# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/41 "2004-12-10T10:33:30Z")
> [@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”. \<------------Hangs head in utter and complete shame. I’m also beyond guilty of this, but I swear, on a STACK of Bibles, I don’t do this in business correspondence, or in any technical writing, but only online in informal chatting and bb situations. Some of us are just way more energetic and expressive than others, and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who feels stifled by the black and white, and non-emoting blandness that is typing. ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/42 "2004-12-10T10:45:09Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > O heppy day, when a “Kat” receives a “brick” from a “Mouse”… Heppy, heppy day indeed. But, as we all know, a “Kat” is a special case–especially a Coconino Kat. (I understood an obscure cultural reference! I’m kool!!! 😃 ) (But I sometimes worry that I overuse parentheses…) (…and mulitple question marks are, as we all know, a sure sign of a diseased mind.) ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/43 "2004-12-10T10:53:37Z")
Another guilty ellipsis user here. Usually, I find myself using one to denote a pause in a sentence while I’m searching for the right word. Of course, sometimes… My line of thought just peters off into nothingness. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/44 "2004-12-10T13:04:47Z")
I overuse too, generally when I can’t be bothered to type something I think’s obvious. Q. Can you think of anything that’s foo? A. Anything that’s bar would be foo… As in, I know that’s incomplete, but you’re likely to KNOW what’s foo, so there’s no point my enumerating them. Or “That’d be bad… [implicit examples] No, I never have” or… no, I can’t think of any more examples. But I’m trying to cut down, honest. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/45 "2004-12-10T13:40:41Z")
Perhaps he thinks he’s an RPG (role playing game) character. Hero: Excuse me. Enigmatic Man: … Hero: Hello EM: …Yes. Hero: I’m looking for blue key. EM: … … Many are… … Hero: Oookay. Can you help me? EM: … Hero: I’m holding a sword bigger than the two of us put together. EM: …or perhaps the sword is holding you… Hero: Gahhhhh! (Slice!) EM: …Sara… Hero: Who? EM: … Hah! I am the true uber geek. I got the Kepler joke and I worked in an RPG reference. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/46 "2004-12-10T13:56:35Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > There’s a simply way for you to stop getting them to use ellipses… I can only answer in one way: > [@andros](#): > > …and? ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/47 "2004-12-10T14:11:00Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > \<------------Hangs head in utter and complete shame. > > I’m also beyond guilty of this, but I swear, on a STACK of Bibles, I don’t do this in business correspondence, or in any technical writing, but only online in informal chatting and bb situations. Some of us are just way more energetic and expressive than others, and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who feels stifled by the black and white, and non-emoting blandness that is typing. You might consider using \*'s. They’re often used in ASCII-limited situations when you’d otherwise underline or use italics. It’s a nice way to lend _emphasis_. Save the quotes for when you’re actually quoting somebody, or when you’re “dubious.” ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/48 "2004-12-10T14:26:54Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I’m not sure why the uproar. People who abuse ellipses are simply people who have enjoyed unprotected sex in the last month and their minds are preoccupied with periods. What he said. 😃 I have no idea how to use ellipses properly I just love to see a row of full stops. I never ever use 3 in a row. I’m deeply fond of 6 (or more) for some reason. I am a ellipse abuser…feel free to shoot me 😃 ---
**Author:** ![todd33rpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@todd33rpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd33rpm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/49 "2004-12-10T14:51:38Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > We call that **Kirking** … Here at the radio station, we call it “Veddering.” Eddie’s pretty bad about this. Far be it from me to throw stones, because until my entry in THIS thread, I’m reasonably sure I have done it…A LOT. Dammit. I don’t think I’ve used more than three dots to indicate an ellipsis, however. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/50 "2004-12-10T15:27:09Z")
As an editor of my high school’s literary magazine, this bugs me to no end. People submit poetry (usually these are, of course, the sappiest of poems) with practically _every line_ ending in an ellipsis. Drives me up the wall, but most get rejected anyway. ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/51 "2004-12-10T18:18:36Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > 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”…” The funniest one I ever saw was on a sign outside a church: Praise “Jesus”. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/52 "2004-12-11T02:26:47Z")
Consider me guilty of overuse of ellipses. I write exactly the way I speak, and I speak somewhat hesitantly and I trail off at the end of sentences. You have no idea how hard it is to stop doing that after you’ve already started and have gotten accustomed to it. Both written and spoken. I also use ellipses when I’m depressed. I don’t know why, but my mental state makes me add three periods to the end of every sentence or word when I’m typing on AIM. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971/53 "2004-12-11T02:59:36Z")
And now, for your amusement, I shall post some **advertising text** that I had to place on a Web site in the past year, because the **marketing ‘expert’** that was PAID to come up with the text sent it to me this way. I did not fix it unless it was just too much to take. These are how she presented various specials (some aren’ tthat terrible when taken together, but as a group they are grating): Just in time for Valentine’s Day…10% off ALL gift baskets…offer expires February 29, 2004 Don’t Forget Valentine’s Day, February 14th…Order by NOON, February 9th for GUARANTEED delivery by February 13th Announcing [company’s] Affiliate Contest…September 5 through November 30, 2003 Prices are "Fall"ing at [company]… SAVE 15% on all gift baskets…offer ends September 31 Quality Assurance Guarantee… All our gourmet gift baskets are made to order…never pre-packaged, so you can be sure what you order is exactly what you get! Limited Time Offer…10% Off ALL Gift Baskets Sizzling Summer Special Offers: Save $10 off any order of $100 or more (excludes already discounted promotional items)… PLUS… ALL NEW GIFT NON ALCOHOLIC GIFT BASKETS PRICED UNDER $30.00 …gift basket details below! PLUS We set up the client’s new site so she can post all this baloney her own self. Gave them the ability to make product discounts and name them (such as ‘Christmas Chocolate Discount’ or ‘Summer Graduation Discount’) This is what she came up with: "HAPPY HOLIDAYS DISCOUNT!!! " So now when you get your receipt you see: “Discount applied: HAPPY HOLIDAYS DISCOUNT!!!” and you see it all through the checkout process, etc. Not to mention that the client added about 60 new gift baskets to his site, and he let this marketing specialist name all the new gift baskets. No less than SEVEN of them have elipsis in the middle or at the ends or even the beginning of their name. Thank you for this thread. I really needed to get this off my chest… And for all you Google whores who are going to go looking for this site - at least buy a basket. they are quite good (not that this client, who I’ve worked with for 3 years, has ever sent me one…but that’s another pit). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-overuse-ellipses/278971.md?page=2)