The sentences below cover a wide range of subjects from the mundane to the surreal, but they all share one interesting property. You will probably have little trouble guessing what it is; but the answer will be printed below the metaphorical fold, along with the source of the quotations.
The lazy horses gave a quick jerk which broke the axle and hurled the farmer upon his head.
He was puzzled to know how to coax the brave juggler to some quiet spot away from the platform.
One of the boys quickly threw the large javelin beyond the maximum distance and won the prize.
The zealous student became quite exhausted and dizzy before the journey through the park was half over.
The jury quickly agreed upon a verdict and all expect the musical zealot will be given a heavy fine.
In consequence of his love of luxury the wealthy jeweler did not join in the craze to climb the high mountain peaks.
Four jovial sailors went to the quizzical captain on the deck and asked him to give them leave of absence for sixty days.
Few men could be more jolly than our new acquaintance until he saw his clerk puzzling over the columns of the stock exchange.
Though still dizzy the injured chauffeur who wore a quaint crimson cloak gave an exact description of the vanishing automobile.
A large quantity of heavily glazed jars was taken out of the burning building by two policemen and a tax collector.
The firemen thought it would jeopardize many lives if they did not acquaint the inmates of the extreme danger of the falling bricks.
All the expenses of publishing the jokes in the columns of the daily press were borne by the queer old man whose zeal never flagged.
Many unjust laws allow bold knaves to exist in high places and acquire great influence with which they dazzle the eyes of the people.
The poor cabman many times expressed his thanks to the judge for his kindness and said he would return with the zebra as soon as his quest was over.
He was at the zenith of his power when the officials began making an inquiry in regard to his prejudice against the single tax movement.
Next day they were all equally amazed to see the grizzled veteran enter the ranks and march from the barracks to join in the parade.
Several of the boys had torn their jackets before they realized the wisdom of taking an axe to chop away the branches at the edge of the quarry.
One of the men at the zoo had just recovered from an attack of smallpox when an urgent request for his removal was made by the park commissioner.
In my remarks tonight I shall extemporize briefly upon my views of a subject equally dear to the hearts of-us all.
If you wish to move up and join the ranks of the experts, you should be sure to work with zeal, keeping your fingers quite close to the keys and hitting the keys with a low lift of the hands.
The answer:
Each of these sentences uses all twenty-six letters of the alphabet. They come from a manual of touch typing published by the Underwood Typewriter Company in 1912. The word “pangram” is often used for such sentences today, but in 1912 they were called “alphabetic sentences.”
So, thanks to the Underwood Typewriter Company, the next time you need an alphabetic sentence to try out a keyboard, you can impress the other shoppers in the flea market with something more interesting than quick brown foxes or sphinxes of black quartz.