<p>as my SAT instructors love to say, “it’s not about choosing the perfect answer; it’s about choosing the best answer.” while it might not make much sense to use a semicolon with “but,” it’s certainly not incorrect. I can see why one may want to do so (maybe in a complicated Huck Finn-type sentence), but you’re right, crazybandit: it seems a little off in this example.</p>