# Oh that quick brown fox... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432 "2006-08-05T05:10:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/1 "2006-08-05T05:10:06Z")
I am looking for a short piece of english text (a few paragraphs) that contains all the letters in the English language. The trick is that I want it to contain all the capitals and all the lowercase letters without the text looking contrived or having weird capitalization - basically I need it to have 26 words that are either proper nouns, “I” or first words in a sentence in addition to all the lower case letters used (which is trivial). If the text sounds good or makes any sort of sense that’s a bonus. Anything like that in existence? What do calligraphers use to practice a new cursive font? Much obliged, - G ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/2 "2006-08-05T05:13:34Z")
Well, from your topic I assume you know about “The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over the Lazy Dog” which is supposed to include most of the letters in the English language. I read about a simple code based on that phrase in Boys Life a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/3 "2006-08-05T05:55:34Z")
Now is the time for all quick brown foxes to jump over the lazy dog! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/4 "2006-08-05T06:07:39Z")
There’s a whole list of pangrams in English [here.](http://rinkworks.com/words/pangrams.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/5 "2006-08-05T06:11:52Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Well, from your topic I assume you know about “The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over the Lazy Dog” which is supposed to include most of the letters in the English language. I read about a simple code based on that phrase in Boys Life a few years back. [/QUOTE] It’s “jumps,” not “jumped.” This way it contains all the letters. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/6 "2006-08-05T10:24:59Z")
[QUOTE=aldiboronti] There’s a whole list of pangrams in English [here.](http://rinkworks.com/words/pangrams.shtml) [/QUOTE] I am specifically looking for text that includes all letters, lowercase and uppercase. Since the occurence of capitalized words seems to be around 1 in 10+/-4 in normal english writing, I’d expect it to be at least 250 words. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/7 "2006-08-05T10:35:13Z")
I’m sure we could come up with something Author Brian Chambers’ work “Eminent Domain & God” was denounced by Frank Hall as… etc ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/8 "2006-08-05T10:38:16Z")
[QUOTE=groman] I am specifically looking for text that includes all letters, lowercase and uppercase. Since the occurence of capitalized words seems to be around 1 in 10+/-4 in normal english writing, I’d expect it to be at least 250 words. [/QUOTE] Why not a simple list of nations? Well, you might have to include Xanadu, but no one will notice… ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/9 "2006-08-05T20:59:44Z")
[QUOTE=brujaja] Why not a simple list of nations? Well, you might have to include Xanadu, but no one will notice… [/QUOTE] Xhosa. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/10 "2006-08-05T21:07:29Z")
[QUOTE=groman] I am specifically looking for text that includes all letters, lowercase and uppercase. Since the occurence of capitalized words seems to be around 1 in 10+/-4 in normal english writing, I’d expect it to be at least 250 words. [/QUOTE] This narrative poem by the splendidly named Alaric Watts may be what you’re looking for: he even convincingly gets the X’s in there… [An Austrian army, awfully arrayed Boldly by battery beseiged Belgrade.](http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/watts02.html) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/11 "2006-08-05T21:12:56Z")
“Zounds!” yelps Xavier, when vicious ugly tiger springs. Runs, quickly prays… observes nearby musket. Loads, kneels (jelly in his guts), fires - expertly dispatches cat! Becomes atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/12 "2006-08-05T23:00:39Z")
Aleuts ably adumbrate, Bantus blithely bill. Costa Ricans copulate, Danes demurely drill. Eskimoes extrapolate, Frenchmen faintly flop. Greenlanders gesticulate, Hopi humbly hop. Inuit insinuate, Japanese just jolt. Khao-San kindly kleptocrate, Mauritians merely moult. New Zealanders negotiate, Ostrogoths oppress. Peruvians prevaricate, Queenslanders quiesce. Russians royally rusticate, Scotsmen slowly snooze. Tongans tintinabulate, Uighurs underuse. Venetians vilely ventilate, Welshmen weakly wield. Xhosa xenopophagate, Yanomami yield. Zulus do none of these things. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/13 "2006-08-05T23:13:15Z")
[QUOTE=Case Sensitive] This narrative poem by the splendidly named Alaric Watts may be what you’re looking for: he even convincingly gets the X’s in there… [An Austrian army, awfully arrayed Boldly by battery beseiged Belgrade.](http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/watts02.html) [/QUOTE] Mmm, for some reason the “J” line is missing: > [@](#): > > Just Jesus, instant innocence instill! [http://www.bartleby.com/100/690.161.html](http://www.bartleby.com/100/690.161.html) ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/14 "2006-08-05T23:16:05Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] Mmm, for some reason the “J” line is missing… [/QUOTE] I’ve just realised that the alphabet has an L between the K and the M… ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/15 "2006-08-05T23:34:38Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] Mmm, for some reason the “J” line is missing: [/QUOTE] I think Watts is using poetic licence here and availing himself of the historical fact that i and j were originally the same letter. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/16 "2006-08-06T01:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=aldiboronti] I think Watts is using poetic licence here and availing himself of the historical fact that i and j were originally the same letter. [/QUOTE] So the line was originally “Just Jesus, jnstant jnnocence jnstill!” 🙂 All this reminded me of an old Lampoon cartoon that had the Quick Brown Fox jumping over the Lazy Dog, the dog then casually says to the puzzled Fox: “Oh, while you’re at it - Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.” ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/17 "2006-08-06T05:14:18Z")
What about: “Psst, the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” “What?” “I said, THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG!” “Oh.” ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/18 "2006-08-06T05:36:40Z")
[QUOTE=Case Sensitive] Xhosa. [/QUOTE] Duh, Texas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/19 "2006-08-06T08:03:10Z")
XV nymphs beg quick fjord waltz. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432/20 "2006-08-06T09:21:41Z")
Warm plucky GHQ jinx, fez to BVD’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-that-quick-brown-fox/367432.md?page=2)