Okay, I admit it. I'm not totally and completely in love with the Oxford comma. Instead, as an editor, I love what the Oxford comma does: It cuts down on ambiguity in a series of items (which is why it's also called the "series" or "serial" comma). You see, if you and I were speaking, I could probably tell what you meant when you said to me: "This weekend, I'm going home to see my family, my husband and my cat." In part, that would be because of context. After all, if I know

When I meet people for the first time, during the small-talk phase, I'm often asked what I do. When I explain that I work as an editor, I get a range of responses. There are the people who simply smile and nod (I admit that I do the same when someone says she's an accountant); the people who say that they'll never link to me on social media for fear that I'll correct them (I won't); and—I admit this is a fairly small group—the people who ask what I edit, and why I do it. In t