Prefixes: A Nonissue, or a Non-Issue? A prefix is a partial word that joins to the front of another word (and sometimes a phrase) to create a new word with a different meaning. The pre- in prefix is a prefix, for example.

Hyphens can help make words with prefixes easier to read, but when do you draw the line? This latest update from CMOS Shop Talk will help you decide.

Head shot of a fluffy yellow duckling in three-quarter profile against a blue sky with white clouds announcing the April CMOS Q&A.

Q. Should “ill” plus a verb be hyphenated?
Q. How are titles of books treated in Spanish text?
Q. What is the rule on hyphenating multiple colors?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the April Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Key Terms Every Editor Should Know In editing as in life, things tend to come in pairs. Life has its ups and downs, left and right, sea and land, victory and defeat. In editing you have capitals and lowercase, justified and ragged righ...

Are tabular figures proportional or monospaced? What is a serif? Is letterspacing the same thing as kerning? What does the “S” in “HTTPS” mean? Explore these and other editing-adjacent terms in the latest update from CMOS Shop Talk.

The Q and A, spelled out in a whimsical yellow cartoon font with black shadows against a warm red background.

Q. Should asterisk note references be superscripts?
Q. Is it OK to use “where” for something other than a place?
Q. I’m trying to cite info about The Simpsons. It’s complicated. Can you help?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the March Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

“Invisible” Endnotes This post discusses the pros and cons of so-called invisible endnotes in books and how to prepare a manuscript that has them.

Footnotes or endnotes? Many of us prefer footnotes, but endnotes can be less distracting, especially when there are no numbers in the text. Find out how these “invisible” endnotes work, this week at CMOS Shop Talk.

Headshot of a Shiba Inu dog against a pink background, wearing translucent red heart-shaped glasses and announcing the February CMOS Q&A.

Q. Is it “password protect” or “password-protect”?
Q. Why aren’t “heaven” and “hell” always capitalized?
Q. How would I cite an unpublished diary entry?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the February Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Commas and Periods with Quotation Marks In publications that follow Chicago style, commas and periods are placed before a closing quotation mark, “like this,” rather than after, “like this”. This convention has persisted even though it’s no...

Until about a century ago, most publishers did “this.” But many publishers now do ‘this’, or “this”. Find out what happened, and why, in this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk.

A white, scarf-wearing Samoyed dog races down a groomed trail on a red and black snowboard and announces the January CMOS Q&A.

Q. “Do the speaker or the characters have any faults?” Or “Does”?
Q. En dash or hyphens in “time clock punching employees”?
Q. Can you have a footnote 1 with no 2?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the January Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Screenshot illustrating the relative widths of a thin space and a six-per-em space in Source Serif 4 and Arial fonts. The thin space is the slightly thinner space in Source Serif 4. In Arial, the reverse is true.

Hi! You’re right to question these, but apparently Source Serif 4 (the Google font in the post) has a slightly thinner-than-usual thin space. Had we used Arial (for example), the relative widths would make more sense (see image). We might need to add another footnote!

Navigating Spaces in Manuscripts and Beyond To a copyeditor working on a manuscript, a space is usually just a space, and line breaks are random, fluid occurrences that vary as text is added and deleted and moved around. Designers and typesette...

The spaces between these words are just one of more than a dozen kinds of spaces. Discover more in this latest update from CMOS Shop Talk, which includes links to several related (and newly updated) posts.

A Pembroke Welsh corgi and a calico cat frolic together in the snow and announce the December Q&A.

Q. I know about commas and spouses, but what about friends?
Q. Do we refer to fictional characters by first or last name?
Q. Is “four-hundredth birthday” correct?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the December Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

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Peter B. Kaufman talks about The Moving Image Peter B. Kaufman is Associate Director of Development at MIT Open Learning. He is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge (Seven Stories Press, 2021) and founder of Intelli...

Peter B. Kaufman’s new book provides a publisher’s road map for a world in which video has become at least as important as text. The Moving Image: A User’s Manual is the subject of our latest interview at CMOS Shop Talk.

I.e., E.g., Etc. Latin may be a dead language, but many of its words and phrases flourish in today’s English. The most common Latin borrowing might be an abbreviation: the all-purpose etc., short for et cetera, “and o...

The abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” are clearly not the same, so why are they always getting mixed up? And which one can be used with “etc.”? Refresh your knowledge of three common Latin abbreviations, this week at CMOS Shop Talk.

Headshot of a long-haired Chihuahua staring straight into the camera against a sky-blue background and announcing the November CMOS Q&A.

Q. Why doesn’t “post-traumatic stress disorder” have an en dash?
Q. Neither I/me nor my dog responded. “I” or “me”?
Q. What’s the best way to style “the f-word”?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the November Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Punctuating Interrupted Conjunctions Coordinating conjunctions join pairs of words, phrases, or clauses, but when such a conjunction is interrupted by an intervening phrase or clause, it can be difficult to know where to put the commas.

Interruptions can be annoying, especially when you’re not sure where to put the commas. Interrupted conjunctions are the subject of this newly updated post, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A little blue heron stands on a partially submerged log in green, marshy water and announces the CMOS Q&A.

Q. Should “little blue heron” be capitalized?
Q. Should it be “sample A” or “Sample A”?
Q. How would you style the title of a playlist?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the October Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Capitalizing Kinship Names and the Like A kinship name is a name for a family member, whether close or distant. Such names include mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, and so on.

Family members may deserve our love and respect, but when do they merit an initial capital? Get the latest advice for capitalizing kinship names and similar words for people, this week at CMOS Shop Talk.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for ...

Q. Why is MS Word asking me to change “all of” to “all”?
Q. Do I have to put boat names in italics?
Q. How do I cite a Substack post?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the September Q&A at CMOS Online.

A Few Exceptions Worth Noting Even the most straightforward rule will be subject to an exception sooner or later. That’s why CMOS qualifies so many of its rules with usually or generally. But some exceptions are so common that the...

One of the best ways to understand a rule is to consider its exceptions. Find out more in this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk (and be sure to read to the end for links to two more “exceptional” posts).

A pied French bulldog in a golden collar trots along a wide sandy beach on a sunny day while announcing the CMOS Q&A.

Q. Can the first defined use of an abbreviation be plural?
Q. Does “painters tape” need an apostrophe?
Q. How do you cite a book that has a typo on the title page?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the August Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Inside the Q&A: Tips and Tricks The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A first went online in 1997. According to a page from June of that year at the Wayback Machine, one early question was about submitting manuscripts on disk, which back th...

Our online Q&A has been answering your questions about Chicago style since 1997. This month we dig into the archives for some tips and tricks, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A white shepherd dog in a tropical shirt and yellow sunglasses smiles at us from a perfectly blue sky and announces the July Q&A

Q. Should “Fortune” be in italics in “Fortune 500”?
Q. Is a comma needed after a word like “yesterday”?
Q. Does a term following “called” need to be in italics?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the July Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

When Commas Come in Pairs Commas, like the two in this sentence, often come in pairs. When they do, they’re usually acting like miniature parentheses. In fact, whenever you’re tempted to omit the second of two commas, convert ...

Commas, like people and ducks, are often found in pairs. Read all about it in our latest post—which includes links to five related posts, all newly updated. Only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A closeup of a Labrador retriever standing up to its neck in a golden pond against a backdrop of trees and next to a tennis ball that features the text "June Q&A"

Q. Should a unit with a fraction like “1/4” be singular or plural?
Q. How would Chicago style the AI company name “io”?
Q. Why is “due process clause” lowercase in Chicago style?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the June Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Citing Book Reviews Chicago-style source citations are designed to be both concise and informative. Ideally, readers should be able to tell what a citation refers to despite its abbreviated nature.

What can a book review teach us about automated source citations (and AI)? This updated post explores some of the limits of automation—and the benefits of editorial intervention—only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

An Australian Shepherd Border Collie mix dog jumping high in the air playing Frisbee above a green, grassy field.

Q. Should Winston-Salem be spelled with an en dash?
Q. Is it “dogs have a tail” or “dogs have tails”?
Q. Why is Southern California capped but not western Arizona?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the May Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

En Dashes, the Editor’s Mark An en dash can function either as a strong hyphen or as an ordinary dash. As a strong hyphen, it can connect numbers or words. As an ordinary dash it’s nothing special.

It’s often mistaken for a hyphen, but editors know the difference. The subtle but powerful en dash is the subject of this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk.

A tabby kitten announces the April CMOS Q&A while leaping full length above a grassy field and against a blue sky with the faintest wisps of cloud on the horizon

Q. Can you omit a person’s middle initial in running text?
Q. Should the word “than” be capitalized in a title?
Q. Can “et al.” stand for just one person?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the April Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA