History Main / PunctualityIsForPeasants

* ''Literature/SecretSanta:'' Erik Bigelow is keen on everyone but himself being punctual, although his own schedule is probably motivated more by laziness than a sense of superiority. This serves as his EstablishingCharacterMoment.

* ''Film/SpiceWorld'': The Spice Girls keep the whole world waiting for their first ever live performance at the Albert Hall, mostly because they want to keep their friend Nicola company while she gives birth, and partly to spite their manager, with whom they had a row the day before.

** In the episode ''Bells'' in ''Blackadder II'', Lord Flashheart ("flash by name, flash by nature") is late for the wedding where he is Edmund's best man... before arriving in spectacular fashion, and stealing Edmund's bride.
** In ''Blackadder The Third'', Blackadder deliberately keeps a pair of pompous actors waiting outside and beating on the door to give the Prince acting lessons. When he finally lets them in, he says they should have knocked. Later he has them thrown in prison. The same actors, having said earlier "never upset the punters", change their tune to "sod the proles" when they are invited to the palace.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In ''Chain of Command'', Captain Jellico keeps a Cardassian waiting for an hour before meeting him as a "show 'em who's boss" gesture. Troi can sense that for all his bluster and hardlining, Jellico has zero confidence that he can stop a war and can only hope intimidation will work.

* Teenage pop star Music/JustinBieber was famously two hours late for his own concert in 2013, allegedly because he had a tantrum over a computer game, causing many of his child fans to miss his belated appearance completely.

-->''And Axl didn't come tonight, but even if he was coming tonight, he wouldn’t have been here by now.''

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon parodies this trope in the first episode. The Vice President of Dilbert's company arrives right on time for the product name meeting, but he holds off on it to make some phone calls. It then flash forwards to some time later and he rrives late. Dilbert hangs a [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] on this by way of a StealthInsult.

* Real-life inversion: The French expression "L'exactitude est la politesse des rois" ("punctuality is the politeness of kings", meaning being on time is a show of respect at even the highest level of society) was a quote from king Louis XVIII, who hated being late to anything (and expected similar punctuality from everyone else).

* As recounted in ''Literature/TheDisasterArtist'', Creator/TommyWiseau routinely arrived three to four hours late to direct ''Film/TheRoom''.

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In {{ComicBook/Archie Comics}}, Veronica Lodge on several occasions brags about being fashionably late. On one occasion she explicitly says "better fashionably late than tackily early," though she's a {{hypocrite}} in that she has no patience for Jughead's tardiness.

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Film: Live-Action]]

* Played for laughs in ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries,'' when someone suggests that Queen Clarisse might be late. She assures them that "A queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early."

[[folder: Films: Animated]]
* Referenced on ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'':
-->'''Rafael:''' You guys are late.\\
'''Pedro:''' Clock late.\\
'''Nico:''' But musician early.
* Referenced in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. When Ralph shows up at Felix's party, Ralph initially thinks it's Mario pulling this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* In {{ComicBook/Archie Comics}}, Veronica Lodge on several occasions brags about being fashionably late. On one occasion she explicitly says "better fashionably late than tackily early" though she's a {{hypocrite}} in as much as she has no patience for Jughead's tardiness.

--> '''Romona''': Well...you assumed wrong.

* ''Literature/AdrianMole'': Adrian believes he is the victim of this when his psychotherapist reschedules their first meeting at short notice, without giving a reason, and he rants about it in his diary.

* Literature/SoulMusic: Dibbler thinks this is happening after the Band With Rock In doesn't show up onstage (having taken the money owed them and escaped). When it becomes clear they aren't coming, period, he puts a stupefyingly bad GarageBand on instead. The crowd riots and tears the stage apart.

** In the episode ''Bells'' in ''Blackadder II'', Lord Flashheart "flash by name, flash by nature" is late for the wedding where he is Edmund's best man; before arriving in spectacular fashion, and stealing Edmund's bride.
** In ''Blackadder The Third'': Blackadder deliberately keeps a pair of pompous actors waiting outside and beating on the door to give the Prince acting lessons. When he finally lets them in, he says they should have knocked. Later he has them thrown in prison. The same actors, having said earlier "never upset the punters", change their tune to "sod the proles" when they are invited to the palace.

* ''Series/JudgeJohnDeed'': The judge does this to a wealthy defendant Mr Brooklands whom he particularly dislikes, whose lawyers are pleading that he is mentally unfit to stand trial for killing a family by dangerous driving.

