Slash and Burn

Why/Wherefore? Because I'm seeing/reading and/or editing/rewriting more/additional documents in which slashes are being used/abused often/throughout and they're rarely/never necessary/important for clarity/style and, in fact, often/sometimes serve merely to baffle/perplex/mystify/creep out the reader since slashes likely/always obscure/abase your text. Slashes, technically called virgules and defined as slanted strokes "used between two words to show that the appropriate one may be chosen to complete the sense of the text," are, as the definition itself implies, the lazy writer's out. They indicate to readers that writers are unsure of what they want to say - virgules leave it up to the reader to choose whether the slash means "or," "and," or "both," or is meant to indicate a hyphen, act as a list separator, or something altogether that the writer assumes the reader will implicitly know. Virgules tell readers that the words are related in some manner, but not how they're related, which leaves room for misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or worse. Don't rely on your readers' patience or on their ability to decipher what you want them to know. Be clear. Choose the right words and choose them carefully. And next time you're tempted to use a virgule remember this conversation from Through the Looking Glass: "There's glory for you!" "I don't know what you mean by 'glory,'" said Alice. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't - till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'" "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less." So say what you mean and mean what you say by avoiding virgules.

Note: While we're on the subject of virgules, "and/or" deserves special mention. For all of the reasons stated above, avoid using this construction. It's simply unnecessary and really makes your prose choppy, sloppy, and ploppy (like Humpty Dumpty, I assume you know what I mean by ploppy). "And/or" usually means either "and" or "or," so use one or the other.

• "Confidential information can only be given to patients and/or their close relatives" may mean that such information can be given to both patient and relative or only one or the other. But since we know "and/or" here means "and," why not just use it?   
• "Consult your doctor if you become sick and/or disabled" obviously means consult your doctor if you become sick or disabled (even in our era of lowered health care expectations, waiting until you're both sick and disabled to consult your doctor seems like too much to ask). 

Comments

[Brian Collins]

indeed! i am ever remonstrating with my students: "avoid clumsy slash compounds."

thank you.

the english language thanks you.

[Mike Keliher]

Do people really use slashes in "real" writing? I use them while scribbling notes all the time, but I would *never* use them in real writing.

Still, though, in some technical situations, the "and/or" bit can be useful. Sure, just like the other examples, it can be confusing. But there are plenty of situations in which "and/or" is truly accurate and useful. That's why we must punish the misusers! They ruin it for the rest of us!

[Jon Schneider]

Dan, regarding "and/or", what would you suggest as a succinct alternative to "and/or" to avoid ambiguity over whether or not a use of only "or" would be intended to mean a logical "exclusive-or", that is, one item or the other but not both?

For example, if I say "I'd like to have lunch today at McDonald's or Wendy's," it is fairly clear from the context that I mean one or other, but not both.

But if I say "I'd like to own an XBox or a Nintendo," there may be some ambiguity over whether or not I might like to own both an XBox *and* a Nintendo.

In "Consult your doctor if you become sick or disabled," is there ambiguity about whether I should consult my doctor if I do unfortunately happen to become both sick *and* disabled (assuming I am taking direction only from the text, as opposed to applying my own common sense)? :-)

[Andrew Galbraith]

Thank you for another brilliant post, Dan! Mike, some people do indeed use slashes in "real" writing. I think it's meant to suggest accuracy and concision where neither exists.

[Dan Santow]

Thanks, guys (Brian, Mike, Jon, and Andrew) for your comments. Mike, yes, people really DO use slashes in “real” writing. I’ve seen slashes not only in press releases and other traditional media material, but in trade magazine articles and memos to clients, among other places. Jon, you’re obviously right – there are occasions where and/or – or at least the concept of and/or – is necessary to ensure accuracy. Still, it’s up to you to use your writing skills to make that clear without resorting to the phrase and/or. As you note, brilliantly, common sense does play its part. Lastly, Andrew, Shakespeare said it best: “I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”

[Susan Carrier]

Hello, I'd love to subscribe, but your "subscribe to this blog's feed" doesn't appear to be working. Any suggestions?

Susan
susancarrier@sbcglobal.net

[Dan Santow]

I’m far from being a tech geek (close to being a geek generally, though), but here’s how I subscribed to my own. Maybe this will help. On Outlook I clicked the drop down menu next to little orange RSS icon in the upper right of my screen and clicked “RSS 1.0.” That gave me the RSS URL (http://wordwise.typepad.com/blog/index.rdf), which I then cut and pasted to my Google homepage where my other feeds live (and die, since I forget to look anyhow). If anyone out there has a better suggestion, please let us know!

[Hank Lay]

I agree with most of your comments on virgules. However, "and/or" in particular does sometimes have its place. Indiscriminate use should indeed be avoided, but I can think of times when the author may not truly know which should apply in the readers' circumstances. A blanket ban seems pedantic and authoritarian to me. I'd much rather ban the use of "their" in place of "his or her" if I were to be such an authority.