The Comma Queen Explains the Origins of the Ampersand Symbol

In the latest episode of her grammar series, the very informative Mary Norris aka “The Comma Queen” explained the origins of the ampersand (&), defended its use and even demonstrated how to draw the symbol.

If you have trouble making it in cursive handwriting, what I always do is
I just make a treble clef mark and that is approximately the same look as an ampersand.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.