# What part of "no" is confusing you? The N part? Or the O part?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-is-confusing-you-the-n-part-or-the-o-part/121664>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [July 31, 2002, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-is-confusing-you-the-n-part-or-the-o-part/121664 "2002-07-31T08:14:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Junchbailey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Junchbailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junchbailey)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-is-confusing-you-the-n-part-or-the-o-part/121664/61 "2002-08-04T18:19:22Z")

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I used to work at a gas station a few years back. We closed at 10:00 every night. At closing time we would turn off the canopy lights and every light inside the store and garage except for one in the garage. Countless times people would try to get gas after 10 while I was in the back doing paperwork. I would tell them that we were closed and they would say “Well, you should have a sign that says you’re closed.” Bullshit. I would have figured the fact that all the lights were off would be enough of a sign. If you saw a supermarket with all of it’s lights off would you stop there for groceries. And people think gas attendants are stupid.

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-is-confusing-you-the-n-part-or-the-o-part/121664/62 "2002-08-05T15:53:10Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by dantheman \*  
> \*\*Oh yeah, Jeff - when I was in retail, if we were in the store after closing and a car pulled up, we **ducked** behind the counter so they wouldn’t see us. Because you know, if an employee is in the store, it must be open for business, no matter the time! \*\*

Heh. I wouldn’t have even bothered to check the sign if the clerk had shut off the exterior lights. The clerk was just sitting at the counter watching Dick Clark’s TV broadcast from Times Square. If she had not paid any attention to me, I would have left but instead she made a gesture which I took to mean “Hey, It’s New Year’s Eve, come in anyway!”

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