The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:20:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Go Write Your Best Love Letter to Punctuation http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/go-write-your-best-love-letter-to-punctuation http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/go-write-your-best-love-letter-to-punctuation#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:20:57 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/go-write-your-best-love-letter-to-punctuation Love letters to punctuation: Is this the best contest ever? Yes. Join in! So far Gene Weingarten is succeeding admirably with his letter addressed to "Dear at-the-price-of."

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]]> Love letters to punctuation: Is this the best contest ever? Yes. Join in! So far Gene Weingarten is succeeding admirably with his letter addressed to "Dear at-the-price-of."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/go-write-your-best-love-letter-to-punctuation/feed 7 How To Use Hyphens (Hint: Avoid) http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/how-to-use-hyphens-hint-avoid http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/how-to-use-hyphens-hint-avoid#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 13:30:09 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/how-to-use-hyphens-hint-avoid I'm a hyphen. I think I'm SOOOOO IMPORTANT because I provide clarity. I'm much fancier than a colon, and nowhere near as gaudy as an em dash. I look down on you. I have some issues with hyphens. I am, at best, skeptical of them, which is no doubt a prejudice borne of ignorance concerning their usage. I most frequently fuck them up when it comes to modifiers, hyphenating that which should not be joined together and leaving asunder those words which do indeed require a connection. I would probably be happier if we got rid of hyphenation altogether, but I think we need at least another 20 years of texting and whatever comes after to totally destroy standard punctuation, at which point it will be too late for me. Anyway, here's a couple of pointers on hyphens from the associate managing editor for standards at the New York Times who, while not sharing my bias toward their complete eradication, does at least seem dubious in certain cases. Bite me, hyphens!

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]]> I'm a hyphen. I think I'm SOOOOO IMPORTANT because I provide clarity. I'm much fancier than a colon, and nowhere near as gaudy as an em dash. I look down on you. I have some issues with hyphens. I am, at best, skeptical of them, which is no doubt a prejudice borne of ignorance concerning their usage. I most frequently fuck them up when it comes to modifiers, hyphenating that which should not be joined together and leaving asunder those words which do indeed require a connection. I would probably be happier if we got rid of hyphenation altogether, but I think we need at least another 20 years of texting and whatever comes after to totally destroy standard punctuation, at which point it will be too late for me. Anyway, here's a couple of pointers on hyphens from the associate managing editor for standards at the New York Times who, while not sharing my bias toward their complete eradication, does at least seem dubious in certain cases. Bite me, hyphens!

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/how-to-use-hyphens-hint-avoid/feed 84 Chick-chick-chick http://www.theawl.com/2009/04/chick-chick-chick http://www.theawl.com/2009/04/chick-chick-chick#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:17:05 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2009/04/chick-chick-chick The Guardian's Stuart Jeffries wonders why the exclamation mark is the default bit of punctuation in the Internet age. If only I knew someone who had the expertise to resolve this conundrum.

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]]> The Guardian's Stuart Jeffries wonders why the exclamation mark is the default bit of punctuation in the Internet age. If only I knew someone who had the expertise to resolve this conundrum.

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