Bloody Well Write

We sent 2010 on its merry way into the annals of tricky years last night, and we woke up to a brand-spanking-new year: 2011. Well, hello there, friend! Do unto me as you’d like me to do unto you, yes?

(I’m sorry about that last bit. I really don’t like writing to a day or year or whatever as if it’s going to respond, but I’m working on very little sleep at the moment, so my judgment may not be up to snuff.)

So — I am thinking this morning that I haven’t written a Bloody Well Write entry for a few weeks due to familial adventures and holiday revelry, and I am wondering what the heck I should write about since my brain is still slightly fuzzy from last night’s don’t-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out 2010 sendoff. (A full round of Liverpool Rummy ended sometime around 3 a.m. Oof.)

How about the whole uppercase vs. lowercase issue concerning the new year? OK, let’s do it.

Happy 2011!

The AP Stylebook folks have it plainly written out in their fabulous printed guide and website; they’ve even presented the answer via Twitter (I highly recommend following @APStylebook). So here it is:

It’s New Year’s, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve. But lowercase references to the year: See you in the new year.

Those guidelines make complete sense to me.

New Year’s, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve should be initial-capped (i.e., the first letter of each word is uppercase) because they are concerning a specific day or night that is recognized as a holiday the world over. And if we get a day or so off of work because of them, by golly, I think that they should get some extra respect.

The new year is a generic statement and doesn’t refer directly to any particular event or well-celebrated holiday, so it deserves its lowercase status: What I’m looking for in the new year is just around the bend — I don’t want to miss the opportunity.

Hey, that wasn’t so difficult, was it? Nope. So all that’s left to finish this post is this: Thanks a heap for reading my fun little grammar blog, and happy, healthy, humorous days to you in the year ahead.

Happy trails!

SAK

There are about nine hours left in 2008 if you’re in the Central time zone (and you’re reading this right now, which is not likely the case). And, wherever you are, you are possibly thinking about asking all of your e-mail buddies and Facebook friends and Twitter followers what they have planned for New Year’s Eve.

Or is it “New Year’s eve”?

Maybe “new year’s eve”?

Argh.

I know. I know exactly what you’re going through: the great spelling dilemma of the ages — how to correctly spell/uppercase/lowercase your query so as to avoid seeming like a complete and utter oaf.

Here is your answer, short and sweet, lifted straight from Page 167 of my AP Stylebook:

These are correct: New Year’s, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve. This is also correct: What will the new year bring?

Ah, lovely. Now we can all raise our scotches, mojitos and hot chocolates in a unified toast to the new year, 2009. May it be a year full of good health, lots of laughs, a decent amount of inspiration and fully proper grammar.

Happy trails!

SAK