there are a handful of regular readers of this journal...both friends and strnagers...on top of that...a couple dozen of regular passers by and lurkers...so when i write a post intended to solicit audience participation...i don't expect much...sure, i'm disapointed when no one plays along with my reindeer games...but i haven't done a lot to earn avid...and reciprocal...readership...i can live with that...
but when some annonymous jackass...is the lone commentor...to an offer to play an innocent word game...and his contribution is a critique...of the style this journal is written in...that would be depressing...if said jackass knew what the hell he was talking about...but since "someguy" doesn't have the guts to leave an email for correspondence...or a link to his own writing as an example of his own stellar...wordsmithery...i am only left with the choice to get fired up...and publicly evicerate him...
starting with the the writer's bible, The Elements of Style...or one of my personal favorites, the AP Stylebook...even the grammar maven du jour, ms Lynne Truss...make little if any mention of the humble ellipsis...but there are rules regarding its correct use...a quick search online...and on my bookshelves...offers the following definitions/usages...
Wikipedia:
"An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence."
Merriam-Webster:
"a sudden leap from one topic to another...marks or a mark (as ... or · or --) indicating an omission (as of words) or a pause"
Hodges' Harbrace College Handbook:
"Use ellipsis points to mark a reflective pause or hesitation."
even "someguy's" source The Blue Book of Grammar :
"Sometimes sentences are meant to trail off. Use ellipsis marks without any ending punctuation in this situation."
it's one thing to completely disregard the disclaimer above...and like a coal pinching tight ass...find fault with the writing style...it's a choice on my part...it'a a way to let readers inside my head...and give them a sense of how i think...it's a stylistic choice to represent the fact that i...and most sane...and reasonable people...don;t think in complete sentences...
it's another to annonymously leap in...without credentials...or the courage to open yourself up to equal critique...and attempt to correct me...
hey "someguy"...first, you're wrong...there are many things that i'm wrong about...but my use of ellipsis...is correct...more important...if you don't get the spirit of the thing...and only adhere to the strictest interpretation of the rules of language...in my mind...that's a greater ignorance than illiteracy....
language is a fluid...living...thing...it is neither static...nor bound by codification...get over it...and get over yourself...
Johnny Cash Loves You!
