Q. Dear Editor, I was wondering if you could help me with a style query. I am copyediting a 10-chapter document on fish. The author has asked me to include the scientific name in parentheses after the common name of fish species. It seems to me that repeating this each time the fish is mentioned would make the text bulky (the names are repeated often in each section). Can we mention the scientific name of the fish in parentheses just once in each chapter, or should we keep repeating this style after each species is noted? I hope I’m being clear. . . . Many thanks for your advice on this!
A. Just once is enough. According to Scientific Style and Format (published by the University of Chicago Press and, like CMOS, available online), “If the organism is widely known by a vernacular name, this may be used if, at the first reference to the organism, the vernacular name is presented in clear association with the Latin name.” See SSF, section 22.2.3.2.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. With regard to capitalizing city and state, we as reporters are taught to be “consistent,” which can be near impossible. Here is my particular dilemma: The City of Anywhere is being sued. Is city capped throughout as a governmental agency being sued? I thought so, fine, until the matter came up that someone gets paid by the state. Great, now what? Cap one but not the other? It’s really quite maddening and I am in a state of frustration.
A. The first step is to not worry about a “consistency” that is often impossible with city and state because they are capped in proper names and lowercased in generic names, and that is not the kind of inconsistency writers need to avoid. There’s no inconsistency in writing “the State of Illinois” and “I’ve lived in that state a long time” in the same paragraph. Just keep a style sheet and try to use the same case in similar contexts, such as capping the City of Anywhere when it’s mentioned as party to a lawsuit.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What does CMOS say about names of pets? I can’t find it in the index or the section on names.
A. Chicago has no special rules for names of pets; treat them like the names of people.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Dear Chicago experts, do we italicize a ship’s name in quoted dialogue? My client says it should be italicized generally, but not in dialogue.
A. Although CMOS is silent on this issue, it makes sense to use italics within dialogue in the same way you use them in the rest of the text. Italics for titles prevents the words from being mistaken as part of the main syntax; styling them the same way in both text and dialogue will prevent confusion.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. While CMOS states that a ship’s name should be set in italics, what if it is used as a part of the name of a larger body, such as the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group? Would the ship’s name be italicized in that instance?
A. Although CMOS is silent on the subject, using all roman type in this situation seems similar to putting periodical titles in roman when they are part of the name of an organization, building, award, or so forth (Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Chicago Defender Charities). Please see CMOS 8.172.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When pluralizing surnames, are there instances when using an apostrophe could be considered appropriate? For example, “We’re going to dinner with the Laos” is potentially confusing. This sentence could easily be reworded (We’re going to dinner with the Lao family), but I’m wondering if Lao’s could be allowed in this context; that is, when pluralizing short, traditionally Asian surnames that could be misread when an s is added (e.g., the Gus, the Hans).
A. Although one could argue for this solution by citing the apostrophes that CMOS recommends for the plural of lowercase letters of the alphabet (“two a’s and three b’s”), using an apostrophe in surnames to indicate the plural is going to strike many readers as a flat-out mistake. You’re right that it’s easy to reword.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. The author has italicized the names of fashionable gowns (e.g., “the Primavera gown, inspired by Botticelli”), perhaps as a work of art. My inclination is to remove the italics. Do you have a guideline on this?
A. I suppose it seems perverse that a “style” guide has no guidelines for fashion. But a Primavera gown is just another branded product, no different from, say, Purina Waggin’ Train Chicken Jerky Tenders, for which simple caps will do.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Should the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual be italicized in the text? What about when it is referred to only as the DSM?
A. Yes; italicize a book title and its abbreviation: the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m editing a translated interview transcription for publication by a university press. The sentence in question reads as follows: I asked, “Mr. agent, why don’t you do me a favor.” The speaker is addressing an unidentified agent of a Colombian paramilitary. The uncapitalized agent looks strange following the title of address, but then of course agent isn’t an actual capitalizable name. Should I go with “Mr. Agent,” or would “Mister Agent” take some of the formal edge off, or is “Mr. agent” preferable?
A. “Mister Agent” or “Mr. Agent” would both follow the customary capitalization. I agree that there is little precedent for “Mr. agent.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m editing a biography of a WWII pilot. Would bomber training and fighter training be capitalized because they are referring to specific types of planes?
A. Fighters and bombers are not actually specific types of planes; they are general categories. Specific types of fighters would be (for example) the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. You can find a list of WWII fighters and bombers here.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]