Q. Is it okay to capitalize Modernist when speaking of the twentieth-century movement in English literature? Many sources favor the lowercase, but I’ve always done the opposite.
A. Either way is acceptable. Chicago style prefers the lowercase, but an editor should defer if possible to a writer who has reason to depart from style.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. My company has a handbook called The Standards and Expectations Handbook. We intend to call it “the handbook” for short. When written, should “the Handbook” be capitalized to denote that we’re talking about the specific book, or should it be lowercase?
A. You can do it either way. Here we write “the Manual” when referring to CMOS (italic, because it’s a shortened italic title), but it wouldn’t be wrong to call it “the manual.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. CMOS 13.7 recommends silently correcting typographic errors while retaining capitalization of older works. I am writing a book with numerous quotations from archival sources from the nineteenth century. Does that count as old? These sources seem to have idiosyncratic rules about capitalizing empire following proper names, such as “the Roman empire.” Is the text old enough to preserve that error?
A. You seem to have misunderstood the spirit of 13.7. The point is to try to distinguish between (a) modern sources, where typos and bizarre spellings are assumed to be unintended errors, and (b) writings that were published (or transcribed for print) before the time when consistency in spelling was a goal. There’s bound to be some overlap in the two—it’s not as though there’s a date when “old” turned into “new.” So try to think in terms of “intended” and “unintended” spellings. CMOS is saying that it’s fine to correct an unintended typo or two. We’re not saying that it’s OK to change the character of a document by changing all the old-fashioned spellings and stylings into modern ones. And incidentally, Chicago style uppercases Roman Empire (per CMOS 8.51).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am confused about the capitalization of giclée, which is a type of computer-generated art print. I see it both ways. It isn’t a proper noun or anyone’s name, so I don’t see why anyone would capitalize it. Can you weigh in? It is not in my dictionary.
A. People probably cap giclée for the same reason they cap president, chapter, or impressionism. We don’t know what that reason would be, so we lowercase it.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Our staff editing human-rights reports need help interpreting the rule re capitalization for administrative bodies (CMOS 8.63). In cases of more than one body should the first term still be capitalized, as in Ministries of Labor and Education? Would greatly appreciate your counsel.
Q. Does Chicago have any recommendations for capitalizing digital copy that will appear as part of a GUI display? I am working on a project that includes a series of steps—and subsequent error feedback—for setting up a digital camera. I am wondering if I should follow CMOS 8.159 (“Principles of headline-style capitalization”) or if there is something else that applies to digital media. Thanks!
A. Headline caps are good for labels (e.g., for icons or section heads); sentence caps are better for instructions or captions that are like sentences. If you can choose only one style, sentence caps are safe for most purposes, whereas headline caps are going to look weird for any text of more than a couple of words. Click Here looks fine; Make Sure All the Calibrations Were Correctly Entered—not so much.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. “Bigger than whole states in America’s lower 48.” CMOS seems to advise lowercasing lower, but it’s also a common phrase and almost looks like, if spelled out, it should be italicized or capitalized—or both. I could use your help. Thanks.
A. Merriam-Webster styles it “Lower 48,” and in the absence of advice in CMOS, we follow M-W.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is “professor emerita” capitalized when used as a part of the signature?
A. It’s traditional to uppercase such titles next to a signature. Chicago’s preference for lowercasing titles applies to their use in running text (“The office of professor emerita Julia Ramirez was being painted”), not in display contexts like signatures, directories, and business cards. Please see CMOS 8.19 and 8.20.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. “[Name of organization] wishes a Happy 75th Birthday to [name of person].” Is this correct? What are the rules of capitalization for “Happy Birthday”?
A. The rules are that common adjectives and nouns should be lowercased and names of holidays are uppercased. Although birthday is not the name of a holiday, people often cap “Happy Birthday” in cards and notes to make it look festive. For this reason, worrying about correctness in such contexts can be counterproductive.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Your rule that titles such as captain must be in lowercase is giving me trouble in a work about drilling oil wells. I have dutifully rendered a title such as Well Superintendent as lowercase, only to have multiple reviewers complain that they tripped over it in phrases such as “the well superintendent then called the office,” gaining a first impression that I was distinguishing the well superintendent from the ill superintendent. Also, the individual with that title is generally known as the “WS,” and it seems inconsistent to have the full title in lowercase and the abbreviation capitalized.
A. We can’t say it often enough: when a style doesn’t work for you, don’t use it! As for alleged inconsistency when full titles are lowercased and abbreviations are capitalized, that is the norm.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]