The Times Style Guide: A practical guide to English usage Paperback

The official style guide followed by The Times and The Sunday Times.

Uncover the rules, conventions and policies on spelling, grammar and usage followed by the journalists, contributors and editors working on the Times and Sunday Times newspapers. Now updated with all the latest policy decisions.

Royal Family or royal family? Frontrunner or front-runner? Assure or ensure? Affect or effect? Even the most accomplished writer will run up against these and many similar problems in the quest for clear, elegant and grammatical writing.

The Times and Sunday Times editors answer these and hundreds of other usage conundrums with a comprehensive collection of entries covering the quirky minefield of the English language.

Although no literary straitjacket, this authoritative guide is the foundation of correct English usage for all Times and Sunday Times journalists and contributors and provides a benchmark style, the essential ingredient of all well-written English.

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Contents

Title page

B C D E F G H I

K L

M N O P

Q R S T U V

W X

Y Z

About the Publisher

Introduction

This updated version of The Times Style Guideaims to provide writers and sub-editors with a quick reference to contentious points of grammar and spelling, and to guide them through areas where confusions have arisen in the past. It is a guide, not a straitjacket. Consistency is a virtue, but it should not be pursued at the expense of clarity, elegance or common sense.

By the standards of its predecessors this is a permissive volume. It avoids unnecessary prescription and prohibition. It tries to distinguish linguistic superstitions from grammatical rules. It hesitates to condemn usage that neither baffles nor offends. English is not a language fixed for all time. Speech changes and its written form should change too. The Timesand Sunday Timesmust use the language of their readers, but that language at its best, clearest and most concise.

The guide sets out the papers’ preferences in such matters as capitalisation, hyphenation and variant spelling. More general entries are intended to encourage reflection about words and the way we use them. While all Timesand Sunday Timesjournalists should follow house style, they should not do so unthinkingly. Considered exceptions can (and often must) be made, especially in direct quotes, in features, diaries and other less formal kinds of writing, and with columnists whose individual voices should be heard and whose flow of argument should be preserved.

Where extra guidance is needed, and for all spellings, hyphenations etc not covered by the guide, staff are expected to use as their first point of reference Collins English Dictionary. Other helpful resources are the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors(Odwe), the Concise Oxfordor Chambers. For place names see The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the Worldand the Bartholomew Gazetteer.

For specialist vocabulary and the spelling of names not included in the guide, consult the appropriate department of the paper (foreign, arts, sport, business etc), and follow their style.

More general (and specific) advice on style and on good writing may be found in the familiar authorities: Fowler (Modern English Usage), Partridge (Usage and Abusage), Gowers (The Complete Plain Words) and their briskly prescriptive US counterpart Strunk & White (The Elements of Style). The compendious Chicago Manual of Stylecontains sensible (American) guidance on almost everything. Kingsley Amis’s The King’s Englishtakes a more idiosyncratic approach. All are valuable works of informed and considered opinion; none should be regarded as a repository of unbreakable rules. The Cambridge Guide to English Usageand Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of English Usagerecord how words are actually used. Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Styleand Oliver Kamm’s Accidence Will Happenare ruthless in debunking superstitions and offer much good advice.

There are thoughtful books on the particular challenges of journalistic writing by Harold Evans (Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers) and Keith Waterhouse (On Newspaper Style).

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Alan Kay, Siobhan Murphy, Rob Nash, Calum Wainstein and John Witherow at The Timesand Sunday Timesand to Gerry Breslin, Jethro Lennox, Karen Marland, Kevin Robbins and Sarah Woods at HarperCollins.

Thanks also to Stephen Bleach, Kaya Burgess, Nolan Cocker, Oliver Kamm, Patrick Kidd, Suzy Jagger, Matthew Lyons, Nick Mays, Robbie Millen, Claire Patchett, John Price, Chris Roberts, Hannah Rock, Eugene Smith, Mike Smith, Craig Tregurtha, Emma Tucker, Simon Wells, Tom Whipple and Rose Wild; and to Tim Austin, Richard Dixon, Sir Simon Jenkins and the late Philip Howard, who edited past editions of this guide.

a, an use abefore all words beginning with a vowel or diphthong with the

sound of u (as in unit) — a eulogy, a European etc; but use anbefore unaspirated h — an heir, an honest woman, an honour. Whether or not to use an before an aspirated h when the first syllable of a word is unaccented — hotel, historian, heroic — is a matter of preference; The Timesand The Sunday Timesprefer a. With abbreviations, acronyms, initials, be guided by pronunciation: an LSE student, an RAF officer, an NGO

abbreviated negatives(can’t, don’t, shan’t etc, and similar

abbreviations/contractions such as I’ll, you’re) should be discouraged except in direct quotes, although in more informal pieces such as diaries, sketches and some features they are fine when the full form would sound pedantic

Abdicationcap with specific reference to Edward VIII’s; in general sense,

use lower case

Aboriginal(singular, noun and adjective) and Aborigines(plural), for

native Australian(s); aboriginal(lower case) for the wider adjectival use. Be aware that the term, especially as a noun, is increasingly regarded as outmoded and potentially offensive in Australia, where terms such as Indigenous Australiansare often preferred

absorption is the noun from absorb; absorbtion is a non-word that has

found its way into our pages more than once

abstractionoften an escape from precise meaning and a sign of lazy

writing. Beware words such as situation, crisis, problem, resolution, question, issue, condition. A newspaper is about what happens and what people do; it should use concrete words. A headline, especially, may be killed by an abstract noun or phrase

abumeans “father of” so must not be separated from the name that

follows, ie Abu Qatada at first mention remains Abu Qatada (“father of Qatada”), not simply Qatada, and certainly not Mr Qatada

accents give French and German words their proper accents and diacritical

marks, unless they have passed into common English usage. Use accents as appropriate also on capital letters and in headlines. With anglicised foreign words, no need for accents (hotel, depot, debacle, elite, regime etc), unless it makes a crucial difference to pronunciation or understanding, eg cliché, façade, café, exposé. NB matinee, pureeetc.

In Spanish give accents only on the names of people, if they can be checked. In other Spanish words and place names, ignore accents and diacritical marks except for n with the tilde (ر or ٌ, as in El Niٌo); this is considered a distinct letter of the alphabet in its own right and is also familiar to (and easily pronounceable by) most English-speaking readers

Achilles’ heela small but deadly area of weakness in someone seemingly

invulnerable (like the Greek hero of the Trojan War, hence cap and apostrophe); but achilles tendon (lower case, no apostrophe, as the connection with the myth is more remote)

acknowledgment as with most (but not quite all) such words, no middle

acronym a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of

words in a set phrase or series of words, eg Opec, from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or Ukipfor the United Kingdom Independence Party. If the acronym is easily pronounced and usually spoken as a word, write with an initial cap and then lower case: Opec, Nato, Ukip, Rada, Bafta, Nice, Acas, Asbo etc; follow this house style whatever the organisation itself may choose to do. Acronyms do not normally take the definite article.

Non-acronym abbreviations based on initials that are spelt out separately in speech (ie not pronounced as a word) remain in caps, and normally retain a definite article: the BBC, the RAF, the CBI, the LSO, the UN, the

EUetc. A few, by convention, take an unpleasant mixture of upper and lower case: MoT, the MoD, the DfE, the IoD. All but the most familiar organisations, bodies, concepts and things should be named in full at first mention with the initials in brackets. However, a lot of initials in text will produce an unappetising alphabet soup, so use as sparingly as possible; after first mention try to vary with a suitable word: the ministry, the corporation, the department, the institute etc

Act theatre, ballet, opera etc; use cap and use roman numerals when

naming, specifying or giving references: Macbeth, Act I, Act II etc; for more general refs use lower case, eg “in the second act of the play”, “in the third scene of Act II”

Actand Bill(parliamentary), cap when giving full name (the Data

Protection Act, the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill etc) but otherwise lower case: “a bill intended to decriminalise assisted suicide”; “the act covers the gathering, storing and processing of personal information” etc

action as a transitive verb meaning undertake (“The marketing department

will action this”) is corporate jargon of the most irritating kind; avoid

activethe active voice is generally better (and shorter) than the passive,

especially in headlines

actor, actressfor women use the feminine designation

AD, BCnote that AD comes before the date, eg AD35; BC comes after,

350BC. Both have no spaces. With century, both are used after, eg 3rd century BC/AD. The terms BCE and CE (Common Era) are not to be used by Times or Sunday Times writers but may exceptionally be allowed to a guest columnist/letter writer if context/courtesy seems to demand it (eg Lord Sacks, as chief rabbi, preferred CE in his Credo columns)

addressesno commas in 1 Pennington Street, 3 Thomas More Square, 1

London Bridge Street etc; and do not abbreviate. No commas either between county names and postcodes, eg West Sussex BN6 9GS

adjectivesdo not overuse, especially in news reporting. Ask if the

adjective is necessary and what it adds. Try to use adjectives to add precision, not merely for colour or emphasis. Beware especially those adjectives that come unbidden to mind with particular nouns: serious danger, devout Catholic, staunch Protestant, blithering idiot

administration(US) now lower case (cf government) even when

specific, eg the Trump administration; generic always lower case, eg a lame-duck administration; also lower case adjectival, eg an administration official

Admiral do not abbreviate to Adm Jones etc except in lists; upper case

when used as a title (Admiral Jones), at subsequent mentions “the admiral”

ad nauseamnot ad nauseum adrenaline with the final e

advance notice is faintly tautologous, but probably defensible; “advanced

notice” is just wrong

adverbsas with adjectives (only more so), do not overuse, and never use

without thought. Ask what, if anything, is being added or changed. Consider if there might be a better way of achieving the same effect, eg by using a more vivid or dramatic verb: to rush or race, say, rather than to run fast.

Adverbs are rarely a good way of beginning a sentence. “Interestingly”, “ironically”, “oddly” all clumsily flag something that ought to become obvious to the reader soon enough.

When adverbs are used to qualify adjectives the joining hyphen is rarely needed, eg heavily pregnant, classically carved, colourfully decorated. In some cases, however, such as “well founded”, “ill educated”, when used before the noun, eg a well-founded rumour, write the compound with the hyphen. The best guidance is to use the hyphen in these phrases as little as

possible or when the phrase would otherwise be ambiguous or hard to read. Thus, “the island is well regulated”, but “it is a well-regulated island”.

Anyone who thinks all adverbs must end in -ly has got it wrong

advertisementprefer to advertand certainly to adat least at first

mention; the shorter forms are perfectly acceptable (and often preferable) at second mention and in headings etc

adviser never advisor

-aemianot -emia, for blood conditions such as anaemia, leukaemia; thus

anaemic, leukaemic

affect, effectas a verb, to affect means to produce an effect on, to touch

the feelings of, or to pretend to have or feel (as in affectation); to effect is to bring about, to accomplish. If in doubt, always consult the dictionary. Affect as a noun should be used only by psychologists, among themselves

affidavita written declaration on oath. Such phrases as “sworn affidavit”

and “he swore an affidavit” are, strictly speaking, tautologous

Afghannoun or adjective; an afghani(lower case) is a unit of currency,

not a person

Africa note north Africa, east Africa, west Africa, southern Africa, all

lower case: these are locators, not proper place names (unlike South Africa)

African-Americanhyphenate

Afrikaansthe language; Afrikanersthe people. Afrikandersa breed of

cattle

afteralmost invariably to be used rather than “following” and always

preferable to such ponderous constructions as “in the wake of”.

Remember that after is a useful way of indicating a clear and particular temporal relationship; do not say afterif what you mean is when. Also beware of lazily using afterto convey a cause relationship. “The British player won a place in the final after beating the seeded German” is journalese for “… bybeating the seeded German”

afterlifeone word

ageingtakes the middle e

agesare helpful to readers; they add context and human interest,

particularly in stories involving unfamiliar people. Use common sense. Information should be useful or interesting, not distracting; there is no need to give an age for every minor figure mentioned in passing in a news report, or to tell Timesreaders how old the prime minister is whenever he or she crops up.

Normal style is “Joe Brown, 33, a porter,” with the age immediately following the name in commas, but occasional variations such as “Andrew Hunt, who is 74,” are fine. For children’s ages, except in headlines, write out numerals up to and including ten: “Emma Watson, seven, who …”, “Emma Watson, who is seven”, “Emma Watson, aged seven”, “the seven-year-old Emma Watson” etc. For consistency, however, use figures for both numerals if one is lower than ten and one higher so, eg “children aged 5 to 14” (not “five to 14”). In headlines, numerals save space and may often be clearer: “Children aged 7 are victims of school sexting epidemic.” For more general ages use lower case decades, ie “I wish I were still in my thirties” etc

Note caps in Ice Age, Stone Age, the Dark Agesetc

aggravatemeans to make (an evil or complaint) worse. Avoid using it to

mean annoy or irritate

AGMcaps, but prefer annual meetingin text

aide-memoireroman, hyphen, no need for accent; plural aides-memoire.

Traditionally minded French speakers might prefer the plural to be aidemémoire; aide is a verb, not a noun, and there is still only one mémoire being aided, so the form is invariable; since the French spelling reform of 1990, however, the tendency has been to treat such composites as simple nouns and add an s at the end of all of them, so most younger French people would probably write aide-mémoires. All this is academic; aidememoire has been anglicised through common use (no accent, no italics, no attempt at French pronunciation); in the process it has acquired various more or less awkward English plurals, of which the most widely accepted seems to be aides-memoire; this may be poor French, but it is comprehensible English, and if it is good enough for Collins, the OED and the National Archives (where British government and diplomatic aides-memoire are catalogued and stored), it should be good enough for us

Aids(acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is not a disease, but a

medical condition. Diseases that affect people who are HIV-positive may be called Aids-related diseases; but through custom and practice we can now afford to relax our rule about never saying “died of Aids”. Write HIV/Aidswhen appropriate regarding the virus and the condition together

airbase, airstrip, airspaceno hyphens

air conditioner, air conditioning no longer hyphenate as noun; but

hyphenate adjectivally, eg an air-conditioning unit

aircraftprefer to planes wherever possible. Remember that not all aircraft

are jets, some are still turbo-prop. Do not use the American airplanes

aircraftman, aircraftwomannot aircraftsman etc

aircraft namesare roman, like ship or locomotive names, on the rare

occasions when they are needed, eg the Enola Gay (Hiroshima bomber)

aircraft typesB-52, F-111 etc (roman, hyphens between letter and

numbers just because it looks neater)

air farestwo words, as rail fares, bus faresetc

air forcecap Royal Air Force (thereafter the RAF), otherwise all lower

case: the US air force (USAF, or in Second World War contexts USAAF), Brazilian air force; and lower case in adjectival use, eg an air force raid. No hyphen, even adjectivally

Air Force Onethe US presidential jet airplaneugly Americanism; do not use

airports as a general rule for British airports, use the name of the city or

town followed by lower case airport, eg Manchester airport, Leeds/Bradford airport, East Midlands (formerly Nottingham) airport, Luton airport; but Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted are fine on their own

air raid two words (unlike airstrikes)

air showtwo words; lower case even when specific, eg the Paris air show,

the Farnborough air show

airstrikesone word in military sense, but air raids(two words) AK47no need to hyphenate the Kalashnikov assault rifle

akimbouse only with reference to arms (never legs). It means hands on

the hips with elbows turned outwards

al-as the prefix to Arabic nouns (including names), prefer the al-to the el

form, except where the el- has become widely accepted. The prefix is dropped from names at second mention, so that Bashar al-Assad becomes Assad

Albert Hall, theprefer to give Royal at first formal mention (that is its

name); subsequently (or informally) fine without

alcoholits strength is measured either by volume (a percentage) or by the

more traditional proof system, of which there are British and American variants. Do not confuse the percentage and proof systems by writing, eg that a drink is 48 per cent proof. As an example, a spirit that is 40 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) is 80 degrees proof on the American scale (which runs from 0 to 200, and the proof number being precisely double the ABV figure); on the old British scale, which runs from 0 to 175, 40 per cent ABV would be 70 degrees proof. On the British scale, 100 degrees proof spirit (57.1 per cent ABV) is the minimum strength of distilled alcohol that when mixed with gunpowder sustains its combustion, and this property was used to test the traditional rum ration in the British navy. Since 1980 Britain has used the ABV system. See drinkdrive

A-levelhyphenate as a noun and adjective; the distinction previously

observed seemed lost on most readers (and many of our journalists). Likewise use AS-levels and, in a historical context, O-levels

alfrescoone word, roman

algebratake great care in writing and presenting algebraic expressions.

Individual terms should be in italics. Be sure that superscripts, including squares of numbers, and subscripts are properly rendered, eg E=mc. As an example in narrative text: “Dr Edwards noted that the mass, m, is proportional to Axwhere Ais the area of the burger and xis its thickness. If all other parameters remain the same (heat of grill, absence of sudden downpour, mood of cook and so on), then t, the total cooking time, is proportional to xA.” See italics

alibinot a general alternative to excuse; it means being elsewhere at the

material time

Alistairalways check the spelling of this name (Alastair, Alasdair, Alister

etc)

allin phrases such as “all the president’s men” there is no need to write “all

of the president’s men”

Allahu akbar(God is greatest); note also alhamdulillah(“praise God”,

approximately equivalent to the Judaeo-Christian alleluia/hallelujah)

allcomersone word

allegeavoid the suggestion that the writer is making the allegation;

somewhere in the story always specify the source. Do not assume that use of this verb will keep you out of legal trouble; if in doubt, ask a lawyer. Do not use allegedas a synonym of ostensible, apparent or reputed. Do not use allegedlyas an alternative to checking whether something is true

All Hallows Evenot Allhallows

Alliescap the Allies in the Second World War context; generally, lower

case alliance, as in the Atlantic alliance, Gulf War alliance etc

all rightnever alright, except in the television programme It’ll be Alright

on the Night

All Souls College Oxford (no apostrophe)

all-timeavoid as in all-time high; use highestor record highinstead al-Qaeda thus, hyphen and ae

alsatianlower case, the German shepherd dog. See dogs

alternate (adj) as well as being English for “every other” or “every

second” in a sequence, is also American for alternative. This latter use is to be resisted, firmly, although we may need to concede that alternate historyhas gained more or less universal currency to denote the “what if” school of fiction that imagines eg life in a Britain occupied by victorious Nazis after the Second World War

alternativeof two, choiceof three or more, but there is no need to be

obsessive about this

alternative vote(AV) system; note also first-past-the-postsystem

alumnusa (singular, male) graduate of a particular educational institution;

alumni is the plural, including for mixed groups. The female equivalents are alumna and alumnae

ambassadorlower case even when specific (see capitalisation); the

French ambassador; he was appointed ambassador to Japan

ambienceprefer to the French spelling ambiance

Amendment spell out and upper case for clarity in relation to the US

constitution, eg the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment etc

Americanismsgenerally to be resisted, unless they have clearly passed

into standard English use. Particularly to be resisted is US journalese, the strange language encountered often — and only — in the columns of American newspapers: words like storied (celebrated, in stories or legends), ouster (sacking, eviction, ejection), maven (expert, connoisseur), upscale(expensive), tony(fashionable, smart), slay(murder, of course — but “chiefly in journalism”, the dictionaries say). Some of these are actually quite good ways of saying things — almost comically vivid and concise — but we should let our readers discover them for themselves before we start using them in The Times. Accept, however, that resistance may prove futile. The 1992 style guide’s grudging examples of Americanisms that “are now standard usage” — ballpark, smug, brunch — look quaint today

American spellingsallow US spellings for proper names of institutions,

well-known landmarks etc. So Lincoln Center, World Trade Center, Labor Day, Medal of Honor, Pearl Harbor etc; in practice this means US spellings may be retained in proper names used with initial caps, as it will be clear what is going on; job titles that in our style become lower case (ie almost all of them) should be anglicised (the secretary of defence etc, so

that they do not just look like spelling mistakes); for all other words use English spellings.

Be aware that the differences are not all as obvious as writing theaterfor theatre or missing the u out of words such as colour; eg US usage does not double the final l of the root verb in forms such as traveller, cancelled, fuelled, modellingetc; licenseis both verb and noun in US English, and so, confusingly, is practice; avoid all of these and be ready to change them in agency copy or quotes

America(n)/USin general, try to use Americanas in “American cities”,

“American food” etc; but US in headlines and in the context of government institutions, such as US Congress, US navy, US military operation. Never use America when ambiguity could occur with Canada or Latin America

America’s Cup, the(yachting)

amidnot amidst; similarly, amongnot amongst amoknot amock or amuck

ampersanduse in a company name if the company uses it

amphitheatresin classical context are oval or circular (eg the Colosseum

in Rome); do not confuse with theatres, which are semi-circular or horseshoe-shaped

Amsterdam treaty (lower case t), but the Treaty of Amsterdam(cap t) analogue in all contexts, noun and adjective

anathemameaning accursed, consigned to perdition; there is no need for

an article, thus: “It is anathema to me.” Although a noun, it is quasiadjectival in usage

ancestorstrictly means a person from whom another is directly

descended, especially someone more distant than a grandparent. Do not use in the looser sense of predecessor; eg Queen Elizabeth I is not the ancestor of the present Queen. An ancestor is not a descendant, so do not mix them up

ancient Briton/Britain, ancient Greek/Greece, ancient

Egyptian/Egypt, ancient Roman/Rome, the ancient world

seems fine to lower case the a on ancient but cap the national adjective or noun

and also do not use together

androgynous not androgenous in reference to having both male and

female characteristics; androgenicrefers to male hormones, eg testosterone

aneurysmnot aneurism

angioplastyis a procedure carried out by cardiologists and is not surgery Angleseynever Anglesea

anglicise, anglophile, anglophobe, anglophoneall lower case angstroman, lower case

animals cap proper nouns or adjectives derived from them when naming

breeds of animals (or species of birds): Indian elephant, Nile crocodile, Bengal tiger, Arctic tern, Dartford warbler, African grey parrot, Bewick’s swanetc; otherwise all lower case. When referring to individual animals in stories or captions, use “he” or “she” if the sex is definitely known or if the creature is called by a masculine or feminine name (eg Felix the cat had only himself to blame). But use “it” if sex is unspecified or irrelevant. On the racing pages, horses are always “he” or “she”. See

anthropomorphism

annexenoun; but toannex, verb

anniversary by definition, is the date on which an event occurred in some

previous year. So avoid such nonsense as the “nine-month anniversary” or the “300-day anniversary” of something

answerphoneor answering machine

Antarcticaround the South Pole, Arctic around the North: capitalise, spell

correctly, and do not mix up

antennaeplural of antenna in zoological sense; antennas in radio or aerial

sense

anthropomorphismthe lazy option in captioning photographs of

animals; try instead to convey some real information about the creatures or the photograph

antiin compounds, generally no hyphen (unless hideous or confusing

without) but always hyphenate before a capital letter, eg anti-American

Antichristinitial cap, no hyphen

anticipatewidely (and acceptably) used to mean expect; better, however,

to preserve the senses of to foresee something and react (to anticipate a blow), or to do something before the due time (so that to anticipate marriage is quite different from expecting to marry)

anticlimaxno hyphen

anticycloneno hyphen

antidepressant(noun or adjective), no hyphen antiherono hyphen

Antipodes, Antipodeancap A when referring to Australia and New

Zealand

antisemitic, antisemitism arguments have been advanced for using the

unhyphenated form to mean specifically hatred of Jews, which is what is almost always intended, and anti-Semitism to denote hostility to a whole group of Semitic peoples; the distinction seems rather effortful but it reinforces our preference for avoiding hyphens where we can

antisocial

antisocial behaviour orderAsbo; plural Asbos anti-tank one that probably looks better with a hyphen anti-terrorism another

antivax, antivaxerwith one x, for the movement and its adherents antiviral one word

any morealways two words

apart fromprefer to the Americanism “aside from” ape, aping, apish

aphelionthe point in its orbit when a planet or comet is farthest from the

sun. See perihelion

apostropheswith proper names/nouns ending in s that are singular,

follow the rule of writing what is voiced, eg Keats’s poetry, Sobers’s batting, The Times’sstyle (or Timesstyle); and with names where the final s is soft, use the s apostrophe, eg Rabelais’ writings, Delors’ presidency; plurals follow normal form, as Lehman Brothers’ loss etc.

Note that with Greek names of more than one syllable that end in s, generally do not use the apostrophe s, eg Aristophanes’ plays, Achilles’ heel, Socrates’ life, Archimedes’ principle; but note Jesus’s (not Jesus’) parables. Beware of organisations that have variations as their house style, eg St Thomas’ Hospital, where we should respect their preference.

Take care with apostrophes with plural nouns, eg women’s, not womens’; children’s, not childrens’; people’s, not (usually) peoples’. Also beware of moving the apostrophe when creating plurals: a lot of shepherd’s pies, two rival builder’s merchants, two private member’s bills etc.

Use the apostrophe in expressions such as two years’ time, several hours’ delay etc.

Some place names and many company names have lost their apostrophes: Earls Court, St Andrews, Barclays, Lloyds the bank (but Lloyd’s the insurance market), Morrisons etc; others — Sainsbury’s, Sotheby’s, Christie’s etc — have not; always check.

An apostrophe may for clarity be used to indicate the plural of single letters — p’s and q’s — if the alternative seems worse; a rare instance of a permissible greengrocer’s apostrophe

apothegmmaxim; prefer to apophthegm apparatchik

appeal the Americanism “appeal a verdict or decision” has gained ground,

but English usage still prefers appeal against

appellations, titles, honorifics, namesno longer accord people

courtesy titles at the second mention on Timesnews pages. Everyone will be referred to by surname only (except for children: first name until the age of 18). Jeff Jones and Sally Sutton (the public) will, at subsequent mention, become Jones and Sutton; Sir John Major and Dame Margaret Beckett will be Major and Beckett, ie not Sir John and Dame Margaret; Sir Keir Starmer becomes Starmer; Lord Heseltine and Baroness Morgan

of Huyton will be Heseltine and Morgan; Lord Deben will be Deben, as will any other peer who has chosen a title other than his or her surname.

If you need to distinguish between a husband and wife you can use a title to do that. Dukes and earls will be the duke or the earl at second mention, or just he/him. Members of the royal family can continue to be called by their first names: Prince Andrew, or Andrew; Prince Edward, or Edward; the Princess Royal, Anne. The new style will also apply to defendants in court.

There will still be some flexibility: family members in a moment of extreme distress; a nonagenarian chatting with the Duchess of Cambridge; a mother who has just given birth to sextuplets… in any story where the lack of a courtesy title just doesn’t feel right we can use them. But such exceptions will be rare

appendixplural appendices, but appendixesin anatomy Apple Computernot Computers, for the Mac company appraisemeans evaluate; apprisemeans inform. Never confuse appurtenance

April Fool’s Day, April fool,butAll Fools’ Day aqueductnot aquaduct

Arabic refers to the language. Use Arabin such phrases as “the Arab

world”

Arabic namesthere is no universally accepted system of transliteration.

Arabic has 28 letters, many of which change shape, sometimes considerably, depending on whether they stand alone or on where they appear within a word: initial, medial, final. Vowels are largely ignored in most printed and handwritten text. There are ligatures and diacritical

marks by the dozen. There are consonants with no direct counterparts in English, and sounds with no obvious equivalents at all.

Attempts to replicate these complexities (with elaborate spellings and much use of apostrophes) are confusing and look a mess. Clarity, simplicity and a degree of consistency should be our aims. Where there is a western consensus on a spelling, eg among reputable news agencies, big media outlets and/or diplomatic sources, we should follow it, except in the very few cases where a different preferred spelling is specified in this guide. For other cases these are some very basic guidelines:

prefer al-to el- or Al (and to variants such as as- ash- ad- or ul-) unless an individual or corporation is established in the West and has a preferred or familiar western style (eg Al Jazeera, the broadcaster, or Gulf state royals who are Al; also Mohamed Al Fayed, who may or may not be entitled to style himself thus, but does). Drop al- when not giving the full name (eg Rashid al-Din becomes Din)

end names in inot y (Ali, not Aly etc) do not use the apostrophe in eg Ba’ath, Shi’ah

do not generally attempt to distinguish long and short vowels, but in common names with long vowels generally prefer eeto i (eg Rasheed rather than Rashid; Fedayeen, not Fedayin; Mujahideen); prefer outo u or oo (eg Yousef, Mansouretc)

prefer qto k or kh (Rafiq, qat)

abu, abd, abdul, bin, bint: these are not self-contained names but words meaning “father of”, “slave of” etc. Usually lower case, except as the first word of a name, they attach to the name that follows and must not be separated, eg Abu Qatada remains Abu Qatada, Osama bin Laden becomes Bin Laden

Arab Springcap for the uprisings at the start of 2011 in north Africa and

the Middle East

arbitrate, arbitrationdo not confuse with mediate, mediation. An

arbitrator hears evidence from different parties then hands down a decision; a mediator listens to the different arguments then tries to bring the parties to agreement

archaeologist, archaeology archbishops

. Anglican archbishops and diocesan or suffragan bishops in the UK: at

first mention, the Archbishop of Barchester, the Most Rev John Smith; or the Bishop of Barchester, the Right Rev John Smith, or (if a doctor) the Bishop of Barchester, Dr John Smith; subsequent references, the archbishop or bishop (lower case), or just Smith, never Mr Smith.

2. The Archbishop of Canterbury is primate of All England, the

Archbishop of York is primate of England.

. Anglican bishops are consecrated, Roman Catholic bishops ordained. 4. Roman Catholic archbishops: at first mention, the Roman Catholic

Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Rev John X; subsequent mentions just X or the archbishop; bishops: first mention the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Rev Christopher Y, thereafter just Y or the bishop; Anglican and Catholic archbishoprics carefully avoid overlap, but there is no reason readers should know this, so it may be helpful to spell out in this way at first mention which church is involved

arch-rival hyphenate in the sense of chief rival. For combinations using

the prefix arch-, some will look better hyphenated while others can be a single word, eg archbishop

Argentinewas always the adjective; an Argentinianwas a person from

Argentina; the distinction is no longer widely observed, and Argentinian will serve most purposes (though Argentine tango for the musical genre is current and correct). NB the country is Argentina, not (as it once was) the Argentine

Argyle for socks, jumpers and the Plymouth football club; Argyll for the

Scottish county and its regiment, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

armadacap in historical reference to Drake etc, otherwise lower case; try

to avoid (or at least limit) imprecise use of this word: it means a fleet of armedships, so strictly should not be applied to just any collection of boats or ships; flotilla might sometimes be a better word for what you want

Armageddoncap

armchair, deckchairno hyphens

armed forces, thelower case; also the services

Armistice Dayis not the same as Remembrance Sunday(unless

November 11 falls on a Sunday)

armycap the British Army, if naming in full (but otherwise and thereafter

the army, eg “he joined the army”; “government efforts to reform the army”); otherwise all lower case: the Belgian army, the Swiss army, the US army; always lower case when used adjectivally, eg an army helicopter, a British army tank, a Swiss army knife

arm’s length as in “he was kept at arm’s length”; but hyphenate as a

modifier, eg “the former partners now have an arm’s-length relationship”

A-road, B-roadetc (hyphenated)

arounddo not use as an alternative to about

Arran, Isle ofin the Firth of Clyde; but the Aran Islands(note one r) off

Co Galway in western Ireland, and Aran Island(singular) off Co Donegal; and an Aran sweateretc

arrest rarely necessary to add “by the police”; an arrest made by anyone

else is worth explaining. If, unusually, there is a good reason for specifying a particular squad or unit, then do so: he was arrested by the anti-terrorist squad, by officers investigating phone-hacking, by detectives from South Yorkshire police who had travelled to Spain etc

art deco artistic style/movement (see below), lower case seems fine, but

use caps if needed for clarity

artefactdo not use artifact

artiste not a word to use seriously; prefer entertainer, performer, singer,

dancer etc

artistic, sporting and celebrity knights(and peers)with these, do

not use title in their artistic or professional contexts (eg Simon Rattle conducted the Berlin Philharmonic with panache; Rattle is a noted interpreter of Mahler etc). In news stories give full title at first mention, but then aim to use surname only, unless in a particular context — eg an audience with the Queen —this seems strikingly disrespectful or odd

artistic movements/styles generally lower case for all period or stylistic

designations — baroque, classical, neoclassical, rococo, modernist, minimalist, postmodern—except in the context of quite specific art historical discussion (of eg an exhibition of German Expressionist painting) or where clarity is helped by a capital: the romantic movement, for instance, can usually be lower case like the rest, but there may be times when it matters that Romantic verse, as written by Byron or Keats, is not necessarily romantic verse, in which case use a cap for clarity

Arts and Crafts movement seems to need caps for clarity

asbeware of sloppy use in sentences such as “They were moved out as the

blast tore open the building”; what is meant is “afterthe blast …”. The sport headline “Martis makes crucial mistake as Mowbray’s men go down” wrongly suggests that the blunder by Shelton Martis, the West Bromwich Albion defender, was unconnected to his team’s relegation

from the Premier League in May 2009. In fact, it was his error that led to a first Liverpool goal. After that, his team lost and went down to the Championship. Avoid having lots of headlines using “as”; ensure here as well as in copy that its precise meaning of “when” is retained. It is not a synonym for beforeor after

Ascendancyfor clarity cap when referring to the landowning Protestant

minority in Irish historical context

ascendant, ascendancy prefer to ascendent, ascendency

Asian while this is obviously an adjective pertaining to Asia, or a person

from that continent, note that in Britain it can have a narrower officially sanctioned, although in some quarters controversial, meaning of a person who comes from, or whose parents came from, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or elsewhere in south Asia; be aware that using it in this way (especially in eg crime stories) may annoy British Asians of other backgrounds. In North America Asian is more likely to refer to people from China, Japan or elsewhere in east Asia

aside fromdo not use this Americanism. Write apart from as of (with dates) prefer on, after or from to make clear what is meant

assassin, assassinate, assassinationto be used only in the murder of a

statesman or politician from a political motive; not to be used for the killing of general celebrities or others

assizeslike quarter sessions, no longer function, having been replaced by

the Crown Court

assureyou assure your life; ensure means to make certain; you insure

against risk

as toavoid in the sense of the much preferred about asylum seeker no hyphen

at the present time, at this timeuse now; but avoid the phrase “as of

now”

Atlantic (Ocean) North Atlantic, South Atlantic, but transatlantic attendee ghastly word that there was no need to coin; avoid

attorney-general, solicitor-generalhyphenated; they are law officers,

not legal officers

aubrieta prefer to aubrietia and aubretia (named after Claude Aubriet).

The genus, as per standard botanical style, is Aubrieta

auditor generallower case, no hyphen

Auntienot aunty as antique colloquialism for the BBC

autism now generally recognised as a difference in the way the brain

works, not a disease, and so not something people should be described as “suffering” from. Do not use “autism” and “learning disability” as if interchangeable; only a minority of autistic children will have a learning disability

autumn statementdelivered by the chancellor, lower case

awardssuch as Baftas, Oscars etc should be lower case, eg best actor, best

director. Also, note Academy award. When awards include the title of a publication in their name, the whole, including the publication title, is roman (The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies etc). See prize

awayday one word

Awolabsent without leave, not AWOL

axingno middle e; but try to avoid in sense of cutting jobs, dismissal etc

ay(yes), aye(ever), Ayes(debate)

b(abbreviation for born), no full point, eg b 1906. Likewise d for died: d

1997

baby boomer (no hyphen) a person born in the postwar demographic

baby boom (roughly 1946-64); boomerwhen used alone tends to be pejorative

baby-walker

baccalaureateuse anglicised spelling with lower case for general use, but

cap in specific context of the International Baccalaureate, taken in some British schools; and note the specifically French examination or degree from which this derives, the Baccalauréat(italic, cap, accent, no final e)

backache, backbreaking but back pain

back benches (parliamentary) two words; but backbenchers, backbench

(adjectival, as in backbench revolt)

back burnerno hyphen, but be sparing of the cliché “on the back

burner”, especially when context renders it idiotic (“Never put an explosive issue on the back burner”)

backlashoverworked word; try to avoid

backstreet(s)noun or adjective, no hyphen; similarly, backyard back-upnoun, hyphenate

bacteriais the plural of bacterium. Bacteria and viruses are different and

the terms are not interchangeable. Make sure the terminology is correct. Note that antibiotics are used to treat bacterial but not viral infections

bail outas in to bail someone out of trouble; also bail water from a boat;

but bale out of an aircraft by parachute, to escape. NB bailout (one word, as noun)

baitsee bated balknot baulk

Balkans prefer to Balkan states. This region includes the former Yugoslav

republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia, as well as Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and the European part of Turkey

ballplural in Court Page headlines was dances. Worth knowing, even

without a Court Page

ballgownone word

ballotedlike benefited, budgeted etc, has only one t

Baltic states (lower case states) from north to south, and coincidentally in

alphabetical order, they are Estonia (capital Tallinn), Latvia (capital Riga) and Lithuania (Vilnius). Do not use the abbreviated Baltics

BAME unattractive and unnecessary demographic label (Black, Asian and

minority ethnic) that risks obscuring important differences between ethnic groups; avoid. If writing generally about ethnic minorities, say so without resorting to unhelpful jargon. Otherwise, aim to be specific about heritage if possible (Korean, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, African etc). Treating people as individuals is more interesting as well as more civilised. Most writing is improved by being precise

bandana prefer to bandanna

B&Bwith caps and closed up around ampersand as abbreviation for bed

and breakfast

banisternot bannister

bank holidaybank holiday Monday etc, lower case

Bank of England retain cap for clarity in subsequent refs to the Bank Bank of Mum and Dad

bankruptcyin Britain people file a petition for bankruptcy; they do not

file for bankruptcy

baptistryprefer to baptistery

Bar, the (legal); also cap for the Bar(but not the bars) of the House of

Commonsand cap in military honours sense, eg DFC and Bar

barbecue, barbecuing barbeques should be confined to pub menus barcodeone word

bar mitzvahlower case, roman; also bat mitzvahfor girls

baronypertains to barons (who are Lord X, never Baron X, except in the

formal announcement that a title has been gazetted), baronetcy to baronets (hereditary titles carrying the prefix Sir, eg Sir Fred Y. The Timesdoes not usually use the Bt suffix except with obituaries). Knighthoods, which also use the title Sir, are not hereditary

baroque lower case like similar terms

barter to exchange one thing (or service) for another; not a synonym for

bargainor haggle

basicallygreatly overworked word that rarely adds anything to a sentence.

Try to avoid

basis“on a … basis” is a cliché and to be avoided. For “employment on a

part-time basis” say “part-time employment”. Other usages are similarly redundant (“on a regular basis” — “regularly”; “on a daily basis” — “daily”; “on a voluntary basis” — “voluntarily”, “willingly”, or “without pay”, depending on context; and so on)

Basel(Switzerland), not Basle or Bâle. Most often comes up in reference

to the football team, FC Basel, or Art Basel, the art fair, so we may as well adopt the German spelling they both use

Basque country, the

bated/baitednote the difference: bated breath; baited hook; bait as a verb

is to persecute, tease or torment (as in bear baiting); bateis the verb to use of a tethered hawk beating its wings and trying to jump from its perch, should you have occasion to write about such a thing

battalionnot batallion. Say the 1st Battalion, the 7th Battalion etc (not

First, Seventh)

battletry to avoid using as a transitive verb as in “The students battled the

police …”; use “fought” or “battled against” instead; be very wary of using at all (along with similar language) in relation to illness (battle against cancer etc)

battle bus as used by political parties during elections; always two words battle cry

battleship a heavily armoured warship of the largest type, with many

large-calibre guns. Beware. Battleship is not synonymous with warship: eg cruisers and destroyers are warships but they are not battleships. Historically, a battleship (line-of-battle ship) was any warship of sufficient size and armament to take its place in the line of battle; in other words, a ship of the line

BBCno need to spell out as British Broadcasting Corporation, although

“the corporation” is a useful alternative in text. Avoid “the Beeb” except, on rare occasions, in columns or commentaries. BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, thus. The BBC is an organisation fond of capitals. Most are unnecessary. BBC job titles, like any others, are lower case: controller, chairman, director-general, governor. So are BBC television and BBC radio and the BBC charter. The BBC Trust may be capped when there is a risk of ambiguity, but is generally lower case. Caps for the historic radio stations: the Light Programme, the Home Service and the Third Programme

BCsee AD

be-all and end-allnote hyphens beanbagone word

Beatles, theno need to cap theunless at the start of a sentence; similarly,

the Clash, the Killers, the Rolling Stones, the Smiths, the Who etc (now even the The, should there ever be any need to refer to them)

becquerellower case for the radioactive unit, symbol is Bq

bedizenedarchaic but lovely word meaning dressed or decorated gaudily

or tastelessly

Bedouinprefer to Beduin for the nomadic peoples of Middle Eastern and

north African deserts

beg the questionrefers in logic to an informal fallacy whereby an

argument assumes its own conclusion: eg “this usage is unattractive because it is ugly”; that sense seems worth preserving. More commonly used as just another (less good) way of saying “raise (or ask) the question”; some readers are (logically) annoyed by this

Begumdo not assume this is a surname. It often will be (eg Shamima

Begum), but it is also the honorific indicating a married Muslim woman, equivalent to Mrs

beleaguereda cliché, especially in a political context, so best avoided Belfastnorth, south, east and west; lower case

belle époquelower case, with accent bellringer, bellringing, belltowerno hyphens bellwethernot bellweather

benchmarkno hyphen bendy bus two words benefitednot benefitted

benzeneis a substance obtained from coal-tar; benzine is a spirit obtained

from petroleum

Beretta a type of pistol favoured by James Bond, not to be confused with

a biretta(not berretta), a hat worn by Catholic clergy

Bermudian not Bermudan; but Bermuda-rigto describe the most

common configuration of sails on modern cruising and racing boats (a fore and aft rig with a tall triangular mainsail and single headsail)

Berneuse the anglicised version of the Swiss capital’s name (not Bern) berserknot beserk

Berwick-upon-Tweedthe northernmost town in England. North

Berwick is in Scotland

beseeched prefer to besought

best loved, best-lovedetc: ensure there is a hyphen if you mean a best

loved writer rather than a best loved writer

bestsellerone word; likewise bestselling

bête noireno longer italic, final e on noire; bugbearis a good English

word that you might prefer

betting oddsuse a hyphen (16-1, 6-4 etc), not a slash (16/1). For odds-on,

smaller figure comes first (1-2, 4-11 and so on). The higher the odds, the less likely something is; if the chances of something happening are raised, the odds are lowered. Not everyone understands odds as well as they think they do. If in doubt, consult the racing desk

bi-take care with this difficult prefix. Its correct use is in Latin compounds,

where it has the force of two, not half, such as bicentenary/bicentennial(a two-hundredth anniversary), or biennial(recurring every two years). Biannual means twice a year; to avoid confusion, write out twice a year

biasedone s

Biblecap and roman, not italic, in the religious context; but biblical (lower

case); biblical references thus: II Corinthians ii, 2; Luke iv, 5. Write bible (lower case) in a metaphorical sense, eg “For many, Vogue is the fashion bible”

Bible belt

biceps, tricepssame form for the singular and the plural of these muscles

bidprefer not to use in text as synonym of effort, attemptor try, although it

may be used sparingly in headlines in this sense

big banglower case for the event postulated by cosmological theory

relating to the beginnings of the universe (lower case); note big-bang theory(hyphen as modifier). But Big Bang(caps) to distinguish the modernisation of the London Stock Exchange in October 1986

bightis a curve in a coastline or river; bite involves teeth; bytes are units of

digital information in computing. Do not confuse

Big Society, the philosophy of community involvement once espoused by

the Conservatives under David Cameron

Billand Actcaps only when fully identified or when clarity demands

billionone thousand million, not a million million. Write £5 billion, £15

billion; do not abbreviate in text (£5bn, £15bn in headlines only), three billion, 15 billion etc

bin Laden, Osamanote lower case “bin”, except where Bin Laden

appears on its own. Avoid the “Mr” designation, as with Saddam Hussein etc. The organisation founded by Bin Laden is al-Qaeda(not al-Qaida). Bin Laden was killed in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in the early hours of Monday, May 2, 2011 (time differences mean it was still May 1 in Washington and London)

bin liner

biological termswith Latin terms, cap letter for first (genus) word, then

lower case for the second (species); and italicise for all but the most common, eg Turdus merula, the blackbird

birds cap proper nouns or adjectives derived from them in names of

species: Arctic skua, Montagu’s harrier, Cetti’s wharbler, Slavonian grebe etc

Birois a trade name and misuse is aggressively policed, so cap; generic

alternative is ballpoint pen

birthdaypeople and animals have birthdays; everything else has

anniversaries. Write 33rd birthday, 65th birthday etc (any number higher than tenth)

birthrate, birthright, birthplaceno hyphens, but birth control, birth

certificateetc

bisexual pronouns heand hiscan no longer refer to both sexes equally;

he or shewill sometimes do but is cumbersome. Always be sensitive in this contentious area. It is often easier to use the plural they, for he or she, and sometimes even the ugly theirfor his or her. Do this only when necessary. Do not, for instance, write “one of the Chelsea players threw their shirt into the crowd”, or “each nun has their own list of tasks” — the sex of those involved in both cases is quite clear and should be stated

bishops once consecrated they are bishops for life unless defrocked;

retirement from a see does not make anyone “a former bishop”

bit abbreviate to b, thus kilobit (kb), megabit (Mb) etc

bite(as with teeth) must not be confused with the computing term byteor

the geographical bight

blacklistone word as noun or verb blackoutnoun, one word

black(people), lower case; do not use “non-white” or “coloured” — and

never “immigrants” (which many are not). Unless you want to evoke South Africa under apartheid, prefer “black people” to “blacks”. Be sensitive to local usage: African-American is now standard usage in the United States, for instance, while African-Caribbean (or, less often now, Afro-Caribbean) and Black British are widely used in the UK. See also coloureds, race

blackspot(accident, unemployment etc), one word; similarly, troublespot,

hotspot

blametake care with this word; blame is attached to causes, not effects. So

say “Bad weather is blamed for my bronchitis”, NOT “My bronchitis is blamed on bad weather”

blocuse in context such as the former Soviet bloc, a power blocetc; but

block vote

blond(noun and adjective) for men and for men’s hair, blonde for women

and their hair

blood groupswrite, eg O negative (no hyphen)

bloodiedbut unbowed, a cliché best avoided, but written thus if used; but

red-bloodedetc

blood sports two words; similarly, field sports

bloody mary lower case for the cocktail of tomato juice and vodka blowsy prefer to blowzy

bluelower case for an Oxbridge sportsman or woman and for the award

itself. Blues are not like sporting caps; a single blue is awarded for representing the university at eg rugby, no matter how many individual appearances are made; to win two blues you’d have to play two sports

blue-chip hyphen as modifier, eg a blue-chip company blue-collar workersas white-collar workers

blueprintavoid this greatly overworked word when all you mean is plan,

schemeor proposal

bluetongueone word for the notifiable disease afflicting ruminants

bluffersbe very cautious. The Bluffer’s Guide/Guidesare trademarks,

rigorously protected by their publishers. So generic phrases such as “a bluffer’s guide to …” must be avoided

Blu-Tackproprietary so must cap

Boadicea prefer the now widely used alternative spelling Boudica

boatis generally used of a small vessel, including fishing boats up to the

size of a trawler; a ship is a large seagoing vessel big enough to carry smaller boats. In the Royal Navy, submarines are called boats

Boat Racecaps for the annual Oxford-Cambridge race on the Thames

Bobcatshould not be used in a generic sense as a description of skid-steer

loaders or other equipment

Bochederogatory wartime slang for Germans; Bosch, the household

appliance or power tools manufacturer

bodylineone word, no quotes for the cricketing tactic; use lower case in

general usage such as bodyline bowlingbut cap for the Bodyline tour(of the 1932-33 Ashes)

boffinavoid as a synonym of scientist, except ironically or in direct quotes Bogart, Humphreybut (Sir) Dirk Bogarde

bogey(golf, plural bogeys), bogie (wheels), bogy(ghost); but note

bogeyman

Bohemia, Bohemiancap only in specific reference to the geographical

entity but lower case bohemia, bohemian metaphorically

Bolshevik

bolshielower case for rebellious; cap in (derogatory) political context bolt hole two words

bombscar bomb, fire bomb, nail bomb, petrol bomb, suicide bombetc, but

hyphenate verbal or adjectival use, eg to fire-bomb, a nail-bombattack

bombshellin metaphorical use, as in “drop a bombshell”, is a cliché.

Avoid

bonanzaanother greatly overworked word that should be avoided

wherever possible

Bonfire Nightinitial caps; see Guy Fawkes Night Book of Common Prayer, the roman bookshop

boom overused word

Boِtes pronunciation requires a diaeresis on the name of the constellation,

should you ever have to refer to it

borderlower case, even the one between England and Scotland (north of

the border); cap the (Scottish) Borders; remember that the border is not marked by Hadrian’s Wall

bored with/bynot of, unless you want to annoy a lot of readers

-born normally prefer to use nationality, rather than country, eg English

born, but there are exceptions, eg Singapore-born; for counties, cities etc, normally use the noun, eg London-born, Manchester-born, Dorset-born, but again there are exceptions, eg Cornish-born

born/bornethe second is what you want except when writing about birth. Something to be borne in mind; a theory borne out by the facts; an initiative (or a tree) that has borne fruit; shame borne in silence etc

borstalsno longer exist; they are now young offender institutions bortschRussian or Polish soup

Bosphorusa strait, not a river Botoxtrade name, so must cap Boudicaprefer this spelling to Boadicea bow tieno hyphen

box officeas noun, two words; but hyphenate when adjectival (eg box

office success)

box setsboxedsets may be more logical for the collections of CDs, DVDs

etc, but no one says it; concede defeat

boy band two words. Note also girl band boyfriend, girlfriend

boy’s ownas generic phrase, lower case and roman; but the old

publication was called The Boy’s Own Paper

braillelower case

brainchildtry to avoid this cliché

branch in police context, eg special branch, anti-terrorist branch, lower

case unless there is any risk of confusion

breakthrough avoid describing every bit of medical and scientific

progress as a breakthrough — “a significant development or discovery, especially in science”. It usually isn’t

breakout, breakdown(as noun, each one word); but to break out etc,

and break-up(hyphen)

breastfeed(ing)no longer use hyphen

breaststrokeno longer hyphenate the swimming discipline Breathalyser(cap, proprietary), but to breathalyse(lower case, generic) breathtakingno hyphen

breech birth

brevity verbosity clouds meaning. Brevity is a virtue, in phrases,

sentences, whole passages of writing. Even in words. Use short rather than long ones if you can: “be” rather than “exist”, “go” rather than “proceed”, “know” rather than “comprehend”, “do” rather than “perform”, “execute” or “carry out”. When you write a long word, consider a short one instead. When you write a long sentence or paragraph, ask yourself why

BricBrazil, Russia, India and China collectively, all relatively fast

growing developing economies; thus, eg the Bric countries. (The financial wizards who coined Bric are also responsible for Mint: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. Mercifully, perhaps, this has yet to gain quite the same currency in the wider world; if it has to be used at all, it should be explained)

bridgescap names as in Severn Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark

Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge

Britainis now widely used as another name for the United Kingdom or

Great Britain, and pragmatically we accept this usage. Strictly, Great Britain= England, Wales, Scotland and islands governed from the mainland (ie not Isle of Man or Channel Islands); United Kingdom= Great Britain and Northern Ireland; British Isles= United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands

British overseas territoryeg Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic

Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Turks and Caicos Islands. Note that they may have a premier rather than a prime minister, so always check

Britpopnot Brit Pop, and Britart, if these historical terms are used Broadmoorinmates are patients, not prisoners, as it is a hospital

broadsheetretains some currency as a way to describe the serious British

press, even though most British newspapers are now of smaller format (tabloid, or compact etc). Quality, serious or (at a pinch) upmarket may be used as appropriate (if loaded) synonyms

Brobdingnagian cap. Huge, immense, unnaturally large; from

Brobdingnag, the imagined land of giants in Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels; use sparingly for colour and rhetorical force, eg “a politician with a truly Brobdingnagian ego”

brownfield, greenfield as in building sites. But note green belt(two

words)

brownie pointslower case

Brummie(not Brummy), Geordie, Scouseetc, people and dialect, all

capped

Brylcreem

BSEbovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow(no need for quotes)

disease. See mad cow disease

buddleiathus. Buddleja(cap, note j) is the scientific spelling, after

Linnaeus, for the genus of shrubs known commonly as butterfly bush, but despite that, Collins and Oxford dictionaries give buddleia(lower case, note i) as the common spelling, and that is what we must use. See wisteria (what is it with botanists?)

budgetlower case; the budget, Rishi Sunak’s budget, budget day; also

note pre-budget reportand autumn statement(lower case)

buffalo plural buffaloes

Buggins’s turn (awkward, perhaps, but consistent with Timesstyle for

such possessives)

buglers, trumpeterscavalry regiments have trumpeters, infantry

regiments have buglers. They are not interchangeable

builder’s merchant(s)as in shepherd’s pies, the apostrophe does not

move in the plural

bulletproof adjective or verb, one word bullionis gold or silver in unminted form bull-mastiff, bull-terrier

bullring, bullfight(er) bullseye

bumf prefer (for no obvious reason) to bumph

bunga-bungalower case, hyphen, eg in the context of unsavoury

partying linked to Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister. The derivation is uncertain and theories abound, including genuine African origins, a fascist colonialist-racist construct or a word given to Mr Berlusconi via Colonel Gaddafi, the deceased Libyan dictator

bungee jumpingno hyphen

bureau plural bureauxor bureaus depending on context; eg bureaux de

change, Citizens Advice Bureaux; but prefer bureaus for writing desks and distant newspaper offices

Burmanow use Myanmar(except in direct quotes); the inhabitants are

Burmese, while Burmansare a Burmese people

Burns Night(caps, no apostrophe) falls on January 25 burntnot burned

burqaprefer now to burka for the long, enveloping garment worn by

Muslim women in public. The niqab is the piece of cloth that they use to cover the face. The hijab is a covering for the hair and neck

Burton upon Trentno hyphens; and note the colloquial gone for a

burton(lower case)

bus, buses(noun); but in verbal use, busses, bussed, bussing

Bush, George W do not use Jr. Refer to his father as the first President

Bush or George Bush Sr

“businesses that depend on water”beware this and similar phrases.

All businesses depend on water to some extent; some businesses, eg farms, are especially dependent on water

But there is no grammatical rule to prevent it starting a sentence; even

Fowler describes this as a superstition. Be aware, however, that there are readers (and editors) who dislike it, and that it is easily overdone. Be sure, in any case, that “but” is the word you want; it often seems to be used to add a note of spurious drama where all that is meant is “and”

buyout, buybackone word as nouns; but prefer buy-in, take-off, shake

out, shake-up, sell-off, sell-outetc with hyphens, wherever the composite noun looks hideous

buzzwordone word by-election

bylaw

bypassnoun or verb by-product

bystander

byte (abbreviate as B) is a computer term for a small collection of bits

(binary digits), roughly equivalent to one character. Do not confuse with bite(as with teeth). But note soundbite

Byzantinecap in historical context (art, architecture, empire); lower case

in general use (complexities etc)

cabbie (not cabby) as colloquialism for taxi driver

cabinetlower case in both British and foreign use, whether used as a noun

or adjectivally, except (rarely) if a cap seems absolutely necessary to avoid confusion. Note Cabinet Office, but cabinet secretary(or secretary of the cabinet), war cabinet. All cabinet committees should be lower case, eg the cabinet committee on science and technology

Caernarfon(town and parliamentary constituency, no longer

Caernarvon), but Lord Carnarvon

caesarean sectionlower case caféwith accent

caffeineprefer to caffein cagoulebut kaftan

call centrenoun, two words; hyphen as adjective, eg call-centre manager call-up (noun), but to call up

camaraderienot cameraderie

Cambridge, University ofcolleges and halls are: Christ’s College;

Churchill College; Clare College; Clare Hall; Corpus Christi College; Darwin College; Downing College; Emmanuel College; Fitzwilliam College; Girton College; Gonville and Caius College; Homerton College; Hughes Hall; Jesus College; King’s College; Lucy Cavendish College; Magdalene College; Murray Edwards College (formerly known as New Hall); Newnham College; Pembroke College; Peterhouse; Queens’ College; Robinson College; St Catharine’s College; St Edmund’s College;

St John’s College; Selwyn College; Sidney Sussex College; Trinity College; Trinity Hall; Wolfson College

came as orcomes as overused device that links, or tries to link, two

loosely related bits of news within a single story (“The announcement of the rise in interest rates came as demonstrators took to the streets”); often smacks of desperation

camellianot camelia

camomileprefer to chamomile

Canada nationally there is a prime minister; in the provinces there are

premiers

Canadiansare rightly annoyed when they are designated as Americans.

Beware. Among prominent Canadians are Justin Bieber, kd lang, Joni Mitchell, Donald Sutherland, Neil Young etc etc

canal boatsdo not use the term “barge” indiscriminately; barges are

towed, unpowered boats for transporting cargo. Use the term narrow boatsfor the boats on the narrow 7ft-wide canals, or canal boats for wider vessels on wider canals. If in doubt, use canal boat(never canal barge)

canapé accent

cancertake care not to describe cancer as “the biggest killer” in the UK.

Heart disease is. Beware of writing about cancer in terms of battles, fights, brave struggles etc: such language can imply a lack of strength or effort or will on the part of others who succumb to the disease; this rightly upsets and offends

cannon(military), same form for singular and plural; but canons

(ecclesiastical, both churchmen and church laws), and canon as a collection/list of an author

Canute prefer the traditional spelling to the more historically authentic

Cnut, if only to mitigate the consequences of careless typing. Remember that his intention on the seashore was to demonstrate the worthlessness of temporal power; he knew he was going to get wet

canvas(as in painting); plural is canvases; canvasseswith central ss is of

the verb “to canvass” (ie polling)

CAPall caps for clarity; when spelt out is lower case common agricultural

policy; similarly, common fisheries policy(CFP)

cap and tradenoun; adjectivally hyphenate, eg a cap-and-trade system

for carbon emissions

Cape Canaveralthe Florida home of the US space programme was

known as Cape Kennedy after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963; this continued until 1973, when by popular local demand it reverted to its original name

capitalisation too many capital letters are ugly and distracting. Capitals

are often unnecessary. Try to avoid them unless to do so causes confusion or looks absurd. There will always be room for discretion and common sense, and clarity is more important than consistency, but if in doubt use lower case. Do not use capitals to indicate importance or (with some rare, specified exceptions) as a mark of respect. Avoid especially what the 1959 edition of this guide called the “local interest” capital: “the Canteen of the works journal, the Umpire of the laws of cricket, the Directors of the company prospectus, the Village Hall of the parish magazine”.

The following guidance sets out some general principles. See also under individual alphabetical entries.

Job descriptions, titles and names

Almost all job descriptions should be lower case. This includes all company chairmen, vice-presidents, managing directors, chief executive officers, general secretaries, ambassadors, editors etc.

There are, however, some (not many) job descriptions that are also titles, ie that are commonly (and formally) used in conjunction with the proper name of the person holding the position in question. These take a capital when used as titles in front of the name but lower case at all other times. So, for instance, we would refer to President Biden but to Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States. We would refer to President Putin but to the Russian president’s influence on the world. We would refer to Professor Jones, but to the professor’s latest book.

In British usage political job descriptionsare not generally attached to names as titles in this way. We do not refer to Prime Minister Johnson, or to Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak or to Foreign Secretary Truss. These should all, therefore, be lower case. Boris Johnson, the prime minister; Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer; Liz Truss, the foreign secretary. Similarly, the secretary of state for defence, the permanent secretary, the shadow chancellor, the cabinet secretary, the leader of the opposition, the minister of state for policing, criminal justice and victims at the Home Office. This may seem unsettling at first, but it is clearer and more consistent than any of the other options. The Speaker is a rare exception, as clarity seems to demand a cap (a deputy speaker remains lower case, however, as there is no risk of comparable confusion); be prepared to consider similar exceptions as they arise; do not pursue consistency at the expense of clarity or common sense.

The titles of ecclesiastical dignitariesmay be said to describe a position or job, but they also name an individual holder of that position (even when no surname is given), and they may be attached as titles in front of a name (as political or other job titles in British usage are not). As a courtesy, they take a capital letter when used as names (which in practice will generally be at first mention); subsequent references are lower case; in this they are treated in the same way as aristocratic titles (see below) rather than eg political jobs. This may be slightly anomalous, but it is probably what most Timesreaders expect, even in a secular age. So, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, then the archbishop or just Welby; the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, then the bishop or just Mullally; the Dean of St Paul’s, David Ison, subsequently the dean or just Ison; the Archdeacon of Barchester, Theophilus Grantly, then the archdeacon or

just Grantly. Lower case when referring not to the individual but generally to holders of the office: future archbishops of Canterbury, the role of dean of Westminster, the first woman bishop of Gloucester etc.

Royalty etc: The Queen, exceptionally, and as a courtesy, remains the Queen (upper case) at subsequent mentions, whenever the individual monarch is intended (likewise in historical stories referring to the reigning monarch of the day). There is no need for other monarchs or for senior members of the royal family to have capitals at all times: so, treat in the same way as senior clergy or non-royal dukes: the King of Spain, then the king; the Duke of Edinburgh, then the duke; the Prince of Wales, or Prince Charles, then the prince; the Duke of Cambridge, then the duke; Prince Harry, then the prince. The courtesy of a capital at all times is also extended to the Pope, whenever the individual pontiff is intended. When referring to the position of queen or pope rather than the person, use lower case: “the Queen (or Queen Elizabeth II) has had an impressive reign, which any future queen will struggle to match”; “the Pope (or Pope Francis) is the first pope to come from Latin America”.

Aristocrats: The Duke of Wherever is thus at first mention; subsequently the duke; never Lord W. Other aristocrats take a capital when named in full: the Marquess of X; Viscount Y; the Earl of Z; at subsequent references all normally become Lord X, Y, Z, although the marquess, the viscount, the earl etc would be preferable now that we have dropped the title Lord for peers at the second mention. Lower case when not naming individuals: an earlier marquess of Bath, future earls of Oxford, the seat of the dukes of Devonshire etc.

Similarly with military ranks: General Jackson would usually be Jackson at subsequent mentions, but the general might be used if variety seems necessary. Police ranksare capped when attached to names: Chief Inspector Morse etc; subsequently the chief inspector or just Morse; chief constable, like prime minister, is not generally used with a name. We don’t say Chief Constable Jones, it remains lower case: John Jones, the chief constable; the chief constable of Merseyside etc.

With few exceptions, such as those indicated, resist using capitals to indicate the dignity or supposed dignity of a position.

Government departments etc: The names of specific government departments and other significant national or international bodies or organisations are upper case when the full name is used (the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Education, the European Commission, the Law Society, the Football Association, the Independent Press Standards Organisation) but otherwise (or subsequently) lower case: the ministry, the education department, the commission, the regulator etc. The Home Office, the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury remain upper case. All committees, etc, are lower case. In local government, generally upper case only for the name of the place: Norwich city council, West Somerset rural district council planning department (if such a thing exists).

Political terms in general: government, parliament, administration and cabinet are always lower case except when used as part of an official title, such as Government House, Houses of Parliament, Her Majesty’s Government or the Cabinet Office. The opposition is likewise lower case; there is some risk of ambiguity, but context will usually make quite clear what is meant. (Her Majesty’s Opposition, like Her Majesty’s Government, would be upper case if for some reason used.) Also lower case for all references to the state (except in naming eg the US State Department): a state visit, the state opening of parliament, church and state. The word party is upper case where it it integral to the title: thus Labour Party, Conservative Party, Social and Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) and United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip). Similarly in the case of foreign parties where the equivalent word is integral to the title: Popular Party (Partido Popular of Spain), Workers’ Party, Freedom Party etc.

Terms derived from proper names: There are grey areas here and common sense is required.

As a general principle, with terms derived from the names of people (or peoples), the closer the connection with the proper name, the more likely it is to be upper case. Christian values, Thatcherite Tories, Homeric epithets and Marxist academics, for instance, all depend for their significance on the proper noun from which they derive; without knowing

something of Christ, Margaret Thatcher, Homer or Karl Marx, we will not understand what is meant. When we talk of spartan conditions, herculean tasks, gargantuan appetites and quixotic acts, however, we are using words which have become common adjectives; they denote familiar attributes, and their meaning may be understood by people who know nothing of Greek history or myth, and who have never read Rabelais or Cervantes.

It will often be difficult to draw such a neat distinction, however. In such cases, rather than waste time worrying over how close the connection may be between a word and the person or place to which it refers, consider what is likely to seem more natural to the reader. This is an area in which our general preference for lower case may have to be qualified. Because we are so used to seeing them capped, the names of people and places (and the proper adjectives derived from them) tend often simply to look wrong when lower case.

For examples see the lists under food and drink, animalsand birds, dogs, cheeses, winesetc. They are not exhaustive. They undoubtedly contain some expressions where the capital letter may seem otiose; the question to ask then is whether the needless capital in those phrases is more irritating than a missing capital would be in the rest.

God: Cap when referring to the deity of monotheistic religions. No need for he, his, him to take cap unless there is a risk of confusion. Where there are many gods, use lower case, as in the Greek gods (or eg the Greek god of war).

When spelling out capitalised abbreviations such as CAP (common agricultural policy) use lower case.

compass pointsand other terms indicating location except in proper place names, these are now generally lower case: east London, central London, west Africa, eastern Europe etc, see entries below

capsizeis spelt thus. See -ise, -isation

captionsare often read before the reports to which they relate. They need

to make sense on their own, and to explain as much of the story as space allows. It is surprising how often this basic journalistic principle is overlooked. They should be clear, informative and, where appropriate, witty; they should make the reader want to go on to read the story. What they must not be is pointless or dull. Do not state the obvious. Readers can see the photograph for themselves; there is no need to describe what it quite clearly shows; say something useful or interesting about it instead. Dismal local-paper caption clichés — sharing a joke, in happier times etc — are banned.

Style in captions:When a caption covers two or more images it should start with the main one. When space is tight, especially on single-column “mugshots”, the name may be just the surname, even when the person is titled, eg Sir Marcus Fox would be simply Fox, as in headlines. Where women are photographed be sensitive: readers complain about our omitting the Christian name, especially in court cases where the woman is the victim. Where possible give the woman’s first name too, although this is not a hard-and-fast ruling.

When identifying faces with leftand rightetc, use commas rather than brackets (eg Fred Smith, left, and his wife, Jean, leaving the court); make the identification in the caption fit the sequence of faces (left to right) in the photograph. Words such as “pictured” and “inset” should be redundant. Note that, as in text, double quotation marks are used in captions, including narrow-measure captions next to narrow-measure illustrations. Don’t tie yourself in knots trying to link lots of pictures in a single caption of continuous prose; if it can be done, and done elegantly, so much the better; if not, opt for clarity instead and link separate caption elements with semi-colons

carabiniere(an Italian police officer), lower case; plural carabinieri

carat a measure of purity in gold (24-carat is 100 per cent); in precious

stones and pearls, a measure of weight. The international carat is standardised at 200mg (0.20g; about 7/1000th of an ounce)

car boot saleno hyphen carcass

cardholder

cardiac arrest not synonymous with heart attack; check which is meant,

and do not change one to the other

careen to sway or cause to sway dangerously over to one side; too often

confused with career, to move swiftly along, rush in an uncontrolled way

care home company etc, no need to hyphenate

cargoprefer cargos as the plural

carmakerone word

car parktwo words, multistorey car park carpetbaggerone word

case was “an overworked word” in the 1959 edition of this guide; it still is cashcardin general sense, cashflow, cashback

cash for honours, cash for peerages no need for quotes for these two

phrases; but they do need hyphens when adjectival, eg the cash-forhonours inquiry, the cash-for-peerages affair

Cashpointis Lloyds Bank’s trademarked cash machine system, so takes

the cap and must not be used generically; in the general sense, use cash dispenseror cash machine, or less formally, hole in the wall

Castilian(castellano) is the standard spoken and literary Spanish of

Spain; Catalan is the distinct language of Catalonia

Castro, Fideldo not refer to the (now dead) former Cuban president as

Dr. His brother, who succeeded him, is Raْl Castro(note accent). His supporters are sometimes referred to as raulistas, which is lower case and does not take an accent. Similarly, the supporters of the late President Chلvez of Venezuela were chavistas

casualtiesbe cautious in use of early and unconfirmed estimates of

casualties in instances of terrorism, militia gunfights or disasters. Always give the estimate’s source where possible, and be aware of politically inspired exaggeration

catapultnot catapault

Catch-22there is a hyphen in the title of Joseph Heller’s 1961 satirical

novel; avoid altogether the grossly overworked cliché Catch-22 situation

catchphraseone word

cathedralscap when giving the name, eg St Paul’s Cathedral, Wells

Cathedral; similarly the names of churches, eg St Mary’s Church, Ely, unless we know that the church name specifically excludes it, eg St Stephen’s, Ely

Catherineone of those names that should always be checked: Catharine,

Katherine, Katharine, Kathryn etc are all possible. cf Alistair

Catholicin church context, say Roman Catholic at first mention if

necessary to make clear that this is what is meant. Eg if there could be confusion with Eastern rite churches or with those Anglicans who call themselves Catholic. Otherwise, if context is clear, just say Catholic

CAT scanto avoid confusion, exceptionally keep caps in this acronym;

not Cat scan

cat’s eyes should preferably (if awkwardly) be called reflecting roadstuds.

