If we’re going to be pedantic, the em is a unit of width that depends on the font, but not necessarily the with off an m. Some texts apparently used to define it as the width of the capital M, but this definition is obsolete. source
We’ve got our browser set to use a monospace font for everything, everywhere, including all websites. It’s awesome for seeing if you’ve accidentally typed two spaces. Not so great for checking to make sure you’re using the right kind of dash!
– Frost
(also Lemmy, because it’s annoying, is going to turn my double - here into an en/em dash (not 100% sure which). In this case, I DO in fact mean a double -, dangit.)
I’m too pedantic to let this slide. An em-dash — is a single dash, the width of an m. An en-dash – is a single dash the width of an n
If we’re going to be pedantic, the em is a unit of width that depends on the font, but not necessarily the with off an m. Some texts apparently used to define it as the width of the capital M, but this definition is obsolete. source
So that’s where the name comes from. I never would’ve guessed it was something this straightforward :)
On that note, are em dashes and en dashes identical in monospace fonts, if every letter is the same width?
Edit: I tested this on a few monospace fonts, and they have a character for en dashes but not em dashes
Very, very similar, yes. It can be annoying!
We’ve got our browser set to use a monospace font for everything, everywhere, including all websites. It’s awesome for seeing if you’ve accidentally typed two spaces. Not so great for checking to make sure you’re using the right kind of dash!
– Frost
(also Lemmy, because it’s annoying, is going to turn my double - here into an en/em dash (not 100% sure which). In this case, I DO in fact mean a double -, dangit.)