Abbreviations

Avoid abbreviating words except in the following instances:

Titles before or after a name

Dr.         Mr.         Mrs.         Rev.
Jr.Sr. B.A.M.A.
Ph.D.

With dates or numerals

a.m.         p.m.
44 B.C. A.D. 320 (note that A.D. comes before the date)

Indicate noon and midnight with the words noon and midnight; writing 12 p.m.and 12 a.m. will only lead to confusion.

Months used with days

Jan. 1         Feb. 3         Aug. 4         Sep. 5
Oct. 6Nov. 7Dec. 8

Always spell out the names of months with five or fewer letters (March through July). Spell out all months when writing a month and a year, with no comma after the month. Spell out all months standing alone.

The campaign will begin January 1996.

Addresses

According to the Associated Press Style Book, use the following abbreviations only with a numbered address:

Ave.Blvd.St.

Spell out all other words when part of a formal street name without a number:

Avenue         Boulevard         Street         Route         Drive
CourtCircleLaneTerraceTrail
AlleyRoad

The Postal Service requests that all addressed mail be written in capital letters; abbreviations may be used but without terminating punctuation.

Acronyms

Names of Society organizations and titles are written without periods. See Abbreviations and Acronyms in Barbershopping.

Master of Ceremonies

The first instance of use of this word should always be written out in full and in lower case. All subsequent uses may be written with capitals and no punctuation. As mentioned in the Associated Press Style Guide, avoid the coined word "emcee."

We were lucky to have Bob Cearnal as master of ceremonies for our show. He has been an MC at many barbershop functions over the years.

States

Do not use the Postal Service's two-letter designators except when addressing mail. Writers may use the following abbreviations in all other instances:

Ala.         Md.         N.Y.
Ariz.Mass.Okla.
Ark.Mich.Ore.
Calif.Minn.Pa.
Colo.Miss.R.I.
Conn.Mo.S.C.
Del.Mont.S.D.
Fla.Neb.Tenn.
Ga.Nev.Va..
Ill.N.C.Vt.
Ind.N.D.Wash.
Kan.N.H.W.Va.
Ky.N.J. Wis.
La.N.M.Wyo.

Always spell out the following states' names in full:

Alaska         Hawaii         Idaho
IowaMaineOhio
TexasUtah

Canadian Provinces and Communities

For Canadian provinces and territories, use these abbreviations after the name of a community:

Alta.         Nfld.         P.E.I.
B.C.N.W.T.Que.
Man.N.S.Sask.
N.B.Ont.

Use "Yukon" rather than Y.T. (Yukon Territory). When it stands alone, use "the Yukon."

Generally, do not abbreviate the names of countries, provinces, or states when each stands alone or is used as an adjective.

The chapters along the British Columbia and state of Washington border hosted a genuine "international" celebration.

According to the Canadian Press Stylebook, use a hyphen instead of a period after "St" and "Ste" in Quebec place names:

Ste-Agathe         St-Eustache

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