Q. It’s up to You. I came across this title. The question is whether to capitalize up. My gut says do it, because it’s an idiom of sorts, and because the typical grammar rules about prepositions and title caps don’t quite seem to address this case.
Q. I’m editing a manuscript that mentions a replica of Michelangelo’s David. I know that per CMOS 8.198, David should be italicized. However, should it be italicized in sentences like “David was naked, after all”; “he stumbled forward into David and knocked the statue over onto the pavers; “David’s head parted company with his underendowed body”? I hope to avoid numerous repetitions of the phrase “the statue of David.”
Q. I’m an event organizer, and one of the themes of my event is “creativity beyond the page.” Should it be “Creativity Beyond the Page” or “Creativity beyond the Page”? Can beyond be capitalized in this case?
Q. How should we style the name of a competition? In quotes, italics, title case? Example: An initiative recently named a finalist in the “Tokyo Vertical Cemetery” competition.
Q. In the first example in CMOS 8.160, the word than is capitalized: “Mnemonics That Work Are Better Than Rules That Do Not.” This does not seem to be in keeping with your general principles of headline-style capitalization. We’d be grateful if you would clarify.
Q. Should the names of certain organizations, such as the New York Times, be italicized whether they are referred to as a company or as a publication? For instance, if a sentence says “Tuesday’s debate, which was hosted by the New York Times,” would it be appropriate to set the name in regular type because the company is hosting the debate, rather than the publication? Or is it best to set all instances of “the New York Times” and similar names in italics to maintain consistency? More examples where this issue comes into play:
We returned to Real Clear Politics’ database and found eight surveys . . .
A 2013 poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News found . . .
Q. I understand that when a colon is used to separate a book title from a subtitle, the word following the colon should be capitalized. But what if we are dealing with a paragraph heading? Final Update: the End of the World as We Know It. Should the word following a colon be capitalized? I feel it should be lowercase, following the basic rules of capitalization following a colon.
Q. A book title is written in italics, as is the title of a musical album. Chapter names and songs are set between quotation marks. If I’m correct, the thinking behind this is that a song is usually part of an album or a play or some sort of larger work. However, it wasn’t that long ago that a song was a stand-alone work, released as sheet music or as a single on a 78 or 45 rpm record. LPs and the concept of an album came to prominence in the 1960s. So what do we do with “The Pineapple Rag,” which was never part of an album? It was released originally as sheet music and possibly as a player piano roll. Throughout most of music history, the song was the major work. Some songs, like “Money” on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, are integral parts of the album, while Bach’s Minuet in G has nothing to do with any larger work. Doesn’t it make more sense to italicize song titles? This also eliminates all the awkward quotes and commas when listing the songs in an album or play. Thoughts?
Q. Is the word program capitalized as part of the name of a program, such as Orphan/Infant Care Program—or is it Orphan/Infant Care program? Does the rule change if it is in text or on a poster?
Q. The “Life Style” section of a newspaper is referred to in dialogue. The dialogue is in double quotations. Should the name of the newspaper section also have a set of double quotation marks? I searched for an answer or a reliable example and could find none.