Definition:
Mark of punctuation ( : ) used after a statement that introduces a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series. Also, the colon often appears after the salutation of a business letter and between numbers or groups of numbers in expressions of time (3:00 a.m.) and ratios (1:5).
Etymology:
From the Greek, "a limb, part of a strophe, and the mark ending a clause"Examples and Observations:
- "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."
(Voltaire) - "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
(Benjamin Disraeli) - "It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them."
(Mark Twain) - "A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth."
(George Bernard Shaw) - "A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down."
(Robert Benchley) - "My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music."
(Vladimir Nabokov) - "We need an alternative which is as challenging, emotionally exciting, as dramatic as war--and we have one now: rebuilding the cities, making war on our old prejudices (this war is in man's skull), and defeating poverty."
(John W. Gardner) - "A colon can be used to smooth over a rough logical connection. It has a verbal content ranging anywhere from 'namely' to 'thus,' and it can function to let the writer off the hook."
(Paul Robinson, "The Philosophy of Punctuation" in Opera, Sex, and Other Vital Matters) - "I was going to buy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, and then I thought: What the hell good would that do?"
(Ronnie Shakes)
Pronunciation: KO-lun
