# Dinkus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dinkus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dinkus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinkus > Source revision: 1352364452 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Typographic device ( * * * ) to indicate a change}} {{confused|Dingus (disambiguation){{!}}Dingus|Dingbat}} [[File:Painted Veil Page 68.jpg|thumb|alt=Asterisms in use|Three asterisks as a dinkus in the [James Huneker](/source/James_Huneker) novel ''Painted Veils''. This dinkus accentuates the end of a particularly racy chapter, priming the reader for the change in tone.]] {{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}} In [typography](/source/typography), a '''dinkus''' is a typographic device or convention that typically consists of three spaced [asterisk](/source/asterisk)s or [bullet](/source/bullet_(typography)) symbols in a horizontal row, e.g.  {{nbsp}}∗{{nbsp}}∗{{nbsp}}∗{{nbsp}}  or  {{nbsp}}•{{nbsp}}•{{nbsp}}•{{nbsp}} . The device has a variety of uses, and it usually denotes an intentional omission or a logical "break" of varying degree in a written work. This latter use is similar to a [subsection](/source/subsection_(typography)), and it indicates that the subsequent text should be re-contextualized. Such a dinkus typically appears [centrally aligned](/source/Typographic_alignment) on a line of its own with vertical spacing before and after the device. The dinkus has been in use in various forms since {{circa|1850}}. Historically, the dinkus was often represented as an [asterism](/source/asterism_(typography)), {{char|⁂}}, though this has fallen out of favor and is now nearly obsolete.{{cite book |first1 = Radim |last1 = Peško |first2 = Louis |last2 = Lüthi |year = 2007 |title = Dot Dot Dot 13 |page = 193 |publisher = Princeton Architectural Press |editor1-first = Stuart |editor1-last = Bailey |editor2-first = Peter |editor2-last = Bilak |isbn = 978-90-77620-07-6 }}{{full|date=March 2024}} ==Etymology== The word was coined by an artist on the Australian periodical [''The Bulletin''](/source/The_Bulletin_(Australian_periodical)) in the 1920s and is derived from the word ''[dinky](/source/wiktionary%3Adinky)''. ==Usage== The dinkus is used for various purposes, but many of them are related to an intentional break in the flow of the text. ===Subsection break=== A dinkus can be used to accentuate a break between [subsection](/source/subsection_(typography))s of a single section.{{Cite web |url = http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/glossary.html#D |work = The News Manual |title = Glossary }} A dinkus dividing a larger section{{cite book |title = The Christian Writer's Manual of Style |first = Robert |last = Hudson |year = 2010 |page = 386 }}{{full|date=March 2024}}{{Cite web |url = https://www-orthotypographie-fr.translate.goog/volume-I/alliage-avertissement.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en#Asterisque |title = D'Alliage à Avertissement — Orthotypographie, de Jean-Pierre Lacroux (Lexique des règles typographiques françaises) |website = www-orthotypographie-fr.translate.goog }} is intended is to maintain a sense of continuity within the overall chapter or section while changing elements of the setting or timeline.{{cite book |title = Orthotypographie |first = Jean-Pierre |last = Lacroux }}{{full|date=March 2024}} For instance, to introduce a [flashback](/source/Flashback_(narrative)) or other scene change, a dinkus can help denote the change within the overall theme of the chapter; in that case, it can be preferable to the initiation of a new chapter.{{Cite web |url = https://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2021/08/five-ways-i-hate-your-dinkus/ |title = Five Ways I Hate Your Dinkus |date = August 26, 2021 |website = Self-Publishing Review }} This technique is used especially in [literary fiction](/source/literary_fiction).{{cite book |title = The Australian Editing Handbook |first1 = Elizabeth |last1 = Flann |first2 = Beryl |last2 = Hill |first3 = Lan |last3 = Wang |year = 2014 }}{{full|date=March 2024}} ===Intentionally omitted information=== {{see also|Ellipsis}} Many applications of the dinkus, including those that were common historically, have indicated intentional omission of information.{{cite book |title = A Comprehensive System of Grammatical and Rhetorical Punctuation |first = Consul Willshire |last = Butterford |year = 1858 |pages = 37, 40 |location = Cincinnati |publisher = Longley Brothers }} Such a dinkus informs the reader that the information has been omitted.{{cite book |title = Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks |first = Keith |last = Houston |year = 2013 }}{{full|date=March 2024}} It can also mean "untitled" or that the author or title was withheld. This is evident, for example, in some editions of ''[Album for the Young](/source/Album_for_the_Young)'' by composer [Robert Schumann](/source/Robert_Schumann) ([№](/source/%E2%84%96) 21, 26, and 30).{{cite book |last = Taruskin |first = Richard |year = 2005 |title = The Oxford History of Western Music |volume = 3 |page = 311 |isbn = 978-0-19-516979-9 }} A dinkus can also be used in any context as a simple means of abbreviation of any text. The dinkus is used specifically in this capacity within the sphere of [lawmaking](/source/lawmaking), particularly for [city ordinance](/source/city_ordinance)s. When used in legal text, the dinkus indicates an abbreviation within amendments to code while not implying the [repeal](/source/repeal) of the omitted sections.