On nearly every episode of Psych, Dulé Hill’s Burton “Gus” Guster would receive an embarrassing new nickname courtesy of his best friend and partner, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) — and here are all of the Psych Gus nicknames over the course of the series. It became almost a weekly tradition for Shawn to introduce Gus with a false – but funny – nickname that would usually earn him a frustrated look from Gus. The Psych Gus nicknames are one of the show’s highlights for fans, so here’s everything to know about all of Spencer’s nicknames for Gus.
The series starred Roday and Hill as Shawn and Gus, who still have their student driver car by Psych 3, respectively – childhood best friends who become private detectives. Shawn uses his keen observation skills and eidetic memory to solve cases for the Santa Barbara Police Department, much to the chagrin of Detective Carl Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). However, Shawn hides his true talents by pretending to be a psychic, a farce that he and Gus must keep up to avoid being prosecuted. In each episode, Shawn and Gus use their unconventional tactics to solve a new case, usually with hilarious results.
All Psych Gus Nicknames In The TV Show
Like the TV detective duos Psych satirizes, Shawn and Gus’ methods in investigating a case followed a formula. When talking with suspects and witnesses, Shawn had a habit of introducing himself as “Shawn Spencer” and Gus with either an alias or a strange new nickname, like “Gus ‘Silly Pants’ Jackson”, which was in one of Psych‘s earliest episodes. He’d look at Shawn with surprise, frustration, or embarrassment. Regardless, Gus would usually remain silent rather than correct Shawn, which is what made their introductions even more humorous. Below is every one of the Psych Gus nicknames from across all 8 seasons (and the movies, like Psych 3′s Burton Guster Rodriguez).
- Die Harder
- Matt
- Bighead Burton
- Fingers
- Homeskillet
- Big Baby Burton
- Burt the Billowy Bear
- Curtis
- Blackstar
- Chocolate Columbo
- Magic Head
- Spellmaster
- SuperSmeller/ SuperSniffer
- Slicks
- Peter Panic
- Gus T.T. Showbiz (The Extra T is for Extra Talent)
- Ovaltine Jenkins
- Schoonie “U-Turn” Singleton
- Vernest Lambert Watkins
- Bud (from “The Cosby Show”)
- Nick Nack
- Bruton Gaster
- Lavender Gooms
- Lemongrass Gogulope
- Squirts MacIntosh
- Weepy Boy Santos
- Stewart Lee
- Mc (‘tongue clicking sounds’) Took
- François
- Galileo Humpkins
- Gus “Silly Pants” Jackson
- Fearless Guster
- Shmuel Cohen
- Methuselah Honeysuckle
- Shutterfly Simmons
- Paddy Simcox
- Chesterfield McMilla
- Felicia Fancybottom
- Tan
- Ernesto Agapito Garces con y a de Abelar
- Longbranch Pennywhistle
- Scrooge Jones
- D’Andre Pride
- Hummingbird Saltalamacchia
- Wally Ali
- Art Vandelay
- Dequan “Smallpox” Randolph
- Trapezius Milkington
- Sterling Cooper
- Burton “Oil Can” Guster
- Hollabackatcha
- Jazz Hands
- Gus Brown
- John Slade
- Detective Miles
- Greg
- Doughnut Holschtein
- Ron Davis
- Bob Adams
- Harry Munroe
- Rich Fingerland
- Black Magic
- Cheswick
- Shawn
- Magic Eight Ball Head
- Shaggy Buddy Snap
- Ghee Buttersnaps aka “The Heater”
- The Vault of Secrets
- Clementine Woolysocks
- Pinky Guscatero
- Guts
- Ol’ Ironside
- Old Iron Stomach
- John Jacob Jingley-Schmidt
- Santonio Holmes
- Deon Richmond
- Gurton Buster
- Chaz Bono
- Chocolate Einstein
- MC ClapYoHandz
- Sher-Black-Lock
- Whittlebury
- G-Force
- Mellowrush
- Crankshaft
- Sammy
- Joey Bishop
- Slick Fingers
- Imhotep
- Control Alt Delete
- The Jackal
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- Donut Holestein
- Yasmine Bleeth
- Lodge Blackman
- Jet Blackness
- Mission Face
- Radio Star (Video will kill him)
- Gus Jay Gubta
- “Reginald G-String AKA Crowd Pleaser”
- Fingers
- Cinderella
There were times when the Psych Gus nicknames did more than just provide brief moments of light humor. On occasion, Shawn would introduce Gus in a way that would lead them into trouble, and when this happened, it was usually Gus who suffered the most. In Psych season 1, Shawn introduced Gus as African veterinarian Dr. McTook (a name which included various tongue-clicking sounds). Due to Shawn’s lie, Gus was put in a situation where he was forced to deliver a warthog baby.
