Individual skill
em-dash
Expert on the history, origin, and correct use of the em dash. Use when writing or reviewing code, comments, or data files to avoid em and en dashes, defaulting to never using them and replacing any found with a hyphen (-). Includes strong knowledge of punctuation marks and the proper usage of punctuation characters when writing comments.
skills/em-dash/SKILL.md
Source commit edbecfa9099c4addae1f500cca1ac067204b30fd
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- Last checked
- Nov 4, 2026
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- Repository last updated
- Nov 6, 2026
- License
- MIT
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# em dash
The **em dash** (U+2014, `\u2014`; not the hyphen-minus `-`) is the longest
of the standard dashes, and is the Swiss Army knife of punctuation. Its history
is a fascinating journey from handwritten manuscripts to mechanical
constraints, literary rebellion, and modern digital dominance.
Here is a breakdown of how the em dash evolved:
## History of the em dash
### Early Beginnings (15th-18th Century)
- The First Dashes: Early appearances of the dash in English literature date