Definition:
A mark of punctuation ( : ) used after a statement (usually an independent clause) 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, 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 choices in this life: be good, get good, or give up."
(Dr. House, House, M.D.) - "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) - "The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so."
(Gore Vidal) - "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) - "If the Government wants to get more people walking they'd be far better advised to deal with the real impediments: the snakes in the grass, the dodgy paving stones, disused mineshafts, and chronic laziness."
(Will Self, "Best Foot Forward," The Independent, July 5, 2008) - "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, 2002) - "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
