Ask the Editor
Last Seven DaysQuestion from on April 03, 2020
Do you approve of the following hyphenation: COVID-19-related
Answer
Yes, but we prefer not using the form at all. Why not just concerns (or whatever) related to COVID-19.
Question from Tokyo on April 03, 2020
For a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19, can we use the adjectival form COVID-positive, as in:
Anyone who tests positive for the disease or who has come into contact with a COVID-positive patient ...
Answer
No, we wouldn't do that.
Question from Portland, OR on April 02, 2020
Would you need two hyphens in a sentence like this: "ABC company uses 100% American-made and -sourced materials"?
Answer
Yes, that's correct.
Answer
This gets into a complicated consideration of coordinate vs. cumulative adjectives. Some examples are more clear-cut than others. I think yours could be read either of the two ways you describe. I would go with Option 2, viewing new customer card options as a single thing, modified by exciting.
Question from Louisville, KY on April 02, 2020
Is zoom bomb or Zoom bomb? Wouldn't Zoom be treated as a proper noun in this case?
Answer
Yes, it is a proper noun, assuming you're talking about the actual Zoom platform.
Question from Austin, TX on April 02, 2020
Is is "work-from-home order" or "work from home order"? A 2016 Ask the Editor answer says it's "work from home program," but I'm wondering if it should be "work-from-home program" and "work-from-home order" to match the AP entry for "stay-at-home order."
Answer
Yes, I'd use the hyphens. I'll delete the previous answer. Thanks for noting it.
Question from Austin, TX on April 01, 2020
The editor of a nearby paper insists "eat healthy" is acceptable, despite this column's May 10, 2016, directive to only use it as a direct quote, and found multiple examples of AP use. Am I being stodgy to insist it's an adjective?
Answer
I'm not seeing a directive in the 2016 answer to use it only in direct quotes. It says it's often used in direct quotes, and sort of dodges the question of whether it's OK in general use:
In idiomatic speech, eat healthy is widely used, as shown in numerous direct quotes in AP stories. In formal writing outside a direct quote, eat healthy foods preserves the adjective form, as does healthy eating. No hyphen in healthy eating program.
At any rate, I think the phrase eat healthy is so commonly used that indeed, it would sound stodgy and even unhealthy to write eat healthily. Or avoid the issue by rewriting, as noted in the 2016 answer.
In idiomatic speech, eat healthy is widely used, as shown in numerous direct quotes in AP stories. In formal writing outside a direct quote, eat healthy foods preserves the adjective form, as does healthy eating. No hyphen in healthy eating program.
At any rate, I think the phrase eat healthy is so commonly used that indeed, it would sound stodgy and even unhealthy to write eat healthily. Or avoid the issue by rewriting, as noted in the 2016 answer.
Question from Mandeville, LA on April 01, 2020
Is bayous capped when in plural form before the proper noun? Is it Bayous Boeuf and Chevreuil or bayous Boeuf and Chevreuil? I know that when multiple rivers are listed, it’s not capped and think the same logic would apply to bayous.
Answer
Yes, the same applies to bayous. Lowercase.
Question from Knoxville, TN on April 01, 2020
'safer-at-home' order or 'safer at home' order?
Answer
We'd use the hyphens.
Question from Indianapolis, IN on April 01, 2020
What is the proper construction for a phrase such as "COVID-19 related furloughs?" I propose that the second hyphen isn't needed for clarity. There is the option to write around that, but can you please weigh in on the second hyphen? Thank you!
Answer
I'd definitely write around it. Or: coronavirus-related furloughs.
Otherwise: COVID-19-related furloughs. But that's not a good option.
Otherwise: COVID-19-related furloughs. But that's not a good option.
Question from on March 31, 2020
Is amen capitalized, especially in regard to faith-based stories?
Answer
No, it's lowercase.
Question from Bowling Green, OH on March 31, 2020
The 1980’s best moment was when...
Is 1980s correctly written as a quasi-possessive?
Is 1980s correctly written as a quasi-possessive?
Answer
The 1980s' best moment ...
But I'd rephrase: The best moment in the 1980s was ... (This of course assumes that you, or anyone, can judge the best moment of a 10-year span.)
DATES, YEARS AND DECADES: Feb. 8, 2007, Class of '66, the 1950s. For the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 9/11 is acceptable in all references. (Note comma to set off the year when the phrase refers to a month, date and year.)
But I'd rephrase: The best moment in the 1980s was ... (This of course assumes that you, or anyone, can judge the best moment of a 10-year span.)
DATES, YEARS AND DECADES: Feb. 8, 2007, Class of '66, the 1950s. For the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 9/11 is acceptable in all references. (Note comma to set off the year when the phrase refers to a month, date and year.)
Question from on March 31, 2020
Hello. I'm an editor who works in the military arena. What do you do when a writer starts off a sentence with a military title such as, "1st Lt. Brown fulfilled his duty as ..."
Normally I would want to switch it to "First Lt."
Thanks,
Scott
Normally I would want to switch it to "First Lt."
Thanks,
Scott
Answer
Yes, I'd go with your approach.
Question from Arlington, VA on March 30, 2020
Which is correct?
The data will need to be updated in the next five to 10 years.
The data will need to be updated in the next 5 to 10 years.
Thank you!
The data will need to be updated in the next five to 10 years.
The data will need to be updated in the next 5 to 10 years.
Thank you!
Answer
The next five to 10 years.
Question from PA on March 30, 2020
Would you use self-install or self install is this situation? Click here to view our self-install guides. You can self install our video products.
Answer
I'd use the hyphen in both cases.
Question from ELLICOTT CITY, MD on March 30, 2020
Good morning,
I'm overthinking this, but is it 1-on-1 meeting or one-on-one meeting? Thank you!
I'm overthinking this, but is it 1-on-1 meeting or one-on-one meeting? Thank you!
Answer
It's a one-on-one meeting.
Question from Bangalore on March 30, 2020
Siri said, “I read an interesting article titled ‘A Poor Woman’s Journey.’”
Have I placed the period correct here or should I change it to '."?
Have I placed the period correct here or should I change it to '."?
Answer
You have it correct. Here's the example from the quotation marks entry:
Use three marks together if two quoted elements end at the same time: She said, "He told me, 'I love you.'"
Use three marks together if two quoted elements end at the same time: She said, "He told me, 'I love you.'"
Question from Bartlesville, OK on March 29, 2020
How long must one be dead before he is no longer referred to as, “late”? When do we stop referring to the late Elvis Presley, for example.
Answer
There's no specific rule. I'd just use common sense. Do most people know Elvis Presley is dead? Then no need to add "the late." If someone could be mistaken as being among the living, then spell it out.
Question from Atlanta on March 28, 2020
In Catholicism, Mass is capitalized, but is the plural also? They will be celebrating Masses only via livestreaming due to the coronavirus. They will be celebrating masses only via livestreaming due to the coronavirus.
Answer
I'd use the singular in that case.
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Coronavirus Topical Guide
To help with coverage of the new coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, The Associated Press has prepared a guide based on the AP Stylebook and common usage in AP stories. For more details, follow...
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