Dash's cousin is the COLON (:) and the HYPHEN (-). The COLON is a punctuation mark consisting of two equally sized dots placed one above the other on the same line. It is used to introduce a list, a quotation, or an explanation. The HYPHEN is a punctuation mark consisting of a short horizontal line. It is used to join words or parts of words, or to indicate a range or connection between two numbers or dates. Both the COLON and the HYPHEN are used to indicate pauses in a sentence.