--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American writer Donald Barthelme…" description: "\"“The American writer Donald Barthelme wrote that the semicolon is “ugly, ugly as a tick on a dog’s belly”.”\" — Lynne Truss" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/lynne-truss-4153_american-writer_the-american-writer-donald-barthelme-wro_898003.png" --- # The American writer Donald Barthelme wrote that the… ![“The American writer Donald Barthelme wrote that the semicolon is “ugly, ugly as a tick on a dog’s belly”.” quote by Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/lynne-truss-4153_american-writer_the-american-writer-donald-barthelme-wro_898003.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/lynne-truss-4153_american-writer_the-american-writer-donald-barthelme-wro_898003.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/lynne-truss-4153_american-writer_the-american-writer-donald-barthelme-wro_898003.png) > ““The American writer Donald Barthelme wrote that the semicolon is “ugly, ugly as a tick on a dog’s belly”.”” [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. Criticizes the semicolon as visually unappealing, comparing it to a tick on a dog’s belly. **In simple terms:** Semicolon seen as ugly. Key Takeaway Avoid overusing semicolons. Themes grammar punctuation style Mood critical humorous Type non‑fiction literary criticism When to use this quote - editing work - academic writing - creative writing Key Concepts writing clarity literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - When does punctuation become a distraction? - How can we balance form and function? A Different Perspective May be overly subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/) [Semicolon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semicolon/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [What the semicolon's anxious supporters fret about is the tendency of contemporary writers to use a dash instead of a semicolon and thus precipitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/what-the-semicolon-s-anxious-supporters-fret-about-is-the-tendency-of-2/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“the American essayist Lewis Thomas on the semicolon: The semicolon tells you that there is still some question about the preceding full sentence; something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-american-essayist-lewis-thomas-on-the-semicolon-the-semicolon/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“What the semicolon’s anxious supporters fret about is the tendency of contemporary writers to use a dash instead of a semicolon and thus precipitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/what-the-semicolon-s-anxious-supporters-fret-about-is-the-tendency-of/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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 > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“The semicolon, my friends, is the punctuation mark we use to join two complete sentences. 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Change Lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bleuel/stay-strong-love-endlessly-change-lives/) Amy Bleuel > [“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/) ## 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". 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