The Black Hole of the Punctuation Universe...

An ellipsis is not when the moon moves in front of the sun. Nor is it the third installment in a very popular recent series about sparkling vampires. Those would be considered eclipses. What I’m talking about consists of those three little dots that seem to plague any form of writing these days. You might recognize it. It looks something like this…

Lynne Truss calls the ellipsis “the black hole of the punctuation universe” (165). This probably has something to do with its two word-sucking functions:

1) To indicate words missing from a quote
2) To trail off in an intriguing manner

These are the proper usages of the ellipsis…It does not show connection between sentences…or thought flow…That would be annoying…As you can see…

If the ellipsis is still confusing to you, perhaps this passage that Truss provides will help. If not, then at least it’s entertaining. It’s from BBC2’s Not Only But Also (1966), featuring dialogue between Pete and Dud:

DUD: What happened after that, Pete?
PETE: Well, the bronzed pilot goes up to her and they walk away, and the chapter ends in
three dots.
DUD: What do those three dots mean, Pete?
PETE: Well, in Shute’s hand, three dots can mean anything.
DUD: How’s your father, perhaps?
PETE: When Shute uses three dots it means, “Use your own imagination. Conjure the scene up for yourself.” (Pause) Whenever I see three dots I feel all funny.