# the e-less thread. No e's allowed! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731 "2000-06-27T15:44:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/21 "2000-06-27T16:52:15Z")
Damn!! Tricky glyphs!! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/22 "2000-06-27T16:56:31Z")
It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, I saw a most amazing thing. Not an animal, or plant – just a “thing.” I found my dictionary and saw, astonishingly, that I had found “that which is without an -.” Knowing that I saw what I could and said what I should, I think I’ll just sign off now. ---
**Author:** ![SILENT-BOB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@SILENT-BOB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SILENT-BOB)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/23 "2000-06-27T16:59:45Z")
🆒 :eek: :o ☹ ;j :mad: :rolleyes: :)😛 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/24 "2000-06-27T17:03:36Z")
You got this thing at the top of your post. So what’s the friggin point? ---
**Author:** ![\_Toby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/bbe5ce/32.png) [@\_Toby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Toby)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/25 "2000-06-27T17:05:43Z")
“It was a dark and stormy night. ########, I saw a most amazing thing.” Is it so hard to do??? I am not asking much!!! Just jot a word or two down without using that symbol?!? For crying out loud!!! This is just pitiful!!! ---
**Author:** ![Nen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Nen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nen)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/26 "2000-06-27T17:10:03Z")
It is not a simple task you do assign, my mortal antagonist. Wits vying to grasp this thought bring about ill ramifications; brains will boil with such a laborious duty. Alas, bold rivals lay in flotsam, whilst a day is young. I find this responsibility within my capacity, and thus I shall warrant a post in this fashion. In kind, I ask a favor—may a topic bring focus to this wanton discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/27 "2000-06-27T17:13:50Z")
It’s not as hard as it looks. I don’t know why’s all this complaining. Yo! Guys! Try to do a spiffy job with this! It’s not a scam or a grift; it’s fairly cool! Just omit a symbol! {walking away, humming “A quick brown fox jumps a lazy dog.”} ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/28 "2000-06-27T17:14:11Z")
I would think it’s too hard to post a fairly long paragraph without using that particular symbol, wouldn’t you? It’s just too common. Many, if not most, words contain it, so how would you avoid using it? It’s similar to trying to construct a proof in calculus without using functions, or building a sailboat without using wood, or cooking Italian food without garlic, or Indian without curry, or Monopoly without Boardwalk, or rock and roll without guitars. Or downloading good porn with AOL. You just can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/29 "2000-06-27T17:18:00Z")
OK, I got two points to clarify: Only my actual posting counts, right? Or must I obtain a compliant id first? If so…that’s no fair! Also things such as 2nd and 'cuz won’t hurt? I can find such “words” in _a_ dictionary, but I do admit…not all. I await your ruling. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/30 "2000-06-27T17:21:09Z")
I’ll go for it. Hmmm. What can I say that will not contain any ‘fifth symbols’ of our script. Damn, this is as hard as it sounds. On a lazy day, I saw a stick talking to a brandy glass. Figuring this was odd, I told that stick to shut up. It wouldn’t, so I shot it with my giant gun. It shut up. That night, I found that brandy glass lying in a pool of mud. It was crying. That stick was actually its husband. ‘Poor glass,’ I thought. I thought in my mind…‘what a schmuck I am.’ So I shot that brandy glass too. Fin. Jman ---
**Author:** ![\_Toby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/bbe5ce/32.png) [@\_Toby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Toby)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/31 "2000-06-27T17:21:24Z")
“Oh why not, I’ll post to this. I’m just at work anyway. This will occupy what ####### of my brain. Hmmm, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” That’s it, that’s fucking it. Don’t worry about it. It’s obviously too hard for your tiny minds to do. So many posts and so many with goofs. How can I win? I can’t. I thought I would try and bring a bit of fun to this board, you know, “jazz it up” a bit. But no. You couldn’t follow a basic instruction. So, don’t worry about posting again. It’s not worth it. All of you should go and cry fo what you did. CRY I SAY!!! ---
