--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Use the semicolon like you would use any…" description: "\"“Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon (your best pick-up line or your most effective push-up bra): carefully and sparingly.”\" — Jen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg" --- # Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon… ![“Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon (your best pick-up line or your most effective push-up bra): carefully and sparingly.” quote by Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg) > ““Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon (your best pick-up line or your most effective push-up bra): carefully and sparingly.”” [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates using powerful tools like semicolons sparingly for maximum impact in communication. **In simple terms:** Use powerful tools wisely. Key Takeaway Apply semicolons judiciously. Themes clarity precision communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational instructive When to use this quote - academic writing - business emails - creative storytelling Key Concepts rhetoric editing language economy Questions to Reflect On - When does a semicolon enhance meaning? - What alternatives could you use? A Different Perspective Over‑use can clutter prose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bra Carefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bra-carefully-1985950/) [Like Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-use-315745/) [Semicolon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolon/) [Semicolon Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolon-like-1985949/) [Use Semicolon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-semicolon-1985948/) ## Related quotes > [“The semicolon, my friends, is the punctuation mark we use to join two complete sentences. When we want to separate two complete sentences, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-semicolon-my-friends-is-the-punctuation-mark-we-use-to-join-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“We might also want to use a semicolon to hold together two sentences to avoid giving the reader too much time to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-might-also-want-to-use-a-semicolon-to-hold-together-two-sentences/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [I don't even know how to use a semicolon to this day; I use a comma every time. And you know what? If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/i-don-t-even-know-how-to-use-a-semicolon-to-this-day-i-use-a-comma/) [Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/) > [“So we’re seemingly in quite a pickle. Sometimes a period provides too much pause between these two sentences, but the comma doesn’t provide enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/so-we-re-seemingly-in-quite-a-pickle-sometimes-a-period-provides-too/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [I wonder if we will ever talk again like we use to...N\*\*@ please come back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj/i-wonder-if-we-will-ever-talk-again-like-we-use-to-n-please-come-back/) [AJ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aj/) > [“And if they don't like it if you use those words and they stop moving put their hand on your mouth say "Don't say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-kelman/and-if-they-don-t-like-it-if-you-use-those-words-and-they-stop-moving/) [Nic Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-kelman/) > [I think that Instagram suits me. People know I like to use it all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/i-think-that-instagram-suits-me-people-know-i-like-to-use-it-all-the/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [I like to use my hands. When I was in theatre in college, that was one of my biggest notes: 'You use your hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sullivan/i-like-to-use-my-hands-when-i-was-in-theatre-in-college-that-was-one/) [Susan Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sullivan/) > [Do you love me like you use to? Even though I ain't that nigga that you're use to to?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-love-me-like-you-use-to-even-though-i-ain-t-that-nigga-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yes, exactly. I think that Christmas is always used at any point in the year to cheer us up, like each other up. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/yes-exactly-i-think-that-christmas-is-always-used-at-any-point-in-the/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [I don't use iMovie and don't use shitty little cameras to try to prove something or say something because that's a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-neistat/i-don-t-use-imovie-and-don-t-use-shitty-little-cameras-to-try-to/) [Casey Neistat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-neistat/) > [Find something you like and use it often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-phillips/find-something-you-like-and-use-it-often/) [Mike Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-phillips/) > [I like to use things that didn't exist 50 years ago, or 20 years ago even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesh/i-like-to-use-things-that-didn-t-exist-50-years-ago-or-20-years-ago/) [Kesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesh/) > [Drawing is something I do on the side, I like to see it be of use at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coeur-de-pirate/drawing-is-something-i-do-on-the-side-i-like-to-see-it-be-of-use-at/) [Coeur de pirate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coeur-de-pirate/) > [I like to use the hyaluronic acid by Dr. Barbara Sturm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-rowe/i-like-to-use-the-hyaluronic-acid-by-dr-barbara-sturm/) [Camille Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-rowe/) ## More by Jenny Baranick > [“The difference between lay and lie is like the difference between sadism and masochism: one means doing something to someone (or something) else, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-difference-between-lay-and-lie-is-like-the-difference-between/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“We use the en dash when we want to express a range of values: Goldilocks will only sleep on Egyptian cotton sheets with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-use-the-en-dash-when-we-want-to-express-a-range-of-values/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Lacks commitment: I suppose I could marry Dan. Acknowledges commitment: I’m supposed to marry Dan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/lacks-commitment-i-suppose-i-could-marry-dan-acknowledges-commitment/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“First impressions stick. That’s why it’s so important that we do tedious things like remember to wear deodorant, brush our teeth, and insert commas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/first-impressions-stick-that-s-why-it-s-so-important-that-we-do/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“The semicolon, my friends, is the punctuation mark we use to join two complete sentences. When we want to separate two complete sentences, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-semicolon-my-friends-is-the-punctuation-mark-we-use-to-join-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Guys who kiss like they’re giving CPR should have to attend kissing classes. If I take out “who kiss like they’re giving CPR,” this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/guys-who-kiss-like-they-re-giving-cpr-should-have-to-attend-kissing/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“You may think that you don't need to worry about actually learning the grammar rules because spell check and grammar check will come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/you-may-think-that-you-don-t-need-to-worry-about-actually-learning/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“In high school, I was such a slut. And I was not alone; most girls in my high school were total sluts. We didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/in-high-school-i-was-such-a-slut-and-i-was-not-alone-most-girls-in-my/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“I am the English teacher who teaches the “boring stuff”— I teach a class on grammar called Writing Skills. My students think I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/i-am-the-english-teacher-who-teaches-the-boring-stuff-i-teach-a-class/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“A comma splice means that a comma has been inserted between two complete sentences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/a-comma-splice-means-that-a-comma-has-been-inserted-between-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Incorrect: I use to be the most popular guy in school, but now I am the Thursday night trivia king at the local bar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/incorrect-i-use-to-be-the-most-popular-guy-in-school-but-now-i-am-the/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“We might also want to use a semicolon to hold together two sentences to avoid giving the reader too much time to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-might-also-want-to-use-a-semicolon-to-hold-together-two-sentences/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Dictionaries are like vitamins and floss; we buy them and then never use them. Even I, an English teacher, a lover of words, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/dictionaries-are-like-vitamins-and-floss-we-buy-them-and-then-never/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“One of the most pressing questions of our time is arguably this: Does size matter? Is it about quantity or quality? Is it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/one-of-the-most-pressing-questions-of-our-time-is-arguably-this-does/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Not only can rearranging our sentences to avoid ending them in prepositions sound pretentious, it’s also unnecessary. Grammar experts agree that it’s perfectly acceptable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/not-only-can-rearranging-our-sentences-to-avoid-ending-them-in/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) [Explore all 38 Jenny Baranick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) ## More Semicolon quotes > [“You didn’t put a semicolon there — God did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brownn/you-didn-t-put-a-semicolon-there-god-did/) [Eleanor Brownn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brownn/) > [“Stay Strong. Love endlessly. Change Lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bleuel/stay-strong-love-endlessly-change-lives/) [Amy Bleuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bleuel/) > [A comma . . . catches the gentle drift of the mind in thought, turning in on itself and back on itself, reversing, redoubling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/a-comma-catches-the-gentle-drift-of-the-mind-in-thought-turning-in-on/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/syntactic-sugar-causes-cancer-of-the-semicolon/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [“The semicolon, my friends, is the punctuation mark we use to join two complete sentences. When we want to separate two complete sentences, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-semicolon-my-friends-is-the-punctuation-mark-we-use-to-join-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Academics love the semicolon; their hankering after logic demands a division which is more emphatic than a comma, but not quite as absolute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-klemperer/academics-love-the-semicolon-their-hankering-after-logic-demands-a/) [Victor Klemperer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-klemperer/) > [How hideous is the semicolon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/how-hideous-is-the-semicolon/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Sometimes you get a glimpse of a semicolon coming, a few lines farther on, and it is like climbing a steep path through woods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/sometimes-you-get-a-glimpse-of-a-semicolon-coming-a-few-lines-farther/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The American writer Donald Barthelme wrote that the semicolon is “ugly, ugly as a tick on a dog’s belly”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-american-writer-donald-barthelme-wrote-that-the-semicolon-is-ugly/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“The stops point out, with truth, the time of pause A sentence doth require at ev'ry clause. t ev'ry comma, stop while one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-hartley/the-stops-point-out-with-truth-the-time-of-pause-a-sentence-doth/) [Cecil Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-hartley/) > [It is almost always a greater pleasure to come across a semicolon than a period. The period tells you that that is that; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-almost-always-a-greater-pleasure-to-come-across-a-semicolon/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nora— Forgive me for copyediting, but it must be said—you have raped the semicolon yet again. Stop it. It wasn’t asking for it no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/nora-forgive-me-for-copyediting-but-it-must-be-said-you-have-raped/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [Semicolons . . . signal, rather than shout, a relationship. . . . A semicolon is a compliment from the writer to the reader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/semicolons-signal-rather-than-shout-a-relationship-a-semicolon-is-a/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“We might also want to use a semicolon to hold together two sentences to avoid giving the reader too much time to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-might-also-want-to-use-a-semicolon-to-hold-together-two-sentences/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [I use a whole lot of half-assed semicolons; there was one of them just now; that was a semicolon after 'semicolons,' and another one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-use-a-whole-lot-of-half-assed-semicolons-there-was-one-of-them-just/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Browse all 37 Semicolon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon (your best pick-up line or your most effective push-up bra): carefully and sparingly.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jenny Baranick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any-powerful-weapon-your-best/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Semicolon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any-powerful-weapon-your-best/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/jenny-baranick-17184_quote_use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any_1795646.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Use the semicolon like you would use any powerful weapon (your best pick-up line or your most effective…” — Jenny Baranick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jenny Baranick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Use the semicolon like you would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any-powerful-weapon-your-best/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/use-the-semicolon-like-you-would-use-any-powerful-weapon-your-best/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```