Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A punctuation mark (‽) in the form of a question mark superimposed on an exclamation point, used to end a simultaneous question and exclamation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The symbol
‽ (combination of ? and !).
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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(All that said, the interrobang is on my short list of non-standard punctuation most likely to become standard in the next few decades, if people ever agree on what it signals.)
Archive 2008-05-01 2008
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A single character combining a question mark and an exclamation - called an interrobang - didn't catch on because it doesn't read well in small sizes and never made it to standard keyboards, while, thanks to email addresses, the @, also known as an amphora, has become ubiquitous.
NPR Topics: News 2011
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A single character combining a question mark and an exclamation - called an interrobang - didn't catch on because it doesn't read well in small sizes and never made it to standard keyboards, while, thanks to email addresses, the @, also known as an amphora, has become ubiquitous.
NPR Topics: News 2011
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Enough type designers have liked the idea (or, more probably, the name "interrobang") that Unicode reserves space for this mark and its Spanish inverse.
Archive 2008-05-01 2008
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According to the etymology in Webster's 11th Collegiate for "interrobang" first attested 1967, two years before the date Wikipedia gives for Unix it's a piece of old printer's slang.
UNIX Geekery Warning Lisa Hirsch 2009
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Actually, make that a interrobang Harrelson said well, he didn't actually say "interrobang," but it's way too cool a word to pass up, insisting that "The A-Team" was going to be one "helluva" good movie when those question marks get erased.
‘A-Team’ Movie Still A Question Mark For Woody Harrelson » MTV Movies Blog 2008
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Speckter called his invention the "interrobang," a neologism that combines "interrogation" with "bang" (printer-speak for the exclamation mark).
unknown title 2009
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Speckter called his invention the "interrobang," a neologism that combines "interrogation" with "bang" (printer-speak for the exclamation mark).
unknown title 2009
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Speckter called his invention the "interrobang," a neologism that combines "interrogation" with "bang" (printer-speak for the exclamation mark).
unknown title 2009
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The interrobang was in vogue for much of the 1960s, with the word "interrobang" appearing in some dictionaries and the mark itself being featured in magazine and newspaper articles.
Daring Fireball 2008
hanru commented on the word interrobang
This word, and the interrobang symbol, rock. Don't you agree‽
December 10, 2006
abraxaszugzwang commented on the word interrobang
Do I‽
February 11, 2007
patiomensch commented on the word interrobang
This is pretty much the best word I've learned in a while.
April 13, 2007
patiomensch commented on the word interrobang
"American Martin K. Speckter concocted the interrobang itself in 1962. As the head of an advertising agency, Speckter believed that advertisements would look better if advertising copywriters conveyed surprised queries using a single mark. He proposed the concept of a single punctuation mark in an article in the magazine TYPEtalks. Speckter solicited possible names for the new character from readers. Contenders included rhet, exclarotive, and exclamaquest, but he settled on interrobang. He chose the name to reference the punctuation marks that inspired it. Interrogatio is Latin for "a rhetorical question" or "cross-examination"; bang is printers' slang for "exclamation point". 1 The French equivalent is "point exclarrogatif", expressing a similar idea - the fusion between "point d'interrogation" (?) and "point d'exclamation" (!)."
April 13, 2007
koldewyse commented on the word interrobang
WHAT IS THIS‽
November 7, 2007
sionnach commented on the word interrobang
Also known as the quexclamation marnt, it combines two punctuation marks in a single new symbol <‽>, obtainable by using HTML code ‽
November 7, 2007
sionnach commented on the word interrobang
OK, well last time I tried to edit an existing comment o' mine, I just nuked it, so the HTML code thingie is &_#_8_2_5_3_; without the underscores, natch.
November 7, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word interrobang
Let's see, ampersand, plus pound, plus... ‽
Hey! It worked!
November 7, 2007
kewpid commented on the word interrobang
If this were on my keyboard I'd be twice as efficient.
