Q. I would like to know if a rule exists for the use of “all” and “all of.” Which of these sentences is correct: All the employees submitted vacation requests OR All of the employees submitted vacation requests? Thanks for your help.
A. Chicago style deletes the “of” whenever possible; see CMOS 5.250, s.v. “all (of).” Dictionaries are great for figuring out what words mean. Look up “all” and you’ll learn that it can be used as an adjective modifying a subject (“all employees”) or as a pronoun subject, which can be modified by a prepositional phrase (“of the employees”). When you write “all the employees,” the latter construction is at work; the “of” is silent but understood.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. With respect to insurance claims, which is the preferred usage, “payer” or “payor”? They appear to each be legitimate. Merriam-Webster refers to “payor” as a variant of “payer,” but usage of “payor” is commonplace within the industry as well. Any definitive help is appreciated.
A. Although it’s flattering to think that you might take our word over that of Merriam-Webster, we in fact defer to that authority. Since “payer” and “payor” are variants in M-W, that’s good enough for us. (But we usually go for the first-listed variant; furthermore, in this case, “payor” is listed as the less common of the two.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. For those who make a hobby of cruising garage sales, are they going “garage sale-ing,”
“garage saling,” or “garage saleing?”
Or are they not permitted this usage?
A. Oh, my. Is garage saleing anything like parasailing? The mind boggles. As you suspected, this phrase would not survive the
red pencil at Chicago. (Why can’t you just go to garage sales?) I can tell you that suffixes like “ing”
don’t normally take a hyphen. After that, you’re on your own.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What exactly does the phrase “in terms of” mean? I hear it used constantly, but try to avoid using it myself. I think it’s a trite phrase that doesn’t actually mean anything or have any purpose except to annoy me, actually. I know you’ve used it before, but what’s the best way to avoid using such a common phrase? I want to include it in my company’s style guide as a phrase not to use, and would like to offer an alternative. I’ve used “as far as” but I don’t like that either.
A. Dictionaries are good at answering questions about meanings. Merriam-Webster says “in terms of” means “with respect to” or “in relation to” and gives the example “He thinks of everything in terms of money.” I know that sometimes we fixate on phrases that sound like just so much throat-clearing or blather, but we probably wouldn’t be comfortable either if everyone wrote and spoke with perfectly stripped-down precision. Although little transitions like “in terms of” might be eliminated or reduced to monosyllables, they can also add rhythm or just stall for time. In the M-W example, the phrase is doing honest work; I can’t think of a better way to express the point. It would be a shame to banish the phrase in your style book. I hope as a general policy you’ll keep the prohibitions to a minimum. Writers need flexibility to produce clear and elegant writing.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have always been taught that there are two ways to spell dietitian (or dietician), but that the correct style is with a t not a c. A friend of mine disagrees completely and feels that dietitian is the wrong spelling and therefore should never be used. Another friend of mine says that dietitians spell it with a t. I am really curious. . . . What is the correct spelling?
A. I would look it up in the dictionary for you—but then I’d have to do it for everyone. (Let me know what you find out!)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]