This template creates a long dash (of approximately 3 ems in length).

In older modern novels it is common for names of people and places, and sometimes dates, to be abbreviated by use of a long dash. The purpose of these dashes was to provide anonymity without losing veracity — as if to say that the writer is able to provide the name/date but has chosen to censor themselves. In more informal writing (such as letters) it was also sometimes used as an abbreviation for a name already provided in full.

This template provides a long dash constructed using three em dashes, with the spacing between them adjusted by 0.25 em.

Wikitext Output
"I do not as yet see my way to going as far as Lord B{{longdash}}." "I do not as yet see my way to going as far as Lord B———."

In situations like the above it can also be useful to wrap the whole word in a non-wrapping template, to avoid a mid-word line break:

"…far as Lord {{nowrap|B{{longdash}}."}}

See also

ред.
  • To hyphenate words, use a hyphen; this is available on nearly all keyboards.
  • To express from-to ranges, such as "January–February 1886", use an en dash; see {{ndash}}
  • For dashes that divide sentence fragments, use an em dash. {{--}} renders an em dash without surrounding hairspaces.
  • For a variable-length mid-height bar consider {{bar}}.