--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How come you never use semicolons?”…" description: "\"“How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. Or: “How come you chop it all up into little sections instead of letting it flow and flow?” That sort ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/kurt-vonnegut-41_quote_how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll_1584646.jpg" --- # How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. Or: “How… ![“How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. Or: “How come you chop it all up into little sections instead of letting it flow and flow?” That sort of thing.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/kurt-vonnegut-41_quote_how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll_1584646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/kurt-vonnegut-41_quote_how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll_1584646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/kurt-vonnegut-41_quote_how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll_1584646.jpg) > ““How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. Or: “How come you chop it all up into little sections instead of letting it flow and flow?” That sort of thing.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker questions why the writer avoids using semicolons and prefers fragmented sections over continuous flow. **In simple terms:** Questioning stylistic choices about punctuation and structure. Key Takeaway Consider how punctuation shapes readability. Themes writing style punctuation Mood curious analytical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - editing essays - crafting fiction - academic writing - blog posts Key Concepts syntax authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer fluid prose or deliberate pauses? - How does punctuation affect your reading experience? A Different Perspective Fragmentation may hinder narrative cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-a-lesson-in-creative-writing-first-rule-do-not-use-semicolons/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, representing nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/do-not-use-semicolons-they-are-transvestite-hermaphrodites/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-a-lesson-in-creative-writing-first-rule-do-not-use-semicolons-4/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-a-lesson-in-creative-writing-first-rule-do-not-use-semicolons-3/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I hope that my ideas attract a lively dialogue, even if my sentences are simple. Simple sentences have always served me well. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hope-that-my-ideas-attract-a-lively-dialogue-even-if-my-sentences/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You practically do not use semicolons at all. This is a symptom of mental defectiveness, probably induced by camp life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-practically-do-not-use-semicolons-at-all-this-is-a-symptom-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I realize that some of you may have come in hopes of hearing tips on how to become a professional writer. I say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-realize-that-some-of-you-may-have-come-in-hopes-of-hearing-tips-on/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Let me note that Kilgore Trout and I have never used semicolons. They don't do anything, don't suggest anything. They are transvestite hermaphrodites.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/let-me-note-that-kilgore-trout-and-i-have-never-used-semicolons-they/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-writers-take-an-interest-in/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“The one critisism the author of Slaugherhouse-Five would make of the young writer was what he called a punctuation problem. Mr. Vonnegut didn't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-one-critisism-the-author-of-slaugherhouse-five-would-make-of-the/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [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/) > [Maximum sentence length: seventeen words. Minimum:one No semicolons. Semicolons indicate relationships that only idiots need defined by punctuation. Besides, they are ugly. Make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/maximum-sentence-length-seventeen-words-minimum-one-no-semicolons/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [Somebody put a drop under a magnifying-glass and it was all semicolons and parentheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/somebody-put-a-drop-under-a-magnifying-glass-and-it-was-all/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [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/) > [“Cruelty to punctuation is quite unlegislated: you can get away with pulling the legs off semicolons; shrivelling question marks on the garden path under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/cruelty-to-punctuation-is-quite-unlegislated-you-can-get-away-with/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Punctuation quotes > [“In the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation mark. In Britain, they go outside the quotation mark. Squiggly said, “No.” (United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-fogarty/in-the-united-states-periods-and-commas-go-inside-the-quotation-mark/) Mignon Fogarty > [You know, you'd hide behind a Public Enemy or Ice Cube, or Bruce Springsteen, or U2, because they spoke for you. But now everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/you-know-you-d-hide-behind-a-public-enemy-or-ice-cube-or-bruce/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [Everyone suffers; life is pain; and death is the final punctuation at the end of that sentence, so deal with it. I really think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/everyone-suffers-life-is-pain-and-death-is-the-final-punctuation-at/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [One of the things I like about my job is that it draws on the entire person: not just your knowledge of grammar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-my-job-is-that-it-draws-on-the-entire/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/punctuation-marks-are-the-traffic-signals-of-language-they-tell-us-to/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-writing-punctuation-plays-the-role-of-body-language-it-helps/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [“April 6—Today, I learned, the comma, this is, a, comma (,) a period, with, a tail, Miss Kinnian, says its, importent, because, it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/april-6-today-i-learned-the-comma-this-is-a-comma-a-period-with-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Give a civil servant a good case and he'll wreck it with clichés, bad punctuation, double negatives, and convoluted apology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-clark/give-a-civil-servant-a-good-case-and-he-ll-wreck-it-with-clich-s-bad/) [Alan Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-clark/) > [“I'm a big believer in random capitalization. The rules of capitalization are so unfair to the words in the middle. (32)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-m-a-big-believer-in-random-capitalization-the-rules-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The Biblical text does not have punctuation marks like periods and question marks. Where we end sentences is a matter of interpretation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-biblical-text-does-not-have-punctuation-marks-like-periods-and/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-to-change-my-punctuation-i-long-for-exclamation-marks-but-i-m/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I still put punctuation in my texts. If it's an 'I', I make sure it's a capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-still-put-punctuation-in-my-texts-if-it-s-an-i-i-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [“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/) > [Doctors and nurses seemed to have been born and raised in the hospital, with only short punctuations of absenteeism for such things as schooling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kellogg/doctors-and-nurses-seemed-to-have-been-born-and-raised-in-the/) Marjorie Kellogg Browse all 287 Punctuation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How come you never use semicolons?” she’ll say. 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