https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html

NEW CMOS Q&A is here!

I particularly appreciate the reader who challenged the guidance about "Getting out/Out of Saigon" (phrasal verbs FTW!).

#AmEditing
#GUMmyStuff
#ChicagoStyleIsMoreThanPizzaAndHotDogs

In honor of International Cat Day (est. 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare):

CLIMB-TACK is a dialect word for "a cat that is overfond of investigating the contents of the larder-shelves" (English Dialect Dictionary, Vol. I. 1898).

[Paul Anthony Jones, The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities, University of Chicago Press, 2017]

#GUMmyStuff
#WordsWordsWords
#Dialect

@gg @lastrobot@mastodon.online @lastrobot@wandering.shop @pjohanneson I edit indie fiction, mostly #SpecFic and #HistFic, but also #Romance, #Horror, and #Paranormal. When I'm posting about projects, I use #AmEditing. My personal hashtags are #GUMmyStuff (grammar, usage, and mechanics) and #SpellcheckCannotSaveYou. Link to my site is in my bio. Thanks for this opportunity!

Pet
Petted
Petted

I pet the cat now.
Yesterday I petted the cat.
I have petted the cat daily for its entire life.

#GUMmyStuff

CITE: to bring to one's notice as an example. She cited a dictionary entry as proof of the correct spelling of the word.

SITE: (n or v) a location, or to situate something. This building site is sited along the river.

SIGHT: One of the five senses; vision. The sight of the site of her new home thrilled her.

#GUMmyStuff
#HomophoneHell

https://youtu.be/1O8jsxj9Dqo

For those who have trouble with the pronunciation of "misled," I give you Kool and the Gang.

#GUMmyStuff
#RAndB
#KoolAndTheGang

"Pick one and be consistent" is the answer to so many editing questions.

Serial comma.
Ellipses.
Spellings, when variants are equal.

There must be more, but that's off the top of my head.

#GUMmyStuff

For myself, I don't care whether you use spaced-dot ellipses ( . . . per CMoS) or the single-character glyph (... which is easy in Word), but I do make them consistent depending on which I see most. Mixing them is a no-no, either way. Self-publishers, do what you like; make it easy on your editor (you have one, right?) and let them know which way to jump.

#GUMmyStuff #AmEditing

New CMOS Q&A is up!

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html

Come for the answers, stay for the embedded wit.

#GUMmyStuff

PREMIERE is an initial showing or performance.

PREMIER is the best of its kind.

So, we have season premieres of television shows. Those may or may not be premier.

#GUMmyStuff

Plurals of proper names can be tricky.

"Jacobses" looks weird, but it's the correct plural of the surname "Jacobs."

"Jacobs's" is the singular possessive, not a plural.

#AmEditing
#GUMmyStuff

TEACUP is one word.

I swear I look it up every time I see it, no matter how it's styled, because this simply does not stick in my head.

#GUMmyStuff
#AmEditing

In a professional Slack chat I'm part of, we talked about this a week or so ago. And to no one's surprise, we all had slightly different answers for what was "right" in a given situation. And we could each point to CMoS guidance to back ourselves up.

There's a sensibility that a computer just doesn't have.

#GUMmyStuff
2/2

"Long rang" will pass right by every spelling and grammar checker out there, I suspect.

But it's not "long-range," which is what's needed in this particular instance.

#GUMmyStuff
#SpellcheckCannotSaveYou

Yes, people speak as they speak (I say that all the time, regarding dialogue in fiction), but there's also the questions of characterization and readability.

Would this specific character use that nonstandard word/phrase? Does this particular phrasing make it hard for the average reader to parse?

It's a delicate balancing act, for sure. And it's part of honoring the writer's voice.

I've been at this for over a decade and I'm still learning.

#AmEditing
#GUMmyStuff

SCRAPPING is not SCRAPING.

#GUMmyStuff

"Awhile" and "a while" are tricky.

"Awhile" literally means "for a time, for a while." You might ask someone to come sit awhile.

"For a while" is written just that way, and yes, it means exactly the same thing as "awhile."

Come sit awhile.
Come sit for a while.

Things like this keep us copyeditors employed.

#GUMmyStuff

There are TWO equally acceptable plural spellings of GAS.

You may use GASES or GASSES.

They're presented with an "or" in Merriam-Webster, meaning they're of equal weight. (Had "gasses" been listed with "also," it would be less preferable but still okay.)

#GUMmyStuff

Wracking your brain?

Or are you racking it?

https://bit.ly/3Oiq5dz

The upshot, for those short on time: "Wrack" is for seaweed. Nerves and brains are racked.

#GUMmyStuff
#AmEditing

RUBBER-STAMP (verb) is hyphenated.

RUBBER STAMP (noun) is open (two words).

In case you need to, y'know, know.

#GUMmyStuff