Dot-dot-dot (2): when to type an ellipsis

My post on Tuesday (26 October) was about how to type an ellipsis; this one goes into a wee bit more detail about when you should do so. I’ve lifted the following straight from Wikipedia, mainly to save time but also because I love the following phrase: “the ellipsis can also inspire a feeling of …

Dot-dot-dot (1): how to type an ellipsis

Here’s a quick tip  that comes in handy for computer-typing in general and Twitter in particular (it saves you two characters). When you’re typing an ellipsis (three dots indicating an omission), instead of typing all three dots, type it as a single character by using the following keyboard shortcuts: Mac OS ellipsis: OPTION + semicolon …

Internet gems

ne of the things I love about the Internet is the way it lets people share their enthusiasm for and knowledge of their own niche subjects. Subjects that you may never have given a second (or even a first) thought to but when you discover them are a delight. Here are some examples: The Daily …

A translation sin of omission

I wrote a couple of posts, back in August, about the Oxford comma (Oxford commas (1), The Oxford Comma dilemma: a solution? and Oxford commas (2): Live dangerously – take our poll!). This post too is about “list” sentences containing commas. It’s also about a way of spotting when an Italian-to-English translator is working on …

Planked away

My mother, who’s 85, was discharged from hospital last week. Her local pharmacy makes up a weekly blister pack dividing out her medication for each day. Yesterday, she got a bit confused and took her pills at the wrong time. My sister Eileen decided to hide the medicines away until Mum can manage better for …

The shaky maths of child benefit cuts

I’ve written in previous posts (Teaching the language love, Sharing the language love (1) and Sharing the language love (2) – Careers Days) about language learning, which I believe is a vital part of any school curriculum (primary or secondary level). I also believe that maths and the sciences – and any other subject that …