Catseye is a trademark

caviarno final e

CBIno need to spell out as Confederation of British Industry ceasefire

ceilidhsocial gathering (Highland) Cellophaneis proprietary, so cap

celsius, centigrade use either term. In news stories use centigrade. There

will rarely be any need to convert to fahrenheit, but if needed put the conversion in brackets, eg “The temperature rose to 38C (100F).” Take great care with conversions, which often seem to go wrong

censuslower case even in specific cases, such as the 1901 census, the 2001

census

centenarianalso septuagenarian, octogenarian, nonagenarian

centenariesuse centenary, bicentenary, tercentenary; after that, say four

hundredth anniversaryor five-hundredth anniversary

central Europe (with lower case c; also central Londonetc; but Central

Americaneeds caps for clarity); likewise northern Europe, southern Europe. Use lower case also for easternand western Europeexcept in historical context of the Cold War

centre, theas with (the) left and (the) right, use lower case in political

context unless clarity demands a cap. Similarly for compound nouns, the centre left, the centre right, and for adjectives, a centre-left politician with a right-wing policy

Centre Court at Wimbledon upper case; likewise No 1 Court, No 14

Court etc

centrepieceno hyphen

centringbut centeringof arches in bridge-building

centuriesthe style is the 3rd century BC, the 9th century, the 18th century

etc; and adjectivally with the hyphen, eg 20th-century architecture

Ceylonthe former name for Sri Lanka. The people are Sri Lankan, the

majority group are the Sinhalese

cha-cha-chanot cha-cha

chainsaw one word (but The Texas Chain Saw Massacre should you need

to refer to the grisly 1974 film)

chairdo not refer to anyone as “the chair of” anything, unless in a direct

quote. Neither must you use “chairperson”. Even if a person’s official title is “chair of …” use chairman or chairwoman (lower case). This is not sexist, it is simply a preference for calling things (and people) by their names, and a reluctance to allow ugly and unnecessary jargon to replace perfectly good words. If you can’t go along with it, try rewriting to avoid: “Jane Jones, who chairs the council ways and means committee” etc. A professor may hold the chair of theoretical physics, or whatever; a person can chair (used as a verb) a committee; and questions can be put through the chair (which is the office held). Similarly, write spokesmanor spokeswomanor find ways of avoiding altogether (“the company, a representative, an executive, a press officer etc said”)

chaise longue(two words, no hyphen), plural chaises longues(s on both

words)

chamber(lower case) of the House of Commons

champagne lower case, because we use it as an English common noun

rather than a French proper name. Use only, however, for the product of the Champagne region of France, to which its proper application is

restricted by law; otherwise write, eg Russian sparkling wine. The champagne producers protect their name rigorously. See wines

Champions League(European football), no apostrophe chancellor of the exchequer lower case changeable

Changing the Guardnot … of the Guard

Channel, theupper case. Generally, no need to write “the English

Channel” for the body of water between England and France

Channel tunnel(lower case tunnel, unless there is some possibility of

confusion); also, Channel tunnel rail link

Chanukkahprefer this to variants such as Hanukkah etc, for the Jewish

festival of lights

chaos overused, and often hyperbole; confusion, disorder, upheaval,

turmoil, disarray: say what is meant

charge thatan Americanism, never to be used as a synonym of allege

that

charismahas become a boring cliché; try to find an alternative such as

presence, inspirationetc

charters(as in John Major’s now forgotten initiative), lower case château plural châteaux

Chatham House rule, the strictly speaking just the one, so don’t write

Chatham House rules. It says that information disclosed at a meeting may be used or reported by those present on condition that neither the source nor anyone else attending is identified

chat room(two words), but chatline (one)

chat show, game show, quiz show, talk showetc (no hyphens when

used as noun or when adjectival, eg chat show host); note also chatline, sexline

cheap goods are cheap, prices are low Chechnyanot Chechenia; adjective Chechen check-in(noun), but check in(verb)

checklist, checkout counternote also checkupnoun; check upverb cheerleader one word

cheeseswe tried making these all lower case. It worked, but it always

seemed a triumph of consistency over common sense. Readers are used in most contexts to seeing capital letters at the start of proper nouns and adjectives, especially place names. So that is what we should do. Wensleydale, Lancashire, Red Leicester, Cheshire and their foreign equivalents simply seem more natural than the lower case alternative. This will give us a few more capital letters in the paper than we might like, but for it to become a problem, we would have to write about cheeses a lot more often than we do. Exceptions are made for cheddar and brie, which are almost universally treated as common nouns (Canadian cheddar, Irish cheddar, Somerset brie). See food and drink

chequebookone word, either as noun or adjective (eg chequebook

journalism)

chi prefer to qi for the vital energy in oriental medicine, martial arts etc

believed to circulate around the body in currents

chickenpoxno hyphen; similarly, smallpox

chief constablelower case, the chief constable of Lancashire or the chief

constable. Do not write, eg the chief constable of West Midlands police, but simply the chief constable of the West Midlands

chief inspector of prisons / … of schoolsalso chief medical officer

chief of the defence staffis the professional head of the British armed

forces and the principal military adviser to the defence secretary and the government; the chief of the general staffis the professional head of the British Army

chief petty officer is an NCO (non-commissioned officer) in the Royal

Navy, not an officer

Chief Rabbicap at first mention when naming the individual, then the

chief rabbi or refer to as Rabbi X or Lord Y (cf the Archbishop of Canterbury)

chief whiplower case

child access, child custody do not use these terms regarding divorce

unless in direct quotes and from lay people. Under the Children Act 1989 children are given residence with one parent and the other in disputed cases has contact. Put more simply, children live with one parent and the other is allowed to see them

childcareas healthcare childminder one word

child pornography/child porn never use these terms, except in direct

quotes. Use instead internet child sex abuse, sex abuse images, or similar

children’s namesgenerally for under-18s, write eg John Jones at first

mention and then simply John at second mention

child-sex abusers/offendersuse hyphen chilli(plural chillies), prefer to chili

chill outtwo words as verb; one word as noun or adjective chimeraprefer to chimaera

chimpanzeesare apes, not monkeys

Chinese cap C in idioms such as Chinese whispers, Chinese walls

Chinese namesuse the Pinyin rather than the traditional Wade-Giles, so

write Beijing, Mao Zedong(though Chairman Maoor just Maoare acceptable), Zhou Enlaietc. Normal style is to place family name first, then given name, so that the actress Zhang Ziyi, for instance, becomes Zhang at second mention. For place names, follow The Times Atlas of the Worldexcept where older usage is well established, ie, the special administrative regions Hong Kong(not Xianggang) and Macau (not Aomen); and the autonomous regions Tibet (not Xizang) and Inner Mongolia (not Neimengu)

chip and PINno hyphen as a noun or adjectivally chocoholicbut shopaholic and workaholic

chopper, copternot to be used as substitutes for helicopter, even in

headlines

Christ discourage use as a casual exclamation or expletive; it offends

many readers

Christ Church (the Oxford college), two words, thus, and never Christ

Church College

Christchurchin Dorset and New Zealand

christened Christians are christened; ships, trains, anteaters and people

not known to be Christians are named

Christian, Christianity unchristian, non-Christian, antichristian,

Antichrist

Christian Democrat cap when referring to specific European parties for

both noun and adjective, as in Christian Democrat MP

Christian namestake care in context of non-Christians; in such cases use

forenameor first name

Christian terms mostly lower case when possible but cap eg the Bible,

the (Ten) Commandments, the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, Mass, Holy Communion(and simply Communion), Eucharist, Blessed Sacrament, Advent, Nativity (also cap adjectival Advent calendar, Nativity play), the Scriptures; also when naming the persons of the Trinity, God (the Father), Jesus Christand the Holy Spirit; but then follow the Vatican and Lambeth Palace in using lower case for he/his except where clarity demands a cap (“Isaiah looks forward to God rescuing His people”, ie God’s, not Isaiah’s). Cap the names of books of the Bible: the Book of Revelation, Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel of (or According to) Matthew; but generally lower case for the apostles, the disciples, gospel, the gospels. Use lower case for evensong, matins. There are columnists and feature writers who like to use eg God, Christ and Jesus as harmless exclamations or mild expletives; they should know that this offends many Times readers

Christmas Day, Christmas Eve seem to need caps

church cap in names — the Church of England, St James’s Church,

Piccadilly etc — but otherwise only if absolutely necessary to distinguish an institution from a building (“the Church is often said to be in terminal decline, but the church I attended on Sunday was absolutely packed”). Context will usually suffice to make clear which is meant, so lower case should be possible more often than not

Church in Wales not Church of Wales for the disestablished Anglican

church once headed by Dr Rowan Williams

churchwardenone word

cinemagoer as concertgoer, operagoer, theatregoer etc ciphernot cypher

circaabbreviate simply as c (roman) followed by a space City of Londonthe City, City prices

civil list (lower case unless clarity demands caps) has been replaced by the

sovereign grant(also lower case unless clarity demands caps)

civil partnershipcommonly referred to as gay marriage before gay

marriage became legal; it is now possible for both same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into a civil partnership in the UK. A suggested shorthand for headings is civil union

civil service,civil servantslower case as a noun unless clarity demands

a cap. Otherwise lower case in adjectival use, eg a civil service memorandum. Lower case for the administrative grade, ie permanent secretary, deputy secretaryand assistant secretary, when used as part of the full title; thus, Sir Alfred Beach, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence

civil wargenerally lower case but by convention cap the English Civil

Warand the American Civil War

claimdo not use when simply saidor declaredwould do. The word carries

a suspicion of incredulity. Much effort used to go into resisting the loose construction in sentences such as “The firm launched a drink which is claimed to promote learning ability” but the usage is both widespread and perfectly clear. The alternative — “… a drink which, it is claimed,

promotes learning ability” — may now seem cumbersome. Do not allow terrorists to “claim responsibility” for their crimes

claims and factsremember to distinguish between a claim and a fact,

particularly in headlines/standfirsts. Witnesses to rioting telling amid confusion of up to 600 people dead do not justify an unequivocal standfirst death toll of 600; if claims are made, say who is making them

clamour, clamouring but clamorous

clampdownnot banned, but use as little as possible

Clapham Junctionis not Clapham. It is not even in Clapham. They are

separate places and their names are not interchangeable. Clapham is in the London Borough of Lambeth; Clapham Junction is in the Battersea part of Wandsworth. A reader helpfully noted, at the time of the London riots in August 2011: “The Victorians are responsible for the confusion that has persisted for generations. When they opened their large interchange station in 1863 they designated it Clapham Junction because that district was then much more genteel than working-class Battersea”

clarinettist

class A, B or C drugs(l/c, no real need for cap C on class)

clichés and hypewe are lucky to have intelligent and sophisticated

readers. They buy The Timesto avoid the hype and the stale words and phrases peddled by some other papers. Words such as shock, bombshell, crisis, scandal, sensational, controversial, desperate, dramatic, fury, panic, chaos etc are too often ways of telling the readers what to think. Let them decide for themselves.

Any list of proscribed formulas is soon out of date, as old clichés give way to new. There may be nothing inherently wrong with the words or phrases themselves. They gain currency in the first place because they seem vivid, amusing, fresh. Soon, however, they become fashionable, are overused, grow tired and stale, then finally cease to mean anything much

at all. A good writer or editor will know when a word or phrase has outlived its usefulness

climate change levylower case, no hyphen clingfilm lower case, one word

cliquey

clock tower two words closed-circuit television

Clostridium difficileis a bacterium, not a virus. Write C. difficileat

second mention (and as a bonus do not pronounce it “DIF-ficil”: it is not French but Latin. Try “dif-FI-chil-ay”)

clothingsay menswear, women’s wear, children’s wear, sportswear cloud-cuckoo-landtwo hyphens

cloudsno need to italicise the names. Four main types: nimbus produce

rain; stratus resemble layers; cumulus resemble heaps; and cirrus resemble strands or filaments of hair. Prefixes denote altitude, ie strato (low-level), alto (mid-level) and cirro (high-level)

clubbable

co- the prefix does not normally require a hyphen even before an e or

another o unless confusion or utter hideousness might result. Thus cooperate(but uncooperative), co-opt, co-ordinate(but uncoordinated), coeducation, coexist

COuse subscript

coalface, coalfield, coalmine(each one word), similarly, coalminer (but

prefer miner)

coalitionlower case noun or adjective, eg the coalition government coastguardlower case and one word

coastslower case south coast, east coast, west coastand north coastin all

contexts

coats of armssee heraldry

Coca-Cola(hyphen); note also the trademark Coke. Similarly, Pepsi-Cola.

If in doubt about the identity of a beverage, write the lower case generic

cola

cock a snook not snoop, please

cockfightno hyphen, as bullfight and dogfight

Cockneynow cap for the person, the dialect and adjectival use, to bring

into line with Brummie, Geordie etc

codebreaker, codebreakingone word

coeducation(al)but permissible to use co-edin headlines as coed would

look odd

coexist

cognoscentiroman, not italic

Coldstream Guardsmay be called the Coldstreamand the men

Coldstreamers or Coldstream Guards; neither should be called Coldstreams

Cold Warcaps

collarboneone word

collectibles (not -ables), items sought by collectors

collective nounsusually use the singular verb, as with corporate bodies

(the company, the government, the council etc). But this rule is not inviolable; the key is to stick to the singular or plural throughout the story: sentences such as “The committee, which was elected recently, presented their report” are unacceptable. Prefer plural use for the couple, family, music groups and bands, the public, sports teams

Colombiais the country; Columbiais the Hollywood studio, university,

river and Washington district. Also, note British Columbiaand preColumbian

colons throw meaning forward and introduce lists Colosseumin Rome, Coliseumin London

Coloureds(in South Africa), cap; not to be used in any other context comedienneavoid; use comedian(or, if you must, comic) for both sexes comeuppanceno hyphen

commander-in-chief, officer commandinglower case

Commandmentscap in biblical context, as the Ten Commandments, the

Fourth Commandment

commando plural commandos (not -oes)

commasunnecessary commas interrupt the flow of a sentence; omit the

comma before if, unless, before, after, as, since, when, but, despiteetc

unless the rhythm or sense of the sentence demands it. Keith Waterhouse, as so often, had sound advice: “It is not the function of the comma to help a wheezing sentence get its breath back. That, however, is how the comma earns much of its living in journalism.” If your sentence needs a comma just to stop the reader collapsing in a heap before reaching the end, you might do better to recast it as two sentences anyway.

There is often no need for a comma after an adverbial formation at the beginning of a sentence: “Last week we were told etc”, “Until now there has been no need etc”, “In opposition the Lib Dems said etc”, “Minutes later the announcement was made”.

Avoid the so-called Oxford comma; write “he ate bread, butter and jam” rather than “he ate bread, butter, and jam”, except where to do so might create nonsense or confusion: “For lunch they had lamb with roast potatoes, and chocolate mousse.”

Commas with names and descriptions may help to indicate number. If “he was accompanied by his brother John” suggests that he has other brothers who did not accompany him, then “he was accompanied by his brother, John” makes clear that John is the only brother he has. With brothers the distinction may seem too subtle to bother about; it is worth bearing in mind when naming someone’s wife.

There is no need to put a comma between adjectives that form a kind of unit or where the last adjective is in closer relation to the noun than the preceding one(s), eg fine dry evenings, a good little boy.

Keep commas where they should be logically in “broken” sentences. Thus, the comma goes outside in the following example: “The trouble is”, he said, “that this is a contentious issue”

Commission when named: the European Commission, the Competition

Commission; lower case in other refs, commissioner

commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

commitdo not use as an intransitive verb without a direct object, eg “he

wants to commit to the reforms”; write “he wants to commit himself to the reforms” or “he wants to make a commitment to the reforms”

committee on standards in public lifeexamines standards of conduct

of all holders of public office. It is different from the select committee on standards and privileges, which deals with the conduct of MPs (subsequent mentions, the privileges select committeeor lower case the committee)

committeesare generally lower case but note 1922 Committee(cap) of

Tory backbenchers, as it looks odd lower case. Cabinet and select committees should be lower case

common agricultural policylower case, abbreviated as CAP for

clarity; similarly, common fisheries policy(CFP)

common marketusually use EU or EC (see Europe), although common

marketis acceptable in its historical context

common sense(noun), but commonsense, commonsensical (adjective) common serjeantlower case. Note j spelling

Commons(keep cap) takes singular verb, eg “the Commons is debating . .

.”

Commons fees office lower case. At subsequent mention the fees office

for the place where decisions are made about whether to reimburse members’ expenses for moats and beams

Commonwealth heads of government meetinglower case after cap

communiqué

communism, communistas with socialism and socialist, the best rule

of thumb is to cap only when in specific party context, eg a Communist candidate, a Communist rally, the Communist mayor of Lille; but communist ideology, communist countries etc. Likewise fascist. It will help to think of a parallel with conservative/conservatismor liberal/liberalism. But Marxist, Stalinist and Nazi should be capped

community beware overuse in phrases such as the international

community, the black community etc

companies there was once a useful distinction to be made between

companyand firm; the latter implied a business partnership, as in the legal or accountancy professions, estate agents etc. The words now seem to be used more or less interchangeably to cover almost any sort of enterprise, not least because the shorter word has obvious advantages for headlines

company names and brand namesfollow the style and spelling that

the company prefers even if it is ugly, distracting or absurd; use common sense. Exceptions may be made for a few household names familiar in a form that does not reflect their corporate branding: Adidas (not adidas), Amazon (not amazon), Ikea (not IKEA), Yahoo (not Yahoo!). Abbreviate to Co in, eg John Brown & Co. (Used figuratively, and co is l/c — “Corbyn and co” etc.) Company is singular. No full points in company titles, as in WH Smith and J Sainsbury. Usually no need to add Ltd, plc, LLP etc

company, ship’sall the officers and men (and women) comparatively, relativelyavoid using as synonyms of fairlyor middling

comparativesuse correctly to indicate the numbers involved: older or

elder (of two), oldest or eldest (of three or more); similarly, younger, youngest etc

compare with/tocompare with (the more common use) when differences

or contrasts are the point: “compare the saints with the devils” or

“compared with last year’s figures” etc. Compare to for likenesses: “compare this image to a damsel fair”

comparisonsbeware of those which are confusing, incomprehensible or

meaningless: to say that something is five times bigger than something else may make sense (if not precisely the same sense as saying that it is five times the size, so take care); to say that something is five times smaller is to baffle any reader who thinks about it for long

compass pointsgenerally take lower case (and no hyphen in

compounds). So north, south, east, west; southeast, northeast, northwest, southwest. Likewise, lower case for general locations: the west of Scotland, the north of England, south Wales. Caps for proper names of specific places, eg counties, regions and, exceptionally, where clarity, common sense or familiar usage demands: East Anglia,Northern Ireland; North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire(also East Yorkshire, not a county but once a local government district, still a parliamentary constituency, and odd lower case if the Yorkshire counties are all capped); the West Midlands, the East Midlands (the latter not a county, but one of the nine English regions, formerly Government Office Regions, used for official statistical purposes: the South East, London, the North West, the East of England, the West Midlands, the South West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, the North East). Recognised geographical and cultural areas taking caps for clarity include the Western Isles, the East End/West Endof London (following common usage; but east London, west London); the West Countryetc.

Overseas, cap the following: the Midwest(US), the Deep South, North America, South America, Latin America, Central America; lower case west Africa, north Africa, east Africa, central Africa(but Central African Republic), southern Africa(but South Africa); upper case North and South Atlantic, the Middle/Far East, sub-Saharan Africaand south India(except in the Church of South India)

compelling overused adjective for which there’s rarely any need; avoid or

risk sounding pretentious

compensation not to be encouraged as a pompous word for pay in the

case of top executives

complementcompleting something complimentpraise or tribute

complimentaryapproving, congratulatory; also the spelling you want for

“free of charge”

comprehensive spending reviewall lower case

comprisemeans to consist of, be composed of. Avoid the ugly

“comprising of”, beloved of estate agents

comptroller-generallower case, hyphen

concertgoeras with cinemagoer, operagoer, partygoer, theatregoer; but

concert hall

confectionerysweets, cakes etc. A confectionary is (or may be) a place

where confectionery is kept or made; this is a word you will rarely need, not least because confectionerywill happily cover this sense too; if you insist on using it, readers will think you cannot spell

Confederacycap for the southern states in the American Civil War

conferencekeep lower case in Labour Party conference, Liberal

Democrat conference etc

congestion chargelower case

Congotake care to distinguish between theDemocratic Republic of Congo

(formerly Zaire, and before that Belgian Congo) and the far smaller Republic of the Congo, which may also be referred to as Congo (Brazzaville), and was formerly a French colony

Congress(US) but congressional lower case and congressman also lower

case, except when used as a title with a name, eg Congressman John Waldorfburger; but generally try to avoid this US construction and say John Waldorfburger, a congressman from Minnesota, etc

conjoined twins the proper medical term for Siamese twins

conjunctionsavoid unnecessary buts, ands, howevers, yets. Always

revise a sentence to see what conjunctions could be removed; two sentences may be better than one

conjurorprefer to conjurer conmanone word, as hitman

connectionthus; connexionis French (except to Methodists, who use it

for the wider connected community to which they belong; an exception may be made in this context if ever needed)

consensus(not concensus); the word is a cliché that should be avoided

wherever possible. Furthermore, since consensus means general or widespread agreement resist tautologies such as general consensus, broad consensus, wide consensus, consensus of opinion etc

Conservative PartyConservative central office(lower case), second

mention central office(never CCO); Conservative chairman, manifesto etc; Toryis permissible as a less formal alternative, Tory party(lower case p). Abbreviate in lists etc to C (not, for obvious reasons, Con)

considerableavoid its use as a lazy adjective implying emphasis

consistency a virtue promoted by this guide, but not one to be pursued at

the expense of clarity, elegance or common sense

consortium plural consortiums(not consortia); as a general rule, use the

ums plural

constituencies, parliamentarygenerally, follow the format of place

name first and then compass point, area etc, eg Ilford South (not South Ilford), Sheffield Hallam (no comma); for clarity use & in compounds: Kensington & Chelsea, Batley & Spens etc

constitutionof a country is lower case whether it is an actual document or

not: the American constitution, the British constitution

consultnever say “consult with”

Continent, thereferring to mainland Europe, but lower case continental

continuousmeans without intermission; continual means frequently

recurring

contractionsgenerally avoid in news reports. Permissible in features and

less formal contexts. Beware of ambiguity: “he’s” can mean “he is” or “he has”; the latter meaning is often better spelt out. Never confuse it’s and its

contract outhas no hyphen

controller of Radio 1etc (no longer cap C) controversiala word almost always best deleted convenernot convenor

convertible(not -able), noun and adjective conveyor belta conveyer is a person who conveys

cooling towerspictures of these should not be used to illustrate stories

about air pollution. They emit water vapour, which is harmless

co-operate, co-ordinateetc; hyphenate for clarity; but no hyphen when

further prefixed, eg uncooperative, uncoordinated, non-cooperation

co-production, co-produceretc (use hyphen to avoid ambiguity with

copro-, as in dung)

copycatno hyphen

cornflakes(generic)

coronationno need to cap even when naming a specific ceremonial event,

such as Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953; also lower case in adjectival uses, eg coronation ceremony, coronation broadcast, coronation oath

coroner’s court at inquests, the coroner is lower case, as in the

Westminster coroner. Juries return the verdict, the coroner records it. There are no coroner’s inquests in Scotland; violent deaths are reported to the procurator fiscal, who may hold an inquiry

correspondentswherever possible, write the political correspondent of

The Times, the Moscow correspondent of The Timesetc; but the Times political correspondent, the TimesMoscow correspondent etc are permissible.

In an age that prizes first-person accounts there is mercifully little temptation for reporters to refer to themselves ponderously as “your correspondent”. Any writer tempted to do so in jest should heed the 1959 edition of this guide: “The use of ‘your correspondent’ for droll effect flops nine times out of ten”

cortègeuse accent

coruscating(not corruscating) means sparkling or scintillating, not

abrasive or corrosive. The word often meant by this malapropism is

excoriating

councilscap only the place even in full title, eg Birmingham city council

council tax replacement for poll tax/community charge, so use the last

two only in their historical context

counselis both singular and plural in court contexts. Do not say “counsels

for Mr X and Mrs Y”

counterproductive, counterattack, countertenor,

counterterrorismetc (one word)

countiesspell out names except in lists. Do not add -shire to Devon

(except in Devonshire cream or the Duke of Devonshire), Dorset, Somerset. Irish counties should be rendered as Co Donegal (cap C, no full point); Co Durham takes the same style. Take great care with new, reorganised or abolished counties

county abbreviationsthese may be used to save space, but only in

special circumstances such as postal addresses at the end of letters, in listings etc. Do not use them in ordinary text, eg News, Business, Sport etc body text

coup d’état (note roman, accent). Normally write just coup. Note coup de

grâce (roman, accent), coup de théâtre (roman, accents)

coupletreat this collective noun as a plural, eg “The couple are coming to

terms with their plight”

court martialplural courts martial, Courts-Martial Appeal Court; verb,

to court-martial

Court No 1etc in a legal context

Court of Appeal always use the full title at first mention and wherever

possible thereafter, but appeal court(lower case) may be used sparingly

Court of Arches is the court of appeal of the Province of Canterbury in

the Church of England. Do not say Arches Court

Court of St James’s

Court of Session, Edinburghnot Sessions; Scotland’s supreme civil

court

Court reporting if in the slightest doubt, consult a lawyer.

Criminal cases: Lawyers appear for the prosecution, for the defence (avoid “prosecuting”, “defending”). To admit or denyan offence is preferred to “pleads guilty” or “pleads not guilty”, although the latter form is not banned. Seek legal guidance before naming anybody under 17 in any court case. Do not report details of sex offences involving children and do not allow sex trial reports to become salacious. Also, do not identify any victims of alleged sexual offences or give information that, with other information available elsewhere, might allow so-called jigsaw identification. When reporting evidence, take care with phrases such as “the court was told how ….”, which may assume or imply truth in what was said. At the end of a court report say if the trial, or the hearing in a civil case, continues. Always give the verdict at the end of a trial or hearing. Prefer legally precise terms such as “not guilty” to eg “cleared”, except in headlines. Beware of misusing “majority verdict”; this can refer only to a conviction, not an acquittal. Defendants are to be treated as anyone else who appears in the paper and go by surname only at the second mention, no longer taking Mr, Mrs etc until they are convicted or admit guilt in the course of recognised proceedings.

Civil cases: The parties in civil cases are the claimant (formerly the plaintiff) and the defendant. Say “counsel for Y” rather than “counsel for the claimant” etc. In judicial review, the person challenging the decision is the applicant.

Appeals: In criminal cases, the defendant becomes the appellant; the respondent is usually the Crown. Say “counsel for Smith” rather than “counsel for the appellant”. In civil appeals, either the claimant (formerly the plaintiff) or the defendant can be the appellant; it is always better to identify the parties and then avoid the phrase “counsel for the appellant/respondent” wherever possible

courtscap the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the

European Court of Human Rightsetc; but lower case local courts (except the place name) even when specific, eg Birmingham crown court, Clerkenwell county court, Dawlish magistrates’ court, Ashford youth court etc; in a general, unspecific context, referring to the institution, cap the Crown Court(it sits in about 90 centres, which may loosely be referred to as crown courts, eg Snaresbrook crown court; this is not strictly correct, but even the lord chief justice has been known to do it)

Court Service, thecaps; not Courts

Covid-19is the viral disease caused by a novel form of coronavirus (of

which there are many) known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2)

crack is a type of cocaine; the phrase crack cocaine is tautologous, but

need not always be avoided on that account

crackdownnot banned, but use as little as possible crèchenot crêche

credit cardno need to hyphenate adjectivally, as in eg “credit card

purchases”

creditworthyno hyphen, also creditworthiness

Creole is a person born in the West Indies or Latin America whose

ancestry is wholly or partly European. It does not imply mixed race. Lower case creoleas an adjective to describe food or culture

crescendostrictly means an increase in volume or force. Nothing rises to a

crescendo. Plural is crescendos

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(abbreviate CJD). Note also variant CJD

(with lower case v), abbreviated to vCJD. No longer call it new variant CJD

crimeapproach all crime statistics with caution; they can be made to show

almost anything

crisisa greatly overworked word

criterion plural criteria; using the plural for the singular is illiterate Croatfor the people and language, Croatian for the general adjective crosier prefer to crozier

Cross, thecap C

cross benches but crossbenchers, crossbench opinion cross-Channelbut transatlantic

Crown(in constitutional sense) may be capped for the sake of clarity; but

in phrases such as crown property, the crown representative etc it should usually be obvious what is meant when lower case

Crown dependency eg Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man Crown Jewels caps

crucifix a cross or an image of a cross with a figure of Jesus Christ on it cruise missiles but Pershing missiles; also lower case stealth bomber

crunchavoid clichés such as “reaches crunch point”, “the situation came

to a crunch”

crystallise

cul-de-sac hyphens; plural cul-de-sacs

Cupupper case in FA Cup final, European Cup final, World Cup final,

Davis Cup final etc

cupfuls(not cupsful or cupfulls), also spoonfuls etc

curate’s egg it was wholly bad, and the clergyman was being polite, but

insisting on this is a lost cause. The phrase now almost invariably describes something of mixed quality. It is a dreadful cliché anyway, so best not used at all

cure-all hyphen (noun and adjective)

currenciesconvert to sterling on home news, sport and features pages,

usually at first mention of the foreign currency. Round up or down. On business and foreign news pages commonly used foreign currencies (in practice, dollars and euros only) need not be converted unless it seems helpful, and the headline should reflect the article’s original currency rather than a sterling equivalent. Do not convert meaninglessly, eg a number of dollars spent in 1995 to a number of pounds at today’s exchange rate; additional information on historic rates and/or purchasing power should be given when possible

currentavoid wherever possible as synonym of present. The word

currently is almost always redundant and best deleted

curriculumsplural, not curricula, but note extracurricular activities;

curriculum vitae, CV abbreviated (plural curricula vitae)

curtsy(not curtsey); plural curtsies

cut-throatuse hyphen

cybercafé, cybercrime, cyberpet, cyberpunk, cybersex,

cyberspace, cybersquatting, cyberterrorism, cyberwarall one

word; some new words with the prefix cyber- may need a hyphen if they look (even more) hideous without one

Cyprus, northernkeep the lower case in northern, as the “state” is

recognised only by the Turkish government

czaravoid; usual style is tsar; there seems no obvious reason to make an

exception by allowing the czar form in the context of governmentappointed co-ordinators such as drug czar, mental health czar etc, as we used to. See Tsar

Czech Republicprefer to Czechia; use Czechoslovakia only in the

historic sense. The two countries since their division are the Czech Republicand Slovakia

d abbreviation for died, no full point, eg d 1997. Likewise b for born: b

1906

dad and mum lower case in general context; reserve caps for when it is

clear that that is/was the family name in use. Thus “I told my mum I would be late home” but “I told Mum I would be late home”. Caps for the Bank of Mum and Dad

Dafyddis the correct spelling of the Welsh name. Daffyd Thomas, of

Little Britain, is (perhaps consciously) a variant the Welsh are most unlikely to accept

Dail Eireann(no accents required), the lower house of the Irish

parliament; usually just the Dail (cap D)

Dakarcapital of Senegal; Dhakais the capital of Bangladesh dal prefer to dhal etc for a curry made from lentils or other pulses Dales, the Yorkshirecap; or just the Dales

Dalit, Dalitssynonym (and now generally the preferred term) for

Untouchable(s) in Indian caste system; may be worth explaining at first mention

dam cap in specific names, eg Aswan Dam, Hoover Dam, Pergau Dam,

Three Gorges Dam; (similarly reservoirs: Island Barn Reservoir etc)

danceband, dancefloorone word; dance music, dance lessons, two

Dark Agescaps, but take care: the period after the fall of the Roman

Empire is no longer considered wholly obscure and barbaric and the term is now rarely used by historians

dark net for clarity needs to be two words in refs to the hidden,

anonymous and often sinister regions of the internet. Likewise dark web

Darwin, Charleswrite the title of his great work as On the Origin of

Species(usually omitting the words by Means of Natural Selection)

dashesversatile and often useful to set off a separate thought or mark a

dramatic break — but not to be treated as a lazy alternative to more careful punctuation. One — or two — may be helpful; more will annoy — and confuse. Beware of overuse

datastrictly plural, and still treated as such by eg scientists, whose

preference may be respected when required. Common usage, however, which on the whole we may as well follow, now tends to treat as a mass noun with a singular verb

databank, database

date line two words as shorthand for the international date line

date rapebeware of this phrase, which trivialises an unpleasant crime; in

many cases the intended meaning is drug rape(involving, eg the spiking of a victim’s drink with narcotics such as Rohypnol)

datesMonday, April 18, 1994 (never 18th April); but April 1994. When

citing periods of years, say 1992-93 (not 1992-3); for the turn of the century/millennium, write 1999-2000, then 2000-01, 2003-09 etc. If using “from”, you need “to”; eg from 1939 to 1941 (not from 1939-41); for decades, the Forties, Eighties, Nineties, upper case (or 1940s, 1980s, 1990s); not the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s. For decades in people’s ages, lower case; “she was in her forties, eighties, nineties” etc). Common usage says that the 20th century/millennium ended on December 31, 1999, even if some readers (obsessively, and no doubt rightly) disagree

da Vinci, LeonardoLeonardo for short, not da Vinci; but note The Da

Vinci Codefor the book and the film

Dayupper case in Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Easter Day, Thanksgiving

Day, New Year’s Day etc

DayGlocaps, no longer hyphen, proprietary

day oneas in “it’s been happening since day one”; ugly usage anyway, so

best avoided

days/monthsif abbreviated, and only in listings etc, not in general body

copy, use three-letters for all: Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun; Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

daytimebut night-time

day trader, day tradingno need to hyphenate day trip but day-tripper

D-Day was on June 6, 1944; it seems to need a hyphen, where VE Day and

VJ Day do not

deaf refer to “deaf people”, not “the deaf”; deaf and dumbavoid this

phrase, which is nowadays deemed offensive. Likewise, avoid deaf mute. The best alternative to either phrase is profoundly deaf; deafblindno hyphen, unable to hear or see

deal with denounced in a Timesstyle guide half a century ago as “perhaps

the dreariest verb in the language, a colourless substitute for some better word for which the writer has not taken the trouble to look”; that now seems harsh, but better words may still be worth looking for

deathpeople die, and we must say so. Write simply that someone has died;

never use horrid genteelisms (“passed on”, “passed away”, “passed”) unless unavoidable in direct quotes

deathbedno hyphen, one word, as sickbed

death row(as in American prisons), lower case; hyphen as adjective,

death-row campaigner

debacleaccents unnecessary debatableprefer to debateable

debate US usage allows eg two politicians to debate each other; English

usage still prefers them to debate something with each other

debut(no accent) is most widely understood as a noun; avoid using it as a

verb, not least because it looks nasty when conjugated (debuted?); instead write, eg “He made his debut … ”

decadesuse either the Sixties or the 1960s (similarly as adjectives); not

60s or ’60s. For people’s ages use lower case, ie “I am in my fifties” etc. See dates

decimalsdo not mix decimals and fractions in the same story

decimateby strict etymology might mean to kill one in ten; it is now more

widely used (to the annoyance of zealots) as a non-specific indication of heavy casualties or damage. Opportunities to write about the killing of precisely one in ten being fairly rare, there is no compelling reason to resist the more general use

deckchairas armchair (no hyphens) decorno accent

de, da, du, van, von, del, della, di, le, laetcin people’s names, keep

the honorific lower case after first mention if that is how the name is written: da Vinci, de Gaulle, von Ribbentrop, but eg De Niro and DiCaprio. Of course, at the start of a sentence you will have to cap it either way. Cap Van etc in Dutch names when surname alone is given, as in Van Gogh, but lower case when used in full, eg Vincent van Gogh.

Note Ludwig van Beethoven (not von), although the composer was German. Usage dictates that some people drop the honorific, such as (Guy de) Maupassant

Deep Southcaps seem clearer for this geographical and cultural region of

the US

de factoroman

defecaterather than defaecate

definite articledo not omit, tabloid-fashion, when adding descriptions in

front of names; so write eg the film star Greta Garbo, the industrialist Alfred Krupp, the Chelsea forward Timo Werner, the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Use common sense, however, when the description comes after the name; the article may seem clumsy and will rarely be needed, eg Lord Faulks, chairman of the press regulator Ipso; JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels etc.

The modish tendency of cultural institutions to drop the definite article from their names in corporate branding seems now almost universal: Tate, V&A, Southbank Centre, Arnolfini, Royal Festival Hall etc. There is not a great deal to be done about this, but there is no need to embrace it with any enthusiasm. If it feels more natural to refer to “the Tate” or “the Festival Hall”, then do so

defusemeans to remove the fuse from, or reduce tension in an emergency

etc; never confuse with diffuse, which means to spread in all directions, scatter etc, or (as adjective) verbose, not concise, spread over a large area etc

degrees(educational) a bachelor’s, a master’s, a first, a second, an upper

second(a 2:1), a lower second(a 2:2), a third etc. Abbreviations as follows: doctorates of literature (or letters), DLit, DLitt, LitD etc; Oxford and York have DPhil instead of the more usual PhD. Oxford has DM for the more usual MD. Cambridge has ScD for doctor of science. No full points in degrees

degrees(weather) omit degree sign in temperatures, eg 38C 68F déjà vuaccents but not italic

deliver, deliveryperfect for babies, newspapers, milk on the doorstep,

but beware meaningless overuse in government and business jargon and management-speak, eg “delivering positive outcomes” or “the key indicators of delivery are moving in the right direction”. The word has become a cliché, so always try to think of an alternative and to convey what is actually meant; eg promises are kept, policies are implemented, public services are provided, improvements are made

demisestrictly means the death of a person, or the failure of an enterprise

or institution. Keep to these definitions and do not use to describe a fall from office or from grace

Democratic Party(US) or the Democrats. Democratic is normally the

preferable adjective to Democrat; note the Democratic convention

demonstrationdo not shorten to demo except in direct quotes demonstratorthus

denouement no accent

denydoes not mean the same as rebut(which means argue to the contrary,

producing evidence), or refute (which means to win such an argument); show that you understand the difference

dependantnoun, eg “a man with no dependants”; dependent, adj, eg “a

man dependent on his family” (dependent is also standard for the noun in US usage and is increasingly becoming so in English, but it seems a shame to lose a perfectly good word; we should try to preserve the distinction)

deprecate to disapprove of, deplore; depreciategenerally to diminish in

value. Because most people do not really deplore or disapprove of themselves and because depreciate may also mean disparage or belittle, Fowler prefers self-depreciation to self-deprecation. A generation of schoolmasters seems to have taught that he was right, but to follow him and them at this remove seems pedantic and perverse, and it baffles almost all readers: self-depreciationjust looks like a mistake; write selfdeprecation, even if you have to grit your teeth

Depression, thecap for the 1930s economic slump

deputy prime ministersimilarly, deputy governor of the Bank of

England, lower case

deputy speakerlower case; there are several of them in parliament, and

the meaning will always be clear (but the Speakergets a cap for clarity)

Derry generally use Londonderry; but Derry city council, and Derry when

in direct quotes or in a specifically republican context

de rigueurroman; spell it right, not de rigeur

descendantabsolutely not to be confused with an ancestor, as sometimes

— inexplicably — seems to happen; also to be distinguished from a mere successor, eg when writing about monarchs

desktop(computer, publishing), no hyphen

despiteperfectly acceptable, and virtuously shorter, alternative to in spite

of. But do not say “despite the fact that”; use althoughinstead

despoil means pillage, plunder, ravage; it is not a more exciting word for

spoil; note despoiled (not despoilt); despoliationor despoilment(not despoilation)

détenteaccent

Deutsche BankGerman commercial bank not to be confused with the

Deutsche Bundesbank, or Bundesbank, the German central bank

deutschemark/deutschmarkprefer not to use either form, nor D-mark.

Use simply the mark, or with figures, DM500 (all now in historical contexts)

Devil, the(cap); but devils (many, lower case), devilish, devil-may-care

devolutionbeware of writing about developments in eg health, education

or housing as if they apply to the whole of the UK when they do not; powers in these fields are devolved and policies may not be the same in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. There’s no need for laborious explanation every time, but the addition somewhere of the two words “in England” (if that’s what is meant) will be enough to head off most complaints

Devon write north Devon, south Devon (lower case) for these

geographical and postal areas

dextrousprefer to dexterous

diabetes type 1, type 2etc, no cap, no hyphen

diagnosestrictly speaking illnesses are diagnosed, patients are not. Thus it

is better to write “He had cancer diagnosed” than “He was diagnosed with cancer”. The latter is now in common use, however, and is perfectly acceptable if the alternative seems awkward

Diana, Princess of Waleswas in her lifetime at first mention always

thus in The Times; subsequently the princess. Twenty-five years on from her death, however, the formulation Princess Diana, once eschewed as “tabloid”, may well be one of the clearer and less cumbersome ways to make passing reference to her when the need arises; use it if it seems helpful. Princess Di or Lady Di remain more or less banned (except in reported speech). Say the late princesswhere appropriate. Note the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund(one comma only)

diarrhoeathus

diasporano need to cap

diceuse as both singular and plural except in eg “the die is cast”, which

should generally be confined to quotations

Dictaphoneis a trade name and must be capped didgeridoo

dieprefer to write “to die of eg cancer” rather than “to die from … ” diehardno hyphen

dieticiannow the much more common form; prefer to dietitian

different fromprefer to different to, although, paceFowler et al, there is

no need to make a fetish of this; avoid the Americanism “different than”. Likewise, differ from

dignitaries

diktat

dilatedilation means normal widening, as in pupils of the eye; dilatation is

widening by force, as in child abuse cases. Take care

Dinky Toyscap T (trademark), but Dinky on its own can be sufficient

dioceselower case both for a specific organisation such as the diocese of

Chichester and in general use; also lower case diocesan

diphtheria, diphthong note ph

Diplock court a non-jury court (named after the judge Lord Diplock)

used in Northern Ireland to try terrorist cases during the Troubles; abolished in 2007

diplomatic servicelower case, as civil service

directly, direct adverbs with long histories. In most senses use directly;

reserve direct for meaning “straight in direction or aspect, without deviation”, eg “the taxi took him direct to the airport”; or “without intermediaries”, eg “she appealed direct to the mayor”. Always use directly before an adjective, eg “directly liable”. Directly has a temporal as well as a spatial sense; it may mean immediately or at once (eg “I’ll do it directly”). It would be a pity to see this latter usage disappear altogether, but be aware that it will strike some readers as quaint and the meaning may sometimes be unclear (as in eg “I’ll go there directly”)

directives(in EU) lower case even when naming specific regulations, eg

the European working time directive

director-general lower case, of the BBC, CBI, Institute of Directors, Fair

Trading and the regulatory bodies etc

director of public prosecutions(DPP)

Directory Enquiriesthe operator-assisted number-finding service may

have been styled thus in the days when telephones were the monopoly of the GPO but, except in specific historical references, we should now follow our usual style and refer generally to directory inquiries, directory inquiry servicesetc

disc(musical, recording, or shape, eg disc jockey, compact disc, disc

brake); but disk in some computing senses, eg disk drive, floppy disk. In general, non-technical contexts, eg when reporting the loss of government data that had been kept on CD (as once it was), write disc

disabled common usage changes quickly, so take care. Beware the

offensive use of medical metaphors and the lazy misapplication of terms

relating to physical or mental health; beware too the more absurdly patronising euphemisms, eg differently abled, but note eg that as an antonym non-disabledmay now often be preferred to able-bodied. Above all be sensitive

discerniblenot -able

discomfittake care with this verb; it means primarily to thwart, defeat or

rout, but by extension can mean thoroughly to embarrass or disconcert (noun discomfiture). It has no connection with the much weaker discomfort, which means to deprive of comfort or make uneasy

discreetmeans tactful, circumspect (noun discretion); discrete means

individually distinct (noun discreteness)

disinterestedmeans impartial, unbiased (noun disinterest). It seems a

shame to use it interchangeably with uninterested, which means having a lack of interest; such usage is now widespread, but there is no reason to encourage it. When Gordon Brown, as prime minister, said in the House of Commons (February 11, 2009) that “the Conservative Party seems to have a huge disinterest in the environment”, he sacrificed a useful distinction and wasted a valuable word

disorientatenot disorient

dispatchnot despatch, including dispatch box dissociate not disassociate

distil, distilled, distillation

divorcee (no accent) for both men and women Diwalithe Hindu festival of lights

DIYno need to spell out do-it-yourself at first mention

D-noticean official request to news editors not to publish items on

specific subjects for reasons of national security. In 1993 they were renamed DA-notices(defence advisory notices), and since 2015 they have been DSMA-notices(defence and security media advisory notices), but the earlier, more familiar name is widely used and understood. There are five standing notices intended to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of classified or sensitive information relating to defence and security. They cover military operations, plans & capabilities; nuclear & non-nuclear weapon systems & equipment; military counter-terrorist forces, special forces and intelligence agency operations, activities and communication methods and techniques; physical property and assets; and personnel and their families who work in sensitive positions. The system is voluntary; the notices are advisory and have no legal force

doa good word; use it

doberman breed of dog; more fully, doberman pinscher(lower case) Docklandsin London, docklandselsewhere

doctorprefer to confine the title Dr to medical practitioners. If a person

has a doctorate in a non-medical subject from a reputable institution and wishes to be known as Dr Hilary Smith (Smith at subsequent mentions) he or she may be so titled in The Times, particularly in contexts (eg science or education reports) where academic qualifications and expertise have relevance; ideally, in such circumstances, indicate what the doctorate is in. On the whole, however, there is little to be said for a German-style flourishing of doctorates in public life, and we should resist

Doctor Whothe television programme goes in italics but the time

travelling protagonist is called simply the Doctor (not Doctor Who) with a cap D and in roman

docusoap, docudramaetc (no hyphens) dogfightas bullfight, cockfight etc

dogswe like dogs, but we are not the Kennel Club. As in most other areas,

we should aim to keep capitals to a minimum:

Capitalise proper nouns (or adjectives derived from them) when used as modifiers in the name of dog breeds: German shepherd, Irish wolfhound, Afghan hound, Basset hound, French bulldog, Airedale terrier, Sealyham terrier, West Highland terrier, Yorkshire terrier, Jack Russell terrier, American pitbull, Rhodesian ridgeback, St Bernard etc; also capitalise any additional qualifying adjective that forms part of the name: Old English sheepdog, Great Dane, Cavalier King Charles spanieletc; lower case the accompanying common noun (dog, spaniel, terrier, hound etc).

However, where an adjective derived from a proper noun is in everyday use as the one-word name of a familiar breed, then it may be treated as a common noun and should be lower case: alsatian, dalmatian, labrador, chihuahua, pekinese, doberman, rottweiler, weimaraneretc.

Generally, all other breed names lower case: poodle, whippet, boxer, border collie, greyhound, dachshund, corgi, pointer, setter, golden retriever, schnauzer, pug, foxhound.

This should also work for cats

dog whistlenoun; dog-whistle(hyphen) for adjective, eg dog-whistle

politics, and verb

dollarswith figures use $5 (when American), A$5 (Australian), C$5

(Canadian), S$5 (Singapore) and so on. Beware: in some South American countries (Argentina and Chile among them) the $ sign is used to represent the peso

doll’s house(not dolls’) Dolly the sheeplower case s

Domesday Bookroman, like Magna Carta; but doomsday in general or

biblical sense

dominatrixplural (should you need it) dominatrices

Dominican Republic neighbour to Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.

Dominica is one of the Windward Islands. Both are sovereign states

dominoes but note Derek and the Dominos, the band formed by Eric

Clapton

donas in to put on clothing — “he donned his jacket and tie” —is a corny

and outdated expression far removed from ordinary speech. Avoid it

donategiveor presentmay be preferable

doppelgنngerghostly duplicate of a living person. Note lower case and

roman, anglicised version of German Doppelgنnger

do’s and don’tsugly, inconsistent, but clear and understood; the

alternatives seem worse

dotcomno hyphen for colloquial reference to internet companies, eg the

dotcom bubble

-dottirno accent on the Icelandic female surname suffix double bassthe instrument

double entendreplural double entendres, roman

doveishnot dovish, a rare instance (cf ageing) where we prefer the middle

downavoid unnecessary use after verbs, as in close down, shut down. See

Downing Street write 10 Downing Street(or 11 …), or simply No 10;

note Downing Street policy unit

downmarketno hyphen, as upmarket downplay prefer play down

Down’s syndromenever say mongol and note lower case s for syndrome.

(Some campaigners now prefer Down syndrome to Down’s. This may be standard usage in the US, but it has yet to achieve wide currency in the UK and will puzzle readers if used.)

down to a Tthus, but best avoided

downtowna North American term, and now somewhat Antipodean as

well, for the central or lower part of a city, especially the main commercial area. Do not use inappropriately, except for deliberate comic effect. The phrase downtown Manhattan is meaningful, given the geography and culture, but downtown Walsall and downtown Baghdad, for example, are not

down under lower case, as a colloquialism for Australasia (especially

Australia)

drachmasnot drachmae (now historical contexts) draconianlower case

draftsman(legal), but draughtsman(art, design)

drama, dramaticbest confined to the theatrical context; in news reports

resist the tendency to turn any event into a drama and to make every development dramatic (the latter a fairly dismal cliché anyway); readers can decide these things for themselves

dreadnought

dreamtnot dreamed

drieris the comparative of dry; dryer is the noun, as in tumble dryer drilyprefer to dryly

drink-drive, drink-driver, drink-drivingthe legal alcohol levels in

England, Wales and Northern Ireland are: blood, 80 milligrams per 100ml; breath, 35 micrograms per 100ml; urine, 107 milligrams per 100ml. The levels in Scotland are: blood, 50 milligrams per 100ml; breath, 22 micrograms per 100ml; urine, 67 milligrams per 100ml. See

alcohol

driversno hyphens in taxi driver, bus driver, car driveretc drop a bombshellavoid, always

dropoutnoun or adjective, as in students; drop-out(rugby); and todrop

out(verb)

drug dealer, drug dealing, drug smuggler, drug smuggling,

drug takingdrug (singular) and no hyphens as nouns; but hyphenate adjectives, eg a drug-dealing cartel, a drug-smuggling gang

drug namescap trade name, eg Valium; lower case generic name, eg

diazepam

drugsdo not confuse narcotics (which include cocaine and heroin) with

other illicit drugs such as cannabis, LSD and amphetamines

druid(s)no cap

dry clean, dry cleaners, dry cleaningetc drystone wall

dualof two, eg dual carriageway; duel(fight)

dual nationalstry to avoid this officialspeak for people with dual

nationality

Duchess of Yorkshe ceased to be a member of the royal family upon her

divorce in 1996 and assumed the style of Sarah, Duchess of York. After first mention, refer to the duchess(lower case), or just to Sarah Ferguson. Columnists and feature writers (not news reporters) may have occasional recourse to Fergieif it suits their purposes

duct tape two words

Dutch another of those adjectives from proper nounds that looks more

natural with a capital letter, even in idioms where a connection with the Netherlands now seems remote or obscure: Dutch courage, Dutch bungalow, go Dutch etc

due to in an ideal world we might use “due” only as an adjective and insist

on attaching it always to a noun. So we would write eg “His absence was due to illness” and never “He was absent due to illness”. The latter usage, beloved of railway announcers, treats “due to” as a compound preposition equivalent to “because of” or “owing to”. It may offend purists, but it is widely used and easily understood; there is no reason to take elaborate measures to avoid it

duffel bag, duffel coat

Duke of Edinburghthe duke (lower case) or Prince Philip after first

mention; only the Queen retains her cap at second mention; other royals follow style for aristocracy

Duma Russian parliament; cap similar names when used, eg Dail, Knesset dumpdo not use as synonym of dismissor sack

Durham say Co Durham for the county and (if any question of ambiguity)

Durham city for the city

Dutchlooks more natural capped even in idioms where connection with

the Netherlands is now remote: Dutch courage, Dutch bungalow, go Dutch

duty-freehyphenated, noun or adjective

dwarfas plural write dwarfs (not JRR Tolkien’s affectation dwarves);

avoid politically correct circumlocutions such as “person of restricted growth”

dyke(embankment), not dike

dysenterynot, eg dysentry or disentery dyspepsia

each, every (one)although singular, there is a growing tendency to use

them with plural pronouns, as the plural is increasingly becoming a way of saying “he or she”, or “his or her”. Hence, “everyone has what they want”, “each of us has our secrets”, but “everyone has secrets”. We must learn to live with this

earlierthis word is often redundant, because the tense of the verb says it

all; similarly, later

early hoursthe phrase “in the early hours of the morning” can usually be

shortened to “the early hours” or, better, “early yesterday/today”

earnednever earnt, which is a formation not recognised by reputable

dictionaries

earringno hyphen

Earls Court no apostrophe, even though the signs at the Underground

station have one

earthcap in astronomical sense and when clearly referring to the planet

(life on Earth, first man to orbit the Earth etc); lower case for the soil and generally in idioms; down to earth, back to earth with a bump etc

earthquakecan abbreviate to quake especially in headings. See Richter

scale

east, eastern etc, almost always lower case

East End, West Endof London; but east, west, north, south, central

London; also outer London, inner London (but historically the Inner London Education Authority, ILEA). Greater London probably needs a cap for clarity.

Note that the East End is generally confined to four postal districts: E1 (Whitechapel, Wapping, Stepney, Mile End), E2 (Bethnal Green, Shoreditch), E3 (Bow, Bromley-by-Bow), E14 (Limehouse, Poplar, Millwall, Isle of Dogs). Note, too, that SW1 includes Westminster, Whitehall and Belgravia; the SW code does not mean these central districts are in “southwest London”

EastEndersthe TV soap opera; an Eastender, someone from the East End

Easter Day(or Easter Sunday) is the Sunday between Good Fridayand

Easter Monday. But note that the Saturday before Easter Day is Holy Saturday(not Easter Saturday, which is the Saturday after Easter). The week leading up to Easter Day is Holy Week; the week after is Easter Week. This may be a lost cause, but it is worth trying to get it right

eastern Europelower case; similarly now eastern Germanyfor what was

East Germany before reunification

easygoingone word

eau de parfumplural eaux de parfum; likewise, eau de vie, plural eaux

de vie

eBayavoid at the start of a sentence, as it looks especially strange

typographically, but if there is no alternative then write eBay in that context as in others. It is also permissible to write eBay thus at the start of a headline, but try to avoid. Apply these rules to similarly familiar trademark global brands such as iPod, iPhone etc. See company names

ebitdaearnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; where

possible spell out at first mention; try not to inflict this one on the general reader anyway, and certainly not without explanation

ebola lower case the virus, even though it takes its name from the Ebola, a

river in the Democratic Republic of Congo

ebook andemail thus, but generally use a hyphen in these e-words, as

they tend to be difficult to read and pronounce without: e-cigarette, epetition, e-mediation, e-arbitration. Much will depend on familiarity and common use, however, and this may change; email was once inconceivable without a hyphen and now looks quite odd with

ECmust NOT be used as an abbreviation for the European Commission in text or headlines. EC remains the short form only of the European Community, although in almost all contexts now EU is preferred

eco-friendly sense is helped by the hyphen in this adjective. A hyphen

also makes most of the eco- compound noun coinages less hideous and easier to understand: eco-hotel, eco-region, eco-species, eco-terrorist, eco-town, eco-tourist, eco-type, eco-warrior. Two established exceptions are ecosphere, ecosystem; others may lose their hyphens in time

E. coli(italics in text, but roman and no point in headlines); in full,

Escherichia coli. Note the O157 strain (letter O, not a zero)

ecommerce

Ecstasy(cap) the drug Ecuadoreannot -ian

ecumenicalnot oecumenical (including the Ecumenical Patriarch of

Constantinople, should he come up)

editingbe wary of overediting. It risks making everything in the paper

sound the same and, worse, it may introduce mistakes. Essential facts must be concisely conveyed; style and usage should be consistent and clear. Writers may nonetheless be allowed an individual voice, at least if they have first taken the trouble to check and revise their own work carefully

editorlower case job title at all times, including first mention of editors of

well-known leading publications, such as the editor of The Times, editor

of the Daily Mirror, editor of the Yorkshire Post, editor of The Spectator. Similarly, editor-in-chief

educationistnot educationalist

EEC the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European

Union

effeteis a good word for exhausted, worn out, ineffectual; its use as a

clever-sounding (and unnecessary) synonym for effeminatemay now be too widespread to resist, but there seems no reason to encourage it

egno points; a comma may often be helpful before, eg when used like this,

but it is not always essential; similarly no comma is needed after ie but one may be helpful before

egregiousponderous and overused way of saying very bad. The Times

columnist who described it as “a pseudo-intellectual space-filler of a word … fit only for use by boarding school housemasters or Will Self” had a point

Eid al-Adha literally the festival of sacrifice, marking the end of the

annual pilgrimage, the haj, to Mecca. Write Eid al-Adha in full at first mention, not simply Eid

Eid al-Fitrliterally the festival of fast-breaking, marking the end of the

fast of Ramadan. Write Eid al-Fitr in full at first mention, not simply Eid. (When Eid alone is written, this is usually the festival that is meant)

Eiredo not use except in quotes and historical context

eisteddfodlower case except when naming a particular one in full, eg the

International Eisteddfod at Llangollen; plural eisteddfodau

eithertakes a singular verb when both subjects are embraced: “Either is

good enough”

eke, eking

elbowroomone word; similarly, headroom, legroom

elderly, aged, old be extremely sensitive in the use of these words.

People are living longer and remaining active longer; many dislike being described in language that makes them sound older than they feel. As a guide, never use any of these words for anyone under pensionable age, and be aware that there are many over this age for whom “elderly” is not a remotely appropriate adjective. For almost all those under 70, perhaps even under 80, a safer, less loaded alternative might be “older people”. See pensioners, retiree

-electhyphenate, lower case, as in “Joe Biden, the president-elect of the

United States” in the period between the election and the inauguration

electoral collegeno need for cap in US election context

electrocardiographsare machines for measuring heart function;

electrocardiograms are the tracings made by them

electrocutemeans to kill by electric shock, not merely to suffer an electric

shock

Elgin Marblescaps when named in full; at subsequent mentions, the

marbles

elicitmeans to evoke, bring to light, or draw out; never confuse with illicit

(unlawful, forbidden)

eliteroman, no accent ellipsessee punctuation

embarkationprefer to embarcation, unless writing French. You embark

in(not on) a ship

embarrass(ment)but note the French embarras de choix, embarras de

richesses

embassylower case, eg the French embassy in Rome, thereafter the

embassy

émigréroman, two accents éminence griseroman, accent Emmysplural of the Emmy awards

emphasiseno longer any preference for this to the shorter stressin

phrases such as “he emphasised the importance”, “she emphasised that the ruling was final”; “he/she stressed etc” is also fine

empirecap as in British or Roman Empire; similarly, cap emperor when a

specific name, eg Emperor Claudius, otherwise, the emperor

employment tribunalshave replaced industrial tribunals. They end with

a judgment or a decision, not a verdict. Only juries in court hearings, or magistrates hearing cases summarily, deliver a verdict, but NB the term remains widely used (and is used by us) for inquests (which strictly end with conclusions). See tribunals

encyclopaedianot the American encyclopedia endgame one word

energy measured in watt-hours etc, whereas power is measured in watts,

megawatts etc, eg a 60W lightbulb. Beware confusing energy and power. See kilowatt-hour, power

engineersrestrict use to white-collar workers with engineering

qualifications; do not use with reference to unqualified mechanics, repairmen, manufacturing workers, platelayers etc. Engineers also dislike

being mistaken for scientists, particularly when it means that scientists get the credit for engineering feats

England, Englishdo not use these when what you mean is Britain,

British

enormitymeans the quality or character of being outrageous, or extreme

wickedness or serious error. It’s worth digging in on this. If you want a word for great size, use immensity; scale will often serve as well

en route not italics

ensignthe white ensign is the ensign of the Royal Navy and the Royal

Yacht Squadron; the red ensign is the British Merchant Navy’s flag; the blue ensign is flown by Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels and by certain yacht clubs. There is no such thing as the royal ensign; however, the royal standard will fly from one of the Queen’s homes when she is there

en suitetwo words, no hyphen, no italics, both as adverb and adjective

ensuremeans to make certain; you insure against risk; you assure your

life. The verb ensure usually needs “that” after it if accompanied by a following verb (eg “he tried to ensure that the policy was adopted”); but omit “that” if followed by a noun (eg “he tried to ensure its success”)

enthral

epicentre the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an

earthquake or underground nuclear explosion. The epicentre cannot be “5km below ground” (that would be the hypocentre or focus). Take care, especially in graphics

epilepticuse only as an adjective, not a noun

eponymousmeans “giving its name to …” so “Hamlet, the eponymous

prince” (ie giving his name to the play) is correct; “Hamlet, the

eponymous play” is wrong; even used correctly, it sounds pompous, so better avoid (see egregious)

Equator(cap), but equatorial in general sense

escalate, escalationavoid these ponderous clichés; say rise, grow, get

worse; transitive use (“I shall escalate your complaint”) should be left to customer services departments

escapersnever escapees

Eskimois now widely regarded as a derogatory term. Use Inuit instead,

except in occasional historical contexts. Note, Inuit is the singular and plural noun

esportsno need for hyphen

-esquerun on the suffix without a hyphen to form an adjective, eg

Kafkaesque; beware of overdoing this

establishmentgenerally may be lower case in references to the perceived

leaders of society, the establishment, unless (rarely) a capital seems helpful to clarify meaning (eg in the unlikely event of needing to write that “the Savoy Grill is an establishment much favoured by the Establishment”). Always lower case in the medical establishment, the legal establishment etc and in reference to the establishment of the Church of England; anti-establishmentalso lower case, as it is clear enough what it means

estuarylower case Thames estuary, Severn estuary, estuary English Eta(not ETA), the Basque separatist organisation

“ethnic cleansing”use quotation marks in writing this euphemism for

the enforced removal of people from a place based on their ethnicity

eticket another unhyphenated eword, ugly but generally understood

Eucharistcap

EU referendum on June 23, 2016the question posed was not one

requiring a “yes” or “no” vote, and reference to such should be avoided. In referring to a vote for Remain or Leave, render it thus, capped and with no quote marks: eg “he was campaigning for Remain but switched to the Leave camp”

euro the European single currency takes lower case (as franc, pound, mark,

peseta etc), as do all compounds derived from it; compounds derived from Europe rather than the euro (eg Eurosceptic) are upper case

eurocheques,eurobondslower case, no hyphen

eurolandlower case, vernacular term for European single currency area;

also eurozone

Europewestern, eastern, central, northern, southern (all lower case, except

geopolitical Eastern, Western in historical Cold War context). Geographically at least, Europe includes the British Isles, so do not use the name unthinkingly as equivalent to the Continent or a synonym for the EU. Use common sense, however. Prefer to say that Britain exports to the rest of Europe, or to the EU; but if you say you spend your holidays in Europe, no one will think you’re talking about Skegness

European arrest warrant

European Commissioncap when naming in full. Otherwise lower case

when adjectival, eg a commission ruling; the commission ruled; the commissionercan be lower case even when referring to a specific person (eg Margrethe Vestager, the competition commissioner; thereafter, the commissioner). The president of the European Commission is lower case

European courtstake great care not to confuse EU and non-EU

institutions; the European Court of Human Rights is not an EU body

European Economic Area (EEA)the European tariff-free zone,

comprises all the members of the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Other EU-EEA areas of co-operation include education, research, environment, consumer policy and tourism

European parliamentlower case parliament; also lower case members

of the European parliament (MEPs), or Euro MPs

European Union (EU), European Community (EC)the first is the

preferred phrase except where the context is trade. If we have to use the Union, it should be capped for clarity, but wherever possible use EU. Use Common Marketand EEC (the European Economic Community) only in historical context

Eurosceptic(not hyphenated), and similarly cap Europhobia, Europhiles

etc; compounds derived from Europe take a cap; those from the currency (euro) lower case

Eurotunnel(one word) is the company that owns and operates the

Channel tunnel. Eurostar operates the passenger trains that run through the tunnel. Note that Eurotunnel trainscarry cars, coaches and lorries through the tunnel between Folkestone and Calais only; they run a shuttle service and although the logo of Le Shuttle still appears on their locomotives, their formal name is Eurotunnel trains

Eurovision Song Contestcaps

eurozone the single currency area. See also euroland

euthanasiabe aware that mercy killingis a loaded euphemism with which

some readers would take issue. Note the assisted dying (lower case) bill as a shorthand for the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill, introduced by Lord Joffe. The organisation Dignity in Dying was formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. If it must be used, prefer euthanase (to euthanise) but otherwise avoid this verb

evangelical(s)keep lower case in general church contexts except when

part of an official title such as the Evangelical Alliance

eve cap in eg Christmas Eve

evensonglower case

eventuateavoid this bad word; use happeninstead

everis rarely necessary; avoid phrases such as best-ever, fastest-ever, and

say simply bestand fastest, qualifying (where appropriate) with yet

ex-prefer formerin most contexts, as in former Yugoslavia, although ex

servicemanis unavoidable, ex-wifeis usual and ex-is generally fine for headlines

examinations11-plus, 7-plus etc; also A-levels, and A-level results etc

(hyphenate as a noun and adjective); also AS-levels, A2s. GCSE, the General Certificate of Secondary Education, need not normally be spelt out

exceptingdo not use when exceptor except foris possible exclamationmarksnearly always unnecessary!!!!!

exclusivedo not overuse with story or interview. A phrase like “in an

interview with The Times” will often be sufficient. Never use with nonexclusives or with stories that no one else would want

excoriating the word that may be meant when coruscating is written ex dividend(not ex-dividend) in financial contexts

executiontake care; as with assassination, do not use as a synonym of

killing or murder. On occasion, the phrase “summary killing” may be

appropriate. Legally, an execution is a judicial killing after due process of law

Executivein the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland contexts, when

used as a noun meaning the government, a cap may occasionally be required for clarity to distinguish the body from an individual executive person; but lower case when possible (context will usually make meaning clear) and always when adjectival

exhibitionstitles of art exhibitions in italics existinguse presentwhere possible as an alternative ex partelower case, roman, no hyphen

expatriate noun, verb or adjective; not ex-patriate and certainly not

expatriot. The noun is often shortened to expat —it does not take a hyphen

expertif someone is eg a lawyer, then avoid writing the imprecise “legal

expert”; on the other hand, a phrase such as “an expert on constitutional law” could be appropriate and precise. Do not overuse; “experts warn” etc might be all right in headlines or intros but readers deserve to be told very early in the story just who these vague “experts” are and in what their expertise consists. See research shows that …

extinctmeans, of an animal or plant species, having no living

representative; having died out. Biologists do talk of local extinctions, ie when a species has died out in a particular habitat, and we can follow that usage, eg “The creature is extinct in Britain.” In the UK context, the smallest area specified would normally be a county. More generally, extinction means the total elimination of a species worldwide, eg the dodo

extramaritalno hyphen; similarly, extramural, extracurricular,

extrasensory etc

extra virgin olive oilno need for a hyphen between the first two words

exuberant(not exhuberant), but exhilarate, exhort etc

eye of a stormdo not refer tautologically to “the calm in the eye of the

storm”; also note that the eye, as a quiet area, is a singularly inappropriate metaphor for a focus of high activity or frenetic action

eye to eyeno hyphens adverbially, as in “seeing eye to eye”; but

hyphenate eye-to-eye should you ever contrive to use it adjectivally

eyeing

façadeuse the cedilla

faceliftuse sparingly in its metaphorical sense, where it has become

overworked. Fine in its cosmetic context, of course

facemask thus; face covering, or just mask, may be preferred

face-off ugly, overused Americanism for confrontation(with face off the

unappealing verb)

faceted, facetingprefer single t factsheet

fact thatoften — perhaps almost always — an unnecessary

circumlocution, so avoid (eg “owing to the fact that” means because)

FA Cup, FA Cup final

Fairtrade(one word, cap) referring to the mark sanctioned by the

Fairtrade Foundation on goods; fair trade(lower case, two words) for the general concept

fairytaleno hyphen

falangistin Spain, phalangist in Lebanon

Falklands conflict, thelower case, long the preferred formula because

war was never formally declared; this was an important point at the time, but seems less so now; if the word war is to be used, as it often and acceptably now is, write Falklands war (lower case)

fallacystrictly means a faulty argument, not an erroneous belief

fallback(noun) one word, but fall back(verb) fallopian tubeslower case

fallout(noun) one word

fall pregnantavoid this phrase, which suggests illness; write become

pregnant

family one of the collective nouns that is preferable as a plural, eg “the

family are rearranging their holiday”. Likewise, use the plural for couple, music bands and groups, the public, sports teams.

Beware when using “families” to break down big numbers and humanise the impact of government policies (budgets, tax changes etc); by all means explain what a financial measure “will cost every family”, but first make sure that every family will actually have to pay; using families as a synonym for households or people understandably annoys the many readers who live alone

Farc (not FARC), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

Far Eastencompasses the following: China, Hong Kong, Japan, North

and South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Taiwan; cap the region for clarity

farmers’ market

fartherprefer further now in all contexts. Farther was applied to distance

(literal or, less often, figurative) with further used to mean in addition to, another, more,eg “a further argument against consistency”. The distinction has eroded to the point where there’s no point trying to preserve it; farther just tends to look odd. See further

fascianot facia

fascism, fascistcap only in a specific party political sense. More

generally, eg as a term of abuse, always lower case

fat catno quotation marks, no hyphen. Hyphenate as modifier, eg fat-cat

salaries

Father(as in priest), prefer to avoid the ugly abbreviation Fr before a

name; be aware that some Anglican clergy like to be known as Father; do not assume that everyone so called is a Roman Catholic priest

father of two, mother of threeno hyphens. Do not define people by

their relationships unequally: do not say “a mother of two was jailed” where you would not say “a father of two …”; do not say “a grandmother was attacked” — she may be no older than 40

Father’s Daynot Fathers’

fatwa(not italic), a Muslim religious edict, not a sentence of punishment;

it is not synonymous with a death sentence

fault lower case in geological context even when referring to a specific

fault in the Earth’s crust, eg San Andreas fault; also note fault line(two words)

Fed, the(US) say Federal Reserve (Board not usually necessary) at first mention; keep upper case for clarity; lower case the chairman of the Fed, as with governor of the Bank of England, president of the Bundesbank etc

fed upwith may be preferable to the more informal of, but both are widely

used and understood

feelgood factorno need for quotes (but a phrase best avoided anyway)

fellowlower case even in specific titles such as Dr Arthur Brown, a fellow

of Magdalen, or in the more obvious fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), unless there is a real risk of confusion; in general sense, “a group of fellows in the quadrangle”, “a research fellow”, lower case; keep fellowship lower case

feminine designationssuch as authoress, poetess, sculptress, wardress,

are to be avoided. But actress remains widely accepted (not least by most actresses) and should be used

feng shuitwo words, roman ferris wheel

Festival Hall, the prefer to use Royal when first (or formally) naming the

venue; fine to drop the adjective subsequently or in informal use; resist the Americanising tendency (promoted by the venue’s management) to drop the “the”

festivals use capitals for the full names of festivals, eg the Edinburgh

International Festival, Reading Festival, otherwise lower case, eg the Edinburgh festival, Cheltenham festival (racing, literature) etc; after first mention, the festival (lower case)

fêtewith accent

fewerin number, and generally with plural nouns (fewer people; fewer

goals, fewer pointless rules); lessin size or quantity, and with singular nouns (less confusion; less meat, less work). Treat duration, distance etc like size, ie use less: the thing being measured is singular (time, space) even if the units (years, miles) are plural; they were married for less than five years; Canary Wharf is less than three miles from Wapping. This is an area where prescriptive zeal should not trump common sense and an ear for what sounds natural and right; so that’s one less thing to worry about

fiancé(man), fiancée(woman)

Fianna Fail, Fine Gaelthe Irish political parties Fide(not FIDE), the world chess body

Fifa the governing body of world football, the Fédération Internationale de

Football Association

Field of Cloth of Gold, the (not the Field of the Cloth of Gold); cloth of

gold is a material

fiftywrite 50-50 chance; note Fifties (cap) for the decade, but “she was in

her fifties” (age, lower case, not 50s)

fighting for his/her lifeavoid this cliché. Instead say critically

ill/injured

fig leaftwo words

file sharing(noun), file-sharing(adj) eg a file-sharing program filibusternot fillibuster

Filipinos, Filipinas (women),the Philippines the correct adjective for

that country’s institutions, officials and similar is Philippine, ie the Philippine government, the Philippine president, the Philippine election

filmstitles in italics; note film-maker

film startwo words

final-salary schemewith hyphen

firearmsdo not confuse bullets with shotgun cartridges (containing

pellets); a gunshot wound is markedly different from a bullet wound

fire brigadelower case in general context, but cap specifics, eg Kent Fire

Brigade

firefightshould not be used as a synonym of military skirmish or

exchange of fire; firefighters try to extinguish flames. Note that we should

refer to firefighters rather than firemen, as a substantial number in the fire service are women

fire service lower case, as the ambulance service, civil service, police

service, prison service, probation serviceetc

firing linein military terms, the group doing the shooting, with their

targets being in the line of fire. In common usage, the strict sense of firing line is almost never needed and the distinction is now quite lost; there seems little reason to object

firmpermissible now as a synonym of companyor business, especially in

headlines, but try not to overuse

firstserves as an adverb; avoid firstly. If a list of priorities is essential in a

story, write firstand then prefer second, third etc as the shorter adverbial form. Never say first-ever.

Use first-class(for service, hotel etc) generally including for postage stamps

first aidnoun, no hyphen; but hyphenate when adjectival, eg first-aid

qualifications

first ladyno need for caps even in US context (to which the term should

in any case ideally be restricted)

first world like third world, lower case; both better avoided anyway in

favour of developed/developing world

First World War(not World War One); similarly, Second World War but

World War Three permissible. See wars

fjordnot fiord

flairas in talent, must never be confused with flare, as in fire, fashion etc

flatfisheg brill, dab, megrim, plaice, sole, turbot and other species of bony

fish that are asymmetrical as adults; but write flat fishto describe skates, rays, monkfish and other species, whether cartilaginous or bony, that are symmetrical but compressed dorsoventrally (an adverb worth using, should the opportunity arise)

flat-ownershyphen, but homeowners flat-screen hyphen as in flat-screen television

flauntmeans to make an ostentatious or defiant display, eg “she flaunted

her finery”; to flout is to show contempt for, eg “he flouted the law”. To confuse them is ignorant

flavonoid any of a group of organic compounds that pigment fruit and

flowers

fledglingwithout the second e fleur-de-lysnot lis

flight numberscap in stories where the number of the flight is relevant,

eg Flight 103 (in the Lockerbie disaster), Flight 93 (on 9/11)

flight path two words

floodlighting but floodlit floodwaterone word

flotation(shares), but floatation(tanks) floutnot the same as flaunt

flowerbedone word; also flowerpot

flu(no apostrophe), acceptable for influenza flunkyprefer to flunkey; plural flunkies flyer whether a pilot or a handbill. A high-flyer

flying boat an aircraft that can land only on water, eg a Sunderland; not to

be confused with an amphibian aircraft that also has landing gear, and so can land on terra firma as well as water, eg a Catalina

Flying Squadupper case this one for clarity; but fraud squads, vice

squads, drug squads, crime squads, regional crime squads

fly-tippingthus, with hyphen

focused one s

foetus, foetalnot fetus etc; similarly, foetid not fetid fogey plural fogeys

folk song, folk singer no longer use hyphens followingavoid as a ponderous synonym of after fontprefer in the typographical sense to fount

food and drinkcap proper nouns (or adjectives derived from them) when

they form part of a name; this will give capitals in some places where they may seem fussy or otiose, but it will spare readers the irritation of a lower case letter on words which in themselves (as words) seem naturally to demand a capital: Bakewell tart, Cornish pasty, Eton mess, Lancashire hotpot, Worcestershire sauce, Yorkshire pudding etc; lower case for what have become in English common nouns: hamburger, frankfurter, sandwich etc. See cheeses, wines

foodie

foolproofno hyphen foot-and-mouth disease

for-, fore-the general rule is that the e is added only when the prefix has

the meaning of before. Thus “he forbears (he refrains) from criticising his forebears (his ancestors)”; forgo (go without), forego (go before, as in foregone conclusion). Take particular care with forswear and foresee(able), both frequently misspelt

forced toalways look twice at this phrase: “The police were forced to call

in troops in support …” Is “forced to” giving the correct impression?

forcessay the armed forceswhere possible

foreign appellationsThe Timesno longer routinely uses local honorifics

(M, Mme, Mlle, Herr, Frau etc) or English ones (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr). But occasionally it may be appropriate to use a local title, eg Ayatollah, Begum, Chief, Pandit, Sheikh, General, Bishop, Professor, Baron etc.

NB in Burma, U means Mr, Daw means Mrs; in China, use the first Chinese name as surname, eg Deng Xiaoping becomes Deng at subsequent mentions

foreign immigrationavoid this tautology in stories about movements of

people from one country to another, despite its popularity with those who disapprove of the phenomenon

Foreign Officeprefer this at first and subsequent mentions, reserving its

full title, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for when the context demands it (such as a story in which FCDO crops up in many quotes). Historically, it was the Foreign Office until 1968 (with the Commonwealth Office separate) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2020 (with the Department for International Development

separate); the Foreign Office is still how the combined institution is most commonly known today

foreign placesas a general rule use the spellings in The Times Atlas of the

World, including Chinese place names. However, The Timesretains the anglicised spellings of many familiar (and especially European) cities and countries, such as Brussels, Cologne, Dunkirk, Florence, Geneva, Gothenburg, the Hague, Lyons, Marseilles, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Prague, Rheims, Rome, Venice, Warsaw and so on. These are simply stylistic preferences, not expressions of any world view. Be aware that our practice in this area remains always under review, and may change; there was a time, not so very long ago, when we happily wrote of Brunswick and Leghorn

foreign wordswrite in roman when foreign words and phrases have

become essentially a part of the English language. Retain accents on such words when they affect pronunciation or meaning. Unfamiliar foreign words should be in italics, translated in brackets if necessary. Avoid pretension: use an English phrase wherever one will serve. Beware the temptation to overload even travel pieces with the local names for things; a little exotic colour goes a long way

forensic means pertaining to the courts. A forensic expert could be a

solicitor or a biochemist; make your meaning clear by writing forensic scientist, forensic medicineetc. Prefer not to use forensics as a shorthand for forensic science tests or the like. This is almost a lost cause, but not one that should be given up

for evermeans always; forever means continually (eg “we are forever

getting them confused”)

for freeresist if possible this illogical if popular construction of

preposition and adjective. “For cheap” or “for expensive” would not be contemplated. You should generally be able to get by with just free (adjective); if not, prefer for nothing (preposition and noun), without charge, at no cost etc; you will be in a minority, but you will be right

forklift truck

formerit is better not to describe someone as “the former something” if, at

the time under discussion, they still were whatever it was. So, in less abstract terms, Tony Blair is better described not as “the former prime minister who led Britain to war in Iraq” but as “the prime minister who led Britain to war in Iraq”; what matters is that he was prime minister then, not that he is no longer prime minister now. Similarly, it makes more sense to say that “Chris Huhne’s wife took driving licence penalty points on his behalf” than to say it was “his former wife”; he and Vicky Price have since divorced, but they were still married at the time of the offence. This may seem an unnecessary fuss — in most cases it will be perfectly clear to the reader what is meant — but the extra precision then allows us to make a small but occasionally useful distinction in referring eg to “the assassination of the former prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi” (prime minister from 1984 to 1989, he had left office by the time he was killed in 1991)

formulaplural usually formulas, but formulae in mathematical and

scientific contexts

Formula Onecan be F1 at the second mention

for Queen and country, for King and countrycap as the monarch

being served is always specific

for realavoid this ugly, transatlantic cliché. Say what you mean: real,

genuine, in reality,reallyetc

fortuitousdoes not mean fortunate. It means by chance or accidental. Do

not misuse

forumplural forums

four-letter wordsavoid wherever possible. If there is no alternative (eg in direct quotes that are essential to the story) soften them with three asterisks: f***, f***ing, c*** etc. Many readers are less tolerant of

vulgarity than some regular Times columnists would like to believe. See obscenities, racist language, swearing

Fourth Estatefor clarity caps referring to the press in Britain, as part of

the body politic (the first three being the lords temporal, lords spiritual and commons)

Fourth of July or US Independence Day (not 4th)

four-wheel drive(for the power system), but a four-wheel-drive vehicle

foxhunt, foxhunting no hyphens, as foxhound, foxhole, master of

foxhounds(lower case). Note the Hunting Act 2004

fractionsdo not mix fractions, decimals and percentages in the same

story. Compounds such as half-hour, half-dozen etc take a hyphen; half an hour, half a dozen do not. Follow style for whole numbers and write out up to and including ten (only exception is percentages). Hyphenate when fractions are adjectival — “two-thirds full”, “a two-and-a-half-year contract” — but not as nouns — “two thirds of the bus was empty”. Such expressions usually take the plural verb, eg “three quarters of the children prefer horror films”; the same applies even in “a third of the children prefer blancmange”

franclower case for the currency, and abbreviate as, eg Fr40; specify in

historic and other contexts if not French, eg BFr40 (Belgian), SwFr40 (Swiss)

franchisorno longer franchiser; nasty word either way

Frankenstein foodsdo not use this pejorative phrase (or the contraction

Frankenfoods) to describe genetically modified (GM) foods, except in direct quotations

fraud squadlower case

freak wave always treat this phrase with profound scepticism. Coasts can

be dangerous and people may drown because of their lack of familiarity with how big normal waves are. Scientifically, there are such things as freak waves, but they are far less common than landlubberish media reports sensationally suggest. Beware

freebie permissible as colloquialism for a handout, free trip etc; no longer

seems to need inverted commas

free churches, free churchmanetc, lower case these nonconformists,

but cap specific institutions, the Free Church of Scotland, Hampstead Garden Suburb Free Church

Freedom of Information Actspell out in full at first mention,

thereafter simply the act. As a concept, freedom of information may be abbreviated to FoI; the act gives everyone the right to ask any public sector organisation for all recorded information on any subject, known as an FoI request

free fall two words free kick

freemasonry, mason, masonic but the Freemasonsin specific

references

Frenchmany hours could be (and have been) spent attempting to

distinguish beans from fries and windows from horns. Rather than worry about whether something is “really” French or not, and whether it therefore “really” needs a capital letter, it seems simpler to consider that French (as an adjective derived from a proper name) is a word that of itself and in almost every context just looks more natural capped; so cap it

French namesprefer the more anglicised style for street names,

capitalising rue, place etc: Rue Royale, Place de la Victoire, Boulevard des Montagnes. No need to hyphenate place names such as St Malo, St Etienne etc

frescoesnot frescos

freshstale synonym for new freshers weekno apostrophe needed

“friendly fire” this euphemism should be in quotes in headings and at

first mention in copy

Fringe, the Edinburghalways cap to avoid confusion, whether as noun

or adjective (eg a Fringe puppet show on the Royal Mile)

Frisbeecap, unfortunately, as it is a proprietary name; flying disc might be

a rather awkward generic substitute

front bench, the(noun), but frontbencher, frontbench power etc frontline(adjective, as in the frontline states), but the front line(noun) frontmanone word

frontrunner no hyphen

FTSE 100 index(do not hyphenate FT-SE); also FTSE all-share index;

both can be shortened to the FTSE 100 or the FTSE all-share

fuchsiaspelt thus, because named after Leonhard Fuchs, a German

botanist

fuelis becoming a greatly overworked verb, especially in headlines;

always seek alternatives such as raise, increase, add to, drive, even boost

Führernot Fuehrer

Fujiyamaor Mount Fuji, not Mount Fujiyama

fulfil, fulfilment but fulfilled, fulfilling -ful, -fulsso cupfuls, not cupsful

full pointsno need for full points after initials, or space between initials,

whether for individuals or for companies. So FW de Klerk, PJ Harvey, TS Eliot, WG Grace, as well as WH Smith, J Sainsbury, ET the ExtraTerrestrial. See companies, initials

full-time(adj), but full time(noun, as in football)

fulsomebe careful, and sparing, with this word. It is widely (but alas not

universally) held to mean excessive or insincere, rather than lavish or abundant. Many readers will therefore understand “fulsome praise” to be praise that is overdone or hypocritical, when all that the writer may intend is generousor warm. A word so open to misunderstanding (or misuse) may be best avoided altogether. “Fulsome praise” is a dreadful cliché anyway, sincerely meant or not

fundholders(as in NHS)

fundraising, fundraiserno hyphen

furtherprefer to farther now in all senses; the distinction (farther for

distance) is largely lost

furyavoid the temptation to overuse this hyperbolic word, particularly in

the lazy tabloid headline construction “Fury as …” Real “fury” is rarely expressed or intended; anger, irritation or even mild disappointment are more likely responses to most of the things that are written about in this way

fusillade

Gaddafi, Colonel (Muammar)the now dead Libyan leader; Colonel

Gaddafi at second mention. Note spelling, and that he was not president

gadwall a species of duck; plural is gadwalls

gaffis a hook or spar, also slang for a house; gaffe is a blunder or

indiscretion. Note to blow the gaff(let out a secret)

gallonthe US gallon is not the same as the imperial gallon so extra care is

needed when converting American pump prices to British ones. The US gallon is 3.785 litres; the imperial gallon is 4.547 litres

Gambia, the keep the definite article, as part of the country’s official

name

gambitis a technical term in chess, meaning an opening involving a

sacrifice in return for general advantage. Thus “opening gambit” is a tautology (and a pleonasm, and a cliché). Take care with its use as a metaphor, and use sparingly. Note endgame(one word)

game plan

game show, chat show, quiz show, talk showetc. No hyphens for

nouns or adjectival use, eg game show contestant

the gardaiis the formal name by which the Irish police force is generally

known in Ireland. Use this term, lower case, to refer to the force generally or to police officers (plural). An individual officer is a garda. The word garda is sometimes used as an adjective, as in “garda pay reform”, “garda recruitment” etc; use lower case. The phrase Irish police is acceptable

garrotte

gas, gases(noun); gassed, gassing(verbal use) and note gases (not

gasses) for present tense, eg, “doctor gases patient”

gasfield as coalfield, oilfield

gastropub

-gate use, serious or jocular, of this tired Watergate-derived suffix to

designate any new scandal is lazy and to be discouraged

gateau

Gatwicksufficiently well known not to need airport in title

gavelused in Britain by auctioneers, not by judges, so likely to be an

unwise choice of illustration for legal stories. Beware

gayfully acceptable as a synonym for homosexual or lesbian gay marriagedo not put in quotation marks

GDPgross domestic product. In most contexts, sufficiently well known not

to need spelling out

gelatinerather than gelatin

Geldof, Bobnever call him Sir Bob Geldof, as he is an honorary KBE (as

an Irish citizen) and so may not use the title

gendera term of grammar; its use has been greatly extended (to gender

studies, gender reassignmentand so on) but beware of treating as a synonym for (a person’s) sex

general electionalways lower case. The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act

2011 introduced a system of five-year fixed terms. It allows the prime minister to alter the date by up to two months. An election can be called

before the end of the five-year term if a motion of no confidence is passed and no alternative government is found; or if a motion for an early election is agreed by at least two thirds of the House

General Medical Councilnote the fitness-to-practise panel general secretary (of the TUC or of individual unions), keep lower case General Strikeof 1926 (caps)

General Synodof the Church of England, thereafter the synod

Generation X born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. Gen Xers

fall between baby boomers and millennials

Generation Z, Gen Zgenerally taken to be people born between the

mid-1990s and early 2010s. Gen Zers, if we must. Use these terms sparingly, and not without explanation; a little cod sociology goes a long way

Geneva conventions plural Gentile(s)cap

gentlemen’s clubprefer to gentleman’s; also gentlemen’s agreement

geriatricdoes not mean elderly, but is applied to medical treatment for the

elderly, eg geriatric hospital. Never use as a term of abuse

German in German all nouns take an initial capital letter. They should be

allowed to do so when borrowed for local colour, unless they have passed into English usage to the point where they no longer need to be written in italics (eg zeitgeist, schadenfreude). Use umlauts as required. Cap Germanas an adjective in eg German measles, German shepherd dogetc

Germanyfull title is the Federal Republic of Germany. If referring to the

area that was East Germany, say eastern Germany or the former East

Germany; similarly, western Germany or the former West Germany. Ossis, Wessis permissible vernacular for inhabitants of the two parts. When plural, use the two Germanys, not Germanies. Reunification was in 1990. In the postwar period sporting teams etc represented West Germany and East Germany separately

gerrymander

get, gotoften a lazy verb for which an alternative should be sought ghetto plural ghettos

ghillie rather than gillie

giant killer, giant killing(nouns), but giant-killing(adj)

gibemeans taunt or sneer; gybe means to shift direction or change course,

particularly in sailing. Use neither; for the sake of simplicity, prefer jibe (a variant of both)

gigperfectly acceptable for a musical event, as rave gipsy no; use gypsy/Gypsy

girldo not use as a synonym of womanexcept in informal contexts or

direct quotes

girl band two words. Note also boy band girlfriendone word, as boyfriend girlienot girly

girolower case, as in benefit payments, cheques etc Giuseppe the standard spelling for the Italian equivalent of Joseph

giveaway(noun or adjective), one word, as takeaway; but to give away glamorise, glamorous, but glamour

glasnostnot italic

glassmaker

Glen Coe the valley; but Glencoe for the battle, the village and the pass

glisters, all that …Shakespeare did not write “glitters” in reference to

what is not gold; better to quote precisely or not at all (The Merchant of Venice, Act II, scene vii)

Glorious Twelfth, thecaps, for the August start of the grouse-shooting

season

glueingprefer to gluing

glühweinlower case, roman, accent

glycerin no need for terminal e; likewise nitroglycerin and trinitroglycerin go-ahead, give theprefer approve, shorter and preferable to this cliché goatherd one word

gobbledegook

Godcap when referring to just one, in any religion. No need for he, his,

him to take cap unless there is a risk of confusion. Many gods, use lower case, as in the Greek gods. Bear in mind that there are readers who dislike the use of “God” as an expletive or exclamation

goddam

godforsaken, godlesslower case, but God-fearing

godparents, godfather, godmother, godson, goddaughter,

godchild

Goebbels, Joseph-oe- not umlaut. Similarly, Hermann Goering

-goeras a suffix, run on as one word, as in churchgoer, cinemagoer,

operagoer, partygoer, theatregoer etc

going forwardnow widely and horridly used to mean in future; avoid go-kartuse hyphen

gold -carat gold is pure; 9-carat gold would have 9/24th gold in the alloy

with other metals

Golden Globesnote that, contrary to the cliché, these film awards are not

reliable pointers to Oscar success

Golden Jubileecaps for the Queen’s celebration in 2002, lower case in

general context

Golders Greenno apostrophe goldmine, goldmining

gold rushtwo words as noun, but hyphenate adjectivally, eg gold-rush

fever

gold standardlower case goodbye one word

good-time Charliethus, for the antique idiom

goodwillone word, whether used as a noun or adjective

Googlecap noun; google lower case verb; googling, googledetc; as per

Hoover/hoover, Twitter/tweet, Skype, skype

gorilla

Gothenburgnot Gِteborg

gothic not Gothick, and lower case for whatever meaning, including

architectural, artistic, fashion, literary, musical and tribal; likewise goth (except for the East Germanic tribe who troubled the Romans, who are capped)

gotten do not use except in direct quotes or, if you must, in ill-gotten gains gourmandise

governmentlower case all governments, British and overseas, even when

referring to a specific one. Also lower case governmentin all adjectival contexts

government departmentscap when giving full title (eg, Department of

Health), lower case when abbreviated, as in health department etc. Prefer to use the fuller form if possible with British government departments, at least at first reference

governorlower case, whether of the Bank of England, of the Falkland

Islands, of a US state or of a prison

governor-generaltakes a hyphen everywhere except Canada Graces The Three Graces(Canova’s statue)

grade II listed, grade II*listed etc, no hyphen or caps

graffitosingular; plural graffiti (but generally treated as a mass noun and

so effectively singular, with singular verb, except in specialist — eg art historical or archaeological — contexts; no point fighting this)

gramnot gramme; similarly, kilogram

Grammy, Grammys

grandadbut granddaughter

grand jurylower case, in US contexts grandmaster(chess), lower case

grand slamnoun, lower case; grand-slamadjective, lower case, hyphen Grand Tour, thecaps, for the upper-class cultural trip round Europe grassrootsadjective or noun both thus. Try to use this cliché sparingly

grave, turn in his/herdismal hackneyed phrase, best avoided, and

definitely not to be used if the person is not dead

gravlax (rather than gravadlax), dry-cured salmon, marinated in salt, sugar

and spices

great and the good, theall lower case, and quotes usually unnecessary;

not one to overuse

Great Britainor Britain= England, Wales, Scotland and islands

governed from the mainland (ie, not Isle of Man or Channel Islands). United Kingdom= Great Britain and Northern Ireland. British Isles= United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. Britain is widely used as another name for the United Kingdom or Great Britain, and pragmatically we accept this usage

Great Dane upper case. See dogs

Greater London Authority(GLA at subsequent mention) is the

strategic government for London, consisting of the mayor of London and the London Assembly, backed up by a staff of 400. The London Assembly (not the Greater London Assembly, and subsequently the assembly) is an elected body of 25 members providing checks and balances on the mayor of London

greater or lesser degreelesser is not correct but is common usage

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children(no longer Sick

Children), but Great Ormond Street Hospital acceptable

Great Train Robber(s), Great Train Robberyon August 8, 1963, in

Buckinghamshire

Greco-not Graeco

green beltlower case, but greenfield sites(similarly brownfield)

green linelower case, demarcation line between hostile factions in, eg

Jerusalem, Beirut, Cyprus; likewise, green zone

green paperlower case in official government sense (often precedes a

white paper)

Green Partyor the Greens, but green issuesetc, lower case, for generic

environmental matters

Greenwich Mean Time(GMT) thus; likewise British Summer Time

(BST). Follow a similar style for overseas time zones, eg Eastern Standard Time(EST)

green zonelower case, as green line

grenade no need to write hand grenade; but qualify if delivered in another

way, eg rocket-propelled grenade

griffinprefer to griffon or gryphon

grislymeans horrifying, repugnant; grizzlymeans greyish, grizzled, or is a

short form of grizzly bear

grottoes

ground(s) for at least half a century Timesstyle guides have suggested,

even insisted, that ground,in the sense of reason, may not be used in the plural unless more than one is given: eg “on the ground (not grounds) of diminished responsibility”, and “he gave up his job on the ground of illness” but “he gave up his job on the grounds of his failed marriage and illness”. This seems an extraordinary superstition to have clung to for so long; it is time to abandon it (if only on the grounds that no one took much notice anyway). On the(plural) grounds of is idiomatic English, however few grounds there may be, while on the (singular) ground of sounds unnatural and odd. Because ofmay often be better anyway, of course

groundbreakingone word, and not one to overuse G-string

GuantanamoBayCuba (no accent); avoid referring to it as

Guantanamo, a city about 15 miles away that is not under US control. The name also applies to the surrounding province

guerrillanote double r and double l; beware of loaded terms for advocates

of political violence

guestavoid using as a verb (Lady X will guest on the show; say Lady X

will be among the guests, or Lady X is a guest)

guesthouseno hyphen

guidebooksimilarly, chequebook, formbook, stylebook, textbook etc

Guides(not Girl Guides); Girlguiding UK became the new name in April

2002 for the Guide Association; the individual members are still known as guides, brownies and rainbows

Guildhall(London), not theGuildhall guinea pigno longer hyphen

Gujarati person or language (not Guje-)

gulagloosely, labour camps; Gulag (cap) was the Soviet organisation that

ran the prisons and forced labour camps

Gulf, theavoid Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf in this politically sensitive

area; other gulfs, eg of Aden or of Florida, will need to be identified

Gulf war, thedo not write “the first Gulf war”. Refer to the subsequent

conflict as the Iraq war (lower case)

gunboatlikewise gunfight, gunfire, gunman, gunpoint, gunshot, gunsmith

but gun dog

gunned downavoid this Americanism, which means shot; if you mean

shot dead, say it

gunrunner, gunrunningone word

gunwalesnot gunwhales; (pronounced gunnels, which is an alternative

spelling, although not one we use)

gurdwara (lower case, roman), a Sikh temple

Gurkhasthus

gurneyAmerican for trolley; discourage gutturalnot gutteral

Guyana(formerly British Guiana, now independent); do not confuse with

French Guiana(still a French overseas territory). The adjective from Guyana is Guyanese, also the person. Note also Surinam(not Suriname), the former Dutch Guiana

Guy Fawkes Nightno apostrophe, initial caps; similarly, Bonfire Night

Gypsy/gypsynot gipsy. Use the cap when referring to the ethnic group

defined in law, but lower case if using in a lifestyle, fashion or general sense, as in “gypsy style is the look for spring”. The other wandering groups in Britain are Irish tinkers, who prefer the name Irish Travellers (likewise now defined in law as an ethnic group and so, in this sense, to be capped); the Scottish Gypsies/Travellers; and the latter-day hippies sometimes referred to as new age travellers; when discussing lifestyle rather than ethnicity, travellersis a useful generic term for these itinerant groups. Note (the) Romais the term for Gypsies from the Continent, some of whom have sought asylum in western Europe. Do not confuse with Romanians. The singular and adjectival form is Romany, eg a Romany woman, but Gypsy can be used in the same way. Prefer Romanifor the language

Hadrian’s Wallis not literally the border between England and Scotland,

so take care in writing phrases such as “north of Hadrian’s Wall” when “north of the border” is meant precisely. But in lighter and/or historical pieces, of course, mention of the wall as a frontier may be appropriate. See border

haemorrhagemeans heavy and potentially dangerous bleeding, not

simply bleeding. Beware of misuse in metaphor

Hague, the lower case t

hairbrush, haircut, hairdo, hairdresser, hairdressing, hairdryer,

hairpin, hairstyle

Haiti, Haitiannote that Haiti must not be described as an island; it is

joined to the Dominican Republic and together they constitute the island of Hispaniola

haj(pilgrimage to Mecca), lower case and roman haka(the Maori war dance), lower case and roman half-hearted, half-mast, half-termhyphenate

half-timein a football match etc; the half timein business context (but

half-time results)

halfwayno hyphen

Halley’s cometthus, but Bill Haley and his Comets

Halloween thus, ie no need for the apostrophe long favoured in The Times

(Hallowe’en)

Hamas is an acronym in Arabic for the Islamic Resistance Movement; the

Arabic word hamasmeans zeal, courage

handheld(computers etc), as desktop, laptop, palmtopetc handmade, handbuiltno hyphens

handoutas a noun, no hyphen; two words as a verb; likewise hangout hangar (aircraft), hanger(clothes)

hanged“The murderer was hanged at dawn”, not hung (except when

“hung, drawn and quartered”). Clothes are hung on a washing line or a hanger; game may be improved by being hungbefore cooking; parliaments are hungwhen there’s no majority

Hansard

hara-kiri

hardcoreone word as adjective, eg hardcore pornography; but the hard

coreof the rebels (two words as noun); similarly, hard core(rubble)

hardline(adjective), but taking a hard line

harebrained

harem

Haringeyis a London borough and council; Harringay a London

neighbourhood

HarperCollinsor HarperCollins Publishersa subsidiary of News

Corp

Harris Tweedcap, trademark

harvest festivallower case

Hasidic prefer to Hassidic, Chassidic etc

Hawk-Eyenote hyphen in electronic sports equipment for lbw, line

decisions etc

hay feverno hyphen

headacheavoid as a synonym of difficulty

headbuttnoun or verb, no hyphen; this is preferable to butt, although it

may appear tautologous. While butt can mean to strike or push (something) with head or horns, it has a variety of other definitions, including the anatomical; headbutt has the benefit of clarity

headcountno hyphen

headed avoid the Americanism he is headed, she was headed etc; write he

is heading, she was headingetc

headhunt, headhuntingetc (no hyphens)

headlinesgood headlines are not easy to write. They must make the busy

reader stop and want to read; a dull or confusing headline will have the opposite effect. The best headlines intrigue, entertain and convey in a very few words the substance and essence of a story that may be nuanced, complex and highly sensitive. In doing so they must be accurate and impartial. They may not go beyond the facts of the story; headlines not supported by the text are a breach of the Editors’ Code, by which The Timesand The Sunday Timesabide.

Some thoughts. Remember that the force of every headline is in the verb. Active is better than passive, concrete better than abstract, positive usually better than negative. Generally prefer to express one idea clearly than to link two with a tired conjunction such as as. Find the key words — vivid words — in the text and try to get them into the headline. Emphasise what

makes this story interesting, surprising, important and new. Do not just duplicate the opening sentence of the text (but if the opening sentence gives you a terrific headline that fits, it may then sometimes be easier to remove the duplication by rewriting the text). Avoid the worst clichés and hyperboles such as bash, crash, shock, slam etc; but short words such as bid(for attempt), crisis, hit(adversely affect), row(clash or dispute) — all of which should appear only sparingly in text — are permissible in headlines, provided that they are not overworked. Acronyms and initials can be off-putting in a headline; keep them to a minimum, and try not to start with them. Similarly, dull and off-putting (but essential) words — ministers, experts, civil servants, government etc — are generally better deployed at the end: “We’re all doomed, experts warn” is a more dramatic and immediate construction than “Experts warn that we’re all doomed” (although it is to be hoped that neither of those headlines finds its way into print). Beware of names in headlines; they need to be instantly recognisable, and they should be there only if they aid understanding and make readers more likely to read. The demands of digital search engine optimisation (SEO, where names are generally good) may be at odds here with what works in print; be prepared to come up with two different headlines if necessary. If words and phrases belong together — cost of living, elderly patients, young drivers, poor families, spy scandal etc — avoid splitting them across lines. Beware impenetrable jumbles of words that might be nouns, adjectives or verbs: Miners strike deal bid shock. Go easy on the puns; they are often more fun for sub-editors to write than for readers to read; a headline must make sense in its own right, not just allude to, or sound a bit like, something else.

Inverted commas are always single in headlines, straps and display panels on News, Sport and Business pages. Ideally they should not enclose words or statements that differ from those in the report; if a headline (by established convention) uses inverted commas around a summary or paraphrase rather than a direct quotation, great care must be taken to ensure that the effect is not inaccurate or misleading

headmaster, headmistressone word and lower case. Some schools

have variants on the usual style: head master, high masteretc; always check which is required, but these too are all lower case. The colloquial

“head” is useful not only in headlines but as an alternative to all these variants (after first mention) in text; note that head teacheris two words except when part of the designated title

headroomone word, as elbowroom, legroom

heads of statewhen these are royal, such as King Abdullah of Jordan,

after the first mention refer to them as the king (lower case). The cap at subsequent mentions applies only to the Queen (Elizabeth II). For overseas heads of state write, eg President Y of Ukraine (President and surname and country) at first mention, then the president (lower case) or simply Mr Y

head up(an organisation etc), avoid; write simply, eg “she will head the

organisation”

healthcareone word

heart attack and cardiac arrestare not synonymous; do not change one

to the other without checking what is meant

heartbroken, heartbreaking, heartfelt, heartstringsbut hyphenate

heart-rending, heart-throb

-hearted hyphenate, eg light-hearted

Heathrowsufficiently well known not to need airport in title

heatstrokeone word. A condition resulting from prolonged exposure to

intense heat, cf sunstroke, which is heatstroke caused by prolonged exposure to intensely hot sunlight

heatwavemake one word

Heaven, Hellcap in religious context only

heavenly bodiescap the proper names of planets, stars, constellations

etc: Venus, Arcturus, the Plough, Aries; for comets, lower case the word comet in, eg Halley’s comet. The universeis lower case, as are the moon and the sun, unless caps seem better and more consistent in specific astronomical context (eg Night Sky column); generally, lower case for the earth(except in specific planetary context and when necessary to distinguish from soil; see earth). Use lower case for the adjectives lunar and solar, and phases, eg full moon, new moon; but cap Martian adjectivally and as a noun

hellhole one word

Hell’s Angelsapostrophe, despite evidence on jackets to the contrary

help to(plus verb) is generally preferable, eg “he helped to make the

cake”, not “he helped make the cake”, but this need not be treated as a rigid rule

helping the police with their inquiriesavoid this phrase: suspects

rarely willingly help the police. Say “were being interviewed” instead

helplineone word. See hotline

hemispherenorthern, southern, eastern, western

heraldrydo not confuse crests with coats of arms. Most arms consist of a

shield and a crest; crests are the topmost part of the coat of arms (think of the crest of a bird or a wave)

heralds the curious titles of the officers of the College of Arms seem to

need capitals: Garter King of Arms, Somerset Herald, Rouge Croix Pursuivant etc

Her Majesty’s pleasuredetained at

Hezbollah(Party of God) in Iran and Lebanon; soft-hyphenate (on a line

break) as Hezb-ollah

Hibernianmeans of or concerning Ireland, not Scotland, despite the

Edinburgh football club of that name

hiccupnot hiccough

hi-fiis an acceptable abbreviation (noun or adjective) of high fidelity; note

also wi-fi(lower case, hyphen)

highacceptable usage as a noun, eg “she was on a high”. But avoid clichés

such as “all-time high” and “hits new high”

highbrow, lowbrow

high commandavoid its clichéd use, as in “Tory high command”

high commissionerlower case, eg the Indian high commissioner;

thereafter, the high commissioner. Remember that Commonwealth countries and the UK have high commissioners serving in high commissions in each other’s countries, not ambassadors serving in embassies

High Courtupper court highfalutin

high-flyerlike flyer high jinks

high-profile unappealing (and often redundant) adjective; there are many

better words to use instead: prominent, famous, celebrated, renowned, big etc

high sherifflower case

high streetis lower case and no hyphen in general sense, as in high street

prices, high street shops. But cap in specific names, eg Putney High Street

high-tech but hi-techacceptable in headlines

Hindifor language context (the Hindi language); but use Hindu for

religious or ethnic contexts (an adherent to Hinduism, or relating to Hinduism)

hingeingprefer to hinging hip-hophyphenate

hippopotamusesplural

hippy, hippiesalmost as old-fashioned as beatniks

historic, historicalprefer a historic eventrather than an historic. Also,

take care with use of historical and historic; the former can refer only to past history, while the latter can refer to a contemporary event likely to be of long-term significance. But a historic buildingis now in common usage as a synonym of an old building. Say historical sex-abuse cases, not historic

hittry to avoid in text in sense of affected, eg “Homeowners were hit last night by an interest rate rise”, or in the sense of attack, eg “The minister hit out at his critics”. Sparing use of the verb in headlines is permissible

hitchhike, hitchhiker, hitchhikingetc, no longer hyphenated. Note

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

hi-techis acceptable in headlines, but prefer high-techin text hitlist, hitman no hyphens

HIVis a virus, not a disease. Do not write “HIV virus” (tautology), but use

a phrase such as HIV-infected. Write HIV/Aidswhen appropriate regarding the virus and the condition together

HMSnow that we have stopped italicising names of ships, there’s no need

to remember not to italicise the HMS part; so just HMS Ark Royal; also no need to worry about the recondite distinction that we used to observe between ships and shore-based establishments, such as HMS Collingwood, which were once all roman; do not write the HMS Anything, as the article is redundant

hoardsare stocks or stores (of treasure, for example); to hoardis to amass

and store food, money etc; hordes are large groups or gangs (of wild beasts etc)

hobbitgeneric lower case, but The Hobbitis the title of the book hoboprefer hoboes as plural

Hogmanaycap

hoi polloimeans, literally, “the many”, so it does not need “the”; common

usage mostly says otherwise, but we should continue to resist. Roman, not italic

holidaymakerone word

Hollanduse the Netherlands(lower case t) for all contexts except sports

teams, historical uses or when referring to the provinces of North and South Holland. The adjective is Dutch

Holocaust cap for the mass murder of Jews and other ethnic and social

groups in Europe by the Nazis; otherwise lower case

Holy Communioncaps

Holy Grail (caps) when referring to the Last Supper; holy grail(lower

case) when used figuratively (as mecca)

Holyroodhouse

Holy Week the week leading up to Easter (Easter Week is the week after)

homebuilder, homebuilding (one word), but note Home Builders

Federation. See housebuilder

homebuyers, homeownersno hyphens home counties, the lower case homemadeno hyphen

homeopathyno longer homoeopathy. Similarly, for other words with the

prefix homeo-, meaning like, similar, eg homeobox, homeostasis, homeotherm

home school, home schooling two words whenever talking about

educating children at home

home towntwo words, but hyphenate in adjectival use, eg home-town

memories

homogeneousmeans having parts all of the same kind; homogenous

(rarely needed, and if encountered most likely a mistake) is a term from biology meaning similar owing to common descent

Homo sapiensnow italicise, as any other scientific names

Hon, thewhen referring to the children of peers, normally restrict this

courtesy (the Hon So-and-So) to the Court & Social page

honeybeeone word

honeytrapone word

Hong Kongbut Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

Until July 1, 1997, when Britain handed the colony back to China, Hong Kong had a governor; now it has a chief executive. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China; it may be referred to as the territory; use Hong Kong as a country indicator on foreign news stories, not China

Hongkongersthus

honour killing is a euphemism for murders by family members

committed usually for socio-religious reasons. Most readers understand what it means, but we should not be seen to be adopting the phrase uncritically; if helpful, use with quote marks or add so-called

honoursstrictly speaking, people are appointedKBE, CBE, OBE, MBE

etc. There is no need to speak strictly all the time, however; in less formal contexts it is quite acceptable to follow common usage for the sake of variety and to write that someone was made GCVO, was awarded the OBE, received (or even got) the MBE etc; this licence should not be overused, but it may be helpful when reporting large honours lists. Note that baronets, peers etc are formally created, not appointed etc. Privy counsellors, in an engagingly impressive formulation, are “sworn of the privy council”, although we can just say that someone was made a privy counsellor, if we prefer. At investitures those honoured receive the insignia of the award, not the award itself. Normally (except on Court Page and in the rubric at the end of obituaries) omit honours and decorations after names unless somehow relevant

hoodieplural hoodies

hoofplural hoofs

Hooveris a trade name so must be capped as a noun; generically, use

vacuum cleaner, or to vacuum. But as a verb use lower case, eg he hoovered up his food

hopefullyexcept in very informal contexts, try to avoid in the sense of it is

hoped that, even though this usage is so widespread

Horse Guards Parade

horse race/racingtwo words, but racingalone is preferable; riding

similarly preferable to horse riding (also two words). Note Horserace Betting Levy Board

horse trading two words horsey

horticulturistnot horticulturalist

hospitals cap when the full title is given, eg County Hospital,

Staffordshire (formerly Stafford Hospital); Birmingham Children’s Hospital; Great Ormond Street Hospital

hospitalise, hospitalisationAmericanisms; prefer taken to hospital,

treated in hospitaletc

hostavoid verbal usages such as “West Ham will host Aston Villa on

Saturday”; use play host toinstead. But a person can host an event

hotchpotchno hyphen. Note that hodgepodge is the preferred variant in

North America

hotlineone word; similarly, helpline

hotpantsone word for the retro fashion item; shortsmay be a more

comfortable fit

hotspotone word

hot-water bottlenote hyphen

hour and a half, anno hyphens as a noun; but hyphenate adjectivally, eg

an hour-and-a-half break. Similarly for two and a half years, two thirds. But note twenty-three etc

housebuilder, housebuildingbut note the Home Builders Federation

(formerly the House Builders Federation). See homebuilder, homebuyers

house prices do not routinely round these up or down as you might other

large numbers; the difference between a £1.75 million house and a £2 million house may feel quite significant to the purchaser and the vendor.

