hyphen vs. en dash vs. em dash

Posted on 2020.10.30

writeness:

quick editing tip for you all! 

there are three dashes used in writing: the hyphen (-), the en dash (–), and the em dash (—). i see them misused all the time, so here’s a tiny crash course!

hyphen: simple. tiny. used to join two words together. examples: non-removable, middle-aged, absent-minded

en dash: width of the letter n. used to show a range between things. probably won’t be used much in your prose. examples: 1985–1990, Thursday–Saturday, A–Z

em dash: width of the letter m. generally used to break up clauses or show interruption. i like to use these when im not sure if a semi-colon is appropriate. examples: “Wait—” // I couldn’t see—it was far too dark. // I was cold—freezing, actually.

–

mac shortcuts: en dash (alt+hyphen) // em dash (alt+shift+hyphen)

i-need-glitter: bunjywunjy: darkwingsnark: killhitleragain: te…

Posted on 2020.10.29

i-need-glitter:

bunjywunjy:

darkwingsnark:

killhitleragain:

tell-the-stars-hello:

this was cute until i realized the fish is probably trying to not get eaten

A fish trying not to get eaten wouldn’t slow down when the “predator” slows down. It also wouldn’t constantly swim in a circle near the edge of the tank; It’d try hiding. Also a fish in a tank in a a public place that is constantly filled with people is not likely to see people as predators.

Animals, I think people tend to forget, also enjoy playing.

yeah that fish is absolutely playing with that kid, if it really wanted to escape it would just dive into the reef in the center of the tank!

(Moorish Idols are reef fish and naturally will seek shelter in the nearest nook or cranny if they get scared.)

many people don’t realize this, but fish aren’t stupid animals! most of them are on par with mammals like mice and squirrels in terms of intelligence, and they absolutely do play.

I was at an aquarium a few years ago and decided to sketch a fish. It came up to me.

I decided to flip the book around and pressed it against the glass. Fish lost it

Swam away then came back with MORE FISH

to this day I love those little sketches and I really love how I got the fish to bring me it’s friends