How to write like Raymond: Start a sentence with a question mark

Raymond Chen

Another installment in the extremely sporadic series on how to write like Raymond.

I use the question mark as an emoticon to indicate befuddlement or confusion. (This is not to be confused with the use of an inverted question mark in Spanish.) Here’s an imaginary example:

To: Cakes and Cookies Discussion

Hi, I’m trying to bake a carrot cake, but I’m having trouble finding the right staple gun. Does anybody have any recommendations?

My reply might go something like this:

? What the heck are you planning to do with that staple gun?

Raymond Chen

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