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Slash It All! The Slash/Virgule/Solidus by Susan Thurman

What? You say you didn't know that a slash is also called a virgule and a solidus? Now, aren't you glad that you bought this book?

A virgule/slash/solidus is commonly used to mean or. Thus:

a slash/virgule/solidus = a slash or virgule or solidus

You may bring your spouse/significant other to the picnic. = You may bring your spouse or significant other to the picnic.

In mathematics, the slash means per, as in this sentence:

There are 5,280 feet/mile.

It's also used in fractions:

365/296 (meaning 365 divided by 296)

In literature, the slash separates lines of poetry that are written in a block style, as in this passage from Edgar Allan Poe's “The Raven”:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,/Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore — /”

Because of the popularity of the Internet, today the most common use of a slash is in URLs. If you've ever inadvertently omitted a slash when you're typing an address, you know that getting the site to open is impossible.

Now that you've learned all the punctuation marks, try the interactive quizzes at these Web sites:

<tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>tinyurl.com/y2s88y</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tinyurl.com/yx6njv</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>tinyurl.com/y2kvh9</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tinyurl.com/wwdt6</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>tinyurl.com/yyopl8</emphasis></p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> </div> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/what-youre-not-saying-ellipsis-points.htm" title="What You're Not Saying … Ellipsis Points">What You're Not Saying … Ellipsis Points</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/checkpoint-5.htm" title="Checkpoint">Checkpoint</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/whats-in-a-word/unlocking-the-secrets-of-root-words-prefixes-and-suffixes.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Unlocking the Secrets of Root Words, Prefixes, and Suffixes - Grammar ... </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/parts-of-speech-the-big-eight/admirable-advice-about-adverbs.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Admirable Advice about Adverbs - Grammar and Style </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/maximizing-your-means-of-expression/if-x-then-y-the-cause-and-effect-essay.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> If X, Then Y: The Cause-and-Effect Essay - Grammar and Style </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/cracking-the-code-of-punctuation/the-end-of-the-road.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> The End of the Road - Grammar and Style </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/getting-personal/advancing-an-assessment-the-critical-analysis.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Advancing an Assessment: The Critical Analysis - Grammar and Style </a></li> </ul></div> <div id="sec"><div class="n5">Read More Wrapping It All Up</div><ul><ul class="col1"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/getting-fancy-italics-and-underlining.htm">Getting Fancy: Italics and Underlining</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/angling-for-some-attention-angle-brackets.htm">Angling for Some Attention: Angle Brackets</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/what-youre-not-saying-ellipsis-points.htm">What You're Not Saying … Ellipsis Points</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li class="btO">Slash It All! The Slash/Virgule/Solidus</li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/checkpoint-5.htm">Checkpoint</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-grammar-and-style-book-2nd-edition"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/grammar/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-grammar-and-style-book-2nd-edition">THE EVERYTHING GRAMMAR AND STYLE BOOK</a></h4><p><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-grammar-and-style-book-2nd-edition">By Susan Thurman</a></p><div id="fp"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-grammar-and-style-book-2nd-edition">Buy This Book</a></div></div></div> <div id="toc" class="pane"><div class="n3">Grammar and Style Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/whats-in-a-word/">What's in a Word?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/cracking-the-code-of-punctuation/">Cracking the Code of Punctuation</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/more-fun-with-punctuation/">More Fun with Punctuation</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/punctuation-pairs/">Punctuation Pairs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/">Wrapping It All Up</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/parts-of-speech-the-big-eight/">Parts of Speech: the Big Eight</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/more-pieces-of-the-puzzle/">More Pieces of the Puzzle</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/lets-have-a-few-words/">Let's Have a Few Words</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/pertinent-points-about-pesky-pronouns/">Pertinent Points about Pesky Pronouns</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/figuring-out-some-finicky-forms/">Figuring Out Some Finicky Forms</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/keeping-it-coherent/">Keeping It Coherent</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/shaping-strong-sentences/">Shaping Strong Sentences</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/in-plain-english-please/">In Plain English, Please</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/putting-pen-to-paper/">Putting Pen to Paper</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/the-final-dress-rehearsal/">The Final Dress Rehearsal</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/maximizing-your-means-of-expression/">Maximizing Your Means of Expression</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/getting-personal/">Getting Personal</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/literary-terms-you-need-to-know/">Literary Terms You Need to Know</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/latin-alive-and-kicking/">Latin: Alive and Kicking!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/foreign-languages-in-everyday-american-english/">Foreign Languages in Everyday American English</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/appendix-a-999-of-the-most-commonly-misspelled-words/">999 of the Most Commonly Misspelled Words</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/appendix-b-root-words-prefixes-and-suffixes/">Root Words, Prefixes, and Suffixes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/appendix-c-suggested-substitutes-for-wordy-phrases/">Suggested Substitutes for Wordy Phrases</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/appendix-d-checkpoint-answers/">Checkpoint Answers</a></li> </ul></div></div> <script type="text/javascript">zCi();validateForms();</script> <div id="abf" style="padding-right:0"><ol class="crumbtrail"><li class="home"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/">Home</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/">Grammar and Style</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/grammar/wrapping-it-all-up/">Wrapping It All Up</a></li><li>Slash It All! 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