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In article <32384B9B -dot- 1DD9 -at- execpc -dot- com>, eenie -at- execpc -dot- com wrote:
> I am editing a techincal document (a user's guide) and have found a
> noble but unsuccessful attempt by the writer to avoid all widows
> (short lines, often just one word, at the end of a paragraph).
snip
> Does anyone know of, and adhere to, this rule, or am I crazy, spouting
> off these pretend rules?
Joan Nagle wrote an excellent analysis of widows and orphans:
"Of Widows and Orphans." IEEE Professional Communication Society
Newsletter, Volume 39, Number 4, pp. 4-5.
Adding to Joan's list of definitions, the OED says:
Widow: A short line at the end of a paragraph, esp. one which is set at
the top of a page or column, or which contains only (part of) one word,
and is therefore considered unsightly." First use noted: 1904 in
Manuscript Rules of Compositors..."Care should also be exercised to
overcome 'widdies' at the top of pages."
The OED has no typographic definition of "orphan."
Brad
--
Brad Connatser
Concurrent Communications
cwrites -at- usit -dot- net
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