Think carefully when giving house prices in stories about victims of crime. This tabloid convention may be a usefully concise way of conveying the background to a story, but it offends some readers and should not be done casually or as a matter of routine

howeverwhen used in the sense of nevertheless, always needs a comma

after it (and before, when in the middle of a sentence, eg “It was said, however, that the agent …”). Note also the comma in the extended clause: “However many times I say this, there are people who ignore it.” Do not attempt to use howeveras a conjunction between clauses when what you need is a new sentence (or but):“The pedant’s sharp eye does not dim, however his misanthropy becomes even more marked as the years pass.” This ungainly and unclear construction is more common than it ought to be; avoid

Howzat? the cricket appeal (from “How’s that?”)

HS2the proposed high-speed rail link project between London and the

West Midlands, and on to the north of England

human acceptable as noun as well as adjective; alternatively, human being

human rightsEuropean Convention on Human Rights; European Court of Human Rights. Both operate under the aegis of the Council of Europe, not the European Union (or EC); take particular care not to get this wrong

hummusnote less-exotic preferred spelling for the now perfectly familiar

chickpea dip

humongous

humoristnot humourist

Hundred Years’ War, thenote apostrophe hung parliamentlower case

Huntington’s choreanow properly known as Huntington’s disease

hunting with hounds(not with dogs). Note the Hunting Act 2004. See

foxhunt

hurricanecap as part of title, eg Hurricane Andrew; similarly, Tropical

Storm Linda (caps)

hydroelectricno hyphen

hyena prefer to hyaena; but note that Hyaenais the scientific genus name

hyperboleeschew it. Few allegations are truly “sensational”; stock

markets may fall without “panic”; a surprising revelation need not be a “shock” and in The Timesthere need never be a “bombshell”. Emotive clichés add little to understanding; readers are intelligent enough to judge things for themselves

hyphensbe sparing with hyphens, and run together words where the sense

suggests and where they look familiar and right; eg blacklist, businessman, goldmine, knockout, intercontinental, motorcycle, takeover, and walkover. Unusual hyphenations will be listed separately. However, a few guidelines can be specified:

1. Usually run together prefixes except where the last letter of the prefix

is the same as the first letter of the word to which it attaches:

prearrange, postwar, prewar, nonconformist; but pre-empt, coordinate, co-operate, re-establish.

2. Hyphenate generally in composites where the same two letters come

together, but an exception should be made for double r in the middle: override, overrule(not over-ride etc), and note granddaughterand goddaughter.

3. Generally do not use dangling hyphens: say “full and part-time

employment” etc; but this does not apply to prefixes: “pre- or postmatch drinks”.

. For hyphenation when qualifying adjectives, see adverbs . Always use a hyphen rather than a slash (/) in dates etc: 1982-83 (not

1982/83).

On this as on much else Keith Waterhouse has wise advice: “Hyphens have a welcome tendency to wither away. When it looks as if the time has come when a compound no longer needs a hyphen, then allow it to throw away its crutch”

hypothermiastate of being too cold; hyperthermia too hot

Iberian peninsulalower case Ice Agesee ages

ice cap no longer hyphenate

ice creamno longer hyphenate, similarly ice lolly. But hyphenate when

the two are used adjectivally to qualify another noun, eg ice-cream cone

icon beware overuse in the sense of a person regarded as a sex symbol or a

symbol of the latest fashion trends etc; likewise with the ghastly adjective

iconic

Identikitis proprietary, so cap; but photofit, lower case ieuse comma before if useful, ie like this, but not after. See eg

ifwhenever possible use the subjunctive after this, eg “if I were a rich man”

(not “if I was a rich man”); more generally, aim to preserve the correct use of the subjunctive, which sometimes seems in danger of dying out

île circumflex whether lower case or cap, as in خle-de-France

illegal asylum seekeris a legally inaccurate phrase and must not be

used. An asylum seeker is someone seeking refugee status or humanitarian protection, so cannot in law be “illegal”. He or she can become an illegal immigrantonly if remaining in the UK after having failed to respond to a removal notice

ill healthno longer hyphenate; similarly ill feelingetc and any other

simple adjective-and-noun construction

ill intentionedetc (no hyphen) in, eg “He was ill intentioned”; but ill

intentionedetc (hyphen) before a noun, eg “He had ill-intentioned

motives”

immigrants do not write about eg “second-generation immigrants”;

British-born children of immigrants are not immigrants themselves

immensity is mostly what is meant when enormityis wrongly used; size

or scalewill often do just as well

impacted onavoid this Americanism

Imperial College London (no comma) is no longer part of the

University of London (when it was known formally as Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine). It became a university in its own right in July 2007

imperial familyno need to cap (cf royal family)

implynever confuse with infer. As the neatest definition has it, speakers

imply, listeners infer. There is a school of higher pedantry that insists that it is acceptable to muddle the two, because Shakespeare did; take no notice, unless you want most readers to think you are illiterate

impostor not imposter

impresario

impressionist,post-impressionist generally lower case for the artistic movements when used as stylistic designations; may occasionally be capped to make precise art-historical point and/or to avoid confusion

impugnto challenge or attack as false; assail; criticise

impute to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable,

especially a criminal offence) to a person; to attribute to a cause or source; commercially, to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown

in addition toprefer as well asor besides inadmissible not -able

inasmuch astwo words

inaugurationbut, for clarity, Inauguration Day(US)

includedo not confuse with comprise; “breakfast includes toast and

coffee”, but “breakfast comprises cereals, toast, butter, marmalade and coffee” (ie, where the full list of elements is given)

indestructible not -able

indexplural is indices, but indexes for books

Indian place nameswhere there are familiar English names for places,

we do not need always to reflect every new local usage that may come along. Nevertheless, our preferences have changed over time and will continue to change; our practice must be kept under review. We now prefer Mumbai to Bombay and Chennai to Madras when naming the cities; but obviously not in eg culinary contexts (Madras curry, Bombay duck) or when referring to institutions and business which prefer the old name (the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Bombay Bicycle Club etc). Continue to use Calcutta rather than Kolkata, Poona rather than Pune and Delhi rather than New Delhi, except where the new names form part of an official company name or similar title. If in doubt, put the alternative name in brackets

indispensablenot -ible

Indochinano obvious need for hyphen Industrial Revolution, thecaps

industrial tribunalswere renamed employment tribunals. See also

tribunals

inevitable do not use as a synonym of customary, usualor predictable in factcan, in fact, almost invariably be omitted

inferdo not confuse with imply; to infer is to draw a conclusion from a

suggestion, to imply is to make the suggestion. Thus, we imply things when we speak, we infer things when we listen. The distinction may only have been clearly drawn in the past century or so, but it is a useful one, worth preserving

infightingone word, but in-houseand in-flight(both with hyphen)

infinitivesmay be split, and should be if splitting improves clarity or

avoids awkwardness

infraredone word, like ultraviolet

in happier times self-evident local paper cliché banned for captions to

photographs showing grinning people now divorced, gravely ill or dead etc; “share a joke” is no better

initialswhere totally familiar, no need to spell out what they stand for at

first mention (eg, BBC, CBI, TUC, Nato etc). Generally, however, when writing about an organisation (or anything else) that may be referred to by its initials, at first mention give the full name (however cumbersome) with the initials in parentheses; the initials alone may be used thereafter, although sometimes a word such as “the organisation” or “the group” will be preferable, to avoid an ugly alphabet soup.

Where the initials can be spoken as a word, we write them as upper and lower case (even when companies or organisations may prefer caps), eg Nato, Gatt, Unesco, Eta, Rada, Riba, Ukip, Axa, Sane.

With names of companies and individuals, now omit points between the initials. WH Smith, J Sainsbury, PL Travers, TS Eliot, WG Grace (space between initials and surname; no space between initials)

injure, injury implies something more serious than hurt. Do not normally

say someone received an injury; prefer to say they suffered or sustained an injury, or (simply) were injured. Injured or sick people should not be described as “satisfactory” or “critical”, it is their condition that is satisfactory etc. Note that in a military context, eg on a battlefield, it is more normal to refer to wounded rather than injured; although a soldier would be injured in, eg a straightforward vehicle accident

innocenttake great care with this word, and avoid phrases such as “the

innocent victim of the attack” and clichés such as “innocent children”. Best to stick to its literal sense of not guilty

innocuousthus; but NB inoculate

Inns of Courtthe order of precedence among the Inns, should you need

it, is Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray’s Inn

in order tosimply wastes two words. Delete “in order”

in/out as in the in/out referendum on the EU: prefer a slash to a hyphen for

either/or constructions

inpatients, outpatientsno hyphen inquire, inquirynot enquire, enquiry

insigniaplural. Do not confuse insignia, eg for an MBE appointment, with

regalia, strictly emblems of royalty

in so far asuse the four words in this expression; insofar is the American

version

installbut instalment

instil

insure you insureagainst risk; you assureyour life; ensuremeans to make

certain

intelligencelower case as a noun even when referring to the security

services, eg “he was in British intelligence”; “he was in military intelligence”, “she provided useful intelligence to MI5”; also lower case for adjectival uses, eg “she was interviewed by intelligence officers”. Only exception is in full names, eg Secret Intelligence Service (ie MI6, which is preferable anyway)

intelligence and security committee has members from both Houses

of Parliament, who are chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the leaders of the two main opposition parties. The joint intelligence committee, which the ISC scrutinises, is part of the Cabinet Office. Its members are senior government department officials and heads of intelligence

intensivedo not confuse with intenseor extreme. It means concentrated,

as in intensive care

interto bury; not to be confused with intern, to detain

inter- as a prefix, normally no need to hyphenate, eg intercountry,

interracial

interdependence

interestingavoid as an adjective; the reader will decide interest rate cuts/risesno hyphens; avoid “hikes” for rises interfaith

intergovernmental conferenceno hyphen. Abbreviation is IGC

intern as a verb, do not confuse with inter; intern (noun) is an

Americanism that now seems to have passed into English usage, if only because it is much shorter than “young person on (often unpaid) work experience”

International Criminal Court, the(ICC), based in the Hague, has

jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the most horrific of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its jurisdiction is complementary to national courts, and it acts only when countries are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute. Established by multilateral treaty, it is independent of the UN and was designed to replace the UN system of ad hoc tribunals, eg for Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia

international date linemay be abbreviated subsequently to the date line

Internazionalethe Milan football club; simply Inter Milan at first

mention, thereafter Inter. The other big club in the city is AC Milan (shortened to Milan thereafter)

internecinecan mean: (1) mutually destructive or ruinous; maiming both

or all sides; (2) of or relating to slaughter or carnage; bloody; (3) of or involving conflict within a group or organisation

internetlower case, also the netfor short interpretive(now prefer to interpretative) interredburied; interned = imprisoned. Do not confuse intifadareligious struggle or uprising, lower case and roman

introthere will be (carefully considered) exceptions, but as a general rule

the opening sentences of a news report should clearly convey the essential facts of the story and make the reader want to read on. Do not try to cram in too much information; but do not wait until paragraph six to answer those obvious questions: who, where, what, why, when? Take care that

you do not omit the key line that supports the intro. An opening assertion must be substantiated further down

Inuitprefer to Eskimo. Retain Inuitas the plural

invalidnot a word to use without thought. It is worth noting the view of

the Timescolumnist Melanie Reid: “Every summer of my childhood had been spent at my grandmother’s home where my disabled aunt lived. Not that the word “disabled” had any currency then. Aunty Averil was referred to as an invalid, an umbrella term for chronic illness of any type. Not valid. Literally from the Latin not strong. Legally null and void. Worthless, untrue. A word only suitable these days to describe driving licences or immigration visas, not human beings”

inverted commasshould be used very carefully in headlines and as

sparingly as possible in headlines and text. The 1959 edition of this guide enjoined its users to “avoid the kind of use which is meant to indicate that the writer dissociates himself in some unspecified way from the word he is using”

inviteis a verb; resist its use as a substitute for invitation

iPadbeware tendency to use this trade name as a generic term for tablets;

same goes for iPhone and smartphones, and for iPods and MP3 players

Irannot Persia, except in historical context. The language is Farsi, not

Iranian or Persian

Irelandthe two parts should be called the Republic of Ireland or the Irish

Republic (avoid Eire except in direct quotes or historical context) and Northern Ireland, or less formally Ulster. Do not use the phrase the Six Counties. The historic four provinces are Connacht (prefer to Connaught), Leinster, Munster and Ulster

Irishput accents only on Irish personal names Iron Curtain

ironic, ironically beware of misuse. It means using or displaying irony,

or in the nature of irony; it does not mean strange, paradoxical or incongruous

ironyvery difficult to bring off in a newspaper. There will always be

readers ready to take literally even the most preposterous statement. Beware

irredeemablemeans not able to be redeemed, saved or reformed; do not

confuse with irremediable, which means not able to be remedied, incurable, or irreparable

-ise, -isationavoid the z construction in almost all cases, eg apologise,

organise, emphasise, televise. But note capsize, synthesizer

Islam is the religion of Muslims. Islamicis interchangeable with Muslim

as the adjective, but normally use Islamic with religion and fundamentalism. Islamist(noun, adj) refers to support or advocacy of Islamic fundamentalism; beware of using when Islamic is all that is meant. Note Shia Muslim(s), Sunni Muslim(s)

Islamic Statecan be referred to as either Islamic State (no article) or Isis

thereafter. You will need Isis for quotes and in headlines. Generally avoid writing IS, except in a quote, and never do it in a headline, as it looks odd. If a person is quoted as saying Isilthere is no longer any need to replace it with [Isis] in square brackets, but restrict Isil to direct quotes. Daesh (without apostrophes) should likewise be used in direct quotes only (where it may for now mostly still need something like “ie Islamic State/Isis” in brackets by way of explanation). Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now dead, was the leader of Islamic State, Baghdadi at second mention

Islamic termsnote our preferred spellings of fatwa; hadith(the body of

tradition and legend about Muhammad and his followers, used as a basis of sharia); haj; halal(“lawful”, eg ritually slaughtered meat); Kabba(the most sacred pilgrim shrine in Mecca); kafir(non-Muslim, “unbeliever”, “infidel”); umma(the community of Muslims). The five daily prayer

times, in sequence, are fajr, duhr, asr, maghriband isha(use italics). See Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr

islands use of the preposition “in” rather than “on” will depend on size: in

for bigger islands, on for smaller

isotope hyphenate the element name and the atomic mass number, eg

polonium-210, uranium-232, uranium-238 etc. (The atomic mass of a given element’s isotopes varies because, while the number of protons is the same, the number of neutrons varies)

Israeliis a citizen of Israel; Israeliterefers to Ancient Israel. Please bear in

mind that Jewis not an appropriate alternative; many of Israel’s citizens are not Jewish

Italian namesnote that surnames with Di or D’ are generally capped at

all mentions, eg D’Ancona, Di Canio

it beware of multiple its referring to different subjects; nothing is more

confusing

italicsavoid in headlines and be as restrained as possible in their use in

text. Do not use italics in captions. In text certain areas always take italics:

1. All works of art; thus, for titles and subtitles of books, poems, short

stories, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, chapter headings, programmes on radio and television, films, plays, computer games, musical works including operas, songs, hymns, album titles etc (see musical vocabulary), paintings, drawings, sculptures, titles of exhibitions.

2. Uncommon, non-anglicised foreign words go in italics, but roman is to

be preferred if at all possible (eg in extremis, hors d’oeuvre, angst, de rigueur).

3. Take care in presenting algebraic expressions: individual terms should

be in italics, and be sure that superscripts, including squares, and subscripts are properly rendered, ie with any figures in roman, eg E=mc(superscript figure 2 in roman). See algebra.

. A word may be italicised for emphasis, but be extremely sparing with

this device: let good writing show the reader where the emphasis is.

It girl thus It bag, It boy, It petetc; these coinages have rather gone out of

fashion, which is no bad thing

its/it’sthe apostrophe version is an abbreviation for “it is” or (if you must)

“it has”; there is no apostrophe in the possessive form

Ivory Coastnot the; English for Côte d’Ivoire. Note the noun and

adjective Ivorian

jack-knifeuse hyphen for noun and verb

Jacuzziis a trade name, so cap; the company objects to use of the name as

a noun, so write Jacuzzionly if certain of attribution, whirlpool bathor spa bathif in doubt

jail, jailer(not gaol, gaoler), remember that an offender aged 15 cannot be

“jailed”; he or she is sentenced to detention in a young offender institution

jail sentencesnote that totting up the total number of years to which a

number of defendants have been jailed is meaningless. Give the sentences of named individuals. If room does not allow, list the sentences of principal offenders and report that so many other people were jailed or whatever

jargonlike journalese and slang, to be avoided. Do not use the strange,

made-up language that is bandied about between professionals, particularly in business and in the public sector, if there are perfectly good familiar words that can be used instead. When absolutely unavoidable in writing about specialised fields, unfamiliar terms require considered explanations for our readers

Jeepis a trade name, so should be capped; use only if strictly applicable,

otherwise cross-country vehicle, small military truck, SUVetc

Jehovah’s Witness(es)

jejunemeans shallow, insipid, lacking in intellectual substance. It is

widely used to mean puerile, juvenile, naive; this rests on a false etymology (and a common misspelling, jejeune) and is to be discouraged

jellabaa loose cloak with a hood; prefer this spelling to variants beginning

with d or ending in h

jellybeanone word

Jerusalemlower case for east/west Jerusalem. Jerusalem must not be used

as a metonym or variant for Israel. It is not internationally recognised as the Israeli capital, and its status is one of the central controversies in the Middle East. Although the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, sits in Jerusalem, most embassies are in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is known in Arabic as al-Quds

jet lagtwo words

jetlineravoid; say airlineror simply jet

jet skitwo words as noun, but to jet-ski(verb, hyphen)

jet streamtwo words as adjective and noun; but jet-stream(hyphen)

adjectivally

jeune mamanin some contexts, best translated as new mother, rather

than young mother. Note also jeunes mariés, meaning newlyweds

jeweller, jewellery

jibeuse this spelling in all senses; ie prefer to gibe, gybe as appropriate Jiffy bagcap, trade name

jihadholy war (roman, lower case) jobseeker’s allowance

job titles almost all of these should be lower case, even at first mention.

Common sense is required, and consistency should not be sought at the expense of clarity, but as a general rule do not use capital letters merely to reflect the dignity or importance of a job. So, the prime minister, the home secretary, the lord chancellor, the French ambassador, the permanent

secretary at the Ministry of Defence, the chief constable of the West Midlands, the editor of The Times. Similarly, chairman, director, managing director (of a company), general secretary (of a union), artistic director (of a theatre) etc are all lower case; so are presidents and chairmen of societies and institutions.

Exceptions are made for job titles that are used in front of a name. We write President Biden or President Putin when using their titles to name them; otherwise they are the president of the United States, the Russian president. Other titles may be joined to names in a similar way (senator, congressman, councillor, alderman, professor etc), but British usage is quite sparing in this respect, especially in the realm of national politics. We do not refer to Prime Minister Johnson but to Boris Johnson, the prime minister, and so on.

Titles that name an individual as well as describing a job or role are also excepted. Aristocratic titles are the obvious example. These are capped at first mention, ie treated as a name. So, the Prince of Wales and then the prince; the Duke of Devonshire, and then the duke. (Most aristocrats in any case, whether the Marquess of X, the Earl of Y or Viscount Z at first mention, are subsequently Lord XYZ, but our style now is just XYZ or for variety the marquess, the earletc.) Of individuals whose names are also job descriptions, two — the Queen and the Pope — take a capital letter at all times, not just on first mention; there is no reason for this other than courtesy

John o’ Groats jokeyprefer to joky

journalesethe bogus jargon of journalists, particularly prevalent in

headlines, where words creep in that nobody else would use. Resist. Our language should be the language of our intelligent readers

joyriderno hyphen; be aware that some readers dislike a term that may

seem to trivialise; an alternative might be young car thief

JP(Justice of the Peace) remains, in some contexts, an acceptable

alternative for a magistrate or a district judge in a magistrates’ court. Thus, we no longer write Josephine Bloggs, JP, but rather Josephine Bloggs, a magistrate; but we could write “The JPs decided …” as a variant to “The magistrates decided …”

jubileestrictly a fiftieth anniversary, although Queen Victoria and Queen

Elizabeth II both had a golden and a diamond one; so the word can be used as a periodic celebration, especially of royalty. Note the Queen’s Golden Jubileein 2002 etc, and also note Jubilee Line(caps) on the London Underground

judges’ namesfor all circuit judges and below (ie those in the Crown

Court, in county courts, and district judges), always include their first name at first mention. Thus, write Judge Fred Potts at first mention, subsequently Judge Potts or simply the judge.

First names will not normally be necessary with High Court judges unless there are two or more with the same surname, where again it will be essential to differentiate.

The failure to identify a judge correctly can lead to complaints, corrections and even the payment of substantial damages.

In the High Court, Mr Justice X should be referred to this way throughout a story (or simply the judge), never as Judge X. Note the designation of Lady Justice Butler-Sloss when she was a judge, and likewise other women judges

judgmentnot judgement jujitsuthus

jukeboxno hyphen

jump-jet(hyphen), but jumbo jet(no hyphen)

juniorabbreviate to Jr (not Jnr) in American-style names, eg John

Eisendorf Jr

juntaby definition, a military government, so do not write tautologies such

as “ruling military junta”

just deserts things that are deserved. Not to be confused with just

desserts, when only puddings are on the menu

juvenile courtswere renamed youth courts

kavoid for 1,000 except in direct quotes, eg “He used to earn 200k”

kabbalahinitial k and lower case for the spiritual movement based on

ancient Jewish mystical tradition

kafir Arabic term for a non-Muslim or infidel; kaffir, South African term

of racial abuse

Kafkaesqueno need for a hyphen. Not an adjective to overuse, especially

if you haven’t read Kafka. More generally, a hyphen is rarely needed for words with the -esque suffix

Kellogg’s Corn Flakestrade mark, but cornflakes (generic)

keroseneis American for what is known as paraffinin a domestic British

setting; but note that kerosene is the commoner synonym globally for aviation fuel, jet fuel etc; also note that kerosene is the far more frequently used word for the heating/cooking fuel, eg in Africa

kettling no quotation marks needed as a word for the police tactic of

containment

key overused adjective that often adds little; it is shorter than prime,

essential, important, crucial, decisiveetc, but woollier too. If you must use it, attach it firmly to a word: “this is a key factor”, not “this factor is key”

Khanbeware of Khan as a family name: in Central Asia it is usually a title

given to officials or rulers

kibbutz plural kibbutzim kibosh

kick-off(noun), but to kick off(phrasal verbs do not take a hyphen,

whereas compound verbs and nouns do)

kick-starthyphenate, noun and verb

kids now near-universal, it still seems worth resisting as an ugly and

unpleasant way to refer to children; do not use in news stories except in direct quotes

Kievnow prefer Kyivfor the city in Ukraine

killercan be used for murdererbut do not use assassin as a synonym

kilobyteabbreviate to kB; note also megabyte(MB), gigabyte(GB),

terabyte(TB)

kilogramnot kilogramme

kilometres per hourcorrect abbreviation is km/h rather than kph

kilowatt-hourcorrect abbreviation is kWh. The cost of generating

electricity at a power station is usually expressed in pence per kilowatthour (eg, 10p/kWh). Do not confuse kilowatts and kilowatt-hours; the kilowatt is a measure of power, the kilowatt-hour a measure of energy (power is the rate at which energy is generated or used). See energy, power

King’s College Londonapostrophe, no commas King’s Crossin London

King’s Heath in Birmingham (pacethe apostrophe-light city council) King’s Lynnin Norfolk

Kings Roadin Chelsea (do not use apostrophe)

Kingston upon Hull(no hyphens) is the official name for Hull; normally

just say Hull. Note that Humberside no longer exists as a local authority

kiwithe flightless bird. But note Kiwi, colloquialism for New Zealander;

kiwi fruitlower case

kneejerk(reaction etc), no hyphen; but beware of overuse

knick-knacksprefer to nick-nacks. This reduplicative word is derived

from knack, an obsolete 17th-century word for toy

knockout(noun), but to knock out(phrasal verbs do not take a hyphen) knowhowone word as noun

knowledgeableone where we keep the middle e Koh-i-noordiamond

Koran, the now preferQuran, thecap and roman, like the Bible. For

references to passages in the Quran, write, eg 26: 181-3, the first number being the sura(chapter) and the number(s) after the colon the line(s) in that chapter

Korean namesthus: Ban Ki-moon, Kim Jong-il, Roh Tae-woo, Park

Geun-hye etc. At second mention, Mr Ban, President Kim, Mr Roh, President Park etc

Kosovo, Kosovando not use Kosova, Kosovar; the country’s

independence is recognised by the British government and many other nations, including most of western Europe. It should always appear on locator graphics that feature the Balkans

kowtowno hyphen

K-pophyphenate, lower case p for South Korean popular music genre

Krakowprefer now to Cracow Kristallnacht roman, note cap

Ku Klux Klanno hyphens; beware the risible malapropism Klu Klux

Klan, which crops up more often than it should

Kurdistana sensitive subject. In reportage take care not to write about

“Kurdistan” as if it were an internationally recognised state. The formation of an entity called Kurdistan, potentially involving territory in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union, is a key political aim of strands of Kurdish separatism; in this context, the word “Kurdistan” is perfectly acceptable in direct quotes. Additionally, there is an autonomous region of Iraq called Kurdistan, which comprises the provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Arbil and Dahuk, and in that context reference to Kurdistan is quite acceptable; it may also be referred to as “the Kurdish region of Iraq”. There is also a province in Iran officially called Kurdistan, but note that Kurds live in other Iranian provinces as well, and they may be referring to this wider area when talking about Iranian Kurdistan

Kyiv not Kiev for the city; Ukrainians, particularly in the face of Russian

threats, feel strongly about this (viewing Kiev as a Russian form); a global consensus now largely supports them, with western governments and media outlets increasingly adopting the preferred Ukrainian form

Labor Day, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics(in

US); use US spelling

Labor Party (in Australia), leave spelling as it is the party name Labour Party(in UK); abbreviate in lists etc to Lab lackadaisical

lads’ magplural lads’ mags

lady, ladiestends to sound horribly genteel; generally prefer to write

woman, women

Lady (title), female life peers should be called Baroness at first mention to

indicate that they have the title in their own right, then by their surname (or title name if it is not the surname) at all subsequent mentions. Beware a frequent solecism: a formulation such as Lady Joan Smith may correctly name the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl; not many of these figure in the news pages, however, and the person so described is more likely to be the wife of a peer or knight, or a life peer in her own right — in which case the first name should not be included; always check. See titlesand peers

Lagosis the biggest city in Nigeria; the country’s capital is Abuja laid-backhyphen for noun and adjective

laissez fairedo not use the laisser version

Lake Districtno need to include Lake when the name contains its

equivalent; thus Windermere, Derwent Water, but Bassenthwaite Lake

La-La landnoun; extra hyphen as adjective, eg La-La-land mentality, but

La La Land, the film

lambastnot lambaste

laméaccent for the name of the glittery fabric to distinguish it from lame lamppostno hyphen

landmineno hyphen

landslide(political), best not overused landslip(earth)

languor, languorousnot -our

lapdancer, lapdancing (nouns), a lapdancingclub; but pole dancer,

pole dancing(nouns), and a pole-dancingclub (adjectival, hyphenate)

Lappbut note Lapland

laptop(computer), no hyphen largessenot largess

lasagneprefer the plural to lasagna

last, pastit is argued that last is better not used as a synonym of latest;

“the last few days” ought to mean the final few days, and “the past few days” the most recent few days. The distinction, such as it is, is perhaps not as widely observed as its enthusiasts might like, and it is possible to worry about it too much. Take care not to write eg “last June” in December if you really mean “June last year”

Last Post, thelike Reveille, is sounded, not played (neither is italicised)

late, theit is rarely necessary to state that someone you are mentioning is

dead, particularly when writing of famous people (the late David Bowie, the late Winston Churchill etc); reserve for persons not in the public eye, when (and only when) their being dead is pertinent to the story

Latinbe sparing in its use, apart from in the Law Report (and the Latin

crossword). When Latin phrases are in common usage, use roman rather than italics, eg caveat emptor, quid pro quo, QED, ex parte injunction, habeas corpus. When a Latin phrase is not common enough to run in roman, consider not using it at all

Latin dancingcap Latin in this and all other contexts, whether the Latin

language or history, Latin music, Latin temperament etc

Latin Massshould not be used as a synonym for the older Tridentine rite;

check what is meant

Latino, Latina plurals Latinos, Latinas latitude, longitudewrite 45؛ 32’N, 40؛ 17’W etc

La traviata(note lower case t); all other Italian titles similarly, with caps

only for the first word (here the definite article) and any proper names. So

Un ballo in maschera, I masnadieri, La battaglia di Legnano, La clemenza di Tito etc. See titles

launch a book/film/housing development is launched(not launches) launchpadone word

launderettenot laundrette

lavatoryprefer this to toilet. Reserve the use of loo for informal contexts law casesitalicise, eg Regina v Turnbull, Rex v Dyson

law lords, law officerslower case

lawmakerspompous US journalese for politicians. Avoid lawnmowerone word

Law Reportin The Times, always initial caps and singular (not Reports);

so the style for x-refs is Law Report, page 42etc

lay, liea person lays a carpet (transitive verb), but lies on a carpet

(intransitive). Never confuse. The past participle of lie is lain(as in, “he had lain there all morning”)

lay-by noun

layoff(noun), lay off(verb) refer to the suspension of workers from

employment with the intention of re-employing them at a later date, or the temporary suspension of work introduced by an employer as an economic measure, so should not be used as synonyms for permanent job losses

layout(noun), lay out(verb)

lay person, lay people both two words, in church or professional

contexts

lay wastemeans to devastate or destroy, so it does not need a following

“to”. Goats can lay waste a field, not lay waste to a field

lbw rarely any need to spell out leg before wicket

leachremoving from a substance by a percolating liquid; do not confuse

with leech,the blood-sucking creature or a metaphor for taking the life out of somebody or something

leaderof the Commons/House of Lords; leader of the opposition, lower

case; also Labour leader (lower case), Tory leader (lower case) etc

lean, leappast tenses leant, leapt(not leaned, leaped) Leaning Tower of Pisainitial caps

learnt(past tense and past participle of learn); learned(adjective, as in

scholarly)

Lebanonnot the Lebanon (except occasionally in historical context) leechdo not confuse with leach

left, theno need for cap in the political context when referring to a group

of like-minded individuals, eg “The left added to Tony Blair’s worries”; also lower case in “the party swung to the left”. When the left is qualified, keep the adjective lower case, eg the hard left, the far left. Also, the left wing, left-wing contenders, leftwingers

leftist, left-leaning try to avoid these, and also rightist, right-leaning,

which are particularly liked by news agencies, not least in the Americas, and opt for left-wing, right-wing, left-of-centre, right-of-centreetc

leg despite several attempts to rewrite the anatomy books, stick with femur

for the thigh bone and the tibiaand fibulain the shin

legal aidlower case and never hyphenate, even adjectivally in phrases

such as legal aid cases

legal termsin general, use lower case for titles; thus, the recorder of

Liverpool (thereafter the recorder), Chelmsford crown court, Horseferry Road magistrates’ court; also “the court was told”, “the judge said”, “the magistrate ordered” etc.

The Bench is capped only when referring to the judges as a group; a bench of magistrates is always lower case.

For clarity always cap the Bar and the Inn

legendaryavoid its clichéd use

legionella, listeria, salmonellaare all bacteria, not viruses legionnaires’ disease

Legion of Honouror Légion d’honneureither form is acceptable,

according to context

legroomone word; also elbowroom, headroom leitmotif(lower case, roman), prefer to leitmotiv

Leonardo da Vinciat second mention, and/or for brevity, is always

Leonardo, not da Vinci (paceDan Brown; use The Da Vinci Code for the book and the film only)

leprosy patientin modern context, prefer to leper. Avoid defining people

by condition or illness: a schizophrenic, a diabetic, a paraplegic

Leptis Magnaa few historical points: in 200BC it and Carthage were

Punic; Alexandria was Greek. AD200 was the zenith for Leptis Magna as a Roman city and its benefactor was Septimius (not Septimus) Severus

lèse-majesté(treason, or insult to a monarch) takes roman and accents lessin quantity, fewerin number

lesseropposite to greater(eg, the lesser evil)

letch (after) prefer to lech for informal verb meaning to behave

lecherously towards, lust after

letdownone word as noun; but let down(verb) letter bomb hyphenate only in adjectival use

letterbox, postbox no hyphens leukaemia

liaison, liaisethe word linkmight often be better. The verb to liaise has

forced its way into the language; use sparingly, however, and only in its correct sense: to establish co-operation, to act as a link with, not as a synonym of meet or talk

Liberal Democrat(s)Lib Dem, Lib Dems are fine in headlines and text.