* The samurai UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi was famous for showing up to duels hours late... even duels ''he'' chose the time for. When he did finally turn up, he'd be unapologetic and remarkably casual about the whole "DuelToTheDeath" thing. This was actually part of his strategic brilliance; his being late ''really'' got on his opponents' nerves, and gave them plenty of time to contemplate the very real possibility that they would die in the upcoming battle. As a result, they would grow irritated, upset, and uneasy, taking the edge off their skill and giving Musashi a huge advantage before he even ''got'' there.

-->''And Axl didn't come tonight but even if he was coming tonight, he wouldn’t have been here by now.''

* Music/GunsNRoses are infamous for making wait to the crowd in their concerts (even ''hours'' late), as other debatable acts like getting drunk in stage and Axl Rose acting as a RichBitch, which eventually gave them a bad fame and soiled their music legacy in Rock history. Lampshaded by Creator/ChrisRock at the 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony:

When this occurs in showbusiness, organisers often have the task of providing supporting acts from lesser performers to keep the audience as happy as they can.
When the latecomer does appear, perhaps hours later, sometimes combined with a BigEntrance, they are often unapologetic, or they wave it aside with an insincere "sorry I'm late". They might be late not necessarily through arrogance, but because they believe their position means they will not face any consequences, which does not always end well for them. It is even possible that the latecomer does not appear at all.

--> '''Frodo''': You're late!
--> '''Gandalf''': A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to!

--> '''Geri''': (on the phone to their manager) I don't know what time we're going to be there! Look, the world can wait, this is more important! It's about friendship and commitment, but you wouldn't know about that!
* The novelization of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' reveals that Jerjerrod (the commander of the second Death Star) is an arrogant bully who wholeheartedly subscribes to this school of thought. As he sees it, important people, such as himself, don't hurry for others, other people hurry for them. However Jerjerrod does have enough common sense to know that the meeting with Darth Vader from near the start of the film is something he needs to be on time for, even if he tries to appear unconcerned and unhurried. When Vader announces that the Emperor will be coming to the station, however, Jerjerrod basically decides to temporarily ditch the attitude, because there are times when even very important men have to hurry, and trying to make sure he doesn't disappoint [[BadBoss The Emperor]] is one of them.
Averted in ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', when Scott is surprised Ramona is waiting for him before their first date.

-->'''Rafael:''' You guys are late.
-->'''Pedro:''' Clock late.
-->'''Nico:''' But musician early.

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': In ''Cauldron of Ghosts'', a Mesan security agent notes that his current boss is this type -- routinely telling the agent to be in the boss' office at a given time, then showing up late to show the agent who's in charge. (This turns into one of the reasons the Mesan higher-ups decide to "cull" said boss instead of evacuating him during Operation Houdini.)

* PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': During the Winter Palace arc, the PlayerCharacter attends a posh Orlesian masquerade ball, where a lot rides on keeping their Court Approval Rating high at all times. At one point, the player is instructed to be in a specific location when the bell rings in 10 minutes of real time, but missing that deadline actually causes the Court Approval to go up a little, prompting the Inquisitor to quip that they are "fashionably late". [[SubvertedTrope However]], if they are still not there within the next minute or so, their Court Approval drops by double of what they gained earlier, because now they are "just late".

Averted in ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', when Scott is surprised Ramona is waiting for him; He admits he assumed she was "too cool" to be on time, and Ramona quips "You assumed wrong."

* Music/GunsNRoses are infamous for making wait to the crowd in their concerts (even ''hours'' late), as other debatable acts like getting drunk in stage and Axl Rose acting as a RichBitch, which eventually gave them a bad fame and soiled their music legacy in Rock history.

* Real-life inversion: The French expression "L'exactitude est la politesse des rois" (punctuality is the politeness of kings, meaning being on time is a show of respect at even the highest level of society) was a quote from king Louis XVIII, who hated being late to anything (and expected similar punctuality from everyone else).

* Creator/DaveBarry mentions this in ''Dave Barry Turns 40'', describing what going to a Creator/RollingStones concert was like in the 60's - they'd wait for hours, and then finally someone would come up on stage and explain that the band was still stuck at the airport [[UpToEleven in New Zealand]].

[[folder:Comic Books]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* Referenced on ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'':
-->'''Rafael:''' You guys are late.\\
'''Pedro:''' Clock late.\\
'''Nico:''' But musician early.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

-->'''Frodo:''' You're late!\\
'''Gandalf:''' A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to!

