Q. Would you consider creating a rule about the capitalization of wine varietals? In my dictionary Chablis is capitalized, cabernet sauvignon and merlot are lowercase but “often capitalized,” prosecco is lowercase, barbera is lowercase. I edit a lot of books containing wine names, including one book solely about wine varietals, and there does not appear to be an industry-specific source.
A. We appreciate your confusion. Although CMOS isn’t likely to take on the task of “wine casing,” William Safire once devised a reasonable system you might be able to use.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m hoping you can clarify the meaning of this line in CMOS 8.23: “Queen Elizabeth; Elizabeth II; the queen (in a British Commonwealth context, the Queen).” What counts as a “British Commonwealth context”? I’m editing a novel that takes place in the UK but refers to a meeting between the sovereigns of the UK and another country. Should these be styled as “the Queen” and “the king,” or “the queen” and “the king”?
A. If you are editing a novel for a UK publisher primarily for UK readers, or a novel that takes place in the UK with characters or a narrator who wouldn’t dream of lowercasing their queen, uppercasing is appropriate. For consistency, you would style all kings and queens in that document in the same way.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am writing a book on a movement practice called Authentic Movement that distinguishes those in the role of movers and those in the role of witnesses. Should the words Mover and Witness be capitalized since they have a specialized meaning in this context? And if so, should they be capitalized in just the first usage, or throughout the entire book?
A. Chicago style lowercases words like these. If your goal is to promote Authentic Movement into franchises or some other commercial use, then caps might be appropriate. But in normal contexts, even if these words denote practitioners of Authentic Movement, they are still common nouns (not proper nouns) with no need for capitalization.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I wonder if I am correct in capitalizing the word Resident when referring to a physician who is in residency training, in order to distinguish this specific type of person/professional from the generic resident of a community.
A. It’s not Chicago style to cap a common noun like resident, but if you think lowercasing would cause confusion in a given context, capping might be the best solution.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have a situation in which I am writing about the East China Sea and the South China Sea. When I refer to them separately, I of course capitalize each word (e.g., “East China Sea and South China Sea”). My question is whether I ought to capitalize the s in sea when I refer to them together: is it “East and South China Seas” or “East and South China seas”?
A. We prefer to cap Seas in this situation, although other stylebooks may lowercase.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. We often refer to Chesapeake Bay as “the bay” on second mention (e.g., Chesapeake Bay is one of the largest estuaries in the world; we often visit the bay to conduct trawl surveys). My question is whether it is correct.
A. Chicago style lowercases “the bay” as you do, but uppercasing it is not incorrect, and you are likely to see it capped in various publications.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When pointing to a particular rule within a set of rules, would you capitalize rule? I.e., Federal Rules of Evidence, rule 103, or Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 103? Thank you.
A. Chicago style lowercases generic usages like “rule 103,” but such words are routinely capped in other style manuals, and it’s not wrong to cap them.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. There is much inconsistency regarding the capitalization of the term evangelical used as an adjective or noun. What do you advise?
A. We advise consistency, but that sometimes involves consistently using different treatments in different contexts. Lowercase as a rule, reserving caps for proper nouns or adjectives when referring to a particular denomination or congregation: the Evangelical Church embraces that tenet. I go to First Evangelical; its mission is evangelical in nature.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Hello style gurus—I’m editing a historical monograph. The author and I are trying to figure out if he should bracket the first letter of quotations if he changes capitalization. For example, “[T]he judge said” versus “the judge said.” I’ve looked at CMOS 13.21, but we’re not sure if that applies in a historical monograph. How can you tell if it’s obligatory or not? Thanks so much!
A. The brackets are obligatory only if the capitalization is part of the subject under discussion, which is rare outside of legal or textual criticism documents. Please read further at CMOS 13.18–21.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Are terms of endearment capped when used as a form of address, for example, in “Bring me my shoes, Precious” or “Turn off the TV, Darling”? I believe this used to be a rule, but with the trend toward “down” styling, most editors perhaps have thrown it out.
A. Chicago’s preferred style has always been to lowercase pet names, but you can’t go wrong unless you’re inconsistent, since the issue is guided by preference rather than rule. Please see section 8.39 of the 15th edition. (The issue is not addressed in the 16th or 17th editions.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]