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Upside-Down Question-Mark Contest: Now, You Choose the Winner!
Filed under: Letters & Challenges Tagged: contests, food, Pablo Neruda, poetry, punctuation
Update: The winners!
The ghost of James Murray, patron saint of the OED, hovers over us tremulously as we offer you our poll of finalists from Emdashes’ very own Upside-Down Question Mark Contest. Meanwhile, Pablo Neruda, who refused to use this form of punctuation, throws up his hands in a corner of that celestial Scribbler’s Green where all writers go—a place that all deceased literary critics are barred from entering. ¿Will this stop us? We say, respectfully but firmly: ¡no!
We offer you these names, hand-picked from an Emdashes orchard of more than 60 great entries, so thank you to all who submitted! The winner of this poll will win our grand prize, which, as you know, is either dinner for two at the Spanish, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Dominican, &c., restaurant of your choice, or, if you prefer, a beautiful copy of Neruda’s immortal The Book of Questions.
1. the qué mark—submitted by Liesl (our own Martin Schneider submitted a variation on this entry, but since he’s an editor and judge, he’s disqualified from prizewinning; sorry, Martin!)
2. splainu—submitted by John
3. quiggle—submitted by Carolita
4. interroverti—submitted by Nadine & Chris LaRoche
5. ¿nu?—submitted by Paul Shaw
6. Prask and Pre-Q—both submitted by J.D.
7. Askin—submitted by N.F.
We also want to offer you some etymological background and information on some of these entries. Note that ¿nu? reads the same right side up or upside down. (Turn over your computer—see?) “Splainu” derives from I Love Lucy, specifically from Ricky Ricardo’s “Lu-seee, you haf some splainu to do!” The venerable interroverti is derived from the Latin components “interrogo” and “verti/verto/versum,” meaning “to turn over,” “to turn about,” &c.
And here are the final eight—may the best mark-marker win, and watch out for those hanging ¿chads?
About us
Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
You'd like to know more about the writers and artists and what our column titles mean? We live to serve!
We welcome tips, questions, comments, and corrections, and are always on the lookout for ardent, obsessive new contributors. Click here to email us.
We host occasional book giveaways. Publishers, please email us for our postal address.
Tell me more
Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
Blogroll highlights
- Box Office Boffo
- World of Pollux
- Jonathan Taylor
- Carolita Johnson
- Songs for blogroll lovers (more links)
- Follow us on Twitter
- Befriend us on Facebook
- Get a t-shirt at the Emdashes store
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Comments
Say, when’s the deadline for the voting?
September 22!