The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[Pulcinella]

The rule I learned - though I forget from which magisterial publication, probably the Author's and Editor's Dictionary - is that if the 'abbreviation' includes the last letter of the full original, no full stop should be used - hence Dr for Doctor but Rev. for Reverend. The magisterial publication did not this explain by way of 'contraction', but perhaps that's what you mean, Pulcers?

Indeed it is!
Though personally I'd still prefer no stop after Rev (and I'm not sure that I've seen Revd, which to me seems a contrivance simply to avoid the full stop if you obey the abbreviation/contraction (leaving letters out) rule).
But my training was at the Institute of Physics Publishing offices (in Bristol), and I don't recall many reverends writing and submitting their learned articles to us.

[kernelbogey]

And we now have a convention, rightly I think, to print very common abbreviations such as GMT, MP, FM and so forth without full stops, which makes sense (IMV!).

[Historian]

And we now have a convention, rightly I think, to print very common abbreviations such as GMT, MP, FM and so forth without full stops, which makes sense (IMV!).

Many thanks to everyone for the elucidation. However, for me it's another set of sad steps away from the eighteenth century, so I will continue to add stops (and Capitals) as I wish.

[Pulcinella]

And we now have a convention, rightly I think, to print very common abbreviations such as GMT, MP, FM and so forth without full stops, which makes sense (IMV!).

And is one reason I find American newspaper articles (as an example) so hard to read. Their conventions (utterly bizarre when it comes to punctuation associated with quotation marks) litter the text with full stops, which breaks it up in such a way that you often can't immediately tell which one signifies the end of the sentence.

[vinteuil]

... for me it's another set of sad steps away from the eighteenth century, so I will continue to add stops (and Capitals) as I wish.

... ʃurely this ʃhould be "another ʃet of ʃad ʃteps away from the eighteenth century" - or "another Set of ʃad Steps away from the eighteenth Century"

[Historian]

... ʃurely this ʃhould be "another ʃet of ʃad ʃteps away from the eighteenth century" - or "another Set of ʃad Steps away from the eighteenth Century"

Mea Culpa.

[french frank]

Thanks French Frank & Pulcinella - I live & learn.

Careful now! You can rely utterly on all opinions expressed on these boards except mine, which can be so dubious that - at least some of the time - I doubt them myself.

[vinteuil]

The rule I learned - though I forget from which magisterial publication, probably the Author's and Editor's Dictionary - is that if the 'abbreviation' includes the last letter of the full original, no full stop should be used - hence Dr for Doctor but Rev. for Reverend.

... my old copy of Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press Oxford, page 2, agrees with this for Dr Revd Mr Mrs Mme Mlle St (saint) - but expects full points for Bt. Kt. Ltd. and St. (street).

.

[AuntDaisy]

Careful now! You can rely utterly on all opinions expressed on these boards except mine, which can be so dubious that - at least some of the time - I doubt them myself.

Does that mean you're really a secret R3 day-time & Jools Holland fan?

[Old Grumpy]

And is one reason I find American newspaper articles (as an example) so hard to read. Their conventions (utterly bizarre when it comes to punctuation associated with quotation marks) litter the text with full stops, which breaks it up in such a way that you often can't immediately tell which one signifies the end of the sentence.

Surely the text would be littered with periods.