History Literature / Wintersmith

* Snowlems: Since the Wintersmith wants to be a man so he can be closer to our heroine, he keeps on creating more and more realistic versions of this trope over the course of the story. We're talking about full digestion here!

* {{Snowlem}}: The Wintersmith's attempts to create a man ends up with this. He has the various elements (Iron enough to make a nail, etc.), but they are stuck together haphazardly into a mostly-snow body.

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: [[spoiler: An interesting case as the candidate himself objects: Reaching the Underworld, Roland is reluctant to kiss the Summer Lady who is deeply asleep. Rob Anybody insists that the narrative traditions demand for the Hero to wake up the unconscious maiden with a kiss. Luckily, a little peck on the cheek does the job.]]

* DanBrowned: In-story example, when Tiffany reads a romance novel that purports to take place on a sheep farm, and is more concerned with the writer's wrong-headed belief that TheSimpleLifeIsSimple.

* ItsAllJunk: Initially played straight when Granny Weatherwax makes Tiffany get rid of her precious silver horse pendant to stop the Wintersmith from following her. Of course, it [[ClingyMacGuffin finds its way back to her]]. Later averted; once the danger is over, Granny offers to teach Tiffany all her magical secrets if she'll throw it away. She refuses, which is the right answer[[note]]probably, Granny tests people constantly[/note].

* SingleSeasonCountry: Explored with the sections of the dick hubwards and rim wards. [[spoiler: The Wintersmith goes flying over a landscape of snow-covered trees in a blizzard, singing in Russian about the glories of snow in one of them.]] The book also shows this trope is but the start of a slippery slop into a WorldOfSilence.

* MonsterShapedMountain: Girl-shaped icebergs, rather. [[spoiler:The Wintersmith thought tiffany would like them and didn't consider the danger to shipping which horrifies Tiffany.]]

* AbsurdCuttingPower: Roland uses a sword to kill the bogles is literally ''made'' out of sharpness.
** To explain he brought a normal sword on his [[spoiler:katabasis to retrieve the Summer Lady]] only he threw it away for being to heavy. But since imagined things in the Underworld can become real he calls up his idea of a sword from all his practising, creating the platonic ideal of a sword.

* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain: The Wintersmith makes himself a human form, and then goes into an inn. He announces, excitedly, [[HughMan "I am a human, just like you!"]] (The Wintersmith never denied he was the Wintersmith, though; he just wanted to be human so Tiffany would love him.)

* CluckingFunny: A mishap with the Summer Lady's cornucopia leads to Nanny Ogg's house being filled with hundreds of live chickens. ''Werk...'' Not a bad thing, as Rincewind in [[Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld ''The Science of Discworld II'']] has accurately observed that the chicken is Lancre's standard unit of currency.

* BoomerangBigot: Annagramma claims to hate shepherds and claims to know nothing about the shepherd life, and Tiffany, a shephard's daughter, calls her out on this and gets the truth out. Annagramma's ashamed about being a daughter of a landless peasant. She never expresses actual hate towards people who work with their hands, but tends to be extremely condescending towards them.

* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDoNotLike: Tiffany thinks that if Annagramma were drowning and you threw her a rope, she would complain it was the wrong colour. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], because this never ''actually'' happens and adds to the already-too-long list of reasons to hate Annagramma.

* BeneathTheMask: UpToEleven. Not only do Miss Treason and [[spoiler: Annagramma]] use ''literal'' masks to hide their true selves, but also green gloves, fake teeth, fake ''skulls'', a ginormous fake booger, a loom that is said to seal the fates of people, '''anything''' they can use to make their [[https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Boffo Boffo]] even stronger.

*** Furthermore, this incident starts a myth among the locals that Annagramma [[ComicBook/TheHulk turns into a green monster when angered enough]].

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Tiffany only realizes that the day [[spoiler: Miss Treason dies]] is also her birthday once it's all over and she's cleaning up. Then she realises Death called her [[AC: Tiffany Aching, aged thirteen]].

