A World Without "Whom"

•Latino surnames often comprise both the maternal and paternal family name

Long after we ceased seeking amusement by watching gladiators fight lions, we still use the abbreviation for the Ancient Roman libra ponda (“pound of weight”) to denote 16 ounces.

(The appositive comma, to clarify, is a comma that separates a noun from the noun or noun phrase preceding it that further defines it.)

Traditionally, curly (or so-called “smart”) quotes have had a use distinct from straight (also called “regular” or the not-so-nice “dumb”) quotes. Pairs of the former are used to enclose quoted material—and they’re “smart” enough to know when to open a quote and when to close it, hence the moniker—while the latter should be reserved for, say, the s

foot and inch marks—technically known as the prime and double prime symbol, respectively—(

Arabic names are often formatted as personal name + father’s first name + paternal grandfather’s first name, each sometimes offset with bin or ibn (meaning “son of”) or bint (“daughter of”).

•Between adjectives whose order can be swapped (“He was a kind, generous man”).

But Can I Start a Sentence with “But”?

before you find yourself on a dash spree, remember: less Morse code, more English.