# It is not he he he! Damnit! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 3, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233 "2002-12-03T16:19:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![mikan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mikan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/81 "2002-12-04T11:35:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kegg \* > \*\*I’ve said it befor. I don’t remember who said it but you should never let grammer (or spelling) get in the way of what you want to say !! I’m not using my computer (at homme) and I don’t even know where the spelling checker is. \*\* Now that you mention it, maybe those spell-checkers aren’t so bad after all. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/82 "2002-12-04T13:15:11Z")
It’s okay, **blowero**. **Dantheman** managed to sneak in between my two posts, so it may have caused confusion. **sailor** - I understand your peeve, but isn’t the “is” just a “sloppy” shortening of “has”? The “h” drops out, and the “a” becomes schwa. Granted, a TV person should have better locution, but many of my friends also say things like: “President Bush ez visited a school yesterday” But when writing it out, they would certainly use “has.” ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/83 "2002-12-04T13:24:54Z")
Psst! Cranky! > **[Definition of yay | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/yay)** > > Definition of yay from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. Or as Cypress Hill put it so Eloquently, “Catch a ho, and another ho, Merry Christmas”. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/84 "2002-12-04T14:32:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*I have a dictionary full of words written in uppercase with accents intact, from ABÂTARDIR to ZYGOPÉTALE, that says you’re wrong. \*\* Oh Christ, like any of us would trust the authority of a Quebecois dictionary. You’re all so damned contrary up there anyway! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/85 "2002-12-04T14:40:17Z")
Like an entire populace of Yosemite Sams. Woe hoe. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/86 "2002-12-04T16:35:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*Except that in French, one does not put accents on capital letters, so voilà (lowercase) becomes VOILA (uppercase). \*\* Not sure where you heard that, **Arnold**. It’s definitely not true for Québecois French, at least. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/87 "2002-12-04T16:38:41Z")
> [@](#): > > So books written in French are fucked - what’s new? You don’t even know what we’re discussing, do you? > [@](#): > > Oh Christ, like any of us would trust the authority of a Quebecois dictionary. _Le Petit Larousse_. Larousse, 21, rue du Montparnasse, 75283 Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/88 "2002-12-04T17:30:18Z")
Okay, now I feel dumb. See, I saw Arnold’s post the other day, but I wanted to check with **Elenfair** to make sure I was right, and **matt** posted before me. All’s well that ends well, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/89 "2002-12-04T17:48:50Z")
I can’t believe no one picked _this_ nit… or was I whooshed? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > **\ It is apalling to thing the reporter and the editor both did not know the correct usage. \** ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/90 "2002-12-04T18:32:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > \*\*Not sure where you heard that, **Arnold**. It’s definitely not true for Québecois French, at least. \*\* Well, I’ll back up **Arnold** cuz when we learned French in high school, I distinctly remember there never being any accents over capitals, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/91 "2002-12-04T19:07:37Z")
**pulykamell** , not to sound rude or anything, but I’m afraid I trust **matt\_mcl** and **Elenfair** (a francophone) over you on affairs of French grammar. Anyway, for the fun of it, [here](http://www.stcum.qc.ca/metro/mapmetro.htm)’s the Montreal metro map, complete with accents on the capital letters. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/92 "2002-12-04T19:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\* > > _Le Petit Larousse_. Larousse, 21, rue du Montparnasse, 75283 Paris. \*\* Oh. Well. I see. _chastened_ My generalized insult towards Quebec still stands, though! Dagnabbit! ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/93 "2002-12-04T19:13:46Z")
There are accents on capital letters en francais. An “accent grave” on an A at the beginning of a sentence can make all the difference in the world. I’m told that it sometimes didn’t appear in print, a while back, because there was no allocation made for accented capital letters in software. And yes, I’m a francophone, went to school in French, including at the Lycee. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/94 "2002-12-04T19:42:33Z")
Maybe it’s just the “cheap high-school textbooks” rule. When I took high school French, they definitely told us that accents were not used on capital letters in printing, and that’s how the textbook did it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/95 "2002-12-04T19:47:14Z")
Otherwise, they’re outrageous and silly. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/96 "2002-12-04T21:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Well, Flammi, ya kin type in dialect, ya know, so’z to imitate the sort of thing y’d hear if the person was talking raight atcha instead of just typing it on a keyboard. > > But for the most part people find a little of that to go a looooooong way. 🙂 \*\* I know, **Polycarp**. 🙂 Normally, I’d find too much of that to be irritating. I certainly don’t use dialect much, if at all. (unless you’re talking approximate phonetic pronunciations of certain Chinese terms) As for the “accents over capital letters” thing in French, when I took high school French, they told us that you shouldn’t use accents over capital letters, as a rule. You could use them, but generally they weren’t to be used. am I making _any_ sense here? probably not… F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/97 "2002-12-04T22:10:34Z")
I think ehehehehehehe is Beavis and Butthead. But I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/98 "2002-12-05T11:28:09Z")
**LaurAnge** - You misunderstood my post. I did not at all mean to say that it’s correct not to accent capitals. I have no authority whatsoever in the French language. I meant to say that, like Arnold, I too was at one time taught not to accent capitals in French, just to let everyone know that he’s not the only one to have heard this rule. Apparently **Flamsterette** was also taught this rule. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/99 "2002-12-05T16:14:51Z")
I am forced to do this in the spirit of the SDMB, to fight ignorance. What I have used since my earliest days on the Internet … **The Gorgon Heap Rules of Laughter Writing** _Many of the below may be typed in differing fashions, but the meanings are the same unless otherwise noted._ _he he he_ - is indeed a sly chuckle. _heh heh heh_ - is “I’m a dirty old man thinking about what’s under your skirt.” _ho ho ho_ - is general jollyness, whether happy or lewd. _ha ha ha_ - is regular laughter. _BWA HA HA (Bwa Ha Ha)_ - is diabolical “I’m going to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom” laughter. _Tee Hee (teehee)_ - is teenage gils laughing at an inside joke. _Tee hee hee_ - is to aknowledge a childish, silly joke or comment. _Har har har (Har Har Har)_ - depending on the situation, can be either loud, boistrous laughter or just the laughter of a pirate. _Muahahahaha_ - the clever evil laugh. _Tra la la_ - this is not a laught. Ever. You are all now in the know, and have no further reason to debate the laughter issue, though you will probably want to continue arguing about grammar. Peace! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_Loves_Co)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233/100 "2002-12-05T21:45:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*And I would prefer that my hoo-hoo not be discussed on this message board. \*\* And here I thought the correct term was “hoo-haa”… which I don’t suppose should be confused with (some) military branch’s exclamation “Hooah!”. Anyway, I’ll just be over here dunking my Ho-Ho in this 'ere Yoo-Hoo. . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-he-he-he-damnit/140233.md?page=6)