{{Cite web |url = https://www.municode.com/code/page/did-you-know-dinkus |title = Did You Know? The Dinkus |website = Municode }} ===Ornamentation=== Newspapers, magazines, and other works can use dinkuses as simple ornamentation, for solely aesthetic reasons.{{cite book |title = Digital Sub-Editing and Design |first = Stephen |last = Quinn |year = 2012 }}{{full|date=March 2024}} A primarily aesthetic dinkus often takes the form of a [fleuron](/source/fleuron_(typography)), e.g., ❧ or a [dingbat](/source/dingbat).{{cite book |title = The Elements of Typographic Style |edition = 3rd |first = Robert |last = Bringhurst |publisher = Hartley & Marks |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-0-88179-206-5 |page = 63, 290–291 |access-date = 10 November 2020 |url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780881791327/page/63/mode/2up }} ===Poetic symbolism=== In some cases, a dinkus has been employed in poetry to convey non-verbal meaning. This is exemplified in the poem ''Thresholes'' by [Lara Mimosa Montes](/source/Lara_Mimosa_Montes), which frequently uses a circular dinkus,  ○ , as a form of "punctuation at the level of the full text, rather than the phrase or the sentence".{{Cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/books/review/on-poetry-punctuation.html |title = How Poets Use Punctuation as a Superpower and a Secret Weapon |first = Elisa |last = Gabbert |newspaper = The New York Times |date = December 29, 2020 }} ==Variations== Many dinkuses are composed partially or entirely of asterisks. Other symbols include a series of dots,{{cite book |last = Lundmark |first = Torbjorn |title = Quirky Qwerty: The Story of the Keyboard @ Your Fingertips |page = 120 |date = 2002 |publisher = University of New South Wales |isbn = 9780868404363 }}{{cite book |title = Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation |first = David |last = Crystal |isbn = 9781781253519 |publisher = London Profile Books |date = 2016 }} [fleuron](/source/fleuron_(typography))s, [asterism](/source/asterism_(typography))s, or small drawings.{{cite dictionary |dictionary=[Macquarie Dictionary](/source/Macquarie_Dictionary) |location=[Sydney](/source/Sydney) |entry=Dinkus |quote=A dinkus is a small drawing used in printing to decorate a page, or to break up a block of type. It was coined by an artist on [Sydney's] ''The Bulletin'' magazine in the 1920s, and it is derived from the word dinky, meaning 'small'}} [Esperanto Braille punctuation](/source/Esperanto_Braille) commonly uses a series of colons, {{bc|25}}{{bc|25}}{{bc|25}}, as a dinkus. ===Gallery=== {{Gallery |title=Dinkuses in literary works |width=160 | height=170 |align=center |File:Bohaterowie Grecji (wycinki) page 20a.jpg |A [Polish](/source/Polish_language) translation of a French work using a series of dots as a dinkus. The dinkus separates the translator's notes from the text. |File:Bohaterowie Grecji (wycinki) page 15c.jpg |A combination of a fleuron and line-shaped dinkus in the same Polish work |File:The castle's heir - a novel in real life - DPLA - e5f157d189829d6fb7ed3afc1b1e4c72 (page 229).jpg |[Mrs. Henry Wood](/source/Ellen_Wood_(author))'s 19th-century novel exemplifying a line-shaped dinkus with a central diamond as a chapter break |File:Infiniteadventures-testprint-1-photo-tbf - 15 (cropped).jpg |A [German](/source/German_literature) novel, ''Infinite Adventures'', with an [infinity symbol](/source/infinity_symbol) in triplicate as a dinkus |File:Alice in Wonderland Page 15.jpg |Lewis Carroll's ''[Alice in Wonderland](/source/Alice_in_Wonderland)'', in a print of indeterminate age, features dinkuses of asterisks forming a field of stars. |File:James Joyce, Ulysses, 1ed 2pr, p240.jpg |''[Ulysses](/source/Ulysses_(novel))'' by [James Joyce](/source/James_Joyce) uses an [asterism](/source/asterism_(typography)) as a dinkus in earlier prints, while newer editions replace it with three horizontal asterisks. }} ==Other uses of the term "dinkus"== {{see also|Śmigus-dyngus}} Among older [Hungarian American](/source/Hungarian_American)s and [Polish American](/source/Polish_American)s, ''dinkus'' (or ''dyngus'') is an archaic term for [Easter Monday](/source/Easter_Monday).{{cite book |title = Celebrating the Family: Ethnicity, Consumer Culture, and Family Rituals |first = Elizabeth Hafkin |last = Pleck |page = 90 |isbn = 9780674002302 |publisher = Harvard University Press |date = 2001 }} In [Australian English](/source/Australian_English), particularly in the [news media](/source/List_of_newspapers_in_Australia), the word "dinkus" refers to a small photograph of the author of a news article.{{Cite web |url = https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/august/1280988123/les-murray/infinite-anthology |title = Infinite Anthology |date = August 5, 2010 |website = The Monthly }}{{Cite web |url = http://theconversation.com/why-the-saturday-papers-design-breeds-disappointment-24198 |title = Why The Saturday Paper's design breeds disappointment |first = Zoe |last = Sadokierski |website = The Conversation |date = 27 March 2014 }} Outside Australia, this is often referred to as a [headshot](/source/headshot). ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * Daisy Alioto's analysis of the dinkus in ''[The Paris Review](/source/The_Paris_Review)'': "[https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/06/08/ode-to-the-dinkus/ Ode to the Dinkus]". {{navbox punctuation}} Category:Typographical symbols Category:Punctuation --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dinkus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinkus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinkus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.