**Author:** ![\_Toby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/bbe5ce/32.png) [@\_Toby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Toby)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/32 "2000-06-27T17:24:18Z")
“It is not a ###### task you do assign, my mortal antagonist. Wits vying to grasp this thought bring about ill ramifications; brains will boil with such a laborious duty. Alas, bold rivals lay in flotsam, whilst a day is young. I find this ############# within my capacity, and thus I shall warrant a post in this fashion. In kind, I ask a favor—may a topic bring focus to this wanton discussion?” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! IS IT SO HARD TO DO!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/33 "2000-06-27T17:24:48Z")
Gilligan…good post! Jman ---
**Author:** ![\_Toby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/bbe5ce/32.png) [@\_Toby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Toby)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/34 "2000-06-27T17:32:53Z")
"OK, I got two points to clarify: Only my actual posting counts, right? Or must I obtain a compliant id first? If so…that’s no fair! Also things such as 2nd and 'cuz won’t hurt? I can find such “words” in _a_ dictionary, but I do admit…not all. I await your ruling. Thanks." “Must I obtain a compliant id first?” No, thats OK. “Also things such as 2nd and 'cuz won’t hurt?” Basic _slang_ is ok, as long as it is common. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/35 "2000-06-27T17:33:31Z")
Lipogrammatic posting is a difficult task. But I shrink not from your invitation, and hail an opportunity to display my skill in composing a communication lacking that habitual unit most found in common words. Alas! I find that a pain is now pounding upon my focus of thought. I will now abandon this trial and look for asylum in a dissimilar forum. Ta-ta and to all a good day. ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/36 "2000-06-27T17:52:09Z")
Please, expect everyone here, before leaving the thread, participate in the cleanup process. Extraneous "e"s have infested other messages. Leaks, perhaps. – we appreciate the cooperation. – the (psuedo)Mangement. ee ee e eee ee e e e e eeeee ee eeeee eeeeeeee eeeee eeeee e eee eeeeee eeeee eeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeee e eeeee e ee ee ee e eeeee e eeeeeeeeee ee ee eee e e e e e e ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/37 "2000-06-27T17:52:16Z")
Thanks, Jman, good job to you, too. Follow instructions, I always say. It looks as if you concur. Arnold: Don’t put too much thought into it and you’ll find this task is not as difficult as it might look at first. A good drink might assist you. Try a Molson, Labatt’s, Harp, St. Pauli Girl, or Grolsch first. Not a Bud Light, though, that won’t do anything for you. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/38 "2000-06-27T17:58:34Z")
Is abandoning that most popular symbol, ascii 69 or 101, just a gimmick? Book Lacking Said Symbol: **A Void** Totally fascinating. Full citation to follow approx 6 pm cdt. To assist you in waiting, a sampling: Living or Not Living, by William Shakspar Living, or not living: that is what I ask: If ‘tis a stamp of honour to submit To slings and arrows waft’d us by ill winds, Or brandish arms against a flood of afflictions, Which by our opposition is subdu’d? Dying, drowsing; Waking not? And by drowsing thus to thwart An aching soul and all th’ natural shocks Humanity sustains. ‘Tis a consumation So piously wish’d for. Dying, drowsing; Drowsing; and, what say, conjuring visions: ay, that’s th’ rub; For in that drowsy faint what visions may disturb Our shuffling off of mortal coil, Do prompt us think again… _Not my opus–a quotation. I wish I had mandatory skills to author such work._ Although I do think using “th’” and “subdu’d” and such may push limits of symbol-lacking writing. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/39 "2000-06-27T18:21:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Oh why not, I’ll post to this. I’m just at work anyway. This will occupy what remains of my brain. Hmmm, that wasn’t so bad, now was it? > \*\* Gazoo - a boo boo? H8 - Might I ask if Gadsby actually has a plot? I’d think blocking utilization of a ubiquitous word, to say nothing of its parts, without diminishing plot, would posit a Brobdingnagian task to today’s authors. It might bring about an award for original thought. I would not try it, I am not that good at writing. I couldn’t try - I couldn’t sign my work! ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731/40 "2000-06-27T18:54:03Z")
“Why?” Thought I, Should such a trifling task Bring low so many souls? To omit this horrid symbol, Fifth in our lingual stack, Hurts my cranium. Ouch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-less-thread-no-es-allowed/23731.md?page=3)