A t that is not crossed at all, as in Figure 13, may represent many possibilities: carelessness, forgetfulness, physical weakness, bad health, hastiness, and impatience-someone who does not have the time to worry about details and wants only to get his thought across. Generally, when the t bar is missing, we check for other corroborating signs, such as inclined writing and diminishing size of the middle-zone letters toward the end; if those signs are present, we say the uncrossed t bar stands for speed.

The t bar in Figure 14 shows hypersensitivity. The writer seems to be so sensitive that he will not even take his hand off the page to cross the stem horizontally (goal-oriented). Instead, without lifting his hand, he scrawls a vertical t bar from the bottom of the stem, showing that he lacks strong goals for the future and is sensitive about this area of his life.

Since the t bar in Figure 15 is in the form of a knot, it shows persistence. Since the t bar is located above the stem, the persistence concerns the self.

The t bar in Figure 16 is also in the form of a knot (persistence again), but the fact that the letter is composed of straight lines (forming angles) shows that he will go on to his goals relentlessly.

FIGURE 17. There are three forms of Figure 17, the ‘hooked’t bar, all indicating tenacity and stubbornness.

Figure 17A, a t bar with a hook at the left, shows a person who starts out strong but then gives up.

Figure 17B, a t bar with a hook at the right, shows someone who may not start out stubborn, but in the process becomes so.

Figure 17C, a t bar with hooks at both ends, starts and finishes stubborn, and will fight on to the end of his own course. People like this have a lot of energy and usually move around a lot. In Figure 18, the t bar is placed pretty high on the stem, showing self-confidence. If a t bar is located beneath the middle of the stem: it shows lack of confidence in the self, as though he did not feel good enough about himself to "stretch up" to his normal height. The fact that the stem descends as it does with such determination shows stubbornness, unwillingness to bend to another's opinion. It is often difficult to get along with such a person; as you can see, he descends to the lower zone to pick up a certain degree of strength. Note: The height of the t bar as an indicator of personality is only relative to what is normal. In some countries students are taught always to cross their t’s somewhat lower, or somewhat higher, than is usual with Palmer Method writers. So for them, relative height must be borne in mind.

When the t bar starts off thick and ends thin, as in Figure 19, it is a sign of one with a sharp tongue and sarcastic personality. Notice the many pointed, sarcastic t bars in the script of Thomas Wolfe:

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