Not a teacher - quick question

[Unregistered]

I have a client who is a jeweler. He wants me to put "The Four Cs" on his website.

FYI - the Four Cs are cut, clarity, color, and carat - if you wanted to know.

Anyway, he seems to think that the "C" needs an apostrophe ("The Four C's"). I told him that since they aren't possessive, the apostrophe is wrong.

Who's right?

Thanks in advance

[bhaisahab]

I have a client who is a jeweler. He wants me to put "The Four Cs" on his website.

FYI - the Four Cs are cut, clarity, color, and carat - if you wanted to know.

Anyway, he seems to think that the "C" needs an apostrophe ("The Four C's"). I told him that since they aren't possessive, the apostrophe is wrong.

Who's right?

Thanks in advance

No apostrophe.

[Merentha]

I think the answer depends on where your client is from, or what type of English they use.

According to Lynn Truss (author of Eats Shoots & Leaves), the apostrophe is no longer used for plurals of abbreviations in British English. However, it is still the accepted convention in American English.

Googling for:
"4 C's" cut clarity carat color
turns up 536,000 hits

while

"4 Cs" cut clarity carat color
gives only 48,000 hits.

As a speaker of American English, I would write 4 C's.

Regards,
Merentha

[David L.]

Funny. I get 900,00 for "4 Cs" and 250,000 for "4 C's"

I agree with no apostrophe
As in "The ABCs of emergency heart-lung resuscitation." not "The ABC's of..."