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Nobby Nobbs is the kind of person who joins the army to loot corpses. Despite his kleptomania, he is honest about the big things (at least, the ones too big or heavy to lift) and is described as someone that you can trust with your life, although you'd be daft to trust him with half a dollar. He is described as untidy, smelly, and despite being human, about the same height as a dwarf.
Nobby has a tattoo on his arm that says WUM. It was supposed to be "MUM" but the drunk Nobby passed out part way through the process and Needle Ned didn't spot that he was upside-down until it was too late. Nobby always seems to have a cigarette butt about him, normally stowed behind his ear, which has been described as a nicotine graveyard. Cigarettes quickly become butts in his presence, and stay as such for an apparently infinite amount of time. Samuel Vimes is Nobby's commanding officer, and Sergeant Fred Colon his partner and long term friend.
As a child he was a street urchin, that is, small, prickly, and smelling of fish, and a major source of information for various city notables. He was apparently inspired to join the Watch after meeting with Sergeant-At-Arms John Keel, who once gave him a spoon. Nobby was once thought to be the Earl of Ankh, but it was all a charade to make him king as he would be easier to manipulate than the 'real' heir, Captain Carrot, although the latter preferred to remain incognito, preferring the life of a Watchman than that of a King. Nobby proved less tractable than the conspirators had expected, turning down a cushy life as figurehead ruler of Ankh-Morpork largely, by his own account, for fear of what Vimes would have to say—or more importantly, do—when he found out, although it was also due to his family's long-standing belief that they should never volunteer for anything as there is always going to be a catch.
He believed he was in a romantic relationship with Verity "Hammerhead" Pushpram, a girl who runs a fish stall and gets her nickname from the fact that her eyes appear to be looking in opposite directions. However, this "relationship" seemed to consist solely of her hitting him with a fish and telling him to bugger off. He remained "faithful" to her, however, in all books except Thud!, in which he was temporarily in a relationship with exotic dancer Tawnee. However, in Snuff, Verity has married a fisherman who is building up his fleet - a fine catch for a fishmonger.
He is possibly related to Corporal Knopf (as Knopf can be translated as knob), one half of the town watch in Bad Blintz, Überwald, seen in The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
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