EDITORIAL: Capturing the meaning of ...

Jun. 10—What does your dot-dot-dot mean to you?

First, a lesson: Many have used this simplistic design to indicate a concept of continuance, an unfinished journey, or a slow change of idea or thought.

In journalism, those three little dots are called an ellipsis (plural: ellipses). The term ellipsis comes from the Greek word meaning "omission," and that's just what an ellipsis does — it shows that something has been left out. When quoting someone, an ellipsis is used to show that some of their words have been omitted.

The three dots tattoo is a common prison tattoo that represents "mi vida loca," or "my crazy life." It's not associated with any particular gang, but with the gang lifestyle itself. This tattoo is typically found on the hands or around the eyes.

Spiritually, the dot-dot-dot can be used to show beginning, middle and end — or heaven, earth and the waters — or body, soul and spirit. Some use three-dot symbolism within their tattoo to convey a deeper spiritual meaning, as three is considered a sacred number in many religions and belief systems.

Researching the use of dot-dot-dot further, I have found that a female (and I'm not making this up) will use dot-dot-dot to convey she wants the receiver to fill in that blank — and in that way is very coy and potentially flirty.

And no, there was no mention of what it means when a male sends a dot-dot-dot, so I will step out on a limb and assume it means the same thing — or that their brain simply went numb.

Here's one for those who are math junkies. According to Google, and I quote: "in logical argument and mathematical proof, the therefore sign — three dots in a triangular position — is generally used before a logical consequence, such as the conclusion of a syllogism. The symbol consists of three dots placed in an upright triangle and is read therefore.

By the time I arrived at the word syllogism, I had a headache.

Professionally I use do-dot-dot regularly, and for precisely the same reason as mentioned above. Getting quotes from those involved in a story is important to give the story better credibility and insert a more human feel. But sometimes, that human feel can be a bit too extensive and often take the long route to get where you need to be — kind of like being told how the watch was made when you simply asked where it was purchased.

So, in those cases, the dot-dot-dot helps keep the quoted individual on point.

Personally, I use the dot-dot-dot sparingly and with intended purpose. Which is to be either mysterious about what I might be thinking or to let someone know there is more, but not yet.

I realize this has taken up less space that usual, so to help with that, I will leave you with ...

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or cvincent@bladenjournal.com.