My Wednesday posts are devoted to all things wordy - grammar, etymology, writing, the works.
If it involves language, I'll be talking about it here.
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There is probably no issue in all of grammar that gets people's knickers in a knot more than the use of the Oxford comma. (Also known as the serial comma.) It has a lengthy Wikipedia entry that cites 49 references, a Google search returns dozens of humorous images that illustrate its use, and, we mustn't forget, Vampire Weekend even wrote a song about it.
With the Oxford comma: I went to the store for a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.
Without the Oxford comma: I went to the store for a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter.
No one can seem to agree whether or not the comma is necessary. In very broad terms, most journalists don't use it, and most everyone else does. More specifically, the Canadian Press and the Associated Press Stylebooks advise against its use unless it's needed to avoid confusion, because space is always at a premium in newspapers, while other style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, the Publication Manual of the APA, and Strunk and White's Elements of Style, dictate that it should always be used.