Properly Punctuated: Backslash, \

Posted August 27, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Properly Punctuated, Self-Editing, Writing

Revised as of
18 Mar 2023

The backslash is one of the easiest bits of, well, not actually punctuation, but more of a typographic mark, and with so few rules! And that rule is a pip.

The Properly Punctuated explores . . .

. . . the proper use of quotation marks, commas, semicolons, colons, ellipsis, etc., including how to properly mark dialog, ahem. As Properly Punctuated is in no way complete, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on punctuation with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.

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Backslash, \

Punctuation: \

Definition: A backward-sloping diagonal line (\), used to indicate a computer directory path to mark the division between a directory and a subdirectory or its folders on certain types of computer operating systems, primarily PCs.

c:\office\mydocs\writing\editing.docx

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Properly Punctuated posts on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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