The Chicago Manual of Style

Q. Should asterisk note references be superscripts? Q. I’m trying to cite info about The Simpsons. It’s complicated. Can you help? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the March Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Footnotes or endnotes? Many of us prefer footnotes, but endnotes can be less distracting, especially when there are no numbers in the text. Find out how these “invisible” endnotes work, this week at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2022/12/20/inv…

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Q. Is it “password protect” or “password-protect”? Q. Why aren’t “heaven” and “hell” always capitalized? Q. How would I cite an unpublished diary entry? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the February Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Until about a century ago, most publishers did “this.” But many publishers now do ‘this’, or “this”. Find out what happened, and why, in this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2020/10/20/com…

Q. “Do the speaker or the characters have any faults?” Or “Does”? Q. En dash or hyphens in “time clock punching employees”? Q. Can you have a footnote 1 with no 2? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the January Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

The spaces between these words are just one of more than a dozen kinds of spaces. Discover more in this latest update from CMOS Shop Talk, which includes links to several related (and newly updated) posts. cmosshoptalk.com/2021/06/15/nav…

Q. I know about commas and spouses, but what about friends? Q. Do we refer to fictional characters by first or last name? Q. Is “four-hundredth birthday” correct? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the December Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

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Peter B. Kaufman’s new book provides a publisher’s road map for a world in which video has become at least as important as text. The Moving Image: A User’s Manual is the subject of our latest interview at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2025/11/25/pet…

The abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” are clearly not the same, so why are they always getting mixed up? And which one can be used with “etc.”? Refresh your knowledge of three common Latin abbreviations, this week at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2023/04/11/i-e…

Q. Why doesn’t “post-traumatic stress disorder” have an en dash? Q. Neither I/me nor my dog responded. “I” or “me”? Q. What’s the best way to style “the f-word”? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the November Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Interruptions can be annoying, especially when you’re not sure where to put the commas. Interrupted conjunctions are the subject of this newly updated post, only at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2023/01/24/pun…

Q. Should “little blue heron” be capitalized? Q. Should it be “sample A” or “Sample A”? Q. How would you style the title of a playlist? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the October Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Family members may deserve our love and respect, but when do they merit an initial capital? Get the latest advice for capitalizing kinship names and similar words for people, this week at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2023/05/16/cap…

Q. Why is MS Word asking me to change “all of” to “all”? Q. Do I have to put boat names in italics? Q. How do I cite a Substack post? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the September Q&A at CMOS Online. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.h…

One of the best ways to understand a rule is to consider its exceptions. Find out more in this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk (and be sure to read to the end for links to two more “exceptional” posts). cmosshoptalk.com/2022/10/11/a-f…

Q. Can the first defined use of an abbreviation be plural? Q. Does “painters tape” need an apostrophe? Q. How do you cite a book that has a typo on the title page? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the August Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Our online Q&A has been answering your questions about Chicago style since 1997. This month we dig into the archives for some tips and tricks, only at CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2025/07/23/ins…

Q. Should “Fortune” be in italics in “Fortune 500”? Q. Is a comma needed after a word like “yesterday”? Q. Does a term following “called” need to be in italics? We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the July Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA