If you abbreviate a word, like ‘and’ to ‘n’ does the apostrophe go before the ‘n’ or after the ‘n’?
i.e., is it cut n’ paste or cut 'n paste?
If anyone has any cites for the actual rules, I’d love to have them.
trisha
In the case of “and,” it becomes “‘n’,” as in my favorite TV program “Amos ‘n’ Andy.”
That really saves on keystrokes.
My recollection is that, in contractions, you include an apostrophe wherever a letter is missing, so and would be contracted as ‘n’.
As in Burgers ‘n’ Fries.
From Modern English Grammar - English 126 - Daniel Kies - Department of English - College of DuPage
A Handbook of Selected Punctuation Marks
(This section, on on the usage of apostrophe, comma, ellipsis, italics, periods, and quotation marks, was written by student Sandra Penrose).
- Contractions:
Contractions of words and dates can appear in informal writing. Use an apostrophe to indicate the place where characters have been omitted.
She wouldn’t work for the gov’t. in '93.
Omit the apostrophe in abbreviated names and titles.
Lt. Wm. Jones visited us.
And Mjollnir gets the gold! (I must learn to type faster.)
I believe Mjollnir is right. The apostrophe takes the place of a letter. You removed a letter from both sides of the N, so you need an apostrophe on both sides.
It doesn’t really save any keystrokes, but it saves a little space, and hey… it looks cool 
Don’t forget rock ‘n’ roll!
I live on a street that with ‘n’ in its name and it’s given me no end of headaches. Let’s pretend it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Road. I get things addressed to Rock North Roll Road all the time. It’s verrrry annoying!
Dave Barry had a funny column several years ago about the misuse of apostrophes and quotation marks. I wish I’d saved it; it was hysterical. He railed against people who used them as decorations, for signs, especially: “Fresh” fish ‘here.’
I’ve often considered joining the apostrophe police on message boards but people really hate it when you point our their mistake’s. 
I tell ya…you people are quick! Thank you 
trisha
*Ellen: Dave Barry had a funny column several years ago about the misuse of apostrophes and quotation marks. I wish I’d saved it; it was hysterical. He railed against people who used them as decorations, for signs, especially: “Fresh” fish ‘here.’ *
A deli in my office building used to have a sign that said:
We are open on "Saturdays"
So, were they or weren’t they open on Saturdays? Or were they open but didn’t serve food.
I’ll never know now, as they’ve decided to be closed on Saturdays. (This time the sign has no extra quotes.)
Arnold Winkelried wrote:
Wouldn’t that be, 'Burgers ‘n’ Fries?
Another nit picked. Someday I’ll show you my bouquet of nits.
No it wouldn’t. Burger has been used enough that it’s a word now. So there!
Merriam-Webster®’s Collegiate® Dictionary
Main Entry: bur·ger
Pronunciation: 'b&r-g&r (guide to pronunciation)
Function: noun
Date: 1939
1 : HAMBURGER
2 : a sandwich similar to a hamburger – often used in combination <tofu burger>
I live in a major metropolitan area and I see this stuff all the time, I like to pretend they’re being really really sarcastic. There’s a great program called the Sarcasterizer that does this randomly to web pages. Try it here.
I’m officially at the point where I need a search engine for my bookmarks.
I’d like to take this moment to replace a nit. It has been handled gently, and, as you can see, it is unharmed.