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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!cwruecmp!rrrm
From: rrrm@cwruecmp.UUCP (R Robertson + R McGuire)
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: escape talk
Message-ID: <982@cwruecmp.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 11-Feb-84 01:24:40 EST
Article-I.D.: cwruecmp.982
Posted: Sat Feb 11 01:24:40 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Feb-84 21:56:06 EST
Organization: CWRU Computer Engr. Cleveland, Ohio
Lines: 26


    Did you every have one of those conversations where you knew just what
the other person was going to say by the way he started off?  Just think
of how much time people could save by just saying enough of well known phrases,
sentences, etc...  The DEC-20 has a neat little feature where you only have
to type in enough letters of command to distinguish it from the others.  For
example you don't have to type 'print /noheader prog.pas'; all you need is
'pr  /noh  prog.p ' (where  means you hit the escape key).

    This could be carried over into everyday life.  Why worry about toung-
twisters, for example.  You could just say 'Peter Piper picked ' and
people would know the rest.  If you Sunday school teacher asked to memorize
the book of Genesis you could just say 'In the beginning ' and he'd
know exactly what you meant.  Now when somebody asks me what I'm studying,
in stead of 'Computer Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, 
Cleveland, Ohio', I just say 'Comp  E  at Case  West ,
Clev , O '.

    There has got to be more examples of 'escape talk', or 'esc  ta '
out there.  I've already given you some examples; let's see what you can come
up with.  The only rule is that the person the 'escape phrase' (or esc   
phr ) is for must know what goes in place of the .

					Ryan McGuire  (Ry  McG )
					(the rm of rrrm)