The Magazine Style-Code :: ABBREVIATIONS IN GENERAL.

ABBREVIATIONS IN GENERAL.

13. Anno Domini should be printed with small capitals when abbreviated as A.D.

14. Apostrophes for Plural of Letters Wrong. De Vinne aptly says on page 285 of Correct Composition that the apostrophe is not proper to express plurality. Its use in print for this purpose is the repetition of an indefensible colloquialism, even though the dictionaries record the form. Letters should be spelled as follows; aes, bees, cees, dees, ees, efs, gees, aitches, ies, jays, kays, els, ems, ens, oes, pees, ques, ars, esses, tees, ues, vees, ws or dubleyuz, exes, wyes, zees. With the exception of esses this is the form given by the Standard Dictionary.

15. Apostrophe to be Omitted. Mida’s Criterion and Dean’s Landing need the apostrophe as a sign of possession, but when referred to as Midas and Deans, the apostrophe is useless, and should be omitted. Harper’s Ferry, but only Harpers when used in the curtailed form for the Ferry, meaning Harper’s Ferry. See De Vinne’s Correct Composition, page 284. Consult paragraph 68 of this book.

16. Apostrophe in Possessives. Do not omit the apostrophe in such names as James’s, Banks’s, and Williams’s in possessive use. It is a slovenly newspaper custom to omit apostrophes, except when the sound of a second ess makes a disagreeable hissing. Whenever the second ess is distinctly pronounced it should be inserted after the apostrophe. De Vinne, Teall, Bain, Alford, Moon, and others are firm in demanding the ess and the apostrophe whenever the sound of the second ess is given in speech. Bain says: “We say St. James’s and St. Giles’s, Burns’s, and Douglas’s.” This is also the style of such magazines as the Century. See paragraphs 15 and 68.

17. Arabic Numbers. Books should be disfigured as little as possible by arabic numerals in the text. Numbers thus set are always dry and forbidding in appearance. See paragraphs 19, 24, and Words, under paragraph 27, division (16).

18. A.M., etc. Capital and small capital letters are not needed in abbreviating time, as a.m. and p.m. for ante meridiem and post meridiem. It is best to spell out six o’clock, etc. A.M. means master of arts and anno mundi. P.M. means postmaster. If time is meant, confusion sometimes arises. De Vinne uses the period, and says the colon is an ignorant substitution in this sense: 2.30 p.m. and 1.45 a.m., not 2:30, or 1:45. See De Vinne’s Correct Composition, page 82.

19. Ages of Persons. Spell out the ages of persons. John Jones is not aged twenty-one years. He is twenty-one years of age, or twenty-one years old—not an aged person. The last use of aged is proper.

20. Books. See paragraphs 36, 52; also see division twelve under paragraph 27.

21. Co. and Company. Co. should be set in capitals (CO.) when the firm name is in capitals. The name JOHN BROWN’S Co. is unsightly. Unless Co. is the style of the company, or incorporation, spell out the word. In Co’s no period is needed after the o. De Vinne’s Correct Composition, page 291.

22. Credits. See paragraph 52. Credits at the end of matter are best set in italic lower-case, without any em dash to connect the credit with the quotation. See De Vinne’s Correct Composition, page 150.

23. Dates. When the numeral precedes the name of the month it may be written as the 28th of November, but when the numeral follows, it should be November 28. In 2d, 3d, and like abbreviations, there is no need of n, as in 2nd.

Years. Two consecutive years should be run thus: During 1897-98, and not 1897-8. It is proper to say the heroes of ’49. See paragraph 24.

24. Figures. Commas are not needed in four figures, as: 1897, 5798. The comma should not be inserted between figures expressive of dates, as in June, 1898.

Numbers of infrequent occurrence should be spelled out rather than put in roman numerals. The engine weighed five thousand tons, there were fifty-two gallons in the barrel, there were seventeen thousand men in the regiments. See paragraph 17.

25. Hours. Print 11.30 a.m., and not 11:30 a.m. Use the period rather than the colon. See paragraph 18.

26. Month, etc. Month, inst., prox., and ult., often abbreviated in letters, are improper in all first-class work. Spell out the name of the month, as March and January, not Mar. and Jan. Spell out days of the week.

Clyx.com