Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss · first published 2002
52% recommend38% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Fun, entertaining take on punctuation that mixes humor with practical lessons on how commas, dashes and placement change meaning; suits readers who want a light, memorable introduction to punctuation.
Common criticism: Some critics say its own punctuation is error-prone and it leans more on humor than instruction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? Join Lynne Truss on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens. We all had the basic rules of punctuation drilled into us at school, but punctuation pedants have good reason to suspect they never sank in. ‘Its Summer!’ screams a sign that sets our teeth on edge. ‘Pansy’s ready’, we learn to our considerable interest (‘Is she?’) as we browse among the bedding plants. It is not only the rules of punctuation that have come under attack but also a sense of wh
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2012–2022The Art of Plain Talk
Rudolf Flesch
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2019–2023Dreyer's English
Benjamin Dreyer
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 66 recommend · 6 mention6 recommend · 66 recommend
2014–2026The Sense of Style
Steven Pinker, José C. Vales
Recommended by 45 · mentioned by 5645 recommend · 56 mention45 recommend · 5645 recommend
2007–2026The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 308 recommend · 30 mention8 recommend · 308 recommend
2007–2026The Elements of Style
William Strunk, Jr., E. B. White
Recommended by 131 · mentioned by 231131 recommend · 231 mention131 recommend · 231131 recommend
2010–2026The pyramid principle
Barbara Minto
Recommended by 28 · mentioned by 3928 recommend · 39 mention28 recommend · 3928 recommend
2010–2026The Chicago manual of style
University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff
Recommended by 19 · mentioned by 11219 recommend · 112 mention19 recommend · 11219 recommend
I'm not sure if this is "correct" but "Eats, shoots & leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation"[1] is a fun read on an adjacent topic. It too gets berated by some but I enjoyed it and learned a thing or two. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuat...
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗There is a book "Eats Shoots and Leaves" that gets at the importance of knowing when (and when not) do deploy the punctuation: https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuat...? I also enjoy how meaning of a whole sentence can…
on “The Oxford Comma – Why and Why Not” ↗Stephen King said something like "To become a better writer, write a lot and read a lot". Here's a couple of articles that discuss that idea more: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/dreamgates/2011/06/read-... http://writetodone.com/how-to-use-reading-to-become-a-better... Beyond that, there are, of course, tons of books for writers, including some specifically for tech writers. A lot of wha
on “Ask HN: How to become a better at writing?” ↗- Brave New World - Night - Hitchhiker's Guide series - Dark Tower series (Mostly just the first 4, though) - Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Just about any George Carlin or Patrick F. McManus books - Wheel of Time Series - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Wow. A showcase of Fry's incredible gift with language. (I was rather amused by Fry's knock at Lynne Truss, whose book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves I similarly enjoyed.)
on “Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography” ↗Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. It's more humor than education, and more punctuation than grammar, but it's entertaining and sarcastic and very fun to read. https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuat...
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite book on English grammar?” ↗1. On Writing Well by William Zinsser 2. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss 3. The Elements of Style by Strunk & White 4. The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker 5. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard 6. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark 7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 8. The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch 9. A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker 10. Writing Science by Joshua Schimel
on “Ask HN: Non-technical books for technical people?” ↗…are aimed at fiction, some non-fiction, some specifically for writers of memoirs, magazine articles, etc. It's sort of cliched to say, but The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is excellent, as is Eats, Shoots and Leaves. I have been trying to improve my English a little but not having anybody to write to or any need to use English makes me believe that I will be stagnated in a low level profile, and that I will never…
on “How do you get to write so well in HN?” ↗Uh, no, poor grammar or words or phrases used improperly can genuinely have cascade / domino effects. Brush up on "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" if you wish to counter-balance your math-centric logic notions with how similar principles apply in written language. English is, without question, one of the more tricky (re: confusing) mutts of linguistics.
on “A bot crawled thousands of studies looking for simple math errors” ↗For sheer enjoyment (measured in how many times I've re-read them, at least at various times in my life): Heinlein's _The Door into Summer_. Connie Willis' _Bellwether_ (these can be funny, right?). Ayn Rand's _Atlas Shrugged_ (more in my youth than today, but I can probably still recite passages by heart). Non-fiction: Gerry Weinberg's _Secrets of Consulting_. Lynn Truss' _Eats Shoots & Leaves_
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a good one on punctuation. Dreyer’s English is a good recent one. Woe Is I is a classic. There are a lot of style guides and fun little books about grammar and editing. My partner is a editor at a publishing house so she guides me a lot on things like this. I’m not sure it can be automated, but the best things I can say I’ve learned about writing are: don’t do anything obv
on “Why engineers should focus on writing” ↗…bit more emphasis to the bit after the dash. I went to the grocery store, and bought tomatoes. I went to the grocery store---and bought a Ferrari. The second one has a bit more of a dramatic pause. "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" is a fun book with a great chapter about the dash with many good examples.
on “Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1” ↗I feel so old now. I always capitalize every IM or SMS I write and I try to make the punctuation as correct as possible. By that I mean that I don't stop at using the full stop as required, but also worry about commas, colons, semi-colons and even dashes. I'm also "guilty" of having read "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss and agreeing with it. It's not fair that being almost 35 I should feel
on “The Period Is Pissed” ↗Eats Shoots and Leaves is riddled with punctuation errors. What it is is a canonical example of why the British, who long ago abandoned consistent punctuation, should not write books lecturing others about punctuation. I…
on “How to use (or not use) a hyphen” ↗This reminds me the book: Eats(,) Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
on “Nobody. Understands. Punctuation.” ↗