When my friend Bill and I used to travel during grad school we always enjoyed assuming fake identities when we met people. We also spoke fake German on elevators and even posed as government agents a couple times.
In our favorite assumed identities, Bill would be a brilliant bassist from Pittsburgh, and I was a pro volleyball player ranked just high enough to be impressive but low enough that no one would doubt it.
A few times, when things got especially loose, Bill referred to me as Moonsauce Washington. Later, I introduced him to my family as Pirate Bill and the name stuck for a few years. Neighborhood children would ask when “Pirate Bill” was coming over.
Happy days, those.
I’ve been known by many names including Cassius Clay, Captain Morgan, and even Cray Morgan-san. That last one has to do with a fun time in Washington D.C. when I was interviewed by a reporter for Japanese television.
Well, as many of you know, my favorite show on TV is Psych. Another one of my favorite recurring gags is the way Shawn constantly uses fake names to introduce his friend Gus. It’s right up there with “Gus, don’t be a…”
These fake names make me so happy, so I was pleased as a Mexican jumping bean to find this montage all prepped and ready to go!
Loyal eduClaytion readers / viewers will also appreciate this short montage:
Take it from your old friend Moonsauce Washington: Psych rocks!
What would your fake name be?
Do you have any nicknames?
What’s your favorite TV show?
If you’re a Psych fan on Twitter check out our show watching group at #Psychophants
Lol. I especially like Cray Morgan-san.
Ok. True confession. In college I had friends who called me Bip the Starchick. They said it was because they’d never known anyone so smart and so stupid at the same time. For the most part, though, nicknames never took with me.
As for favorite TV shows, I love Mad Men, Psych, The Walking Dead, and Criminal Minds. And The Nate Berkus Show.
Bip the Starchick is hilarious. And you like The Walking Dead? That’s great!
I LOVE Psych, but you know that already.
I can’t get enough. When new episodes air, I’m like a giddy little school girl, mainly because I was a school girl when most of Psych ’80s references originated. LOL
My nicknames: Sandy (of Mandy, Brandy and Sandy – L.O.N.G college story), Bratney McBratterson, and George Switzer-Meyer White. Don’t ask on that last one…. besides these, I’m also known around Texas as T-Brat.
My favorite TV Shows? Are you kidding me? Do you read my blog? I could go on forever…..
Chuck, Hawaii Five-0, Psych, Revenge, American Horror Story, Survivor, Burn Notice, Bones, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Big Brother, The Closer, White Collar, Leverage….
Do you really want me to go on?
Wow, that’s a lot of nicknames Tiff. I know you like the TV shows. Looks like you’re a USA fan eh? Sweet.
They say if you take the name of your first pet and the name of the first street you lived on that would be your stripper name should you decide to change professions. Wait. I guess that’s a different post.
Yup. When I first heard that my name was Cody Allegheny. Now it’s probably Romeo Maplewood
Ha! Cray Morgan-san. I’ve never seen Psych. Or Chuck. Or most TV shows with one name. I am, however, watching Studio 60 now, even though it only lasted one season.
Speaking of shows by Aaron Sorkin that didn’t last long enough, Sports Night (another good one) had a character who made up professions when he went on first dates. One time he was a “animation choreographer.” So I steal that profession sometimes. I also used to pretend I wrote for the Lonely Planet.
Nicknames? Not much if you remove my last name from the equation. Lee sometimes. My baseball team used to call me Gadget (as in Gadget Arm – for fielding, not throwing). That is all.
I’ve thought of Netflixing Sports Night. I’ve often told people I’m a shepherd. Or a hitman.
But seriously, we need to organize a Psych watching party.
(Oh, and Woody and Jbutt are my two most enduring nicknames.)
Good call Jess. We’ve got a little Psych circle building. I think it’s time we take it to the next level. Figure out what that means and create something awesome and then tell me what to do.
I met you at Write-to-Publish. Is your name really Clay Morgan?
Hi Becky! Of course I remember you. Yes, that’s really my name. Why do you ask?
I’ve always like to change my name at restaurants…lol…
i’m hispanic and live in houston so…
I always say my name is like some silly mexican name…like…PANCHO!
Me too! That’s the best place to give fake names. Also at Starbucks.
My mom’s ex-boyfriend was Pirate Bill. True story.
Were you never called Clay-mation? Cause that would totally be my nick-name for you. If we were on nick-name giving terms, that is. Either that or Clay-fish Etouffee. What?
I’ve never had a nick-name that stuck with me. Not much you can do with “Amy,” I suppose. I’ve always wanted to be called Amy, Mistress of the Snark, but getting people to refer to me as such has proven difficult.
Okay, I think we have serious crossover potential. I have indeed been called Claymation. A lot. Also used to get Claybird or CB for short when I was a kid.
That nickname montage? Pure gold. Could. not. stop. laughing.
I have a trillion nicknames and that is no joke. I feel loved when someone gives me a new nickname. Some of them don’t make sense or I don’t remember why anyone started calling me that (Papaya). Some just happen to rhyme with Leigh (Pea) or are my name turned into an adverb (such as my blog name). Most are variations of my first or last name or my initials (Leighmeister, Krame-dog, Cosmo (Seinfeld reference), Leighberwitz, Leg.)
