Are town nicknames/titles capialized?

Lalaloopsy · Oct 22, 2020

Hi,

New York is called "The City That Never Sleeps."

Las Vegas is called "The Entertainment Capital of the World."

Pittsburgh is called "The Zombie Capital of the World."

Nashville is called "The Country Music Capital Of The World."

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Are you supposed to capitalize "the" and "of the". The Nashville option has each word capitalized, but the Las Vegas one doesn't. I'm going to be writing a query soon, and will need to describe a town by its nickname. I don't want to mess it up with a reckless error.

So basically, what do you think is correct?

"Kerri used to work in Opal Island —the herbal medicine capital of the world."

"Kerri used to work in Opal Island —The Herbal Medicine Capital of the World."

"Kerri used to work in Opal Island —The Herbal Medicine Capital Of The World."

"Kerri used to work in Opal Island —the Herbal Medicine Capital Of The World."

Thanks for your help.

angeliz2k · Oct 22, 2020

Those particular ones I would not capitalize. They aren't literally called "the x capital of the world" as if that were the city's name. It's more of a metaphor. Now, if you were to say the Big Apple, Sin City, Steel City, or Music City (or the Windy City or the City of Brotherly Love or Charm City or Bean Town), then those would be capitalized (and I would not capitalize "the").

Maryn · Oct 22, 2020

I agree with angeliz2k. These aren't really city nicknames. No one announces, "Hey, I've just booked tickets to the city that never sleeps!" any more than they say, "I'm headed for the garlic capital of the world!"

But there are plenty of cities that do have nicknames, and in general if it starts with the you would not capitalize that word. I've been to the Big Easy, the Big Apple, the Mile-High City, and the City of Lights. (Someone with a copy of CMOS might convince me otherwise; mine's all the way in another room.) I suspect that a city nickname that's only the and one other word might properly cap The.

Maryn, now living in The Osh, although no one else calls it that

Cobalt Jade · Oct 22, 2020

Researching this, I came across this nickname: Walla Walla: The City So Nice, They Named it Twice.

!!!

I thing the city nickname thing... all depends. Seattle has more than a few nicknames. One is The Emerald City. A native would never reference it without the "The."

Another is Jet City. But a native would never add a "The" to it. e.g. a radio announcer would say "It's another lovely October day here in Jet City."

I think the more well-known and accepted a nickname is, the more it would be referenced casually: "I'm flying in from the Big Apple on Tuesday." Most people would know it as a stand-in for New York City and the capping emphasizes that it is a city.

Lalaloopsy, since the nickname of your city (I assume it's a made-up city?) might only be known to herbal medicine practitioners, and not to the general public, I wouldn't cap it at all.

Are town nicknames/titles capialized?

Lalaloopsy

angeliz2k

never mind the shorty

Maryn

Baaa!

Cobalt Jade