![]() It means “always faithful,” and Marines have honored that credo throughout our nation’s history. We have elevated intrepid astronauts to the status of American heroes, and as a nation we mourned the loss of the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.Īstronauts, however, are not our only national heroes they are preceded in that honor by the Marines. We are a people who, good or bad, have ever had their eyes on the horizon, and when we conquered our own horizons, we turned to the horizon of space. Search for: My Works: Americans have always romanticized space travel. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, by Jane Straus et al., 11th ed., Jossey-Bass, 2014, p. Andrew The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, by Jane Straus et al., 11th ed., Jossey-Bass, 2014, p. ![]() HULK SMASH OXFORD COMMA HATER!Įmbrace the Oxford comma. You wouldn’t like me when you hate on the Oxford comma. Whether or not you choose to use that tool is up to you, just… don’t hate on the Oxford comma. So despite what its naysayers would have you believe, the Oxford comma remains a relevant, useful, and (I would argue) vital piece of your grammar toolbox. Now then, that old, unnecessary Oxford comma made a big difference, didn’t it? Because without it, the reader can easily (even without graphic accompaniment) think that the writer intended to say that JFK and Stalin were the strippers rather than that JFK and Stalin were, *ahem*, with the strippers. I’ll give you a moment to try and purge that image from your minds. All credit belongs to the original artist. When you’re dealing with a series of three items, the Oxford comma again prevents confusion, this time by distinguishing the last two items in the series rather than causing the reader to believe that they are associated with or being described by the first item in the list, A good, if admittedly somewhat crude and lewd, example of this is provided quite nicely by this cartoon: This is not mine. The first sentence makes it clear that they ate three separate things, while the second sentence makes it sound like they ate peanut butter and jelly and potato chip sandwiches. See what I mean? The Oxford comma clearly distinguishes the PB&J from the potato chips. They ate bananas, peanut butter and jelly and potato chips. They ate bananas, peanut butter and jelly, and potato chips. The reason the Oxford comma is so important because it helps to clearly identify the different objects in a list. Okay, But Why Is The Oxford Comma So Important? That comma between “daughter-in-law” and “and nephew” is the Oxford comma in that series. My estate goes to my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and nephew. Īs an example, I’ll repeat the sample referenced in the above definition: When the last comma in a series comes before and or or (after daughter-in-law in the previous example), it is known as the Oxford comma. According to The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: On the contrary, the Oxford comma is often the only thing standing between your readers clearly understanding what you are saying and your scratching their heads and thinking, “wait, what?” But What Is An Oxford Comma, Anyway? ![]() ![]() Want to see me turn into a giant green rage monster? Tell me that the Oxford comma is unnecessary, obsolete, useless, and/or stupid. ![]()
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