My soul dies a little bit every time
I'm working on a project right now that requires that I religiously use the Oxford comma, and every time I put a comma in front of an "and" or an "or," a little piece of my soul dies. I can't really articulate why; the Oxford comma is accepted by half the major style guides and (of course) rejected by the other half, so it's not like it's wrong. Or, in fact, right. I just don't like it! My soul cries out against it.
(Perhaps it's because the worldwide supply of commas is finite and I want to conserve the ones we have available to us. Pretty soon, we'll have to start tapping into the National Comma Reserve.)
(Perhaps it's because the worldwide supply of commas is finite and I want to conserve the ones we have available to us. Pretty soon, we'll have to start tapping into the National Comma Reserve.)
posted by Robert at
12:31 AM
4 Comments:
I'm sorry, but maybe it's time for that little bit of you soul to die anyway. The serial comma is necessary, useful and there are is not a finite number of commas.
Ambiguous, poorly written sentence intended.
db
By
Anonymous, at 3:07 PM
You obviously haven't been to the Comma Mines of East St. Louis recently, or the Comma Factory in Bora Bora (the last remaining articifal comma producer in the world). That's not to even mention the National Comma Reserve in Washington. Ask the miners, factory workers and Reserve guards about the state of the comma.
By
Robert, at 8:20 PM
I believe congress will pass legislation to allow for mining of commas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
db
By
Anonymous, at 10:04 PM
I seriously love this comma, and it makes me sad every time I don't get to use it. I'd have to dig it up, but I believe it's favored by the texas law review manual of style, and that's my bible.
By
Anonymous, at 12:16 AM
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