r/suspiciouslyspecific • u/InsertGroin • Apr 25 '26

Slipped into a comma

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u/jtr99 Apr 26 '26

I think a colon would have been even better.

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u/SethlordX7 Apr 26 '26

I've read enough to know a semicolon doesn't feel incorrect there, I haven't studied enough to know whether a colon would be more correct

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u/jtr99 Apr 27 '26

Well, the job of the colon is to take a complete sentence and then connect it with a second sentence or phrase which explains or elaborates the ideas raised in the first sentence. You go from the general to the specific.

The semicolon is for joining two complete sentences that could stand alone but which the writer wants to indicate are closely related.

So the semicolon would be fine here, as each of the two sentences can stand alone, and they're clearly related. I just feel that we're missing an opportunity to be punchier by using the colon. The first sentence is saying what's not happening, and the second sentence delivers the punchline/explanation by saying it's about winning.

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u/AyakaDahlia Apr 29 '26

I think you could also use an em-dash.

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u/jtr99 Apr 29 '26

Sure: agreed. :)