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Shady Characters

shadycharacters.co.uk

The secret life of punctuation

HistoryEssays / personal

’15’20’25
Posts
337 from 8 Jan 2011 to 2 Oct 2026
Posting
monthly (23 in the last year)
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personal blog
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https://shadycharacters.co.uk/feed.xml

2026 13

  1. Miscellany № 113: an Asterisk without an asterisk
  2. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> &times; <cite>Because Language</cite>!
  3. Miscellany № 112: books!
  4. The Book
  5. An interview with Ollie Wagner, Apple emoji designer
  6. Face with Tears of Joy
  7. Miscellany № 111: do the evolution
  8. Miscellany № 110: do the revolution
  9. The new <cite>Shady Characters</cite> is now live!
  10. A reminder: the new/old <cite>Shady Characters</cite> will be launching soon
  11. Cairo: a <cite>Shady Characters</cite> field trip
  12. Testing the new/old <cite>Shady Characters</cite>
  13. New year's resolutions

2025 34

  1. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: PERSON WITH FOLDED HANDS
  2. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: FACE WITH BAGS UNDER EYES
  3. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: PISTOL
  4. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: PERSON IN SUIT LEVITATING
  5. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: RAINBOW FLAG
  6. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: SPARKLES
  7. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: THUMBS UP
  8. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: HAMBURGER
  9. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: HOT SPRINGS
  10. Shady Char­ac­ters advent calendar 2025: FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY
  11. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> &times; <cite>Grammar Girl</cite>: a pair of podcasts for your enjoyment!
  12. The dash for <abbr class="initialism">AI</abbr>
  13. A <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> book launch!
  14. We have <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> audio book winners!
  15. Win the <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> audio book!
  16. <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> publication round-up
  17. Logarithmical: Zipf’s Law and the mathematics of emoji
  18. It's (rest of world) publication day for <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite>!
  19. We have <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> winners!
  20. It's <abbr class="initialism">US</abbr> publication day for <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite>!
  21. Win a copy of <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite>!
  22. Miscellany № 109: the terror of the full stop
  23. Presenting the <cite>Shady Characters</cite> Periodic Table of Emoji
  24. The reviews are in for <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite>
  25. <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite> on <cite>99% Invisible</cite>
  26. <cite>Face with Tears of Joy</cite>, revealed!
  27. Miscellany № 108: emoji, for all the wrong reasons
  28. Miscellany № 107: old books (and a new <cite>Book</cite>)
  29. Backing the backslash
  30. Miscellany № 106: pistols, punctuation and print
  31. Complying with the Online Safety Act
  32. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> on AMSEcast: a podcast about calculators
  33. Miscellany № 105: blog questions challenge
  34. Miscellany № 104: new year, new miscellany

2024 7

  1. The 2024 <cite>Shady Characters</cite> gift guide
  2. Bombs, books and generative <abbr class="initialism">AI</abbr>: a blunt and obvious parable
  3. Miscellany № 103: calculators!
  4. Miscellany № 102: books!
  5. Miscellany № 101: back to our scheduled programming
  6. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> on Alan Alda's <cite>Clear and Vivid</cite> podcast
  7. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at MacGuffin magazine: interrobang!

2023 34

  1. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the Sinclair Executive
  2. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the HP-35
  3. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the Canon Pocketronic
  4. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the Curta
  5. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the E-6B
  6. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the addiator
  7. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the Comptometer
  8. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the arithmometer
  9. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: Wilhelm Schickard's <i>Rechenuhr</i>
  10. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: Napier's bones
  11. <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> advent calendar 2023: Chinese counting rods
  12. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> advent calendar 2023: the tally stick
  13. We have audiobook winners!
  14. Win the <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite> audio book!
  15. We have (even more) winners!
  16. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at the <cite><abbr class="initialism">WSJ</abbr></cite>: Five Best Books on Great Inventions
  17. Win a copy of <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite>!
  18. We have more winners!
  19. Calculator of the day: the Casio QL-10 Calculighter
  20. We have winners -- and a new competition!
  21. Calculators: a #patentedpodcast with Dallas Campbell
  22. Calculator of the day: the HP-35
  23. <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite> extracted in <cite>Lapham's Quarterly</cite>
  24. Calculator of the day: the Canon Pocketronic
  25. It's <abbr class="initialism">US</abbr> publication day for <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite>!
  26. Calculator of the day: Monroe MonroMatic 8N-213
  27. Calculator of the day: the Curta
  28. Calculator of the day: the slide rule
  29. Win a copy of <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite>!
  30. Narbo Martius: a Shady Char­ac­ters field trip
  31. Miscellany № 100: hitting the century
  32. Books: a #patentedpodcast with Dallas Campbell
  33. Miscellany № 99: minting the dollar
  34. Miscellany № 98: a novelistic conundrum

2022 6

  1. Miscellany № 97: interrobang archaeology, part 2
  2. Miscellany № 96: EPA
  3. Museum of London: a <cite>Shady Characters field trip</cite>
  4. Miscellany № 95: invention, illumination, and evasion
  5. Miscellany #&#xfe0f;&#x20e3;9&#xfe0f;&#x20e3;4&#xfe0f;&#x20e3;: flagging emoji?
  6. Miscellany № 93: a fistful of manicules

2021 9

  1. Miscellany № 92: a lightly festive miscellany
  2. <cite>Ciemne typki</cite> competition: we have a winner!
  3. Win a copy of <cite>Shady Characters</cite> for National Punctuation Day!
  4. Miscellany № 91: interrobang archaeology
  5. A reminder: email subscriptions are changing
  6. Changes to email subscriptions
  7. Roman all over the place: a Shady Characters field trip
  8. Miscellany № 90: &#x1f300;&#x1fa90;☆✻, or, the grawlix
  9. Announcing a new book: <cite>Empire of the Sum</cite>

2020 8

  1. Emoji: the future of text?
  2. Miscellany № 89: 2020, year of the asterisk
  3. Miscellany № 88½: come for the punctuation, stay for the street signs
  4. Miscellany № 88: a tale of two signs
  5. Miscellany № 87: a coronavirus conundrum
  6. Miscellany № 86: back in the saddle
  7. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> on Glenn Fleishman's <cite>Tiny Typecast</cite>
  8. Emoji, part 10: state of the nation

2019 10

  1. <cite>The Book</cite> (책의 책) is now available in Korean!
  2. Emoji, part 9: going beyond
  3. Emoji, part 8: when is an emoji not an emoji?
  4. Emoji, part 7: the emoji tongue
  5. “Collections and Collaborations” posters now available!
  6. &ldquo;Collections and Collaborations&rdquo; at the St Bride Foundation, London, on 14<sup>th</sup> May, 2019
  7. Emoji, part 6c: to infinity&hellip;and beyond‽
  8. Emoji, part 6b: steps in the right direction
  9. <cite>The Book</cite> (書的大歷史) is now available in Chinese!
  10. Emoji, part 6a: the trouble with emoji

2018 12

  1. Emoji, part 5: a trending topic
  2. Emoji, part 4: who owns emoji?
  3. Emoji, part 3: go west
  4. Emoji, part 2: what went before
  5. Emoji, part 1: in the beginning
  6. The interrobang on <cite>99% Invisible</cite>‽
  7. Housekeeping № 3: moving to <abbr class="initialism">HTTPS</abbr>
  8. Miscellany № 85: you only have one *
  9. Housekeeping № 2: citations at <cite>Shady Characters</cite>
  10. <cite>The Book</cite> at the <abbr class="initialism">BBC</abbr>: Book of the Week
  11. Housekeeping: your data at <cite>Shady Characters</cite>
  12. Miscellany № 84: zut alors!

2017 13

  1. The 2017 <cite>Shady Characters</cite> gift guide
  2. Miscellany № 83: Thomas Jefferson's ivory polyptych
  3. Miscellany № 82: the Future (and the Past) of Text
  4. Miscellany № 81: Toward a Taxonomy of the Interrobang
  5. Miscellany № 80: irony archaeology
  6. <cite>The Book</cite> at the British Library on Monday 3<sup>rd</sup> July
  7. Miscellany № 79: jè?
  8. <cite>The Book</cite>: A Talk at the British Library on Monday 3<sup>rd</sup> July
  9. Książka: <cite>The Book</cite> is now available in Polish
  10. St Bride competition: the winners!
  11. Win tickets to "The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration" at the St Bride Foundation, London
  12. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at Adelaide Writers' Week!
  13. Paper Adaptations

2016 36

  1. The 2016 <cite>Shady Char­ac­ters</cite> gift guide (sort of)
  2. The Metallic Ink of Herculaneum
  3. A baby and a pause (and a vote?) for <cite>Shady Characters</cite>
  4. Miscellany № 78: catching up
  5. The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration at the St Bride Foundation, London, on 23<sup>rd</sup> March, 2017
  6. Miscellany № 77: amperbrand
  7. <cite>The Book</cite> publication round-up
  8. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at <cite>I Love Typography</cite>: The Prints and the Pauper
  9. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at the BBC: The mysterious ancient origins of the book
  10. And the winners are&hellip;
  11. It's US publication day!
  12. We have a winner -- and the final competition!
  13. We have a winner -- and a new competition!
  14. Booking It № 3: Movable Type at Robert Smail's Printing Works
  15. It's publication day!
  16. Win a copy of <cite>The Book</cite>!
  17. Booking It № 2: Woodcut Printing at the Lavender Print School
  18. <cite>The Book</cite>: a launch!
  19. Booking It № 1: Making Paper with Chrissie Heughan
  20. Miscellany № 76: punctuating the summer
  21. Edinburgh ♥ Books
  22. Miscellany № 75: the end of the full stop. Period?
  23. Miscellany № 74: zombies always make a hash of things
  24. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at the BBC: <cite>Word of Mouth</cite>, 24<sup>th</sup> May
  25. Miscellany № 73: per Churchill et commata
  26. Miscellany № 72: sections and shillings
  27. More on <cite>The Book</cite>
  28. №&thinsp;⸮&thinsp;‽&thinsp;℔&thinsp;⁊&thinsp;⸿&thinsp; &mdash; or, a cavalcade of characters
  29. Miscellany № 71 &mdash; ‘⋮’ redux
  30. Miscellany № 70 &mdash; '⋮', '&#x2328;︎' &amp; '&para;'
  31. <cite>Shady Characters</cite> at the <cite>New York Times</cite>
  32. <cite>The Book</cite>, revealed!
  33. A spring clean for <cite>Shady Characters</cite>
  34. Miscellany № 69: the hyphen resolved
  35. Miscellany № 68: new year, new interrobang
  36. <em>Shady Characters</em> in Polish is <em>Ciemne typki</em>

2015 23

  1. The 2015 <em>Shady Characters</em> gift guide
  2. Miscellany № 67: irony's restoration
  3. <em>Shady Characters</em> at the BBC: punctuation that failed to make its mark
  4. Miscellany № 66: catching up
  5. Logarithmical: Zipf's Law and the mathematics of punctuation
  6. Miscellany № 65: from gnomonology to palaeography
  7. <em>Shady Characters</em> at the BBC
  8. Miscellany № 64: let's gnomonise
  9. Miscellany № 63: punctuating the summer
  10. The imminent death of the paragraph
  11. Punctuation in Practice: a Workshop
  12. A reminder: how to subscribe to <em>Shady Characters</em>
  13. It's (traditional Chinese) paperback publication day!
  14. Miscellany № 62: the absence of punctuation
  15. Pilcrows in the service of science: a <em>Shady Characters</em> field trip
  16. A brief history of the # and the @
  17. Miscellany № 61: verbal irony seeks meaningful relationship. No, really.
  18. Miscellany № 60: the secret life of the tilde
  19. Miscellany № 59: the percent sign
  20. UK paperback competition: the winners!
  21. It's paperback publication day (again, sort of)!
  22. Miscellany № 58: a selection of long reads
  23. Miscellany № 57: ampersand, plus, and _____?

2014 28

  1. Miscellany № 56: an octothorpean Christmas
  2. Miscellany № 55: &para; < & < +
  3. The 2014 <em>Shady Characters</em> gift guide
  4. Augustus & Everything After: a <em>Shady Characters</em> field trip
  5. 5 Punctuation Marks That Look Nothing Like They Used To
  6. It's paperback publication day!
  7. Paperback competition: we have a winner!
  8. Win a paperback copy of <em>Shady Characters</em>!
  9. It's National Punctuation Day!
  10. Pilcrows and poker chips: an interview with Jim Ford
  11. Miscellany № 54: Facebook doesn't get satire. Let's help it out.
  12. Miscellany № 53: Dinner ampersand drinks
  13. Miscellany № 52: Eric Gill gets handsy
  14. Miscellany № 51: a new-old-stock irony mark
  15. Miscellany № 50: interrobangs in space!
  16. Quasiquotes: too good to post only once
  17. Miscellany № 49: introducing the quasiquote
  18. Miscellany № 48: a historical section
  19. Miscellany № 47½: the creator speaks!
  20. Miscellany № 47: great!* Another sarcasm mark.
  21. Miscellany № 46: return to Ampersand Mountain
  22. Miscellany № 45: the endangered @
  23. Miscellany № 44: clampersands and dieses
  24. Mea culpa № 2
  25. Miscellany № 43: sartalics \live\!
  26. Mea culpa
  27. Calling all book groups
  28. Miscellany № 42: ¡gnaborretni?