Okay, I’m kind of flighty at times. Didn’t ever realize the play on words of your name! Now I get it.
I love Psych as well. Great name montage! I don’t recall having nicknames really, but my sister and I used to do British accents aplenty.
Other TV faves right now: Big Bang Theory, Castle, Hart of Dixie, How I Met, and Grimm.
My British accent is weak. I do other countries better.
I’m so glad you alerted me to your post today. It’s a tragic thing if I miss a Psych-themed piece. As far as favorite TV shows right now, Psych is my favorite. The writing’s always so spot-on and hilarious. I laughed through the montage..I mean come on, the John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt bit is priceless! That, and “Longbranch Pennywhistle…LOL I only wish I had a sidekick I could share witty banter with, all day long…unless you want to be my sidekick, Clay. Just know that you’ll have to be the Gus and I’m the Shawn, straight up…
I’ve watched that montage a few times. So many funny names! Longbranch Pennywhistle is great! But I can’t be your sidekick Paige. Although maybe I could.
Moonsauce Washington is a-mazing.
I know you didn’t exactly ask this question, but my porn name is awesome (first pet + street I grew up on): Shadow MacLennan. My maiden name sounded a lot like “snickerdoodle” (the cookie), so someone at work used to call me that.
There’s a reason I have a guilty pleasure blog. My two favorite shows are Glee and 90210.
It came up in another comment here. In that department I’m looking at Romeo Maplewood. Long story
My nickname used to be Artsy. But we all know what rhymes with that so that can’t be my fake name.
I would like my fake name to be Briar Rose.
I thought your name would be Tarty Pop.
I have a doozy of an alias… Semolina Farquar. I have also been Dusty Lexington and Chang Woo was on my fake ID In high school (nice one since I’ve never really been a 42 y/o Asian male- $40 bucks NOT well spent). As for nick names: Dio, dee, mama dee, broomhilda, and the newest to the list is “mommy mower”, given to me by my beastie.
That’s pretty good! Quite a collection Chang Woo
How is it that I’ve never seen this show?! Setting the DVR right now…
Annie, if we’re going to continue our friendship, you will need to watch Psych. Just saying.
Annie you must. We are starting a not secret club. You can be in.
Herbie Haliburton at your service!
Nickname is Snowshoes, from when I tripped over my own feet while trying to stretch a double into a triple. For the record, I did crawl safely back to second base.
Haha, Herbie Haliburton is great. I really like Snowshoes though even if you did get it for failing.
Hahaha, thank you so much, Moonsauce! I am really going to have to start watching more episodes.
As for aliases, you know about my penchant for posing as a God on the odd occasion but I think that’s a bit pretentious of me. I’m going to have a bit of a think and see what I can come up with; some of the commenters have brilliant aliases!
Shows I love – Monkey Magic, Astroboy, The Muppet Show and The A-Team were always winners for me as a kid. Doctor Who has been a multi-generational winner and most recently I’m enjoying Misfits, Grimm and Once Upon A Time. Chuck is, of course, still at the top of the list and I was very glad to have found Eureka while it was aired as well. I’m a regular Mike Teavee!
A-Team and Muppets indeed. I’ll be looking for your thoughts on the new Muppet movie. Coming out real soon too.
Fake names are always better when they come in pairs. I’m also reminded of the Vernon Hardapple scenes in “Wonderboys,” which I must now go watch.
I’ve been thinking about Wonderboys a lot now that I teach a class at Pitt. I need to watch it again as well. Good to hear from you Chris!
Someone calls me Ellster.
I’m also called Elbow and Ell bell and Ells and Eleanor and the mean neighbor kids used to call me smelly Ellie (that name cuts deep)
I love Deadliest Warrior and Chuck and Modern Family and The Colbert Report and also national geographic documentaries.
I wonder who
I just started teaching a Friday night course, so I’ll be playing catchup with Chuck.
You should drop it. Chuck is more important.
That’s the easy one Clay, “Tinman” the name was started by my Boss at a bar I worked at in N.Y. back in the 70′s. Back then the bars stayed open til 4am and the owner, bartenders and wait staff would hang around til about 6 am drinking, talking and playing Liars Poker. One night ( really morning ) we were playing “Liars Poker” and we all had a little to much to drink. I guess I was taking a little to long to make my call and my Boss turned me and since I was thin he meant to say “Thinman” make your call, but instead said “Tinman” . That name has stuck with me since 1974 and when I go back to N.Y. most people only know me by that name and still call me by it…. So beyond popular belief it is not because I am heartless.(although I am sure there are some that will argue that point)..The story continues……
That’s a great story Arty! I wondered about that for months. Definitely had a Wizard of Oz thought.
I Have always been called by my last name Tucker or in shortened form Tuck.
I have to say Psych is one the best shows on tv. My next favorite is Decoded on the History Channel.
Friar Tuck eh? And now that I know you’re a Psych man we’ll have to get you into our growing circle of watchers. Twitter hashtag coming soon.
Wow, those Psych guys say your favorite word a lot!
Pro volleyball player, huh?
Nicknames, I’ve got a lot of them. Most of them derivatives of my name. Since I was young I’ve been called Kimbo, but I don’t particularly like that one, so a high school friend called me Kimbob. Which my sister shortened to Bob. So, to her I’m either Bob or Bo. Gotta love those evolutionary nicknames, especially those that stick.
What about Kim Possible? That’s a winner. Yes, I was either volleyball player or swimmer. I’ve actually been asked a couple of times by strangers if I was a swimmer. I wasn’t in a pool or anything, I’m just kind of built like that I guess.
I’m going with Captain Cassius Clay Morgan. No nicknames for me. And my show is The Leauge. Crazy funny.
That’s another show I want to watch. Your endorsement might do the trick. I trust you on funny like few others.
I think you’d really like The League (my previous spelling was the Canadian version). Awesome cast, lots of pop culture/sports references. Have you ever done fantasy football/baseball?
I am a veteran Chase. I skipped baseball this past year or two but used to do every sport. I even let hockey go now, but football? Never. I’ve won a couple titles (and money
) in national leagues. This year is looking good too for at least one more.
I love Psych. It makes me laugh so hard I cry, which is nice. One of my fave episodes was when Shawn was on the soap opera. Then in a later episode, some lady had his picture framed next to Ralph Macchio.
I never really had any nicknames. But in high school, my friend Kim and I were the only two in Japanese class, so it was like we had our own secret language. It was great until we actually went to Japan and discovered that our personal “dialect” of Japanese was not spoken by actual Japanese people. Ah well, we had fun anyway.
You were already cool enough without telling me this. Did you see the episode last season when Ralph Macchio was the guest star? It was the Police Academy one. Brilliant I say! Fake languages are also great. You are a cool human.
Unfortunately, I could not see the clips because I’m at work, but I’m sure they are hilarious.
My name pretty much IS a nickname (although it is my real true name), so I never got one. My porn name would be Taffy Folly, or as my colleagues affectionately dubbed me when we were talking about what our porn name should be: Misty Bottoms.
Thoughtsy was supposed to be working on a nickname for me, because alas, I have never had one and I feel very deprived. What’s the sitch, Thoughtsy?
My fave shows are too lengthy to list, as I am addicted to TV. If I wasn’t already overloaded, I would probably add Psych, since it seems like something I would enjoy, but I also like to start at the beginning with shows so I know what is happening, and I fear I don’t have that much time to invest in catching up. Shame, that.
I would say ditch a show and make room for Psych. Then again you’ve already proven to have some questionable tastes by supporting the Ravens. I’m here for you to point out the error of your ways though
I’m still trying to figure out who I need to bribe to become a writer for Psych. My favorite alias has to be T-Dawg or Vic-TOR-ious (must be announced as if you are singing the chorus from Biggy Small’s smash hit “Notorious”). We typically act as if I am an up and coming rapper. I am fluent in Ebonics and just white-and-turtle-neck-wearing enough that the questions from baffled strangers just start pouring in.
Great comment. The Psych writers actually have a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/#!/psychwrites. A veteran TV writer for many years named William Rabkin wrote one of the early episodes and has been putting out 2 Psych books a year. I read the first one and liked it. I would love to rap some ebonics with you. I can borrow a turtleneck.
This is a disgusting thing to admit publicly, but this sounds like something I’d do. I usually reserve this for calling in take-out orders. I say my name is Sally or Jill because who can misunderstand that? Of course, when I get to the restaurant to pick up my food they have an order for Susannah or Jasmine but nothing for Sally or Jill. Oh well. Maybe I’ll start doing this in face-to-face encounters.
I’d like to start ordering food under the name Bert Buttersmacker.
Using a fake name when you travel. Hmm, that’s a cool idea. I regularly pretend that English is my first language. By the way Where is that pirate guy?
I have a feeling you know a thing or two about using fake names
Mi pirate friend is alive and well, nestled into a cozy nook of southwestern PA.
I used to be The Crookie Monster (Crookie for short) – a play off my maiden name. I gave up TV for writing this year (can’t do both when you have a toddler) but I’ve always wanted to watch Psych. It looks awesome!
I gave up most TV in 2010. I watch 2 or 3 shows consistently and like football. But I don’t know if I would’ve got to this really minimal schedule if I hadn’t cut out all of it completely for a while. Definitely have to lost the boob tube if you wanna right and work and raise a family!
I love Psych. I tried to get people to call me Stella for a while but it never stuck. I always get “red” because of my hair. I want to be a pirate.
I declare now that you are honorary Pirate Marianne. At least for today. Your comment cracked me up.
When my friend and I took a vacation in New Orleans together a few years ago, I became Isabel, who worked in publishing, and she was June, a nurse. If we met locals, then we were from Chicago. If we were talking to tourists, then we were grew up in New Orleans and met in 3rd grade at St.Mary’s School for Girls of Ill-Repute.
That was several years ago. I haven’t used an alias since then. Now I feel like going out and messing with people.
It’s fun isn’t it?