the oxford comma

I once had a job interview where I was asked how I felt about the Oxford comma. I told them that whether you use it or not use it is fine, as long as you are consistent. I find it perfectly acceptable to not use the Oxford comma because, for the most part, I believe that if you wrote a list of every vegetable you bought at the grocery store, your audience will be smart enough to understand that each one is a separate entity in the list. But I err on the side of caution and use it because there are times when it will change the meaning of the sentence. As an example, I brought up this image that has been circling the internet for quite some time:

When I was driving back home, all I could think was "Oh my God. I brought up strippers in my interview." But it worked out because I got the job.

So I guess my lesson here is that, as writers, we should always say something memorable.






much love,
hedgie