If I put a month in any column other than the first, at any position than the first, sort fails-
> echo -e "1 qFeb\n1 qJan" | sort -k2.2,2.5M 1 qFeb 1 qJan The following all *DO* work, however: #First column, not first position > echo -e "qFeb\nqJan" | sort -k1.2,1.5M qJan qFeb #Second column, first position > echo -e "1 Feb\n1 Jan" | sort -k2.1,2.4M 1 Jan 1 Feb #Second column, full key > echo -e "1 Feb\n1 Jan" | sort -k2M 1 Jan 1 Feb
