1. gorweave

    gorweave New Member

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    For AP Style Experts Out There

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by gorweave, Dec 18, 2010.

    I have a question -- not covered in the AP Stylebook -- regarding the use of "No." for the word "number."

    Would it be:

    Phone No. 888-614-1123

    or

    Would you spell out "number" in this instance?

    Phone number 888-614-1123

    Colon, hyphen or nothing following "number" if this is correct?

    Aside from the online subscription to the AP Stylebook, does anybody know of a free link to an AP discussion forum where AP style-related questions can be answered by experts.

    Thanks for any help with my questions, and have a nice holiday.:)
     
  2. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Hi!

    I was super excited to see this thread because I'm a journalist and I use the AP Stylebook all the time. :D

    "Phone number" - "No." is for if there's a bunch of things that have numbers to identify them (racing car No. 32) or if you're talking about someone's place in a contest..."He came in No. 2" etc.

    Use hyphens.

    For example, "The phone number for Don Smith is 321-555-5555." etc

    Not sure about the AP forum thing, sorry!
     
  3. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    he meant a hyphen after the word 'number' and not to separate the parts of the phone number...

    and there's no hard and fast rule for any of that in non-fiction... it would be a matter of writer preference or house style, though the colon is most commonly used... could be any of the following:

    Phone #: 000-000-0000
    Tel. #:
    Phone number:
    Phone No.:

    or even no 'no./#/number' at all:

    Call/Contact Joe Schmoe @: 000-000-0000 [or 000/000-0000; (000) 000-0000]
     
  4. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Oh! Of course, my bad. No it's not "phone-number." What Maia said. :D
     

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