Dog's bollocks (typography)

The dog's bollocks or dog's ballocks is an outdated typographical construction consisting of a colon followed by a hyphen or dash (i.e. ":-" or ":—"), which was at one time used to indicate a restful pause. The construction—so named for its phallic appearance—appeared as early as 1949, as cited by the Oxford English Dictionary and etymologist Eric Partridge. The construction is primarily seen in British English, particularly in formal texts such as legal documents. Though at one time taught in schools, its use is now discouraged.