How to mix psql commands and SQL commands on the shell command line?

How can I mix psql commands and SQL commands on the shell command line, please?

$ psql
psql (9.2.1)
Type "help" for help.

ddcKeyGen=> \timing \\ select count(*) from auth_users;
Timing is on.
 count
-------
   276
(1 row)

Time: 1.730 ms

$ psql -c "\timing \\ select count(*) from auth_users;"
Timing is on.
$

It seems like psql discards everything after the first psql
argument...  Is there another way to mix psql and SQL commands on the
shell command line?

Best,
Aleksey