Where is the dog?

Semicolons The Dog has been spending a long sojourn in his bed with his squeaky toys ( Dog blog 10 - plugging in ); contemplating winter, and exercise. Spring however, like Dave here with his favourite ball, has finally sprung. In doing his own springings, and writing that first sentence, the Dog thought he'd better have a quick check about when it's OK to use a semicolon. Sniffy nose; and things Semicolons fascinate me, and I like to keep my big sniffy nose out for them when I'm doing my readings. Apparently the ancient Greeks used them as question marks - and they started to be used in English around the 16th Century. Shakespeare used them a bit, but they didn't really catch on till the 17th Century. My copy of the 3rd Edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage tells me that the name "semicolon" was first recorded in English in 1644; by which time, folk, and Dogs, were getting a bit carried away. Then the craze was for dashes apparently