In the family of punctuation, where the full stop is daddy and the comma is mummy, and the semicolon quietly practises the piano with crossed hands, the exclamation mark is the big attention-deficit brother who gets overexcited and breaks things and laughs too loudly.
Lynne TrussThe reason to stand up for punctuation is that without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning.
Lynne TrussPanda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.
Lynne TrussYou should read Wodehouse when you're well and when you're poorly;when you're travelling, and when you're not;when you're feeling clever, and when you're feeling utterly dim. Wodehouse always lifts your spirits,no matter how high they happen to be already.
Lynne Truss