Ad ode to the em dash

In Eats Shoots & Leaves: the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, plucky Lynne Truss describes punctuation as “a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling.” With this in mind, I introduce the most chivalrous punctuation mark of all. Ladies and gentlemen — the Mr. Darcy of punctuation marks — the em dash. Em dashes are used to indicate a pronounced interruption or break in thought. They should be used sparingly, and only when another punctuation mark (such as a comma or colon) will not suffice. While some do not afford the em...

Impertinent remarks

Several years ago I wrote an article titled “Impertinent remarks: when critical comments lead to litigation.” The article described how health care professionals can inadvertently incite patients to file lawsuits simply by making comments such as “I would hardly expect that kind of complication from such a simple procedure” or “the radiologist would have caught that lump if he had looked for it.” These innocent remarks may lead patients to believe there was something wrong with their previous treatment. Then the lawyers get involved. Since writing that...