13 Quotes by Lynne Truss about punctuation
- Author Lynne Truss
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Brackets come in various shapes, types and names:1 round brackets (which we call brackets, and the Americans call parentheses)2 square brackets [which we call square brackets, and the Americans call brackets]
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- Author Lynne Truss
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So the particular strengths of the colon are beginning to become clear. A colon is nearly always preceded by a complete sentence, and in its simplest usage it rather theatrically announces what is to come. Like a well-trained magician's assistant, it pauses slightly to give you time to get a bit worried, and then efficiently whisks away the cloth and reveals the trick complete.
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- Author Lynne Truss
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So how should you use a colon, to begin with? H. W. Fowler said that the colon "delivers the goods that have been invoiced in the preceding words", which is not a bad image to start off with.
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- Author Lynne Truss
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While we look in horror at a badly punctuated sign, the world carries on around us, blind to our plight. We are like the little boy in The Sixth Sense who can see dead people, except that we can see dead punctuation. Whisper it in petrified little-boy tones: dead punctuation is invisible to everyone else - yet we see it all the time.
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