Punctuation for the phrase "including but not limited to"?

Question

When using the phrase "including but not limited to", how should it be punctuated?When used in the following (no punctuation):> There are many activities including but not limited to running jumping and swimmingMy first try:> There are many activities including, but not limited to, running, jumping, and swimming.Then I thought... maybe I need another one? Is this, or perhaps the previous version correct?> There are many activities, including, but not limited to, running, jumping, and swimming.Eh, maybe that's too many. Does this justify a colon? Is it grammatically correct? With or without the first comma in parens?> There are many activities(,) including, but not limited to: running, jumping, and swimming.No? Then what about this?> There are many activities, including - but not limited to - running, jumping, and swimming.

Answer 1

Generally speaking "less is more." In this case the clearest solution is "There are many activities including, but not limited, to running, jumping (,) and swimming.

The "Oxford comma" between "jumping" and the "and" is optional. If included it clearly distinguishes the three separate activities with no potential to think that "jumping and swimming" is somehow "one activity type" that includes both jumping and swimming.

However, the two different activities of jumping and swimming are distinct enough that there is little chance of confusing them as one activity. In this case the "Oxford comma" in parentheses above is also not necessary. So following the principal of "less is more" I recommend the simplest and clearest solution is "There are many activities including, but not limited, running, jumping and swimming."

Regards

Bill