Another question following my recent dental appointment….As a new patient I was asked to fill out an information form.
I merrily put crosses next to all the allergies - in the UK this means « no, no and no »
The dentist said « you are allergic to everything ? » I said « no, cross means « no » I have no allergies » and we got on with the appointment.
I remember hearing somewhere that cross means yes in France, but Google is not helping me today….My question is, what should I put for no….A tick?
TIA
EDIT: perhaps best to read anything twice, before completing carefully… and only then if one understands exactly what the form is saying/asking one to do…
never be embarrassed to ask someone to explain, before putting pen to paper…
One time, at our Mairie, I had to complete a complicated form… and in one particular section no questions/details seemed to apply to my situation… I mentioned this to the Secretaire and she simply put one diagonal line through that entire section… phew… I wouldn’t have been so brave…
The answer to your question - tick or cross - will depend on the question you were asked to answer. If it was something like, “What are you allergic to?” then I don’t think many people would answer that (in the UK or France) by putting a cross next to things they weren’t allergic to. That’s obviously ambiguous, because you are marking certain items as significant (in your case, all of them, apparently).
Thanks, Guys. I get the point about the ballot paper
In my case there were no boxes, just lists of things you could be allergic to, so I guess a line through would have done the trick. Leaving it blank could mean I hadn’t seen that bit…?
Yes, I mustn’t be shy about asking, but to be honest it didn’t occur to me that a cross could be ambiguous.
It’s like being a child again and having to learn all the rules from scratch
Here in the UK ,I would only put a mark / cross against something to which I am allergic (unless specifically asked what I am not allergic to. )! It’s a checklist so you mark or check those that apply according to the question asked.
I realise now the error of my ways. However, it’s not just me. From The Guardian:
When did the ‘tick’ and ‘cross’ symbols become recognised as the notation for ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’? Where do these symbols originate from?
I believe that it originates from the greek language, the tick from the greek work nike (nikas) meaning to win, the greek letter N is written as a V, secondly the X from the greek word to (haneis)meaning to lose, where the greek H is written as X.
Just points in the margin and a little diagonal line like a tick without the left side. Wrong things get a line through them.
Because I went to school in Scotland I use ticks and crosses but every year I have to explain to new people what they mean.
Edited to add I also put skulls and crossbones in the margin if they do something very careless. And stars if sth marvellous. They are 18, they like these things
yonks ago, at Credit Agricole… a technicien was fiddling at the back of the cash machine (inside the banking hall)… I was amused to see that all instructions on the screen were in English albeit American…
I spoke to him in French while waiting my turn at the other counter…
The technicien didn’t speak English (of any sort) but he understood the screen-speke…