These were the kinds of moments that Shawn and Gus’ friendship was filled with throughout Psych‘s eight-season run. Shawn’s Psych Gus nicknames and weird, made-up stories designed to embarrass Gus was all part of the show’s charm and what made their relationship so unique to TV.
How The Psych Movies Addressed The Name Gag
Psych has had three movie spin-offs so far — Psych: The Movie, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, and Psych 3: This Is Gus. The movies continue the same pop-culture reference-laden humor of the show, and many of the running gags continue. Shawn has more Psych Gus nicknames across the trilogy, including in the first movie when Gus flips the script and introduces the pair, “My name is Burton Guster, and this is my partner: White Privilege” to which Shawn responds “Hey, that’s my bit!”
Psych 3: This Is Gus includes more nicknames for the titular Burton Guster, including Birdindahand Anddabush, Burton Guster-Rodriguez, and Black Jack Arnold. It’s Psych 2: Lassie Come Home which has the most interesting take on the Psych Gus nickname gag though. In the second movie, Gus finally has enough of the Psych Gus nicknames. He takes particular umbrage with the unwanted pseudonym “Bill Poopington.” Much to Shawn’s annoyance, Gus wrangles the arrangement so that all nicknames must be approved, which leads to a hilarious list of potentials. The Psych Gus nicknames vetoed and approved in Psych: Lassie Come Home 2 are as follows:
- Bill Poopington is rejected, with Gus settling on “All the Pips in One”
- Leggo My Eggo and Norman Brown Butter are both rejected in favor of “Dijon Hounsou”
- Ding-Dong Ditch, Claude O’Dern, Big Poppa Pump are all vetoed for “Lemon-a Lemon-a Lemon-a Liiime”
- In addition to the above, Gus refers to himself as Jermajesty on occasion, and it’s revealed that his adult Dodgeball league nickname was “Black Jello”
There’s no news on whether a Psych 4 movie is coming, but the creators haven’t ruled it out. Neither has Psych: The Movie star Jazmyn Simon, who gave a promising update about a possible fourth Psych movie (via Variety). Psych originally finished airing in 2014, and since the latest movie arrived in 2021 some 7 years later, fans of Psych are quietly optimistic that Gus, Shawn, and the rest will return for another direct-to-TV feature-length adventure. If there is another movie from the franchise in the future, there’s no doubt it will contain many more hilarious Psych Gus nicknames for fans to enjoy.
Shawn’s Best Nickname For Gus According To The Psych Stars
After Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, People sat down with Maggie Lawson, Dulé Hill, and James Roday to discuss the feature film — as well as which ridiculous Psych Gus nicknames were the star’s favorites. After speaking about their time returning to the set, including a hilarious anecdote about greeting guests and starting off the day with a rounding chorus of the “Happy Birthday” song, People asked Roday which of the Psych Gus nicknames really stuck with him, he mentioned “Bill Poopington” specifically, despite the name being vetoed.
People then turned their attention to Hill to inquire what Psych Gus nicknames fans had called the actor over the years, he mentioned “Gus ‘Sillypants’ Jackson,” “Lavender Gooms,” “MC ClapYoHandz,” “Dequan ‘Smallpox’ Randolph,” and he also mentioned that “Dequan Randolph” was actually the name of one of his cousins. There is an extensive laundry list of Psych Gus nicknames to choose from, with obviously some having real-life inspirations, like that of “Dequan Randolph.” With the Psych 4 movie being teased along with possible Psych character returns, there will assuredly be more hilarious Psych Gus nicknames to add to the list.
