed this way.
* TheCastShowoff: Patricia Heaton and Brad Garrett have showed off their singing abilities from time to time, Robert even lampshaded this by saying that in chorus he originally was going to be a "basso profundo" (although most school choruses aren't that specific beyond soprano and alto for girls and tenor and bass for boys).
* CatchPhrase: Frank: "Holy Crap!" and less frequently, "Jeez-a-loo!" and "Stupid stinkin' hump!"
** Garvin: ''Hey, Ray's here! Ha ha ha!!! * does a little dance* ''
*** In the episode in which Debra helps out at the lodge, he does the same for Debra, simply replacing her name with Ray's.
** Marie: "Are ya hungry, dear?" and "I don't like that, [character's name]."
** Peggy, to Ray: "Hello, Ally's dad."
** Ray, when he walks in the house from work/golfing/etc, to Debra (who has to already be in the house): "Hey, [cute nickname]!" Nicknames used include Snickerdoodle, Snugglepants, Cat Ballou, Jimmyjack, Puka Shell, Puddlepants, Jambalaya, Puff N Stuff, Krispy Kreme, Jelly Cheeks, and Cranapple.
*** And the infamous "Smelly Tramp."
*** In a subversion, Ray also mentions, upon walking in and seeing Debra and their (temporary) baby-sitter Lisa, that "Oh... I don't have a nickname for you" (towards Lisa).
** Robert has an infrequent catchprase: When someone pushes him too far to do something (usually Ray or Frank), he'll shout, "....All ''RIGHT''!!!!" and go do whatever they want.
** Debra frequently calls Ray "idiot".
* CharacterDevelopment: Characters gradually change over time. Particularly obvious in Robert (see below), as well as Debra and Ray, who get angrier and more argumentative as they age. Marie explicitly calls this out as a natural progression of marriage.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first season, Robert was so neurotic and quirky that it seemed amazing that he was able to function at all. But as the series progressed, Robert's characterization developed so that he eventually grew much more confident. By the end of the series, he had finally remarried.
* ChristmasEpisode: "The Ball", "All I Want For Christmas", "The Toaster", "The Christmas Picture", "Christmas Present", "Season's Greetings", "The Thought That Counts", "Jazz Records".
* {{Church of Happyology}}: Inner Path, the cult that Robert briefly joins. They apparently also have their sights set on recruiting Ray because of his status as a famous sportswriter. [[{{DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything}} The leader of the local branch of the cult explains that they like to recruit celebrities in order to help get their message to a wider audience.]]
* ClassReunion: "High School", where Ray realizes Debra was a popular girl back in high school, as opposed to himself, who was a socially awkward geek.
* ClipShow: The hour-long "Everybody Loves Raymond: The First Six Years", split into two parts for syndication.
* ClosetKey: Robert tells Ray about a fellow police officer who had no idea he was gay until he went on vacation in Hawaii, where he met his Closet Key on the beach. Ray then considers the possibility that [[EveryoneIsBi everyone]] has a Closet Key, and that neither of them have met "Mr. Right". Reinforced by Ray's run-in with a handsome mailman in the episode's tag.
* {{Cloudcuckooland}}: This is how Amy initially views the Barone household(s) when she first joins them.
** And conversely, this is how the ''Barones'' view the ''[=McDougall=]'' household when they come to visit.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Peter, Amy's brother, seems to be this trope to a certain extent.
** Debra's mother Lois seems to be this too, although she seems to fit more with the "rich airhead" stereotype. Although she certainly fit the bill in "Surprise Party" when he acted out how she wanted Robert and Frank to move around in the dragon costume, dipping and swaying in Debra's honor.
--> '''Frank''': That lady is a fruit bat.
* CodeWordCoitus: Apparently, Frank's come-on line to Marie is "Hey, c'mere a minute."
** Frequently parodied; in "Blabbermouths", Ray says to Debra in bed, "Guess who pees when she laughs?" Debra, not realizing that Ray was talking about Amy, responds, "I gotta tell ya, that's your ''worst'' come-on line ever."
* ColdOpen: Occurs in the episodes with a title sequence.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In "What's With Robert?", after Frank calls Ray "Nancy":
--> '''Ray''': Y'know, dad, when you talk like that, people could get offended. (...) When you say Nancy, what are you implying, exactly?
--> '''Frank''': That your name should be "Nancy".
--> '''Ray''': And "Nancy" is your word for "gay".
--> '''Frank''': ...Very well.
--> '''Ray''': And you mean that as an insult?
--> '''Frank''': ...Yes, I believe I do.
--> '''Ray''': Well that's not nice.
--> '''Frank''': That's why it's a good insult.
* ComicalOverreacting: All the characters do this quite often.
* ContinuityNod: Every so often, the characters will mention (with horror) the "Fruit of the Month Club" incident from the Pilot episode.
** An example was the episode where Frank and Marie [[spoiler: move out of their home to go to a senior citizen community in New Jersey, though the status quo was restored in the very next episode]]. Before walking out of the house, Marie tells the "kids" that if they're hungry, she and Frank left some food in the fridge, and comments "There's always too much fruit in this house," a reference back to her whole "I can't think, there's too much fruit in the house!" rant from the Pilot.
* ContinuityPorn: [[spoiler: Robert and Amy's]] wedding was [[{{LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters}} filled to the brim with characters we'd seen throughout the series]]. Most of them didn't have speaking parts in this episode, but almost everyone attending the wedding was recognizable as a previous guest star.
* CoolOldGuy: Frank may have been gruff (and sometimes a little gross), but [[CrowningMomentOfFunny his one-liners were a big part of what made the show great. ]].
* CoolOldLady: Somewhat surprisingly, Amy's mother Pat turns out to be this trope.
* CoolUncle: In one episode, Raymond laments the fact that Robert is always willing and able to play with Raymond's kids when he comes over, never seeming to be too busy or too tired to do so. When Robert discovers this, he explains that he's only able to do it because he only ever sees the kids for an hour or so at most. Raymond, meanwhile, cares for his children effectively all the time, and shouldn't be ashamed that he lacks the energy to "Play Monster" with them all day.
* TheCouch
* CouchGag: Each episode features a different dish placed over the "Where's Lunch?" logo.
* CountingToThree: In "Father Knows Least", Ray does this to a stubborn Ally; before he gets to three, he says a couple fractions.
--> '''Ray''': (after 2 3/4) Let me tell you something, Ally: I don't know any more fractions!
** In a subversion of this trope, in "No Fat", Debra does this to ''Frank'' when he refuses to eat Marie's low calorie tofu turkey Thanksgiving meal.
--> '''Debra''': Come on, Frank, we're ready.
--> '''Frank''': I pass.
--> '''Debra''': Okay, Frank, listen. Marie has cooked a very nice meal for everyone, and you are going to sit at that table and eat it.
--> '''Frank''': But I don't wanna.
--> '''Debra''': We are not discussing this. One...
--> '''Frank''': I'm not going.
--> '''Debra''': ...''TWO''...!
--> '''Frank''': All right, all right. (gets up)
* CreditsGag: In "Home From School", Ray Romano is credited as "Pee Pee Raymond" and Phil Rosenthal is credited as "Poo Poo Rosenthal".
* CringeComedy: "The Faux Pas".
* CrossOver: Doug Heffernan from the ''KingOfQueens'' made a couple of guest appearances. The entire Barone family (before Amy was added) guest-starred on The ''King of Queens''. And Ray himself appeared on ''TheNanny'' at Fran Fine and Val Toriello's high school reunion ({{Truth in Television}}, as actors Ray Romano and Fran Drescher really did attend Hillcrest High School in Queens, NYC in the same class).
* CurseCutShort: In "The Ball", Ray (dressed as Santa) walks out of Ally's room and stubs his toe on something. He says, "Oh fu-" and catches himself, saying "Fah lah lah lah lah..."
* TheCutie: Amy
* TheDanza: Ray Romano as Ray Barone
** They only had occasional guest appearances, but Ray Romano's father Albert and Phil Rosenthal's father Max appeared sporadically as friends of Frank named "Max and Albert".
** Comedian Andy Kindler played one of Ray's best friends, Andy.
** Kevin James originally played a guest character named Kevin, until he got the spinoff {{King Of Queens}}, after which his character on "Raymond" was retconned into being Doug Heffernan, just like on "Queens."
* DarkSecret: Think parents always mean it when they give their kid a compliment? According to Marie and Frank, you should think again:
-->'''Marie:''' ''That's what parents do! We all lie to our kids for their own good!''
-->'''Ray:''' ''But other parents aren't lying. They believe in their kids!''
-->'''Marie:''' ''No they don't.''
** Another dark secret: the revelation that Marie held Ray back a year and made him repeat preschool. And not really for any ''academic'' reasons, but really just because she enjoyed walking Ray to the preschool past a bunch of yellow flowers. Ray's reaction upon discovering this as an adult was...not pleasant.
** What about Robert finding out that Frank and Marie had lied about his birthday, and that he was actually a couple months older than he had previously thought?
** Pat [=McDougall=] smokes. Also, Hank likes to blow up fireworks.
** Debra burps when she gets tense. Amy pees a little when she laughs a lot. Marie has occasionally substituted her home-made spaghetti sauce for a bottle of store-bought Ragu.
** In "Favors", Debra unknowingly threw out a letter from Muhammad Ali addressed to Ray. When she can't bring herself to tell Ray, Marie covers for her and thus, Debra owes Marie a favor for keeping her secret.
** It turns out ''Robert'' was the one to accidentally destroy Frank's jazz records, not Ray as he and Frank thought for thirty years. Amusingly, even though Frank has given Ray a hard time about it for thirty years, his only reaction when Robert finally comes clean is: "Aw, that's okay."
* ADateWithRosiePalms: There's a subtle one in "Misery Loves Company", after Debra refuses to go along with Ray's idea to act lovey-dubby towards him so he can look good to Marie in front of Robert and Amy. After she leaves the room, Ray talks to his hand:
--> '''Ray''': It feels perfectly fine. (whispers) We don't need her.
* DeadpanSnarker: Frank is the king of this trope. Ray is also definitely a {{Deadpan Snarker}}. Arguably, everyone in the family gets moments of this trope, but Frank and Ray are the most prominent examples.
* DeathGlare: Debra gives one to Marie in "Mother's Day" when Marie, trying to apologize, instead just makes things worse with passive-aggressive slams ("I should've known that by the afternoon, you've lost complete control of the kids"; "you obviously hadn't tidied up").
* DeerInTheHeadlights: Ray's reaction to Angela eating the fly in "She's the One". He holds one disturbed reaction for a good ''two minutes'' of screen time.
* DemotedToExtra: Ray's friends were much more important in early seasons, eventually showing up less and less.
** Some of his friends were written out of the show entirely, such as Dave (played by Dave Attell).
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In "Ray's Ring", when Ray is talking to an attractive woman in the airport:
--> '''Ray''': I'm a newspaper columnist, for a newspaper.
** In "The Cult":
--> '''Robert''': The path is straight, and the children of the path shall walk upon it, straightly on its straighty straightness.
** In "Sweet Charity":
--> '''Ray''': Saint Stupid Stupid Hospital For the Incurably Stupid!
** In "Getting Even":
--> '''Ray''': Who's gonna bid twenty dollars for this fine piece of craftsmanship, finely crafted by a fine craftsman... who I happen to sleep with?
* DespairSpeech: In "Season's Greetings", Robert gives one when he realizes how petty it was to keep a Christmas letter (which made him look bad but Ray look good) for ten years. In particular, he is ashamed at himself on how he always compares himself to Ray, and that if he has a bad day, he actually says a prayer that Ray doesn't do so hot either.
--> '''Robert''': "Come on, God... get 'im!"
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: In "Not So Fast", Robert tells God He isn't funny after Marie and Frank take back the house and let him and Amy move in with them.
--> '''Debra''': (to Ray) He ''does'' screw with him a ''lot''.
* DietEpisode: In one episode, Marie decides that everyone needs to eat healthier. Unfortunately, it's the Thanksgiving special...
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Frequently occurs with Ray.
--> '''Robert''': It's like watching a car accident.
** Also occasionally occurs with Robert, such as this example from "Lateness":
--> '''Robert''': I am more than happy to wait for my wife. And I think Amy will attest to the fact that I have waited for her many a time with nary a peep.
--> '''Amy''': ...When I do ever make you wait?
--> '''Robert''': Oh, nothing. We always get to where we're going on time, but when it's time to leave, you always like to talk to every person first, because you're just so sweet and sociable. And when anyone asks what I'm doing, I tell them, "I'm waiting for my wife. She's on her "Goodbye Tour"."
--> '''Amy''': "Goodbye Tour"? You have a name for it?
--> '''Robert''': A ''funny'' name!
** Another Robert example occurs in "Pat's Secret" when, after saying that Hank and Pat will be sleeping in he and Amy's room, to enjoy their bed. When he thinks that sounds like sex, he backpedals: "Not that you'll be "enjoying" it." But then he realizes that's also insulting in its own way, so he adds: "Not that you couldn't enjoy it, because you ''can''."
--> '''Ray''': It's like your mouth is falling down the stairs.
** Yet another Robert example, from "Sister-in-Law": Amy began telling a sweater story, and Robert (still miffed about Raymond saying Amy talks too much, but beginning to suspect it himself) gives her the "wrap it up" hands signal during her story. After she's understandably taken aback by his actions, he says he had a bad day, because of what Ray said. Amy is at first mad at just Ray, but when Robert suggests that she should just give Ray the silent treatment the following night, Amy begins to suspect that Robert feels the same way Ray does. To which Robert stammers a denial:
--> '''Robert''': No no! That's because of what ''Ray'' said! And I didn't want him to think he was right! 'Cause like you said: "Jerky"! And I love the sweater! Great sweater! Great story ''about'' the sweater! I'm ''stealing'' that story! (Amy takes her pillow and leaves the bedroom)
** In "A Date For Peter", Robert is stunned to see Stefania at the cocktail party:
--> '''Robert''': But she's my Stefania! (Amy disapproves) I mean, she's my ''ex''-Stefania. (Amy still looks annoyed) No no, I mean... ''you're'' my Stefania now!
** Everybody in the cast in "The Faux Pas".
* DinnerAndAShow: A ruined family dinner is practically a OnceAnEpisode occurrence.
** Ray himself actually invoked this trope by name in one episode (and once in ''IceAge''!)
* {{Dissimile}}: In "Call Me Mom", when Debra doesn't want to call Marie "mom", despite that Ray now calls Debra's mom "mom":
--> '''Ray''': It's easier to use the glue when you don't have to kill the horse yourself!
--> '''Debra''': ...What?
--> '''Ray''': ({{Beat}}) No, I'm sticking with that. It makes sense.
** In "Six Feet Under":
--> '''Ray''': (to Debra) Don't get on your high horse if you can't stand the smell.
* DistractedByTheSexy: In "Traffic School", it's revealed that Ray got a ticket for hitting a cone because he was distracted by a woman walking on the sidewalk who he thought was topless (turns out she was just wearing a flesh-colored top).
* DomCom
* DontExplainTheJoke: In the episode with Debra's surprise party:
--> '''Robert''': Confucious say: "He who have stupid husband get stupid party."
--> '''Frank''': 'Cause you're stupid!
--> '''Robert''': "He who marry Raymond need look elsewhere for good time."
--> '''Frank''': [[RunningGag 'Cause you're stupid!]]
** In "Who's Side Are You On?", when Ray discovers that Debra and the kids have made a lot of bets about him:
--> '''Ally''': Well, sometimes when you call and say what time you'll be home from work, she bets us what time you'll ''really'' be home.
--> '''Michael (or Jeffrey?)''': It's funny, 'cause you're always so late.
** In one episode, Marie said that Ray was good at telling jokes. She asks Ray to tell the joke about the guy who orders peanuts in the bar, and then proceeds to tell the ''whole joke''. (the peanuts said nice things about the guy; the guy asks what the story was, and the bartender said they're "complimentary") When Marie tells Ray to tell the joke, Ray is confused why he should bother, because she just told the punchline.
* DonutMessWithACop: In "Who Am I?", the guys at the lodge remark that Robert is in good shape, so he must not eat too many donuts.
--> '''Stan''': [[DontExplainTheJoke 'Cause cops like donuts!]]
* DoubleStandard: Ray and Debra fall victim to this. Much of the behavior Debra exhibits wouldn't fly if Ray did the same thing. Ray's buffoonishness gets played up on the show in order to provide Debra with an "excuse" for her aggressive behavior. Ray being an imbecile is anti-male, but Debra's bitchiness is fairly anti-female and stereotyping that gender.
** An example is that whenever Debra is in conflict with another person, she demands Ray back her up, but whenever Ray is in the same position, which is more often, Debra never takes his side, unless it's against Frank or Marie. Maddeningly, whenever Debra finds out that Ray was right, she never apologizes to Ray for getting on his case. An example of this is in "The Annoying Kid", where Ray dislikes the kid of friends of his and Debra's. When he tells Debra this, she immediately tells him that he's "bad with kids" and "doesn't want to make new friends". Later, when Debra finds out how smarmy the kids' parents are and how bratty the kid himself is, she simply calls them freaks, without any acknowledgment that Ray had a genuine reason for not liking the kid.
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: [[{{Jerkass}} Debra]] in the later seasons repeatedly employed this trope, smacking him on the arm or pushing him when Ray does something stupid or annoying. It's played for laughs, and the studio audience reciprocates. She'd also use manipulation, and insult Ray frequently, all for laughs.
* DownerEnding: In-universe, Frank claims this is why he doesn't like to tell the story of how he and Marie got married, because "it doesn't have a happy ending".
* DramaQueen: In a few episodes, Amy's shtick was that she would cry at the drop of a hat.
* DysfunctionalFamily: While certainly not the first show to have this trope in play (AllInTheFamily, anyone?), to modern audiences and young tropers, this show may be the TropeCodifier.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the very early episodes, the show seemed to have a different pace. Robert was much more quirky (to the point where many fans speculate that the writers were originally writing him as being borderline autistic, but that they seem to have changed their minds), Debra was much nicer, Frank was a little more open about his emotions, and the writing in general appeared to be more about wry humor than over-the-top humor. Ray Romano also worked in some material from his stand-up act, which was more or less abandoned starting in season 2. The first season also had some guest stars from the world of sports, which was also abandoned starting in the second season (with the exception of season 3's "Big Shots").
** The pilot episode featured a different layout for Frank and Marie's house (people entered on the right, rather than on the left), and Ray and Debra's bedroom was completely different. Both houses had many cosmetic differences as well. Also, the twins were played by two entirely different actors and were named Matthew and Gregory instead of Michael and Jeffrey. On top of all that, it featured a unique opening credits sequence where Ray tries to put together a backyard playset while addressing the audience.
* TheEeyore: Robert comes across as this sometimes, even down to the vocal intonation.
* EmbarrassingNickname: "Pee Pee Raymond".
* EngagingConversation: In "Sister-in-Law", Amy tried to have a conversation with Ray during a football game. After finding out Ray didn't really want to talk to her, she was annoyed at first but decided to be the bigger person and apologized to Ray, saying that she should've realized he's just a guy, and guys are only interested in being left alone to watch sports and not discuss their feelings. To which Frank interjected:
--> '''Frank''': Amy, will you marry me?
* ExactWords: In "Sleepover at Peggy's":
--> '''Ray''': I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...
--> '''Peggy''': Didn't mean to what: Call me a "scary, mean old ass grabber"?!
--> '''Ray''': I did ''not'' say "ass".
* {{Expy}}: The Stipes; as Ray himself puts it, "You put a lot of make-up on one and thirty pounds on the other, that's mom and dad." Robert denies it: "They're nothing like mom and dad.... they're ''Jewish''!"
* FatBestFriend: Doug, who eventually [[TheKingofQueens got his own spinoff.]]
** Later, Bernie.
* FeeFiFauxPas: The TropeNamer. An episode from the last few seasons is entirely devoted to an outsider being stuck in the Barone home for an afternoon and surrounded by their customary insanity, as every member of the family spits out one faux pas after another.
* FelonyMisdemeanor: In "Somebody Hates Raymond", Andy tries to make Ray realize that he's wasting his time and energy by worrying that Jerry Musso hates him, saying that he heard Jerry's a real slimeball. His example:
--> '''Andy''': I heard one time, a co-worker asked him to buy some chocolate for his kid's school fundraiser, and Jerry said, "No thanks, I'm allergic to chocolate." ({{Beat}}) And I have a ''feeling'' that he ''isn't''.
* FeudEpisode: "The Contractor" involves Gianni taking a long time to get a new stove, then being unable to fit the new stove in the space because he screwed up the measurements. When Debra tells Gianni to just put the old stove back in and he still charges Ray full price for his work, the two have a feud, Ray rips up his bill, and Gianni declares they're not friends anymore. However, the two make up in the epilogue.
** A whole story arc is devoted to a running argument between Debra and Marie.
* FeudingFamilies: The Barones and the [=MacDougalls=].
* FictionalCounterpart: Hackidu is the ''Pokemon'' of the ELR 'verse.
* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Debra and Mr. Putnam in "Ally's F", at least in their first encounter. Ray remarked, "You two know each other??"
** Subverted a couple times; Ray will finish somebody else's sentence, but it's not what they were going to say at all:
** In "Party Dress":
--> '''Ally''': Peggy's just so...
--> '''Ray''': Horrible, yeah.
--> '''Ally''': I was going to say "excited".
--> '''Ray''': Yeah. I meant, "horribly excited".
** In "Frank Paints the House":
--> '''Marie''': He [Frank] just isn't good at...
--> '''Ray''': Living among humans.
--> '''Marie''': ...Y'know, I think you're the only one who thinks you're funny.
--> '''Robert''': ''Amen'' to that!
** A subversion happened with Robert as well:
--> '''Pat''': I've tried to quit smoking, but it's hard because they're so...
--> '''Robert''': Addicting.
--> '''Pat''': I was going to say "wonderfully relaxing".
* {{Flanderization}}: Ray was initially only unhelpful around the house and a sometimes-incompetent father, while Debra was only perturbed at him sometimes. Compare that to later seasons, when she becomes a shrill omni-harpy and Ray is a doddering imbecile.
* FlashbackCut: Ray briefly flashed back to his teenage years in "The Car" and "Pants on Fire".
* FollowTheLeader: Helped restart the somewhat-dormant trend in dysfunctional family comedies (after several years of ''HomeImprovement''-style [[DomCom Dom Coms]]) and basically jump-started a whole new era of UglyGuyHotWife sitcoms. ''Many'' of the sitcoms from the ''Raymond'' era are clones -- ''TheKingOfQueens'' being the most notable and famous one.
* FoodSlap: Ray and Debra are eating ice cream when Ray brags about how he got a higher score than Debra in an IQ test. Debra responds by dumping the ice cream bowl on his crotch.
* FootsieUnderTheTable: Joanne did this to Robert in "Meant to Be".
* {{Foreshadowing}}: While many people thought Debra's behavior in later seasons was unexpected, it was heavily hinted that this is common progression among Barone wives who marry into the family. In Season 1, Marie mentions that Frank's mother (who she compares to herself in the same manner Debra does to Marie) moved in with them at some point when Ray and Robert were kids. Frank's relationship with his mother is almost identical to Ray and Robert's with Marie. Early in Season 2, Marie and Frank tell Ray about a time when they nearly divorced over the same kind of petty arguments that Ray and Debra have and even openly admit that they were alot like Ray and Debra at that age (Frank and Marie were about the same age as Ray and Debra were in later seasons when this became a problem). Frank, several seasons later mentions that his father was alot like him, but violent, saying that each generation of Barones '''are''' getting better at these negative traits but that it'll be a while before they're gone. Debra starts walking the path to becoming a new Marie once they moved across the street, like how Frank's mother moved in with them at one point. In the first season, they had only lived across from the elder Barones for 2 years (they moved in when the twins were born and there was only mild friction between Marie and Debra before that, mostly from Marie), so Debra was still very much her pre-Barone self. By later seasons, she had progressed down the same path as Marie with one major difference. She rarely showed any signs of controlling Ally or the twins (beyond basic parental needs, like chores) as opposed to Marie's complete dominance over Ray and Robert, focusing that part of her personality primarily towards Ray (and Amy in one episode). So while Debra became a BitchInSheepsClothing and NotSoDifferent from Marie, she did however, stop the cycle towards the kids. Although, Ally did become quite the DeadpanSnarker in later seasons.
* ForeignRemake: ''Voroniny'' (The Voronins), a Russian remake. The characters seem to be kind of bland, most of the humor is derived from the father's charisma, jokes and making fun of the mother. The brother is, despite being a cop, quite a manchild. The wife is much less of a bitch, portrayed as closer-to-Earth with shades of {{Woobie}} thrown in because the mother just openly dislikes her. Oh, and they live in two separate apartments but they are next to each other, allowing the parents to come over through the balcony whenever the hell they want,many jokes are made of that fact also. Otherwise, according to whoever saw the original, ItsTheSameSoItSucks.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: When little Ally unmasks "Santa Claus" in an early episode, revealing that it's really Robert in disguise, the following exchange occurs:
-->'''Ally:''' ''It's not Santa, it's Uncle Robert!''
-->'''Robert:''' ''No, no! I...I've just assumed the shape of a lifeform you would accept!''
-->'''Ray:''' ''OK, you're supposed to be Santa Claus, not a Klingon!''
* FormerTeenRebel: "Pants on Fire" is devoted to Marie's fury when she discovers that Ray was one of these in his younger days. In "The Disciplinarian", the grownups debate the futility of attempting to be an overly-strict parent when they end up talking about how young Ray and Robert both managed to do things that fit this trope.
--> '''Marie''': Oh Frank, [[ComicalOverreacting our sons are juvenile delinquents!]]
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Ray is phlegmatic, Debra and Frank are choleric, Robert is melancholic, Marie is sanguine.
* FreudianExcuse: An episode from the later seasons is devoted to exploring why Robert's "Crazy Chin" habit started.
* FreudianSlip: In "Older Women", Ray comments that Warren (newly divorced from Lois) wasn't going for somebody younger, but somebody different when he decided to date a woman older than him. While Ray said it just slipped out and didn't mean anything by it, Debra begged to differ, claiming that he'll lust after anybody that's not her. Which is what she claimed he meant by "someone different".
** In "Counseling", Ray mentions that he likes to be taken care of, which leads to this exchange:
--> '''Debra''': But... you've gotta understand, Ray, that's not a wife, that's a mother.
--> '''Ray''': Well maybe that's what I want! ({{Beat}}; he realizes what he said came out wrong)
--> '''Frank''': Holy crap!
--> '''Robert''': On the contrary, dad, I think we've made a real breakthrough. Apparently, Ray wishes he married his mother instead of Debra.
--> '''Ray''': That's not what I said.
--> '''Robert''': Yes ya did.
** In "Sister-in-Law", after Amy defends Ray (saying that the family is using an incident where Ray called Amy "Lady Chatterly" as an excuse to attack him), Ray agrees with her and says the family will use any excuse to make him miserable, then blurts out: "For all I know, you've been sending her in every day on purpose just to annoy me!" Immediately, he realizes what he said came out wrong and Amy walks into the kitchen, offended.
--> '''Frank''': Even ''I'' know you gotta go in there.
** In "Super Bowl", during a big speech, Ray lets it slip that he didn't really want Debra there when he said "You weren't even supposed to be here!"
** Similarly, in "Net Worth", during an argument about finances, Ray lets it slip that it's ''his'' money to screw up with.
--> '''Debra''': What did you say?
--> '''Ray''': "With which to screw up"?
** In "The Apartment", Ray is amazed by all the hot single women in Robert's apartment building, and later that night while discussing Robert with Debra:
--> '''Ray''': He's a great guy, Robert. You know, I, I just want what's ''breast'' for him.
* FridayNightDeathSlot: The show originally aired on Friday nights, but after the first season, it was moved to Monday nights, where it stayed for the remainder of its run.
* FriendToAllChildren: Amy is definitely this trope. After Amy marries into the family, one episode reveals that Ally goes to Amy to talk because she knows that Amy wouldn't be judgmental.
* TheFunInFuneral: More specifically, a wake. In "Who's Next?", Marie is upset because Rose Caputo (who the wake is for) is the person she chose for him if she died. Frank is annoyed that she didn't let him choose Harriet Lichmann, and during an argument, Frank shouts out, "I don't care how many plans you make, I wouldn't be ''caught dead'' with Rose Caputo!" Understandably, everyone is shocked, and Frank and Marie sheepishly leave the wake (followed by the rest of the Barones).
* {{GASP}}: In "Sweet Charity":
--> '''Robert''': You said I was a talented ventriloquist.
--> '''Debra''': You... ''are'', Robert!
--> '''Robert''': (gasps appallingly) Debra!
** In "The Ingrate", Debra lets out an appalled gasp when Ray suggests that maybe why he didn't thank Debra in his doctorate speech is because it was a subconscious reaction to Debra teasing him the night before.
* GetOut: In "The Sigh", Ray wants his bathroom back but Debra refuses, telling him to get out. When he doesn't budge, she takes the shower head and squirts him.
** An odd one in "A Job For Robert":
--> '''Marie''': And by the way, what would be so terrible if you and amy had a baby?
--> '''Robert''': Ma, try to understand. It's not the right time right now.
--> '''Marie''': I understand. (turning to Amy) What do you think, Amy?
--> '''Amy''': Well, I think we both need to be ready.
--> '''Marie''': But I ''am'' ready!
--> '''Amy''': No, Marie; me and ''Robert''.
--> '''Robert''': Yeah, ma. You could see that, can't you?
--> '''Marie''': Of course I can. I only want the best for you. Get your ass out of my house.
** In "Sleepover at Peggy's", Peggy shouts this repeatedly to Ray when Ray called her a bad, scary lady.
** In "The Bigger Person", after Marie discovers that Robert talked to both her and Debra about being the bigger person and apologizing:
--> '''Marie''': Let me ask you something, Robert: Who did you talk to first about this? Debra, or me?
--> '''Robert''': Uh... I don't remember.
--> '''Marie''': You went to ''her'' first, because you couldn't wait to take her side over mine!
--> '''Robert''': I'm on no one's side!
--> '''Marie''': You obviously don't love me the way I love you! Get out!
** In "I Wish I Were Gus", Marie throws Ray out when he doesn't take her side in her grudge against Aunt Alda.
* GirlsWithMoustaches: Ray's wife had a mustache that she waxed regularly. He didn't know this until years into their marriage.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: While Marie technically isn't royalty, she certainly rules the family as if she is. In the famous "Lucky Suit" episode, Robert actually invoked this trope:
-->'''Robert:''' Queen Marie, that's you!. And look! There's little Prince Raymond, heir to the throne!
-->'''Raymond:''' What throne?
-->'''Robert:''' SHUT UP!
-->'''Raymond:''' You say shut up to the prince?
-->'''Robert:''' [''points to Frank''] And then you have your court jester, with his bold head and weighty behind! And then there's me...the peasant, the serf. And God forbid I move up a bit because it might upset your perfect order!
* GoodNewsBadNews: In "The Tenth Anniversary":
--> '''Ray''': I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is, if you like being mad at me, you're outta luck, milady! The good news is, I couldn't get the tape back, which I know sounds like ''bad'' news, but actually is good news, because if the tape existed, we wouldn't be able to get ''married again''!!!
--> '''Debra''': ({{Beat}}) ...What are you doing?
* GossipyHens: Ray accuses Debra of being this with her friends in "Blabbermouths". However, only a scene or two later, Ray ends up sinking to her level by gossiping with Frank and Robert about Debra (and to whom they share secrets about Marie and Amy, respectively).
* GrammarNazi: Marie was one in "Homework" when Ray unknowingly ended a sentence with a preposition ("That's how I got to be where I'm at."):
--> '''Marie''': You're a writer and that's how you use the English language??
--> '''Ray''': What?
--> '''Marie''': You do not end a sentence with "at".
--> '''Ray''': Big deal; so I ended a sentence with a proposition.
--> '''Marie''': ''Preposition''! It's a prepo- OH MY GOD!
--> '''Ray''': What's the big deal?
--> '''Marie''': Because ''this'', is the ''end'' of civilization! People like you don't want to learn anything, because they're too busy with their remote control televisions and their hula hoops! And before you know it, "that's where we're ''at''!"
--> '''Frank''': Where the cookies at?
* GroinAttack: Debra gives Ray a knee to the groin in "Jealous Robert" when Ray is about to spill the beans about Debra and Marie planning to make Robert jealous of Amy dating Gianni.
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Robert has a moustache in the flashback episodes. He's also been said to have had an afro in high school.
* HairTriggerTemper: One of the guys at the lodge didn't respond well to what Robert meant as a joke in "Who Am I?":
--> '''Guy''': Hey Robert, it's hot in here. Why don't you take your sweater off? (referring to Robert's bountiful chest hair)
--> '''Robert''': (laughing with the group) Why don't you take your ''wig'' off?
--> '''Guy''': ...Now what the hell is that supposed to mean. (a fight looks like it'll break out between the two; Robert is escorted out)
* HalloweenEpisode: "Halloween Candy".
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday - Uncle Mel, full stop.
* HeelFaceTurn: Peter originally was a deceptive, rude, manipulative manchild who's biggest goal was to keep Amy and Robert from getting married. However, by the end of "Peter on the Couch", he and Robert had found common ground and more or less made peace. And in "A Date For Peter", he's played relatively normal and not hostile towards Robert at all.
** Ray and Peggy ''somewhat'' made peace in "Sleepover at Peggy's" (after a big misunderstanding, of course). Unfortunately, the two were back to being enemies in "The Party Dress" and "A Date For Peter".
* HelloNurse: Stefania. Invoked in pretty much every episode she appeared in.
* HenpeckedHusband: [[{{TheWoobie}} Ray]], [[{{ButtMonkey}} Ray]], [[{{InformedWrongness}} Ray]].
** And Frank too.
* HereWeGoAgain: The ending to "I Wish I Were Gus", where Marie and Aunt Alda appear to have finally made up, but then they start arguing again.
** In the last couple minutes of "Bad Moon Rising", it appears that Ray and Debra have made up; Debra admits that she's been cranky and doesn't mean to lash out at him, while Ray promises to be more caring and understanding during her time of the month. But then, Ray runs to get the pills to treat PMS, and holds the pill in front of her. Debra knocks the pill out of his hand and accusingly says, "Why don't you just lock me in the attic for a few days?!" Bam, we're right back to Ray and Debra at odds, like how it was the rest of the episode.
--> '''Ray''': (once Debra leaves) [[BrickJoke Come on, comet.]]
* HeyItsThatGuy: Ray and Deb's friend Linda looks like [[{{Friends}} Janice]], but doesn't sound like her.
** [[{{UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball}} Also, Terry Bradshaw shows up as himself in an early episode.]]
*** As does the starting lineup of the [[{{UsefulNotes/Baseball}} 1969 New York Mets]].
**** [[{{All In The Family}} Jean Stapleton, aka Edith Bunker from "All In The Family"]] guest-starred in a very early episode as Marie's older sister Alda. Quite appropriate, given that both shows deal with [[{{DysfunctionalFamily}} dysfunctional families]].
*** Sherri Shepherd, later co-host of "The View", plays Robert's partner on the police force and best friend, Judy.
*** And comedian [[TheDanza Andy Kindler as, well, Andy]], another of Ray's best buddies.
*** [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Uncle Leo]] appears on this show a few times as well.
*** Chris Elliot as Amy's brother
*** Fred Willard as Amy's father
* HeyYou: One of the recurring bits is that Ray has a hard time calling Lois by her name, so he resorts to, "Hey... you." One episode, "Call Me Mom", begins with his efforts to get closer to Lois by calling her "mom".
* HiddenBadass: Ray is awestruck when he discovers that Robert is this, while tagging along with Robert and Judy on their police patrol. While they take a break from patrol at Nemo's Pizzeria and Judy goes to the bathroom, Ray notices that there is a man threatening Nemo (with what may or may not be a gun in his jacket pocket) and demanding cash. Robert simply tells Ray: "Get down. And whatever happens, ''stay'' down," before crawling across the floor, sneaking up behind the robber, throwing a tray with a hot pizza onto the robber's face and then physically subduing him. Later on, Ray tells Debra:
-->'''Ray:''' ''I...I've never seen him like that before. One minute he's my brother who eats like this (makes the crazy-chin motion)...and then the next minute he's this...cop.'' [[{{CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming}} He later notes that he's really glad he saw that and that he's proud of Robert.]]
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Frank. This turns out to be the case in several episodes.
* HideYourPregnancy: Debra's presence during the middle of season 3 is drastically reduced (and in a few cases, she's absent entirely) due to Patricia Heaton's pregnancy. In the episodes where she appears, they mask it by having her in bed, holding things in front of her body, wearing loose-fitting clothing, or merely shooting her from the chest up. This gives the first part of season 3 a distinctly claustrophobic feeling.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood:
-->'''Frank''': I never told you this, but I used to think of you as kind of a weak little mama's boy.
-->'''Ray''': Yeah, you told me that.
* HotGuyUglyWife: Robert is considered "classically handsome", while his on-again/off-again girlfriend/later wife Amy, is... let's face it... she is rather homely.
* HotMom: Debra, undoubtedly
* HowAboutASmile: In "Hackidu", Ray is impatient to get out of Russell's shop with the Scramisaur card, but before Russell will let him have it, he demands, "Let's have a little smile." Ray struggles to force a smile, and after Russell says, "That's what it's all about, man", he says he owes him well over $200 for the purchase.
** In "The Christmas Picture", Ray tells Robert to get over into the picture.
--> '''Robert''': What?
--> '''Ray''': Get over there.
--> '''Robert''': "Get over there..."
--> '''Ray''': ...Please?
--> '''Robert''': There ya go, Raymond. You'll find a little courtesy goes a long way.
* HowWeGotHere: This trope was used in an early episode that actually used this phrase as its title. The episode was a flashback to how Ray and Debra ended up living across the street from Frank and Marie, revealed that it was actually ''Debra'' who had strongly insisted that they live there, while [[{{CassandraTruth}} Ray had desperately attempted to convince her that they should live somewhere else, because he knew how crazy his family could be.]]
* HypocriticalHumor: In "Counseling":
--> '''Ray''': All I want to do is relax, ''for once'', and Debra tells me to shampoo the rug!
--> '''Frank''': What? You can't help out a little?
--> '''Ray''': What?! ''You'' don't help out!
--> '''Frank''': Ass.
** In "The Skit", a similar exchange occurs when Frank refuses to write a speech for Lee and Stan's anniversary and then criticizes Ray for not wanting to do it either.
** In "Peter on the Couch", after Robert agrees to get Peter his old apartment:
--> '''Frank''': Those two think their troubles are over. Believe me, you don't want a relative like that living so close to ya. You can ''never'' get rid of them! (immediately turns on Ray's TV)
** In "The Mentor":
--> '''Debra''': (calmly) A lot of the problems in this family wouldn't exist if there was a little more hugging and a little less yelling. So Frank, (shouting) ''HUG YOUR SONS!!!''
** In "Faux Pas":
--> '''Marie''': (to Ray) I tried to teach you. I mean, you should know that words can hurt people.
--> '''Robert''': That's right, Raymond!
--> '''Marie''': No one's talking to you, Robert. You're such a ''busybody''.
* IAmBigBoned: In "Who's Next?", Bernie is offended that Debra wouldn't take him as a husband if Ray dies, and instigates:
--> '''Bernie''': It's because I'm heavy, isn't it? I know I have trouble with weight. I ''happen'' to have a glandular problem!
* IdenticalGrandson: Or, in this case, Identical Son. In a flashback to Ray and Robert's childhood, young Frank was played by Ray Romano.
** Let us not forget "baby" Ally. In a flashback to Debra being pregnant with the twins, the child playing Ally looks suspiciously like one of the twins dressed as a girl...
* ImAHumanitarian: Played for laughs in "The Mentor", when Amy blocks Frank's exit from Ray and Debra's kitchen:
--> '''Robert''': (to Amy) What are you doing? He'll ''eat'' you.
* ImGoingToHellForThis: In "Angry Sex", when Ray tells Robert to leave so he can have more "angry sex" with Debra:
--> '''Robert''': Oh you are going ''straight'' to Hell.
--> '''Ray''': And ''you're'' going back to live with mommy and daddy.
--> '''Robert''': ...You win.
* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: Marie's food in general. Also, Debra's braciole in "Debra Makes Something Good", much to Marie's jealousy.
** Marco's pizza, as revealed in "Stefanie Arrives". When Frank takes a bite, he says: "Holy crap! This is... ''holy'' crap."
* ImStandingRightHere: In "Who's Next?", while Ray, Debra, Bernie, and Linda are in an argument about Ray and Debra's game about who they'd get to marry if one of them died, Robert spoke up:
--> '''Robert''': Did Debra even consider me?
--> '''Amy''': Hey, I'm right ''here''!
* IncrediblyLamePun: From "Confronting the Attacker" during the public service announcement where Robert's standing next to the bull that gored him:
--> '''Robert''': When you're out on the street, ''anything'' can happen. And that's ''no bull''.
** Earlier in this story arc, Frank showed Robert his favorite newspaper headline: "Runaway bull: Cop gets horny".
* INeedADrink: Debra has three caterwauling children under foot and hears the doorbell ring:
-->God, I hope that's a bourbon salesman.
** Another example, from "Security":
--> '''Amy''': Where do you keep your "After Marie" liquor?
--> '''Ray''': ....We don't have any-
--> '''Debra''': Top cabinet, behind the Cream of Wheat.
* IneffectualDeathThreats: In "Net Worth", Robert is asked what's involved in a wrongful death settlement. Debra responds, "Good, good 'cause we're about to have one." (referring to Ray)
** In "Boys' Therapy", Marie told Frank while pointing at the obituaries section of the newspaper, "Frank, you better take a ''good'' look at this section, 'cause you're gonna ''be'' in there tomorrow!"
** In "Young Girl":
--> '''Debra''': So what, men have to date women twenty years younger than they are? If Ray dies tomorrow, I have to start dating sixty year olds?
--> '''Ray''': Whoa, I'm dyin' tomorrow?!
--> '''Debra''': We'll see.
** Played with in "Odd Man Out":
--> '''Marie''': I'm gonna kill your father!
--> '''Ray''': (flatly) Oh no, mom, ''don't''.
** In "The Game", Marie says a hypothetical scenario to see if Ray would let her live with him when Frank dies.
--> '''Frank''': I died? How did I die?
--> '''Marie''': I haven't decided yet.
* InformedAttribute: Warren (Debra's father) was repeatedly described by the other characters as being a rather heavy drinker, but oddly enough, we never actually ''saw'' anything to suggest this onscreen, besides one occasion when Warren accepts an offer by Robert to go out for drinks (along with food) at Nemo's Pizzeria.
* InherentlyFunnyWords: Frank seems to think Lake ''Tahoe'' is this.
* InnocentSwearing: In "The Nice Talk", Frank succumbs to this:
--> '''Frank''': Can I watch TV now?
--> '''Marie''': No, Frank.
--> '''Frank''': Well then what the hell are we gonna do all night?!
--> '''Hank''': Less cursing, I hope.
--> '''Frank''': Who cursed?
--> '''Hank''': You referred to the antipode of Heaven.
--> '''Frank''': ({{Beat}}) What the hell kind of moon man talk is that?!
--> '''Hank''': Oh, there it is again.
* InsistentTerminology: Robert was gored in the ''upper thigh.''
* InsultBackfire: In "Ping Pong":
--> '''Frank''': Marie, get a mop, because after I beat Ray, the floor is going to be soaked with tears.
--> '''Ray''': Yeah, but they're going to be ''your'' tears, because its going to be your funeral
--> '''Frank''': ({{Beat}}) If it's my funeral, how can I be crying? Nice try.
--> '''Marie''': ''I'' thought it was good, Raymond.
* IResembleThatRemark: Ray: "You're calling me self-centered. Me? Me?! ''ME''?!"
** In "The Article", Ray mentions that he edited a part of Andy's column to be less repetitive. Andy enthusiastically replied with: "I get it, I get it, I get it, I get it, I get it, I get it!"
* IronicEcho: In "The Contractor", Ray (and later Debra) both say: "It's not like Van Gogh lost his paintbrush."
** In "Fun With Debra", Ray tries to cover a passive aggressive remark towards Debra ("I love it [Debra correcting him] at home, why wouldn't I love it on the golf course?") with a "zing zing!" A scene later, Debra did the same towards Ray ("You don't listen to me at home, why would you listen to me on the golf course?......Zing zing.")
** In "Sweet Charity", when Ray doesn't want to do charity for the church, Debra tries to make him feel guilty by saying "This is between you, and him (points upward, indicating God)." At the end of the episode, after it's revealed that Debra sent Robert to the hospital to steal Ray's thunder because she thought Ray was spending too much time there, Ray says, "I don't think you should be talkin' to me. I think you should be talking to... (points upward)." A minute later, after Robert finds out that Debra lied about liking his ventriloquism, he performs the same action.
** In "Season's Greetings", Robert says he wants the Christmas letter to say that he's been known to "boogie the night away". To which Ray replies: "So you've broadened the definition of "dance the night away" to "staying home by yourself eating Wheat Thins"?" Later in the episode, Robert gets his revenge when Ray objects to how his job is described in the Christmas letter:
--> '''Ray''': Look, you may not think my job is so hot, but 600,000 discriminating readers do.
--> '''Robert''': So you've broadened the definition of the word "discriminating" to include people who do their reading with their elbow on a roll of toilet paper?
** In "Getting Even", Debra says she felt humiliated by Ray's auctioneering (which mostly consisted of making fun of Debra); Ray told her not to feel that way, and she responded, "Don't tell me how to feel!" At the end of the episode, after Ray was convinced Debra was going to get revenge for his auctioneer roast, Ray said he was feeling paranoid. Debra told him not to feel that way, and Ray said "Don't tell me how to feel!" Debra replied: "And there it is. I'll just give you a minute to put it together." (Ray has a hard time doing so, so Debra recounts the IronicEcho)
** A nonverbal one occurs in "Be Nice": Debra wants Ray to take the kids to the park for an hour and a half, so Ray starts his watch and walks as slowly as he can to get his shoes. At the end of the episode, Ray wants to have sex with Debra and he runs upstairs. Debra says that she'll be right there, and walks as slowly as she can.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne:
--> '''Debra''': You're so typical! All you care about are boobs and butts.
--> '''Ray''': I couldn't care less about butts!
* ItIsPronouncedTropay: In "The Ingrate", Debra pokes fun at the time Ray unknowingly read "stomach ache" as "sto-ma-cha-cha".
* ItMakesSenseInContext: "For once, I'd like to be able to bring a board game into this house without being accused of having sex with my brother!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]In "No Roll", Ray wanted to spice things up in the bedroom, so he bought a board game called "Sensuopoly". Only problem is, Marie, Robert, and Frank found out about it before he showed Debra. Marie was disgusted, and said "Another board game? It's like that one you had as a teenager with the dots." Ray responds, "Twister?" Marie replies, "Don't think I didn't know what was going on downstairs." Ray confusingly replies, "I played with ''Robert''.".[[/labelnote]]
* IWantGrandkids: Marie is this to Robert and Amy, to the point that she doesn't count Ally, Michael, and Jeffrey as grandkids because she rarely sees them anymore.
--> '''Marie''': I've obviously failed as a mother, and I was hoping for one last chance as a grandmother.
--> '''Debra''': But Marie, you ''are'' a grandmother! What about our kids?
--> '''Marie''': ...Oh? Where ''are'' they??
* IWasQuiteALooker: Marie. Mentioned in an episode where she discovers that, among other books, Frank is about to throw away her high school yearbook, in which there are several pictures where Marie looks beautiful. Marie snatches it back and says she wants the yearbook...
-->'''Frank:''' ''Well I don't want it in the house. It's depressing!''
-->'''Marie:''' ''What are you talking about? [[{{IWasQuiteALooker}} I looked beautiful in these pictures!]]''
-->'''Frank:''' ''[[{{DeadpanSnarker}} That's what's depressing.]]''
* {{Jerk With A Heart of Gold}}: Frank is so much this trope. While he definitely has his angry, judgmental moments and often acts boorish, many episodes end with him doing something genuinely sweet or heartwarming. He may have a gruff exterior, but he's definitely not a bad guy.
** In one episode, Frank, Ray, and Robert are having lunch, trying to come up with therapy "breakthroughs" to tell their wives while they're at the track instead. Frank reveals that his father used to beat him all the time, and his grandfather used to beat his father. Ray notes, "So his father hit him, he hit you, and you...you never hit us really." Frank replies "I was always weaker than him." Robert offers, "Maybe you didn't want to be like him." After a quiet moment, Frank replies "I didn't."
--> '''Ray''': [[MoodWhiplash The girls'll buy that.]]
--> '''Robert''': They'll eat it up like a bag of candy!
*** Marie is arguably this trope too.
* {{Jewish Mother}}: Although Marie is portrayed as an Italian-American Catholic, like Ray Romano's real-life family, she is also partly based on producer Phil Rosenthal's Jewish mother, and the character shares many of the {{Jewish Mother}} trope traits.
** When Robert briefly moves in with an elderly Jewish couple called the Stipes, the wife, an actual Jewish mother obviously, fits the trope 100%. When Ray meets the couple, it's {{lampshade}}d how similar they actually are to Frank and Marie, and that their being Jewish is literally the ''only'' noticeable difference between the Stipes and Frank and Marie.
* KarmaHoudini: Debra could get this way regarding her treatment of Ray (he was rarely ever able to verbally defeat her -- just annoy her), but Marie would nearly ''always'' get the best of her, and the Barones regularly invaded her home and directly and indirectly criticized her, so she's not exactly getting off scot-free. Marie is a better example, almost never getting her comeuppance. The writers would claim after the series had ended that this was a deliberate way of making their wives like the show more.
** Robert managed to avoid karma a couple times too--- most notably in "Jazz Records".
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: "Robert's Wedding" features a scene where Gianni enters the men's bathroom at the church but is uncomfortable about taking a leak since Marie is standing there talking to Robert. Despite Marie telling him to go ahead and pee, Gianni says, "I don't have to go anymore!" and leaves. This scene is strangely absent on the season 7 DVD set, and because of this, Ray's line later in the scene ("Out, ma. You've already got Gianni looking for a fire hydrant") makes no sense.
* KnockKnockJoke: One of the biggest fights between Debra and Marie started with Debra not allowing Michael and Jeffrey to tell a knock knock joke to Marie's friends.
* LameComeback: In "Ray's Journal", after Robert said he kept his real journal in a safety deposit box at the bank (which contained the stuff he didn't want Marie to read):
--> '''Ray''': What did you put in that one?
--> '''Robert''': Well, certainly nothing I'd have to write with my pants down. (referencing a journal entry of Ray's where he measured his erect penis)
--> '''Ray''': Yeah, if your pants ''were'' down, the only thing you could write is, "Hey, where's everybody going?"
--> '''Robert''': ({{Beat}}) What?
--> '''Ray''': (angry) I don't know! (leaves)
* LastSecondWordSwap: In "Slave", Robert is about to say the meal that Ally cooked for him is the best he ever tasted. Marie looks at him disapprovingly, so instead he ends the sentence with a round of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (Ray nervously joins in).
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall In one episode, a radio announcer in-universe says that they'll be right back after a break. Then the episode goes to a commercial break.
* LessEmbarrassingTerm: Robert insists for several episodes that a bull gored him in the "upper thigh."
* LongList: In "The Bigger Person":
--> '''Frank''': Anyway, make me a sandwich, will ya?
--> '''Marie''': A sandwich?
--> '''Frank''': Uh, roast beef, mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, cheese, easy onion.
** In "Snow Day", Marie apologizes that with the power outage, she wasn't able to make much, but then proceeds to list a large amount of sandwiches anyway.
--> '''Marie''': You know, there's only so much I can do without electricity, but I was able to make some ham and cheese sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, And, of course, macaroni salad, potato salad, and regular salad. Then there's pies and cookies and cake for dessert.
--> '''Ray''': Ma, you're two pickles away from opening a deli.
* LongLostRelative: Debra's sister Jennifer; she and Debra hardly kept in contact ever since college, and when Jennifer finally pays the family a visit, it's to say she's become a nun and is going on an extended missionairy trip to Africa.
* LostWeddingRing: Down the vent.
* LysistrataGambit: A few episodes center around Ray being convinced Debra deliberately withholds sex from him. One, "The Power of No", has Ray turning the tables of being the one to say "no" to sex.
* TheMafia: It is heavily implied that Stefania's father Marco has ties to the Mafia. In a hilarious scene, Robert discovers that Marco has taken over Nemo's Pizzeria and the following exchange occurs:
-->'''Robert:''' * nervously* What happened to Nemo?
-->'''Marco:''' He go away.
-->'''Robert:''' * freaked out* Where?
-->'''Marco:'''* glares significantly* ''Away''.
** In "Favors":
--> '''Marie''': And so, yes. Maybe sometimes I ask for a favor in return, once in a blue moon. And you call that "controlling"? I call that "a family".
--> '''Amy''': A ''Mafia'' family...
--> '''Marie''': Is ''that'' what you think, Amy?
--> '''Amy''': ....I'm sorry.
** In "Mia Famiglia", everybody but Debra is speaking Italian at the dinner table. They start talking about how one of their relatives was the only one brave enough to stand up to the Mafia. Debra, only understanding the word "mafia" in the conversation, says, "Your family is part of the Mafia? I knew it."
* MafiaPrincess: As noted above, it's implied that Stefania is this, although if it's true, then she at least seems to be blissfully unaware of it. She knows that her father can seem intimidating to potential suitors such as Robert, but she apparently has no idea that he might be in the Mafia.
* {{Malaproper}}: From "Party Dress":
--> '''Ray''': It's morally and ethnically wrong!
--> '''Debra''': ...You're out of your element, Ray.
** In "The Sneeze", Ray says he should take some Ibuproferenium.
** Debra misuses many golf terms in "Fun With Debra", telling Ray to "slice" the ball into the hole on the green, saying "You didn't ''par off'' without me, did you?", and saying that birdies had nothing to do with golf (she got matching visors with birdies on them).
* MamaBear: Marie has many moments of this trope. One notable one, which doubles as a huge CrowningMomentOfAwesome for her character, is the flashback episode to when Robert and his first wife got a divorce. Upon hearing that Joanne has dumped Robert (after treating him cruelly for years), Marie puts down the cake she was carrying, turns to glare icily at Joanne and growls ''You...'' before beginning a speech about how she had held her tongue for years and that she found out all about Joanne's sordid past. She ends by saying "You think you're dumping my son? No. My son is dumping ''you.'' It's time to TAKE OUT THE TRASH!" and shoving Joanne out the door.
-->'''Ray:*peeking out the window a few moments later*''' ''Joanne's gone already. The scary thing is, I think I saw a bat flying away.''
* ManChild: Ray acts like this. Marie virtually enforces it with her mothering, much to Debra's consternation.
* ManipulativeBastard: Marie is ''very'' good at controlling the family. They're all aware of it, but they try not to think about it. Can be best summed up by a line uttered by Marie during a time the family is about to connect the dots and realize she's to blame for something:
--->'''Marie:''' Let's all eat this food I made, and remember that this was nobody's fault.
** Debra has her moments well, such as in the episode where she gets annoyed that Ray is spending so much time volunteering at a hospital, so she tells Robert that he'd be talented enough to take Ray's place there as the resident entertainer. Ray gets upset and leaves the hospital, just as Debra planned. Of course it backfires totally, as she's forced to entertain the cranky seniors who hate her.
* ManipulativeEditing: In-universe, Ray and Robert perform this for Frank's video tribute. The reason? None of Frank's friends have anything nice to say about him, but Ray decides to ask his friends what they think about chocolate. This leads to blatantly obvious cuts in the footage: "Oh I love..." (different footage) "Frank Barone!"
* MayDecemberRomance: "Young Girl".
* MeddlingParents: Is there a better way to describe Frank and Marie?
* {{Men Are Uncultured}}: Played painfully straight...over and over and over again.
* MenstrualMenace: The show provides one of the most iconic examples -- Debra became even crankier than usual, and goes through a full gamut of insane mood swings while Ray alternates between being sympathetic, confused or accusatory ("It's hard to hug someone who's TRYING TO KILL YOU!!")