* AmbiguousSituation: It's unclear if TheFerryman and [[TheGrimReaper Death]] are different entites, related entities or if Death is pulling double shifts.

* AntagonistTitle: The titular Wintersmith is the main obstecle that Tiffany must overcome in the year the book chronicles.

* AutoKitchen: The Cornucopia that arrives for Tiffany can miraculously produce anything harvested during the growing season, including all sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, or beverages such as milk or juice. You have to be careful what you say, as edible animals like chickens are provided while still raw, intact and living (''werk''), unless you specify how you want them prepared (Nanny Ogg's ham sandwiches) and even then, it will still produce far too much. Apparently the material is distilled out of firmenant rather then taken from somewhere else. See also BiggerOnTheInside, if you happen to be a kitten or Feegle.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Tiffany doesn't want the newly awakened wintersmith to continue making her name in frost, or icebergs that look like her, but feels sorry and lets him make all the snowflake portraits of her that he wishes. As the story opens with a FlashForward of the entire Chalk covered in tens of feet of snow, you can see where this is going.
* BeneathTheMask: UpToEleven. Not only do Miss Treason and [[spoiler: Annagramma]] use ''literal'' masks to hide their true selves, but also green gloves, fake teeth, fake ''skulls'', a ginourmous fake booger, a loom that is said to seal the fates of people, '''anything''' they can use to make their [[https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Boffo Boffo]] even stronger.

* BlindSeer: Miss Treason, she gets around this be "borrowing" te eyes of mice and ravens.

* BookcasePassage: Roland reflects that one of the advantages of living in a castle is that when he barracades himself in his bedroom to escape his aunts, it stays barracaded. When the aunts shout through the door that they'll starve him out, he glances at the far wall, where there's a patch of lighter stone with a slightly crooked candlestick next to it, and thinks that there's many advantages to living in a castle.
* BoomerangBigot: Annagramma claims to hate shepherds and claims to know nothing about the shepherd life, and Tiffany, a shepard's duaghter, calls her out on this and gets the truth out. Annagramma's ashamed about being a daughter of a landless peasant. She never expresses actual hate towards people who work with their hands, but tends to be extremely condescending towards them.

** Granny Weatherwax instructs Tiffany on how to transfer heat without being burned, showing how she won her [[spoiler: [[Literature/WitchesAbroad duel with Mrs Gogol by thrusting her hand into a torch]] while being unharmed]].

* FauxToGuide: The [[ShowWithinAShow Book Within A Book]] ''[[ParodiesForDummies Witchhunting for Dumb People]]'' is actually a very useful and helpful book ... if you're a witch who wants a village full of dumb people to let you have a good night's sleep and wake you with a cup of tea in the belief this will rob you of your powers, rather than [[BurnTheWitch burning you]].

* GirlPosse: Returned and expanded from ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'', while informal they've come to hate Anagramma to the extent that Tiff has to persuade them to help Anagramma when [[spoiler: the girl gets her own cottage and is woefully unprepared for it]].

* GodCouple: PlayedWith; the Wintersmith and the Summer Lady have been in a dance for eternity never quite meeting but going on none the less. When the Wintersmith [[spoiler:mistakes tiffany]] for the Summer Lady he acts like an obsessed stalker, when the Summer Lady chimes in she comes across as more possesive then actually in love.

* HiddenDepths: In relation to the other books in the series. We hadn't seen much of Roland beyond the first book where he was spoiled, bratty and kind of useless. This book shows that he was just out of his depth with the elf queen, and that he can be brave, knowledgable, resourceful and a hero in his own right.

* InvisibleToAdults: By the rules of Discworld substition, only children could hear the Wintersmith questions since adults "knew" that invisible creatures don't talk from out of thin air, or in this case through snowmen. The only other humans who could are [[RobeAndWizardHat the ones with pointy hats]], who have trained themselves to "see what's really there".