2013 48

  1. Miscellany № 41: a cornucopia for Christmas
  2. An author asks: what is the &lsquo;&sect;&rsquo; called?
  3. Meet the author! Waterstones West End, Edinburgh, on 12<sup>th</sup> December
  4. Miscellany № 40: Emoji Dick and the ANGRY Full Stop
  5. Shiny Characters № 3: Hand & Eye Letterpress
  6. Miscellany № 39: smart quotes for smart people
  7. A reader asks: what does this say?
  8. Announcing <em>The Book</em>: a new book and a new website
  9. Miscellany № 38: the alternate history of the telephone keypad
  10. Book launch competition: we have a winner
  11. Publication week round-up
  12. <em>Shady Characters</em>, the quiz
  13. And the winners are&hellip;
  14. The <em>Shady Characters</em> Launch Party
  15. It's publication day (part 2)!
  16. It's publication (and punctuation) day!
  17. A reminder&hellip;
  18. Win one of two UK copies of <em>Shady Characters</em>!
  19. Updated contact details
  20. <em>Shady Characters</em> at <em>The New Yorker</em>
  21. Miscellany № 37: welcome to :D&uuml;sseldorf
  22. Unboxing
  23. Win a copy of <em>Shady Characters</em>!
  24. Miscellany № 36: the rarity of the shady character
  25. Miscellany № 35: Jay (±-) Z
  26. Miscellany № 34: what Ћ?
  27. We have a winner!
  28. Miscellany № 33: the controversial hyphen
  29. A <cite>Shady Characters</cite> competition: win a copy of <cite>Hiatus</cite> № 1!
  30. Miscellany № 32
  31. Back in business
  32. Miscellany № 31: <cite>Hiatus</cite>, and a hiatus
  33. The <cite>Shady Characters</cite> book, revealed (again)!
  34. Miscellany № 30
  35. Miscellany № 29
  36. Maximal meaning in minimal space: the history of punctuation
  37. The <cite>Shady Characters</cite> book, revealed!
  38. Miscellany № 28: Save the Tironian et!
  39. Miscellany № 27
  40. Miscellany № 26
  41. A Shady Characters Wedding
  42. A Sneak Peek&hellip;
  43. Miscellany № 25: An Octothorpe Follow-up
  44. Intermission
  45. Do you know Latin?
  46. Miscellany № 24: Sharp Words
  47. Miscellany № 23
  48. Miscellany № 22: An Audience with Penny Speckter

2012 21

  1. Miscellany № 21
  2. Miscellany № 20: On Typewriters
  3. Miscellany № 19
  4. Shiny Characters № 2: Robert Smail's Printing Works
  5. Miscellany № 18
  6. Miscellany № 17
  7. Miscellany № 16
  8. Miscellany № 15
  9. Miscellany № 14
  10. Miscellany № 13
  11. Miscellany № 12
  12. Miscellany № 11
  13. Shiny Characters № 1: Chepman & Myllar Press
  14. Miscellany № 10
  15. Miscellany № 9
  16. Miscellany № 8
  17. Name that mark: the "approval curl"
  18. Miscellany № 7
  19. Miscellany № 6
  20. Miscellany № 5
  21. Miscellany № 4

2011 35

  1. Miscellany № 3
  2. Miscellany № 2
  3. Miscellany
  4. Best Grammar Blog of 2011 now finished
  5. Big news for Shady Characters
  6. Irony & Sarcasm marks, part 3 of 3
  7. Irony & Sarcasm marks, part 3: a short delay, and a request for help
  8. Vote for Shady Characters!
  9. Irony & Sarcasm marks: intermission
  10. Nominate Shady Characters for Best Grammar Blog of 2011
  11. Irony & Sarcasm marks, part 2 of 3
  12. Sharing links
  13. Irony & Sarcasm marks, part 1 of 3
  14. The @-symbol: addenda
  15. The @-symbol, part 2 of 2
  16. The @-symbol: intermission
  17. The @-symbol, part 1 of 2
  18. The Ampersand, part 2½ of 2
  19. The Ampersand, part 2 of 2
  20. The Ampersand, part 1 of 2
  21. The Octothorpe: addenda
  22. The Octothorpe, part 2 of 2
  23. The Octothorpe, part 1 of 2
  24. The Interrobang: addenda
  25. The Interrobang, part 2 of 2
  26. Errata
  27. The Interrobang, part 1 of 2
  28. Can you help trace these graphic designers?
  29. The Pilcrow, part 3 of 3
  30. Coming soon: The Pilcrow, part 3
  31. The Pilcrow, part 2 of 3
  32. Coming soon: The Pilcrow, part 2
  33. An aside
  34. The Pilcrow, part 1 of 3
  35. Introduction