-->'''Geri:''' ''[on the phone to their manager]'' I don't know what time we're going to be there! Look, the world can wait, this is more important! It's about friendship and commitment, but you wouldn't know about that!

[[folder:Literature]]

* In ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', even though humanity has learned to [[{{Teleportation}} teleport]], or "jaunte", the rich and powerful prefer mundane transportation because of this trope. The more well-off and important you are, the more you can afford to take your time and make the others wait. One huge gala has a cavalcade of bigwigs arriving in increasingly old fashioned ways, starting with helicopters and cars, and ending with the protagonist's grand entrance in a steam-powered train — while his employees lay down the tracks in front of him.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

** In ''Blackadder The Third'': Blackadder deliberately keeps a pair of pompous actors waiting outside and beating on the door to give the Prince acting lessons. When he finally lets them in, he says they should have knocked. Later he has them thrown in prison.

--->'''Talbot-Wheeler:''' I meant that it tastes odd. Have you ever cooked veal before?\\
'''Mrs White:''' ''[frostily]'' I have. But people are usually there to eat it when it's ready, and not three hours later! ''[Mrs Peacock nudges her]''

* In ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' episode where Hilary invites Lil'-T, Ashley's favorite singer, to her birthday party:
-->'''Will:''' Cousin Hilary, this party has been goin' on for an hour. When is Little T gonna get here?\\
'''Hilary:''' Will, you know nothing about celebrities. They always come to parties fashionably late, and for a celebrity, being an hour late is like being a half an hour early.\\
'''Will:''' Yeah? Well, if he's not here 15 minutes ago, that's his butt.

-->'''Judge:''' ''[in his chambers, to his clerk Mrs Cooper]'' Is the defendant present?\\
'''Mrs Cooper:''' Yes, with an ''army'' of psychiatrists.\\
'''Judge:''' ''[heavily sarcastic]'' Oh, I'm sure that Mr Brooklands can afford them.\\
''[instead of going into court, he makes a phone call to invite somebody for coffee]''

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Chain of Command", Captain Jellico keeps a Cardassian waiting for an hour before meeting him as a "show 'em who's boss" gesture. Troi can sense that for all his bluster and hardlining, Jellico has zero confidence that he can stop a war and can only hope intimidation will work.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Early on in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', Makoto notes that he can tell a lot about his new classmates based on what time they arrive for the group's daily breakfast meeting. The ones who arrive early or right on time are generally more team-oriented or just don't wish to inconvenience the others. The ones who arrive slightly later aren't outright antagonistic, but are more anti-social and/or seem to struggle to care either for themselves or others. The final group of people who arrive very late most prominently includes [[RoyalBrat Byakuya]] — who actually has to be tracked down before he'll show up, and who all but cites this trope word-for-word by way of explanation.
[[/folder]]

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" where [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick agree to pick up Mr. Krabs at 8 PM for a night of [[IncrediblyLameFun partying]], but warn him that they're "always fashionably late". Cut to [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick ringing Krabs' doorbell at 8:01 PM.

[[/folder]]
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[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Film: Live-Action]]

--> '''Frodo''': You're late!
--> '''Gandalf''': A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to!

--> '''Geri''': (on the phone to their manager) I don't know what time we're going to be there! Look, the world can wait, this is more important! It's about friendship and commitment, but you wouldn't know about that!

[[folder: Films: Animated]]
* Referenced on ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'':
-->'''Rafael:''' You guys are late.
-->'''Pedro:''' Clock late.
-->'''Nico:''' But musician early.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

---> '''Talbot-Wheeler''': I meant that it tastes odd. Have you ever cooked veal before?
---> '''Mrs White''': (frostily) I have. But people are usually there to eat it when it's ready, and not three hours later! (Mrs Peacock nudges her)

--> '''Will:''' Cousin Hilary, this party has been goin' on for an hour. When is Little T gonna get here?
--> '''Hilary:''' Will, you know nothing about celebrities. They always come to parties fashionably late, and for a celebrity, being an hour late is like being a half an hour early.
--> '''Will:''' Yeah? Well, if he's not here 15 minutes ago, that's his butt.

--> '''Judge''': (in his chambers, to his clerk Mrs Cooper) Is the defendant present?
--> '''Mrs Cooper''': Yes, with an ''army'' of psychiatrists.
--> '''Judge''': (heavily sarcastic) Oh, I'm sure that Mr Brooklands can afford them.
--> (Instead of going into court, he makes a phone call to invite somebody for coffee)

[[/folder]]