Should I Capitalize “Lady”? - (45)
Hello, everybody. Today, I bring, to you, a query on the subject of capitalization. I’ll present you with an example (keep an eye open for the word “lady”), and then, I’ll ask you the question listed as the title of this post, namely: should I capitalize “lady”?
Example 1: “ … Having a police car accompany an ambulance is a routine proceeding when the nature of an injury is unclear. Please remain at the scene until the dispatched party arrives, and, for God’s sake, lady, keep your dog away from the wounded man.”
Question: Should the “L” in “lady,” when “lady” is being used as it is in the example above, be capitalized?
Attention: You do not need to read the rest of this post in order to interact with it. Every piece of vital information can be found in the text above this paragraph.
Now, I did, relatively recently, make a post titled “Should I Capitalize Terms of Endearment?” In said post, I made no mention of the word “lady,” partly because I don’t see it as a term of endearment but mostly because I forgot I had used it in a way that might warrant capitalization.
Anyway, it might be worth noting that, after reading the comments underneath the post “Should I Capitalize Terms of Endearment?” I decided against capitalizing all terms of endearment that aren’t used exclusively to refer to a singular character. In accordance with this decision, my gut feeling is that I shouldn't capitalize “lady.” I also feel like capitalizing “lady” would imply that the person being referred to is of royal lineage, which they are not. Although, that could just be because I associate the word “lady” with the phrase “my lady.”
Either way, I wanted a second opinion and thought this query could serve as a nice break from the onslaught of ridiculously lengthy posts I routinely flood this sub with.
As usual, any and all input is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to reading your replies!