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{{trope}}
[[File:Monocle-man_545man 545.gif|frame]]
 
{{quote|'''Leela:''' I know Fry's rich, but do we really have to wear these top hats?
'''Bender:''' Maybe you don't understand just how rich he is. In fact, I think I'd better put on a monocle.|''[[Futurama]]'', "A Fishful of Dollars"}}
|''[[Futurama]]''|"A Fishful of Dollars"}}
 
Want to give your character a prop that sets him as high as possible in the social strata?
 
Give him a tophat and a [[monocle]].
 
Largely obsolete today, the monocle is a corrective lens applied to only one eye. In this sense it is no different from eyeglasses. But while eyeglasses have never been anything more than a medical appliance (with the possible exception of the pince-nez), the monocle has been a status symbol virtually since its invention.
 
They are never seen on the faces of the working class. Instead, they are the exclusive province of [[Blue Blood|titled nobility]], [[Officer and a Gentleman|high ranking military officers]], upper-echelon businessmen, academics, etc. They are also exclusively worn by men -- thoughmen—though lesbians in the early 20th century sometimes used them for a [[Bifauxnen|subtly masculine edge]]. Monocles were available to the lower classes, but proper manufacture and fitting made them very expensive. Cheaper versions were of poor quality and very uncomfortable to wear.
 
In media, the monocle's wearer will constantly clean it and fidget with it. It will be whipped out and squinted through when the wearer views something below his social station. In comedies, a monocle will pop off its wearer's face and/or shatter in shocked response to the working class hero giving this pompous toady his well-deserved comeuppance. The monocle is also a popular graffito to [[Face Doodling|draw on a sleeping person's face]].
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The female version is the lorgnette, which is a pair of spectacles on a small stick to be held up when you want to look at something. It is a common property of the [[Grande Dame]].
 
Given its association with wealth and status, it's a very popular prop for the [[Mock Millionaire]]. Today, putting a monocle and top hat on ''anything'' is sure to get a laugh just out of the pure absurdity.<ref>Unless you go by the name of [[Total Biscuit|John Bain]]</ref>. Sub-trope of [[Stock Costume Traits]].
{{examples}}▼
 
▲{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20131031011603/http://planters.com/history.aspx Mr. Peanut]
** [[The Office|Dwight Shrute]] disagrees.
* [[The Man Your Man Could Smell Like]] Isaiah Mustafa has introduced the term [[Memetic Mutation|Monocle Smile!]], useful in everything from referencing Anonymous to helping [[Barack Obama]]'s public image.
* In a Frank's redRed hotHot sauce commercial, where Ethel makes Cucumber sandwiches for the Queen of England, she says the secret is Frank's red hot, she puts that **** on ''everything''. Someone drops his monocle.
 
== Anime &and Manga ==▼
 
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Walter Dornez, loyal retainer to the Hellsing family in ''[[Hellsing]]'' wears a monocle. It goes into [[Scary Shiny Glasses]] mode when he's ready to kick undead ass.
* Dr. Adashino from ''[[Mushishi]]'' wears a monocle, presumably to make him look more intellegent and make him visually distinguishable from the other villagers, since the series' art style mostly averts the [[Hair Colors]] commonly see in anime and gives most people black hair.
* Cho Hakkai from ''[[Saiyuki]]}}'' has one over his artificial right eye, presumably to protect it. He's also generally the most level-headed and polite of the group -- unlessgroup—unless he has to pull his [[I Am Not Left-Handed]] trick and remove his [[Restraining Bolt]] accessories when it's time to kick some ass.
* In ''[[Trinity Blood]]'', Cardinal Sforza is a woman who wears a monocle. She's also a duchess and half-sister to the Pope.
* ''[[Detective Conan]]'' and the Kaitou Kid. The monocle (and top hat) practically define the character, harkening back to [[Arsène Lupin]] and the whole [[Gentleman Thief]] bit. Also, the monocle has a tendency to do the [[Scary Shiny Glasses]] thing when Kid's being disturbing.
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* Prof. Moriarty in ''[[Sherlock Hound]]'', who looks like a traditional melodrama villain with cape, tophat and mustache.
* Whenever [[Arsène Lupin]] appears in [[Lupin III]] (usually via flashback), he's usually shown with one of these.
 
 
== Board Games ==▼
* Aversion that apparently needs mentioning: Rich Uncle Pennybags, a.k.a. Mr [[Monopoly]] does ''not'' wear a monocle, even though he looks like he should.▼
* Colonel Mustard from ''[[Clue (game)|Clue]]'' is usually depicted as wearing one.▼
 
 
== Comic Books ==
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* In ''[[Dark Reign]]'': ''[[Fantastic Four]]'', the FF traveled through several alternate universes, including one with the FF as the royal family in a mock-Elisabethan England. The Thing, dressed as a chamberlain and sporting a monocle, has become an internet meme.
{{quote|"Milady, [[Sophisticated As Hell|'tis the clobbering hour.]]"}}
 
 
== Fan Works ==
* In ''[[Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy]]'', classmate Arisa Erisawa wears a monocle over one of her eyes -- becauseeyes—because she's blind in that eye.
 
== TheaterFilm ==▼
 
== Films -- Animation ==
* The Grand Duke from ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]''.
* For sure, Mr. Grasshopper in ''[[James and the Giant Peach]]'' is this. Especially when he puts on a top hat during the song number "That's the Life for Me".
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* Professor Z, [[The Dragon]] of the Pixar film ''[[Cars 2]]'' actually wears a monocle over his windshield.
* The evil owl from ''[[Rock-a-Doodle]]'' is first seen with a monocle over his face, but then he takes it off when he finds out that Edmund had touched his face (or at least on a storybook illustration of his face). He then turns Edmund into a cat with his magic as revenge.
 
 
== Films -- Live-Action ==
* Edgar Bergen's dummy Charlie McCarthy.
* In [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'', Transsylvanian police Inspector Kemp is evidently so attached to his monocle he continues to wear it even though the eye in question is also covered with a patch.
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* The [[Herr Doktor|psychiatrist]] in ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' has one.
* Invoked in ''[[Night Train to Munich]].'' Randall wears one as part of his [[Those Wacky Nazis|Nazi]] [[Dressing as the Enemy|disguise.]]
* The Three Stooges in ''Three Sappy People'' go to a party pretending to be psychiatrists. There they meet a stuffy woman identified as "Countess" who wears a monocle.▼
 
 
▲* The Three Stooges in ''Three Sappy People'' go to a party pretending to be psychiatrists. There they meet a stuffy woman identified as "Countess" who wears a monocle
 
== Literature ==
* Wilkins Micawber from ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]''.
* [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] from [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]' detective novels. His monocle was actually a disguised magnifying glass, perfect for taking a really close look at something -- andsomething—and looking like a bloody ass while doing it.
* ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and Thethe Order of Thethe Phoenix (novel)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' features two slight subversions of the trope. The persons wearing the monocles are a judge and a schoolteacher, but both are women -- Madamwomen—Madam Amelia Bones and Professor Wilhemina Grubbly-Plank, respectively.
* [[H. Beam Piper]]'s ''Uller Uprising'' has General Carlos Von Schlicten, who wears a monocle; the only thing ever observed to knock it out of his eye is a nuclear blast while kissing a lady. "Don't you know, lieutenant, that no gentleman ever wears a monocle while kissing a lady?"
* Count Olaf of ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'', when disguised as a wealthy, fashionable [[Funny Foreigner]] auctioneer, adopts a monocle as part of his getup. It seems to be a standard part of the V.F.D. disguise kit.
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* In ''[[King Solomon's Mines|King Solomons Mines]]'' by [[H. Rider Haggard]], Sir Henry's monocle is a plot-point that endears him to the denizens of the secret African kingdom.
* In [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''The Bell at Sealey Head'', Mr. Moren eyes Emma with a monocle while quizzing her about where the heiress, Miranda Beryl, went. (And expresses disdain for the local squire's son while he's about it.)
* In [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s fiction:
** Galahad Threepwood wears a black-rimmed monocle in the ''[[Blandings Castle]]'' stories.
** [[Psmith]] habitually wears a monocle.
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* In ''[[A Little Princess]]'', in one of the scenes illustrating Sara's luxurious lifestyle, it's mentioned that her new ''doll'' has its own little opera glasses.
* The Oberstleutenant Boerner bot from ''[[Daemon]]'' wears a monocle.
* In ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'' Prince Heinreich wears one. There's no particular comedy to it, although a groan may result from his [[Obligatory Joke]], "If I had two I'd make a spectacle of myself."
* A trademark of [[Arsène Lupin]], along with a top hat and cape.
* ''The New Yorker'' has as an official (?) mascot Eustace Tilley, a top-hatted, monocled dandy who appeared on the cover of the first issue, and has been parodied lots and lots over the decades.▼
 
 
== Live-Action TV ==
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:: Later he asks the guy if he's trying to kill [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]].
* In one episode of ''[[The Persuaders]]'', Danny Wilde has to impersonnate his friend Lord Brett Sinclair and portrays him as an [[Upper Class Twit]], naturally wearing a monocle that keeps popping off.
* In ''[[Dad's Army|Dads Army]]'', it's revealed that upper-class Sgt. Wilson requires a monocle because his sight is weaker in one eye than the other. Captain Mainwaring -- whoMainwaring—who is lower-class, wears glasses and is ridiculously class-conscious -- immediatelyconscious—immediately feels threatened because of this.
* An incident on ''[[QI]]'' where Stephen Fry [[Pop Cultural Osmosis Failure|had to have the expression "beer goggles" explained to him]] resulted in the panel accusing him of using "Madeira pince-nez" or a "sherry monocle" instead.
* Queen Machina from ''[[Power Rangers Zeo]]'' wears a monocle over her left eye.
 
 
== Music ==
* The cover of Belgian [[Thrash Metal]] band Cyclone's ''[http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/9/5/4/2954.jpg Brutal Destruction]'' shows a monocle-wearing skull.
 
== Tabletop Games ==▼
▲=== Board Games ===
▲* Aversion that apparently needs mentioning: Rich Uncle Pennybags, a.k.a. Mr [[Monopoly]] does ''not'' wear a monocle, even though he looks like he should.
▲* Colonel Mustard from ''[[Clue (game)|Clue]]'' is usually depicted as wearing one.
 
=== PrintTabletop MediaRPG ===
* A number of ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' magic items are monocles. They are often described as a "lens". The "Lens of True Seeing", which allows someone to see through illusions and invisibility (well, to ''not'' see through invisible creatures), is probably the most famous.▼
▲* ''The New Yorker'' has as an official (?) mascot Eustace Tilley, a top-hatted, monocled dandy who appeared on the cover of the first issue, and has been parodied lots and lots over the decades.
* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''▼
 
 
▲== Tabletop Games ==
▲* A number of ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' magic items are monocles. They are often described as a "lens". The "Lens of True Seeing", which allows someone to see through illusions and invisibility (well, to ''not'' see through invisible creatures), is probably the most famous.
▲* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]''
** Some Imperial Guard officers wear monocles. In one of the Siege of Vraks books there is a mention of the officer's monocle acting as an HUD, displaying battlefied data.
** Many artists for that franchise achieve the same visual aestetic by having a character with a monocle-like cybernetic eye.
** ''[[Rogue Trader]]'' has Targeting Monocle - disguised wireless version of an advanced camera sight that also can show weapon status. Of course, disguise implies that normal monocles are fairly common in these circles.
 
== Theatre ==
 
▲== Theater ==
* Three [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] characters, all of them George Grossmith comic baritone roles, wear monocles as part of their costume. Sullivan himself wore a monocle.
** [[Modern Major-General|Major-General]] Stanley in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]''.
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* Sir Edward Ramsay in ''[[The King and I]]'', whose monocle causes a panic among the King's wives.
* Gwendolyn in [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' uses a lorgnette.
 
 
== Video Games ==
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* Sparda from ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' used to have a monocle as part of his attire. It's one-way and tinted purple.
* The twin bosses Lechku and Nechku in ''[[Ōkami|Okami]]'' isn't satisfied with just wearing monocles, but they also wear top hats and wield canes. They are also {{spoiler|'''GIANT DEMONIC CLOCKWORK OWLS''' (who may or may not be [[Shout-Out|shoutouts]] to Clockwerk, the recurring antagonist of the [[Sly Cooper]] series)}}!
* ''[[RunescapeRuneScape]]''
** One quest has you helping the TzHaars (Some kind of a sentient lava-and-rock race) make a theatrical play. One of these TzHaars has to play the role of a rich mystic caste member, and how does he dress up? With nothing more than a monocle.
** Zimberfizz gets both a tophat and a monocle as he takes over the Soul Wars area as a successor of Nomad {{spoiler|who you kill.}}
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* Baron from ''Shining Force Neo''. Despite being a [[Big Badass Wolf|wolfling ninja]], he's still quite classy.
* The [[ZX Spectrum]] game ''[[Killed Until Dead]]'' is populated by parodies of various detectives, including a "[[Lord Peter Wimsey|Lord Peter Flimsey]]". If you manage to rattle him when you interrogate him, his monocle flies off -- [[Rule of Funny|but it still blinks when his eyes do]].
* In ''[[Scribblenauts]]'', this is the main difference between a normal velociraptor and [[MeMemetic MeMutation|the]] [[Punny Name|Philosoraptor]]. In ''Super Scribblenauts'', applying the "gentlemanly" adjective will give objects a top hat and monocle along with making them friendly, even if the object in question normally spawns hostile (the Tyrannosarus Rex, for example).
* ''[[Team Fortress 2]]''. One of the Pyro's new unlockable [[Nice Hat|hats]] is a monocle and fake mustache taped over his mask.
* ''[[EveEVE Online]]'' added a cash shop with player clothing in the Incarna update. Although all of the items are rather expensive for in-game microtransactions, the most expensive by far is a $70 "ocular implant" which looks conspicuously like a monocle, meaning that players who have enough money to spend that much on a cosmetic item in an MMO can now fly around looking like a 19th-century industrialist. The rest of the playerbase is less than thrilled about this, what with the in-game riots and the player-led advisory board being sent all the way to the developers in Iceland in an attempt to save face.
* The Penguin in ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]'' ''looks'' like he has one of these at first glance... then you get a closer look and realize it's {{spoiler|a ''broken bottle'' [[Eye Scream|embedded around his eye]]}}
* Fugue, one of [[Big Bad|Count Waltz]]'s lackeys in ''[[Eternal Sonata]]''. In the [[PlayStationPlay Station 3]] [[Updated Rerelease]] of the game, it earns him the mean nickname "three-eyed freak" from Salsa. Even March uses it, which is unusual, given her [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Blue Oni]] status to Salsa's Red Oni. Naturally, it really tees Fugue off. "Little girl, I hope you aren't referring to me."
* Similiar to the [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] example above, [[Cowboy Cop|Garrus]] [[Vigilante Man|Vakarian]] in [[Mass Effect]] games wears the sci-fi version of it, with the HUD showing tactical data, helping him to aim etc.. In second and third game, [[Player Character|Commander Shepard]] can acquire one like that, too.
 
=== Visual Novels ===▼
 
▲== Visual Novels ==
* ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney|Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney]]''
** [[Affably Evil|Gentleman]] [[Career Killers|assassin]] Shelly DeKiller in ''Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All'', and Detective Luke Atmey in the sequel ''Trials and Tribulations'', who has a monocle that doubles as magnifying glass. Curiously enough, when de Killer {{spoiler|testifies in court via transciever, the gadget's button}} mimics his monocle.
** And {{spoiler|the trailer to ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' shows him holding an ice cream cone with a cherry to mimic the monocle.}} Guy really loves that monocle.
 
 
== Web Animation ==
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* Used frequently in ''[[Zero Punctuation]]'', most often when Yahtzee wants to depict a particular person (such as the creators of ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'') as being wealthy.
{{quote|'''Viewer:''' Monocles and Top Hats, eh?}}
 
 
== Web Comics ==
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* ''[[Better Days]]'' [http://www.jaynaylor.com/betterdays/archives/2008/01/chapter-20-the-12.html sent this up] by having Fisk and Tommy dress up in the stereotypical upper-class style (complete with monocles and fake mustaches) while shopping for clothes for a trip to New York.
* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/9/5/ Twisp] of ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' is an upper-class, monocle-wearing cat, who tends to speak in single-word sentences.
* Berserker Axinhed of ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'' has a monocle that not only grants him status, but a completely new (non-berserk) personality.
* Sean has a fantasy about becoming monocle-rich in ''[http://awkward.natural20s.com/2008/02/11/16-monocle-rich/ Sean and Mimi's Awkward Adventures]''.
* ''[[Antihero for Hire]]'''s Doctor Nefarious.
* In ''[[Real Life Comics]]'', one arc had Greg gain super-intelligence from a gamer-marketed energy drink. He also claimed it gave him myopia in one eye, requiring a monocle.
* Subverted/deconstructed in [https://web.archive.org/web/20090207154808/http://www.soulgeek.com/comics/jl/2008/09/05/issue-3-page-28/ a strip of] ''[[Jump Leads]]'', where it was revealed that in the world Meany jumped in, monocles, and high-class wear in general, were used by peasants to compensate for lack of good treatment/clothing for their body, like monocle instead of eye surgery. {{spoiler|It turns out that top hat was actually able to kill [[Puppeteer Parasite|body-possessing slugs]] because it's made of silk. The people who join the army to receive better clothes actually abandon a good mean of defense against these slugs.}}
* Von Pinn from ''[[Girl Genius]]'' wears a tinted-red monocle. She gets an uncharacteristic monocle pop at [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040730 one time].
* Poked fun at in ''[[Bob and George]]'' where Nate and Chadling, two shapeshifting Devils from the Mega Man verse, get mixed up in their bodies. Seeing as Nate wears gigantic glasses they end up with one glass and one normal eye. So they get a top hat [[Lampshade Hanging|because they already had the monocle.]]
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* ''[[Scandinavia and The World]]'' gives one of these to [[Anthropomorphic Personification|England]].
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' provides us with [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0742.html ambassador Gourntonk], a monocle-wearing [[Lizard Folk]].
* Harkon of ''[[Turn Signals on a Land Raider]]'' briefly [https://web.archive.org/web/20130720175418/http://tsoalr.com/?p=474 wears a monocle] while serving as prime minister to a Warhammer Emperor.
* Chase from ''[[Nerf This]]'' dons a tophat, a fancy mustache, and [[Up to Eleven|Two monocles]]. Along [https://web.archive.org/web/20131005063257/http://nerf-this.com/poetry-in-motion/ with his girlfriend].
* Subverted in [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2255#comic a fantastic little strip] from ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]''
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130609084754/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter003/ib015.html Caspian's father]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130609103033/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue4PAGES/ib084.html Plus one of the Watchers]
* In ''[[Minion Comics]]'', Von Gernsbach -- aGernsbach—a member of a wealthy German family who lets him loose to fund an evil organization -- wearsorganization—wears a monacle over his eye-scar.
 
== Web Original ==
* [[The Spiffing Brit]]'s avatar comes complete with a monocle; in fact, the image on this page could practically ''be'' his avatar.
 
== Western Animation ==
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* Invoked by Space Ghost in the ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]'' episode "Snatch" when he hears about unidentified (space) creatures violating their airspace.
{{quote|'''Space Ghost:''' ''(beat)'' Bring me my monocle. I want to look rich!}}
* [[Big Bad|Anti-Cosmo]] wears one on ''[[The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]''.
* In an episode of ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', Grounder begins wearing one after he temporarly becomes smart.
* Archibald Asparagus of ''[[Veggie Tales]]'' fame wears a monocle seemingly to emphasize the fact he's a culture-obsessed Brit. Fun fact: before the introduction of the Maya software at Big Idea, Archie's monocle had no glass in it.
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{{quote|"What's with the monocle?"
"It's an affectation." }}
 
 
== Real Life ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Luxury Tropes]]
[[Category:Glasses Tropes]]
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[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
[[Category:Sublime Rhyme]]
[[Category:High-ClassGothic GlassHorror Tropes]]
[[Category:Esoteric Trope Names]]
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