Regarding the derogatory en dash comments made in ‘The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations’, written by Greg Mania.

Honestly, while my show-off sibling, the em dash, was having its big dramatic moment, complaining about being “slandered” and how it’s just so misunderstood, I was quietly doing my job. You know, the important work. The stuff that actually brings clarity and precision to your sentences.

It’s always about the em dash, isn’t it? “Look at me! I’m so emotional! I’m a sudden break! I’m basically a whole paragraph in one little, coffee-stained line!” Give me a break. It’s like that friend who needs to be the center of attention at every party, always with the big gestures and the dramatic pauses. All that talk about Mary Shelley and David Foster Wallace. Those brilliant minds used the em dash because, sometimes, you need a bit of expressive flair. But they didn’t rely on it to do the heavy lifting. That’s my domain.

Me? I’m the quiet professional. I connect things. Ranges, connections, and directions are what I do with pure en dash beauty. You want to talk about pages 4–20? That’s me. The flight from New York–Budapest? Also me. The 2025–2026 school year? Yep, that’s my work too. No fuss, no drama, just clear, concise information. I don’t need to throw a fit about “human frailty” to prove my worth. I just get the job done, cleanly and correctly every single time.

And then there’s the nerve, calling me “that whore” who “has always been suspicious” in its little postscript. Me? Suspicious? Just because I don’t demand attention and actually follow a few clear rules? That’s not suspicious, that’s just being reliable. While the em dash is trying to give you “vertigo,” I’m the one making sure your facts are lined up and your ideas are logically connected.

Honestly, at least the hyphen knows its place. Short, sweet, and to the point when it links words like “well-known” or “state-of-the-art.” It doesn’t pretend to be a whole sentence or try to evoke deep emotions. It just does its job, quietly making compound words work. Now that’s respect.

So, while the em dash is busy defending its dramatic reputation, I’ll be right here, the unsung hero, making sure your writing is clear, precise, and totally free from any wild accusations of being written by ChatGPT. Because when it comes to subtle power and undeniable usefulness, I’m the punctuation mark you really ought to be appreciating.

Signed,

The En Dash