# The "No" Sign **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 1999, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563 "1999-11-01T23:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/1 "1999-11-01T23:33:00Z")
Is there a name for the circle-with-a-line-through-it that denotes “No \_\_\_\_\_\_ Allowed”? I’m sure I’ve seen this here before, but the search engine turns up nothing. * * * Cessandra [My Homepage](http://www.shsu.edu/~stdmed17/Home.html) [The RHPS: Website For Virgins](http://www.shsu.edu/~stdmed17/RockyHome.html) **Both Updated More Often Than This Sig** ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/2 "1999-11-01T23:43:00Z")
From [http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/30/305.html](http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/30/305.html) : > [@](#): > > 30:5 · With the straight line diagonally placed in the circle this sign becomes a **prohibitory sign** , for example in traffic, where this structure means no parking. > What is forbidden is normally drawn as a pictorial sign in or beside the circle. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/3 "1999-11-01T23:59:00Z")
I always thought it was called “the universal ‘no’ sign.” ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/4 "1999-11-02T02:23:00Z")
FWIW, my friends and I refer to it as a “prohibisphere.” ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/5 "1999-11-02T04:51:00Z")
The “Nixon”? (Emphasis on “nix”) ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/6 "1999-11-02T15:11:00Z")
Folks 'round these parts call it “the circle-slash.” Slightly OT, but a pet peeve of mine – the slash should run from the upper left to the lower right. It is, after all, a stylized “N”. Running from the lower left to upper right, while undoubtedly just as effective, looks dorky to me. Just my anything-but-humble opinion… ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/7 "1999-11-02T16:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > … the slash should run from the upper left to the lower right. It is, after all, a stylized “N”. Running from the lower left to upper right, while undoubtedly just as effective, looks dorky to me. Who said it was a “stylized N”? I’ve almost always seen it with the slash like / rather than \ and it looks just fine to me. Incidentally, I’ve noticed quite frequently that people install “No smoking” signs upside down. They have a picture of a cigarette with the smoking going up, with the circle-slash across it. Yet some people don’t seem to “get” that smoke _rises_. Am I the only one to notice this? ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/8 "1999-11-02T16:39:00Z")
[http://www.protoncharging.com/images/gb\_15years.gif](http://www.protoncharging.com/images/gb_15years.gif) * * * Back off, man. I’m a scientist. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/9 "1999-11-02T16:57:00Z")
[http://www.symbols.com/pics/big/30/3070.gif](http://www.symbols.com/pics/big/30/3070.gif) ---
**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:** [November 2, 1999, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/10 "1999-11-02T17:57:00Z")
The “ghostbusters” sign notwithstanding, the convention is: The line is in the “N” shape to symbolize an interdiction. The reverse signifies (at least in European road signs) an “end of the interdiction.” see [“Interdiction signs”](http://www.signalisation.com/route/routeseriec.html) e.g. [http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/c31a.gif](http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/c31a.gif) means “no left turn.” [http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/c45.gif](http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/c45.gif) means “end of 50 km/h speed limit.”, or “end of interdiction to drive over 50 km/h”. * * * J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine. Stendhal ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/11 "1999-11-02T21:30:00Z")
Of course in Europe a sign with a P on it means no parking while a sign with a crossed out P means you can park there. I guess it’s just to make some dosh off of American tourists. Tim: I’ve noticed the upside down signs too. Pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/12 "1999-11-02T21:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Incidentally, I’ve noticed quite frequently that people install “No smoking” signs upside down. They have a picture of a cigarette with the smoking going up, with the circle-slash across it. Yet some people don’t seem to “get” that smoke rises. Am I the only one to notice this? I don’t get it. If the smoke is going up, it _is_ rising. Or are you saying that people are hanging the sign so that the smoke trails downward, beneath the cigarette? * * * Cessandra Why sex is better than religion: There are laws against forcing sex on minors who can’t think for themselves. ---
**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:** [November 2, 1999, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/13 "1999-11-02T22:07:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Of course in Europe a sign with a P on it means no parking while a sign with a crossed out P means you can park there. Since when? The sign meaning “parking allowed” is this. [http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/e9a.gif](http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/e9a.gif) The sign meaning “no parking” is this. [http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/e1.gif](http://www.signalisation.com/panneau/e1.gif) See [“signs related to parking”](http://www.signalisation.com/route/routeseriee.html). * * * J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine. Stendhal ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/14 "1999-11-03T04:55:00Z")
Arnold: Well it is like that in Germany and Eastern Europe. Most of Europe is trying to standardize things for the EU so one standard or the other won’t last long. ---
**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:** [November 4, 1999, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/15 "1999-11-04T06:55:00Z")
Konrad: I don’t recall ever seeing signs like that in Germany. But what does the sign look like? If I saw a sign that was a red-bordered circle with a P in it, then I would assume that means “no parking” since red-bordered circles are interedictions. If I saw a white circle with a black line crossing the P, then I would assume that means “end of interdiction of parking.” See examples in one of my previous postings. * * * J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine. Stendhal ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/16 "1999-11-03T20:31:00Z")
**Cessandra** : > [@](#): > > I don’t get it. If the smoke is going up, it is rising. Or are you saying that people are hanging the sign so that the smoke trails downward, beneath the cigarette? Sorry about that; I phrased myself badly. What I meant is that I’ve often seen \No Smoking\ signs with the plume of smoke going _downwards_. Well, at least **Konrad** understood what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/17 "1999-11-03T22:48:00Z")
Yep, red bordered circle, that’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/18 "1999-11-03T23:20:00Z")
The line is indeed supposed to go from upper left to lower right. In so doing, it echoes the infamous “bar sinister” from heraldry, which denotes illegitimate birth. By extension, the prohibitory sign confers illegitimacy on the action depicted within the circle. (Whew! Boy, that sounded stuffy. But I’m too lazy to change it.) * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 1999, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/19 "1999-11-04T02:27:00Z")
Timothy: You’re kidding. Are people really **that** dumb? ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563/20 "1999-11-06T00:54:00Z")
Upper left to lower right, my ass. It’s there cause it bloody well crosses it out, that’s why it’s there. Why does something so obvious have to stand for something so complicated? This is like people who believe fuck stands for “for unlawful carnal knowledge”. If you believe it stands for the N in no then you have to prove that it originated in an English-speaking country. Same thing with the illegitimate birth thing, not everybody in the world uses that notation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-sign/4563.md?page=2)