Definition:
A mark of punctuation (--), technically known as an em dash, used to set off a word or phrase after an independent clause or to set off words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence. See Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes.
Etymology:
Probably Scandinavian, akin to the Danish, "to beat"Examples and Observations:
- "By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity--another man's, I mean."
(Mark Twain) - "A hypocrite is a person who--but who isn't?"
(Don Marquis) - "My cow turned out to be a very large one. The first time I led her out I felt the way I did the first time I ever took a girl to the theater--embarrassed but elated."
(E.B. White, "A Week in November") - "A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses."
(William Strunk, Jr, and E.B. White, The Elements of Style) - "There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man--with human flesh."
(Frank Herbert, Dune) - "The dash is less formal than the semicolon, which makes it more attractive; it enhances conversational tone; and . . . it is capable of quite subtle effects. The main reason people use it, however, is that they know you can't use it wrongly--which, for a punctuation mark, is an uncommon virtue."
(Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003) - "Life, said Samuel Butler, is like giving a concert on the violin while learning to play the instrument--that, friends, is real wisdom."
(Saul Bellow, "My Paris," 1983) - "I have opinions of my own--strong opinions--but I don't always agree with them."
(George W. Bush) - "I was coming home from kindergarten--well, they told me it was kindergarten. I found out later I had been working in a factory for ten years. It's good for a kid to know how to make gloves."
(Ellen DeGeneres)
Pronunciation: dash
