*Ask Jen

Victor asks, "What's a 'penumbra'? Is there ever a time when one is 'practical'? Also, should the question marks go inside or outside of the quotation marks, in the two previous questions?"

The, ahem, dictionary defines "penumbra" as:

1 a : a space of partial illumination (as in an eclipse) between the perfect shadow on all sides and the full light b : a shaded region surrounding the dark central portion of a sunspot
2 : a surrounding or adjoining region in which something exists in a lesser degree : FRINGE
3 : a body of rights held to be guaranteed by implication in a civil constitution

As for their practicality, I have no comment.

Now onto your third question (cheater)--if you were quoting Susie, you used quotation marks correctly. You should not alter a direct quote with your own punctuation.

Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.

Posted by Jennifer at October 13, 2003 12:01 AM

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