Backwards question mark how to#
Backwards question mark mac#

The modern question mark (? U+003F) is descended from the 'punctus interrogativus' (described as 'a lightning flash, striking from right to left'), but unlike the modern question mark, the punctus interrogativus may be contrasted with the punctus percontativus-the former marking questions that require an answer while the latter marks rhetorical questions. This character can be represented using the reversed question mark (вё®) found in Unicode as U+2E2E another character approximating it is the Arabic question mark (Шџ), U+061F. ItвЂ™s not irony when you got a flat tire going to lunch.ДЄnd now, thanks to the irony mark, when I tweet you and say вЂњthatвЂ™s niceШџвЂќ youвЂ™ll know what I really meant., a reversed question mark later referred to as a rhetorical question mark, was proposed by Henry Denham in the 1580s and was used at the end of a question that does not require an answer-a rhetorical question. So - according to - if I say вЂњthatвЂ™s niceвЂќ when you tell me you got a flat tire, thatвЂ™s irony. ItвЂ™s not an вЂњodd coincidenceвЂќ or вЂњmisfortune.вЂќ And itвЂ™s certainly not rain on my f-ing wedding day! Irony is when a statement conveys the opposite meaning of what you said. This may help people understand what irony truly is. Because of its longevity, itвЂ™s the one that many вЂњwe need an irony markвЂќ proponents are already suggesting. ItвЂ™s over 430 years old, even though it was never widely used. I also prefer DenhamвЂ™s backward question mark because itвЂ™s historic.

The SarcMark looks sort of like the symbol, but with a period instead of the letter вЂaвЂ™ inside. Right now, itвЂ™s a Windows-only app that lets you use the SarcMark with a few keystrokes.

Backwards question mark mac#

I understand that the SarcMark is making its way into use, but unfortunately, as a Mac user, I canвЂ™t use it. Or you can just copy it here and save it somewhere else, like an Evernote document. (Kidding! Just kidding! Some of my best friends are Linux users.) If youвЂ™re a Linux user, I didnвЂ™t think you guys got humor, so I donвЂ™t know if itвЂ™s even available to you.

Backwards question mark how to#

I havenвЂ™t done Windows for about 4 years, and I donвЂ™t remember how to enter Unicode.) (Windows users, if this doesnвЂ™t work, please let me know. Press the + (plus) key on the numeric keypad.If youвЂ™re a Windows user, I believe you can type the mark this way: When it comes up, insert it or copy and paste it. The best way to get it is to open up the Characters box (usually command-option-T). If youвЂ™re a Mac user, thereвЂ™s no easy way to do it. Unfortunately, itвЂ™s not that easy to get to at the moment. So in our quest to show that weвЂ™re being snarky and sarcastic, social media people have been looking for a way to show their sarcasm in as few keystrokes as possible, which is why the irony mark can solve a lot of problems. WeвЂ™ve tried the :-| and the marks, but every extra character takes up valuable space in a 140 character tweet. The problem is that twitterers and emailers have had a hard time denoting sarcasm, irony, and eye rollable statements. ItвЂ™s an odd coincidence - but NOT ironic - that a 430-year-old mark may just find its usage in the 21st century, thanks to modern technology. The reverse question mark, or irony mark, is used to denote irony and sarcasm. It seems the backward question mark, also called the rhetorical question mark or percontation point, has been the historic favorite, having been proposed by English printer Henry Denham back in 1580.

The discussion and desire for an irony/sarcasm mark is one that has been making the Twitter rounds lately, and I may have accidentally stumbled upon the answer.