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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Hyphens in written ratios

Is it compliant with the CMOS to write "civilians soon outnumbered sailors two-to-one at the dockyards"?
  

Top answer

Anonymous Is it compliant with the CMOS to write " C ivilians soon outnumbered sailors two-to-one at the dockyards . "? I don't know what CMOS is, but I see no need for hyphens there.

— Canadian45

  • Anonymous Is it compliant with the CMOS to write " C ivilians soon outnumbered sailors two-to-one at the dockyards .
  • "?
  • I don't know what CMOS is, but I see no need for hyphens there.
  • It's not a compound adjective or anything like that.
  • )
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5 Answers
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AnonymousIs it compliant with the CMOS to write "Civilians soon outnumbered sailors two-to-one at the dockyards."?
I don't know what CMOS is, but I see no need for hyphens there. It's not a compound adjective or anything like that.
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CMOS = the Chicago Manual of Style
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I believe this is the correct way to write out a ratio. Generally speaking, the Chicago Manual of Style hyphenates other similiar numerical occurrences, such as: two-thirds, fifty-five, a four-hundred-page document, etc. Thus, I would think it would be consistent to write "two-to-one" as you have it.
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KJinCali79I believe this is the correct way to write out a ratio. Generally speaking, the Chicago Manual of Style hyphenates other similiar numerical occurrences, such as: two-thirds, fifty-five, a four-hundred-page document, etc. Thus, I would think it would be consistent to write "two-to-one" as you have it.
Consistency is not th
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Yes. CMOS 9.58 states: "Ratios composed of whole numbers may generally be expressed using to and spelled out in ordinary text according to one of the rules stated at 9.2 and 9.3 ... a three-to-one ratio"

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