Advice needed.

Question

Punctuated correctly? I cannot recast.“The nineteen-seventies band was . . .”The hyphen, I believe, is needed because of the compound-modifier action.“The greatest nineteen-seventies' band was . . .”The hyphen, I believe, is needed because of the compound-modifier action.(Note the apostrophe in this example.)But: "The actor was popular in the nineteen nineties." I dare say that in this case the hyphen is omitted.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Punctuated correctly? I cannot recast.

The nineteen-seventies band was . . . Seems OK.
The greatest nineteen-seventies' band was . . . Same case as above. Drop the apostrophe.

But: "The actor was popular in the nineteen nineties." I dare say that in this case the hyphen is omitted.
Looks better to me with a hyphen.

Clive

Goronsky · Answer

Thanks, Clive. I re-asked this question because I needed a second opinion.

Goronsky · Answer

I added the apostrophe because I found this in the CMOS FAQ:

Q. I have suddenly become an editor and am having trouble on a daily basis with the numeric use of decades. First, is “the 90s” or “the ’90s” correct? We often see the apostrophe omitted these days. Next, if a sentence contains the phrase, “Perhaps the 70s best director . . .” (meaning, the best director of that decade), “70s” is both plural and possessive. Should it be “70’s”? “70s’”? Other than reconstructing the sentence, what’s an editor to do?

A. Strictly speaking, ’90s, with the apostrophe, is correct. The ’70s’ finest director was Martin Scorsese, particularly for his work on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Taxi Driver.
Note the apostrophes, both of them. You are always free to write “seventies’ finest.” Or, “The finest director of the ’70s was assuredly Francis Ford Coppola, for his work on the first two Godfather films and Apocalypse Now.”

***Would you still drop that apostrophe with the superlative in the second example?

Clive · Answer

Here's my view,,
The greatest nineteen-seventies band was . . .. Drop the apostrophe.
The nineteen-seventies' greatest band was . . . Keep the apostrophe.

If I really wanted to write carefully, I'd say
The greatest band of the seventies' was . . .

The ’70s’ finest director looks faintly ludicrous to me. Casual, at best.

Clive

Goronsky · Answer

The greatest band of the seventies' was . . .

I very respectfully disagree with your punctuation above. Why the apostrophe after “seventies”?

Clive · Answer

I typed carelessly.

Sorry.

Advice needed.

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