Choosing the Right Article is Sometimes Harder Than You’d Think

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Suzy Khimm asks:

Should we have a FDA for financial products?

You’ll have to click the link to get Suzy’s take on this question. My question is different: should it be “a FDA” or “an FDA”? If you mentally spell out the acronym, it’s properly “a Food and Drug Administration.” But if you mentally just sound out the letters, it’s properly “an Eff Dee Ay.”

This is even trickier with an acronym like, say, SAC. Even if you don’t mentally spell out the whole acronym, it’s still the case that sometimes this is pronounced “sack” and sometimes “Ess Ay Cee.” So you might say “a SAC bomber” or “an SAC bomber.” Which should it be?

This is one of those urgent Presidents Day questions. Speaking of which, is it Presidents Day or Presidents’ Day? Who decides these things, anyway?

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate