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Quintessential British Gentleman (view source)

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{{trope}}
[[File:henry-hatsworth.jpg|link=Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure|rightframe|Henry Hatsworth: a [[Stock British Phrases|jolly good]] example.]]
 
 
{{quote|'''TheHelldragon:''' Shake your fist in angry, British rage, Tom!<br />
'''NTom64:''' You can't see it, but my fist is wearing [[High -Class Glass|a monocle!]]|''[[Hellfire Commentaries]]'', ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSh5Mfu-aEs=related Kingdom Hearts II commentary part 43]''}}
 
Start with one cup(pa) [[Spot of Tea|tea.]] Mix in a hearty helping of [[British Accents]]... no, it doesn't matter which, any will do. No one ([[Dan Browned|except those pesky British people]]) will notice. Add some [[Stock British Phrases]] for seasoning, wot, wot. Throw it all in a top hat and stir with a [[High -Class Glass|monocle]] over low heat for the 1000+ years in the history of [[The British Empire]]. Turn it out carefully, give him a name like "Sir Nigel Featherstonehaugh-Smythe," and Bob's your uncle, you have yourself the [[I Am Very British|Britishiest British man]] to ever "cheerio" his way into the media-viewing-public's home. And no one ([[Dan Browned|except those pesky British people]]) will be any the wiser that you're mixing dialectal phrases willy-nilly or throwing British slang around like Frisbees.
 
The [[Quintessential British Gentleman]] is a stock character commonly found in [[Did Not Do the Research|decidedly not-so-British]] works, who encapsulates everything that non-Brits (most commonly Americans) think of when they think of that funny little island across the pond. Much like the [[Eagle Land|Eaglelander]] is a [[Flanderized]] American, this chap is the [[Flanderized]] Brit. Common characteristics include:
 
* A top hat or [[Dashingly Dapper Derby|bowler ("derby")]] and [[High -Class Glass]].
* A morning coat and striped trousers, or (if on his country estate) a tweed suit, usually with matching flat cap and possibly with plus-fours instead of slacks.
* Intellectual pursuits, often [[Adventurer Archaeologist|Adventurous Archaeology]].
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He's not always a product of [[Critical Research Failure]], however. Sometimes, just as an [[Eagle Land|Eaglelander]] is a [[Affectionate Parody|gentle poking-fun-at]] of Americans, so too might this fellow be a humorous, good-natured jab at English - and done well, of course, even the Brits can find it funny. In fact, many of the works listed were created by Britons. Some Britons actually act like this, if not in everyday life, then at least recreationally. [[Rule of Funny|Because it's funny.]]
 
Compare with that [[Hawaiian -Shirted Tourist]] from [[Eagle Land]], and that bush-hatted fellow from the [[Land Down Under]]. By the way, has nothing to do with the [[Lord British Postulate]], but plenty to do with [[Stiff Upper Lip]]. The Q.B.G is probably helpless without [[The Jeeves]]. See also the [[Upper Class Wit]], which is what the [[Quintessential British Gentleman]] probably was in his wild youth.
 
Actual British [[Blue Blood|Gentlemanly]] behaviour is more subtle the speech or dress, involving the virtues of [[Sacred Hospitality|hospitality]] and temperance, the avoidance of extremes, devotion to 'things held dear', rebellion against corruption, courage in adversity, and [[Stiff Upper Lip|extreme composure]]. (However, some of these - notably extreme composure - are sometimes seen in trope form).
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'''Giles''': That was a bit... British, wasn't it?<br />
'''Buffy''': Welcome to the New World. }}
* [[Doctor Who (TV)|The Doctor]] was always noticeably British (or at least Anglophile) in his tastes and attitudes, but it's arguably the Eighth Doctor from the (American-made) [[Made for TV Movie]] who comes closest to this trope ("He's... British." "Yes, I suppose I am!").
* This was done quite a bit on [[The Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]. For example, in one episode where Geoffrey's long-lost comes to visit (who claims that he has plans to attend Butler School) Carlton becomes fascinated to the point where he begins to imitate the British Gentleman stereotype, bowler hat, pip pips and all.
* Many sketches from ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' parodied the stuffy British stereotype that their parents' generation more closely embodied.
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* [[That Guy With the Glasses|MikeJ]]
* Parodied/deconstructed with ''[[Englishman]]'', who is in some ways the stereotypical British gentleman as imagined by Americans (he lives in the USA, and [[They Fight Crime|fights crime]]), but the series is written by two Britons. Also, he embodies the darker side of the British upper classes as well, cheerfully trading in slaves, shooting foreigners and so on.
* [[Whateley Universe]] example: Fey's magic tutor Sir Wallace Westmont, who's virtually a [[Shout -Out]] to John Steed, down to the bowler and accent. He even has an [[Action Girl]] accompanying him to [[Super -Hero School|Whateley Academy]].
* [[Retsupurae]]'s take on [[Electrical Beast]] whose accent is so exaggerated it seems fake.
** "Even ''British'' people are saying 'I can't believe how British this guy sounds'."
** Their ElectricalBeast retsupuraes have even created all-new English stereotypes between the group: Specifically, the English can now [[Time Travel|travel through time]] and teleport.
*** [[Doctor Who (TV)|That's new?]]
* [[Hellfire Commentaries|Ntom64]] is basically MADE of this trope.
* The Dark Id's [[Let's Play]] of ''[[Resident Evil]] 4'' [http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/RE4/chapter14.html makes El Gigante] (a mindless giant) into one of these, complete with a photoshopped monocle.
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[[Category:An Index of Ladies and Gentlemen]]
[[Category:Quintessential British Gentleman]]
[[Category:Trope]]
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