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I (think I) know how to pluralize an indirect quote, e.g.,

Their survey answers were limited to yeses and nos.

But how do I pluralize a direct quote ending in a punctuation mark? Am I even allowed to retain the punctuation mark for emphasis?

In other words, would the correct form(s) be:

  1. There was no shortage of "How do you do?"s and "Let's do lunch!"es at the networking event.
  2. There was no shortage of "How do you do"s and "Let's do lunch"es at the networking event.
  3. There was no shortage of how-do-you-dos and let's-do-lunches at the networking event.
  4. [something else altogether]

Does the number of correct forms change when I elect to italicize quotes, rather than demarcate them with quotation marks?

A/N: I was trying to keep my example short, but I do realize that "how-do-you-do" is already an established phrase. Hyphenation seems unwieldy, however, if the quote were longer.

Logophile
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  • Since you are choosing an informal, even quirky, style, I don't see how a charge of 'unacceptable' could be made to stick. A workaround is << There was no shortage of people ready with "How do you do?" and "Let's do lunch!" at the networking event. >> – Edwin Ashworth Sep 26 '16 at 22:55
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    I like option 3 best. But I would either italicise or put in quotes how-do-you-dos and let's-do-lunches. I might also use an apostrophe when pluralising words like do and no - do's and no's. I feel sure it has been recommended on this site before. – WS2 Sep 26 '16 at 22:58
  • @WS2 I prefer 2 to 3, mainly because it makes clear that it is the expressions which are pluralised and not the 'do' and the 'lunch'. However I think its a matter of personal preference. – BoldBen Sep 26 '16 at 23:27
  • I like 3 best. And I like using italics - they make it simple and clear. I think I prefer the pluralising suffixes not to be italicised - "... shortage of How-do-you-do-s and Let's do lunch-es at the networking event." I can't decide whether it's clearer using a dash to separate the two text types, or simply running them together. – Dan Sep 27 '16 at 01:42

2 Answers2

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I recommend #3, with the italicization suggested in the comments.

As you point out, how-do-you-do is a headword in Dictionary.com and even gives the plural as how-do-you-dos.

1. a greeting; salutation: She smiled and gave him a how-do-you-do fit for a king.

Likewise, it is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary:

  1. n. Used as a name for the inquiry (which is often used as a mere greeting or salutation); = how-do-ye phr. and n. 2. (In quot. 1632 applied to the inquirer.)

Let's-do-lunches will be understood by analogy.

As for longer phrases, it seems increasingly unlikely there would be a lot of people saying exactly "Why hello sir I trust you have met my wife, Martha." If there were, you could use Why-hello-sir,-I-trust-you-have-met-my-wife,-Marthas for comedic effect.

Azor Ahai -him-
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I am the weirdo who prefers and practices #1. This is predicated on a belief that quoted punctuation should be considered entirely separately from outer-sentence punctuation. Thus to my nerd mind, the following is proper:

  • The words I heard were, "What's that sound?".

I know many cringe at seeing both the question mark and a period, but the quote is a question, and the sentence is not. Once there, it is a natural extension to say:

  • Due to the creaking of the house, there were many "What's that sound?"s heard throughout the evening.
RichF
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