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** When Blanche requests the other girls to tell her a story -- any story -- in which a man refused to get physical with her as a feel-good pick-me-up in "The Commitments", Rose volunteers. Not wanting the drawn-out version, Blanche pleads for Rose tell it in "ten words or less", so Rose obliges.[[note]] Blanche then follows up by asking Rose to explain the details when no one else volunteers, at which point the scene fades.[[/note]]

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** When Blanche requests the other girls to tell her a story -- any story -- in which a man refused to get physical with her as a feel-good pick-me-up in "The Commitments", Rose volunteers. Not wanting the drawn-out version, Blanche pleads for Rose to tell it in "ten words or less", so Rose obliges.[[note]] Blanche then follows up by asking Rose to explain the details when no one else volunteers, at which point the scene fades.[[/note]]

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* AdaptationDistillation:
** In-universe example. Rose tells Blanche a long, excruciating story about how she won Music/FrankSinatra tickets during a radio station contest. When she tries to re-tell the story verbatim to Dorothy, Blanche interrupts with the following:
-->'''Blanche''': No! No! No! No! Please, I cannot ''bear'' that again! [Rose] was listening to her car radio. Big Band, not All-Talk. There was a contest. Something about a little voice, a lucky number, a dime and a door handle, then bim-bam-boom, she won the tickets!\\

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* AdaptationDistillation:
AdaptationDistillation: InUniverse examples.
** In-universe example. Rose tells Blanche a long, excruciating story about how she won Music/FrankSinatra tickets during a radio station contest. When she tries to re-tell the story verbatim to Dorothy, Blanche interrupts with the following:
-->'''Blanche''': --->'''Blanche''': No! No! No! No! Please, I cannot ''bear'' that again! [Rose] was listening to her car radio. Big Band, not All-Talk. There was a contest. Something about a little voice, a lucky number, a dime and a door handle, then bim-bam-boom, she won the tickets!\\



** Rose was capable of doing this herself when she wanted, as illustrated by the way she was able to condense the infamous St. Olaf Falling Leif story into one word: "Splat!"

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** Rose was capable of doing this herself when she wanted, as illustrated by the way she was able to condense condenses the infamous St. Olaf Falling Leif story into one word: "Splat!" "Splat!", when Dorothy demands that she makes the story concise as condition for being allowed to tell the story in question.
** When Blanche requests the other girls to tell her a story -- any story -- in which a man refused to get physical with her as a feel-good pick-me-up in "The Commitments", Rose volunteers. Not wanting the drawn-out version, Blanche pleads for Rose tell it in "ten words or less", so Rose obliges.[[note]] Blanche then follows up by asking Rose to explain the details when no one else volunteers, at which point the scene fades.[[/note]]
--->'''Rose''': [[NoodleIncident The time I was radioactive.]]

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* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Sophia, as part of a joke satirizing the opinion of older Catholics to the post-Vatican II reforms, remarks that churches should go back to using Latin -- the language Jesus spoke. Dorothy correctly points out that Jesus did not speak Latin, but gets it wrong in saying he spoke Hebrew. He certainly would have ''understood'' Hebrew, but the vernacular tongue spoken by the Jews living in Judea at the time was Aramaic, not Hebrew.

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* ArtisticLicenseReligion: ArtisticLicenseReligion:
**
Sophia, as part of a joke satirizing the opinion of older Catholics to the post-Vatican II reforms, remarks that churches should go back to using Latin -- the language Jesus spoke. Dorothy correctly points out that Jesus did not speak Latin, but gets it wrong in saying he spoke Hebrew. He certainly would have ''understood'' Hebrew, but the vernacular tongue spoken by the Jews living in Judea at the time was Aramaic, not Hebrew.Hebrew.
** Dorothy seems to have a very "pop culture" understanding of the Bible in general. When the girls are forced to lug a heavy toilet across the house into the bathroom, Rose optimistically points out that if the Egyptians built the pyramids, they can move the toilet. Dorothy snarks back "Fine. Get me 20,000 Hebrews and I'll have it out of here in no time." This statement is wrong on three counts:
*** The pyramids weren't built by Hebrew slaves, they were built by (native) peasant labor during the off-season when their fields were flooded by the inundation of the Nile river.
*** Ancient Egypt didn't really practice chattel slavery the way other civilizations (like the Romans) did, not least ''because'' of this abundant peasant labor. Whether the Exodus story happened at all is fiercely debated, but any mass migration of Hebrews out of Egypt would not be because they were escaping a life in bondage.
*** And most importantly, the pyramids were built about a millennium before there even ''were'' Hebrews, with the Great Pyramid going up in approximately 2600 BC. At that time, the Ancient Canaanites practiced a polytheistic religion quite similar to the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. UsefulNotes/RamsesII, the most commonly held Pharaoh of the Exodus, reigned over 1,300 years later.
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* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Sophia, as part of a joke satirizing the opinion of older Catholics to the post-Vatican II reforms, remarks that churches should go back to using Latin -- the language Jesus spoke. Dorothy correctly points out that Jesus did not speak Latin, but gets it wrong in saying he spoke Hebrew. He certainly would have ''understood'' Hebrew, but the vernacular tongue spoken by the Jews living in Judea at the time was Aramaic, not Hebrew.
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* GassyGastronomy: There is an instance when Sophia complains about Rose cooking: "Cabbage, she feeds me! In 10 minutes I'll be skywriting!"
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* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The B-plot of season four's "Scared Straight" sees Sophia convinced she's going to die at 9:00pm on the upcoming Saturday of that week, and even says at one point "I'm dying, Dorothy. Saturday night, 9:00, don't make any plans." Guess which show aired on NBC Saturday nights at 9:00pm. (It was moved to 8:00 for season seven, however.)

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* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The B-plot of season four's "Scared Straight" sees Sophia convinced she's going to die at 9:00pm on the upcoming Saturday of that week, and even says at one point "I'm dying, Dorothy. Saturday night, 9:00, don't make any plans." Guess which No prize for guessing what show aired on NBC Saturday nights at 9:00pm. (It was 9:00 on NBC during its original run (though it ended up being moved to 8:00 for season seven, however.)seven).
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* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The B-plot of season four's "Scared Straight" sees Sophia convinced she's going to die at 9:00pm on the upcoming Saturday of that week, and even says at one point "I'm dying, Dorothy. Saturday night, 9:00, don't make any plans." Guess which show aired on NBC Saturday nights at 9:00pm. (It was moved to 8:00 for season seven, however.)
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* ReunionShow: ''The Golden Girls: Their Greatest Moments'' aired in 2003 on the Lifetime television network, which at the time was the only place ''The Golden Girls'' could be seen on television in America. Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue [=McClanahan=] took part. Estelle Getty, by this time, was too ill to participate.

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* ReunionShow: ''The Golden Girls: Their Greatest Moments'' aired in 2003 on the Lifetime television network, which at the time was the only place ''The Golden Girls'' could be seen on television in America. Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue [=McClanahan=] took part. part; Estelle Getty, by this time, was too ill to participate.
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* HappilyAdopted: While Rose does wonder about her biological parents, any time one of her adopted relatives shows up, she doesn't act as if they're anything less than her real family, and the subject of her adoption doesn't even come up. [[spoiler:One episode late in the series, "Brother Martin," does finally reunite her with her biological father. He's a ''monk''.]]

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* HappilyAdopted: While Rose does wonder about her biological parents, any time one of her adopted relatives shows up, she doesn't act as if they're anything less than her real family, and the subject of her adoption doesn't even come up. [[spoiler:One [[spoiler:The season six episode late "Once, in the series, "Brother Martin," St. Olaf" does finally reunite her with her biological father. He's father -- Brother Martin, a ''monk''.]]

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* GettingTheBabyToSleep: In "Not Another Monday", Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy can't get the neighbor's baby, Frank, they're babysitting to stop crying and sleep, so Rose suggests singing "Mr. Sandman" which was how she got her children to fall sleep. The three decide to try it, and turns out it works on Frank, too.

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* GettingTheBabyToSleep: GettingTheBabyToSleep:
** One scene in "Transplant" has Rose coming home with Danny, the neighbors' baby that the girls are presently watching, after having just driven him around the block to get him to go to sleep.
**
In "Not Another Monday", Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy can't get the neighbor's baby, Frank, they're babysitting to stop crying and sleep, so Rose suggests singing "Mr. Sandman" which was how she got her children to fall sleep. The three decide to try it, and turns out it works on Frank, too.
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** In "Room 7," Dorothy [[BrakeAngrily Brakes Angrily]] and kicks Rose out of the car after she tries to play "The Name Game" while driving:

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** In "Room 7," Dorothy [[BrakeAngrily Brakes Angrily]] brakes angrily]] and kicks Rose out of the car after she tries to play "The Name Game" while driving:



** Blanche often says this as a joke when she hears something particularly surprising or unbelievable. However, at

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** Blanche often says this as a joke when she hears something particularly surprising or unbelievable. However, at in "An Illegitimate Concern", she says this in a 100% dead serious, angry manner, right after a man named David tells her he's the son of her late husband George and a woman he'd had an affair with [[YourCheatingHeart while he was still married to Blanche]] (which is eventually proven true).
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* NeverBringAFriendToAnAudition: Played with in "High Anxiety". A nationwide pizza chain is filming a commercial with Dorothy and Sophia as its stars. While both women were originally the lead characters for it, Dorothy's lousy acting and second-guessing the script caused the director to cast the young actress playing the server to be Sophia's granddaughter while Dorothy plays the server. It ends up being all for naught when Sophia dislikes the pizza itself and walks off the set.

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Spelling/grammar fix(es), Alphabetizing example(s)


* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In "The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo," Blanche tells a story from her youth about going on a blind date with Preston, a man with extremely large ears. She explains that she was so shocked that she mumbled her hello--and when he said he didn't hear her, she blurted out "Didn't ''hear'' me? I think you could pick up Radio Free Europe with those ears!" Rather than be offended, Preston laughed, which impressed Blanche and started a great relationship (it helps that, apparently, "the size of a man's ears is directly proportionate to the size of [[BiggerIsBetterInBed his other bodily organs.]]"

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* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In "The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo," Blanche tells a story from her youth about going on a blind date with Preston, a man with extremely large ears. She explains that she was so shocked that she mumbled her hello--and when he said he didn't hear her, she blurted out "Didn't ''hear'' me? I think you could pick up Radio Free Europe with those ears!" Rather than be offended, Preston laughed, which impressed Blanche and started a great relationship (it helps that, apparently, "the size of a man's ears is directly proportionate to the size of [[BiggerIsBetterInBed his other bodily organs.]]" organs]])."



** Rose was capable of doing this herself when she wanted to, as illustrated by the way she was able to condense the infamous St. Olaf Falling Leif story into one word: "Splat!"

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** Rose was capable of doing this herself when she wanted to, wanted, as illustrated by the way she was able to condense the infamous St. Olaf Falling Leif story into one word: "Splat!"



-->'''Dorothy:''' Rose, they are non-breeding minks who eat their weight in food everyday! ...Joanne?

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-->'''Dorothy:''' Rose, they are non-breeding minks who eat their weight in food everyday! ...Joanne?every day! ...''Joanne''?



** "Little Sister," where Rose deals with her asshole sister Holly, shows just because you're related to someone doesn't mean you have to automatically like or forgive them if they keep treating you like garbage and won't change their behavior or show any remorse for their actions.

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** "Little Sister," where in which Rose deals with her asshole sister Holly, shows just because you're related to someone doesn't mean you have to automatically like or forgive them if they keep treating you like garbage and won't change their behavior or show any remorse for their actions.



* AllGaysLoveTheatre: Sophia figures out Blanche's brother Clayton is gay because he sings in the shower and knows all the words to "Send In The Clowns" from Music/StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/ALittleNightMusic''.
** Blanche is upset about not being cast in the lead of a play that she and Rose both auditioned for, and Rose explains it's because the new director is gay and Blanche used to sleep with the previous director.

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* AllGaysLoveTheatre: Sophia figures out that Blanche's brother Clayton is gay because he sings in the shower and knows all the words to "Send In The Clowns" from Music/StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/ALittleNightMusic''.
** Blanche is upset about not being cast in as the lead of a play that for which she and Rose both auditioned for, auditioned, and Rose explains it's because the new director is gay and Blanche used to sleep with the previous director.



** In "The Actor," it's hinted that Patrick, the philandering actor who romances Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and every other woman in the cast may have been bisexual, as one of the people who raised a hand when Patrick asked who'd had "a good time" with him was a male actor.

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** In "The Actor," it's hinted that Patrick, the philandering actor who romances Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and ''and'' every other woman in the cast cast, may have been bisexual, as one of the people who raised a hand when Patrick asked who'd had "a good time" with him was a male actor. (Patrick calls him "a damned liar," so it's left ambiguous as to which of them was telling the truth.)



* AlliterativeTitle: Self-explanitory

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* AlliterativeTitle: Self-explanitoryAlliterativeTitle



** We never see two of Rose's four children either.

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** We never see Likewise, Rose has two of Rose's four children either.sons and two daughters, but the audience only ever meets her youngest child Kirsten.



-->'''Dorothy:''' Chew it ''carefully,'' Ma. You know... like they taught you at ''Shady Pines''.



* FourthDateMarriage: How Dorothy and Lucas's marriage eventually comes to be. Blanche tricks them into going on a blind date with each other, because his visit coincides with one of her dates; she doesn't want to completely ditch him but she wants to have fun, so she sets him up with Dorothy to keep them both occupied. When Dorothy and Lucas cotton on to Blanche's deception, they set up a fake engagement in revenge, only for them to fall in love for real. They get engaged for real and marry in the series finale.

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* FourthDateMarriage: How Dorothy and Lucas's marriage eventually comes to be. Blanche tricks them into going on a blind date with each other, because his visit coincides with one of her dates; she doesn't want to completely ditch him but she wants to have fun, so she sets him up with Dorothy to keep them both occupied. She tells Lucas that Dorothy has been absolutely dying to meet him, and vice versa, so they each agree to go as a kindness. When Dorothy and Lucas cotton on to Blanche's deception, they set up a fake engagement in revenge, only for them to fall in love for real. They get engaged for real and marry in the series finale.



** Happens in "Ebbtide's Revenge" when Dorothy's six-foot, three hundred pound, '''cross dressing''' (but straight) brother Phil dies. His wife has him dressed in a teddy to be buried and Sophia gives the priest an exaggerated story of how smart and gifted Phil was. Dorothy tries to fix the problem Sophia makes by telling the priest. The priest responds that he can just look at a person to know about them. HilarityEnsues. Taken even further when four shapely, black-clad and veiled figures show up at the funeral. Blanche assumes they're mistresses that Phil had over the years...but his wife Angela informs her that they're actually his poker buddies.

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** Happens in "Ebbtide's Revenge" when Dorothy's six-foot, three hundred pound, '''cross dressing''' (but straight) brother Phil dies. His wife has him dressed in a teddy to be buried and Sophia gives the priest an exaggerated story of how smart and gifted Phil was. Dorothy tries to fix the problem Sophia makes by telling the priest. The priest responds that he can just look at a person to know about them. HilarityEnsues. Taken even further when four shapely, black-clad and veiled figures show up at the funeral. Blanche assumes they're mistresses that Phil had over the years... but his wife Angela informs her that they're actually his poker buddies.



* FunWithAcronyms: Blanche's full name is "Blanche Elizabeth Devereaux", which spells BED.

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* FunWithAcronyms: Blanche's full (married) name is "Blanche Elizabeth Devereaux", which spells means that her initials spell BED.



** In episode "The Heart Attack", Sophia (who believes that she is dying of a heart attack) requests to Dorothy nor to allow an Aunt to attend her funeral, citing how she will make the whole thing about herself. Subverted as she neither was dying nor was having a heart attack, but rather had an acid reflux attack from eating too much.
** Discussed in "An Accurate Conception" When Blanche's daughter Rebecca admits that she's going to be artificially inseminated to have a baby, Blanche orders her to wait for both her ''and'' her friends are all dead, claiming that "the last thing I need is whispering at my funeral!"

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** In episode "The Heart Attack", Sophia (who believes that she is dying of a heart attack) requests to that Dorothy nor not to allow an Aunt a particular aunt to attend her funeral, citing how she will make the whole thing about herself. Subverted as she she's neither was dying nor was having a heart attack, but rather had having an acid reflux attack from eating too much.
** Discussed in "An Accurate Conception" When Blanche's daughter Rebecca admits that she's going to be artificially inseminated to have a baby, Blanche orders her to wait for until both her she ''and'' her friends are all dead, claiming that "the last thing I need is whispering at my funeral!"



** Rose and Charlie apparently had the healthiest relationship of the four couples, although Sophia and Sal (who were shown capable of arguing) clearly loved each other and never had any serious issues. Blanche was fully committed to George, but then it turned out [[spoiler: George had an affair and fathered a son with another woman]], and it's frequently clear Dorothy and Stan's marriage was riddled with problems (not even starting with how Dorothy believes Stan got her pregnant by slipping her something to knock her out). [[spoiler: Hopefully, Dorothy's marriage to Lucas Hollingsworth will be an extremely satisfying improvement over her previous marriage since Lucas treats her with love, dignity, and respect.]]
** Of all the Petrillo siblings, Dorothy's brother Phil have the only stable marriage while Dorothy and Gloria both ended up getting divorced. Phil's wife Angela never has any problem with Phil's crossdressing and often applauds him for having wonderful taste. She even goes as far as [[spoiler: to honor Phil's wish to have him buried in a teddy he picked out himself.]]

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** Rose and Charlie apparently had the healthiest relationship of the four couples, although Sophia and Sal (who were shown capable of arguing) clearly loved each other and never had any serious issues. Blanche was fully committed to George, but then it turned out [[spoiler: George had an affair and fathered a son with another woman]], and it's frequently clear that Dorothy and Stan's marriage was riddled with problems (not even starting with how Dorothy believes Stan got her pregnant by slipping her something to knock her out). [[spoiler: Hopefully, Dorothy's marriage to Lucas Hollingsworth will be an extremely satisfying improvement over her previous marriage since Lucas treats her with love, dignity, and respect.]]
** Of all the Petrillo siblings, Dorothy's brother Phil have has the only stable marriage while Dorothy and Gloria both ended end up getting divorced. Phil's wife Angela never has any problem with Phil's crossdressing and often applauds him for having wonderful taste. She even goes as far as [[spoiler: to honor Phil's wish to have him buried in a teddy he picked out himself.]]]]



** Dorothy's senior prom. It was said that she was stood up (although later Dorothy discovers that [[spoiler: Sophia really just sent him away for not being dressed to her liking]]); but in another episode, it was said she went with Stan, even though Dorothy stated that she didn't meet Stan until a full two weeks after the senior prom. And yet another episode said she went with her brother, Phil.
** The story of Blanche's husband, George's, death. One version is that Blanche was out getting a pedicure when he died, after he had been comatose for a few days. Another is that she got a phone call at home from a rude, food-munching cop, who informed her that he died (presumably instantly) in a car accident, and Blanche mentions another time that a cop came to her house to let her know about George's death.

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** Dorothy's senior prom. It was said that she was stood up (although later Dorothy discovers that [[spoiler: Sophia really just sent him away for not being dressed to her liking]]); but in another episode, it was it's said that she went with Stan, even though Dorothy stated that she didn't meet Stan until a full two weeks after the senior prom. And yet another episode said she went with her brother, Phil.
** The story of Blanche's husband, George's, husband George's death. One version is that Blanche was out getting a pedicure when he died, after he had been comatose for a few days. Another is that she got a phone call at home from a rude, food-munching cop, who informed her that he died (presumably instantly) in a car accident, accident; and Blanche mentions another time that a cop came to her house to let her know about George's death.



** Rose may have been a kind person...but there's a reason BewareTheNiceOnes is a trope. She once saves a teddy bear that a BrattyHalfPint was keeping from her by ripping said bear from the girl's arms and shoving her out the door. Rose also stands up to notorious grump Frieda Claxton and tells her to "drop dead"--unfortunately, poor Frieda was so stunned by Rose's outburst that she ''does.''

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** Rose may have been be a kind person...person... but there's a reason BewareTheNiceOnes is a trope. She once saves a teddy bear that a BrattyHalfPint was keeping from her by ripping said bear from the girl's arms and shoving her out the door. Rose also stands up to notorious grump Frieda Claxton and tells her to "drop dead"--unfortunately, poor Frieda was so stunned by Rose's outburst that she ''does.''



** And, of course, Sophia is probably the least afraid to get her hands dirty. She smacks Blanche's unruly grandson across the face when he mouthes off to her, and, upon discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her, lays into him with her purse (she has some backup from her sister Angela on that one).

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** And, of course, Sophia is probably the least afraid to get her hands dirty. She smacks Blanche's unruly grandson across the face when he mouthes mouths off to her, and, upon discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her, lays into him with her purse (she has some backup from her sister Angela on that one).



* NoodleImplements: Dorothy once has complaints about Sophia's latest boyfriend and tells Rose about Sophia coming home one night with his surgical stockings in her pocket and Nyquil on her breath. Rose, for once, has an understandable reason to be confused by what Dorothy just said.

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* NoodleImplements: Dorothy once has complaints about Sophia's latest boyfriend and tells Rose about Sophia coming home one night with his surgical stockings in her pocket and Nyquil [=NyQuil=] on her breath. Rose, for once, has an understandable reason to be confused by what Dorothy just said.



** In "Isn't It Romantic?", Dorothy's lesbian friend Jean visits and falls for Rose. The two eventually have an honest conversation about the situation, and Rose says that while she can't offer Jean the love she's looking for, she ''can'' offer friendship. Jean gratefully accepts and the women embrace as Sophia walks in, prompting Jean to laugh that "This isn't what it looks like." Sophia admits that she knows...because she was eavesdropping.

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** In "Isn't It Romantic?", Dorothy's lesbian friend Jean visits and falls for Rose. The two eventually have an honest conversation about the situation, and Rose says that while she can't offer Jean the love she's looking for, she ''can'' offer friendship. Jean gratefully accepts and the women embrace as Sophia walks in, prompting Jean to laugh that "This isn't what it looks like." Sophia admits that she knows... because she was eavesdropping.



** In another, Sophia, after a friend of hers who was a nun passes away, decides impulsively to join a convent. Sophia being {{S|crewPolitenessImASenior}}ophia, she fails horribly at it, getting the other nuns to gamble at cards (and cheating), suggesting a "Monks of the Midwest" beefcake calendar to raise money, and hiding a picture of some young stud behind her photo of the Pope. Her Mother Superior gets in on it as well; when Sophia tries to butter her up, she quickly shuts her down with, "Save it, Sister Suck-up!"

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** In another, Sophia, after a friend of hers who was a nun passes away, decides impulsively to join a convent. Sophia being {{S|crewPolitenessImASenior}}ophia, [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior Sophia]], she fails horribly at it, getting the other nuns to gamble at cards (and cheating), suggesting a "Monks of the Midwest" beefcake calendar to raise money, and hiding a picture of some young stud behind her photo of the Pope. Her Mother Superior gets in on it as well; when Sophia tries to butter her up, she quickly shuts her down with, "Save it, Sister Suck-up!"



** Sophia did not get along with her son Phil's wife at all. [[spoiler: Even at his funeral]] she has trouble treating her with any sort of respect. It is not PlayedForLaughs. She is also implied to have been no less obnoxious to Stan before the divorce than she is after.

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** Sophia did not get along with her son Phil's wife at all. [[spoiler: Even at his funeral]] she has trouble treating her with any sort of respect. It is not PlayedForLaughs. She is also implied to have been no less obnoxious to Stan before the divorce than she is after.afterward.



** Dorothy's ex-mother-in-law is an interesting take. She liked ''Dorothy'', but treated her poorly so that Dorothy would insist they not visit - Stan's mother didn't want ''Stan'' around.

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** Dorothy's ex-mother-in-law is an interesting take. She liked ''Dorothy'', but treated her poorly so that Dorothy would insist they not visit - Stan's mother didn't want ''Stan'' around. When a younger Dorothy learns the truth in a flashback, she's amused and promises to keep the secret.



'''Dorothy:''' Rose, I don't think my mother was planning on using the suntan lotion on the chicken -- what do you mean you've made that mistake before?

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'''Dorothy:''' Rose, I don't think my mother was planning on using the suntan lotion on the chicken -- what do you mean mean, you've made that mistake before?



** Angela is the name of both Sophia's sister and Sophia's son Phil's wife.



* PainfulRhyme: In "Big Daddy's Little Lady," Dorothy and Rose are competing in a songwriting contest and can't find a rhyme for "Miami." Rose proposes words like "Mammy," "whammy," "Hootenanny," and "salami" (pronounced as "salammy"). Dorothy responds, "'Hootenanny' is marginal, and I refuse to accept 'salammy.'" (Dorothy is Italian-American after all.)

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* PainfulRhyme: In "Big Daddy's Little Lady," Dorothy and Rose are competing in a songwriting contest and can't find a rhyme for "Miami." Rose proposes words like "Mammy," "whammy," "Hootenanny," and "salami" (pronounced as "salammy"). Dorothy responds, "'Hootenanny' is marginal, and I refuse to accept 'salammy.'" (Dorothy is Italian-American Italian-American, after all.)



* ParentWithNewParamour:
** Big Daddy's much younger fiancée in "Big Daddy's Little Lady".
** There's also "Sophia's Wedding," in which Sophia marries her husband's widowed business partner Max, and Dorothy is not happy about it for a while.



** Blanche was the favorite of her father, Big Daddy, evidenced by him asking for her to come see him on his deathbed. Of course, Southern formality being what it is he doesn't actually ''say'' he's on his deathbed, and Blanche (self-absorbed at the best of times) doesn't pick up on it when she declines his invitation. When attending his funeral, her sister Virginia tears into her for not coming to say goodbye at his request, with some implied resentment on her part that Big Daddy specifically asked for ''Blanche''.

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** Blanche was the favorite of her father, Big Daddy, evidenced by him asking for her to come see him on his deathbed. Of course, Southern formality being what it is is, he doesn't actually ''say'' he's on his deathbed, and Blanche (self-absorbed at the best of times) doesn't pick up on it when she declines his invitation. When attending his funeral, her sister Virginia tears into her for not coming to say goodbye at his request, with some implied resentment on her part that Big Daddy specifically asked for ''Blanche''.



** Blanche's favorite seems to be her daughter Rebecca; the two have a falling-out before the series begins that results in their estrangement but once it's patched up, Rebecca becomes a recurring presence in her life. By contrast she has a fairly distant relationship with most of her other children, as a result of...
* ParentalNeglect: Blanche is strongly implied to have been a "hands-off" mother, which factors into any episode that features her children and grandchildren. She tries to reverse this tendency with one of her granddaughters, but ends up forcing her into a beauty contest she clearly doesn't want to be in.
* ParentWithNewParamour:
** Big Daddy's much younger fiancee in "Big Daddy's Little Lady".
** There's also "Sophia's Wedding," in which Sophia marries her husband's widowed business partner Max, and Dorothy is not happy about it for a while.

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** Blanche's favorite seems to be her daughter Rebecca; the two have a falling-out before the series begins that results in their estrangement but once it's patched up, Rebecca becomes a recurring presence in her life. By contrast she has a fairly distant relationship with most of her other children, as children.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Sophia was not
a result of...
fan of Dorothy marrying Stan, but accepted it because Dorothy was pregnant. By contrast, she was vehemently opposed to her son Phil's marriage to Angela, something that only gets discussed in detail when Phil dies. She tries to claim it's because the dowry check from Angela's parents bounced, which leads Angela to erupt at Sophia for treating her badly for years over something so ridiculous. Eventually, however, it comes out that her real objection was Angela's acceptance of Phil's cross-dressing proclivities - Sophia believed that Angela should have put a stop to it.
* ParentalNeglect: Blanche is strongly implied to have been a "hands-off" mother, which factors into any episode that features her children and grandchildren. grandchildren; it's particularly clear in her relationship with her older daughter Janet, who seems to hold lingering resentment for it. She tries to reverse this tendency with one of her granddaughters, but ends up forcing her into a beauty contest she clearly doesn't want to be in.
* ParentWithNewParamour:
** Big Daddy's much younger fiancee in "Big Daddy's Little Lady".
** There's also "Sophia's Wedding," in which Sophia marries her husband's widowed business partner Max, and Dorothy is not happy about it for a while.
in.



* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: In one episode, Rose's cousin Sven comes to visit to get her blessing for his upcoming arranged marriage to a woman he hasn't met before, as is St. Olavian tradition. Since he's handsome and strong, Blanche uses him as part of an OperationJealousy, but Sven thinks it's ''real'' love and announces that he won't marry his intended because he's fallen for Blanche. When all seems lost, Sven's bride-to-be shows up and proves herself to be a busty young blonde, and Sven immediately decides that he likes her better, much to Blanche's frustration.

to:

* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: In one episode, Rose's cousin Sven comes to visit to get her blessing for his upcoming arranged marriage to a woman he hasn't met before, as is St. Olavian Olafian tradition. Since he's handsome and strong, Blanche uses him as part of an OperationJealousy, but Sven thinks it's ''real'' love and announces that he won't marry his intended because he's fallen for Blanche. When all seems lost, Sven's bride-to-be shows up and proves herself to be a busty young blonde, and Sven immediately decides that he likes her better, much to Blanche's frustration.



** An interesting take occurs in "Mixed Blessings" where it's Greta, the black mother of the fiancee of Dorothy's son, who is against their marriage because he's white; in many other situations, this would be played as downright despicable.

to:

** An interesting take occurs in "Mixed Blessings" where it's Greta, the black mother of the fiancee fiancée of Dorothy's son, who is against their marriage because he's white; in many other situations, this would be played as downright despicable.



-->'''Dorothy''': ''(Embarrassed)'' I'm terribly sorry. I thought you were pulling my leg!

to:

-->'''Dorothy''': ''(Embarrassed)'' ''(embarrassed)'' I'm terribly sorry. I thought you were pulling my leg!



** Clayton gives one such speech to Blanche after she causes a mass panic with a false alarm by yelling "Fire!" right as he was about to introduce himself and Doug (his fiance) to an acquaintance of Blanche's.

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** Clayton gives one such speech to Blanche after she causes a mass panic with a false alarm by yelling "Fire!" right as he was about to introduce himself and Doug (his fiance) fiancé) to an acquaintance of Blanche's.



* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: A newspaper [[AcquiredErrorAtThePrinter erroneously prints]] an obituary of Blanche. She can't believe they could print this sort of JustForFun/{{egregious}} misinformation...[[ComicallyMissingThePoint they got her age wrong!]]

to:

* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: A newspaper [[AcquiredErrorAtThePrinter erroneously prints]] an obituary of Blanche. She can't believe they could print this sort of JustForFun/{{egregious}} misinformation... [[ComicallyMissingThePoint they got her age wrong!]]



* RuleOfThree: When the girls only have three tickets to an event to meet Burt Reynolds, Sophia is aghast that she isn't invited. On two occasions, the girls say "She'll get over it. And if she doesn't, who cares? We're going to meet Burt Reynolds!" [[spoiler:After the girls are arrested on suspicion of prostitution,]] Sophia snatches the tickets and says "You'll get over it. And if you don't, who cares? I'm going to meet Burt Reynolds!"

to:

* RuleOfThree: When the girls only have three tickets to an event to meet Burt Reynolds, Sophia is aghast that she isn't invited. On two occasions, the girls say "She'll get over it. And if she doesn't, who cares? We're going to meet Burt Reynolds!" [[spoiler:After the girls are arrested on suspicion of prostitution,]] Sophia snatches the tickets and says says, "You'll get over it. And if you don't, who cares? I'm going to meet Burt Reynolds!"



