# People who overuse ellipses... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 9, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971 "2004-12-09T18:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/1 "2004-12-09T18:58:07Z")
We use a messaging system here at my new job. It’s pretty useful, as it means I pretty much never have to leave my office. (Okay, it annoys me, because now I never GET to leave my office, but that’s another rant.) There are two people here who always end their messages with ellipses… Here’s a bit of a conversation I just had with one of the programmers, one of our Ellipses Abusers: Me: _Hey, thought of something last night. With that new particle thingy you made yesterday, is there any way I can scale the image? Or is it locked to the size of the bitmap?_ Him: _it can be scaled…_ Um, okay. I wait a few minutes for him to continue, but he doesn’t send any more information. So I decide to press on. Me: _Is that keyframable? I mean, does it get that scale from the scaling function in the particle system?_ Him: _no…_ “No…” what? What does it get the scale from? Is he ever going to finish his sentence? “No…” it isn’t keyframable? “No…” it can’t be dynamically scaled? “No…” I’m not going to tell you? Gah! That doesn’t answer my question- it just makes my head want to explode as I sit here waiting for him to finish. The suspense is killing me- and I know he’ll never send me more information unless I manage to guess exactly what system it uses, so he can reply with “yes…” I wouldn’t mind so much if it weren’t for the damn ellipses. I keep thinking that he’s going to finish his sentence. _But he never does…_ ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/2 "2004-12-09T18:59:59Z")
Buddy of mine used to do that a lot. I broke him of it by responding to every elipses abuse with: “…and?” ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/3 "2004-12-09T19:02:14Z")
Oops, that’s totally me. There’s probably not a single post I’ve made that doesn’t have ellipses. I dunno, I’m trying to imitate speech and periods just seem so final. Ellipses are kinda the equivalent of just trailing off… ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/4 "2004-12-09T19:03:45Z")
Wow, my first indirect pitting. I’m awful at this, I do it all the time. Here on the message board and talking to my friends on MSN all the time. I never though that it could be annoying to some. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Biggles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Mr.Biggles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Biggles)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/5 "2004-12-09T19:04:08Z")
Have you thought of rephrasing the question so it has to be answered beyond a yes or no? Like after you ask if it can be scaled and he replies “yes…” Perhaps you should have followed with “How?” ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/6 "2004-12-09T19:06:37Z")
DAMN you Johannes Kepler! **DAMN you to HELL!** ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/7 "2004-12-09T19:07:55Z")
What’s even worse…is when…people use ellipses…constantly…with incomplete sentences…drives me up the wall…usually combined with poor grammar and spelling…makes me think they’re dithering…makes me want to slap them and shout “get on with it!” … ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/8 "2004-12-09T19:07:59Z")
That sounds annoying. Just reading your transcript gives me an uncomfortable feeling that I’ve been left to swing in the breeze! It must be even more frustrating when you’re actually trying to wring information out of them! My husband is editing some guy’s work, and he said he’s had to remove _at least_ one ellipsis from every page. He says he now understands why I go nuts over his (over/mis)use of semicolons. I personally enjoy people who end their sentences with strings of periods of various lengths. "HI everybody… Just wanted to let you know… were going out of town this weekend… If you call and we dont answer…THATS WHY!!! See ya’ll monday… " I imagine that the different numbers of periods has some meaning to them, or at least they have some aesthetic guiding principle that tells them when they need … and when it really should be … Maybe it indicates the length of the pause that they would have included if they were speaking? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/9 "2004-12-09T19:10:05Z")
There’s a simply way for you to stop getting them to use ellipses… ---
**Author:** ![Yamirskoonir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c0e974/32.png) [@Yamirskoonir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yamirskoonir)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/10 "2004-12-09T19:18:47Z")
I’m guilty of this. I also use it in the “trailing off” sense, but never in professional correspodence - only with friends. I’m also a dash abuser - like when I want to make a point, or add information to the first portion of the sentence. See - I’m doing it even now… :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/11 "2004-12-09T19:28:40Z")
I hear you, **Lightnin’**. Drives me up the wall. Here’s an actual email I received today (I’ve messed with the wording a bit so I don’t get fired): > [@Some guy I work with](#): > > Can you get me the exact dates… I may have a conflict at the end of the project…but since it is a one shot deal and Dave always gets done by the review…and you know how fast I am…it still might work GAAAAAHHH! Not only is it annoying, but it takes me twice as long to read the paragraph 'cause my brain keeps pausing. I find it amusing that he seems to have used so many ellipses that he can’t afford to put a period at the end of his sentence. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/12 "2004-12-09T19:30:53Z")
Excessive elipses doesn’t even “come close” to the “horror” that is “improper quotation mark usage”. I “don’t know” why some people choose to “empahsize” their writing with quotation “marks”, but the end result is “so fucking annoying” that it leaves the me “a hairsbreadth” away from fiery displays of “rage”. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/13 "2004-12-09T19:39:38Z")
Trailing off in spoken conversation drives me bugnuts too. Talk, goddammit! Finish the thought! ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/14 "2004-12-09T19:56:57Z")
> [@Yamirskoonir](#): > > See - I’m doing it even now… :smack: Look, if you want to use a dash—and I, like Emily Dickinson, never met a dash I didn’t like—at least use it properly. You should use an em-dash, like this, — or two en-dashes, like this, --, and do not put a space on either side of it. Why look like a dithering illiterate when you can, instead, have a cultivated and eccentric writing style? It’s fine line, my friends! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/15 "2004-12-09T20:03:15Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Excessive elipses doesn’t even “come close” to the “horror” that is “improper quotation mark usage”. I “don’t know” why some people choose to “empahsize” their writing with quotation “marks”, but the end result is “so fucking annoying” that it leaves the me “a hairsbreadth” away from fiery displays of “rage”. This is my peeve, too. It does, however, create some unintentionally funny moments - “I had to get my “brain” examined…”; “I was talking to my “kids”…” ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/16 "2004-12-09T20:09:35Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > "HI everybody… Just wanted to let you know… were going out of town this weekend… If you call and we dont answer…THATS WHY!!! See ya’ll monday… " I used to talk online with an 11-year-old (don’t ask) and she’d pull crap like this all the time. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my goodness, your impression was just too damn accurate. I laughed, cried, and sighed all a the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/17 "2004-12-09T20:21:15Z")
I’m reading “The Last Full Measure,” the follow up to “Gods and Generals” by Jeff Shaara right now. I swear, it has an average of 3 or 4 ellipses per page. I’ve counted as may as 10 on one page. He uses it most egregiously during dialogue, primarily to express pauses in speech or thought. It really is annoying as hell. I frequently wonder if there were arguments with his editor, or if there even was an editor. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/18 "2004-12-09T20:22:00Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > What’s even worse…is when…people use ellipses…constantly…with incomplete sentences…drives me up the wall…usually combined with poor grammar and spelling…makes me think they’re dithering…makes me want to slap them and shout “get on with it!” > > … We call that **Kirking** … :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/19 "2004-12-09T20:26:53Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Excessive elipses doesn’t even “come close” to the “horror” that is “improper quotation mark usage”. I “don’t know” why some people choose to “empahsize” their writing with quotation “marks”, but the end result is “so fucking annoying” that it leaves the me “a hairsbreadth” away from fiery displays of “rage”. Heh heh. You’ll love this [favourite from foundmagazine.com](http://www.foundmagazine.com/notes/iuhwont.html). Class. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/20 "2004-12-09T20:28:29Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > DAMN you Johannes Kepler! > **DAMN you to HELL!** That was my first thought, too, when I saw the thread title. Oh well … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971.md?page=2)