When does a colon do what you want it to do? (grammatically, that is)?

Question

Is the colon the right thing to use here, or is there another kind of punctuation that would work better?

"It was cruel: too cruel to use on anyone, let alone a child."

Answer 1

no http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/lsc/faq/eng/enggraer.htm

Answer 2

The colon is usually followed by a listing of items or qualities directly related to the statement before the colon. In your example, a hyphen would work, or better yet, create a pause with ... !

Answer 3

It is wrong to use it here. You could eother use a fullstop to create a dramatic pause or use a semi-colon to create a long pause.