1182. This week, we solve the mystery of the colon: when do you actually need to capitalize the next word? We compare AP, Chicago, and MLA styles to give you a clear answer. Then, we look at common words with surprisingly "shadowy" histories — from the sudden appearance of the word "dog" to the apocryphal origin of "quiz."

The words with no origins segment was written by Karen Lunde. Find her on igofirst.org.

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Decoding the colon: AP vs. MLA style. Plus, words with no known origin.

Grammar Girl

Decoding the colon: AP vs. MLA style. Plus, words with no known origin.