Do you call it the serial comma or the Oxford comma?

There is a ferocious grammatical debate over whether a comma should go before the final conjunction in a series of three or more elements. It is the difference between “Bring hot glue, an icepick and a hairnet” and “Bring hot glue, an icepick, and a hairnet.” (Note: we have no idea what’s about to go down for the person saying this sentence.)

This special comma is known as the serial comma or, sometimes, the Oxford comma. If you are at all familiar with Vampire Weekend, you know they aren’t fans of this punctuation mark. But we here at Dictionary.com, and other proponents like us, happen to like this little comma (sorry, Vampire Weekend). For us, this mighty comma is a much-appreciated tool in our never-ending quest to convey meaning as clearly as possible.

Still not convinced? Take a look at these hilarious examples of real-world sentences that are sorely missing a serial comma.