%% * SayingTooMuch: Also see CannotKeepASecret.

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%% * SayingTooMuch: Also see CannotKeepASecret.CannotKeepASecret. In one episode, Rose acts as Sophia's "attorney" regarding setting up her will, and informs Dorothy that the attorney-client privilege prevents her from revealing details about the estate. She then admits that the estate in question is $24,000 and "four gold teeth".



* SerialSpouse: Harry, [[FourthDateMarriage Blanche's fiance]] in the pilot, marries multiple women without divorcing them.

to:

* SerialSpouse: Harry, [[FourthDateMarriage Blanche's fiance]] fiancé]] in the pilot, marries multiple women without divorcing them.



** Anytime Sophia attends a competition. A bingo game and a marathon are just two events she takes very seriously.

to:

** Anytime Any time Sophia attends a competition. A bingo game and a marathon are just two events she takes very seriously.



** Olga, Sven's fiancee in "A Visit from Little Sven." She's such a knockout that she immediately makes Sven forget his feelings for [[spoiler:Blanche]].

to:

** Olga, Sven's fiancee fiancée in "A Visit from Little Sven." She's such a knockout that she immediately makes Sven forget his feelings for [[spoiler:Blanche]].
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* FuneralBanishment: PlayedForLaughs in two occurrences:
** In episode "The Heart Attack", Sophia (who believes that she is dying of a heart attack) requests to Dorothy nor to allow an Aunt to attend her funeral, citing how she will make the whole thing about herself. Subverted as she neither was dying nor was having a heart attack, but rather had an acid reflux attack from eating too much.
** Discussed in "An Accurate Conception" When Blanche's daughter Rebecca admits that she's going to be artificially inseminated to have a baby, Blanche orders her to wait for both her ''and'' her friends are all dead, claiming that "the last thing I need is whispering at my funeral!"
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* FunnyConceptionStory:
** In "Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself," Sophia describes how her veal parmigiana, her "luckiest dish," saved her marriage, as after her first fight with Salvatore, he came back, ate the veal with her, and made a beautiful speech comparing it to their love. Dorothy doesn't understand how the dish is lucky until Sophia mentions Dorothy was conceived that night.
--->'''Sophia''': What's lucky is your father never knew or he never would have eaten my veal again.
** In "Accurate Conception," Rose recounts how all of her children were conceived on special St. Olaf holidays:
--->"Adam was conceived on the Day of the Princess Pig when they had the pig crowning, and Jeanella was conceived on Hay Day. That's the day we St. Olafians celebrate hay.[...]Then there was the Day of the Wheat when everybody came to town dressed as sandwiches. Charlie and I forgot to put cheese between us and before I knew it, there was Kirsten."
** While [[SeriesContinuityError the exact details aren't consistent]], the typical story of how Stan and Dorothy conceived their first child in [[TeenPregnancy high school]] was that they had bad sex in the back of his car, something Sophia often berates as slutty.

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** When the protagonists prepare for a cruise they are taking with their male friends, they feel embarrassed buying condoms at the store. When they work up the courage to discreetly add the protection to their order, the clerk requests a price check over the store's PA system and describes in great detail the nature of the items they are purchasing. Even more outrageously, his associate ''responds'' over the speaker system, and they engage in an explicit 2-way conversation about the brand and model each protagonist has selected, which is broadcast to the entire store. Customers begin to point and stare[[note]]It doesn't help that immediately prior, Dorothy had an outburst where she shouted "Condoms, Rose! Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!" in frustration due to Rose not understanding what "protection" meant.[[/note]], prompting Blanche to commandeer the microphone and go on a rant about how they are mature adults behaving responsibly and have no reason to be embarrassed.

to:

** When the protagonists prepare for a cruise they are taking with their male friends, they feel embarrassed buying condoms [[TrojanGauntlet condoms]] at the a store. When they work up the courage to discreetly add the protection to their order, the clerk requests a price check over the store's PA system and describes in great detail the nature specifics of the items they are purchasing. Even more outrageously, his associate ''responds'' over the speaker system, and they engage in an explicit 2-way conversation about describing the brand and model each protagonist has selected, which is broadcast to the entire store. Customers begin to point and stare[[note]]It doesn't help that immediately prior, Dorothy had an outburst where she shouted "Condoms, Rose! Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!" in frustration due to Rose not understanding what "protection" meant.[[/note]], prompting Blanche to commandeer the microphone and go on a rant about how they are mature adults behaving responsibly and have no reason to be embarrassed.


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** When a train station attendant informs the group that they missed their train during a RoadTripPlot, the group prepares to settle down in the station for the night to wait for the train leaving the next day. The attendant then proceeds to announce the departure of a different train through the station's speaker system, which Dorothy questions as the waiting area contains no other passengers besides him, and all four of them are still standing in front of him within speaking range.
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** In another episode, Dorothy tries to get Sophia to go to the doctor's for a checkup by offering to take her to the Dairy Queen. In the same episode, she reveals that Sophia used to trick her into going to the doctor's to get shots by telling her they were going on pony rides.

to:

** In another episode, Dorothy tries to get Sophia to go to the doctor's for a checkup by offering to take her to the Dairy Queen.Wolfie's for a chocolate egg cream. In the same episode, she reveals that Sophia used to trick her into going to the doctor's to get shots by telling her they were going on pony rides.

