CLHS: Section 1.4.1.4.3

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## 1.4.1.4.3 Use of the Dot Character

The dot appearing by itself in an expression such as

`(`item1`` item2`.` tail`)`

means that tail represents a list of objects at the end of a list. For example,

`(A B C . (D E F))`

is notationally equivalent to:

`(A B C D E F)`

Although dot is a valid constituent character in a symbol, no standardized symbols contain the character dot, so a period that follows a reference to a symbol at the end of a sentence in this document should always be interpreted as a period and never as part of the symbol's name. For example, within this document, a sentence such as ``This sample sentence refers to the symbol car.'' refers to a symbol whose name is `"CAR"` (with three letters), and never to a four-letter symbol `"CAR."`

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