Re: [Groff] Getting properly rendered single quotes in groff

[Clarke Echols]

One of my great discoveries in life was encountering the reality
that English grammar is not an exact science.  There are rules --
true, but the key to effective writing is knowing the rules well
enough to know *how* to break them *correctly*.  (I have great
empathy for those who must master English as a second language.)

So let me pose a question:

For those who might quibble it should be rendered:
>
>     He told me: "That is a silly idea.  I never said such a thing."

How do the quibblers determine when to use a comma versus a colon?
(BTW, I agree with the colon.  I used a comma at the time to avoid
introducing the additional topic. But no such luck -- you did it
for me. :-) )

And thanks for agreeing with me.  My wife once asked me, "Why do
you have to be right all the time?"

When I explained, "I don't have to be -- I just am," that didn't help
the situation a bit. :-)

Clarke

Peter Schaffter wrote:
> Clarke --
>
> On Fri, Jun 06, 2008, Clarke Echols wrote:
> >    He told me, "That is a silly idea.  I never said such a thing."
>
> Though some might quibble it should be rendered:
>
>     He told me: "That is a silly idea.  I never said such a thing."
>
> <big grin>
>
> Seriously--I loved your post.  Point for point, principle for
> principle, I agreed with every word.