Without fail, I almost always forget to put up an out-of-office email message when I’m headed out for vacation. It’s one of those things I remember just as I’m shutting down, or sometimes even after I’ve already left. (Heh, sorry guys.)

Since I usually throw them up in a hurry, I don’t take a lot of time to get creative. However, I remembered to put up my OOO message early this time around — so I decided to do some Googling for funny, clever, and snarky messages people have used in the past.

Here are some of the gems I found.

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Funny Out-of-Office Messages

1) I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position.

Bold move.

2) Hi. I’m thinking about what you’ve just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

Still waiting …

3) I am out of the office from mm/dd to mm/dd and will not be checking email. It’s likely your note will be swallowed in a sea of inbox banality, never to be seen again. If you require a response, please re-send your email after mm/dd.

Even then, not gonna guarantee anything.

4) On vacation. Hoping to win the lottery and never return.

So much for passion.

5) I am away from the office right now. Unfortunately, I will be back tomorrow.

Womp.

6) Some variation on this clever, funny approach from Josh Kopelman:

“I am currently out of the office on vacation.

I know I’m supposed to say that I’ll have limited access to email and won’t be able to respond until I return — but that’s not true. My blackberry will be with me and I can respond if I need to. And I recognize that I’ll probably need to interrupt my vacation from time to time to deal with something urgent.

That said, I promised my wife that I am going to try to disconnect, get away and enjoy our vacation as much as possible. So, I’m going to experiment with something new. I’m going to leave the decision in your hands:

• If your email truly is urgent and you need a response while I’m on vacation, please resend it to interruptyourvacation@firstround.com and I’ll try to respond to it promptly.
• If you think someone else at First Round Capital might be able to help you, feel free to email my assistant, Fiona (fiona@firstround.com) and she’ll try to point you in the right direction.

Otherwise, I’ll respond when I return…

Warm regards,
Josh”

Clever Out-of-Office Replies

7) If you’re reading this, Doc Brown was unable to make lightning strike the clock tower, and I’m stuck in 1985. I won’t be able to respond to emails or voicemail until 9ish on mm/dd, or until email is invented — whatever comes first.

This is the one I’m most bummed I didn’t think of first.

8) I am currently out of the office. I have a cell phone, but I will not be giving the number out. If you can guess the number, however, I will take your call.

I support the logic here.

9) 404: Marketing Manager not found.

The nerds will get it, at least. (Idea by Mary Beth Folger.)

10) I am on vacation from mm/dd to mm/dd. I will allow each sender one email. If you send me multiple emails, I will randomly delete your emails until it is pared down to one. Choose wisely. Please note that you already sent me one email.

Hope it was a good one!

11) Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

12) The email server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again.

If you receive this message a second time, I haven’t done my job.

Snarky Out-of-Office Messages

13) I’m not in the office right now but if it’s important, tweet me using #YOUAREINTERRUPTINGMYVACATION.

I’m actually more likely to check email than Twitter on vacation.

14) You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.

Just sayin’.

15) I am out of the office until mm/dd. Enjoy the quiet.

… possibly indefinitely.

16) I am currently out of the office and probably out-of-my-mind drunk. Enjoy your workweek.

Please drink responsibly.

17) I cannot handle your emails until I return on mm/dd/yyyy. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

Honesty is the best policy.

What clever out-of-office replies have you come across? Please share with us in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2014 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.