May 14, 2009: Issue 289
Here’s how to treat some words that describe bliss.
Eden
capitalize in all references
Tour a lush backyard Eden.
heaven
lowercase unless you’re referring to the place where God lives
With a fancy new paper trimmer, this scrapbooker was in heaven.
Serious illness often brings up kids’ questions about God and Heaven.
Nirvana
capitalize in all references
Storage is the key to kitchen Nirvana.
paradise
lowercase in all references
Perfectly grilled ribs must be the food of paradise.
utopia
lowercase unless you’re literally referring to a perfect society
The annual show is a quilter’s utopia.
Unless you live in a Utopia, stress sneaks into your life every day.
About that geography question: Reader Talley Sue Hohlfeld explained why it’s proper to use city and state names as modifiers. They’re not adjectives in this case but attributive nouns. As to why the same isn’t true of most country names, she suggested that we don’t need to make countries into attributive nouns because they already have adjectival forms (France/French, China/Chinese). We’ll buy that, Talley Sue. Thanks, and there’s a prize on the way.
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