JS Tip 566: Apostrophes and Plurals

Two weeks ago, we took a break from our discussion about informal leadership to answer a question about apostrophes and place names. 

Since that tip, we’ve noticed that Popeyes—the fried-chicken franchise—doesn’t use an apostrophe. Poor Popeye.*

So we offer some guidelines about apostrophes and plurals:   

Form the plural of specific constructions by adding an s with an apostrophe:

  • Uncapitalized letters: x’s and o’s

  • Abbreviations with periods: Ph.d.’s

  • Lower-case abbreviations: rpm’s

But form the plural of other specific constructions by adding an swithout an apostrophe.

  • Capitalized letters: Xs and Os

  • Capitalized abbreviations without periods: URLs

  • Written-out numbers: high fives

  • Figures: the low 80s**

What’s not to love?

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* More interesting stuff: Popeyes Fried Chicken isn’t named for Popeye the Sailor; it’s named for Popeye Doyle, the lead detective in The French Connection.

The founder of the franchise didn’t use an apostrophe because he couldn’t afford the punctuation mark in the signage.

** The source: The Chicago Manual of Style, section 7.14.  

 

Kurt Weiland