Q. Phone numbers. The US convention is sort of (Area Code) PRE-Number. International is all over the place. Any advice on presenting these in a consistent manner? In particular, I want to set a style rule for my company, which is US-based but has mostly international customers, so I want to include the country code as well. I’m leaning toward spaces separating the elements: +1 222 333 4567. Any thoughts?
A. CMOS 17 has a new section covering telephone numbers (9.57) that agrees with you on the use of spaces instead of hyphens for international numbers.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In the money examples in the hyphenation guide, I would not have allowed the last example, “a $50–$60 million loss.” Almost certainly “a $50 million to $60 million loss” was meant, but the construction reads “fifty dollars to sixty million dollars.”
A. Luckily, in most contexts misreading is unlikely in the way you suggest (“Yes, it was a bad year; I suffered a loss between fifty dollars and sixty million dollars”). In the rare instance where such an expression could cause confusion, a writer should expand the range.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Our organization just had a raging dispute about the use of the term “the 1910s.” This term is actually going to be used in a photo caption in a book. I’m astounded! What do you think of this?
A. I think it’s the way CMOS styles it in paragraph 9.33 (“Decades”):
To refer to the second decade (i.e., without writing “second decade”), prefer numerals (e.g., 1910s); the expression “the teens” should be avoided, at least in formal contexts.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Are digits (e.g., 4, 8) appropriate for use in illustrations or diagrams to save space, even if they would be spelled out in text (e.g., four, eight)?
A. Highly appropriate! If you look at the “Illustrations and Tables” chapter of CMOS, you will see digits in the examples.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In the following conversion in prose, should it be written “six feet (1.80 meters)” or “six feet (1.8 meters)”?
A. This is a matter of accuracy, rather than style. Six feet is 1.8288 meters. Rounded to the nearest tenth, that’s 1.8, but rounded to the nearest hundredth, it’s 1.83. So it would be inaccurate to write 1.80. Write 1.8 or 1.83 instead.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is there a correct way to write a range of only two numbers in a complete sentence? For example, June 3–4, or June 3 and 4? Pages 75–76, or pages 75 and 76? The issue gets especially ugly when referring to multiple numbers. For example, “The event will take place Nov. 3 and 4, 8 and 9, 15 and 16, and 21 and 22.” Yuck. I say that for ease of reading, an en dash would be used. However, I know that according to CMOS, an en dash between two numbers implies “up to and including,” or “through.” With that in mind, should “and” be used, because no number comes between the two numbers that are cited? Or is that overthinking things?
A. It’s not overthinking to be precise. “November 3–4” is a good way to describe a weekend-long event on November 3 and 4, but not a good way to describe a two-hour concert that takes place on November 3 and again on November 4. You have the right idea. Saying that something appears on pages 75–76 implies that there is a continuing discussion of it. If it appears on pages 75 and 76, it might be two separate, unrelated mentions.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. My coworkers and I are debating what exactly is meant by the word isolated in CMOS 9.20 (“isolated references to amounts of money are spelled out for whole numbers of one hundred or less”). One opinion is that two or more references to amounts of money in one sentence no longer qualify as isolated, as in “He had $0.21 and she had $21.00.” The other opinion is that one sentence containing two or more references to amounts of money could still qualify as isolated if the surrounding text does not mention money, as in “He had twenty-one cents and she had twenty-one dollars” in a passage contrasting the two people personally with no other reference to money. Could you please settle our debate?
A. By isolated references, we mean references not grouped in a table, list, financial report, equation, tax form, or budget. We mean numbers that come up in a generally nonnumeric context, such as a novel or a history textbook or a blog post about the election—even if there are more than two amounts of money in such a context. Even if there are more than three. Heck—even if there are more than four.
The idea is to spell out amounts of money unless they become hard to read or compare, or too many to keep track of. Because the choice between numerals and words requires judgment, it would be counterproductive to make a rule about it. The CMOS standard you seek is not a magic number of references but simply the writer’s common sense.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am writing a fictional piece that includes a discussion of the Fujita scale of tornado intensities. I am trying to write “318 miles an hour, the top wind speed of an F5 tornado.” I know the Manual wants most numbers spelled out up through 999, but writing “three-hundred-eighteen miles an hour” just doesn’t look right.
A. Actually, the Manual spells out nonround numbers only through one hundred, so “318 miles an hour” is fine Chicago style. Please see CMOS 9.2–7 for the general rules on spelling out numbers.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. This question/answer appeared in the November Q&A:
Q. Which is the proper spelling of a generic age: 30s and 40s or 30’s and 40’s?
A. Chicago’s preferred style is thirties and forties, but if you need to use numerals, we recommend leaving out the apostrophes.
The answer states “we recommend leaving out the apostrophes.” Recommend means to advise, appearing to state that there is a choice, yet in the question, surely the apostrophes are incorrect according to the rule of grammar? Thank you, and by the way, what has happened to the fun quips that used to appear in the Q&A answers?
A. The apostrophes aren’t actually incorrect; they’re commonly used. Oxford specifically allows apostrophes for the plurals of single numerals (e.g., 7’s). But they aren’t Chicago style, and we recommend omitting them in the plurals of numbers written as numerals. As for the fun quips, we are professionals here; we can’t just sit around quipping all the time. (But if you’re desperate, you can find a few here.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Which is the proper spelling of a generic age: 30s and 40s or 30’s and 40’s?
A. Chicago’s preferred style is thirties and forties, but if you need to use numerals, we recommend leaving out the apostrophes.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]