Ask the Editor
Last Seven DaysQuestion from Washington, District of Columbia, on April 25, 2024
Answer
Question from Fortville, Indiana, on April 25, 2024
Answer
Question from Anchorage, Alaska, on April 24, 2024
Answer
Question from Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 24, 2024
Answer
Question from Tokyo, on April 24, 2024
Greece’s torch and sandals ceremony for Paris Olympics
The flame is eventually used to light the first runner’s torch — champagne-colored this year for France — and a long relay through Greece leads to the April 26 hand-over at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens
Answer
Answer
Question on April 23, 2024
Answer
Question from West Newton, Massachusetts, on April 23, 2024
This answer suggests hyphenating: https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/33010
This answer suggests it's optional: https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/46111
Does it just come down to making a style decision for my publication.
Answer
Question from Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 23, 2024
(If it helps, the client refers to them as Round 1, Round 2, and so on).
Answer
From the numerals entry:
Sequential designations: Generally use figures, but spell out ordinal numbers ninth and under. Capitalize the first letter for a single designation: Act 3, Exit 2, Game 3, Phase 1, Room 6, Size 12, Stage 3, Category 4, Type 2. Use lowercase for plurals: sizes 6 and 8, exits 4 and 5, acts 1 and 2, verses 2 and 9. It’s Verse 1 but the first verse; Game 4 but the fourth game.
Answer
We don't address the question of whether it's OK to use the phrase for someone who has been diagnosed with autism, but I would suggest avoiding it in those cases as well. The phrase can be perceived as euphemistic or derogatory. Why not simply say the person has been diagnosed with autism?
From the disabilities entry:
Avoid using disability-related words lightly or in unrelated situations, and avoid direct quotations using such wording unless essential to the story. Some examples: calling a person or an idea demented, psychotic, lame, blind, catatonic, moronic, retarded, on the spectrum, etc.; saying the warning falls on deaf ears or he turned a blind eye or the awards show is schizophrenic. As in all writing, consider word choice carefully. Words that seem innocuous to some people can have specific and deeply personal or offensive meanings to others. Alternative phrasing is almost always possible.
Answer
SUBSCRIBE TO AP STYLEBOOK ONLINE
Comprehensive AP style guidance on your computer, tablet and phone
This searchable, customizable, regularly updated version of AP Stylebook offers bonus features including Ask the Editor and Topical Guides. Add Webster's New World College Dictionary for a more comprehensive resource.
Your subscription includes the popular Ask the Editor feature, where you can ask your own questions and search thousands of past answers, and Topical Guides, offering guidance to help you write about events in the news.
Sign Up for our Newsletter
Keep up to date on style news. Sign up for our stylish monthly e-newsletter by submitting your email address below.
Request your free 14-day trial
Try AP Stylebook Online for yourself
We offer free trials of individual subscriptions and 10-user site licenses for AP Stylebook Online.
We will include access to Webster's New World College Dictionary, the official dictionary of the AP Stylebook.
At the end of your free trial, we will ask you if you would like to continue your service so you can keep any of the custom entries you created on Stylebook Online.