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Last Seven Days

Question on June 17, 2025

Hello editors.
I'm wondering about the use of dollar sign in direct quotes.
If a speaker says "The cuts to Medicare at 715 billion will be devastating," but does not say "dollars," is it acceptable to insert "$" into the quote or better to leave as is? Should I write the dollar amount "$715 billion," outside of the quotes?

Thank you so much!
Love,
Ingrid Lu

Answer

It is acceptable to use $ in the quote - so if the speaker says "715 billion" you would write it as "$715 billion." An English speaker would read the latter as $715 billion (see what I did there!) so you should follow style. 

Question from Memphis, Tennessee, on June 14, 2025

How would style the following words as nouns: up charge, back charge? Or upcharge, backcharge?

Answer

It doesn't appear in either AP Stylebook or Merriam Webster. I'd hyphenate it, for clarity. Or, probably, avoid it and say it another way. "How much extra does Ticketmaster charge" v. "how much is the up-charge from Ticketmaster.  

Question on June 13, 2025

My understanding is that there's nothing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition, but do run across others who insist it's a no-no. Does AP Style have a position?

Answer

We actually don't mind sentences ending with a preposition, especially if avoiding it makes the language stilted or confusing. Even Merriam-Webster says in their Frequently Asked Questions: "There is nothing wrong with ending a sentence in a preposition." Above all, be clear. Don't tie yourself in knots trying to follow a rule that no longer makes sense even to many grammar and usage experts.

Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on June 12, 2025

Should 'down under' be capitalized when referring to Australia? I see you have it capitalized as an entry in the Stylebook, but I also saw this from a google search:

While some style guides might consider "Down Under" a proper noun and therefore capitalize it, the AP Stylebook considers it a descriptive or colloquial term. AP Style generally prefers lowercasing such descriptive terms unless they are part of a formal name or title...

Answer

Here's the entry: Down Under Australia, New Zealand and environs. While it's true we generally lowercase these descriptive terms unless they are part of a formal name or title, Down Under is an exception. It's fairly well-known. (Other exceptions: the West, referring to the U.S. West). 

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