Posts in category: Style on the Go archive

September 1, 2005: Issue 103

Foreign articles or prepositions as part of surnames (De Mille, Van Helsing, La Guardia) are confusing when it comes to capitalization. On first reference, follow the rules in Words into Type: Generally, capitalize those prepositions in the names of North Americans, unless the person in question has expressed a preference for lowercase. When the person prefers, lowercase the preposition when you use both first and last names.

correct: Designer Lynn von Kersting decorated this 1927 Beverly Hills home.

When you use the last name alone, however, capitalize the preposition.

incorrect: The decor reflects von Kersting’s singular talent.
correct: The decor reflects Von Kersting’s singular talent.

For more information on this topic than you could ever want, see Words into Type, “Part III: Copy-Editing Style,” under “Capitalization,” then “Proper Nouns and Adjectives.”

ON BHGstylebook.com: See other rules about capitalizing names.

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June 20, 2002: Issue 27

SIM STYLE: Do we use accent marks on foreign words?
Yes. Pay particular attention that the right marks are used with the right letters. Misusing accent marks means a word is misspelled. Follow Webster’s 11th or an appropriate foreign-language dictionary for proper usage.

For a list of the most common accent marks and how to create
them in Word and Quark, see Accent Marks section in the SIM Stylebook.

GRAMMAR: Is there a difference between “despite” and “in spite of”?
Here’s what The Associated Press Stylebook says: “Despite means the same thing [as ‘in spite of’] and is shorter.”

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Issue 284 April 9, 2009

Woodburning is one solid word when it refers to the craft:
He took up woodburning to decorate his handmade chess boards.

Hyphenate it when you describe an oven or a fireplace:
A wood-burning pizza oven produces an exquisitely crisp crust.

Want to feel smart? Wheel of Fortune got the hyphen right in a segment last fall, but the contestants were stumped. Check out their guesses.

Want to feel even smarter? Watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire contestants struggle with simple punctuation and parts of speech.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Opinions expressed by other viewers of these videos do not necessarily reflect the views or taste of Style on the Go or Special Interest Media.

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February 11, 2010: Issue 327

This week, instead of a style edict, were sending a valentine. Its to Jeff Deck.

Even if you dont recognize his name, Jeffs story is probably familiar: He and Benjamin Herson pleaded guilty of conspiracy to vandalize government property in 2008 after they fixed a typo on a sign at the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the hand-painted marker was considered a national historic landmark. Jeff and Benjamin were ordered to pay more than $3,000 in restitutionand to stay out of national parks for a year.

While we dont condone vandalism, we did send a little money to help defray the mens court costs. Thats how we ended up on the e-mail list for their Typo Eradication Advancement League, which recently relaunched its Web site.

If you consider yourself heroically persnickety (Jeffs fabulous phrase), show TEAL a little love. Join the crusade and find tidbits such as this one: Youre mom is a typo.

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April 4, 2002: Issue 17

SIM STYLE: Is there a difference between “marbled” and “marbleized”?
Yes and no. “Marbled” and “marbleized” are both past-tense verb forms, but “marbled” is also an adjective. “Marbleize” is only a verb, a synonym of “to marble.”

Because it’s SIM style to use the first listing in Webster’s 10th, the
verb “marble” and the adjective “marbled” are almost always the preferred terms. “To marble” means to cover something in marble or to give it a marblelike look. The adjective “marbled” describes something made of marble, covered with marble, made to look like marble, or given a mottled look in general.
correct: She marbled the cake batter (to give a marblelike look)
correct: The marbled vanity (covered in marble)
incorrect: The marbleized solid-surfacing (the adjective “marbled” would be correct)

GRAMMAR: Is there a difference between “awhile” and “a while”?
Yes. Let the presence of a preposition tip you off. Without one, you probably mean “awhile,” which is an adverb meaning “for a while.” With a preposition,” while” is the object, so “a while” is correct.
incorrect: Why don’t you stay for awhile?
correct: Why don’t you stay awhile? (or for a while)
incorrect I’ll see you in awhile.
correct: I’ll see you in a while.

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November 8, 2007: Issue 212

Be very careful how you use the words win and winner. No one wins anything unless we’re running a sweepstakes.

A reader who submits a question might receive a book. A website visitor who shares a great idea might get a tiara. But nobody wins anything except in a sweepstakes—in which case we must get legal approval and run all that fine print.

How time flies: We still have 47 shopping days until Christmas, but remember that the magazines we’re closing now will publish next year. Make sure covers, folios, and copyright statements say 2008.

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May 29, 2008: Issue 241

In general, use periods in academic degrees:
Ph.D.
M.D.
B.A.

The exception is MBA. Most reference books leave the periods out of that one, so we will, too.

In professional certifications, on the other hand, don’t use periods:
CDE
CKD

Sometimes this will result in mixed formats in a single byline:

Jane Johnson, Ph.D., CDE

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September 18, 2008: Issue 256

And she’s checking it more than twice. Cindy updates group e-mail lists at least once a week. Save yourself some trouble and use these lists instead of trying to keep your own. You’ll find them in your drop-down e-mail contacts if you type SIM in the “to” field.

The lists include:
SIM Admin
SIM All Groups
SIM Creative Collection
SIM Food Group
SIM Garden Group
SIM Health Group
SIM Home Design Group
SIM New Media Group

And the Eebie goes to … Erich Gaukel, for his editor’s letter in the fall issue of Renovation Style. This column is a nice mix of personal anecdote, peek behind the scenes, design history lesson, and news you can use. Erich receives a commemorative paperweight.

(The Eebies, named for E. B. White, are occasional awards that recognize outstanding use of language. Make a nomination.)

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February 14, 2002: Issue 10

SIM STYLE: On nonsexist writing

Nonsexist writing is more than saying artisan instead of craftsman, or artificial instead of man-made. Avoiding more subtle sexism means avoiding making assumptions about readers.

We shouldn’t assume all readers are the same. Even if 80 percent of your readers are women, you risk alienating one-fifth of your audience if you gear a story toward women only. For our purposes in SIM, using gender-neutral terminology rarely affects the tone of a story.
INCORRECT: You and your husband
CORRECT: You and your spouse (or partner)

For more information, see Nonsexist Writing section in the SIM
Stylebook or Issue 37.

GRAMMAR: Hanging up
Which is it: “hanged” or “hung?” Unless Do It Yourself produces a “build
your own gallows in a weekend” project, we’re not likely to see hanged” in SIM. Reserve that word for executions; in all other cases, “hung” is the correct past tense of the verb hang.
INCORRECT: The children hanged the stockings with care.
CORRECT: The children hung the stockings with care.

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November 29, 2007: Issue 215

In English, a word’s pronunciation determines its indefinite article.

Words that begin with a consonant sound take the article a, regardless of the actual first letter:
a cutlet
a pillow
a historic building
a euphemism

Words that begin with a vowel sound always take the article an:
an igloo
an ornament
an homage

When a word has more than one pronunciation, go by the first one listed in Web 11.

In the case of large numbers, assume that a reader will use the shortest possible pronunciation. For instance, treat 1,800 as “eighteen hundred,” not “one thousand eight hundred”:
an 1,800-square-foot house

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