Do not shorten simply to Liberals. Abbreviate in lists etc to LD

Libor London interbank offered rate. At first mention in some contexts, eg

outside the Business pages, it may be helpful to explain that Libor is the rate at which banks lend to each other

Libya most centres of population are coastal and sizeable, so take care not

to describe somewhere as a town if it is a city

licence(noun), license(verb), but beware of licensee(noun), licensed,

licensing

lie of the land, thenot lay life cycle

life form

lifeguard(on a beach), Life Guards(on horses) lifelongone word as adjective

liferaftone word, as lifeboat, lifebeltetc lifesize(d)no hyphen

lift-off(spacecraft etc), as take-off(compound nouns, hyphenated) but

without a hyphen when used as phrasal verbs: “The take-off should have been at 2pm”; “The plane did not take off until 4pm”

lightbulbone word

light-hearted

light year

likemay be used sparingly as a less formal alternative to such as(eg “cities

like Manchester are ambitious” instead of “cities such as Manchester …”); may also be used, more sparingly still and only in informal contexts, instead of “as if” (eg “it looks like he’s going to win”, rather than “it looks as if he is going to win”)

likeable

likely in the unlikely event that you might be tempted to use the creeping

Americanism “He will likely send out another email soon”, please don’t. Instead write “He is likely to send out another e-mail soon”; or “Most likely he will send out …”; “Very likely he will …”

lily of the valley

linchpinnot lynchpin

linelower case in eg Maginot line

line of firemilitarily, in the flight path of a fired missile, or likely to be

attacked. In practice now used interchangeably with firing line (which ought strictly to refer to those doing the firing, but rarely does). As the literal sense of firing line is so rarely required, there seems little reason to resist common usage here, even if some readers are annoyed

liner strictly speaking liners nowadays are cargo vessels trading regularly

between designated ports, eg container ships; there are no longer scheduled passenger crossings over fixed long-distance routes. There may be a case, therefore, for confining the term’s use for passenger ships to historical contexts, eg the transatlantic liner Queen Mary, but its extension to the more leisurely cruising successors of those great ships (eg the Queen Mary 2)seems unlikely to cause confusion or undue distress

line-up(noun), but to line up(verb)

Lions(rugby), officially the touring rugby union team are known as the

British Isles; alternatively, the Lions. At a pinch, they may be referred to as the British and Irish Lions. They are not the British Lions

Lipizzaner horsesnot Lippizaner

liquefynot liquify, but liquidate liquoricenot the American licorice

lira(singular), lire(plural), the former Italian currency. Also Turkish lira

Lisbon treaty lower case treaty, likewise Amsterdam treaty, Maastricht

treaty etc

lissomprefer to lissome (or lithesome); means supple in the limbs or body;

lithe; agile; nimble

literallythe OED may now recognise its informal use as no more than an

adverb of emphasis; we do not. Phrases like “he literally exploded with anger” are literally nonsensical; avoid

little ’un, big ’unapostrophe shows absence of the o producing the w

sound

livery halls(in the City of London) do not take the definite article (eg,

Drapers’ Hall, not the Drapers’ Hall)

live stream, live streamingtwo words whenever writing about digital

broadcasting of events

Livornorather than Leghorn, alas, despite general preference for

anglicising foreign names

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Anglesey, which translates as “St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave”. It may be helpful in a tight corner to know that the name is often abbreviated to Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG

Lloyds TSBthe bank, and Lloyds Banking Group; but Lloyd’s of London

(insurance)

Lloyd Webberall family members (father William and sons Andrew and

Julian) have no hyphen except in reference to Andrew as Lord LloydWebber

LLP(limited liability partnership), as for Ltd or plc, there is not normally a

need to add LLP at the end of a company’s name

loanis a noun (ie never say “I loaned him £20” etc); the verb is lend/lent;

do not confuse loan or lend with borrow

loathe(verb), the adjective is loath(not loth) localadjective that often adds little

local governmentlower case councils even when full title, eg Watford

borough council, Newtown district council; all council committees in lower case; lower case for all officials (including eg Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London); lower case for lesser council officials such as borough

surveyor, town clerk; for clarity cap the seat of local government if we are sure of its title (eg Leeds City Hall, Birmingham Council House — not to be confused with Birmingham Town Hall — Lambeth Town Hall etc)

lochsin Scotland, loughsin Ireland

lockout(in industrial disputes etc), one word; but to lock out

locomotive namesshould be in roman, as with ship or aircraft names, eg

Flying Scotsman, Mallard.Do not use a capped “The” unless certain it is part of the name, eg The Queen’s Own Hussars. Beware of confusing locomotives with trains (for names of the latter use quotes); the “Aberdonian” or the “Cathedrals Express” (both named trains) might be pulled by the Flying Scotsman (a locomotive). Get this wrong and you’ll get letters — lots of them — from men who know

lodestar, lodestoneprefer to load

logjamone word

Londoncap the East Endand the West End of London, but lower case

north London, south London, east London, west London, central London, inner London; also lower case southeast London, southwest Londonetc. The local council for the City of London is the Court of Common Council, whose members are common councilmen; cap boroughin titles of particular boroughs, eg London Borough of Bromley

London clubswe are expected to get the names correct. Most now have

websites, so check. Note particularly the Athenaeum, Boodle’s, Brooks’s, Buck’s, Pratt’s, White’s, the Beefsteak, the Garrick, the Royal Over-Seas League, the Savile, the Travellers, the Oxford and Cambridge, the Carlton. (If adding “club” to give full name — rarely necessary — treat like school, hospital etc and make u/c)

London Stock Exchangemay be abbreviated to LSE, but use sparingly

and only in context, especially in headlines, because of confusion with the London School of Economics; ideally restrict to Business pages. If not

naming in full, prefer the stock exchange or the exchange to the initials wherever possible

Londonderry but Derry city council; and Derry when in direct quotes or

in a specifically republican context

London Underground London Zoo

longstandingdo not use hyphen

long-termrestore the hyphen (as adjective) if only because it often

appears alongside short-term, which needs one anyway

lookoutnoun, no hyphen

lord advocatedo not add “for Scotland” lord chancellor

lord chief justice

Lord Haw-Hawhyphenated. William Joyce, the Second World War Nazi

propagandist

lord justice of appeal

lord-lieutenantshould be hyphenated, according to the Association of

Lord-Lieutenants (note this plural, not lords-lieutenant); use lower case

lord mayorlower case as in lord mayor of London, Birmingham etc Lord’scricket ground

Lords(parliamentary) takes singular verb, eg the Lords is sitting

lords justices(both words take the plural)

lorryprefer lorry to truck, but the American truck has become ubiquitous

and cannot be banned, especially from foreign stories

lossmakerand lossmaking, no need for hyphen

lothario no need to cap except when referring to the character in The Fair

Penitent(1703) by Nicholas Rowe, which mostly we won’t be

loveabletakes the middle e, as likeable

lowbrowas highbrow

lowerprefer lour, as in a louring sky lower houseand upper house(of parliament)

lowest common denominatormathematically, this can be a big number

(the lowest common multiple of the denominators of several vulgar fractions). The use of the term in a derogatory sense to mean the level of the least discriminating audience is in common usage and is quite acceptable (if a bit of a cliché)

low-key

loyalistlower case in all contexts including Northern Ireland

LSEshort for the London School of Economics; also — sparingly, in

context and ideally only in Business pages — for the London Stock Exchange

Ltdcan usually be dropped from company names (as can plc, LLP) lullabynot -bye

lumbar as in the lower back (eg, lumbar puncture); lumberas in junk

furniture, lumberjacks, or (verbally) moving clumsily about etc

Lurexinitial cap

Lutonairport (lower case a), and resist the pressure to insert

“international”

Lycracap, trade name

lying in statenoun, no hyphens; nor the verb, to lie in state Lyons(not Lyon) is the English name for the French city -lysethe style is analyse, paralyse etc (not -ize)

Maastricht treaty(lower case treaty), or Treaty of Maastrichtin full for

the treaty on European integration, which led to the creation of the euro; signed in February 1992, it came into force in November 1993; a lot has happened since then

Mac, Mcalways check spelling of these prefixes eg in Who’s Who.In

alphabetical lists, treat Mc as Mac. Note that when typesetting in caps, the c (and if in the name, the a) may need to be set in a small cap or even lower case, eg FRANK McAVENNIE

McCann, Madeleine regarding her age, use a form of words (to cover

any eventuality) to the effect that she disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday

Macedoniais the name for the modern Greek region and the ancient

kingdom. In February 2019 the Republic of Macedonia (formerly part of Yugoslavia) became North Macedonia

Machiavelli(an)

machinegunbut sub-machinegun mackintosh(raincoat)

macroeconomic, microeconomicno hyphen mad cow disease

madrassaIslamic school. No h, two esses. Plural madrassas maestrosplural of maestro; not maestri

mafiaalways lower case. The Sicilian mafia, the Russian mafia, the mafia

in the US. Caps, however, for Cosa Nostra (when used, to refer to the

Sicilian mafia), the Camorra (the Neapolitan mafia) and ’NDrangheta (the mafia of Calabria); with an initial cap these can stay in roman rather than itals. For clarity also use cap in US references to the Mob

Mafikengthe new name (since 1980) of Mafeking. Spell according to

historical context

Magdalen College(Oxford), but Magdalene College(Cambridge)

“magic circle”lower case and quotes at first mention, for top law firms

in the City; but cap Magic Circlefor the magicians’ organisation

Maginot lineFrench fortifications against Germany before the Second

World War

magistrates’ courtsthe Metropolitan magistrate, the West London

magistrate etc may if necessary be capped for clarity, but usually magistrates and their courts take lower case. The name of the court is lower case, as in Bow Street magistrates’ court. An acceptable alternative for a magistrate or district judge is JP (justice of the peace) in some contexts. When the accused is appearing before the bench, he appears before the magistrates (plural) unless a stipendiary magistrate, now called a district judge (magistrates’ courts) presides

Magna Cartanot theMagna Carta, imposed on King John at Runnymede

in June 1215; if you write that it was signed, as children’s book illustrations like to suggest, you will be reminded by irritated readers that it was sealed

maharajah prefer to maharaja; likewise rajah mailshot

majortry to avoid as a lazy alternative for eg big, chief, importantor

main; often better deleted anyway

Majorca, Minorca we have adopted the Spanish forms Mallorca,

Menorca

majority ofprefer most of

majority verdictsare always guilty; there is no such thing as a majority

acquittal

makeoverone word as noun

make-up(cosmetics or typography), not makeup; but no hyphen in the

phrasal verb to make up

Mall, The(cap T), the road in London. In Washington DC, the national

park is the (lower case) Mall, more fully the National Mall

Mallorca, Menorca prefer these Spanish forms now, instead of

anglicised Majorca, Minorca

Mammoninitial cap

Mancap in the context of humankind, the species. Also cap for clarity in

names such as Essex Man, Mondeo Man, Neanderthal Man, White Van Man etc

management buyoutspell out first time, although MBO (plural MBOs)

is acceptable on Business pages

management-speakdo not succumb, for example, to describing an

organisation as meaninglessly as one press release did: “interested in nonface-to-face, high-volume, low-unit-cost solutions that would require the front-loaded investment the voluntary sector cannot acquire”

man and wife the traditional phrase in the marriage service of the Book

of Common Prayer; husband and wife, or indeed wife and husband, may be preferable options if a direct quotation or reference is not required

Mandarin is a spoken form of Chinese, as is Cantonese. It is incorrect to

refer to their common written form as, say, Mandarin or Cantonese: it is simply Chinese

mangospreferred plural

Manicheanembodying or relating to the radically dualistic world view of

the third-century gnostic religious movement; now used more generally (eg in the context of politics) to suggest a tendency to see life in stark terms of good and evil, light and dark, black and white etc

manifestosnot -oes

man-made hyphen

manoeuvre, manoeuvring, manoeuvrable mantelpiecenot mantlepiece

manuscript(s)write out when part of a sentence, but abbreviate to MSS

when quotation from catalogue, or in headline if context is clear

Maorinoun, adjective; prefer Maorialso as the plural

Mao Zedongnot Mao Tse-tung, except perhaps in direct quotation in

historical Pinyin context

marathonavoid in clichéd sense of a long time, as in “a marathon

session”. London Marathon, New York Marathon, Boston Marathon etc, all upper case

march past(noun), two words in military context

Mardi Grasfor the Shrove Tuesday festival; but note the self-styled

Mardi Gra bomber

Marinescap in both Royal Marines and US Marines; but a marine marketplaceone word, but market-maker

Marks & Spenceruse the ampersand rather than andin text; can

abbreviate to M&S in headlines; the formal legal title is Marks and Spencer plc, but we need use this form only rarely

marquessnot marquis, except in foreign titles (and sometimes pub names) Marrakeshnot Marrakech

married couple’s allowance

Marseillesprefer the anglicised version to Marseille; also call the football

club Marseilles (not Olympique de Marseille)

martial law rule by the military, eg under a junta, in the absence of civil

law; do not confuse with military law, eg that exercised at a court martial

Martiniis a trade name, so cap in specific references to the brand of

vermouth, made by Martini & Rossi; the martini cocktailwas not invented by the company and may be lower case

Marxist, Marxismcapped

Mary Celestenot Marie Celeste Masaiprefer to Maasai

Mason-Dixon linestate boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania,

traditionally regarded as the dividing line between the North and the South in America, especially between the free and the slave states before the Civil War

Masscap in its religious context, also Holy Mass, Requiem Massetc

massiveuse to convey great mass, solidity, bulk; do not waste as a vague

synonym of big

masterclass(musical etc), no hyphen

masterfulyou almost certainly mean masterly, at least according to HW

Fowler, who was keen to distinguish being in command from exhibiting great skill; the dichotomy was never as rigid as Fowler and his followers might have liked, but the distinction may have something to be said for it still

master of foxhoundslower case

Master of the Queen’s Musicone of those few, rather ceremonial job

titles that look unnatural lower case; the current incumbent is Judith Weir, the first woman to hold the post

Master of the Rolls(president of the civil division of the Court of

Appeal), another rare job title that resists our general preference for lower case

materialiseavoid as a synonym of appear, come aboutor happen materiel military hardware, no need for the accent matineeno accent, as premiere, debut, decoretc matinslower case, only one t

mattnot mat, as in matt paint, matt black etc Mauretania(the liner); Mauritania(the country)

may/mightdo not confuse. Use “might” in sentences referring to past

possibilities that did not happen, eg “If that had happened ten days ago, my whole life might have been different.” A clear distinction is evident in

the following example: “He might have been captured by the Iraqis [but he wasn’t],” compared with, “He may have been captured by the Iraqis [it is possible but we don’t know]”. To write eg “If the tree had not fallen on him, he may have survived” is absurd

Mayaone of the indigenous peoples of Central America; Mayanow also

the preferred plural — one Maya, two Maya — as well as the preferred adjective in eg archaeology, ethnography and cultural studies (with Mayan reserved for the language)

maydayas in SOS, lower case; but May Day(holiday) mayorlower case, including the mayor of London

MCCshort for Marylebone Cricket Club, owner of Lord’s cricket ground

and guardian of the laws of the game. Do not say the MCC (though lots of perfectly respectable people do)

me perfectly good word often wrongly avoided by the ignorant, who think

it sounds insufficiently genteel. Do not use horrors such as “between you and I”, or “he gave it to my wife and I”. An easy way to avoid such mistakes is often to try out the sentence with the other party removed: no one would be tempted to write “he gave it to I”; the presence of a wife should make no difference to the grammar

mealtimeswrite breakfast time, lunchtime, teatime, dinner time, supper

time(but use hyphens in compounds when adjectival)

meaningful useful word to convey “having meaning”; in other contexts (a

meaningful relationship, a meaningful glance etc), you might do better to try significant or full of meaning

means-test, means-testedetc (hyphenate whether as noun, verb or

adjective)

means to an endis singular, eg “It is a means to an end”; but “his means

aremodest”

meatloafthe minced meat dish; Meat Loafthe substantial rock musician,

now deceased

mecca lower case in eg “a mecca for tourists”; obviously cap in actual

references to the Saudi city

Medal of Honor use the American spelling for the award and the game

mediaplural as in mass media, so do not write, eg “a media that is full of

rumour”. Note mediums (spiritualists)

medics avoid this colloquialism for doctors or other medical staff; say

what you mean

medical termsnever use these metaphorically or as terms of abuse

(geriatric, paralytic, schizophrenic). In words ending in -tomy (appendectomy, hysterectomy etc), the word “operation” is tautologous and should not be used

medicationsgive the generic name (lower case, parentheses) as well as

the brand name, eg Casodex (bicalutamide) for those new or not familiar. Omit in reference to well-known medications, eg Valium, Viagra

medievalnot mediaeval

Mediterranean

meetavoid the tautologous Americanism “meet with”; we may meet with

criticism, or with a fate worse than death, but not with people

mega- be very sparing with this as a colloquial prefix meaning big

megawattsthe capacity of a power station is measured in megawatts; the

output is measured in megawatt-hours. Often confused, to the annoyance of readers who understand these things. The correct abbreviation of megawatt is MW (not mW, which means milliwatt)

mêlée

member of parliamentlower case, similarly member, but MPalmost

always preferable. Plural MPs(never MP’s)

mementoesnot -os

memoirsnot memoires

memorandum plural memorandums(not -a)

meningitisdistinguish whether bacterial or viral; the headline cases are

usually bacterial

mentalnever use pejoratively Merchant Navycaps

Messerschmittnot -schmidt. Note that aircraft types are styled eg Me

109, Me-262

Messiahcap in the religious context, eg in Judaism the awaited redeemer

of the Jews; in Christianity in reference to Jesus Christ. But lower case in a more general sense, eg “Many managers at Newcastle have been hailed as messiahs”

metaphors should not be horribly mixed, or absurdly elaborate, or so

familiar that they have become clichés. Beware the virgin field pregnant with possibilities

mete out(not meet out), in context of punishment

Method actinguse cap M for clarity for the thespian school which

demands immersion in a role

métier accent

Met Officeformerly the Meteorological Office

#MeToo generally thus for the campaign against sexual abuse and

harassment; the hashtag may be better dropped in headlines (and should be if space is tight)

metresas in distance, poetry etc; meters, as in gas, electricity or parking

etc

metricThe Times and Sunday Timesshould keep abreast of the trend in the

UK to move gradually towards all-metric use, but given the wide age range and geographical distribution of our readers, some continuing use of imperial measurements is necessary. The main aim is to avoid confusing the reader, so try not to mix the two systems in a single article. In general we should prefer the metric, with imperial conversions in brackets at first mention of specific figures. Whenever converting try to keep a sense of proportion: it is nonsense to express, for instance, an estimated 15ft as an excessively detailed 4.57m. If the first figure is no more than an estimate the conversion may safely be rounded to a similarly approximate 4.5m.

The following are the principal exceptions to the foregoing:

. Temperatures nowadays will rarely need converting to Fahrenheit, so

say that the temperature on the south coast hit the low 30s (no longer the 90s); where specific, just 16C, 28C etc. Give Fahrenheit only where there is good reason, such as in a historical context.

2. Distances globally. Use miles and in foreign stories convert (at first

mention) to kilometres in brackets only where someone in the story is quoted using kilometres. For speeds, use only miles per hour (mph) and in foreign stories convert to kilometres per hour (km/h) in brackets only if someone is quoted using km/h. For areas of land use acres, and convert to square metres (not hectares, which few readers can visualise). In a technical or scientific context (as opposed to motoring, public transport or walking), kilometres first are acceptable, eg North Korea’s latest ballistic missile has a range of 10,000 km (6,200 miles).

3. Personal measurements in height and weight. Continue to say she was

5ft 7in and weighed 9st 10lb.

. Altitude and depth. An exception to metric should be aircraft altitude,

where a pilot will announce that “we are now flying at 33,000ft”; metric conversion to 10,058m may be used in brackets here. But now specify mountain heights in metric first, eg Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Britain at 1,343m (4,406ft).

5. Volume. The main exceptions to metric should be pints of beer and

cider, while milk (confusingly) is still sold in pint bottles as well as litre containers. With petrol and fuel sold in litres rather than gallons, use metric, eg 75p a litre (no longer any need to convert), but because car manufacturers still do so, give fuel consumption in miles per gallon.

The overwhelming preference is for sporting, foreign, engineering and scientific stories to be metric; similarly, foodstuffs and liquids in cookery contexts, recipes etc should be metric, although small amounts can be given in tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp).

The most common metric abbreviations are mm (millimetre), cm (centimetre), m (metre) and km (kilometre); mg (milligram), g (gram), kg (kilogram); sq m (square metre), sq km (square kilometre), cu m (cubic metre); ml (millilitre), cl (centilitre), l (litre); W (watt), kW (kilowatt). Never add a final s to any of these abbreviations, eg 48km (not 48kms)

Metro in Paris does not seem to need the accent

Metropolitan Police subsequently may be abbreviated sparingly to the

Met

metrosexualfashionable heterosexual urban male who devotes much time

and attention to his appearance; note that the term was coined by Mark Simpson, a British journalist, not by Marian Salzman, an American writer

MI5is the Security Service; the Secret Intelligence Serviceis MI6

miaow the catty sound; note also miaow-miaowas the street name for

mephedrone, which is a class B drug

Michelangelo mickey, take the microchip

microgrammay be abbreviated to mcg microlightprefer to microlite mid-airhyphenate, noun or adjective mid-century hyphen

midday, midweekno hyphens and avoid such terms as 12am, 12pm and

12 noon

Middle Ages, thecap

middle class hyphenate as adjective attached to noun, but not otherwise.

He comes from a middle-class family; he is middle class; he is a product of the middle class

Middle-earthnote hyphen and upper case, lower case

Middle Eastcomprises Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan,

Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. In a general sense it may sometimes be (or in the past have been) extended to take in the countries of the Maghreb: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, as well as Western Sahara; there’s no reason to encourage this now. Never abbreviate to the Americanism Mideast; Middle Eastern, adj, seems also to need caps for clarity

Middle Englandcap, in political context

Middlesexis no longer a county but people who insist, eg some

correspondents to the Letters page, should be allowed to go on living there if they choose

Mideastunacceptable as abbreviation of Middle East midlife crisisbut do not overuse this cliché midnightnot 12 midnight

midsummer, midwinter midterm

Midwest(US)

MiG the former Soviet aircraft

mikenot mic, as abbreviation for microphone mileage

military law not to be confused with martial law

military ranksrefer eg to Major General Geoffrey Blimp, Lieutenant

Colonel Godfrey Blank (with caps) at first mention, thereafter they are no longer General Blimp or Colonel Blank, but just Blimp and Blank (or the general or colonel, lower case when not attached to the name); similarly, Rear-Admiral Horatio Salt, thereafter just Salt (or the admiral). Use hyphens only in compounds containing rear and vice (Air Vice-Marshal James Bigglesworth). Do not abbreviate ranks except in lists

militateagainst; never confuse with mitigate Milky Way, thecap for clarity

Millennialsalso known as Generation Y or Gen Y, the demographic

cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z, so born (it is usually agreed) between 1981 and 1996. Remember, then, that some of them will now have turned 40; beware of using dismissively or as a term of abuse unless you want to alienate younger readers

millenniumcommon usage says that the millennium ended on December

31, 1999, although technically it should have been December 31, 2000, as a very few determined readers never tire of pointing out. We accept the former. Note the Millennium Dome(and Domesubsequently, now the O2 arena), Millennium Fund, Millennium Commission, Millennium Exhibition(cap). Also Millennium Eve(as New Year’s Eve). The London Eye was known as the Millennium Wheel. Note also the Millennium Bridgeover the Thames. It all seems a long time ago. The plural of millennium is millennia(unlike memorandumsetc; see referendum). Note also millenarian(only one middle n) meaning of, or related to, the millennium and usually used in relation to religious cults

millionaire a person whose personal assets are worth at least a million of

the standard monetary units of his or her country. House price rises and historical inflation mean that millionaires, while not exactly paupers, are neither as rare nor as rich as they once were; their place in the popular imagination has largely been taken by billionaires

millionswrite out millions from one to ten, thereafter 11 million etc.

Abbreviate to m only for headlines. Also for currencies, spell out in text, eg £15 million, and abbreviate to £15m in headlines

Miltonianprefer to Miltonic for the adjective relating to John Milton and,

by extension, sublime and majestic writing

mindset

minimaldo not use as a synonym of small; it means smallest, or the least

possible in size, duration etc

minimalism, minimalist (artistic movement), lower case

mini-serieshyphen

miniskirtno hyphen; also minicab

ministers(political), lower case. Thus, the trade minister, a trade minister,

a Treasury minister, a Home Office minister etc. The same applies to ministers in overseas governments: give name and full title first time, thereafter name or just “the minister”

minussee plus, minus

minusculenot miniscule, however widespread this misspelling may now

be. Originally a medieval script. Use sparingly; it is heavily overworked as a synonym of very smallor unimportant

mis-hitand mis-sellwith hyphens, but generally no hyphen in such

compounds unless clarity seems to require one

missilea missile is a guided weapon. Do not use interchangeably with

rocket. A missile may be a rocket, but a rocket becomes a missile only when it has (or is intended to have) a warhead for a payload

misspellno need for hyphen

mitigatemeans to make milder, moderating (as in mitigating

circumstances in a law case); not to be confused with militate

mockumentary a parody of a documentary, eg This is Spinal Tap

MoDacceptable abbreviation for Ministry of Defenceat subsequent

mentions (but vary with the ministry) and especially in headlines

modellingdouble l

Mogul(not Mughal) for the empire and art

Mohammedcontinue to prefer Muhammadunless the individual

concerned has indicated a preference for Mohammed or some other form of the name

Moldovano longer Moldavia

Molotov cocktaildo not use this euphemism. Write petrol bomb

MoMA the New York art museum styles itself thus, and we should follow.

Note: this is the Museum of Modern Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art is another institution altogether; do not muddle

monarchlower case, for the British monarch; lower case also for the

monarchy; but clarity often requires a cap for the Sovereign, the Crown; the Queenalways has a cap in refs to the specific individual

monetisenot moneytise

money when giving historical figures for prices, incomes or wealth, do not

attempt meaningless conversions of old money to new; it is unhelpful to tell readers that a shilling “equals” 5p (its value on decimalisation in 1971); either establish a genuine equivalent at today’s values or, better and easier, give some indication of what a shilling might have bought at the time

moneys(plural of money), but money will usually serve. Also, moneyed,

not monied

money launderingtwo words as noun; but hyphenate adjective, a

money-laundering gang

Mongol,Mongolianfor the race. Never refer to a person with Down’s

syndrome as a mongol

Monsignor(Mgr abbreviated) is not an appointment but a dignity and

form of address for Roman Catholic priests who hold certain honours or

offices. In some countries and languages archbishops or bishops are also so addressed; this is not usual in English. Pope Francis has announced that he will no longer confer the title, but those who already have it should continue to be so addressed

Montenegrinis the adjective from Montenegro (not Montenegran)

moon there seems no reason to cap (except if it seems to help clarity or

consistency in a strictly astronomical context such as the Night Sky column). There will rarely be any doubt as to what is meant. The Apollo 11 astronauts left behind a plaque to mark their visit. It was written in capital letters, but Nasa’s own website transcribes it as follows: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind”; that seems authority enough for lower case when writing about eg the first man to walk on the moon. Also lower case phases, eg full moon, new moon

mooseplural moose, name of the large North American deer that in Europe

and Asia is known as the elk, plural elks

more thanoften preferable to over with numbers, eg “more than 2,500

people attended the rally”, not “over 2,500 …”; “their pay went up more than £300 a week”, rather than “over £300 a week”. This is not a rule, and common sense is needed; with ages, for instance, “he is over 50” sounds right where “he is more than 50” clearly does not

Mormon a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(note hyphen and lower-case-day). Also note the Book of Mormon (roman) unless writing about the improbable hit musical, whose title would (as usual) be in italics

morris dancing/dancers Morse code

mortardo not use by itself when the meaning is mortar bomb; the mortar

is the launcher from which the shell is fired. But mortar attackis perfectly

correct

mortuarynot the American morgue mosquitoesnot -os as plural most favoured nation status

MoTcertificate, test; but the Department for Transport (not Ministry of …) Mother Natureinitial caps

mother of fiveetc, no hyphens

“mother of Parliaments, England is the” Mother’s Dayor Mothering Sundaynot Mothers’ mother ship two words

mother-to-be(hyphens), but say a mother of two, a father of three(no

hyphens)

motocrossnot motorcross

motorcycle, motorcyclist, motorbikeetc

motoring termsthe following terms should be standardised throughout

the paper thus: carburettor, wheelspin, four-wheel drive(preferred abbreviation is 4x4 rather than 4WD), but a four-wheel-drive vehicle(two hyphens when adjectival), power steering,anti-lock brakes, 3-litre car, 1.9 diesel(hyphenated when adjectival), four-door, hatchback, four-star petrol, E-type Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz E-class etc, airbag, seatbelt, number plate, sports car.

For the foreseeable future, continue to give fuel consumption figures in miles per gallon

motor neuronediseasewith final e (as now almost universally used, eg

by the NHS and the Motor Neurone Disease Association)

motorway junctionsstyled Junction 6 (cap, numeral) of the M40 etc Mount spell out in names, Mount Kenya, Mount Fuji, not Mt mousyprefer to mousey

moustachedhaving a moustache; cf mustachioed, often with a comic

overtone, having a moustache, especially when bushy or elaborately shaped, eg a handlebar

mouthwatering one word moveablekeep middle e

movies although an Americanism, is now so common as to be an

acceptable synonym of films; but use filmswhenever possible

MP, QCthere is no longer a need to use commas each side when used

after a name: Robert Builder MP; Clarence Clearwater QC

muchno need to hyphenate when used as a qualifier, eg a much treasured

gift

muggingstrictly means theft by violence in the open air

Muhammaduse this spelling for the Prophet. Use it also as the default

spelling of the name, but respect variants according to individuals’ preference; if in doubt, use Muhammad

mujahidinlower case, the fighters in a jihad or holy war. The singular is

mujahid

multiincline towards making multicompounds one word wherever

possible, whether used as a noun or as an adjective, eg multimillionaire, multinational, multilateral, multimedia, multiracial, multispeed, multistorey, multitrack (and note multispeed, multitrack Europe). Hyphenate when the compound appears too hideous, such as multi-ethnic

multimillion-pound(multimillion-dollar) deal etc

Mumbai prefer now to Bombay

Munchausen syndromeno umlaut, one h muntjac

Munster (Ireland); Münster (Germany) musical vocabulary

. Song titles (classical or pop), album titles, operas (including arias),

take italics.

. Symphonies thus: Symphony No 3 (roman, cap); but where

symphonies have numbers and popular alternative titles (Eroica, Pastoral) the titles, when used, are in italics, eg the Eroica Symphony.

3. Concertos, roman caps, eg First Violin Concerto

music hallno hyphen as noun; music-hallhyphenate adjectivally, eg, a

music-hall act

Muslim not Moslem or Mohamedan Mussorgsky, Modestprefer to Moussorgsky mynahbird (prefer to mina, myna)

mustachioedelaborately, even amusingly, moustached Muzakcap, proprietary

Myanmartime to fall into line with the rest of the world and start calling

Burma Myanmar. When a ruling junta changed the country’s name in 1989, a year after the suppression of a popular uprising, many western media outlets (and the British and US governments) refused to recognise the move. Burma’s democracy campaigners continued to prefer the form “Burma” because they did not accept that the unelected military regime had legitimacy to change the official name of the country. We were persuaded by their argument, but our position owed at least as much to pragmatism as to politics. We must use the language of our readers, and Burma was how the country was known to most of them. It feels as though that’s no longer the case. The political arguments around the name have rather faded, as the situation in the country has changed over three decades; readers must be used to seeing Myanmar. Almost everyone has now accepted the change except the US government, and there seems no very good reason for holding out. Myanmar it is, with local place names in the country following suit (Yangon for Rangoon and so on)

myselfneedlessly and unappealingly used instead of meby people who

know that there is something grammatically wrong with eg “he gave it to my wife and I”, but who suppose that “he gave it to my wife and me” is insufficiently genteel to be correct

/11is acceptable, but it may be helpful on occasion to use the full date

elsewhere for clarification, eg “the events of September 11, 2001”. Reference to the 9/11 commission(strictly, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States) is also acceptable

Naafithe Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes; commonly used as the

name for the canteen for service personnel run by the Naafi

Nabataean (rather than Nabatean) for the ancient Arab trading people and

their language

naive, naivetyno diaeresis

names as a general rule, people are entitled to be known as they wish to be

known, provided that their identities are clear. Thus Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali; but in such changes, give both names until the new one is widely known. Note Lloyd’s names(lower case)

narcotraffickerone word; likewise, narcoterrorist narrow boattwo words

nationalresist as a synonym of citizen, as in a French national etc national anthem lower case always

national curriculumlower case

national grid lower case, generic, for pylons, wires etc; National Grid,

cap for the power company

National Health Service, the NHS orthe health serviceNHS for

headlines

national insurance lower case, like other taxes, in general context, but

cap for National Insurance Fund

nationalistlower case except when referring to the name of a political

party. Thus Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scottish Nationalists, Nationalist MPs. But in other (eg Irish) contexts, lower case

national lottery no need to cap

national parkscap when part of the name (eg, Snowdonia National Park,

Kruger National Park etc)

National Service caps

National Theatre caps; generally omit Royal

National Trustoperates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is

a separate National Trust for Scotland

nationwide no hyphen, but use sparingly as it borders on being a cliché;

prefer national or nationally

Native American cap the N when referring to people historically and

stereotypically referred to as Red Indian

Naturecap sparingly, only in the context of personifying the power that

creates and regulates the world. Also Mother Nature

naught come to (not nought, which means the digit 0)

nave is a central space in a church; journalists who misspell the word are

knaves

navy, navalthe Royal Navy (thereafter the navy, lower case); otherwise,

lower case: the merchant navy; the US navy, the Brazilian navy etc; naval

is lower case except in titles such as Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) etc

navy shipsclasses are capped, but roman, not italic (eg, a Leander Class

frigate); they are served innot on

Nazi, Nazismcap

NCO despite the name, non-commissioned officers (corporals, sergeants,

petty officers and the like) are not officers, a term reserved in the armed forces for those who hold a commission (lieutenants and above and their equivalents in the other services)

Neanderthalcap, and not -tal; note Neanderthal Man(cap)

nearby, near bystyle guides (including this one) used to insist that the

first is adjectival, eg “the nearby school was convenient”; the second is adverbial, eg “he sat on a bench near by”; the distinction is more or less lost and seems scarcely worth preserving; nearbywill serve for both

near-demise, near-fatal hyphenate these and other constructions

involving a noun or adjective with near

nearly one in three … isprefer singular to the plural arein these

constructions, but no need to be obsessive

neither takes a singular verb, eg “neither is …”

neither … nor when both subjects are singular, use a singular verb, eg

“neither Bert nor Fred has any idea”. If either subject is plural, use a plural verb, eg “neither the Johnsons nor the Smiths are coming”; “neither the Tories nor Labour know the answer”. Do not use the construction “neither … or …” (must use nor)

nemesis (lower case), any agency of retribution and vengeance neoconservative, neoconno hyphen

neoprene lower case as it is a generic neolithiclower case

Nepaleseprefer to Nepali for both people and language of Nepal nerve-rackingnot -wracking

Netherlands, the (no longer cap The). Do not use Holland as an

alternative except in sporting or historical contexts

nevermeans “at no point in the past or future”; there is a superstition

(mercifully not widespread) that it may be used only if we can be absolutely sure that it is literally true, and that otherwise it must be replaced by not; this has never been the case. If you write “I never knew that” or “I’d never do that” or “Such a daft idea will never catch on”, readers will never have the slightest trouble understanding what you mean

neverthelessone word, as nonetheless

newfrequently redundant. Try the sentence without it and see if it really

adds any meaning; always omit in “setting a newrecord”. Try to avoid employing phrases such as “white is the new black”

new age travellers no quotes, no obvious need for caps newborn(as in babies), no hyphen

new-foundhyphen

New Labour caps generally helpful for clarity when referring eg to party

under Blair

newscasterprefer newsreader

newspapers and journalsuse italics for titles and make sure to use The

in the title whenever appropriate and italicise The if part of the masthead.

When the publication’s name is used adjectivally, omit The, eg “the Times reporter was attacked …”

Always properly attribute material from another newspaper: never say “a report in another newspaper …” but “a report in The Guardian…” etc. The general phrases “media reports” or “press reports” are acceptable, however, when material has been widely disseminated

News UKthe parent company of The Timeswas rebranded on June 26,

2013. Formerly known as News International (to which it should be referred in its correct historical context), it is a subsidiary of News Corporation

New Towncap for clarity in reference to a conurbation planned as a

whole, eg postwar to accommodate overspill population, such as Basildon, Bracknell, Harlow and Stevenage. Plural New Towns

new year honoursor new year’s honours list(lower case); also the

Queen’s birthday honours

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, but thenew year, new year’s

resolutionsand Chinese new year

New York streetsuse numbers in, eg 5th Avenue, 42nd Street etc New Zealandnever NZ, even in headlines

nightclub

nightmarean unpleasant dream; avoid its use as a lazy cliché for

something that goes wrong

night-time (hyphen), but daytime(one word)

Nikkei average

nimby(ism) acronym for “not in my backyard”, no initial cap Nissan cars, but Nissen hut

nitroglycerin no terminal e needed; hence trinitroglycerin No 1, No 2, No 45 etc for songs in a pop chart, bestselling books etc No 10or Downing Streetnot Number 10

no noun, plural noes

Nobel prizefor literature, medicine etc; or Nobel peace/literature prize;

Nobel prizewinner, Nobel laureate(lower case l), Nobel prizewinning authoretc. Note that the Nobel prize for literature is awarded for a body of work, not an individual novel etc

Noëluse the diaeresis in the synonym for Christmas no-fly zone

no man’s land

non try compounds as one word without a hyphen unless the result is

baffling or hideous, which it often will be: nonconformist, but non-event, non-appearanceetc

nonagenariannot nonononcommittalno hyphen nonconformistlower case non-cooperation

non-dom hyphen

none usually takes the singular verb, eg “none is available at present”.

