I have never understood people’s reluctance to use punctuation – correctly or not. It is the scaffolding that supports meaning and intention, and separates sloganeers from communicators. Pairing down punctuation may seem sleek and machine-friendly, but it sacrifices nuance.
Commas seem especially vulnerable, so you can do worse then read the CMOS Shop Talk post on comma usage, to see just how hard this tiny mark works (https://cmosshoptalk.com/2025/06/10/when-commas-come-in-pairs/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-commas-come-in-pairs). Semicolons are also on the endangered list, but unlike Grammar Underground’s June Casagrande, I am a cheerleader for the tipped wink (;) (https://www.grammarunderground.com/not-grieving-the-demise-of-the-semicolon.html). In my opinion, it changes the key of a discussion from major to minor and gives a subtle hint to the significance of a dependent clause. It is the weight of pause that is important, not merely the clarity it gives.
If all that sounds like the groaning of an ailing dinosaur, then ignore me and read about how the way we use words is evolving on the OUPBlog (https://blog.oup.com/2025/06/the-words-we-use/) … yes it’s true that grammar inconsistencies, clichés and tautologies may be accepted as normal now, but I have one pet peeve: unless it’s a Byzantine-style painting of a saint in an orthodox Christian church, please stop automatically describing something as ‘iconic’. Even if it’s perfectly punctuated.