My workplace just blew up in heated debate over this issue and we need a definitive answer please!
If you follow the general rule that the apostrophe replaces the dropped letters, this presents a problem as an ‘a’ and a ‘d’ are being dropped from both sides of the n. We did a few Google searches, like Good n Plenty, Guns n Roses, and Ghosts n Goblins, and found phrases that used apostrophes on the left side, the right side, and sometimes both sides of the n.
So, what is the true answer?
Thanks…
where a letter is removed: run ‘n’ gun, guns ‘n’ roses, etc.
The apostrophe replaces the missing letters, hence “Run ‘n’ Gun” is correct. Usage of brand name products is not a reliable guide, since the logo designer may have decided that apostrophes clutter things up.
Reminds me of an old New Yorker cartoon in which a WWII sailor is writing a letter home and asks his buddy, “How many apostrophes in fo’c’s’le?” [Forecastle is the nautical term in question, but it’s commonly pronounced “focsul.”]
The band had a further reduction: G’ ‘n’ f’n’ R’
Since I can’t think of one word that would be in the dictionary that needs an apostrophe in two places, there probably is no official useage on this one. No true answer, you have artistic license.
ch’o’ic’n’.
wow. i’m abbreviated. in the made shorter sense, not made into an abbreviation.
x-ray vision:
Yes, it’s “run ‘n’ gun;” each apostrophe replaces a letter (unless they’re consecutive).
And a further point: both are apostrophes, the first one is not an open quote. So they both look like little 9s, not a 6 and a 9.
Yeah, these are the kind of cases that make the designers of things like “Microsoft SmartQuotes” tear their hair out.
In general, though, if you type the word in order, all the apostrophes should come out right. It’s if you forget one and go back to add it later, that the software gets confused and puts it in the wrong way around. Fortunately, your quick-reference guide should give you a specific keystroke for each kind of apostrophe.
Fo’c’s’le. Hmm. Was there ever an af’c’s’le? I’ll ask my dad. He was in the Navy…
One better Monty: Fo’c’s’le.
Not to forget the fo’c’s’le’s possessive case.
Opus: Well, I didn’t think of asking the bo’s’n about it!
Actually, to be thoroughly pedantic, it’s Guns N’ Roses, with only one apostrophe.
I have heard that this is beacuse it’s short for “Guns Not Roses”, not “Guns and Roses”, but that could be a myth.
My Random House Unabridged has an entry for rock-‘n’-roll.
I personally pronounce ‘n’ as “nuh”.
Thus Fish nuh Chips, Guns nuh Roses, Rock nuh Roll.
Collins English Dictionary has rock’n’roll (no spaces) listed, as “a variant spelling of rock and roll”.
House style at the paper I work for is rock’n’roll, too. Similarly drum’n’bass.
Oh, and incidentally, it was in our style guide that I read about Guns N’ Roses being an abbreviation for “Guns Not Roses”.
Random House also has a seperate entry for 'n (one apostrophe). It lists ‘n’ as a variant.
That was brilliant coding, wasn’t it?
