Perhaps it’s because I’m a writer. I have a favorite punctuation mark. Am I the only one? For some reason I find the tilde to be interesting. I’m not sure I’ve ever used it outside science classes as a mathematical operation, but I really like the tilde. A while back I was just thinking about the tilde, and suddenly BAM! There was a license plate with that spelled out: TILDE. Coincidence? Maybe. But I wanted to pull them aside and tell them about how that was my favorite punctuation mark. I thought better of it. What if it was their proper name? Would they be offended? Maybe I think too much. So if I have a favorite, do I have a least-liked punctuation mark? YES! The semicolon. I don’t think I’ve ever used it, and never intend to do so. It’s usage seems mercurial to me, and if I don’t know how to use it . . . I DON’T! And for some reason the idea of learning how gives me the willies. Does anybody else think about these things? Do YOU have a favorite punctuation? What’s your least-favorite? Comment below.