** [[spoiler:Later at the Wintersmith's IcePalace Tiffany checks the fig leafs on all the classical statuary are firmly fixed in place, in a spirit of inquiry]].

* KeepTheReward: Played with. After Tiffany and Anagramma spend the night watching over a corpse in a farmhouse, Anagramma instinctively refuses breakfast. Tiffany tells her that it's important for the family to give them something in return and that refusing it would be an insult. When Summer offers Tiffany a reward for stopping the Wintersmith's rampage, Tiffany ''does'' refuse, since she was cleaning up her own mistake (and also as an insult).

* LivingLegend: Miss Treason is in line for this, albeit for a small section of the country, a few people. She even quizzes tiffany on a few of the stories and is 'delighted'' when it turns out tiffany heard one she didn't make.

* ManInAKilt: The Nac Mac Feegle, are about six inches high, but have enough muscle to lift oxen by the feet, they shouldn't even look human let alone have attractive legs, at least the artwork here reflects this. Roland finnaly asks the perennial question if anything is worn underneath...

* PaintingTheFrostOnWindows: The titlur {Wintersmith and his counterpart the Summer Lady, who bring and end the seasons. Spring and Fall aren't mentioned. It seems that they're the highest form of this in Discworld as JackFrost has shown up before painting the forst on windows, guess they're the boss.

* PetTheDog: Getting a kitten from Tiffany gives Granny Weatherwax many opputunities for this. She promptly names her You (as in: "Stop that, You!") and makes a show of not caring for it... but then cares for it when no-one's looking. By the end of the book You is found curled up on top of Granny Weatherwax's [[HeadPet head, under her hat]] (Granny gives the lame excuse that it keeps her head warm).

* PromotedToScapegoat: At Miss Treason's the witches, and presumably Miss Treason too as she held the funeral the day [[CheerfulFuneral before she died]], agreed to give it to Mrs Earwig's apprentice Anagramma[[note]]A cottage in Discworld witchcraft isn't just a cottage; it's more like taking over a medical practice[[/note]]. Tiffany, who was Miss Treason's apprentice, protests that this is unfair ... on ''Anagramma'' who is clearly being [[BreakTheHaughty set up to fail to prove a point about Mrs Earwig's brand of witchcraft]].

** It's populated by a few peopla and even wildlife, most prominently the Bogles, essentially living nightmares.

* SingleSeasonCountry: Explored with the sectionsof the dick hubwards and rim wards. [[spoiler: The Wintersmith goes flying over a landscape of snow-covered trees in a blizzard, singing in Russian about the glories of snow in one of them.]] The book also shows this trope is but the start of a slippery slop into a WorldOfSilence.
* SnowedIn: The Chalk, and possibly the whole of lancre is too thanks to the Wintersmith's antics. The witches show themselves as emergency services housing everyone up to keep from freezing. The [[AutoKitchen Cornucopia]] Tiffany got dropped on her is essential in keeping the population from starving.

* TheWormThatWalks: Returning for an encore performance is the Nac Mac Feegles disguising themselves as a human (singular) by stacking themselves up inside several stolen items of clothing. It can't be a TotemPoleTrench when you have upwards of 30 individuals working togather, even with complaining knees.

* NeverMessWithGranny: As always; Granny Weatherwax, here we see [[spoiler:her intersect with the Wintersmith and cause '''him''' to discorporate.]] Another one shows up too Miss Treson. Granny is [[InsistentTerminology Mistress Weatherwax]] to other people and witches who have not earned the right to call her Granny yet. Miss Treason refers to her as "the girl Weatherwax". Possibly because she's 113 years old and is herself a respected witch.

* PetTheDog: Getting a kitten from Tiffany gives Granny Weatherwax many opputunities for this. She promptly names her You (as in: "Stop that, You!") and makes a show of not caring for it... but then cares for it when no-one's looking. By the end of the book You is found curled up on top of Granny Weatherwax's [[PetHead head, under her hat]] (Granny gives the lame excuse that it keeps her head warm).

* ProphetEyes: The centenarian Miss Treason has eyes like this, they're likely cataracts.

* AnimateInanimateObject: Horace the cheese.

* BadassBookworm: Tiffany and Roland.
* BagOfHolding: The Cornucopia. Also BiggerOnTheInside, if you happen to be a kitten or Feegle.

* BlindSeer: Miss Treason.
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler: Annagramma, after being put in charge of an entire village and having no idea how to take care of it.]]

%%zce* CallingTheOldWomanOut: After leading a private campaign of defiance against his usurping, embezzling aunts for most of the book, Roland [[spoiler: finally stops even pretending to be polite when they threaten to involve his sick father]].

* ClingyMacGuffin: Tiffany's horse necklace.
* ClownCarBase: Cornucopia.

* CoolOldLady: Nanny Ogg.
* CutenessProximity: Granny, of all people, albeit reluctantly, with You the kitten.

* FertileFeet: TropeNamer.

* GivingUpOnLogic: When Daft Wullie claims that Horace the cheese told him his name, Rob Anybody just shrugs it off by saying "I wouldna argue with a cheese."

* HowWeGotHere: The first scene of the story takes place at what is basically thirty pages from the end of the book. However, it's stated that this is more sort of like something that could happen rather than something that absolutely definitely will. [[spoiler:It doesn't turn out quite like it, but it mostly does.]]

* ItWasAGift

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler: The Summer Lady.]]

* LivingLegend: Miss Treason is in line for this, albeit for a few people.

* MonsterShapedMountain: Girl-shaped icebergs, rather.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Rob Anybody spelling "marmalade". Not very well, but Granny Weatherwax admits it was "a heroic effort".
* MustMakeAmends: Granny Weatherwax invokes this trope by name, telling Tiffany that she has to deal with the mess she caused.

* ObliviouslyEvil: Think of a person in the snow about to take their last breath, leaning against a dead tree, just because they didn't have anything to protect them against the cold. Think of how winter didn't come to kill that person, but came because it's the only thing it can do, and how it will the never feel the agony it caused them. That's how the Wintersmith is evil. He isn't evil because he enjoys seeing people suffer, he is evil because he ''can't understand suffering at all''.

* OrpheanRescue: Invoked almost by name.

* PurgatoryAndLimbo: Parodied: the Nac Mac Feegle help Roland visit the (or rather, ''an'') underworld and explain "This one used tae be called Limbo, ye ken, 'cuz the door was verra low."

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Miss Tick.

* StalkerWithACrush: The Wintersmith.

* {{Tsundere}}: Nanny Ogg suggests that Tiffany be this to the wintersmith to keep him friendly, but not make any promises.

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Tiffany and Roland.

* CallingTheOldManOut: More Old Woman, but after leading a private campaign of defiance against his usurping, embezzling aunts for most of the book, Roland [[spoiler: finally stops even pretending to be polite when they threaten to involve his sick father]].

** This trope is ridiculed when Tiffany reads a romance novel:

* XanatosGambit: Granny Weatherwax pulls one when [[spoiler: Miss Treason dies]] and there's an opening for her old cottage. She backs Tiffany for the cottage and turns it into a choice between Tiffany or Annagramma. If Tiffany gets the position, she'll do a good job and showcase to all the witches how well Granny's methods work. If Annagramma gets the position, she'll fail and will make Tiffany help her, showing the other witches that Annagramma's methods don't work and how well Granny's methods work by helping her back on her feet. Tiffany sees through the first half of Granny's plan, so she organizes a campaign to assist Annagramma, so that she at least doesn't fail. Then at the end Tiffany realizes the full plan; [[spoiler:get Annagramma the cottage, because the responsibility will do her good, let the trainee witches assist Annagramma, because she could do with humility and sense, and then let it be known that Annagramma's teacher is no good, Granny's the best, and Annagramma's on her way to being a competent witch]]. The only one who suffers anything is Miss Earwig, everybody else gains.

* XanatosGambit: Granny Weatherwax pulls one when [[spoiler: Miss Treason dies]] and there's an opening for her old cottage. She backs Tiffany for the cottage and turns it into a choice between Tiffany or Annagramma. If Tiffany gets the position, she'll do a good job and showcase to all the witches how well Granny's methods work. If Annagramma gets the position she will fail and will make Tiffany help her, showing the other witches that Annagramma's methods don't work and how well Granny's methods work by helping her back on her feet. Tiffany sees through the first half of Granny's plan, so she organizes a campaign to assist Annagramma, so that she at least doesn't fail. Then at the end Tiffany realizes the full plan; get Annagramma the cottage, because the responsibility will do her good, let the trainee witches assist Annagramma, because she could do with humility and sense, and then let it be known that Annagramma's teacher is no good, Granny's the best, and Annagramma's on her way to being a competent witch. The only one who suffers anything is Annagramma's mentor, everybody else gains.

* XanatosGambit: Granny Weatherwax pulls one when [[spoiler: Miss Treason dies]] and there's an opening for her old cottage. She backs Tiffany, who is for all purposes her own student, for the cottage and ends up turning it into a choice between Tiffany or Annagramma. If Tiffany gets the position, she will do a good job and will showcase to all the witches how well Granny's methods work. If Annagramma gets the position she will fail and will make Tiffany help her, showing the other witches that Annagramma's methods don't work and how well Granny's methods work by helping her back on her feet. Tiffany sees through the first half of Granny's plan, to get Annagramma the cottage so that everybody can see her, and her mentor's, methods fail, and so Tiffany organizes a campaign to assist Annagramma, so that she at least doesn't fail. Then at the end Tiffany realizes the full plan; get Annagramma the cottage, because the responsibility will do her good, let the trainee witches assist Annagramma, because she could do with humility and sense, and then let it be known that Annagramma's teacher is no good, Granny's the best, and Annagramma's on her way to being a competent witch. The only one who suffers anything is Annagramma's mentor, everybody else gains.

* XanathosGambit: Granny Weatherwax pulls one when [[spoiler: Miss Treason dies]] and there's an opening for her old cottage. She backs Tiffany, who is for all purposes her own student, for the cottage and ends up turning it into a choice between Tiffany or Annagramma. If Tiffany gets the position, she will do a good job and will showcase to all the witches how well Granny's methods work. If Annagramma gets the position she will fail and will make Tiffany help her, showing the other witches that Annagramma's methods don't work and how well Granny's methods work by helping her back on her feet. Tiffany sees through the first half of Granny's plan, to get Annagramma the cottage so that everybody can see her, and her mentor's, methods fail, and so Tiffany organizes a campaign to assist Annagramma, so that she at least doesn't fail. Then at the end Tiffany realizes the full plan; get Annagramma the cottage, because the responsibility will do her good, let the trainee witches assist Annagramma, because she could do with humility and sense, and then let it be known that Annagramma's teacher is no good, Granny's the best, and Annagramma's on her way to being a competent witch. The only one who suffers anything is Annagramma's mentor, everybody else gains.

* BeneathTheMask: UpToEleven. Not only do Miss Treason and [[spoiler: Annagramma]] use ''literal'' masks to hide their true selves, but also green gloves, fake teeth, fake ''skulls'', a ginourmous fake booger, a loom that is said to seal the fates of people, '''anything''' they can use to make their Boffo[[https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Boffo]] even stronger.

* ObliviouslyEvil: Think of a person in the snow about to take their last breath, leaning against a dead tree, just because they didn't have anything to protect them against the cold. Think of how winter didn't come to kill that person, but came because it's the only thing it can do, and how it will the never feel the agony it caused them. That's how the Wintersmith is evil. He isn't evil because he enjoys seeing people suffer, he is evil because can't understand suffering at all.