Why punctuation matters

[Sasha_Bends]

I just had a new story published today. As I was skimming through it, pretending I can sniff that freshly printed scent of a new book, I noticed this line:



No, we are not in the middle of a war. No, we are not in the middle of a dystopian human hunt. No, we are not actually shooting people. We're on a movie set and the director is announcing they are about to start filming.

I am SO annoyed.

 

[JFoxxo]

If it helps at all, the first image that popped into my head reading that line was a movie set. The line is snappy. Of course, context helps, but I don't think you have anything to worry about!

 

[TheLobster]

Punctuation: the difference between

Let’s eat grandma.

and

Let’s eat, grandma.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I just had a new story published today. As I was skimming through it, pretending I can sniff that freshly printed scent of a new book, I noticed this line:

View attachment 2667181

No, we are not in the middle of a war. No, we are not in the middle of a dystopian human hunt. No, we are not actually shooting people. We're on a movie set and the director is announcing they are about to start filming.

I am SO annoyed.

It needs a comma, but it also reads as a movie set, NP.

 

[StillStunned]

Punctuation: the difference between

and

Plot bunny: "Let's Eat Grandma", a tale of incest and editing.

 

[bumpercars]

Plot bunny: "Let's Eat Grandma", a tale of incest and editing.

Make sure it includes the strippers, JFK and Stalin

 

[12oclocktales]

This has been reported as being a true story, though it does sound a bit iffy:
Alexander III, czar of Russia in the 1880s, responded to a pardon request with this note:
“Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia.”
Apparently his wife (this is just one of the iffy parts) saw it and changed the comma location so it read
“Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.”
Thus saving the man’s life and setting him free.
Imagine what a Lit writer could do with that!

 

[bmeyem8]

Probably an urban myth:
The original phrase was sarcastic: "Nice guys; finish last." But the comma was deleted so we now say "Nice guys finish last."

 

[OralAllOver]

I just had a new story published today. As I was skimming through it, pretending I can sniff that freshly printed scent of a new book, I noticed this line:

View attachment 2667181

No, we are not in the middle of a war. No, we are not in the middle of a dystopian human hunt. No, we are not actually shooting people. We're on a movie set and the director is announcing they are about to start filming.

I am SO annoyed.

Please give yourself a break. The meaning is clear.

 

[bmeyem8]

Probably an urban myth:
The original phrase was sarcastic: "Nice guys; finish last." But the comma was deleted so we now say "Nice guys finish last."

I just checked: the myth is true!

 

[Duil2]

I just had a new story published today. As I was skimming through it, pretending I can sniff that freshly printed scent of a new book, I noticed this line:

View attachment 2667181

No, we are not in the middle of a war. No, we are not in the middle of a dystopian human hunt. No, we are not actually shooting people. We're on a movie set and the director is announcing they are about to start filming.

I am SO annoyed.

So yes for the millisecond it took for me to reach 'And, action!' I saw guns. It's quickly resolved.
My pet peeve is the overuse of the acclaimed exclamation mark!!!

 

[anthrodisiac]

Gee, if only somebody had talked about direct address punctuation at some point...

*cough*
https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ks-philosophies-styles.1632683/post-102826816

 

[Britva415]

I just checked: the myth is true!

except the part where there was a comma in the original

 

[SimonDoom]

Probably an urban myth:
The original phrase was sarcastic: "Nice guys; finish last." But the comma was deleted so we now say "Nice guys finish last."

I think the original version was "Nice; guys finish last."

 

[SimonDoom]

I just had a new story published today. As I was skimming through it, pretending I can sniff that freshly printed scent of a new book, I noticed this line:

View attachment 2667181

No, we are not in the middle of a war. No, we are not in the middle of a dystopian human hunt. No, we are not actually shooting people. We're on a movie set and the director is announcing they are about to start filming.

I am SO annoyed.

You have to admit, the first three options are a lot more fun.

 

[Sasha_Bends]

You have to admit, the first three options are a lot more fun.

The actual story is pretty fun also, but maybe I can use this sentence as a prompt for a future story

 

[TheLobster]

This has been reported as being a true story, though it does sound a bit iffy

More than a bit. I can’t see how this would work in Russian, when ‘pardon’ (помилование pomilovaniye) is neuter and ‘man’ is of course masculine. You’d have broken agreement on the gender of ‘impossible’.

On the other hand, more idiomatic phrasing of the telegram would have either ‘pardon’ or ‘send’ as imperative verbs, but probably not both, which makes it even more unlikely that comma placement could be changed like that.

Perhaps the whole thing was very heavily abbreviated, to the point that all grammatical suffixes were dropped, but I don’t think the actual tsar would care much about wireless fees

So yeah, most likely an urban legend, albeit a neat one.

 

[StillStunned]

More than a bit. I can’t see how this would work in Russian, when ‘pardon’ (помилование pomilovaniye) is neuter and ‘man’ is of course masculine. You’d have broken agreement on the gender of ‘impossible’.

But the Czar would likely have spoken French, and I think it's "le pardon".

 

[TheLobster]

But the Czar would likely have spoken French, and I think it's "le pardon".

I heard it from reputable source that it’s actually “le Big Mac.”

 

[StillStunned]

An amateur writer from Athus
Cries as their readership scatters:
“I’m shamed and disgraced
By a comma misplaced;
Why, punctuation matters!”

 

[Britva415]

I heard it from reputable source that it’s actually “le Big Mac.”

 

[Britva415]

I heard it from reputable source that it’s actually “le Big Mac.”

ah, you were right all along, the quarter pounder is the royale 'cause they use the metric system and wouldn't know what the fuck a quarter pounder is: