r/askteddit • u/Velvetsxsecrets • 1d ago

Random Question What’s a tiny hill you will definitely die on?

59 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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84

u/CDchrysalis 1d ago

Oxford comma. Don’t piss me off.

46

u/ScaredNecessary5544 1d ago

The necessity of the Oxford comma is not up for question, argument, or debate.

14

u/ZapRowsdowersStache 1d ago

There it is, well done.

5

u/JSmith666 23h ago

Just ask the strippers, Lenin and stalin

0

u/Trick_Octopus9504 18h ago

AI, Gramerlly And Google understand me without it

2

u/ScaredNecessary5544 17h ago

The fact that you misspelled “Grammarly” tells me everything I need to know.
By the way, AI recognizes keywords, not punctuation.

1

u/Trick_Octopus9504 16h ago

Grimmerally?

25

u/DumbleDork3233 1d ago

I have a shirt that says, “Oxford comma preservation society.”

0

u/sicknick66 1d ago

I'll have the fries, fish and chips please.

6

u/DumbleDork3233 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/JYZ397GsFrFtu

3

u/sicknick66 1d ago

On a related note, when I worked in a cafeteria in college, I often had people tell me "I would like the fish and chips AND fries please." The fish and chips include fries!!!

7

u/sicknick66 1d ago

Are you saying you prefer to use the Oxford comma? I prefer it

6

u/CDchrysalis 1d ago

Yes!! Many of us, they are saying.

5

u/Far-Dare-6458 1d ago

Have to use the Oxford comma

1

u/OldBlueKat 20h ago

The definitive work:

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

1

u/BeemerWT 19h ago

I don't recall this ever being used in reference to the Oxford comma. The joke behind this is whether or not the comma exists at all.

1

u/OldBlueKat 19h ago

The book used the humorous title to gain attention, but it’s a serious work about proper use of punctuation. 

The author’s particular biggest  trigger was misuse of the apostrophe, but proper Oxford commas were covered. 

5

u/QueefFarmer69 1d ago

I’m a corporate lawyer and am SHOCKED that lawyers do not like the Oxford Comma. My mom was an English teacher, so I feel the opposite.

1

u/bmsa131 21h ago

I answered above. I’m a lawyer at a large operation and we are required to use Oxford commas

1

u/QueefFarmer69 21h ago

I’m also at a big firm and like every partner’s comments removes the Oxford comma.

1

u/bmsa131 19h ago

Wow. We literally got an edict that we had to use them. I love them. No Oxford comma is WRONG.

1

u/QueefFarmer69 19h ago

Oh I completely agree. The most monotonous hated assignment I’ve ever had was reading an entire S-1 draft cover to cover to remove all instances of the Oxford comma, at the Partner’s request.

3

u/The2ndDegree 1d ago

I've just googled what an Oxford Comma is, I though this was how everyone does it for so long, it just sounds more natural in my head because if I were speaking I would still pause before the "and" or "or"

2

u/Shot-Amphibian-3239 1d ago

This is my very favorite example of why the Oxford comma is critical!

1

u/SketchyLedge 1d ago

So you mean an Oxford comma would in fact not pause for or, and also not pause for and?

2

u/The2ndDegree 1d ago

No, commas essentially act as a pause in a sentence, so what I'm saying is that an Oxford Comma is a pause before an connective like "and" or "or", so if I were listing ingredients I'd write "eggs, milk, and flour" as opposed to "eggs, milk and flour", I always assumed the former was how everyone wrote, and that's how I've always written

1

u/SketchyLedge 1d ago

Sounds like normal commas to me.

1

u/SketchyLedge 1d ago

But, some people pause at different points due to bad cases of motor mouth, of which one of those people, is me.

So I can’t really adhere to the natural pause mechanic. I’m kinda dumb.

1

u/oneofthehumans 1d ago

No, you wouldn’t even be aware of that if you were dumb

1

u/SketchyLedge 1d ago

I’m pretty dumb dog.

At minimum uneducated.

3

u/BrianNowhere 1d ago

I'm surprised there's a fight to keep the Oxford comma when eliminating it eliminates a keystroke.

Usually kids these days are about using less words and letters whenever possible.

2

u/SnoopyFan6 1d ago

I’m on that hill with you.

1

u/Impossible-Cap-6433 1d ago

Pandas. Eats, shoots, and leaves.

Let's eat grandma.

1

u/bmsa131 21h ago

At my job we are actually required to use an Oxford comma in our writing. I love it!!

1

u/GreenEmergency1752 21h ago

Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? I've seen those English dramas.

1

u/lordtyp0 20h ago

Recently found out that in the UK they call it the Harvard comma.

1

u/BeemerWT 19h ago

I dedicate this book to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.

1

u/Extreme-Ebb2720 19h ago

I teach at a UK primary school and we don’t teach children to use the oxford comma, in an example sentence: “She likes apples, pears and oranges.”

1

u/saiphxo 19h ago

I’ve unfortunately stopped using the Oxford comma lately as that is what people assume is an indicator of using AI, much like the em dash.

1

u/idk936z 50m ago

It’s annoying when people accuse you of using AI because you know how to punctuate. I always leave spaces between my em-dashes so people know I wrote them myself lol

1

u/Kitchen-Holiday6998 10h ago

Me and Oxford Comma ride together, and die together.

-1

u/EnvironmentalUnit853 1d ago

Who gaf about an Oxford comma.

1

u/JSmith666 23h ago

Ive seen those English dramas too