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Irony & Sarcasm marks, part 1 of 3
If the multiplicity of irony marks created over the centuries suggests anything, it is that irony must be peculiarly tricky to communicate in writing. And if the subsequent failure of each and every one of those marks to gain anything approaching mainstream acceptance is anything to go by, it is unlikely to get any easier. Read more
The @-symbol: addenda
The ‘@’ symbol’s lack of a suitably inspiring English name has generated some interest from Shady Characters readers. Not for us ‘spider monkey’, ‘rollmop herring’ or ‘rose’; instead, we’re stuck with ‘commercial at’, or even plain old ‘at’. Joseph Chow (@josephch) suggests ‘atra’ to rectify the situation, writing that: Read more
The @-symbol, part 2 of 2
Before its ascent to accidental stardom, the ‘@’ went almost unremarked for centuries. Widely used to mean ‘at the rate of’1 — for example, ‘3 apples @ $1’ is equivalent to ‘3 apples at $1 each’ — the symbol lived out a useful but mundane existence in the world of commerce, rarely warranting a second glance from paleographers or philologists. Even now, when it has been propelled firmly into the limelight by email’s meteoric rise, credible accounts of the symbol’s visual appearance and meaning remain surprisingly thin on the ground. Read more
The @-symbol: intermission
This is a quick note to thank the many readers who have commented on the first @-symbol article. There have been some great comments, both adding extra information about the at sign and pointing out errors I made in compiling the article. If you haven’t done so already, feel free to take a look and join the discussion.
Also, the article has had some incredible mentions on Twitter — thanks go to Martha Lane Fox, Alyssa Milano, Terrence Dorsey of codeproject.com, Luke Scheybeler of Rapha (as a cyclist, this came as a particularly nice surprise!) and Erik Spiekermann of Edenspiekemann. Amazing, really. Thanks again!
The second @-symbol article will be published next weekend, so check back on Sunday 7th August.