History Main / TelegraphGagSTOP

* The ''LuckyLuke'' comic ''Dalton City'' had a telegrapher who spoke like this.

* ''ItsAWonderfulLife'': Sam Wainwright sends a telegram from London when he hears George is in trouble STOP Ernie reads it aloud, including the stops STOP

* In ''TheSoundOfMusic'', Liesl sends the telegram "Dear Rolf. Stop. Don't stop!" STOP
* Played with in ''TheLadiesMan'' when the mailman pretends a letter for the title character is a telegram and says, "Dear Leon STOP The Seventies are over... STOP."

* Pops up a few times in ''ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', as the characters begin communicating via telegram often late in the series.

* ''BlackadderGoesForth'', episode "Major Star": Used as a joke by Blackadder to insult Creator/CharlieChaplin, and in the same episode Chaplin took revenge in the same format STOP

* ''VeronicaMars'' had a blackly humorous one of these in the episode "Lord of the Bling"; at Lynn Echolls' funeral, Aaron asks Logan if he's heard from his half-sister Trina:

* On SexAndTheCity, as Charlotte and her lawyer battle her ex's overbearing mother and her lawyer regarding the divorce settlement, a telegram from said ex arrives. Aside from insisting that Charlotte is to have whatever she wants, the "stops" that come at the end of each sentence--in particular, the final line, "Seriously, mother", make it sound more like he's demanding that his mother lay off.

* In the musical ''CrazyForYou'', Bobby receives a telegram from his mother and reads it out loud.

* ''PinkyAndTheBrain'' had one in their parody of ''Film/TheThirdMan'':

* Two business partners receive a telegram at their office; the secretary begins reading it off to one of them. After hearing her say "STOP" about a half-dozen times, the other partner yells from the inner office, "[[DirtyOldMan Get your hands off her]] and let her finish!"

@@[[TheCoconutEffect IT WAS ORIGINALLY A JOKE BUT IT IS NOT KNOWN AS ONE BY MODERN AUDIENCES WHERE IT IS EXPECTED FOR READING A TELEGRAM STOP]]@@

* A ''LuckyLuke'' comic had a telegrapher who spoke like this.

@@TELEGRAM MESSAGES [[NoPunctuationPeriod NEVER CONTAIN PERIODS]] [[SelfDemonstratingArticle]]STOP@@

@@TELEGRAM MESSAGES [[NoPunctuationPeriod NEVER CONTAIN PERIODS]] STOP@@

@@CONFUSION MAY RESULT FOR READER OF TELEGRAM BY CONFUSION BETWEEN A FULL STOP AND OTHER USES OF THE WORD STOP STOP@@

This is a BrokenTrope these days, since International Morse Code uses .-.-.- for periods. Or you could just [[TechMarchesOn send a text message]].

!!Examples:

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Now a DiscreditedTrope; International Morse Code uses .-.-.- for periods. Or you could just [[TechMarchesOn send a text message]].

@@TELEGRAM MESSAGES [[NoPunctuationPeriod NEVER CONTAIN PERIODS]] STOP
ANY PERIOD IS REPLACED BY A STOP STOP
WHEN READ ALOUD THE STOP IS ALSO READ ALOUD STOP
ORIGINALLY A JOKE BUT NOT KNOWN AS ONE BY MODERN AUDIENCES WHERE IT IS EXPECTED FOR READING A TELEGRAM STOP

CONFUSION MAY RESULT FOR READER OF TELEGRAM BY CONFUSION BETWEEN A FULL STOP AND OTHER USES OF THE WORD STOP STOP

COMPARE [[ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud READING THE STAGE DIRECTIONS OUT LOUD]] STOP@@

TELEGRAM MESSAGES [[NoPunctuationPeriod NEVER CONTAIN PERIODS]] STOP

COMPARE [[ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud READING THE STAGE DIRECTIONS OUT LOUD]] STOP

* ''AdrianMole'' receives a confusing telegram from his mother stating "Adrian stop coming home stop" and disregards it since it makes no sense as he can't stop coming home STOP This leads to later problems when his estranged mother turns up without warning STOP

* There's a Polish joke back from the Communist era: Poland was dependant on deliveries of natural gas and oil from the USSR. One day, Polish ice hockey team has defeated the USSR team at the Olympics. The next day, the Polish government receives a telegram from the USSR government:

-->'''Paris:''' It's a message to Captain Proton from the President of Earth. ''Intercepted communications between Doctor Chaotica and Arachnia. STOP. Chaotica at war with aliens from Fifth Dimension. STOP. Must strike now to disable Death Ray__''\\

-->'''Hawkeye:''' Dear Dad. Stop. I am not dead. Stop. Thinking of selling my clubs? Stop. Spending the insurance money? Stop.

* ''Plan 7 of 9 from Outer Space'', in which Captain Proton (of ''StarTrekVoyager'' fame) struggles to save the world from an army of busty bionic blondes.

* ''Plan 7 of 9 from Outer Space'', in which Captain Proton (of ''StarTrekVoyager'' fame) struggles to save the world from being taken over by an army of busty bionic blondes.

** Used in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akAEIW3rmvQ&t=6m00s I Wanna Singa]]'' STOP A receptionist receives a telegram from a sleazy deliveryman STOP She reads it and the camera pans away STOP

* Stewie and Brian of WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy have a similar gag in one episode while speaking on walkie-talkies. Stewie informs Brian that he has to end all of his transmissions with the word "over," which causes a misunderstanding when Brian actually ends a sentence with the word "over."

TELEGRAM MESSAGES [[NoPunctuationPeriod NEVER CONTAIN PERIODS]] STOP
ANY PERIOD IS REPLACED BY A STOP STOP
WHEN READ ALOUD THE STOP IS ALSO READ ALOUD STOP