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* DestinationRuse: At one point, Dorothy tries to bond with her mother by taking her on a trip to Disney World. Since she lied about taking her there to drag her off to [[BleakAbyssRetirementHome Shady Pines]] previously, Sophia becomes ''extremely'' suspicious about her intentions.

to:

* DestinationRuse: DestinationRuse:
**
At one point, Dorothy tries to bond with her mother by taking her on a trip to Disney World. Since she lied about taking her there to drag her off to [[BleakAbyssRetirementHome Shady Pines]] previously, Sophia becomes ''extremely'' suspicious about her intentions.intentions.
** Dorothy tricks Sophia into coming to her joint therapy session with Stan and Dr. Halperin this way. They arrive at the office with a bewildered-looking Sophia wearing a life preserver, before she eventually says "Hey, wait a minute, this isn't Splash Mountain!"
** In another episode, Dorothy tries to get Sophia to go to the doctor's for a checkup by offering to take her to the Dairy Queen. In the same episode, she reveals that Sophia used to trick her into going to the doctor's to get shots by telling her they were going on pony rides.
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** Dorothy and Stan re-marry twice, once apiece, and ''almost'' re-marry to each other besides (calling off the wedding right before Dorothy is about to walk down the aisle). Neither of their two children, Kate and Michael, attend ''any'' of these three weddings.[[note]]This is given a HandWave in "Stan Takes A Wife" when he remarries to another woman and he informs Dorothy that he talked to "the kids" and they'll "try and fly in".[[/note]] Dorothy's sister Gloria also doesn't attend either of Dorothy's weddings, though their brother Phil at least has the excuse that he died beforehand. Stan's brother Ted, who only appeared once but apparently idolizes Stan, also is not seen at either of his weddings.

to:

** Dorothy and Stan re-marry twice, once apiece, and ''almost'' re-marry to each other besides (calling off the wedding right before Dorothy is about to walk down the aisle). Neither of their two children, Kate and Michael, attend ''any'' of these three weddings.[[note]]This is given a HandWave in "Stan Takes A Wife" when he remarries to another woman and he informs Dorothy that he talked to "the kids" and they'll "try and fly in".[[/note]] Dorothy's sister Gloria also doesn't attend either of Dorothy's weddings, though their brother Phil at least has the excuse that he died beforehand. [[note]]Gloria gets a ''very'' weak "out" for skipping Dorothy's remarriage to Stan as Sophia had opposed the wedding and probably warned her away from it. That's being more than charitable, though, since as noted she also skipped Phil's funeral.[[/note]] Stan's brother Ted, who only appeared once but apparently idolizes Stan, also is not seen at either of his weddings.
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-->'''Rose''': Well, it doesn't matter anyway, they're not married anymore. Now he's married to Nancy Davis.
-->'''Sophia''': The chick from ''Film/AllAboutEve''?
-->'''Rose''': No, that was Creator/BetteDavis.
-->'''Sophia''': That woman who beat her kids with wire hangers?
-->'''Rose''': No, you're thinking of Joan Crawford.
-->'''Sophia''': The fat cop from ''Highway Patrol''?
-->'''Rose''': That was Broderick Crawford.
-->'''Sophia''': [[SustainedMisunderstanding The president was married to Broderick Crawford?!]]

to:

-->'''Rose''': Well, it doesn't matter anyway, they're not married anymore. Now he's married to Nancy Davis.
-->'''Sophia''':
Davis.\\
'''Sophia''':
The chick from ''Film/AllAboutEve''?
-->'''Rose''':
''Film/AllAboutEve''?\\
'''Rose''':
No, that was Creator/BetteDavis.
-->'''Sophia''':
Creator/BetteDavis.\\
'''Sophia''':
That woman who beat her kids with wire hangers?
-->'''Rose''':
hangers?\\
'''Rose''':
No, you're thinking of Joan Crawford.
-->'''Sophia''':
Crawford.\\
'''Sophia''':
The fat cop from ''Highway Patrol''?
-->'''Rose''':
Patrol''?\\
'''Rose''':
That was Broderick Crawford.
-->'''Sophia''':
Crawford.\\
'''Sophia''':
[[SustainedMisunderstanding The president was married to Broderick Crawford?!]]Crawford?!]] [[EscalatingPunchline And Mondale still lost, what an idiot!]]

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* HilariousOuttakes: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQlWvQvijbk It had a few.]]

to:

* HilariousOuttakes: HilariousOuttakes:
**
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQlWvQvijbk It had a few.]]]]
** The final season episode "From Here to the Pharmacy" ends with a set of flubs from the scene where Sophia reads her will to Rose playing over the credits.
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** Sophia did not get along with her son, Phil's, wife at all. [[spoiler: Even at his funeral]] she has trouble treating her with any sort of respect. It is not PlayedForLaughs. She is also implied to have been no less obnoxious to Stan before the divorce than she is after.

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** Sophia did not get along with her son, Phil's, son Phil's wife at all. [[spoiler: Even at his funeral]] she has trouble treating her with any sort of respect. It is not PlayedForLaughs. She is also implied to have been no less obnoxious to Stan before the divorce than she is after.

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