OBLIQUE An oblique (/) is also called a diagonal, slash, slant, virgule, or solidus. It is not usually immediately preceded or followed by a space. It is commonly used in place of a dash or hyphen, or to separate words or numbers. Use an oblique between units of measure or sides of a ratio. 60 miles/hour 23 mi/gal 70/30 split 2003/2004 fiscal year price/earnings ratio of 17.5 Use an oblique in place of or and and/or when expressing alternatives. his/her he/she higher/lower Jan/Feb Use an oblique for and in certain compound terms. diesel/electric (engine) July/August (issue) 2003/04 (academic year) oil/wood (heating system) Use an oblique to (sometimes) replace certain prepositions such as at, of, for, and versus. Fall/winter session Teacher/parent night Vice President/Sales Use an oblique to punctuate certain abbreviations. a/c air conditioning a/r account receivable a//p account payable b/s bill of sale w/w wall-to-wall r/w right of way Use an oblique to separate the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or the elements of a date that has been expressed numerically. 4 1/4 inches in width 3 1/2 rooms 10 3/8 kilometers 12/25/03