I have the following sentence:
The program identifies particular “targets” and “identifiers:” the “targets” are people who are suspected of committing a crime.
Does the colon go inside the quotes or outside of them?
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You either have to purchase it or find it at a library. Why ask that here??– LambieMar 29, 2018 at 19:58
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1@Lambie because I have seen many other useful punctuation questions here. I did not know that style manuals could be proprietary. I thought the point was that everyone should be able to know them and use them.– Pro QMar 29, 2018 at 20:02
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If it were entirely free, it would be online. The Chicago Manual of Style is a book, not a style guide (as you find in companies). Any named reference book has a copyright.– LambieMar 29, 2018 at 23:17
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If you are quoting single words in a text, the quotation marks (aka inverted commas) must go around the word. You would never ever but them after a colon. This isn't dialogue or quoting a person. And I reckon that rule is the same in most places where English is the official language.– LambieMar 29, 2018 at 23:19
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2 Answers
While my edition (14th) of CMOS is getting long in the tooth, I don’t believe the guidance has changed:
5.104 The colon should be placed outside quotation marks or parentheses. When matter ending with a colon is quoted, that colon is dropped:
Kego had three objections to “Filmore’s Summer”: it was contrived; the characters were flat; the dialogue was unrealistic.
@Sven Yargs notes in a comment that the guidance remains in place in the 16th (2010) edition:
6.10 Other punctuation in relation to closing quotation marks Colons and semicolons—unlike periods and commas—follow closing quotation marks; ..."
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The advice you cite from the 14th edition remains in force in the 16th edition (2010): "6.10 Other punctuation in relation to closing quotation marks Colons and semicolons—unlike periods and commas—follow closing quotation marks; ..." Mar 29, 2018 at 22:55
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In general, Chicago upholds the doctrine of stare decisis at least as vigorously as the U.S. Supreme Court does, but occasionally it reverses itself—even (in one recent instance) on a matter of punctuation style. Mar 30, 2018 at 1:53
Although this does not answer your question directly, reading your sentence, I would think that the quotation marks could be eliminated. There is no need for scare quotes in that sentence, since there is nothing unusual or inaccurate about your usage.
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1The example does not use scare quotes; rather, this is a straightforward example of using quotes to define a term, much like a Stack Exchange "answer" is different from just any Stack Exchange answer.– chosterMar 29, 2018 at 22:41