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: In "Sweet Charity":
--> '''Ray''': Dirty laundry has come home to roost!
* MindYourStep: When Ray hurts himself in a particularly athletic bedroom session, he claims he tripped on a broken step to his parents. It backfires when turns out the stairs really were broken and Frank falls THROUGH them when he investigates.
* MistakenForGay: Robert, in "What's With Robert?".
* {{Montages}}: In "Cruising With Marie", there's a montage of Ray/Marie on the cruise and Frank/Robert at home, set to "The Banana Tree".
** In "The Power of No", there's a montage of Ray and Debra going to bed without sex over the course of many nights, set to [[TheElevatorFromIpanema "The Girl From Ipanema".]]
* MoodSwinger: Debra in general, with a prominent example in "The Walk to the Door", at a wedding:
--> '''Ray''': You win: I'm a bad person.
--> '''Debra''': (angry, to Ray) Oh, how do I ''win''? You know, you- (notices the bride and groom kissing at a nearby table; becomes happy) Ohoho, they're kissing. (back to angry) You know what would make me happy? If you recognized a regret before you did it!
** Perhaps the most infamous example is in "Bad Moon Rising" when Debra, having just finished berating Ray for not being more sensitive to her during her time of the month, answers the phone. It's Amy on the other end, and after only a couple seconds, she is in a good mood.
* MoodWhiplash: In "Lucky Suit", Robert is angling for a job at the FBI, for which it seems Marie unwittingly ruined by sending his interviewer a long apology note for ruining Robert's lucky suit. It's played for laughs, especially when Marie goes to the office to set things right, unitl she reveals that she did it on purpose because Robert was one year from retirement on the police force, and she was tired of worrying about Robert on the job every night. It's a very moving speech...[[spoiler: until the agent says they were going to pass on Robert because of better candidates. Cue another whiplash back into comedy as Marie doesn't take kindly on someone being more qualified then her Robby.]]
** The second act of "Golf For It" starts heavy on the comedy as Ray and Robert, still annoyed at Marie's demands, joke about her and place a bet on who has to take her after Frank dies. However, things turn serious when Ray says, "She's gonna be with you 'til the day she dies!" After that, the tone gets more serious as the two golf with the ''reward'' of taking Marie after Frank dies. Robert even accuses Ray of not loving Marie as much as he does. Things veer back towards comedy, though, when the two physically fight and call a truce.
** "Snow Day", which starts out light-hearted as usual, gets a sudden mood whiplash when Debra blurts out that she's surprised she's having a good time with Frank. Frank, offended by the idea that Debra doesn't enjoy his company, sullenly walks out of the house. Cue commercial break.
** In "The Home", Ray, Debra, Robert, and Amy are all ecstatic about Marie and Frank moving to a retirement community. However, in the next act, Debra begins to have conflicting feelings about it, and bears her heart to Marie just before the two leave:
--> '''Debra''': Okay. I know I should have said this years ago, but... We kind of... no, we ''have'' butted heads a lot over the years and... we've said some unfortunate things to each other and about each other, and I guess we've just decided that that's how it is. But I know that you and I are not okay with the way things are between us. You know, when you told me that you were moving, I was happy, because it meant I wouldn't have to deal with all the fighting and the tension. But I don't like feeling that way. I feel like we're just giving up, and I don't want to do that. I don't. I... I think that there could be so much more for us. And I'm sorry that we haven't gotten there yet, but I think that we can.
--> '''Marie''': Oh Debra... do you know what your problem is? (audience laughs) You're always so dramatic. I'm ''fine'' with the way we are!
--> '''Debra''': ...Have a great trip.
** Then there's the finale, which runs the gamut of comedy and drama, especially concerning Ray's near-death experience.
* MsFanservice: Debra provides this in at least two episodes - one where she "tells off" a woman who she thought accused her of dressing provocatively by overdoing it in front of her, and another where she tries to seduce Ray wearing only a nightie. Generally though, it's relegated to her wearing tight, but not out-of-place in reality clothing.
** [[{{HelloNurse}} Stefania]] was also a good example of this trope. [[{{Lampshade}} Lampshaded]] in one episode where the Barones are hosting a party for singles, in hopes of getting Peter together with a girl. When Stefania shows up and takes off her winter coat, revealing a sexy dress on her already-sexy body, the other women simply declared "I'm out!" and left, assuming that they had no hope of getting a guy's attention with Stefania in the room. However, [[spoiler: it turns out they were actually wrong: ''Peggy'', aka the "Cookie Hitler Lady" as Ray calls her, and Peter end up falling in love]].
* TheMutiny: "Thank You Notes", where Amy offends Marie by not agreeing to write her wedding thank you notes as soon as possible. Debra realizes that now that it's two against one, she finally has a chance to take down Marie once and for all.
* MyBelovedSmother: Marie, Marie, Marie.
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Lee keeps calling Debra "Donna". Similarly, the Stipes call Robert "Rodney", particularly annoying since he briefly lived with them.
* NearDeathExperience: Occurs to Ray (without his knowing) in "The Finale". Later in the episode, he is told he almost died on the operating table; he remarks that now that he mentions it, he thinks he saw a light.
* NeverLendToAFriend: Ray & Debra lend Robert money after visiting his run-down bachelor pad, but Ray gets upset when Robert goes to Las Vegas. By the end of the episode, though, Ray has admitted to Robert that he secretly envies him. As Ray puts it, a vacation for him would be going to the bathroom for 2 minutes without someone banging on the door. As Robert is still single, he can afford to just up and go to Vegas. Ray urges him to go.
* NeverMessWithGranny: You do NOT want Marie angry with you. She won't retaliate with violence, but she will find other ways to settle the score...
* NewJobEpisode: Robert got two of them; the first was in "Confronting the Attacker" when Robert briefly quit the police force to sell appliance insurance, and the second was in "Security" when he sold home security systems as a second job.
** Debra got back into the work force in "Working Girl", though her job at an advertising agency was short lived due to butting heads with the other execs over a new pizza mascot (her creation was Professor Pete Za).
* NewYorkCityCops: Robert and Judy. They completely avert the "grim and gritty" stereotypes that often accompany the NYPD on drama shows.
* NoAccountingForTaste
* NoodleIncident: Whenever Ray and Robbie reminisce about their rather ''interesting'' childhood, they seem to mention a lot of incidents that seem to fit this trope.
** One is brought up by Frank in the episode where it is found out that Ray pre-wrote Frank's eulogy:
-->'''Frank:''' (referring to Ray) I remember one time I went up to the attic, turned the light on, and lo and behold...
-->'''Ray:''' Alright, stop it Dad!
*** Validated in the {{Stinger}} when Robert also leads in to the same scenario, but never clarifies it.
** In "Golf", when Ray is at the doctor's:
--> '''Doctor''': How are Robert's feet doing?
--> '''Ray''': ...Fine. It's been a while since I've seen his feet.
--> '''Doctor''': I tell you, that was an uphill battle. (pause) Anyway...
* NoPeriodsPeriod: The episode ''Bad Mood Rising'' didn't just avert this trope. [[MenstrualMenace It smashed it to pieces.]]
* NoSympathy: In "Separation", Debra tells Ray that her parents have separated and are on the path to divorce. After a brief pause, Ray smirks and almost laughs. Debra is understandably aghast at his reaction, and Ray tries to explain himself by saying the atmosphere was too serious and that he was amused at the way she phrased it (he was picturing a ''literal'' path to divorce in his mind). Later in the same episode, when Debra opens up to him about it, she uses the analogy that her parents' marriage was like a rock. Ray responded with: "It was like a stone, and now it's passed."
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: In "The Sneeze", Ray and Derba don't have time for "going away" sex before Ray's trip. When he gets back, Debra wants to make it up to him by dressing in a skimpy nightie, lighting candles, shaving her legs, and generally being amorous. But Ray's too distracted by the man who sneezed on him at the airport to be turned on.
--> '''Debra''': (after Ray leaves, sans sex) I want credit for this! Can't believe I shaved my legs...
** The entire plot to "The Power of No", where Ray deliberately turns down sex with Debra so he can have the "power" for once. The highlight of the episode is when Ray and Debra both try to turn the other on; Ray goes to bed oily and shirtless, wearing satin boxers, and flexing, while Debra wears skimpy lingerie, crawls seductively into bed, and lays on the bed outside the covers. Neither give in.
* NotHelpingYourCase: In "The Cult", Robert says he joined the cult to get love. Marie replies: "You have that ''here'', you stupid ass!"
** In "The Mentor":
--> '''Robert''': How could we respect a guy who said, "Stop brushing your teeth so loud! I'm trying to watch ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}''!"?
--> '''Marie''': You ''did'' brush loudly, Robert.
--> '''Robert''': Are ya helpin' me, ma?
** In "Homework", Ray gives a speech to the PTA about lessening the homework load. However, he basically negates any points he made by using technically bad grammar at the end of it:
--> '''Ray''': It feels like the kids today have ten times the homework we had. You know? And I don't want my daughter to hate learning; I want her to be curious and thoughtful, and, I think I speak for all parents, I want her to be happy. I mean, I think there's homework that's important and everything, but then I feel like there's overload. Are we piling it on? We're so worried that our children aren't going to be competitive in the future that we're taking away their present. (pause) Anyway, maybe we could all just keep that in mind. Because after all, isn't that the kind of school we want our children to be a part of? (is about the leave the podium, but returns when he realizes he ended a sentence with a preposition) I mean, "in". I mean, "of". I mean, "a part of". I mean... isn't that- isn't that the kind of school we want our children to be a part of. (pause) In. (sits down)
--> '''Teacher''': (to another teacher) And ''you'' wanted to cut down on the English homework.
** In "Father Knows Least", Debra wants herself and Ray to attend a parenting class. Ray doesn't want to, and says that his parents never took a parenting class. Debra gives him a look that basically says, "That's not helping your argument."
*** Similarly, in "The Annoying Kid", Debra complains that she doesn't have any friends. Ray says, "I'm your friend." Debra responds, "This is the argument??"
** In "Lateness", Amy goads Robert into seeing Dr. Greenburg for therapy:
--> '''Amy''': I just think you could be happier!
--> '''Robert''': Do we have to talk about this here?
--> '''Amy''': I just want you to feel better about who you are!
--> '''Robert''': (angrily) ''I AM FANTASTIC ABOUT WHO I AM!!!''
* TheNotSecret: [[{{SecretDiary}} Ray's journal]]. Not only does it turn out that Robert knew about it, but apparently, in Marie's own words, she and Frank used to "sit up to read it after Johnny Carson."
* NotSoDifferent: Marie and Debra. Think about it. Their personalities really aren't very different at all, especially in their desires for complete and utter control over Ray.
** Ray and cousin Gerard. Namely the whiny, nasal voice.
** In "Peter on the Couch", Robert realizes that he and Peter are a lot alike, in that they both lived at home for forty years and were suddenly on their own. Considering that Peter tried to break up Robert and Amy's wedding (and Peter and Robert had a feud in this episode), it's kind of sweet when the two find common ground and Robert agrees to help him find his own place.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Subverted in "Sleepover at Peggy's"; Ray patting Robert's butt was meant to demonstrate what Peggy did to Ray, but since Ray didn't want Debra to know that, he pretended he was showing Robert how the college and pro football players pat each other.
--> '''Debra''': I'll let you guys get back to your "half-time show"...
** Similarly, in "Debra's Parents", just as Hank and Pat show up for Thanksgiving, they see Warren and Lois in nothing but bed sheets, with Warren proudly proclaiming to Debra, "Sweetie, you don't have to be married to have sex!" Hank and Pat are shocked, so Robert quickly covers, saying that they're rehearsing a play.
** In "The Apartment", two women invite Robert to an apartment-wide party. He goes to get his checkbook, and while he's gone, Debra comes in. When Robert returns, he gives them a check and says, "Here's your money, girls!" One of the women jokes, "Thanks, but we don't usually take checks. (laughs)"
** In "Cruising With Marie", the activities director doesn't believe Ray when he says that Marie is his mother, not his older lover. Ray's insistence on this fact isn't helped by a scene later in the episode when Ray says he doesn't know how to dance, and Marie shows him. Guess who walks by their room when this occurs?
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Several episodes suggest that Ray is actually far more clever than he lets on. One episode has him & Frank actually telling Robert to deliberately act this way so the wife will do all the work.
** The idea of Ray being more clever than he lets on is hinted at further during the "Angry Sex" episode: if you look closely during one scene, Ray is actually reading a book about Zen Buddhism.
--> '''Ray''': I may ''seem'' stupid, but that's just to get your mother to not ask me to do stuff, okay?
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Frank, Marie, and Robert are practically the {{Trope Codifier}}s
* OccidentalOtaku: Peter.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Played for laughs in numerous episodes; Frank will claim that Marie is impossibly old, often claiming she's as old as cavemen or dinosaurs.
--> '''Marie''': When I was your age-
--> '''Frank''': You sat around the fire and wonder how it got there.
** Or this example, from the finale:
--> '''Marie''': What's my birthday?
--> '''Ray''': Uh, December 9th.
--> '''Frank''': 1802!
* OneShotCharacter: A relative rarity for the series; it was more content to focus the storylines on the five main characters. Regardless, there were some one-shot characters over the years:
** "Pilot": Leo, a friend of Ray's who is never featured in any other episode
** "I Wish I Were Gus": Aunt Alda
** "All I Want For Christmas": Erin
** "The Sitter": Lisa
** "Working Girl": Charlotte
** "The Sister": Jennifer, Debra's sister
** "Debra's Workouts": Nick the aerobics class instructor
** "The Christmas Picture": Steven Golden the photographer
** "Marie and Frank's New Friends": Seth
** "Italy": Aunt Colleta, Giorgio
** "The Walk to the Door": Elizabeth, the woman that Ray didn't walk to the door when they were teens
** "The Angry Family": The school counselor
** "Older Women": Emma, Warren's older girlfriend
** "Raybert": Natasha, Robert's girlfriend who thought he was Ray Barone
** "Homework": Miss Purcell
** "She's the One": Angela, Robert's fly-eating girlfriend
** "The Annoying Kid": Spencer, as well as his parents
** "Somebody Hates Raymond": Jerry Musso
** "The Shower": Mr. Hodell; Officer Keon
** "Robert's Wedding": Reverend Stevens
** "The Mentor": Sammy
** "Not So Fast": The condo president and his assistant
** "Ally's F": Mr. Putnam
** "Boys' Therapy": Cousin Bella
** "The Faux Pas": George and his son, Chris
** "The Finale": The doctor and his assistant
* OnlySaneMan: Ray, particularly in the early season.
