Dash = Two hyphens put together --
An informal mark of punctuation used for stylistic effects...
Rule #1: To set off a word or group of words introduced unexpectedly.
EXAMPLE: That looks like a huge wave coming from the -- Everybody! Run!
Rule #2: Abrupt breaking off of one thought into another, or the discovery of an unexpected thought or idea.
EXAMPLE: When you see Trudy -- here she comes -- laugh at her duct tape purse.
EXAMPLE: You drink beer -- you do, don't you? -- you'll love vodka, it kills you 143% faster!
EXAMPLE: "Powerhouse is not a show-off like the Harlem boys, not crazy -- he's in a trance, he's a person of joy."
Rule #3: Use a dash to separate two identical or almost identical words.
EXAMPLE: I can do the job--the job of cleaning Mrs. Prudence's staircase.
EXAMPLE: Dole and Nixon--these men were on his hit-list.
Rule #4: Use a dash before a list that explains in detail some word or phrase in the first part of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Bring some romantic item--among other things axes, needles, dead kittens, and grocery bags.
Rule #5: Many authors use the dash as a method of a pause when a character is speaking.
EXAMPLE: "Oh he got her the job, did he?--Well, I'm going to fix it so she won't need any job."
`Rudolph Fisher's "Common Meter"
Rule #6: Replacement for Quotations
EXAMPLE: --O Mr. D'Arcy, cried Mary Jane, it's downright mean of you to break off like that when we were all in raptures listening to you.
`James Joyce (???)
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