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 swimming My 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

The way I see it, each of your approaches are in some form usable. I would use one of these:

1. There are many activities, including but not limited to: running, jumping, and swimming.
2. There are many activities, including —but not limited to— running, jumping, and swimming.
3. There are many activities, including (but not limited to) running, jumping, and swimming.

I usually do well with my grammar; however, a second opinion might be valuable.