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+The um-dash
+###########
+
+:date: Wed 9 August 2023
+
+.. role:: um-dash
+.. role:: um-dash-lazy
+
+If you have read my blog or other writings for any amount of time, first of all, *sorry*, but
+secondly, you'll know I make gratuitous use of the em-dash. I find it great for interjections, but
+it can also be used to inject some dramatic pauses into text—*like this*.
+
+Sometimes, however, the em-dash just doesn't cut it, sass-wise. There are longer options for this,
+like the 3-em dash⸻a dastardly long strike that can only be interpreted as total bewilderment. I use
+this sparingly but pointedly.
+
+Unfortunately, the creator of the world wide web, Al Gore, decided this was long enough to cover all
+the range of human emotions expressed as text, and so the 4-em dash was scrapped.
+
+I don't think like Al Gore though, and I certainly don't look like him: I think we have only
+begun to plumb the depths of various line lengths in punctuation.
+
+It was with this thought, or maybe the absense of productive thoughts, that I developed the um-dash
+:um-dash:`⸻` a truly apocalyptic pause in text.
+
+Please use it with caution.
+
+.. list-table::
+   :widths: 20 20 30
+   :header-rows: 1
+
+   * - dash type
+     - name
+     - spiciness
+   * - \- 
+     - dash
+     - water
+   * - –
+     - en-dash
+     - ketchup
+   * - —
+     - em-dash
+     - green pepper
+   * - ⸺
+     - 2-em dash
+     - jalapeno
+   * - ⸻
+     - 3-em dash
+     - scotch bonnet
+   * - :um-dash-lazy:`⸻`
+     - um-dash
+     - **heat of a thousand suns on your tongue**
+
+.. raw:: html
+
+   <style type="text/css">
+      .um-dash {
+          -webkit-transform: scaleX(2);
+          transform: scaleX(2);
+          display: inline-block;
+          margin: 0 1.2em 0;
+      }
+      .um-dash-lazy {
+          -webkit-transform: scaleX(2);
+          transform: scaleX(2);
+          display: inline-block;
+          margin: 0 1.5em 0;
+      }
+   </style>