CHAT: Dashes

Robert Hailman wrote:


> I tend not to use parentheses, but sometimes I do. I do use hyphens a
> lot, where parentheses or commas would be expected - "So I was talking
> to Fred the other day - you met him at that party a week ago - and he
> said..." but more formal than that.

Perfectly fine, but use them two at a time to form a dash.
You can make up your own mind about whether to use spaces around the
dash or not.

> I've never seen a style guide
> address that use, even to warn against it, and I've never been told
> using them was bad style.

Dashes should be used in pairs -- this is the way you do it -- to
emphasize the part being set off.  An unpaired dash indicates a radical
change of direction for the sentence -- like this.

"Dashes emphasize, parentheses reduce, commas merely enclose."

--
There is / one art             || John Cowan <jcowan@...>
no more / no less              || http://www.reutershealth.com
to do / all things             || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
with art- / lessness           \\ -- Piet Hein

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