** The kids, fit this trope throughout the entire series, as they were the only characters who appeared to be relatively "normal."
** Amy as well. It's true that she was a bit naive, but for the most part she was one of the few "normal" members of the family.
** Debra is this on occasion as well. Though, she can be just as crazy and a Jerkass as the others. Frank considers ''himself'' and Debra as the "normal ones".
-->'''Debra:''': When I got married, I didn't just get a husband, I got a whole freak show that set up their tent right across the street
* OverlyPrepreparedGag: In "Blabbermouths", Ray told Debra that he had a dream where a train ("choo choo") left him behind, and was saying "Choo choo gone!" in his sleep. When Robert and Frank come over, Frank asks for the chips from Robert and both eat with their mouths open.
--> '''Ray''': Hey animals, could you chew with your mouths closed, please?
--> '''Frank''': Oh sorry, don't you like the way we "chew chew"?
--> '''Robert''': Hehehe, "chew chew"! [[DontExplainTheJoke "Choo choo gone!"]]
* ParentalFavoritism: What do you think the title means?
** TheUnfavourite: Where else could Robert fit?
*** Amusingly, in "A Job For Robert", Marie claims that the only reason she lavished so much attention on Ray was because he was a needy, weak little boy, and she never had to worry about Robert. Of course, when Marie secretly winks at Ray, it pretty much disproves that, and she was only saying those things to butter up Robert enough so that he'd deliver on wanting to have kids with Amy.
*** Also, in "Pants on Fire", Marie suddenly lavishes attention on Robert, merely because she's mad at Ray for throwing a party in her house when he was a teen.
--> '''Robert''': All right, what's going on?!
--> '''Ray''': Yeah, stop it, ma, you're freakin' him out.
* ParentalHypocrisy: The problem in "The Disciplinarian"; Ray and Debra realize they have a hard time telling Michael and Jeffrey to behave when they did rebellious things as teenagers. (Ray repeatedly broke curfew and Debra took her top off at Mardi Gras)
* ParentingTheHusband: Used frequently, especially in the later seasons, either due to Ray being lazy or Debra wanting control over Ray. Ray at one point outright states he pretends to be a buffoon so that Debra does all the work.
* PetTheDog
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Debra, to Warren in "Debra's Parents" when he attempts to hug her in nothing but bed sheets (he and Lois were having sex just a few minutes prior).
* {{Portmanteau}}: In "Sister-in-Law", Robert combines "jealous" and "ass" into "jealass", in describing Ray.
* PreacherMan: While not actually a preacher, Amy's father Hank definitely ''could'' have been one.
* PreemptiveApology:
--> '''Ray''': So it should be all me. I should go to work and raise the kids. And what do ''you'' do all day? I'm sorry.
--> '''Debra''': Excuse me??
--> '''Ray''': I'm sorry.
--> '''Debra''': That's ''right'', you're sorry.
--> '''Ray''': That's right, I'm sorry.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: Debra spends the early seasons with short, dowdy hair, "mom jeans" up past her waistline, and big sweaters. By the final three seasons, she's wearing the tightest T-shirts humanly possible, painted-on jeans, and has glamorous hair, as if someone suddenly realized Patricia Heaton was attractive.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The intro to certain episodes in seasons 3-5 used Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as its theme.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFRwY1KCSbI LOVELESS MARRIAGE?!]]
** An exchange from the episode where Robert ends up dating a girl who secretly eats bugs and raises hundreds of frogs:
-->'''Ray:''' ''Angela ate the fly!''
-->'''Robert:''' ''What?''
-->'''Debra:''' ''What?!''
-->'''Ray:''' ''The fly, that was flying around...Angela killed it, it landed on her napkin, she picked it up...and then [[PunctuatedForEmphasis SHE. AAAAAAATE IT!!!!!!!!'']]
** In "Faux Pas": "FE, FI, FAUX PAS!"
** In "Not So Fast", Robert tells God, "YOU, ARE. NOT. FUNNY!"
** Ray: In "A Vote For Debra" when Marie tries to give water to Michael and Jeffrey: "I SAID NO. MORE. WATER!!!"
* QuietlyPerformingSisterShow: TheKingOfQueens
* RantInducingSlight: In "Wallpaper", Marie drives a car through Ray and Debra's house. Debra is understandably upset, but Ray barely reacts to this, frustrating Debra, who wants him to back her up. After the doorway is repaired and the wallpaper replaced, Ray examines the new wallpaper... and loses it, because the stripes aren't the same thickness as the old ones.
** In "The Sitter", Marie doesn't react well to the news that Ray and Debra have hired a sitter instead of asking her for help. But she chuckles nervously, puts on a fake smile, and says she's happy for them. But then Robert comes in and says he turned down the heat on the stove...
--> '''Marie''': Don't tell me how to cook! I know how to cook! I'm not that old! And who are you to turn down my meat?!
* RashomonStyle: "The Can Opener".
* RealLifeRelative: Not only are Geoffrey and Michael's actors twin brothers in real life, but the actress who plays their sister, Ally, on the show is also their sister in real life.
** Don't forget Bill Parker, the handsome father of Ally's classmate played by David Hunt, Patricia Heaton's real life husband. Also Frank's lodge buddy Albert, played by Ray's real life dad Albert Romano.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: A rare case where this was done intentionally. Producer Phil Rosenthal has explained in interviews that the vast majority of plots on the show really did happen to himself, Ray Romano, or someone else on the writing staff.
* RealSongThemeTune: Season 7 used The Time's "Jungle Love".
* RealTime: "The Faux Pas". This was even addressed in the audio commentary.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In "Golf For It", after Ray says that Marie loves him more than Robert:
--> '''Robert''': Well you know what? She can love ya all she wants, because ''I'' love ''her'' more than you do.
--> '''Ray''': What?
--> '''Robert''': Ya heard me. I love ma more.
--> '''Ray''': Are you insane?
--> '''Robert''': Deep down inside, Raymond, you know it's true.
--> '''Ray''': Are you saying I don't love my mother?!
--> '''Robert''': Not as much as I do. You take her for granted. But me? I cherish every ounce of affection that woman gives me, because I have to fight for it like a dirty dog in the street. But you? You don't even have to ''try''. She makes it ''so'' easy for you. You're just a fat kid with his mouth open at the end of a chocolate assembly line. (mimes Ray eating chocolate) ''You disgust me''.
** In "Meant to Be", Debra gives one to Robert:
--> '''Robert''': Could I get some frozen baby peas, Deb?
--> '''Debra''': You know what, Robert? You get your ''own'' damn peas.
--> '''Robert''': What did I do??
--> '''Debra''': What did you do?!
--> '''Robert''': Hey, look, you're the one who told Amy about Stefania in the first place. You should be apologizing to me.
--> '''Debra''': And what ''you'' should've done is tell Amy the truth about everything, or better yet, not be such a ''pig'' in the first place!
--> '''Robert''': That's the worst apology I've ever gotten.
--> '''Debra''': Why would you get involved with someone else when you already have a relationship? What, does juggling three women at a time make you cool? You know, if that's the only way that you can build your self-esteem, then you are pathetic, and you don't deserve to be with ''anyone''.
** In "Somebody Hates Raymond", Jerry Musso (after much goading) reveals how he really feels about Raymond:
--> '''Jerry Musso''': Well there's just something about you. I've read your column, I've heard you speak, I look at you and I go, "I don't get it". I guess you don't have to be smart to have a career in this business! Now if you know me, you know I have pretty high standards, and a very low threshhold for dumb.
** Upon hearing this, Robert (who had been mocking Ray the entire episode) stands up for Ray by telling off Jerry:
--> '''Robert''': Hold it right there, ya little twerp.
--> '''Jerry Musso''': Who are you?
--> '''Robert''': Who am ''I''? I'm someone who can grind you into a fine powder, that's who I am. Now, Ray Barone has more talent in the boil on his neck that won't go away than ''you'' have in your entire body, you oily, two-faced hack. You only ''wish'' you could be Ray Barone, because you'll never come close as a writer, as a father, as a friend, or as a person.
** In "Someone's Cranky", Debra goes off on Robert:
--> '''Debra''': Ok, robert, listen. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself.
--> '''Robert''': I'm not feeling sorry for myself.
--> '''Debra''': Yes, you are. Spouting off at the family and insulting everybody. You just love playing the victim, don't you?
--> '''Robert''': OK, thank you, Debra. You can go back to being princess fabulosa now.
--> '''Debra''': Hey, you better be nice to me, pal, because I'm the last person in the family that doesn't wanna climb up there and strangle you!
--> '''Robert''': Oh, a height joke. thank you, your majesty. Yeah, it's very refreshing after all the bull-in-the-ass jokes.
--> '''Debra''': I think you ''loved'' that bull. I think you were so happy he found you because he's two-ton excuse for your life! That's right: You were a victim before that bull. You've been a victim your whole life because there's nothing easier than playing the victim, is there, Robert?
--> '''Robert''': ...Why are you picking on me?
--> '''Debra''': See? Again! "My mother doesn't pay enough attention to me." "Raymond has a better life than me." "Wah wah wah!"
--> '''Robert''': I don't say "wah wah wah".
--> '''Debra''': You're sounding like that ''now''!
--> '''Robert''': That's because I just ''said'' "wah wah wah"! Listen, bad stuff happens to me, I don't imagine these things. I'm just reporting the facts.
--> '''Debra''': The fact is, you love to suffer. That's why you were so mad about having to leave your parents' house.
--> '''Robert''': Are you kidding? I couldn't wait to get out of there.
--> '''Debra''': Really? You don't seem so happy here.
--> '''Robert''': I have a milk situation.
--> '''Debra''': You love being at your parents' house because that's the ''holy land'' of self-pity! You weren't unhappy because you only had three more weeks to stay there; you were unhappy because you ''only'' had three more weeks to stay there! (at this point, Robert breaks down and cries loudly)
** In "Blabbermouths", the ''whole family'' gives one to Amy simply because she wasn't open about her feelings about Ray saying that her and Robert's marriage didn't have a chance in hell.
--> '''Debra''': Ray's right; how am I supposed to know I upset you if you don't say anything to me? I'm supposed to be your best friend!
--> '''Robert''': I'm supposed to be her husband! I'm your husband! Don't you know, after all these years, to tell me immediately when Raymond screws up? YOU PAGE ME AT WORK!
--> '''Marie''': I must say, Amy, before you came into the family, we were all just open with each other. We'd say whatever was on our mind. And now... We have to tiptoe around your feelings.
--> '''Ray''': That's not fair, Amy!
--> '''Frank''': Yeah, see what you did, Amy? (Amy cries) Oh jeez, there she goes again.
** In "A Date For Peter", after Ray (seemingly) ruins Peter's chances with Peggy:
--> '''Robert''': It's bad enough you had to ruin ''my'' life, but you had to do the same to my brother-in-law? You are a selfish ''ass'', who walks among regular humans. But now it's time for everyone to see, that [[PunctuatedForEmphasis YOU. ARE. ASSSSSSS.]]
** In "Not So Fast", Ray gives one to Marie and Frank:
--> '''Ray''': I think I know what the problem is. Part of me always thinks why can't mom and dad get along with Debra and me? And Robert and Amy? And I say to myself, maybe it's us, because they're the parents and we're supposed to respect them and, and honor them, like they're Chinese or something. And we don't. We don't always. Maybe it's ''us''. (pause) But ''today'', after forty years, I think I've actually figured something out. (looks at Marie and Frank) It's ''not'' us. It's ''you''. People, from your ''own'' World War II world, have spoken, and ''IT'S YOUUUUUUU!!!!''
** In "Let's Fix Robert", Debra gives one to Robert, albeit slightly less harsh than the one in "Meant to Be":
--> '''Ray''': Don't give up. The right lady is out there somewhere.
--> '''Robert''': Thanks.
--> '''Ray''': I mean it.
--> '''Debra''': What a load of crap. "The right lady is out there." Well guess what? You're never gonna find her. You know why? Because you don't want to; you're alone because that's what you want.
--> '''Robert''': I believe you're looking for the meeting across the street.
--> '''Debra''': Let me tell you something. You've created an image of this ideal woman, so that when regular women: Regular, wonderful, real women, fall short, you reject them.
--> '''Robert''': No.
--> '''Debra''': YES, yes, and that way you never have to settle down, and everyone can still feel sorry for poor lonely you.
--> '''Robert''': Look, I may not be the greatest catch in the world, but I don't think I should just settle.
--> '''Debra''': I'm not asking you to ''settle'', Robert, but you're not going to be happy if every time you discover a flaw in somebody, you go to somebody else. Because that somebody else is going to have her own flaws. Nobody's perfect.
** Marie gives one to Frank in "Frank's Tribute" when he can't think of anything nice to say about her:
--> '''Marie''': You want to know why people don't love you, Frank? You want to know? Because you offer them nothing. That's right. You have to give love, Frank, to get it, and you have never, ever been willing to do that. You just take and take and take, and you expect everyone to accept your obnoxious horse's ass of a personality, and everybody has to put up with it, because it's ''you''! You know what the sad part is? You are surrounded by family who happen to love you anyway, and you push them away. You push us all away! (pause) You don't have to push anymore.
** In "Debra at the Lodge", Debra gives a short and sweet speech to the old men who ogled her and talked about her body when she wasn't around:
--> '''Debra''': I thought you were gentlemen. I thought you appreciated the work I was doing. And I thought men from ''your'' generation would have a little class. I guess I was wrong. I have to say, I'm very disappointed.
* ResetButton: "No Fat" ends with Marie giving up on her "healthy food" diet and chowing down on some Thanksgiving turkey.
* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: In "Ray's Journal":
--> '''Ray''': Why would you read my private journal?
--> '''Marie''': Because I wanted to know what was in there.
