Bringing together the cruel world of crime with the awesomeness of psychic abilities (well, sort of), USA’s Psych is one of the most underrated comedy-dramas of the 2000s, and it’s also one of the most quotable. With oodles of quotes from psychic detective Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his admirable partner Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill), the show is the perfect mesh of humor and on-the-edge-of-your-seat crime-solving. On the air from 2006 to 2014, Psych gave us eight seasons of laughs. After a cast reunion in 2017’s Psych: The Movie, the show’s James Roday and Dulé Hill have also reprised their roles for Psych 2: Lassie Come Home on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock.
But for now, let’s bask in the show that was with some of the best quotes from its eight seasons.
1. Sick burn, bro
“Well, the plot, unlike your hair, continues to thicken.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 6, “Santabarbaratown”
Shawn is always known for his quick one-liners, and in this case it seems he dropped a sick burn. Ouch.
2. Always look on the bright side of life
“I don’t lose things. I place things in locations which later elude me.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 4, “ Shawn Gets The Yips”
Has anyone ever shamed you for repeatedly losing things? Well, shoot them this reply and problem solved.
3. Some quality advice
“Take pictures. Not of sights. Don’t take pictures of buildings. Take pictures of moments, because that’s what matters.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 5, “One, Maybe Two, Ways Out”
For a show that’s usually filled with laughs, this is a solid piece of advice from Shawn. Take this advice and take some pictures of moments.
4. It’s time to face the real world, apparently
“Guster, you have to wake up to the real world. People have sex and kill each other. That’s the real world. Not some magical ‘feelings’ place.” —Carlton Lassiter, Season 5, “Feet Don’t Kill Me Now”
Some people think the world is filled with rainbows and unicorns, some people think it’s filled with … sex and murder. To each their own, we guess.
5. Does this bother you?
“What isn’t clear is why people always say ‘goes without saying,’ yet still feel compelled to say the thing that was supposed to go without saying. Doesn’t that bother you?” —Shawn Spencer, Season 3, “Disco Didn’t Die. It was Murdered!”
Well, it goes without saying that this is an amazing quote.
6. Is this the best way?
“Man, I’m nobody’s charity case. I demand I dig my own grave!” —Burton ‘Gus’ Guster, Season 7, “No Country for Two Old Men”
Well … technically … you could dig your own grave in advance, but this is also a morbid way of showing some self-empowerment.
7. This is quite philosophical
“Just because you put syrup on something doesn’t make it a pancake.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 6, “True Grits”
Okay, syrup may not make everything a pancake, but it’ll probably make it sweeter (and stickier).
8. Sometimes you just have to tell people off
“How about you play six degrees of kiss my ass?”—Burton ‘Gus’ Guster, Season 2, “65 Million Years Off”
We’ve all heard of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but have you heard of this phenomenon?
9. Know your self-worth, queen
“I’m nobody’s pawn, Shawn. I’m a Queen.” —Burton ‘Gus’ Guster, Season 3, “There Might Be Blood”
If anybody ever tries to take advantage of you, just throw this Psych quote at them. We’re all a “queen” in our own way.
10. This is talented detective work
“How can you tell that someone’s a compulsive liar? I mean, assuming that their pants aren’t on fire.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 3, “Truer Lies”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire” is 100% going to be the FBI’s newest tactic to break criminals during interrogation.
11. We can’t help what card we draw in life, can we?
“I can’t help being a gorgeous friend. It’s just the card I drew.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 6, “This Episode Sucks”
It’s okay to be prideful of your looks. If anyone decides to rain on your “gorgeous” parade, just throw this line at them.
12. This quote really shows this show’s age, doesn’t it?
“Gus wants to know if your boat has cable. It’s the season finale of ‘Leverage’ and his TiVo’s on the fritz.” —Shawn Spencer, Season 4, “The Head, The Tail, The Whole Damn Episode”
Ah, 2010. Life was so much easier then. First of all, do kids nowadays even know what Leverage is? And secondly, do they know what TiVo is?
Molly Schramm is an intern at Paste. You can follow her on Twitter.
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