--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It should come as no surprise that…" description: "\"It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer wer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a36/lynne-truss-4153_20th-century_it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-write_1885838.jpg" --- # It should come as no surprise that writers take an… ![“It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer were, "I should have used fewer semicolons" - and although I have spent months fruitlessly trying to track down the chap responsible, I believe it…” quote by Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a36/lynne-truss-4153_20th-century_it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-write_1885838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a36/lynne-truss-4153_20th-century_it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-write_1885838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a36/lynne-truss-4153_20th-century_it-should-come-as-no-surprise-that-write_1885838.jpg) > “It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer were, "I should have used fewer semicolons" - and although I have spent months fruitlessly trying to track down the chap responsible, I believe it none the less. If it turns out that no one actually did say this on their deathbed, I shall certainly save it up for my own.” [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often reflect on their craft, sometimes humorously, highlighting the importance of punctuation in clear communication. **In simple terms:** Writers care about punctuation and its impact. Key Takeaway Pay attention to punctuation for clarity. Themes writing punctuation humor Mood reflective lighthearted Type literary humorous When to use this quote - editing - teaching writing - public speaking - literary analysis Key Concepts self‑reflection literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice punctuation errors in your writing? - How does punctuation affect meaning? A Different Perspective If the quote is apocryphal, its authority weakens. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Chaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaps/) [Deathbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deathbed/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Fewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fewer/) [Fewer Semicolons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fewer-semicolons-2693837/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Punctuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punctuation/) [Punctuation Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punctuation-told-2693836/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Semicolons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolons-280411/) [Semicolons Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolons-spent-2693838/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/track/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Writers Punctuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-punctuation-2693835/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer were, “I should have used fewer semicolons” – and although I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/i-have-been-told-that-the-dying-words-of-one-famous-20th-century/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“If colons and semicolons give themselves airs and graces, at least they also confer airs and graces that the language would be lost without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/if-colons-and-semicolons-give-themselves-airs-and-graces-at-least/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“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/) > [I mean, full stops are quite important, aren't they? Yet by contrast to the versatile apostrophe, they are stolid little chaps, to say the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/i-mean-full-stops-are-quite-important-aren-t-they-yet-by-contrast-to/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/how-come-you-never-use-semicolons-she-ll-say-or-how-come-you-chop-it/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Lynne Truss > [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/) > [Evidently an A level in English is a sacred trust, like something out of "The Lord of the Rings". You must go forth with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/evidently-an-a-level-in-english-is-a-sacred-trust-like-something-out/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [Texting is a supremely secretive medium of communication - it's like passing a note - and this means we should be very careful what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/texting-is-a-supremely-secretive-medium-of-communication-it-s-like/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“Part of one's despair, of course, is that the world cares nothing for the little shocks endured by the sensitive stickler. While we look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/part-of-one-s-despair-of-course-is-that-the-world-cares-nothing-for/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [For any true stickler, you see, the sight of the plural word “Book’s” with an apostrophe in it will trigger a ghastly private emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/for-any-true-stickler-you-see-the-sight-of-the-plural-word-book-s/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [Brackets come in various shapes, types and names: 1 round brackets (which we call brackets, and the Americans call parentheses) 2 square brackets \[which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/brackets-come-in-various-shapes-types-and-names-1-round-brackets/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don't care. We are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/texting-is-a-fundamentally-sneaky-form-of-communication-which-we/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [My favorite thing in the world is a quiz show, 'University Challenge,' so you can see what kind of sad person I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/my-favorite-thing-in-the-world-is-a-quiz-show-university-challenge-so/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“nothing is straightforward in the world of literary taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/nothing-is-straightforward-in-the-world-of-literary-taste/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [Punctuation is a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/punctuation-is-a-courtesy-designed-to-help-readers-to-understand-a/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“one might dare to say that while the full stop is the lumpen male of the punctuation world (do one job at a time;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/one-might-dare-to-say-that-while-the-full-stop-is-the-lumpen-male-of/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [The main advantage of working at home is that you get to find out what cats really do all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-main-advantage-of-working-at-home-is-that-you-get-to-find-out/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“I think about death sometimes. Analytically, of course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/i-think-about-death-sometimes-analytically-of-course/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“For the first time since she met him, she asked herself whether mr Dodgson was really the sunny personality she had at first imagined.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/for-the-first-time-since-she-met-him-she-asked-herself-whether-mr/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“All the important roles shortly boiled down to one: remember your with other people; show some consideration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/all-the-important-roles-shortly-boiled-down-to-one-remember-your-with/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) [Explore all 115 Lynne Truss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. 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