** In "Cousin Gerard":
--> '''Ray''': Why do you gotta be so negative all the time?
--> '''Gerard''': Because I'm not very happy.
** In "Six Feet Under":
--> '''Debra''': Ray, look at me. I am rubbing lotion on my hands. Do you know ''why'' I rub lotion on my hands?
--> '''Ray''': Because it's... hand cream?
* ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma: Robert once described himself as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery." Ray promptly replied that Robert was more of "an idiot wrapped in a moron."
* RightBehindMe: In "Sister-in-Law", Ray tries to get Robert to stay after he insulted Amy:
--> '''Ray''': Come on, don't go, Robert, stay! Come stay and watch the game! Come on! You want to say something bad about my wife, you can! Aw, come on! Say it, say it: "She's a bad cook, and she's mean!" (Debra is standing behind Ray; Ray turns around and acknowledges her) Yeah, hi. One second, one second... (to Robert) And you may ''think'' that, Robert, but you'd be wrong, ''dead'' wrong! Debra is a caring, beautiful, skinny person!
** In "Faux Pas", Amy walks in and sees everybody but Marie, and after finding out that Michael and Jeffrey's friend's dad didn't want to come back in for his keys, says: "What, did your mother come in and make things worse, as usual?" It's revealed that Marie was hidden behind the door. Amy fearfully turns around and Marie gives her a disapproving look as the episode ends.
** A variant occurs in "Thank You Notes": Once Debra starts trying to get Amy on her side in her fight against Marie, Ray runs over to Frank and Marie's house, where Frank is sitting at the table. Ray tells him that Debra and Amy are trying to overthrow Marie, and asks what he should do. Marie suddenly comes from the other room and says, "I'm not sure yet." Ray is startled and asked Frank if he knew she was there the whole time. He replies, "Yes."
* RousingSpeech: Debra gives one in "Season's Greetings" to pick up everybody's negative feelings.
--> '''Debra''': (after Frank complains that he didn't accomplish any of his resolutions ten years ago) Make a new list, and start on that. You can do it! You're not dead yet, Frank! And Robert, come on! You're smart, successful, handsome, no matter what Ray does or doesn't do. You're not a loser. You're a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department, for God's sake!
--> '''Ray''': What about me?
--> '''Debra''': You're ''FINE'', you're married to me! All of you! Come ''on''!
* RuleOfThree: In "The Bet", Sal the barber responds in similar ways three times:
--> '''Sal''': ''Fifteen years'', you never sprung for a shave!
--> '''Sal''': You have a son?? ''Fifteen years'', you never told me you had a son!
--> '''Sal''': You're Ray Barone's father?? ''Fifteen years'', you never told me your last name!
* RunningGag: The weird pimple on Ray's neck that won't go away.
** Uncle Mel is NOT GAY.
** The awful fruit of the month club gift Ray gave to his parents.
** If Robert enters a room and everyone stops talking to look at him, he often asks, "Is this about me?"
** Debra being offended if someone compares her to Marie.
--> '''Ray''': You're trying to make me feel guilty.
--> '''Debra''': No, I'm not.
--> '''Ray''': You're just like my mother.
--> '''Debra''': Why do you have to insult me? We're ''talking''.
** Another recurring gag with Debra: If she's overly happy, another character will ask if she's been drinking. Seen in "Who's Side Are You On?" and "Debra's Parents", among others.
** Episode-specific example: Stefania's love of hot dogs in "Stefania Arrives".
** Another episode-specific example: Everyone praising the deceased Rose Caputo's pies in "Who's Next?" From the way people only talk about Rose in terms of how good her pies were, you'd think that's all she was good at!
** In "Cruising With Marie", the activities director repeatedly assuming Ray and Marie were newlywed lovers instead of mother and son. (see "NotWhatItLooksLike").
** Marie has frequently called Frank's mother "a horrible woman".
* SassyBlackWoman: Robert's partner on the police force, Judy, fits this trope. This led to the classic episode where Robert starts hanging out with Judy and her friends and ends up trying to act stereotypically "black" to fit in with them. HilarityEnsues.
* SecretDiary: Ray's journal from when he was a teenager.
* ShapedLikeItself: In "Homework", Marie asks if Ray ever read ''Tom Sawyer'' as a child. Ray says he did, but when Frank asks him what the book's about, Ray replies, "It's about a boy, named Tom Sawyer. Eat your pie."
* ShipperOnDeck: Marie and Debra were both this for the Robert/Amy ship.
* ShoutOut: This show wasn't big on parodies, but there have been a couple exceptions:
** "The Sitter" featured Ray standing in the rain, shouting "Lisa!... LIIIIIIISSSSSAAAAA!" to Lisa inside the Parker's house, a reference to AStreetcarNamedDesire.
** In "Halloween Candy", Ray says: [[Film/ItsAWonderfulLife "Every time you buy the things, another angel gets her wings."]]
** In "Civil War", Ray says, [[GoneWithTheWind "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."]] while dressed in a Confederate uniform.
** In "Marie's Vision", Ray asks a Botox-heavy Robert, [[Film/TheWizardOfOz "Need some oil, Tin Man?"]]
* SiblingRivalry: Raymond and Robert. In ''spades''. Mainly fueled by Robert resenting Raymond for being the favorite son, and the fact that, well, everybody loves Raymond, and not him. The title of the show is at least partly a reference to their rivalry, and in the first season credits, Robert is the one who glumly does the TitleDrop as he passes by.
* SickeninglySweethearts: Robert and Amy in "Misery Loves Company"; they're celebrating their ''three month'' anniversary of their marriage and act all lovey-dubby towards each other, eventually prompting Debra to accuse them of laying it on too thick.
* SickEpisode: "Debra's Sick". Also "The Sneeze".
* SilentCredits: While nearly every episode featured upbeat ending music during the "Executive Producer" credits (right before the main credits roll), a few episodes featured silence in this spot, such as "How They Met", "Robert's Divorce", and "Misery Loves Company".
* SitcomArchNemesis: Ray has one in Peggy, the mother of Ally's best friend and leader of her scout troop.
** Marie gets one too (at least in her own paranoid imagination) in the form of Harriet Lichtman. Marie is convinced that Harriet is trying to steal Frank away. Though, it should be noted that when we finally met Harriet on-screen in one episode, she seemed mostly bewildered by Marie's accusations (though admittedly, we only saw a snippet of that conversation, as there was a lot going on with the other characters in that scene).
*** Also the Barones have a rivalry with their slightly wealthier neighbors the Parkers. Ray seems to despise Bill Parker in particular. What makes Ray's rivalry with Parker so funny is that the actor who plays Bill Parker, David Hunt, is married to Patricia Heaton in real life.
* {{Sixth Ranger}}: Amy, as she officially joined the family in the later seasons.
* SlapSlapKiss: The Frank-Marie relationship was this to a tee. They argued with each other a lot...but it is heavily hinted in most episodes that they enjoy the witty banter, and really are deeply in love with each other. Ray and Debra get this way as the show goes on, and Marie states that it's normal for marriage.
* SlowMotion: Seen in the season 4 and 6 openings.
* SnowballLie: The premise of "Liars". Eventually Marie unravels Ray and Debra's lie.
--> '''Ray''': It just snowballed from one tiny little lie!
--> '''Marie''': So when you lied ''right to my face'', you consider that a tiny little lie?
* SnowedIn: "Snow Day".
* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: TropeNamer.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Cruising With Marie", for a couple reasons: Debra isn't in the episode at all, and Ray/Marie's plot is completely separate from Frank/Robert's plot. It's also one of the few episodes to feature a brand new location; that is, the cruise ship.
* SoreLoser: In "The Author", Ray finds out he lost a book deal, while Robert was promoted at work. While they weren't really competing, Ray is usually the one who comes out on top, so he doesn't take Robert's news well; he barely congratulates Robert, slams his hand on the table, and leaves the room.
* SpeedSex: In "Sleepover at Peggy's", Peggy says that her husband never paid attention to her, except during sex; for those eight minutes, she was number one. To which Ray replies: "Eight minutes... that's ''bad'', right?"
** In "Angry Sex":
--> '''Ray''': Does the term "angry sex" mean anything to you? (Bernie and Gianni exchange sly "yeah" remarks)
--> '''Bernie''': You mean like when the wife is mad because we wrap it up a little too soon?
--> '''Ray''': No. (Bernie looks disappointed)
* SpoiledBrat: Spencer, the titular character from the "Annoying Kid" episode.
* StagParty: "The Bachelor Party", where Ray's idea of a good bachelor party is sitting in Robert's apartment playing cards with Gianni. When Debra, Marie, and Amy find out that was his party, they force Ray to throw a better one.
* StealthInsult: Marie is quite good at this and employs it quite a bit on Debra. Though it should be noted that Debra quite frequently uses it too.
* StereoFibbing: Played with in "Liars". Ray and Debra lied to Marie about going to a hotel, and when Marie suspects this, she askes them, "What is the ''name'' of the hotel?" Before either can answer, Marie gets an idea: "Why don't you whisper the name to me, and then we'll see what Debra says." After taking Ray across the room, Ray loudly whispers, "RA-MA-DA."
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: In "Home From School", both Ray and Ally ask, "Why? Was the teacher yelling?" in response to Michael saying he accidentally called the teacher "mommy".
** In "The Power of No", Robert and Amy both say Ray usually follows Debra around with his tongue hanging out.
* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: In "Ping Pong", Ray never seems to rhyme like Frank does:
--> '''Ray''': (to Frank) Zero serving six, you're fat and you smell.
--> '''Ray''': (to Robert) Zero serving zero, you experimented at camp.
* SugaryMalice: Marie often makes insulting comments to Debra while pretending to give friendly advice.
* SustainedMisunderstanding: In "The Letter", Ray uses a hypothetical scenario and Marie and Frank think he's being literal.
--> '''Ray''': You guys get your mail yet?
--> '''Marie''': No. Why?
--> '''Ray''': Because I was just wondering because we didn't get ours either, you know, and sometimes we might get something of yours, and you might get something of ours.
--> '''Frank''': What do you get of mine?
--> '''Ray''': You know, I don't know, just junk mail.
--> '''Frank''': Like what?
--> '''Ray''': Whatever. uh, flyers and coupons.
--> '''Frank''': Where are they?
--> '''Ray''': I throw them out.
--> '''Frank''': You throw out coupons? That's money!
--> '''Ray''': Look, I'm just, all I'm saying is that you might get some of my mail.
--> '''Frank''': Well, how much were the coupons for?
--> '''Ray''': I don't know!
--> '''Frank''': Jeez-a-loo! Did you get the one for carpet cleaning?
--> '''Ray''': I don't know. Maybe.
--> '''Frank''': That's a $10 coupon! I was looking for that one!
--> '''Ray''': Look, dad, I'll give you $20 if you stop talking about this!
--> '''Frank''': You think I won't take it. I'll take it!
--> '''Ray''': I'll give it to ya!
--> '''Frank''': It would teach you a lesson! Come on!
--> '''Marie''': No! no! you're not taking Ray's money!
--> '''Frank''': I'm gonna take it because how else is he gonna learn? ''He's gotta stop throwing out people's mail!''
* TakeOurWordForIt: Stefanie sans clothes in "Stefania Arrives". Robert's expression of what he could've had is priceless.
--> '''Robert''': There ''better'' be a Heaven.
** In the syndicated version of "The Model", the supposedly poor quality modeling photos of Robert (taken by Ray). The pictures are present in a pre-credits epilogue on the [=DVDs=], however.
* TheTalk: In "Talk To Your Daughter", Ray is about to give this to Ally, but it turns out she isn't interested in discussing how babies are created, but why God has put us on earth. This throws Ray completely for a loop ("I studied for the sex talk!").
** In "Driving Frank", Ray says that telling Frank he can't drive the kids anymore is just the beginning, that he and Debra have to be the parents now. Ray adds: "I'll tell you one thing: ''You're'' giving him the sex talk."
* ThanksgivingEpisode: Practically an annual tradition for the show: "Turkey or Fish", "No Fat", "No Thanks", "Fighting In-Laws", "Older Women", "Marie's Vision", "The Bird", "Debra's Parents".
* ThatCameOutWrong: Ray, full stop.
* ThatLiarLies: In "The Disciplinarian", Ray reveals to Marie and Frank that as a teenager, Robert would drink peppermint schnaps and argue with anyone who didn't agree that "Bungle in the Jungle" was the best song ever written. Robert responded: "That's a great song, but ''this'' is ''LIES''!
** In another episode, after Ray is accused of something:
--> '''Ray''': What are you lying for, liar? Don't drink our coffee and lie.
** In "The Thought That Counts", Robert recommends that Ray get Debra "To Kill a Mockingbird" for Christmas. He does, but Ray never mentions that Robert gave him the idea. After Ray keeps getting positive attention from Debra, Robert finally snaps:
--> '''Robert''': IT WAS MEEEEE!!! You should be happy with me, I told him to get you that book. It was my idea, not Raymond's, me, mine, ''all'' me!
--> '''Ray''': Oh, Robert-
--> '''Robert''': Oh, you never even ''heard'' of "To Kill a Mockingbird"!
--> '''Ray''': Oh ''yes'' I did!
--> '''Robert''': You did ''not''. You never read the book, you never saw the movie. I bet you didn't even know there ''was'' a movie about it! Huh? Who was the star of the movie, Raymond?
--> '''Ray''': Well what does it-
--> '''Robert''': ''GREGORY PECK'', Gregory Peck! He played Atticus Finch, Gregory Peck! "All right, Scout, step aside while I shoot this rabid dog." He won the Oscar in 1962, ya MORON!!!
--> '''Ray''': ...What's ''this'' guy talkin' about?
* TheTheTitle: Several episodes feature this.
* TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo: Frank's attitude towards jazz records. He greatly prefers vinyl over [=CDs=], something which baffles Ray greatly in "Jazz Records".
* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: Peter, to Robert and Amy in "Peter on the Couch".
--> '''Peter''': I gotta tell ya, that sofa is more comfortable than my own bed.
--> '''Robert''': Mother of ''GOD''.
** Ray was concerned that Robert would become this in "Robert Moves Back" when Robert wants to stay at Ray and Debra's house temporarily (since he and Amy had unknowingly had sex with the blinds open, making them an embarrassment to the building).
