"Using CC as a Verb - Apostrophe Required?" Topic

Hi everyone,

When writing emails and paper documents in business and work, one quite often adds recipients under cc. AFAIK this stands for "Carbon Copy" dating back to some time in the 20th century where you could use carbon sheets to duplicate one or more additional documents as you typed/wrote.

cc is often used as a verb as in "when you write that email to the boss, please cc ["see-see"] me on it?"

How do you use it as a participle? For example, in an email:

"Hi PC Support, there's a machine in the electrical shop that is not operating the maintenance program properly. May I ask you to go check it for me? It's probably best to check with Donny first as he brought it to my attention: I've cc'ed him above."

Normally apostrophes are stupid but is it appropriate in this case? Yes I can check with grammar girl or other sites, but I am interested in input from our very literate brethren on TMP.

Thanks in advance for any comments.
--
Tim

Why don't you just use the word instead? "I've copied him above."

IIt must be a new thing. I've never used "cc" as a verb. Even in the old days when we used actual carbon sheets, we referred to them as "copies". I would also use the word. "I've sent him a copy as well.." or "I've copied him on this." By the way, it is perfectly valid to end a sentence with a preposition if it is part of the verbal phrase. But, back on topic, I've never seen "cc" used as a verb in writing & have only heard it spoken as a verb a few times.

- Elaine

"cc-ed"

If you must.

I would put the in the same class area as "can't" for the use of an apostrophe. It's shortened form of something longer and the apostrophe makes it easier to read. "cced" just would not register properly.

x42

I've just checked inventory stocks and we are OVERLOADED with apostrophes, so anything that can help lower the backlog in storage would be appreciated.

An update on the excess "k" problem – adding them to words where they aren't needed like knife, knee, knowledge, etc. is helping, but not as quickly as needed. We're looking for other words that currently don't have silent ks that could be used.

Thanks for your help.

JJ

To clarify— an apostrophe represents either the possessive state of a noun (Bob's house, the girls' cupcakes, etc.) or the removal of a letter (usually a vowel) in a word or phrase to create an abbreviated word (cannot— can't, will not — won't, it is— it's, etc.). Note that in the latter example sometimes many letters are actually removed or even outright changed, but only one apostrophe is used to represent the final lost letter or sound— as in changing "will not" to "won't."

In the case of "cc-ed" no letters are removed, nor is the word a contraction of a longer phrase, but merely the addition of the past tense suffix "-ed" to the already abbreviated term "cc." While "cced" would there for be technically correct, it is both visually and phonetically confusing, begging a pronunciation as "ked," or worse "k-ked," which is not what the writer intends. A hyphen, however, represents a break in a word that forces the phonetic assumption that the two initial consonants do not represent one sound but rather the letters themselves. That's why I recommended using "cc-ed."

I usually shorten it even more: "It's probably best to check with Donny first (copied above) as he brought it to my attention."

Copied – You're right, duh, that's so much better.

Everyone:

Thanks for the finding my common sense for me

I didn't ask the above – someone accidentally got my profile as part of the bug (anyone remember that a number of years ago, soon after the nightly back up, when you opened up TMP, your cookie would make you someone else and you had full control to make posts in their name?).

Yes, that had to have happened.
--
Tim

Of course if you just use cc'd you're always correct :)

Apostophies aren't stupid. Ill help <> I'll help.

CC'd, though its usually spoked "I seeseed him" – I usually write 'copied'

Surely "seeseed" should be "seesaw" which puts a different complexion on things.