semicolon

What: "As one writer in the boston.com article points out, getting rid of the semicolon would be like eliminating the slur in western musical notation: a further way for authors to express the rhythm they hear in their heads, gone."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC:

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:01 PM

What: "Think of the period as a stop sign. You need to stop at the end of a sentence to prevent unrelated ideas from colliding. A comma indicates a curve in the road; you slow down in order to find out where the sentence is taking you. A colon tells you to pay attention because something important is coming up. A semicolon is like a right turn on red."

Writer: Mike Pilewski

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:15 PM

What: "A semicolon is like a nude beach; a semicolon has the potential to be a beautiful thing, but, most of the time, it ends up being rather disappointing and/or disgusting."

Writer: Adam Pettitt

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:18 PM

What: "First, grammar. You've got no idea how many girls tell us that spelling mistakes, misuse of punctuation, and even shitty syntax are deal breakers. The correct use of a semicolon is like a victory ticket."

Writer: Teddy Wayne

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:20 PM

What: "Using a semicolon is like barbecuing: I'm never quite sure I'm doing it correctly."

Writer: Nancy Friedman

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:25 PM

What: "A novelist against the use of the semicolon is like a painter against the use of yellow or upward brushstrokes: that may be his choice but it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with using them."

Writer: Dr. Vergerus

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:26 PM

What: "But a semicolon is like politely clearing your throat. The semicolon says, 'There's still some caveat or paradox that I need to explain to you. There is a reservation I have about what I just said-something more you should know about.' The semicolon speaks to the other performer(s), as well as to the listeners. What I wish is that we musicians added some new punctuation marks to our annotations of music-especially the semicolon."

Writer: DSM

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:31 PM

What: "It's a bit like digging into the layers of the ground. There's the surface, but a semicolon is like a shovel, in that it helps explore a deeper meaning to part of the previous clause. The surface here would be "And the earth was without form, and void." The next clause, "and darkness upon the face of the deep," goes into further detail of what the formless earth looked like."

Writer: Rena Sherwood

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:32 PM

What: "The (working-class) writer then goes on to expound on the weak character of those writers - not all middle-class - that DO love the semicolon. Writers that succumb to the lure of the semicolon seem to have a hard time to get away from its orbit. The semicolon is like heroine. Some famous 20th century writer supposedly proclaimed on his deathbed that he 'should have used less semicolons'. Virginia Wolfe couldn't kick the habit, and George Bertrand Shaw wrote T.E. Lawrence concerning his use of colons and semicolons, stating that 'you are no more to be trusted with a pen, than a child with a torpedo'."

Writer: tiezemans

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:33 PM

What: "This does not mean that you should abolish periods from your work. Using a semicolon is like sprinkling spices on a dish; you want the spices to enhance the flavor, not dominate the dish." See the link for some examples.

Writer: Keira

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:37 PM

What: "It connects two things that can stand alone but choose not to."

Writer: Curlymafurly

LCC:

Where:

Date: Oct 15 2013 8:39 PM