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    Why does sort --debug -b -k5.8n warn that option '-b' is ignored? Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:07
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    Mmm. sort -b -k5.10 is permitted, but sort -b -k5.10n is not. And for my data set sort -nb -k5.10 complains that, sort: key 1 is numeric and spans multiple fields. The whole concept of a sort field beginning with the field's preceding whitespace doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, though. Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:36
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    gnu's info sort says A position in a sort field specified with '-k' may have any of the option letters 'MbdfghinRrV' appended to it, in which case no global ordering options are inherited by that particular field. Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:49
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    @meuh - yeah, the same info page does state that "the global options are inherited by key fields that do not specify any special options of their own" so -bnk5.8 works because the key field has no options of its own whereas -bk5.8n doesn't work since the key field already has the n option so -b isn't inherited. Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:56
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    And here's the corresponding text from the man page, « OPTS is one or more single-letter ordering options [bdfgiMhnRrV], which override global ordering options for that key. » I think I'd have been more likely to have spotted this if it had said « override all global ordering options... ». Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 17:10