# What's the shortest sentence that uses all letters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481 "2005-07-21T15:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/1 "2005-07-21T15:32:54Z")
Our typing teacher introduced us to “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” because it is a sentence that has all the letters of the alphabet. Useful, that, in a typing class. But what inefficiency! Redundant **D** , **H** , **R** , **T**. Coupla **U** s. Four **E** s! Four **O** s! C’mon, we can do better, can’t we? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/2 "2005-07-21T15:34:10Z")
Mr. Jock, T.V. Quiz Ph.D., bags few lynx (26) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/3 "2005-07-21T15:35:17Z")
‘Mr Jock, TV quiz PhD, bags few lynx.’ Uses all letters once. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/4 "2005-07-21T15:35:46Z")
One more…Arguably, the best sentence without resorting to weird syntax and abbreviations is the following, two letters shorter than “quick brown fox”: The five boxing wizards jump quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/5 "2005-07-21T15:36:28Z")
D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/6 "2005-07-21T15:37:21Z")
Best I can do is 27: “I said ‘bcefghjklmnopqrtuvwxyz’” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/7 "2005-07-21T15:37:39Z")
Cecil’s column on [W as a vowel](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_246.html) contains a couple of pangrams–sentences with each letter used only once. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/8 "2005-07-21T15:39:01Z")
Oh, that was pretty silly of me; here’s 26: “_he_ said ‘bcfgjklmnopqrtuvwxyz’” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/9 "2005-07-21T15:57:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Mr. Jock, T.V. Quiz Ph.D., bags few lynx (26) This is the only panagram I’ve ever seen that doesn’t need an explaination to make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/10 "2005-07-21T16:00:21Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > This is the only panagram I’ve ever seen that doesn’t need an explaination to make sense. I’m with Annie. I mean, cwm on - those pangrams (new word for me) in Cecil’s article are so tortured Amnesty International has gotten involved. I like the jumping wizards improvements too. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/11 "2005-07-21T16:03:49Z")
Jackdaws love my big sphynx of quartz. Damn, 31 letters. ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/12 "2005-07-21T16:06:31Z")
TV quiz drag nymphs blew JFK cox. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/13 "2005-07-21T16:18:19Z")
[Many](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/callibeth/pangrams.htm), [many](http://www.fun-with-words.com/pang_example.html) [pangram](http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words9.html) [sites](http://rinkworks.com/words/pangrams.shtml) on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/14 "2005-07-21T16:21:20Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > Our typing teacher introduced us to “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” because it is a sentence that has all the letters of the alphabet. Useful, that, in a typing class. > > But what inefficiency! Redundant **D** , **H** , **R** , **T**. Coupla **U** s. Four **E** s! Four **O** s! > > C’mon, we can do better, can’t we? Sure, for a start your sentence lacks the letter **s** Secondly, two **the** s are redundant. _A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog._ There, that’s better. but for a shorter sentence try : _Waltz, bud nymph, for quick jigs vex_ [28] ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/15 "2005-07-21T16:27:17Z")
The way I heard it is _Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud._ One extra “i” and one extra “u”, but not bad. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/16 "2005-07-21T17:03:43Z")
Nitpick: [QUOTE=Nature’s Call] Our typing teacher introduced us to “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” because it is a sentence that has all the letters of the alphabet. Useful, that, in a typing class. Where is the “S”? I had always typed it as “The quick sly fox jumped over the lazy brown dog.” Nit Picked. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/17 "2005-07-21T17:25:43Z")
[nitpick answer] It should be : The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [/nitpick answer] ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/18 "2005-07-21T17:40:42Z")
Here’s my entry: Quiz jinxed forgivable whacky tramps. 32 letters - but only 5 words. Granted, it is not the smoothest construction and it almost reads like a headline. However, it does not have to resort to using the Medieval Magyar-Croation slang word for soup ladle. 😃 I’m wondering if a 4 word sentence could be constructedthe if the word “unforgivable” is used? Yes, the word “uncopyrightable” uses half the alphabet, but its use in a short sentence would seem _extremely_ contrived. (“Uncopyrightable vixens” - that sort of thing.) Then again, “Unforgivable vixens” shows promise. Hmmmmm … ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/19 "2005-07-21T17:48:30Z")
It’s a refreshing feeling, to be free of nits - having this one freshly picked :smack: Thanks **wolf\_meister** , **yanceylebeef** , and **Peter Morris**! I love this board! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481/20 "2005-07-21T17:51:12Z")
I remember a couple from Ripley’s Believe it or Not. The first cheats with initials, but it’s only 26 letters: **D.V. Pike Flung J.Q. Scwartz my Box** The next doesn’t cheat, but is comprehensible: **Jackdaws Love my Big Sphinx of Quartz** all the 26-letter “non-cheating” ones I’ve heard of are incomprehensible, using very weird words. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-sentence-that-uses-all-letters/313481.md?page=2)