November 7, 2007
uselessness commented on the word interrobang
Nothing like typing seven characters just for the convenience of getting two-in-one. ;-)
November 8, 2007
reesetee commented on the word interrobang
My thoughts exactly.
November 8, 2007
urfy commented on the word interrobang
I thought the interrobang was in a Palatino Linotype font, but I can't find it. I think the easiest way is the'Wingdings 2' font, & hit the '}]' key. Works for me.
November 27, 2007
pterodactyl commented on the word interrobang
Here's a picture of an interrobang.
April 18, 2008
bilby commented on the word interrobang
Great word‽
April 18, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
Futurists would have loved this symbol.
April 18, 2008
loping commented on the word interrobang
how do you make one on a regular keyboard? this could be very useful!
September 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
& # 8253 ; (with no spaces) is the html tag.
U+203D in Unicode.
September 11, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word interrobang
Sayyyy... a possible tattoo design?!
October 16, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
The real shortcut to interrobang is still a google search for interrobang, then copy and paste.
October 16, 2008
nickyeow commented on the word interrobang
What about Copy Paste Character? Really handy way to copy & paste special characters like the interrobang.
February 10, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
And at last, I found it somewhere.
April 7, 2009
rolig commented on the word interrobang
I am so pleased, Pro, that my native town could provide you with this hybrid punctuation mark. Baltimore's an interrobangish place, filled with lots of surprises and questions that are always getting mixed up together. I hope you had a good time!
April 7, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
Besides the interrobang, I could explore Baltimore for one day. Unfortunately, it was a rainy/sunny/windy/not sure/rainy again/windy again/sunny-and-hot/cold/rainy day, so it was not easy to walk all of the time. But I had a good time. Fells Point and the Inner Harbor are very nice, and the Peabody Library is a lovely place (and a good shelter during a downpour).
Unfortunately, it was not the right season for crabcakes, so I decided not to have them rather than taste alien crabs.
April 7, 2009
rolig commented on the word interrobang
I'm so glad you saw the beautiful Peabody Library. I used to live just a couple blocks away. Too bad about the weather, though. But South Baltimore and Fells Point can be a lot of fun.
April 7, 2009
sionnach commented on the word interrobang
If I weren't feeling such warm and fuzzy thoughts towards Pro right now for his wonderful contributions on my recent Poetrie list, I might just have to take umbrage. This is a man who, after all, chose to visit Southern California while giving San Francisco a miss.
Boris and Natasha were desolées. Still inconsolable, the poor dears.
And now Baltimore. Sniff.
April 7, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word interrobang
The truth, my dear friend, is that I visit places where someone can give me shelter.
April 7, 2009
reesetee commented on the word interrobang
Oh Pro, you must visit San Francisco. (Although, alas, I don't have a home there and cannot offer you shelter.)
April 7, 2009
jmjarmstrong commented on the word interrobang
JM questions the self explanatory interrobang?!
January 31, 2010
frogapplause commented on the word interrobang
If the interrobang could go back in time: here.
August 23, 2010
dinkum commented on the word interrobang
WORD: interrobang
DEFINITION: See the Wikipedia page for "interrobang"
EXAMPLE: ' From the Times Literary Supplement, Sept. 30:
' This story comes from Shady Characters by Keith Houston, a paean to typographical curiosities old and new. Houston's "magnificent cast" includes the asterisk, with its origins in the star-like cuneiform symbol denoting heaven; the humble hyphen -- not to be confused with a bewildering variety of dashes; and a modern upstart, the interrobang, a conflation of the question mark and the exclamation mark, as in "how cool is that ?! " '
--- Reprinted in the Wall Street Journal. "Notable & Quotable." October 28, 2013. (Page A15).
November 1, 2013
alexz commented on the word interrobang
⸘Did you know that for extra surprise, you can use an inverted interrobang‽ (no, not really)
November 1, 2013