diff --git a/docs/design-principles.md b/docs/design-principles.md
index 36cedf4..e82e0a3 100644
--- a/docs/design-principles.md
+++ b/docs/design-principles.md
@@ -51,8 +51,13 @@ evolves.
   single-trusted-author assumption above.
 - Renderer: **markdown-it-py** with mdit-py-plugins (footnotes, definition
   lists, task lists, brace-attributes; tables and strikethrough from the
-  default preset), with `html=True` for raw passthrough. Fenced code blocks
-  are highlighted server-side with **Pygments** (`nowrap` spans styled by
+  default preset), with `html=True` for raw passthrough,
+  `typographer=True` for SmartyPants-style replacements in body text (curly
+  quotes, `--` / `---` → en / em dashes, `...` → ellipsis, `(c)` → ©, etc.),
+  and `breaks=True` so single line breaks inside paragraphs become `<br>`.
+  Code spans/blocks and raw HTML are left untouched. Fenced code blocks are
+  highlighted server-side with
+  **Pygments** (`nowrap` spans styled by
   `/_assets/pygments-*.css`, which maps every token class onto the `--code-*`
   variables; the base stylesheet defines light and dark palette sets resolved
   via `light-dark()`, so each theme gets the set matching its `color-scheme`
diff --git a/pagerite/markdown.py b/pagerite/markdown.py
index 8b3fa8f..e8d41cd 100644
--- a/pagerite/markdown.py
+++ b/pagerite/markdown.py
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ single author is trusted. Extensions: tables and strikethrough (from the
 brace-attributes (`{.class width=300}` on any element, images in
 particular).
 
+markdown-it's typographer is enabled, so body text gets SmartyPants-style
+replacements: straight quotes become curly, ``--`` / ``---`` become en / em
+dashes, ``...`` becomes an ellipsis, ``(c)`` becomes ©, and so on. Single
+line breaks inside paragraphs become ``<br>`` (``breaks: True``). Code
+spans/blocks and raw HTML are left untouched.
+
 Images get special treatment: a relative `src` is resolved against the
 page's own path (so `![alt](photo.avif)` in `/docs/design` is served from
 `/docs/design/photo.avif`), and an image with a title becomes a
@@ -110,7 +116,15 @@ def _tag_task_checkboxes(state) -> None:
 
 
 md = (
-    MarkdownIt("default", {"html": True, "highlight": _highlight})
+    MarkdownIt(
+        "default",
+        {
+            "html": True,
+            "highlight": _highlight,
+            "typographer": True,
+            "breaks": True,
+        },
+    )
     .use(attrs_plugin)
     .use(footnote_plugin)
     .use(deflist_plugin)