Top 20 Funniest New Girl Running Gags

One of the most compelling and true-to-life aspects of “New Girl” is the way that the friend group was formed. While Jess and Cece come to the friendship through a Craigslist ad, Nick, Schmidt and Winston met much earlier in life. Winston and Nick’s childhood antics are always a blast to see. But we’ll always have a soft spot for Nick and Schmidt’s college days. This quirky friendship has been charming from the start and it’s especially hilarious to see Nick being the one to give Schmidt advice for once. Jokes aside, these flashbacks prove that no matter what happens, Nick and Schmidt will always be by each other’s side.

Winston loves puzzles. But if there’s one thing he’s decidedly not good at, it’s also puzzles. In season three, we’re introduced to Winston’s Achilles heel as chaos unfurls in apartment 4D. Schmidt is juggling two loves, Jess and Nick have disappeared to Mexico, and Winston… Well, Winston is puzzling. Throughout the episode, Schmidt observes Winston’s hobby with considerable concern, eventually snapping at his friend, who isn’t placing the pieces in the right spots. He’s not even placing them right side up, for that matter. A few seasons later, we get a quick nod to Winston’s favorite activity when Aly buys him a puzzle to show him colors. Wherever Winston is these days, we hope he’s still puzzling.

Never fear, Mr. Fixit is here. When something goes wrong in the apartment—which it does frequently—Nick is always there to find a solution. Unfortunately, he isn’t really equipped to fix anything and most of his repairs cause more harm than anything else. These fixes typically involve bizarre methods such as using plastic bottles or sticking a broom down the sink. Whether it’s because of his perpetual stubbornness or his frugalness, Nick is guaranteed to do something weird to the apartment in order to avoid hiring a professional. It isn’t always his greatest trait, but we have to admire his commitment to being the repair man of apartment 4D.

Is it possible to love a character that hardly ever speaks? Tran proves that it is. Believe it or not, this beloved character speaks less than ten words in the entire seven-season run. Tran is first introduced when Nick meets him in a park and confides in him about his anger issues. Throughout the seasons, Tran remains a constant but silent presence in Nick’s life. In fact, Nick makes many decisions based on his one-sided conversations with Tran. He also has a romance with Tran’s granddaughter, Kai, for a short time. While relationships may come and go, the bond between Nick and Tran is ever-lasting.

If you have ever lived in an apartment building, chances are that you’ve encountered a weird landlord at some point. But we can guarantee you’ve never experienced anything like this one before. At first, the gang’s landlord, Remy, is introduced as a grumpy and slightly threatening guy. Things become very strange very quickly when Remy takes a liking to Jess and Nick. He propositions both of them, much to their shock. In fact, every time Remy comes around, he likes to voice his admiration for various members of the group. He may not be a central figure of the show, but his few appearances certainly do leave an impression.

Nick and Schmidt have an interesting relationship, to say the least. We all know that the most enduring bonds can form between people who aren’t always alike. That’s true of besties Nick and Schmidt, who have entirely different personalities. This is obvious through the way they show each other affection. Nick isn’t big on PDA… or any huge displays of affection for that matter. But Schmidt loves a good embrace – or as Nick likes to call it, a Fredo Kiss like in “The Godfather Part II.” This aggressive smooch happens more than once in the show, and is special to only Nick and Schmidt. These two are friendship goals until the end.

The guys have no excuse for being surprised when Jess randomly bursts into song. She did warn them from the very beginning. Whenever she’s feeling happy, or sad, or confused, or pretty much any time she feels any emotion ever, Jess belts out the perfect song for the occasion. When Russell and Ouli are fighting in front of her, she knows the perfect song to diffuse the situation. She sings Schmidt to sleep with a lullaby rendition of “Genie In A Bottle”. And she even sings on stage with Prince.

Who wouldn’t love to have an eccentric man living outside their apartment building who frequently intervenes in their lives and even their home? Okay, yeah, neither would we. Outside Dave is a character, in every possible way. He makes at least one appearance in each season but the first, a constant in the lives of the friends for better or for worse. Over the years, he’s involved in a number of hilarious if concerning antics, including sleeping on Jess’s car and locking himself in the loft bathroom. Sure, he’s not always a welcome presence. But at the end of the day, Outside Dave is just a guy who enjoys a 2% latte. How can you not love him?

There’s no love like that between a man and his cat. Winston comes to this realization when he gets to know a little feline named Furguson. Originally, Furguson Michael Jordan Bishop belonged to Winston’s girlfriend, Daisy. After learning of Daisy’s infidelity, Winston comes up with a nefarious plot, but ultimately decides against it and instead opts to keep the cat for himself. From there, a beautiful—and sometimes weird—friendship begins. Winston is known to have a humorous, co-dependent relationship with Furguson, toting him around and even setting him up on a kitty date. But at the end of the day, he truly loves his cat, and our hearts break when it’s revealed that the feline friend has passed away in the final season.

Imagine a world without color. Winston doesn’t have to. Although, for most of his life, he never knew what he was missing. Winston’s color blindness doesn’t come into question until he and Schmidt accompany Jess to Mexico to save Nick from hotel security after trespassing. Schmidt offers Winston’s green shoes up as a bribe and Winston protests, saying that he loves his brown shoes. It’s only then that everyone realizes Winston is color blind, which honestly makes the puzzle fiasco make a lot more sense. Years later, Aly gifts Winston corrective glasses which allow him to see color. To say that Winston is overwhelmed by his new sensory experience is a bit of an understatement. But hey, at least now he knows he hates blue!

