Abbreviations
Q. I am editing a dissertation for a client who wants to use an abbreviation “N.” in place of “Nietzsche” in a dissertation on Nietzsche. Her advisor said this is okay. I told her it is not okay, and that abbreviations, explained in a list of abbreviations, should be used only for titles of works or for author’s names if they are used in citations but not in the text itself. Am I right? Answer »
Q. When you have an initialism, do you cap the first letter of each word when the phrase is completely spelled out? Answer »
Q. Is it proper to define an acronym within an acronym or an abbreviation within an abbreviation? I am working on a document that contains an abbreviation that is really two other abbreviations smushed together with additional words tacked onto either side. And to top it all off, the overall abbreviation doesn’t even contain the first letter of every word in the other two abbreviations. They’ve dropped letters to make it shorter. Finally, if it is acceptable to do this sort of thing, how would I define the abbreviation or acronym on first use within the document if the two incorporated abbreviations were not previously defined in the document? Whew! Answer »
Q. I’m editing a college-level textbook. Is it proper to eliminate the titles Mr., Mrs., etc. in running text? For example, after Mary Louise Jones is first introduced, should she be “Mrs. Jones” or just “Jones” thereafter? It seems cumbersome to repeat “Mrs.” over and over, especially if she is mentioned often. Answer »
Q. I am editing a manuscript of a law book that uses many specialized abbreviations. There is a table of abbreviations, but we have decided to spell out each abbreviation the first time it is used in each chapter, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. The only question I have is regarding abbreviations for commonly known words. For example, the author lists the United States in the table of abbreviations. To be consistent, I have spelled out United States the first time it is used and followed it with (U.S.). This strikes me as kind of silly, as everyone knows that the U.S. is the United States. Any suggestions? Answer »
Q. How do I spell MIKE in Spanish? I want to put it with a tattoo I’m getting. Thanks. Answer »
Q. I am an elementary school teacher and am confronted with an abbreviation debate. How should the abbreviation of United States of America be taught? I am finding that it is acceptable in several forms, but I would like to be as accurate as possible. Answer »
Q. I am editing a book in which the author uses one acronym to refer to a term that can have two different endings. For example, BE would be used for “book editor” and “book editing.” Sample sentences: “BE is a complicated process. As a BE, one can make a million dollars.” How should I handle this? How would you spell out the acronym on first mention? (I am working on the second edition, and the use of the one acronym was accepted for the first edition.) Answer »
Q. Hello, another question from New Zealand. I am unsure as to the rules for spelling out what abbreviations stand for. In the passage I am proofreading, we refer to the DSD and the BPD, which stand for the design strategy document and the business process document, respectively. Am I right in thinking these should be lowercase when written in full? Answer »
Q. Should a noun that is represented by an acronym be initial capped upon first reference, e.g., ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) vs. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)? Also, would this noun be initial capped (sans acronym) throughout the rest of the document? Answer »
Q. As a graduate of the College at the University of Chicago, I received an A.B. degree in anthropology. I have traditionally listed my degree as “A.B. Anthropology, University of Chicago.” However, in preparing my résumé for inclusion in proposals, my employer wants to list it as “B.A. Anthropology, University of Chicago.” What is the correct format, or is there no difference? Answer »
Q. Most people no longer use a typewriter and carbon paper when making a copy of a letter. Does that mean that “cc” should now be just “c”? Answer »
Q. I am surprised that you spell Ms (as in Ms Helen Jones) with a period (Ms. Helen Jones). Nothing is being abbreviated (as in Mr. or Mrs.). Our University Senate adopted plain Ms in its documents some time ago! Answer »
Q. Hello. I’m editing this passage: “I liked not ever knowing when I was going to be UA’d, because in the beginning of my treatment it made me stay off the pills.” UA stands for “urinalysis.” Is it correct to include an apostrophe in “UA’d”? Would appreciate your help very much. Answer »
Q. What if Turabian says to use periods with A.D. and B.C. but CMOS recommends no periods—when Turabian is the guide specified for a thesis? Answer »
Q. Dear Sir or Madam: My client prefers to use the article a before an abbreviation such as LCMOS. I suggest using an, since the letter L is pronounced “ell.” What does the Chicago Manual of Style recommend? Answer »
Q. I’m editing an army paper, and they put EVERYTHING in caps, which I reduce to lowercase when possible. Is the following okay, or do the spelled-out names get lowercased in such cases? “For analysis purposes, the Fatigue-Avoidance Scheduling Tool (FAST), based on the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task-Effectiveness (SAFTE) model. . . .” Answer »
Q. I work for a technical magazine. I’ve always been taught that when it comes to acronyms, the rule is you spell out the words first followed by the acronym in parentheses, and then use the acronym for later references in the copy. If there are no other mentions of the acronym later in the copy, then you just spell it out without the acronym in parentheses. Is this correct? My coworker is debating this with me. Thanks!!!!!!! Answer »
Q. Would you please explain when to use “e.g.” and when to use “i.e.?” Thank you. Answer »
Q. We have a new employee who holds two PhDs. She insists on having her name listed as “Jane Doe, PhD, PhD.” We are in a university environment and agree that degrees are important, but doesn’t this seem a bit much? Answer »
Q. More often in bibliographic citations, I am seeing the abbreviations s.l. and s.n. in place of n.p. where the place and/or publisher are unknown. What do these abbreviations mean, and are they likely to take over n.p.? Answer »
Q. I am trying to find out when you write if you say “an MBA” or “a MBA.” Here is the example I’m trying to figure out: He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Answer »
Q. I am a graduate of the U of C and working in an environment surrounded by colleagues with Oxon and Cantab after their degrees (Oxon and Cantab being abbreviations for the Latinized forms for Oxford and Cambridge; see section 15.45 of CMOS 15). Here is my stupid question: Is there a Latinized form for “Chicago” that I could use similarly? Although the word Chicago is certainly not of Indo-European origin, that certainly would not deter someone from its Latinization. Answer »
Q. I had always understood the term acronym to mean an abbreviation that spells a word, such as snafu (per Webster’s), but in your manual [the fourteenth edition, 1993] the two terms are used interchangeably. Can you tell me where you get your definition of acronym? Answer »
Q. I hope you can resolve a dispute between me and my editor. After introducing an acronym, e.g., “Bureau of Land Management,” to “BLM,” I like to drop the “the” in introducing it. For example, I think the least awkward way is to say “BLM is charged with the oversight of . . .” as opposed to “The BLM is . . .” Do you have any rule that covers this issue? Answer »
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