The Man of the House (TMH), while writing a "certification" for a couple we were "involved with" awhile back, asks me to proofread: "Did I use this semi-colon correctly?"
These two are a fun couple; both of them charming, sexy and fun to be around.
Me, the nerdy grammar geek: "No, you need an "are" after "them" because both parts have to be a complete sentence."
He looks at it...in frustration...and adds the "are".
TMH: "You just like the semi-colon because it looks like a pussy in a 69."
Me: "No, if you look it that way it should be an exclamation point."
TMH: "No, that would be one of those weird Bushman exclamation points (insert throat clicking here)."
Me: "See, I was thinking of it more like a clit and a slit beneath."
Laughing....over our highly nerdy, strangely sexual grammar debate.
(This is normal in our house.)
The semi-colon is, indeed, the sexiest, and most misused, punctuation mark on the planet. Maybe that's why I find it so sexy (or maybe he's right, and my bi-sexual leanings go much deeper into the subconscious - all the way to my more conscious usage of punctuation) . If the person using it, uses it correctly, then he/she obviously has some measure of intelligence. It's a geek thing. Now, I am in no way saying that TMH is not intelligent. Quite the contrary. I find it amusing that he has such difficulty with this little dot and swish. Such a coy little minx - winking and confusing the public masses with her confounded rules.
It's just one of those things; not everyone gets it.
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