I am going to put a text board on the door of my office to show others that I am not in the office, when needed. Can I just write "Outed" on it? Any advice?
3 Answers
I don't think there's one single English word for that phrase. From a quick internet search it looks like
"Out of office"
is the most common sign, but if you absolutely cannot use multiple words,
"Out"
is your best bet.
If you can only use one word, I would write "Out."
Also, I think you meant to say, "any advice." Advice is the noun. Advise is the verb you use when you are giving someone "advice." Example: I advised my brother to follow the good advice our father had given him.
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Thanks for your comment. And if there is not limitation on number of word to use, what should I write on it? A single "out" seems like may cause misunderstanding... Mar 25, 2019 at 4:15
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Hi chongkai Lu 😊. If you aren't limited, then follow Jess STJ's advice, and write "Out of Office" or "Out of the Office."– Don B.Mar 25, 2019 at 4:19
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I have re-edited my question and I decide to use "Out of Office".Thanks again! Mar 25, 2019 at 4:26
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It is usually more helpful to say when you expect to be back in the office. "Back at 2 pm" or "Back on Tuesday".– OwainMar 25, 2019 at 9:31
Out of office is what you want to say if you're trying to be clear and formal. Just saying out is, however, completely normal and usual. Consider the dialogue:
"Hey, is Carol there?"
"No, she's out at the moment. She'll be in this afternoon"
That applies whatever it is that she might be in or out of - a home, and office, a building, whatever. You can also see an example in Peanuts cartoons, where Lucy sets herself up as a psychiatrist with a little stall, and a sign saying "the doctor is in", with a card to flip over to "out".
Don't use outed, because that's the past tense of the verb to out and means something completely different. Generally speaking, it means to reveal something previously hidden about someone - and usually it's assumed, absent other context, to be about sexual orientation.