The overuse of capitalization is rampant, and it’s getting worse. People tend to capitalize when emphasizing a point or because they think the word is important and deserves to be capitalized. 
I looked up the following words in numerous dictionaries, and none were listed. 

 • Southern California
 • Southern Italy
 • West Texas 
 • Texas Hill Country
 • Eastern Kentucky 

The proper nouns—California, Italy, Texas, and Kentucky—should be capitalized, but what about southern, eastern, west, and hill country? Or how about the words below? Is it . . . 

 • French fries or french fries? 
 • cheddar cheese or Cheddar cheese? 
 • Chianti or chianti? 
 • cabernet sauvignon or Cabernet Sauvignon? 
 • Brussels sprouts or brussels sprouts? 

You may be surprised at some of the answers you’ll find. 

Dictionaries may not list these words, and style guides avoid specifics. The good news is when using this book, you won’t have to wonder again. 

The book covers geographical locations, compass points, religious deities, topographical locations, streets and roads, buildings, animal breeds (including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep, and poultry), titles, academic degrees and courses, wine varietals, food groups, acronyms, eponyms, dialogue, brand names, titles of books, other works of art, and more.

What do you do when the word you’re looking up isn’t in the dictionary and isn’t covered by your style guide? Check How to Capitalize Anything.