HEY KIDS! IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EXCITING EPISODE OF **KNOW YOUR DASHES**!!!

This is a "m-dash" — it's kinda long! You use it to separate thoughts, kinda like I did just now! It's called that, because it's as wide as the "m" character!

This here is a "n-dash": "–" you use it to separate dates like "2003–14"!

"-" is a hyphen! You use it to separate compound words that come before a noun, like "state-of-the-art waterbuffalo"!

"--" is two hyphens. IF YOU USE THIS YOU ARE A COMPLETE, UTTER FOOL.