Intypography, adinkus is a typographic device or convention that typically consists of three spacedasterisks orbullet symbols in a horizontal row, e.g. ∗ ∗ ∗ or • • • . The device has a variety of uses, and it usually denotes an intentional omission or a logical "break" of varying degree in a written work. This latter use is similar to asubsection, and it indicates to the reader that the subsequent text should be re-contextualized. When used this way, the dinkus typically appearscentrally aligned on a line of its own with vertical spacing before and after the device. The dinkus has been in use in various forms sincec. 1850.[1][2] Historically, the dinkus was often represented as anasterism,⁂, though this use has fallen out of favor and is now nearly obsolete.[3]
The word was coined by an artist on the Australian periodical,The Bulletin, in the 1920s and is derived from the worddinky.[4]
The dinkus is used for various purposes, but many of them are related to an intentional break in the flow of the text.
A dinkus can be used to accentuate a break betweensubsections of a single overarching section.[5] When an author chooses to use a dinkus to divide a larger section,[6][7] the intent is to maintain an overall sense of continuity within the overall chapter or section while changing elements of the setting or timeline.[8][9] For instance, when the writer is introducing a flashback or other jarring scene change, a dinkus can help denote the change in setting within the overall theme of the chapter; in that case, it can be preferable to the initiation of a new chapter.[10] This technique is used especially inliterary fiction.[8][10]
Many applications of the dinkus, including those that were common historically, have indicated intentional omission of information.[1] In these cases, the dinkus is used to inform the reader that the information has been omitted.[2] It can also be used to mean "untitled" or that the author or title was withheld. This is evident, for example, in some editions ofAlbum for the Young by composerRobert Schumann (№ 21, 26, and 30).[11]
A dinkus can also be used in any context as a simple means of abbreviation of any text.[9] The dinkus is also used specifically in this capacity within the sphere oflawmaking, particularly forcity ordinances. When used in legal text, the dinkus indicates an abbreviation within amendments to code while not implying therepeal of the omitted sections.[12]
Newspapers, magazines, and other works can use dinkuses as simple ornamentation of typography, for solely aesthetic reasons.[13] When a dinkus is used primarily for aesthetic purposes, it often takes the form of afleuron, e.g.,❧ or adingbat.[14]
In some cases, the use of a dinkus has been employed in poetry in order to convey non-verbal meaning. This is exemplified in the poemThresholes by Lara Mimosa Montes, in which the poet makes frequent use of a circular dinkus, ○ , as a form of "punctuation at the level of the full text, rather than the phrase or the sentence" throughout the course of the work.[15]
Many variations of dinkuses are composed partially or entirely of asterisks, although other symbols can be used to achieve the same goals. Some examples include a series of dots,[16][17]fleurons,[17]asterisms, or small drawings.[4]Esperanto Braille punctuation commonly uses a series of colons,⠒⠒⠒, as a dinkus.
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Among olderHungarian Americans andPolish Americans,dinkus (ordyngus) is an archaic term forEaster Monday.[18]
InAustralian English, particularly in thenews media, the word "dinkus" refers to a small photograph of the author of a news article.[19][20] Outside of Australia, this is often referred to as aheadshot.
A dinkus is a small drawing used in printing to decorate a page, or to break up a block of type. It was coined by an artist on [Sydney's]The Bulletin magazine in the 1920s, and it is derived from the word dinky, meaning 'small'