Nick Miller is a man of, well, very few talents. Lying is not one of them. Nick has a very obvious tell whenever he tries to lie: his back turns into a slip and slide. The guys even call him sweatback. In a cruel twist of fate, the gang’s shenanigans, all too often, hinge on Nick’s ability to lie. He broke immediately when he found out about Schmidt and Cece sleeping together. Schmidt confided his secret in the wrong guy when he told Nick that he was cheating on Cece. And he looked like a waterfall when the gang tried to hide what they thought were drugs from the cop who came to the loft for Winston's home visit.

Schmidt usually has a pretty eloquent way with words, but there are a few he just can't say quite right. We were first introduced to this funny flaw in the first season’s finale, when he talks to Jess about “White Fang”-ing Cece. She gets a good laugh about the way he says the word “wolf”. This joke would reappear when Schmidt talks about the movie “Fury”, or as he calls it, furry. Lucky for Schmidt, he’s found a woman who loves him, silly flaws and all. Cece happily promises Schmidt in their vows that she is looking forward to a lifetime of mispronunciation of common words.

A term coined by Winston, it’s the magical union that occurs when these characters pull a scheme at the expense of their friends. This odd pairing on the show has proven itself to be one of its best. Most of the others have specific connections or pasts that link them, but Cece and Winston are kind of the odd balls out. So when these two team up, it's always a fun ride. Whether it be convincing Schmidt and Coach that they’re male models, or tricking Schmidt with a fake EDM song, whenever you see these two exchange a mischievous look, prepare yourself for another classic Winston Cece-‘mess around.

Most shows have yearly Christmas episodes, but this one also celebrates Thanksgiving. Every year, the gang tries to throw the perfect Thanksgiving, and disaster never fails to strike. To be fair though, their problem might be a flaw in concept. Only Schmidt could have possibly thought that a Thanksgiving day singles party would be a good idea. We’ve gotten everything from finding a dead body to Jess almost dying herself. Of course, the unpredictability and chaotic nature of “New Girl”’s Thanksgivings are what make them so beloved.

It’s one thing that his friends call him by his last name, but even at his office, he is only ever referred to as Schmidt. The first time his name is even called into question is when his cousin comes to visit, and the two battle over who is the one true Schmidt. Thankfully, the show was merciful, and didn’t make us hold out until the end. A season six episode centered around the revelation of his first name, why it has never been spoken, and most importantly, why he’ll always be just Schmidt.

Many people like to avoid uncomfortable situations. But nobody does avoidance quite as well as Nick Miller. It comes as no surprise to “New Girl” fans that Nick isn’t great at confrontation. When things get tough, he’s known to remove himself from the situation as quickly as humanly possible. Instead of running and hiding, Nick likes to add a little flair and do a moonwalk. We notably see Nick’s habit after his first kiss with Jess, when he uses it to avoid talking to her about it. But even seasons later, he notably pulls his move again to evade Winston in the “Background Check” episode. While we totally understand how it frustrates his friends, it is definitely hilarious to watch.

Winston may be at his best when pulling off a classic Cece-Winston “mess around”, but when it comes to pranks, he is just no good. He either goes way too big, or way too small. From leaving wood shavings near Schmidt’s car, to releasing a badger at CeCe’s wedding, there is no middle ground for Winston. But that doesn't stop him from constantly trying. He goes so far as to get married for a prank. Similar to Schmidt’s previously mentioned vocabulary struggle, it’s Winston’s complete obliviousness to this flaw that makes it so funny.

Nick has been writing his zombie book for years. The fact that he hasn’t finished it starts out as a staple of his underachieving personality. But it eventually develops into a hilarious and heartwarming character arc. Originally titled "Z is for Zombie", it is the worst book ever, as proven by Winston's hilarious dramatic reading. Throughout the series, it later turns into "The Pepperwood Chronicles" which becomes a young adult sensation. Who knew Nick could actually write? After years of watching Nick’s self doubt, it is great to see him finally get himself together and make something of his book.

It's the game created by Nick, Schmidt, and Coach that's part drinking, and part Candy Land. It’s played multiple times throughout the show, but the rules are never really made clear. Indeed, it seems that there are different versions of True American every time the game is played. There can be teams, there are Clinton rules, and a First Ladies edition. But the floor is always lava. Would a full list of comprehensive rules be interesting? Sure, but we’re happy to keep things a little wild, too!

The guys have an interesting way of suppressing Schmidt when his sleazier side gets the better of him. They have what’s kind of like a swear jar, and he has to put money in it whenever he says or does something douchey. This is, hands down, the most commonly recurring joke of the show. There is even an entire episode centered around why Schmidt must put $50 in the jar. It’s also an essential part of Schmidt and Cece’s story, as he references it when he proposes. Yup, he kept the $5 he put in it when he said he would marry her the first time they met. Rounding off their story, he smashes it at their wedding!

Which “New Girl” running gag do you love the best? Let us know in the comments!