Writers and editors don’t always agree; really, they don’t. There was a time, years ago, when I was an editor at the now defunct Times-Union that I made some changes — necessary, I’m sure — to a story ...

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Forget the semicolon, we’re not even getting commas. A semicolon requires effort and thought to deploy, and as we’ve seen, some writers avoid them entirely. So you might think, Maybe Chandler just ...

The semicolon is used to indicate a pause, usually between two main clauses, that needs to be more pronounced than the pause of a comma. The hybrid between a colon and a comma, it is often considered ...

Editor’s note: This segment was rebroadcast on Jan. 2, 2026. Click here for that audio. The semicolon has been described as a “graceful pause” in writing. But this graceful punctuation mark is being ...

If you spend time on the internet, you will witness grammar arguments—namely, the importance of correct grammar to some and their ire at those who use it incorrectly. From memes to Facebook posts to ...

Cecelia Watson, author of “Semicolon: The Past, Present and Future of a Misunderstood Mark.” Historian and philosopher of science. Faculty member in Bard College’s Language and Thinking program.