Acclamation

Description

An enthusiastic demonstration of honor, goodwill, or welcome; a written equivalent of the two flags on the front of the Pope’s car, according to its inventor.

Inventor

Hervé Bazin

Year

1966

Location

Paris, France

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
Pink Floyd, Welcome To The Machine
Be our guest, be our guest! Our command is your request
Lumiére and Mrs. Potts, Beauty And The Beast
Welcome to Atlanta where the players play, and we ride on them things like every day
Jermaine Dupri, Welcome To Atlanta

Exclamation Comma

Description

This mark allows the writer to use an exclamation point in the middle of a sentence, which proves especially useful when the ending clause doesn’t carry the same enthusiastic tone as the former clause.

Inventor

Sigmund Silber
Leonard Storch
Haagen Ernst Van

Year

1992

Location

Canada

I'm so excited, I’m so excited I'm so… scared.
Jessie Spano, Saved By The Bell
Drainage Eli, you boy.
Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood
Elliot sit down.
Mary, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Interrobang

Description

This mark combines an exclamation point with a question mark, allowing the writer to denote shock or bemusement with only one character.

Inventor

Martin K. Speckter

Year

1962

Location

New York, New York

The whole time
Miranda Hillard, Mrs. Doubtfire
Do I make you randy
Austin Powers, Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth
James Carter, Rush Hour

Elrey

Description

Ending a sentence with a period can convey spitefulness, while overusing an exclamation point instead to lighten the tone renders it meaningless over time. The ElRey (Spanish for “the king”) resides in the emotional range between the two marks.

Inventor

Ellen Susan

Year

2013

Location

New York, New York

I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You’ve got mail
Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail
Tear one off and scratch my head, what was red is black instead
Riddler, Batman Forever
His fangs are sharp, he likes your taste; your party better move post-haste
Peter Shepherd, Jumanji

Irony

Description

An “extra emotional typographic character,” according to its inventor, this mark (placed at the beginning of the sentence) indicates a state of affairs that is contrary to what one expects, and is often used to evoke humor.

Inventor

Marcellin Jobard

Year

1841

Location

Brussels, Belgium

An old man turned ninety-eight, he won the lottery, and died the next day
Alanis Morissette, Ironic
We were selling rich women their own fat asses back to them
Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Come to think about it, his name was… it was you, damn
Eminem, Stan

Love Point

Description

The more formal equivalent of <3, this mark is intended to denote a statement of affection.

Inventor

Hervé Bazin

Year

1966

Location

Paris, France

You had me at hello
Dorothy Boyd, Jerry Maguire
No, I am your father
Darth Vader, Star Wars
You make me want to be a better man
Melvin Udall, As Good As It Gets

Friendly Period

Description

Similar to the ElRey, this mark combats misperception of a period by lightening the tone of what would otherwise be read as a bitter or sarcastic sentence.

Inventor

Courtenay Hameister

Year

2010

Location

Portland, Oregon

I’ll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready
Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption
I even believe you will get me the present I asked for
Susan Walker, Miracle On 34th Street
Dear Lionel, I need to use your record player
Suzy Bishop, Moonrise Kingdom

Authority

Description

Intended to convey a note of expertise, this mark can also be used to indicate an order that should be taken seriously, coming from a voice of authority.

Inventor

Hervé Bazin

Year

1966

Location

Paris, France

Give me that booze you pumpkin pie haircutted freak
State Trooper, Dumb And Dumber
Get off my plane
President James Marshall, Air Force One
Open the pod bay doors, HAL
Dr. Dave Bowman, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Certitude

Description

This mark is used to let the reader know that the writer is absolutely certain something is true.

Inventor

Hervé Bazin

Year

1966

Location

Paris, France

You can’t handle the truth
Colonel Nathan Jessup, A Few Good Men
It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man
Ray Stantz, Ghostbusters
You dropped 150 grand on a fucking education you could have gotten for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library
Will Hunting, Good Will Hunting

Sarcmark

Description

This copyrighted symbol can be used to “emphasize a sarcastic phrase, sentence, or message,” according to its inventors.

Inventor

Douglas and Paul Sak

Year

2006

Location

Utica, Michigan

Of course, how selfish of me. Let's do all the things that you wanna do
Ace Ventura, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Yeah, the guy in the $4,000 suit is holding the elevator for the guy who doesn’t make that in three months C’mon!
Gob, Arrested Development
You had to be a big shot last night, so much fun to be around
Billy Joel, Big Shot

Rhetorical Question

Description

Used to ask a question that isn’t intended to be answered, implying the writer already knows the answer.

Inventor

Henry Denham

Year

1580s

Location

London, England

What’s love...got to do, got to do with it
Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do With it?
Don't you know how to knock, phlegm-wad
Buzz McCallister, Home Alone
Where would I be without you
Ja Rule, Put It On Me

Doubt

Description

Contrary to the certitude point, the doubt point should be used when the writer wants to end a sentence with a skeptical tone.

Inventor

Hervé Bazin

Year

1966

Location

Paris, France

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore
Dorothy Gale, The Wizard Of Oz
I wouldn't venture out there fellas. This sniper’s got talent
Private Jackson, Saving Private Ryan
Lee Harvey Oswald was not a male model
Matilda Jeffries, Zoolander

Question Comma

Description

Want to ask a question without ending a sentence? The question comma can be placed in the middle of a sentence since the period element has been replaced by a comma.

Inventor

Sigmund Silber
Leonard Storch
Haagen Ernst Van

Year

1992

Location

Canada

Well, what if there is no tomorrow there wasn't one today.
Phil, Groundhog Day
What you gonna do with all that junk all that junk inside your trunk.
Black Eyed Peas, My Humps
Roads where we’re going we don't need roads.
Dr. Emmett Brown, Back To The Future

Snark Mark

Description

This mark helps the reader understand when the meaning of a sentence is different than what the sum of its words appear to mean.

Inventor

Henry Denham

Year

1580s

Location

London, England

He has Van Gogh's ear for music
Billy Wilder
Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason
Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld
I'm having an old friend for dinner
Hannibal Lecter, Silence Of The Lambs