When I don’t understand things I simply avoid them, much like when I thought it a good idea to enroll in calculus 12, I never understood sigma. I tried — several times — before I decided to take it as a loss, coming to terms with the fact that I might never master it. Not worth the frustration, I forfeited the questions on assignments and during exams. It served me well, for awhile. Just like Kenny Rogers’ Gambler, I knew when to fold them. After a couple of low scores, I knew when to walk away — earning myself a double spare block for the rest of that term.
I recently started reading a new blog. I described the writer, Cate, to my sister as a captivating storyteller and retired journalist, who uses fancy words, like prosaic and acolyte. And I know she’s very talented, grammatically, because she uses that hyphen-line-thing, you know — that really big hyphen thing.
And then I learned its name, “The em dash,” she said, like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal — to me. She continued to educate me on the sophisticated and ever so versatile em dash, while I sat there, intrigued, and questioning my entire education.
Then, there they were, everywhere, mocking me and my inability to incorporate them into my writing. I counted five of them in my twenty minutes of bed time reading, five! Is this what separates the amateur writers from the esteemed ones?
I’m not unread, I had noticed them before, but no one had taught me about em dashes. Mr. Grant, my senior English teacher, must have known about them, he was the honours teacher after all. He let us plan an entire Elizabethan feast, complete with costumes and entertainment, but somehow he had forgotten about em dashes. It had been a contract negotiation year, complete with strike action — perhaps he had to trim that lesson. Perhaps, he didn’t know I would one day write a blog, aspiring to be a grammatically competent writer.
I minored in English, but the em dash was a skill I should have learned years prior. By the time I entered university, it was probably assumed I was already proficient in grammar usage — kind of like my high school gym class, where students pathetically attempted to hit a softball without any earlier instruction — completely not their fault, but still somewhat humiliating. Finally, I was made to feel grateful for the years of softball I endured as a young child.
I ended up taking calculus again, as an older and much wiser university student, determined to conquer the sigma sign, that had bested me years earlier. I succeeded. Sometimes, all we need is a little perspective and persistence, so I’m giving myself a grammar lesson.
Thank you, for bearing with me while I learn how to use them.
Next up: the colon.
Hmm (ellipsis) I’m not sure if I ever knew it was called an Em dash — but I’ve used it a lot since learning to use word processor software. Thanks to your sister for elevating our vocabulary, Natasha!
We’re not supposed to use CAPITALS (ampersand)/or bold fonts in ‘proper’ writing — but the Em dash gives a nice punch of emphasis, while being perfectly acceptable.
‘–‘ always looks lame to me, when I know the secret keystroke to create a solid ‘—. On my iPhone, in texting mode, it’s as simple as typing — and the phone prints it as a —. (On my Macs, it’s a shift/option/_ all at once — but that’s a secret.)
I always put spaces on either side, as well—unlike some people who remove the space. That doesn’t follow punctuation conventions, though — and I don’t like the look of it. ‘Not enough separation of thought.
I’m not sure when or where I learned the keyboard trick but I’m pretty sure it was self-discovered. I love keyboard shortcuts and learned even more of them while helping an elderly gent learn to use his new Mac, some 15 years ago. He had large, clumsy fingers and would often press multiple keys at once — sometimes with magical outcomes. He had a good sense of humour about it and enjoyed the feeling of accidentally teaching me some new tricks.
Here’s a thought: maybe the long hyphen got its name from the Wizard of Oz.
I can imagine Dorothy saying, “Oh dash it, Auntie Em — Toto chewed up my ruby red slippers!”
Before you switch to looking at colons, here’s a great piece on the dash: (The author even tells the story behind the naming of the Em dash…)
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/mad-dash/
Barry, I’ve definitely noticed you using them! I’m so glad I finally learned how they work — and its proper name haha. I like it with spacing on each side also.
Your Wizard of Oz idea made me laugh 🙂
Thanks for letting me know the keyboard trick! My sister alluded to a trick, my phone just makes it an em dash when you do 2 hyphens.
I’ll check out the story of the dash! Thanks for sharing!!
Hey, Natasha: I’ve looked back at bunch (but not all) of your writings — and it seems you really hadn’t used the Em dash until these last two posts.
You’ve got a lot of dashing to do, to catch up to me!
I only learned this week haha!! I will excitedly dash away!!
Barry, do you still write for a newspaper? I would enjoy reading a blog by you!!
Yes, every week for the Hope Standard — mostly sports, including photography.
I don’t know if I’d have time for blogging, now that I’m back to part-time teaching. In a way, my social media posts are a scattered blog.
Yes, they definitely are! You’re a busy guy!!
Ooh good! An anatomy lesson next 😉 hee hee!!
HHahaha
Haha, I see what you did there.
Yes, she is very clever 😂
I will now over analyze my entire English knowledge…
Hahaha as am I!
I love this. Really, for those of us who are “grammarians,” (see, I’m American, so the comma goes inside the quote; I believe it’s opposite for British English) it’s kind of a sickness–an OCD thing. Social media and the technological age just make it worse–using correct grammar, not OCD (although I suspect it contributes to mine). Actually, I didn’t learn what em dash was called until I studied journalism in college and had to practically memorize the AP style book for a class. Even then, as sharp as my grammar skills were, I was astonished to learn that I had been incorrectly using many punctuation symbols and had “ungrammatical” sentences (gasp!) when I started grad school and had to take an instructor’s class two weeks before starting to teach. And, then there’s the whole Brit vs American grammar usage. The fun just never ends. Congrats on the calc, though. That is so wonderful!! If you ever have a grammar question, I’d be happy to help, lol (I still have to message one of my former profs occasionally with mine).
Haha the British/American thing is probably why google won’t give me a straight answer on some things!! Then I try and punctuate poetry! I should have probably taken writing classes in university lol… oh well!! Thank you so much for your offer 🙂