* ThroughHisStomach: One of the main reasons why Frank decides to stay with Marie.
* TitleDrop: The title sequences of the first two seasons:
--> '''Ray:''' Now, not every family would {something the family was doing in the background while Ray is explaining the premise} for you, but mine would because--\\
'''Robert:''' [[TheUnfavourite Eeeeeeverybody loves Raymond...]]
-->'''Ray:'''* rolls his eyes and continues sweeping* Yeah, yeah, yeah.
** In the pilot, one of Robert's first words is "Eeeeeeverybody loves Raymond." when he sees an award that Ray won.
** Episode-specific examples: Robert frequently says "meant to be" in the episode of the same name. Ray and Robert "Golf For It" to see who gets Marie when Frank dies. Robert thinks "She's the One"; that is, Angela.
* TitleMontage: Season 7.
* TitleOnlyOpening: Seasons 8 and 9, as well as random episodes from earlier seasons.
* TitlePlease
* ToiletHumour: Frequently occurs with Frank:
** In "Cruising With Marie", it's implied that some bad food gave Frank some diarrhea. Robert got Frank (who had a bad leg) to the bathroom just in time, but just as Robert put Frank back on the couch...
--> '''Frank''': Hey Robert... you're not gonna believe this...
--> '''Robert''': ''Again?'' (Frank nods) All right, come on... (Robert helps Frank back to the bathroom)
--> '''Frank''': Bring the newspaper.
** In "Debra's Parents", Frank remarks that he heard Lois sneaking out of the house, because he was up for his third pee of the night.
* TooKinkyToTorture: In "The Author":
--> '''Debra''': You know, if you break your promise, I'll know.
--> '''Ray''': (seductively) That's right, and then... you'll have to punish me.
--> '''Debra''': Oh I'll punish you.
--> '''Ray''': (smiling) Yeah?
--> '''Debra''': Seriously, Ray; I'll ''hurt'' you. (Debra leaves, and Ray tries to follow her) Work, Ray!
* TooMuchInformation: Ray and Debra react this way when Marie and Frank discuss their sex life.
--> '''Ray''': Don't take this personally, but for the next six months, no eye contact.
** In "Brothers", Robert asks Ray about he and Debra's first time, because he wants to know if his feelings for Debra changed after he had sex. Ray just nervously stares at Robert, refusing to answer. However, after a guilt trip from Robert, who claims he knows nothing significant about his brother, Ray snaps and answers:
--> '''Ray''': You asked about the first time I had sex with Debra. I'll tell ya: I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe someone like ''her'' would have sex with somebody like ''me''. So you know what I did? I cried. I cried, I was so embarrassed! I couldn't let her see me, so for the whole time, I never looked at her once, okay?! (after a brief pause, Robert gives an incredulous "...Wow." look and turns the TV back on)
* ToughLove: Frank's philosophy. "Ping Pong" revealed that he teased Ray when they played ping-pong to toughen him up, because the real world is tough and you have to be tough right back. It's also revealed in "The Mentor" that a young man he knew at the office, Sammy, responded positively to his "Quit crying and suck it up!" taunts, viewing that as rising to the challenge rather than verbal abuse.
* TwoMenOneDress: Averted in "Surprise Party"; Lois wants Frank and Robert to share a dragon costume. But Robert declines:
--> '''Robert''': Sorry, Ray, I'm the look-out. You'll have to find someone else to be your dragon's ass.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Ray & Debra virtually ''define'' this trope (and were nearly the TropeNamer) and its endless stream of copycats - including ''TheKingOfQueens'' - use it as part of their schtick, where before sitcoms tended to have parents of at least reasonably equal levels of physical appearance. Ray may not be ''hideous'', but his giant nose and various other aspects are played for laughs. This difference in their attractiveness is played for laughs in the scene where both try to seduce the other in underwear. Debra provokes cat calls and hollers from the audience. Ray's satin boxers provoke laughter.
** Ray brings this up in "P., T. & A.", saying that while Debra is always attractive, no matter what he does, he'll always be "this". In a rare act of kindness, Debra tells Ray that he is in fact, quite handsome.
** Patricia Heaton stated she had an edge on the role in the audition process because she was one of the few actresses who was willing to kiss Ray. And in ''How They Met'', one of the things that attracted Debra to Ray was that he was "a good kisser".
** Interestingly inverted in the episode "Ray's Ring", in which Ray is hit on by another woman shortly after Robert loses his wedding ring. When Debra finds out, she gets angry at Ray, even though he tells her he set the woman straight. Jealous, Debra takes off her wedding ring and goes to the supermarket, which Ray secretly follows her to. When Debra finds out that Ray is watching her, she tries to get other men to flirt with her, but to no avail. Debra angrily confronts Ray and tells him "You're obviously married to an old hag."
-->'''Ray:''' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny ''But I love her!'']]
** Also their friends, the overweight Bernie and the slim attractive Linda, would qualify.
* TheUnfairSex: After the first few seasons, the show began using this trope a lot. Used in-show by Debra as a justification for her vindictiveness. Debra and Marie were often able to "win" arguments they had no business winning (Marie over Debra, since she was the pro), and the men were forced to deal with it.
** Also used on a {{Cross Over}} episode of the {{King of Queens}}, where Ray and Debra guest-starred. At one point in the episode, Debra and Carrie declare that men should be forced to wear an electro-shock collar around their neck to keep them in line (this joint declaration ends up being the event that makes Debra and Carrie become friends: the discovery that they share a mutual condescension towards men).
* TheUnfavorite: This trope could be renamed The Robert.
* UnusualEuphemism: In "Stefania Arrives", when Ray and Robert are talking about Stefania:
--> '''Ray''': Did you two do, uh... (has a sly look on his face)
--> '''Robert''': Do ''what'', Raymond?
--> '''Ray''': ...The "huckle buckle"?
** In one episode, Ray describes sex with Debra as "Hava nagila". As in, "have-a a lot of nagila".
* UnwantedGiftPlot: In one episode, Marie gives Ray and Debra a sculpture that she made in a class. The sculpture is unintentionally very suggestive, leading the family to try various means of getting rid of it without telling her why.
** "The Toaster" and "Jazz Records" both feature this as well; pretty much any gift that Ray gives Marie and Frank for Christmas is either sold or stashed in the basement.
--> '''Marie''': Would you like a popcorn popper?
* UpperClassTwit: Debra's parents, Warren and Lois, were the epitome of this trope.
* VacationEpisode: The two-parter "Italy".
** This was one VacationEpisode that actually had further ramifications for the plot, as it introduced the recurring characters of Marco and Stefania.
* {{The Verse}}: {{Everybody Loves Raymond}} is set in the same universe as fellow CBS sitcoms {{The Nanny}} and {{The King of Queens}}. In real life, Ray Romano went to high school with "Nanny" star Fran Drescher and has done standup comedy with "King of Queens" star Kevin James. All three shows are set firmly in the New York metro area, with "Raymond" being set in a Long Island suburb just outside the city, "King of Queens" being set (of course) in the NY City borough of Queens, and "The Nanny" being set largely on Manhattan Island itself (although the action frequently moves to Fran's parents' apartment in Queens).
** The Ray Barone character appeared in an episode of "The Nanny" where it was revealed that he and the fictional Fran Fine both went to Hillcrest High School, just like their actors, Romano and Drescher. Doug Heffernan from "King of Queens" made a few appearances on "Raymond", and the "Raymond" characters had several guest appearances on "King of Queens."
** Interestingly, the final appearance of the Ray Barone character was on the "King of Queens" episode "Raygin Bulls," as this episode aired in the fall season after "Everybody Loves Raymond" had ended. From what we heard Ray saying to (offscreen) Marie over the phone at the beginning of that episode, life apparently hadn't changed much for Ray Barone since the series finale of "Raymond."
** The Ray Barone character was also the only character to appear in all three shows. Ray appeared on an episode of {{The Nanny}}, and several episodes of {{The King of Queens}}, in addition to, of course, being in every episode of "Raymond." The characters from {{The Nanny}} didn't appear in the other two shows, and the Doug Heffernan character from {{The King of Queens}} made a couple of guest appearances on "Raymond". Ray Barone's buddy Gianni also made an appearance on {{The King of Queens}}, as did Frank, Marie, Robert, and Debra.
* VertigoEffect: Seen in the season 4 intro when Ray sees Marie, Frank, and Robert heading towards the house. The camera does this effect on Ray's horrified face.
* VolleyingInsults: Happens in nearly every episode between Frank and Marie.
* WarIsHell: Often, when the characters would complain about something in their lives, Frank would retort "You think that's bad? Try being in Korea during the war! We didn't have [Insert Modern Convenience Here], we had to tough it out!"
* WelcomeTitles: The family was introduced while passing by on a conveyor belt for a while.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse?: In the episode "Liars", after Ray lies to go to a golf game, Ray catches Debra lying about her doctor's appointment... TWICE! However, she isn't interrogated any further (like, as to where she went, or why she lied about it...) But [[DoubleStandard Ray still got yelled at for her for doing the same thing as her]]. It's not a big deal but still... [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where did she go?]]
** Debatable. It's unclear as to whether she was lying or if Ray was just being paranoid.
* WhatIsGoingOn: In "The Bird", Debra is understandably confused why the Barones and the [=McDougals=] are at each other's throats when she returns from the kitchen, when both families were just fine a few minutes ago. (the reason: Pat put an injured bird out of its misery and the Barones thought she was a thoughtless animal killer)
** Said nearly verbatim by Frank in "The Mentor" when Marie questions Frank about whether Sammy is an illegitimate son he had with Harriet Lichtman.
* WhenIWasYourAge: Frequently said by Frank. An example:
--> '''Frank''': That's the problem with your generation: Everything has to feel good. Do you think World War II felt good? Do you think Korea felt good? In my day, ''nothing'' felt good!
--> '''Ray''': Why don't you go back to your day and stop ruining ''our's''!
** An example from Marie in "The Angry Family":
--> '''Marie''': This "new psychology", that children are always right, they're being rewarded for every little thing they do with the stickers! I mean, these kids are comin' home full of stickers for doing nothing! "You went to the potty! Here's a sticker!" In my day, you had to ''earn'' a reward, and even ''then'', you didn't get one. And if there was yelling in the house, you earned that, too. There was nothing to be ashamed of.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: There's a couple episodes that explore the characters' lives before the pilot episode, from the episode where Ray and Debra first meet, to several episodes of them as boyfriend/girlfriend. Interestingly, these were usually reserved for season finales. The flashback episodes are as follows:
** ''Why Are We Here?'': Explains how Ray and Debra moved across the street from Frank and Marie.
** ''The Wedding'' Parts 1 and 2: Ray and Debra's marriage.
** ''How They Met'': Explains how Ray first met Debra (he was a sofa installer).
** ''Robert's Divorce'': Explores Robert's disastrous first marriage to Joanne "Cinnamon" Glotz.
** ''Ally's Birth'': Self-explanatory.
** ''The First Time'': Ray and Debra try to have sex for the first time, but their romantic evening is interrupted by Frank, Marie, Robert, and the priest at their church.
* WhoWillTakeTheKids: The plot to "The Will"; not crazy about Frank and Marie being the legal guardians of the children if Ray and Debra die, they decide to ask Bernie and Linda instead. However, the couple turn them down because they don't want to deal with Frank and Marie.
* WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings: Marie said this in "The Author" when Ray and Robert broke the living room lamp during their scuffle.
* WorstWhateverEver: In "The Disciplinarian", Ray tells Robert, "Worst song ever written: "Bungle in the Jungle"." to piss him off.
* YankTheDogsChain: In "Grandpa Steals", Frank reluctantly agrees to return to the supermarket to apologize to Jimmy, the clerk who caught him sampling. During their conversation, Frank apologizes, and for a second, it looks like Jimmy is going to forgive him, because he says "Yeah, I'm sorry too...", only to insult him some more: "...I'm sorry that jerks like you come into my section and take your dirty hands and put it into the food and take whatever you want. And then when I try to do my ''job'', you rant and rave like some red-faced maniac. You want to do me a favor? ''Go steal from the A&P!''"
** In the last couple minutes of "The Power of No", Debra finally decides to have sex with Ray after 27 days of mutual abstinence. However, just as they're about to go upstairs, Ally, Michael, and Jeffrey scamper downstairs to eat breakfast and get ready for school. Debra reluctantly abandons Ray to tend to the children, leaving Ray without sex yet again.
* YouLookFamiliar: Jon Manfrellotti originally played an unnamed cable repairman in the season 1 episode "The Game"; he would later play recurring character Gianni starting in the second season.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: In "Young Girl", Robert dates Erica, a woman who claims to be 22. (making her roughly half his age) However, at the end of the episode it's revealed that she's even younger than that: She's 19. Debra incredulously asks if Erica is even out of high school yet.
** Despite being cast as the elderly Frank, Peter Boyle was only 60 when the show began production.
* YoureNotMyFather: In "The Nice Talk":
--> '''Peter''': (to Pat) If you don't read my ''Zombie Blood Chronicles'', you're not my mother!
----

--> '''Robert''': How could we respect a guy who said, "Stop brushing your teeth so loud! I'm trying to watch ''{{Gunsmoke}}''!"?

** An example was the episode where Frank and Marie [[spoiler: move out of their home to go to a senior citizen community in New Jersey, though the status quo was restored in the very next episode]]. Before walking out of the house, Marie tells the "kids" that if they're hungry, she and Frank left some food in the fridge, and comments "There's always too much fruit in this house," a reference back to her whole "I can't think, there's too much fruit in the house!" rant from the Pilot.

----

* InsistentTerminolgy: Robert was gored in the ''upper thigh.''

--> '''Ray''': It just snowballed from one tiny lie!

* TheEuropeanCarryAll: Robert insists for several episodes that a bull gored him in the "upper thigh."

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the very early episodes, the show seemed to have a different pace. Robert was much more quirky (to the point where many fans speculate that the writers were originally writing him as being borderline autistic, but that they seem to have changed their minds), Debra was much nicer, Frank was a little more open about his emotions, and the writing in general appeared to be more about wry humor than over-the-top humor. Ray Romano also worked in some material from his stand-up act, which was more or less abandoned starting in season 2.