Brevity by Dan Thompson for January 21, 2022

I believe it was a Wikipedia entry which I read which showed both pros and cons of both methods (with and without the final comma). In short, neither method is superior to the other, both have their drawbacks.

Chicago Deep Dish just wasn’t pizza.

I like adding those commas

A talking pizza. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking…pot.

Fresh from the oven it’s going after the commas, an hour later and it will be attacking colons.

Pizza jus’ like m’ old gramma’ used to make

To quote Vampire Weekend, “Who gives a f**k about an Oxford comma?”

I learned it as Oxford comma. A serial comma is what I fall into after breakfast.

Sorry.

I never knew what an Oxford comma was before the Internet, lol. I’m still unsure as to its meaning without looking it up. To me, a comma, is a comma, is a comma, is a comma, is a ……,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Nope, not Chicago deep dish style. All you’d see on top would be sauce.

No. I roasted the garlic and onions together.

Team Oxford Comma!

I’ll stick with the Oxford comma. It’s what I learned. I’ll never be published, so I won’t worry!

Sliced in six, because he couldn’t possibly eat eight pieces!

it can’t be correct if it doesn’t have anchovies…

Writing is a form of communication. A writer wants or needs to convey meaning to the reader. The writer only succeeds when the reader actually understands what the writer intends. A speaker can use inflection, tone, gestures, facial expressions to help a listener understand. Writers don’t have those tools at their disposal. Grammar, syntax, word choice, and punctuation are tools to help writers convey whatever meaning they intend. If one actually wants the reader to fully understand what is written, then the careful use of commas may be important.