Dog's bollocks (typography)

The dog's bollocks or dog's ballocks is an outdated typographical construction consisting of a colon followed by a hyphen or dash (i.e. ":-" or ":"), which was at one time used to indicate a restful pause.[1] The phrase—after the construction's phallic appearance—appeared at least as early as 1949, as cited by the Oxford English Dictionary and etymologist Eric Partridge.[2][3] The construction is primarily seen in British English, particularly in formal texts such as legal documents. Though at one time taught in schools, its use is now discouraged.[4]

Dog's bollocks
:
Typographical construction
Construction resembling dog's bollocks in the United States Declaration of Independence

References

  1. Dean, Paul (April 25, 2008). "Extreme Type Terminology Part 4: Numerals and Punctuation". I Love Typography. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. Martens, Nick (January 20, 2010). "The Secret History of Typography in the Oxford English Dictionary". The Bygone Bureau. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  3. Partridge, Eric (1949). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (3rd ed.). Routledge & Paul. LCCN 50014741.
  4. Trask, Larry. "The Colon". University of Sussex. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
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