New Girl such a great show because of its characters. Even though they’re all pretty extreme, you can see a little bit of yourself or your friends in each one of them. Schmidt might be one of the strangest characters on television, but you definitely have one in your friend group. The show takes the many pitfalls of life and presents them in a way that you can’t help but laugh at while thinking, “Yep, I’ve been there.” Here’s ten times New Girl has totally gotten you. (Warning: contains some spoilers)
1. ‘White-Fanging’
I’ve never read the book “White Fang,” but it’s one of Schmidt’s favorites and in classic Schmidt fashion, he decides that he wants to recreate one of the scenes. In this case, he thinks that it’s best if he and Cece broke up, even though he doesn’t want to. So, he “white-fangs” her and lets her go even though it hurts him. Of course, the whole thing blows up in his face, but on a lower-scale, we’ve all encountered the “white-fang” situation. You know a relationship that isn’t going well and even though you don’t want to end it, you realize it’s for the best. And now you have a name for it.
2. Backsliding
Ah backsliding, I don’t know about any of you but I find myself to be the queen of backsliding. You break up and then go right back to them. It’s hard to stay away from certain people, especially if you’ve got a lot of chemistry and history. Sometimes people really do change, but a lot of the time it’s just a big old mistake. With Nick and Caroline, it’s probably for the best if you resist the urge to do it.
3. The Douche Jar
Everyone knows the douche jar. It’s kind of like a swear jar but strictly for when you do something douche bag related. On New Girl, it tends to be mainly for Schmidt. Everyone knows someone—or maybe a few people—who could benefit from a ‘douche jar.’ My guy friends have one in their apartment called the “Sin Tin.” It really isn’t such a bad thing though you can make money that benefits the whole apartment, turning douche bag times into a semi-good thing.
4. Fluffers
With hook-ups becoming all too common, we forget that sometimes we need a little more. You may be cool with having one person for just sexual things, but if you’re like Jess Day, you might have to fill all those emotional needs elsewhere. This person becomes known as the “emotional fluffer.” This is essentially the “boyfriend without the rewards.” I used to refer to this person as my “pseudo-boyfriend.” It’s the person that you text all the time, feel close to, and maybe even cuddle or go out to eat with. Pretty much, you get everything from them but the physical stuff. This is all fine and great until the lines get a little blurred, as it did with Nick and Jess.
5. That time you kissed your best friend
We’ve all been there. You thought things were platonic, maybe said person used to be your emotional fluffer, but then you get drunk—or just caught up in a moment—and kiss. Panic ensues. Did it mean anything? Are things going to change? Did you like it? Did they like it? With your best friend, it definitely warrants a conversation or else things can get dicey. Sometimes though, friendships lead to the best relationships.
6. The hot friend that hooks up with your guy friend
Everyone’s got that friend. Maybe you’re also that friend too. But we all know one. She’s the hot friend that all your guy friends want to hook up with. Sometimes, they’ll even fight over her. Winston and Schmidt both fought over Cece when Jess first introduced her to them. But who knows, maybe it’ll be the start of something great—like Cece and Schmidt.
7. Never having money
We’re in college…money is tight. There’s tuition, meals, bills and it seems like every day something new comes up like a required t-shirt for a club event. Better start saving up the funds from your douche jar.
8. An ode to pink wine
Let’s just take a minute and appreciate the alcohol on this show. Nick pretty much has a can of Heisler Beer in every scene, but Jess’s pink wine sometimes goes unnoticed. Cheap, sparkling wine has been a staple of my college years and it makes Jess feel even more relatable. Let’s pour one out for pink wine.
9. True American
We’ve all got those drinking games that are specific to our friend group. Maybe it’s a variation of Kings, Flip Cup or your standard Beer Pong. On New Girl, they have True American—a game with essentially no rules. Writers of the show tried to make the game as ridiculous as possible in order to make it funnier. However, this didn’t stop fans from trying to figure out the rules and recreate the game in real life. It just goes to show that every friend group has its own language and makes up other rules.
10. At the end of the day, there’s nothing like your friend group
Maybe half of you have hooked up with each other, maybe you’re all really annoying, maybe you’ve put one too many dollar bills in the douche jar, but when it comes down to it, you wouldn’t trade these people for the world.
No matter what the situation is, Jess, Ci Ci, and the gang have got your back.
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