I've been wrestling with this same matter, Dick. I side with you on
preferring B for the reasons you gave, but I don't have an authority to cite
either.
Sue Webb
Texas Woman's University
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Veit, UNCW English Department" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2001 2:59 PM
Subject: Do I or don't I?
> Here's a usage question. I need to put a header on a web page. Which
should
> I choose?
>
> A. Dos and Don'ts
> B. Do's and Don'ts
> C. Do's and Don't's
>
> I searched for all three using the Google search engine to survey common
> practice and got the following results:
>
> A. 136,000 web sites
> B. 157,000 sites
> C. 8,850 sites
>
> I also got 17,200 sites with "Do's and Dont's" and 4,050 with "Dos and
> Donts." Since I'm assuming the use of apostrophes to mark contractions,
I'm
> ignoring these last two.
>
> My inclination accords with the plurality. I favor B, but a colleague of
> mine favors C. I'd like informed advice from y'all.
>
> My reasoning for favoring B, even though A and C are internally consistent
> in their use/nonuse of apostrophes, is this: Although apostrophes are
> generally not used for plurals, an exception is made when punctuation is
> needed to prevent confusion, as in:
>
> A's are hard to get from Prof. Gradgrind.
> You sing the do's and re's, and I'll sing the mi's and fa's.
>
> So I lean toward B. The plural of Do needs an apostrophe so it doesn't
look
> like Dos. The plural of Don't doesn't.
>
> What do you think? Citation of authority is especially welcome.
>
> Dick Veit
> UNCW English Department
>
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