Dash it all! The En and Em Dashes

July Grammar/Punctuation Post

As requested by a subscriber. I like such requests—bring them on, please!

Disclaimer: I have far too big a soft spot for the em dash. As a result, I routinely go through my work at some later point, and CUT. (And look for ellipses, and cut half of those, too.)

But the em dash does lend a certain openness that I appreciate. Commas can get boring or worse—o…