# Loop-tail g **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774 "2018-04-04T02:10:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/1 "2018-04-04T02:10:29Z")
So how many can pick out the correct form of the [loop-tail g](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180403140403.htm)? I got the right one, but it took me a while to find an example to confirm it. That site, the SDMB, Wikipedia, and Google all use fonts with the hook-tail g. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/2 "2018-04-04T02:16:01Z")
Now that I think about it, it’s probably just the default font on the computer that has the hook-tail g. Someone with a different font may not have any problems. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/3 "2018-04-04T02:37:19Z")
Both common forms of minuscule _g_ are part of my everyday handwriting. As are the two common forms of minuscule _a_ and _e_. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/4 "2018-04-04T03:01:42Z")
I did not pick the correct version of the g. Thanks for sharing that. That’s a fascinating article. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/5 "2018-04-04T03:29:34Z")
It was immediately obvious to me which was right. I think I could have written one correctly without a visual guide, though I’m not 100% sure. I suspect that the people choose wrong because in the sans serif fonts like this one the descender comes down on the right rather than the left so they’re used to that. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/6 "2018-04-04T03:59:22Z")
I picked out the correct one at a glance. I never write it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/7 "2018-04-04T04:09:37Z")
Same response as **Acsenray**. That’s the kind of geek I am, though in the modern era on most days I hand write fewer than a dozen words. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/8 "2018-04-04T04:23:22Z")
And yet, people read texts containing the loop-tail just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/9 "2018-04-04T05:07:13Z")
I got it pretty much right away. I used to do a lot of calligraphy, including the loop-tail “g,” so I just followed each according to how I would render the letter with pen-and-ink. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/10 "2018-04-04T05:35:20Z")
Odd, the correct one is almost exactly how I do a non-cursive g. I start like I am writing an a, then angle the tail leftward, then cut a broad loop under it. The lower loop is open, but it sweeps way back to the right and is usually about twice as big as the top loop. A handwriting analyst would probably tell me something like it means I am an autistic psychopath. Which could be right. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/11 "2018-04-04T12:54:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > So how many can pick out the correct form of the [loop-tail g](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180403140403.htm)? I got the right one, but it took me a while to find an example to confirm it. That site, the SDMB, Wikipedia, and Google all use fonts with the hook-tail g. I picked the right one, doubted myself, analysed myself off to the wrong choice, then analysed myself back to my first pick. Then I checked Wikipedia, which of course has an article on the letter “G” which includes both forms. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/12 "2018-04-04T13:04:19Z")
Which one is correct? I picked the lower right. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/13 "2018-04-04T13:48:17Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Both common forms of minuscule _g_ are part of my everyday handwriting. As are the two common forms of minuscule _a_ and _e_. The only one I use is the typeset version of the “a” in my writing. What’s the alternate “e” form? I’m struggling to think of it. With capital letters, I use the backwards 3 form of the letter “E,” but I can’t think of the alternate minuscule form. Or is it just a smaller version of this? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/14 "2018-04-04T16:41:13Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Which one is correct? > > I picked the lower right. What font is your browser using for this page? The one mine uses has a form of the double-loop g. [spoiler]ggggggggggg Can you see the right one in one of those?[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/15 "2018-04-04T19:39:00Z")
Meh. It has been shown that people (at least those comfortable with reading) don’t tend to read letters by themselves, they read words as a whole or patterns. Reading one letter at a time would be beyond tedious. It surprises me none that people don’t register the style of letter they see. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/16 "2018-04-05T03:13:31Z")
Easy, but I have a fascination with type. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/17 "2018-04-05T07:51:09Z")
I think I miɡht’ve failed, if not for the g in the OP ɡivinɡ it away. I would have, at the very least, called it “looptailed G.” Or, to be very fair, I miɡht have done what I did in this paraɡraph. I mean, it doesn’t matter if it’s a hook tail or a loop tail: they’re otherwise the same. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/18 "2018-04-05T13:11:57Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Both common forms of minuscule _g_ are part of my everyday handwriting. As are the two common forms of minuscule _a_ and _e_. I’m gonna bump my question because the suspense is killing me, and Googling is not turning up anything. What is the other common lowercase form of _e_? The articles I’m reading only mention _a_ and _g_. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/19 "2018-04-05T14:41:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m gonna bump my question because the suspense is killing me, and Googling is not turning up anything. What is the other common lowercase form of _e_? The articles I’m reading only mention _a_ and _g_. It’s only used in the other word that ends with “-gry” besides “angry” and “hungry.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774/20 "2018-04-05T18:37:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m gonna bump my question because the suspense is killing me, and Googling is not turning up anything. What is the other common lowercase form of _e_? The articles I’m reading only mention _a_ and _g_. “ɛ” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loop-tail-g/811774.md?page=2)