--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An aphorism and its author aren't joined…" description: "\"An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.\" — John Alejandro King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg" --- # An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but… ![“An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.” quote by John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg) > “An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.” [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explains that an aphorism and its author are separated by a dash, not joined, emphasizing clear attribution. **In simple terms:** Aphorisms are linked to authors by a dash. Key Takeaway Use proper punctuation to credit sources. Themes writing attribution clarity Mood educational practical Type instructional technical When to use this quote - academic papers - publishing - online posts Key Concepts grammar citation standards Questions to Reflect On - Why is precise attribution important? - How does punctuation affect meaning? A Different Perspective Misplacement of punctuation can cause confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) [Aphorism Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism-author-4086437/) [Aphorisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorisms/) [Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author/) [Author Aren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-aren-4086439/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dash Separated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dash-separated-4086438/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Quoting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quoting/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Aphorisms are not true or false, but pointed or flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/aphorisms-are-not-true-or-false-but-pointed-or-flat/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-are-aphorisms-that-like-airplanes-stay-up-only-while-they-are/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The best aphorisms are… portable wisdom, the quintessential extracts of thought and feeling. They furnish the largest amount of intellectual stimulus and nutriment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/the-best-aphorisms-are-portable-wisdom-the-quintessential-extracts-of/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [“Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take refuge in aphorisms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/wonderful-aphorism-but-we-can-t-take-refuge-in-aphorisms/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Aphorisms are food for thought - like sushi, they come in small portions that are both delicious and exquisitely formed. And, like sushi, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/aphorisms-are-food-for-thought-like-sushi-they-come-in-small-portions/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Aphorisms are essentially an aristocratic genre of writing. The aphorist does not argue or explain, he asserts; and implicit in his assertion is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aphorisms-are-essentially-an-aristocratic-genre-of-writing-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Exclusively of the abstract sciences, the largest and worthiest portion of our knowledge consists of aphorisms: and the greatest and best of men is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/exclusively-of-the-abstract-sciences-the-largest-and-worthiest/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Good places for aphorisms: in fortune cookies, on bumper stickers, and on banners flying over the Palace of Free Advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/good-places-for-aphorisms-in-fortune-cookies-on-bumper-stickers-and/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Aphorisms are literature's hand luggage. 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The air thin and pure, danger near, and the spirit full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aphorisms-should-be-peaks-and-those-who-are-addressed-tall-and-lofty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Aphorisms know the angles, but not the structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/aphorisms-know-the-angles-but-not-the-structure/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I believe aphorisms are best when first read in the wild, free from the confines of any categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/i-believe-aphorisms-are-best-when-first-read-in-the-wild-free-from/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [The excellence of aphorisms consists not so much in the expression of some rare or abstruse sentiment, as in the comprehension of some useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-excellence-of-aphorisms-consists-not-so-much-in-the-expression-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Aphorisms are portable wisdom, the quintessential extracts of thought and feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/aphorisms-are-portable-wisdom-the-quintessential-extracts-of-thought/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) ## More by John Alejandro King > [Any resemblance is coincidentally pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/any-resemblance-is-coincidentally-pure/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [If it can be prepared for, it isn't the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/if-it-can-be-prepared-for-it-isn-t-the-worst/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [I'm damned if I do, but I'm only darned if I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/i-m-damned-if-i-do-but-i-m-only-darned-if-i-don-t/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Gut Your Trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/gut-your-trust/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [There's a famous saying: If 99% was good enough, gravity wouldn't work for 14 minutes every day. 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A single standard is an atrocity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/a-double-standard-is-a-scandal-a-single-standard-is-an-atrocity/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Wait, the Jesus lizard is the lizard that runs on top of the water, not the lizard that shoots blood out of its eyes?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/wait-the-jesus-lizard-is-the-lizard-that-runs-on-top-of-the-water-not/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be dusty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/let-everyone-sweep-in-front-of-his-own-door-and-the-whole-world-will/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [In the highly unlikely event he survived the drastic changes in the ratio of his volume to his surface area, by approximately the 8th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/in-the-highly-unlikely-event-he-survived-the-drastic-changes-in-the/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [America has never lost a war. We just misplaced a couple temporarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/america-has-never-lost-a-war-we-just-misplaced-a-couple-temporarily/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. If people get angry, you can always pretend you were just standing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/never-be-afraid-to-stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in-if-people-get/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Mind-body dualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/mind-body-dualism/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [You can tell a lot about a person by what they think you can tell a lot about a person by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-what-they-think-you-can-tell-a/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) [Explore all 65 John Alejandro King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) ## More Aphorism quotes > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! The court jester's cap and bells. The King is coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/listen-the-court-jester-s-cap-and-bells-the-king-is-coming/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The eleventh commandment of art: thou shalt not be boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-m-driscoll/the-eleventh-commandment-of-art-thou-shalt-not-be-boring/) [W.M. Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-m-driscoll/) > [A journal takes the place of a confidant, that is, of friend or wife; it becomes a substitute for production, a substitute for country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-journal-takes-the-place-of-a-confidant-that-is-of-friend-or-wife-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The real purpose of the opposition is to minimize the amount of money the ruling party will have stolen from the people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-real-purpose-of-the-opposition-is-to-minimize-the-amount-of-money/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I played the best role in my life. I had a great director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-played-the-best-role-in-my-life-i-had-a-great-director/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“Be ware! Santa Claus is a fake profile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/be-ware-santa-claus-is-a-fake-profile/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“He who lies and steals ...and forms a government.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/he-who-lies-and-steals-and-forms-a-government/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“I got married. A bright past is ahead of me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-got-married-a-bright-past-is-ahead-of-me/) [ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“People who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/people-who-smile-while-they-are-alone-used-to-be-called-insane-until/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Why must an aphorism be brief? Because only a fool gives a speech in a burning house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/why-must-an-aphorism-be-brief-because-only-a-fool-gives-a-speech-in-a/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-many-of-us-have-been-attracted-to-reason-first-learned-to-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 399 Aphorism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Alejandro King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined-by-a-dash-but-separated-by-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aphorism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined-by-a-dash-but-separated-by-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/john-alejandro-king-10499_aphorisms_an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined_2084166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.” — John Alejandro King", "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": "John Alejandro King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An aphorism and its author aren't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined-by-a-dash-but-separated-by-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined-by-a-dash-but-separated-by-it/#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 } } ] } ```