Ask the Editor

Last Seven Days

Answer

I don't see a pronoun there. Our style is NBC News' (possessive for a proper name).

From the possessives entry:

SINGULAR PROPER NAMES ENDING IN S: Use only an apostrophe: Achilles' heel, Agnes' book, Ceres' rites, Descartes' theories, Dickens' novels, Euripides' dramas, Hercules' labors, Jesus' life, Jules' seat, Kansas' schools, Moses' law, Socrates' life, Tennessee Williams' plays, Xerxes' armies.

Answer

I'd use male Latino voters or male Latino respondents, whichever is correct.

Question from Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 10, 2024

Is it out-of-office or out of office?

Answer

Presumably you're using it as a modifier. Hyphenated: an out-of-office reply.

Question from Saginaw, Michigan, on Oct. 10, 2024

Should Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering be capitalized?

Answer

Here's our academic degrees entry.

A bachelor degree's in mechanical engineering
A Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering

Question from Irvine, California, on Oct. 9, 2024

How to spell "tippy-toe"; with or without the hypen?

Answer

With the hyphen.

Answer

We capitalize those words if they start the sentence. Or, we avoid starting a sentence with them.

Answer

I'm not seeing that the Stylebook itself has an entry for trick or treat, or trick-or-treat. You may be looking at the Merriam-Webster entry, which you can choose to get as part of your Stylebook Online subscription.

Merriam-Webster doesn't list trunk or treat at all, either with or without the hyphens.

So, yes, it's a dilemma. We'd suggest that because the latter term is less familiar, adding the hyphens can add a bit of clarity. And then to be consistent, we'd hyphenate trick-or-treat as well. Our friends at Merriam-Webster may differ. 

Answer

Yes, use the hyphen.


Answer

We don't capitalize brown as it's an imprecise term. You could choose to capitalize if you prefer.

brown (adj.) Avoid this broad and imprecise term in racial, ethnic or cultural references unless as part of a direct quotation. Interpretations of what the term includes vary widely. Be specific.

Answer

Up to you which you prefer. Our style is Type 2, in keeping with our guidance on sequential designations. As was also the case with our previous primary dictionary, there are times when our style is different from that of our main dictionary.

Here is the relevant section 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

Merriam-Webster uses no hyphen in either the adverb or the adjective. We'll follow its lead: pro rata distribution.

Question from Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 9, 2024

Do you hyphenate family-friendly? Why or why not?

Answer

Yes, hyphenate family-friendly as a compound adjective: the family-friendly resort. I don't see a need to hyphenate after the verb (the resort is family friendly) but you can if you prefer.

Full guidance is in our hyphen entry.


Answer

Yes, capitalize To in How-To. Note: We wouldn't capitalize a, but you can if you prefer.

From the composition titles entry:


  • Capitalize all words in a title except articles (a, an, the); prepositions of three or fewer letters (for, of, on, up, etc.); and conjunctions of three or fewer letters (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet, etc.) unless any of those start or end the title.


Question from Cary, North Carolina, on Oct. 8, 2024

Which is correct? "On a call" or "in a call?" Or are both acceptable?

Answer

I haven't heard in a call, but it could be a regional difference. 

Answer

Where are you seeing our style for upper class? (I'm not seeing that we have a style, but it's been a long day ...) Regardless, though, I'd be afraid that many readers wouldn't understand the meaning of upperclass, or upper class, or upper-class, to mean sophomore, junior and senior. It's new to me. Or they might think you're talking about the students' economic status. I'd avoid the term. Unless you're writing for a publication that uses the term all the time for its readers. In that case, the publication probably has its own style.


Answer

Hmm, interesting question. As you know, we normally spell out acronyms on first reference. But in this case, I bet a lot more people would recognize EBT than electronic benefit(s) transfer. I might write: ... EBT, which is short for electronic benefits transfer ...

Answer

Yes, it also applies to brand names. So our style would be The HandyPress' robust ...
But if you prefer to make it HandyPress's, that would be in line with some other styles.

Answer

Is it ok to abbreviate state Route 201 as SR 201? We don't.
Is it ok to abbreviate state Route 201 to Route 201 on second reference? Yes.
Is it ok to abbreviate U.S. Route 905 to Route 905 on second reference?  Yes. 

Answer

We don't have an AP-specific ruling. But four of the four colleagues I queried (an admittedly small sample!) all pronounce the letters individually and were surprised to hear Merriam-Webster's preference. Further research indicates that both versions of the pronunciation are common.

You might try rewording to avoid the issue, since either way, some readers will object. For instance, instead of Here is a/an FAQ to help ... you could write: This FAQ should help ...

Answer

Another part of that guidance says to use a parallel structure for all items in a bulleted list.  Among other things, that means we don't mix sentences and single words or phrases. Either make each item a sentence, or each item a single word or phrase.




Answer

We'd make it Class 2 rapids, following this section of 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

Our style is pompom. Merriam-Webster prefers pom-pom. Your choice!

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