However, a plural is perfectly permissible and often obviously right: “and then there were none”; “none of them are better singers than the Welsh”; “none of them have done their best” (where the inelegant alternative would be “none of them has done his or her best”); let sound and sense (and sound sense) decide

nonethelessone word non-existent

non-fiction no-no

non-profitmaking nonsequiturroman nonstop

noon(not 12 noon); and do not say 12am or 12pm no one two words, no hyphen; nobody is fine as an alternative

normalcynasty jargonish word to avoid; say normalityinstead, as readers

would

north, northeast, northern etc, almost always lower case

northerner, southernerlower case in most contexts; but Southerner

(cap) in the United States

Northern Irelandthus

northern lights(aurora borealis), lower case; similarly, aurora australis,

the southern lights

northern powerhouseno need for caps unless helpful for clarity when writing about David Cameron’s ambitious (if elusive) scheme to boost economic growth in the north of England. Not much heard about now

North Macedoniasince February 2019 the new name for the former

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Do not confuse with Macedonia, the name for the modern Greek region and the ancient kingdom

nosey

notableno middle e

Notecap in the diplomatic sense

not only…to be followed by but(and usually) also; often better to say

simply both … and

Noughties the decade 2000-09. This is not strictly speaking “the first

decade of the 21st century” (2001-10); but the celebration of the new millennium at the end of 1999 and the start of 2000 (both years actually in the old millennium) has no doubt contributed to widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the phrase. Since the Christian era began with the year AD1 (not AD0), it follows that the first year of any century ends in the figure -1 and its last year -00. There is little point in fussing over this, though you should be aware that some readers do. Use common sense

nouns as adjectives resist the urge to string them together without

prepositions: “world oil supply situation”, “drug traffic increase”, “aircraft crash victims inquest” etc. This is tempting in headlines, and often useful, but the result can be ambiguous: “Miners dispute deal” etc

“no” vote, “yes” vote the general style for the two options in a

referendum but, historically, the Yes campaign and No campaign in

Scotland

no-win, no-feelegislation/agreement etc (no longer quoted)

nuclear termsshould be used with precision. Take special care not to

confuse fissionand fusion

nul points for the British-invented cod French phrase applied to the

Eurovision Song Contest when no points are scored. The phrase has no meaning for regular French-speakers, who would write and say zéro pointsor zéro pointé

number one, Number 10 use No 1, No 10 etc number platedo not call it a licence plate

numberswrite from one to ten in full, 11 upwards as numerals except

when they are approximations, eg “about thirty people turned up”. Exception is percentages, which always take figures (3 per cent, 5 per cent etc). Children’s ages should now be written out up to ten, except when giving a range of ages in which one would normally be a figure (a child aged five, but children aged 5-14).

Try to keep consistency within a sentence: say “the number injured rose from eight to fourteen”, and do not mix fractions and decimals. Note twenty-three etc with hyphens.

At the start of a sentence, write all numbers in full.

For ordinals, and eg birthdays, as above, write out up to ten, then 11th, 15th, 21st, 33rd, 95th etc.

Note 42nd Street, 38th parallel etc

numeracy the figures in your story are as important as the words. If you

say something is expected to cost £12 million, do you really mean £12 million a year? It makes a difference. If you are writing about a

percentage increase, do you really mean percentage points? If VAT goes up from 18 per cent to 19 per cent, that is a one-point rise, not a 1 per cent rise. Do not cloud your meaning by mixing fractions, proportions and percentages all in the same paragraph (or story): “One in five parents is always too tired to read a bedtime story, while 27 per cent never miss a day and just over half manage to at least twice a week …” Our first duty is to be accurate and easily understood in everything that we write

nut parwe know that an intro (usually) tells the reader what has gone on:

the who, where, what, why, whenof basic journalism. The nut par— sometimes called the so what? par— comes a bit further down and needs to explain why the story matters and what it means. Not by editorialising, but by giving readers a concise summary of whatever background information they may need if they’re to understand the significance of what we’re reporting. In a running story, say about a strike, it will tell the reader what the dispute is about (the operation of train doors; a pay demand). In a business story it will summarise the key facts about a company (what it does, how big it is etc). In a follow-up to an event long ago it will recall the starting point (local party accused of vote rigging). Don’t leave it out

Ofor direct invocation but ohfor general interjection; thus “O Jupiter” but

“Oh dear”

oast house two words

oath of allegianceas sworn by new MPs; the oath at subsequent

mentions

oblivious of (not “to”); means forgetful of, unaware of. It does not mean

ignorant or uncomprehending

obscenities, profanities, vulgarities almost always a sign of literary

weakness, suggesting an inability to make a point forcefully without causing offence. “Four-letter words” and profanities should generally be avoided because they upset many readers. Columnists and other writers who resort to them too readily should be encouraged to think again. The first question to ask should not be “Does this need asterisks?” but “Does this need to be in the paper at all?” In direct quotes and when essential to the story there may be no alternative but to include these words. In such cases, it should be possible to distinguish degrees of offensiveness.

There is a commonsense distinction to be drawn between two sorts of words: those which are not in themselves offensive, but which are sometimes used with offensive intent; and those which in themselves, simply as words, will tend to offend whenever they are used.

Words of the first sort (bitch, bugger, bloody, prick etc) might all appear in the paper in some innocent context or other without causing alarm; the words themselves do not suddenly become too terrible to be written in full simply because they are being used as insults. (So, for instance, there is no reason not to spell out “he called her a bitch”; “she said he was a silly bugger”; “ ‘You’re a useless prick,’ the heckler yelled” etc).

Words of the second sort are as a rule to be asterisked at all times; f***, c***. There may be very rare exceptions — eg (almost exclusively) in quotations from works of literature — when the f-word might after serious thought and discussion be written in full; for the c-word, such exceptions will be rarer still.

Which category a word belongs in is of course a question of judgment and taste. (A lot of words — scatalogical terms, slang relating to masturbation etc — may be said to occupy a middle ground: vulgar colloquialisms of varying degrees of ugliness rather than outright obscenities, they are not always used with particularly offensive intent; if they must be used at all, they are generally better spelt out.) In most cases, however, the commonsense consensus is surprisingly clear if the basic distinction is kept in mind.

Use asterisks thus, to a maximum of three: f***, f***ed, f***ing, f***wit; c***s etc (add final letters to indicate tenses/participles/ plurals etc). These strings of asterisks look horrid; another reason to avoid such language in the first place if we can.

Be aware that other kinds of language may also offend. Racist terms (qv) belong with f*** and c*** in the second category described here, while casual blasphemy (the use of “Christ!” as an expletive, for instance) prompts far more complaints from readers than any of the words discussed above.

See four-letter words, racist language, swearing

Occam’s razor (prefer to Ockham’s), aka the principle of economy occupied territories, theall lower case

octogenarian not octa…

octopusesplural of octopus; not octopi Odesanow for the city in Ukraine

oedipal lower case, as pyrrhic, oriental

ofavoid in expressions such as “all of the people attending”, “half of the

children replied”; say simply “all the people”, “half the children” etc

of all timedo not use this meaningless phrase, as in “best golfer of all

time”, in any circumstances

offbeat (adj), no hyphen

officers the police may regard all their constables as “officers” but the

practice does not extend to the armed services; do not call other ranks (private soldiers, naval ratings) or NCOs “officers”

off stagebut offstage(no hyphen) as a modifier. Likewise on stage,

onstage

oil-drilling, oil-fired, oil-slick, oil-tankerbut oildrum, oilfield, oilrig,

oil platform

oil-seed rapeuse hyphen

OKgenerally prefer to okayif only because it is shorter, and probably

more widely used (but there is no reason not to let eg a columnist or a correspondent to the Letters page spell it out if they prefer; just avoid variations within a single article)

old think carefully before using old to describe almost anyone under about

Old Boycap for clarity, for the former pupil of a school; likewise Old Girl

and Old Chigwellian, Old Dunstablian, Old Etonian, Old Harrovian, Old Pauline, Old Salopian, Old Shirburnian, Old Wykehamistetc. Try occasionally to resist the impulse to identify Old Etonians as such in every story where they occur. Always resist the impulse to identify as Old Etonians people who were not in fact at Eton

old city, old townno need to cap even for a well-established area, eg in

Jerusalem. Similarly, lower case in old Havana

old masters, old master paintings generally lower case; context will

usually make the meaning perfectly clear, but upper case (Old Master) may be resorted to if there is some real risk of confusion

Olympicscan be used as a short form of the Olympic Games. Similarly,

the Games(always capped, for clarity) can be used (same rule for Games in Commonwealth Games etc). Always cap Olympics and Olympic even when used adjectivally, eg an Olympic athlete. Note International Olympic Committee(no final “s” on Olympic)

ombudsman, ombudswomankeep lower case whether in general

context, eg “he referred the matter to the ombudsman”; or for specifics, as in the local government ombudsman, the legal services ombudsman, and the unofficial title of parliamentary ombudsman (the parliamentary commissioner for administration). Do not confuse the parliamentary ombudsman with the parliamentary commissioner for standards, an entirely separate post

omega-3, omega-6 etc, lower case and hyphen, for fatty acids

on behalf ofis a frequently misused phrase. It means in the interest of(a

person etc) or as representative of(eg “acting on behalf of his client” is correct). It does not mean “on the part of” or simply “by”: “the book betrays a lack of understanding on behalf of the author” is verbose and wrong

one previously the singular verb was preferred in structures like “one in

three says that …” But it is better to make it plural, allowing for constructions like “One in three boys fail. They then have to retake …”; “One in three people think that …” In first-person pieces, try to avoid the use of oneas a synonym of I

one member, one voteno hyphens unless used adjectivally, as in a one

member, one-vote system

One Nation Tories, One Nation politiciansetc (cap O and N) one-timedo not use as synonym of formeras in “one-time chairman” etc

ongoingdo not use this ugly adjective; say eg continuingor in progressif

anything is necessary; often the word is redundant and can just be taken out

onlineone word (adjective and adverb)

only be aware that the positioning of this word can significantly affect the

meaning of a sentence, and generally take care to place “only” before the word or phrase it qualifies: “she only touched the key, but did not press it; she touched only the key, not the switch; she touched the only key”. Do not take this to extremes, however. If the effect of placing the word correctly is awkward, and if the intended meaning is clear, only should be left where it seems most naturally to fall

on stage two words, as in “She was wonderful on stage”; one word if it

has to be used as a modifier: “The onstage arrangements are bizarre.” Likewise off stage, offstage

on to unlike into, two words generally better than one, as in “she moved on

to better things”, although “he collapsed onto the floor” is acceptable

opencast mining

open-heartsurgery; open-doorpolicy (if this overworked phrase has to be

used); open-planliving room, office

openly gay there should rarely be any need for this phrase. The Times

does not “out” gays so it is in almost every case redundant. Mention that someone is gay only if it is relevant to the story; to do otherwise is a breach of the Editors’ Code

open skies(lower case, no longer quotes at first mention only, for

adjective and noun), international airline bilateral access agreements; hyphenate adjectivally, eg open-skies policy

ophthalmologist,ophthalmic etc (not opthalmic); spell as properly

pronounced, oph, not op

opposition in politics, lower case as noun or adjective (like government)

except in the rarely needed phrase Her Majesty’s Opposition

Opus Deithe conservative organisation is a personal prelature of the Pope,

and so should not be referred to as a sect

orneed not be preceded by either, although it is strengthened thereby if

two options are mentioned. Usually avoid a comma before it

oral must not be confused with verbal; it means pertaining to the mouth,

often in the spoken context (eg the oral tradition, by word of mouth); verbal means pertaining to words (contrasted with, eg physical or choral). Take care

orangutan no need for hyphen

orders in councilare approved, not signed, by the Queen

Ordnance Survey and ordnance in military contexts; but ordinanceas in

regulations

organic foodnever say that organic farmers use no chemicals; they

frequently use a limited range

Orient, the wherever possible, say the East. The adjective is oriental,

lower case. The east London football club, now not much talked about, is Leyton Orient; it was known as Orient from 1966 to 1987 and Clapton Orientfrom 1898 to 1939

orientate, orientationprefer this to orient, oriented etc

Orkneyor the Orkney Islands, not the Orkneys (regarded as a

solecism by those who mind about such things)

Oscars, the cap. Also, Academy awards. Note that as the word Oscar and

the Oscar statuette are trademarks belonging to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences we should not use the word in such phrases as “the annual beauty Oscars” to describe unrelated competitions of excellence; lower case names of specific awards: best actor, best supporting actress etc

Ouija (board) takes the cap as it is proprietary outback, the in Australia

outdoor(adjective); but the outdoors outpatients, inpatientsno hyphen

outsidethere is no obvious need for the more cumbersome “outside of”

-outsuffixes in nouns, generally join up rather than hyphenate, as in

fallout, knockout, printout, callout, dropout, bailoutetc (but to fall out etc)

Outward Bound must be used only when referring specifically to the

work or courses of the Outward Bound Trust Ltd, and never in general use in phrases such as “outward bound-style activities”. Use alternatives such as outdoor pursuits, adventure training, outdoor adventure coursesetc. Outward Bound’s lawyers pounce on every perceived infringement of its service mark

over in many cases more thanmay be preferable when followed by a

number, eg “she waited more than four hours for the train” instead of “…

over four hours …”; “there were more than 60 victims” instead of “… over 60 …”. This is not a rule

over- as prefix, wherever the word does not look too ugly, dispense with

the hyphen, even when this leads to a double “r” in the middle; thus, overcapacity, overestimate, overreact, override, overrule, overuse, overvalue; an obvious exception where the hyphen is essential is overage; similarly, for words beginning with under

overallone word as adjective, but use sparingly

overestimateall too often foolishly confused with underestimate ; note

that the importance of writing “Its importance cannot be overestimated” cannot be overestimated

overlydo not use as an alternative for overor too

owingtomay sometimes be right when due towould be wrong; because

ofmay well serve better than either

Oxbridgebe sparing in using the term as a “catch-all” for Oxford and

Cambridge universities

Oxford, University ofcolleges and halls are: All Souls College; Balliol

College; Blackfriars; Brasenose College; Campion Hall; Christ Church; Corpus Christi College; Exeter College; Green Templeton College (after merger of Green College and Templeton College in 2008); Harris Manchester College; Hertford College; Jesus College; Keble College; Kellogg College; Lady Margaret Hall; Linacre College; Lincoln College; Magdalen College; Mansfield College; Merton College; New College; Nuffield College; Oriel College; Pembroke College; The Queen’s College; Regent’s Park College; St Anne’s College; St Antony’s College; St Benet’s Hall; St Catherine’s College; St Cross College; St Edmund Hall; St Hilda’s College; St Hugh’s College; St John’s College; St Peter’s College; St Stephen’s House; Somerville College; Trinity College; University College; Wadham College; Wolfson College; Worcester College; Wycliffe Hall

pacefor clarity italicise the preposition meaning “with due deference to”,

but often better to find a less stuffy alternative

pacey

paedophilean adult sexually attracted to children, but pederast, a man

who has sexual relations with boys; the distinction, now often blurred, may sometimes be worth making

page 1, page 3, page 187 etc; a page 3 girl paintingstitles in italic

palacecap in full names, such as Blenheim Palace, thereafter the palace;

the Palace (cap) is reserved as a useful shorthand for Buckingham Palace (and the vast royal operation based there)

palaeo-(not paleo-), so palaeographyetc

palaeontology concerns the study of fossils and must not be confused

with archaeology, which concerns human cultural remains

panamalower case for the hat, traditionally made in Ecuador but then

taken to Panama for international distribution

panic do not overuse; it is not, for instance, a word to bring out every time

stock markets fall; save it for a real crash

papacy lower case, like comparable institutions (eg the monarchy); the

Pope gets a cap at all times in reference (deference) to the specific individual

paparazziplural; singular is paparazzo

papyrusplural papyruses

paraffin prefer to the American kerosene paragraph“a unit of thought, not of length” (Fowler)

paratroops prefer to paratroopers; a general term for troops dropped by

parachute; a parachutist is a specialist in the activity. Note, The Parachute Regiment

parenthesessee punctuation

Parker Bowles, Camillano hyphen. With her marriage to the Prince of

Wales, she became the Princess of Wales, but (for obvious reasons of tact) she does not use the title, choosing instead to be known as the Duchess of Cornwall. When in Scotland, and when the prince is identified as the Duke of Rothesay, she is officially the Duchess of Rothesay and may be referred to as such

parliamentlower case even in British context (except when naming the

building, the Houses of Parliament). Also lower case in overseas contexts even when the word forms part of the institution, eg the European parliament, Canadian parliament and in many Commonwealth countries. Also obviously lower case in non-anglophone parliaments; in those cases use a cap for the original name if giving: so the Spanish parliament (the Cortes), the Russian parliament (Duma), the Israeli parliament (Knesset), the Polish parliament (Sejm), the Irish parliament (the Dail), the German parliament (Bundestag) etc.

Also, lower case parliamentary, even in parliamentary private secretary (abbreviated PPS), parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and similarly parliamentary ombudsman

parliamentary commissioner for standardslower case, the post

created in the light of the Nolan committee on standards in public life. He or she must not be referred to as the parliamentary ombudsman, who is the parliamentary commissioner for administration

Parseeprefer to Parsi

partially, partly partiallyis of degree, eg partially deaf; partlyis of

extension, eg partly under water

participlesbeware the dangling (disconnected or unrelated) participle,

where the wrong subject ends up being modified: “Rushing for the train, his hat fell off”; “Speeding over the top of the hill, the town came into view”; “Born in Paris, his best known novel is …” As Fowler says, these infelicitous constructions “seldom cause real ambiguity, but they jar and can distract the reader and are to be avoided”

part-time, part-timerhyphens

party (political), cap when integral to an official name in common usage,

eg Scottish National Party, Conservative Party (but Tory party), Workers’ Party, Freedom Party, People’s Party, Communist Party etc. Subsequent mentions of the partyshould be lower case

partygoerone word, no hyphen

Pashtuns biggest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Prefer this designation to

Pathans, by which they are also known. The language is Pashto

past preferred to lastby sticklers in such phrases as “the past two weeks”,

but either word is likely to sound natural and the meaning will generally be clear. See last

past tenseof verbs: almost always prefer the shorter form using final -t

where appropriate; eg spelt not spelled, dreamtnot dreamed (although never earnt for earned)

pâté regularly used as an English word, but retains accents (the second for

pronunciation, the first because it would be odd to do one and not the other)

payout, payoffno hyphens

peacekeeping, peacemaking etc (no hyphens) Pearl Harbor(not Harbour)

peccadillo plural peccadillos

pedalas in bicycle; peddleas in selling drugs or advocating ideas. Thus a

pedalleris someone who pedals a bike; a pedlaris the (often shady) small trader; and a drug-pusher is a peddler

peersa peer or a peeress holds a title either by birth (a hereditary peerage)

or conferred in recognition of public or political service or distinction (a life peerage). Some (but no longer all) peers sit in the House of Lords. There are five ranks of the peerage: duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron or baroness. A female life peer is a peeress usually referred to as Baroness Smith. After the first mention of the Duke of Devonshire, Marquess of Paddington, Earl of Euston or Viscount Pimlico or Lord Holborn, call them the duke, the marquess, the earl etc. Lord Holborn (a baron) becomes just Holborn. Not all lords and ladies are peers; some are styled Lord or Lady by courtesy: sons of dukes and marquesses; daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls; or wives of barons, baronets and knights.

The titles of peers, and of life peers in particular, should be checked in Who’s Who. The full title, which should be given at first mention, is whatever appears in bold capitals in Who’s Who. So, if in Who’s Whoa place name is given in bold capital letters with the surname (LORD BLACK OF CROSSHARBOUR) and without a comma, it is part of the title, which should be given in full at first mention; the place name may subsequently be dropped (so that we refer just to Black, unless, unhappily, the other Lord Black — Lord Black of Brentwood — figures in the same story; in which case we would need to retain the full titles of both throughout to distinguish).

If in Who’s Whothe place name is not given in bold with the surname, but is separated from the name by a comma and printed in lighter type, it is

NOT part of the title and should never be used. So Lord Mandelson is just Lord MANDELSON (bold caps in Who’s Who), never Lord Mandelson of Foy, let alone Lord Mandelson of Foy in the County of Herefordshire and Hartlepool in the County of Durham. For peers who sit in the House of Lords, the parliamentary website has an updated list of peers, with their titles rendered correctly, and is another useful point of reference; the government website is not a reliable guide.

It may often be helpful to identify life peers who have been familiar figures in public life and whose titles are not based on their surnames, or whose common surnames might lead to confusion. Lord Deben, the former Conservative minister John Selwyn Gummer (NB never “the former John Selwyn Gummer”); Lord Black of Brentwood (Guy Black, the former director of the Press Complaints Commission) etc. If a first name is to be added, it must always be in brackets: Lord (Conrad) Black. See Ladyand titles

pejorativenot perjorative

pekinese lower case for the dog breed. See dogs

Peking only in phrases such as Peking duck or Peking Man. The city is

now Beijing

peninsulanever peninsular when used as a noun; peninsularis the

adjective, as in the Peninsular War

pensionerstake care with this word. Some readers take exception to

“ambiguous” usage, so it should strictly be confined to people drawing their state pension. If in doubt, write older people, the elderly(but beware), or as a last resort senior citizen. See elderly, aged, oldand retiree

peonynot paeony

peopleuse rather than persons wherever appropriate; exceptions would be

“the law is no respecter of persons” or the ubiquitous missing persons. Take care with the apostrophe: remember that people is in effect a

singular collective noun, so the normal use is apostrophe “s”, eg “it is the people’s wish”; peoplesin the sense of races, however, is the plural of a singular people and so takes an “s” apostrophe, eg, “the African peoples’ common heritage”

per try to avoid in phrases such as “six times per year”; “six times a year”

is preferred

percentagesshould always take figures rather than be spelt out, eg 3 per

cent, not three per cent. Usually use decimals rather than fractions (3.25 per cent rather than 3¼ per cent). Use % sign in headlines, never pc, and spell out per cent in text.

Take care in calculating percentages, a frequent pitfall for journalists. Note eg that if the price of an apple goes up from £1 to £1.50, this is a rise of 50 per cent; but if it subsequently falls back to £1, the fall will be 33 per cent.

Beware in particular of the distinction between percentage and percentage point. If the mortgage rate rises from 8 per cent to 10 per cent, it does not rise by 2 per cent, but by two percentage points. Similarly, if a political party’s support drops from 50 per cent to 40 per cent in an opinion poll, it has lost ten percentage points or 20 per cent of its support.

More generally do not use the terms “percentage” or “proportion” as synonyms of “part” or “many” if that is all they mean in a sentence; eg instead of “a large percentage of parents objected” say “many parents objected”

perihelion the point in a planet or comet’s orbit when it is nearest the sun.

See aphelion

permanent secretarylower case always

Persiause Iran for the modern state, and never Persian Gulf except in

historical context

personally adverb that can almost always be removed personnelprefer peopleor employees or workerswherever possible Perspexis a trade name, so must cap

peshmerga“those who face death”; roman, lower case, for the Kurdish

fighters in Iraq

Peterhouse(the Cambridge college) never takes College after the name.

Neither does Christ Church, Oxford; nor do any Oxford or Cambridge colleges ending with Hall, eg Lady Margaret Hall. Nor do, eg Queen Mary and Royal Holloway at the University of London (though both used to). See Cambridge, University ofand Oxford, University of

petfoodno hyphen; similarly, catfood, dogfood petrol bombnot Molotov cocktail

phalangistin Lebanon; falangistin Spain

pharaoh (not -oah), lower case generic, cap when naming a specific king;

adjective pharaonic(lower case)

philistine lower case noun and adjective re boorishly uncultured etc;

Philistinecap noun and adjective re Philistia and its inhabitants, eg Goliath

phone hackingtwo words as noun; hyphenate adjectivally, eg phone

hacking scandal

phoneynot phony

phosphorus(noun), but phosphorous, phosphoric(adjectives);

phosphorescence; also note white phosphorusand white phosphorus bomb or shell(a shell that contains white phosphorus)

photo-finishbut photo call(two words); likewise, photo opportunity,

photoshoot

photofitlower case; but Identikit, cap

photographer credits for all Timesphotographers the style is TIMES

PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL. For freelancers commissioned by The Timesit is JOE SNAPPER FOR THE TIMES. For agencies, eg ADAM GERRARD/SWNS

pidgin Englishnot pigeon

pill, thelower case for both the contraceptive and morning-after pill

PIN (exceptionally keep caps for this acronym, for clarity, so not Pin),

personal identification number. Do not write PIN number, a tautology. Note chip and PIN

pitbull one word

pitstop(motor racing); also pitwall pizzazz

place name constructionstwo ugly devices to avoid are, eg “a Gosport,

Hampshire, housewife”, and “Manchester’s Piccadilly station”; say instead “a housewife from Gosport, Hampshire”, and “Piccadilly station, Manchester”

placenames use the online Ordnance Survey gazetteer or refer to the

print-edition Bartholomew Gazetteerfor place names in England, Wales and Scotland, and The Times Atlas of the World for the rest of the world. But there are exceptions; beware eg the revised Welsh county names

plain-clotheshyphenate adjectivally

planesalways prefer aircraftor jets(where applicable). Avoid airplanes

plant namesfirst comes the name of the genus, for example Malva.

Added to this is the species, for example moschata. Both of these should be written in italics, with the genus capped up and the species lower case, eg Malva moschata.

If a subspecies/variety/form is included, this is also in italics, eg Malva sylvestrissubsp. mauritanica OR Malva alceavar. fastigiata OR Malva moschataf. alba.

When something is a cultivar or hybrid, ie it is man-made or a popular cross-breed, it may be identified with a catchy name, eg Malva sylvestris ‘Primley Blue’. The latter is not italicised, but has single quotation marks. Just to confuse matters, this catchy name is sometimes referred to as the variety, which is not technically correct, but it is how some gardeners refer to popular hybrids.

Examples: Calendula officianalis‘Touch of Red’, Geranium cinereum ‘Ballerina’, Brachyscome iberidifolia‘Summer Skies’ with the genus capped up and the species lower case. For definitive detailed guidance consult the Royal Horticultural Society website

Plasticine trademark

Play-Dohproprietary

play downpreferred to downplay play-off

playstitles in italics

plcall lower case, can usually be dropped from company names

plimsoll the footwear; Plimsoll(cap) line, the load line on the hull of a

ship

pluralsmake corporate bodies and institutions singular unless this looks

odd. Thus “The National Trust is …”, but sports teams are plural, eg “Arsenal were worth their 8-0 lead”. Whether singular or plural, always maintain consistency within a story. Treat nouns such as couple, family and public as plurals

plus, minus do not use as variants of andor without. NB, plusesand

minuses

poetessavoid (say poet). See feminine designations

poet laureatelower case for a specific one and for the generic, as for

chancellors, prime ministers etc; the plural is poets laureate, lower case

poetry or blank verse quotesspacing should be as follows around the

slash to separate the lines:

The play’s the thing/ Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king

poinsettia the showy coloured parts of this Christmas plant are not

flowers but bracts (modified leaves)

point-to-point

pole lower case for an end of the earth and, adjectivally, polar; but the

North Pole, the South Pole; also the magnetic North Pole, the geographical North Pole

police in the United Kingdom, the underlying concept of the police is

“citizens in uniform”. Beware use of language from any quarter that seeks to establish the police as having quasi-military status. Thus, for example, do not refer to ancillary staff as “civilians”, which would imply that police officers are not civilians

police forces lower case the word police whether or not it is part of the

full name of the force. City of London police; Devon & Cornwall police etc. Note, however, five exceptions: Metropolitan Police(seems more

logical and natural than Metropolitan police; may be abbreviated sparingly to the Met subsequently); British Transport Police; Royal Military Police; Police Scotland(the single service for all Scotland formed on April 1, 2013, by the merger of the eight regional forces); Police Service of Northern Ireland (formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary).

Some forces have constabulary in their names instead of police, but they too may simply be referred to as eg Avon & Somerset police. If for some reason using constabulary, also always lower case (Durham constabulary etc), except in historical references to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (the RUC).

Police forces take plural verbs (West Midlands police “are investigating, have arrested” etc) — except for “the Met” (when abbreviated), which is singular

policemen do not use this word if we mean police officers, including

women; likewise, firefightersrather than firemen

police rankswherever possible outside lists, avoid the inelegant

abbreviated forms such as Det Con, Det Chief Insp. Spell out, even if inconvenient sometimes. The use of WPC (Woman Police Constable) is allowed historically, eg WPC Yvonne Fletcher (murdered outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984); otherwise now use PC, eg PC Sharon Beshenivsky (shot dead in Bradford, 2005). More generally, use PC for all constables, with no need to spell out. PC is also acceptable in headlines. Cap police ranks when, and only when, attached to a name: Sergeant Fred Dixon, Superintendent Kevin Knacker, Detective Chief Inspector Morse (cf army ranks, ecclesiastical titles etc); subsequently, and otherwise, lower case: the chief inspector, the superintendent. Treat chief constable as a job title rather than a rank: it is not usually used in front of the holder’s name — we don’t refer to Chief Constable John Smith but to John Smith, the chief constable — and will therefore invariably be lower case: “the chief constable of Greater Manchester announced”; “the mayor said he would complain to the chief constable”

etc. All ranks can be referred to by surname only after the first mention, though Sergeant Smith, PC Smith etc may sometimes be useful for clarity

Police Staff College at Bramshill, Hampshire; or simply the police

college(lower case), Bramshill

policyholder, policymaker but policy document politburo usually l/c

political correctnessoverblown euphemisms and clumsy

circumlocutions annoy. That said, newspapers must beware of normative or emotive language, especially when referring to eg women and race. Resist absurd neologisms, but never cause needless offence. See also race, racist language

politics treat as singular when talking of the form or process of

government; plural when meaning a particular set of principles, ideas etc, eg “Politics is a popular subject at many universities”; “What are your politics?” (Fowler)

pollockprefer to pollack for the fish polonium-210 hyphenate as for any isotope

Pom, Pommy cap the Antipodean slang for an English person. Plural

Pommies

poncey

Pond cap as a sobriquet for the Atlantic

pop art (painting etc), generally lower case but may be capped if helpful

for clarity or if making a precise art-historical point

the Popenot usually necessary to give his full name, eg Pope Francis,

Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, unless several popes (lower case,

generic) are mentioned in a story, but always cap when used specifically. Note pontiff, papacy, pontificate(the nice distinction between the last two words is worth preserving in the face of near-universal indifference: papacyfor the office itself, pontificate for the tenure of a particular pope)

pop groups no need to cap the the:the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the

Who

pop, pop music, pop star always lower case

populist should not be confused with, or used as a synonym of, popular; it

means supporting the interests of ordinary people, or pandering to mass public taste

Portakabin, Portalootrade names: always use the capital. If in doubt,

use generic phrases such as portable building, portable lavatory

Porton Down is the location of two quite distinct research

establishments, one public health and the other military. The former has not undertaken any human experiments with service personnel

possessives generally avoid the journalese of inelegant “geographic

possessives” such as London’s East End, Colorado’s Breckenridge ski resort: prefer the East End of London, Breckenridge, the Colorado ski resort. Similarly, do not use the possessive in phrases such as BBC One’s Panorama programme: write the BBC One Panoramaprogramme, or simply Panoramaon BBC One

possiblylike most qualifiers it can often be omitted with benefit

postage stampswrite first-classand second-classfor stamp

denominations

postal addressesin news and features, prefer to say Bromley, southeast

London (rather than Kent); and Kingston upon Thames, southwest London (rather than Surrey); Richmond upon Thames, southwest London etc. This leaves the old counties such as Middlesex to be used principally

in their historical or sporting contexts. Correspondents to the Times letters page may generally be allowed to live where they think they do, eg Twickenham, Middx.

Also prefer to avoid the clumsy possessive form (unless the alternative is even clumsier): so instead of Manchester’s Moss Side, London’s East End, say Moss Side, Manchester, the East End of London. There is no need to use postcodes except when giving an address for information

postgraduate, undergraduatenoun and adjective both one word Post-it Notesproprietary, cap P and N

postmodernone word, lower case in all senses. See artistic movements

post mortemwherever possible write post-mortem examinationin

reports, certainly at first mention; repetition may be cumbersome, however, so post mortemis acceptable at subsequent mentions and in headlines; autopsy sounds (and still is) American, even if British pathologists sometimes use it, and everyone knows what it means; not banned, but use sparingly

postwar, prewar (adjectives, commonly referring to the Second World

War). Do not use adverbially, as in “there were a million unemployed prewar”

pound do not use the £ symbol by itself, even in headlines PoW prisoner of war; plural PoWs

power measured in watts, megawatts etc, eg a 60W light bulb. Beware

confusion, all too common, with consumption of energy, measured in watt-hours etc. How much energy something consumes depends on how long it is on. See energy

power stationstake great care in expressing capacity and output correctly

PPE the university degree is philosophy, politics and economics (not

politics, philosophy etc)

practical, practicabledo not confuse. Practical means adapted to actual

conditions or (of a person) able to make things function well; practicable means capable of being effected or accomplished

practice(noun), practise(verb) in British usage. It is an inexcusable

practice for sub-editors to confuse the two; writers should practise getting it right

praesidiumnot presidium

Praetorian relating to the Praetorian Guard, or resembling it, especially

with regard to corruption

praying mantis(not preying); the preferred plural is praying mantises

pre-often redundant yet increasingly attached for no good reason to the

front of perfectly decent verbs: coinages such as pre-order, pre-book, preprepared, pre-installed etc are not to be encouraged

pre-budget report lower case

precedehence preceded précis use accent

pre-Columbian (before Columbus)

predominantly some dictionaries acknowledge the variant

predominately; we do not

prefixessuch as super, mega, multi, eco, over, under, micro, mini rarely need a hyphen: supersize; multifaceted(but exceptions when two vowels fall together, eg multi-ethnic); overrule, oversensitive, overuse (exception

is over-age); underperforming, underreact (exception under-age); macroeconomic; microskirt; miniskirt etc

pregnantavoid the infelicitous phrase “she fell pregnant”. Write instead

“she became pregnant”

premierdo not use in text as a synonym of prime minister, although very

occasionally its use in the headline of a foreign story (never British) may be permitted. Generally, confine the word to heads of government of, eg the Canadian provinces, Australian states and some British overseas territories; always lower case. Premiership is preferable to primeministership

premiere of a play, ballet etc (no accent)

Premier League the top division of English football, formerly known as

the Premiership. In Sport, and perhaps in Business contexts, but rarely in News, it may be appropriate to refer to the sponsor at first mention, should another come along, as we used to with the Barclays Premier League. The organisation running it remains the FA Premier League

premiseis an assumption in an argument; premises(property) take the

plural verb, eg “the premises are well positioned”

Premium Bonds caps

prenuptialno hyphen; likewise the informal prenup prepay, prepaidetc (no hyphens)

prepositional verbsthere can be no general objection to these. Most are

perfectly useful (and used all the time): take off, get stuck in to, put up with, play down, play up, go through, go through with, measure up to, get on with, fall out with etc. In some, however, the preposition is tautologous (consult with, meet with etc); these are hideous and to be shunned

pre-Raphaelitecap R for the name, lower case p

presentbetter than current but often redundant

presently use in the sense of soon, not to mean currently, at present or

now

presidentof any country, cap when used with the name, but otherwise

lower case: eg “President Biden said that … the president said that …”; “Richard Nixon was the president until 1974.” Write, eg President Zelensky of Ukraine (simply President and surname and country) at first mention. Also lower case when using president more generally, eg “Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States.” Also lower case presidency(as in the French presidency of the EU), and note that presidents of companies or organisations will always take lower case, even with leading national organisations, academic institutions etc such as president of the Royal Society, president of the TUC etc. Note also presidential(lower case), thus vice-presidential(lower case, hyphen). See prime minister

press always lower case except in titles such as the Independent Press

Standards Organisation

prestigious try to avoid this overworked and unappealing word and if

necessary find an appropriate substitute such as highly regarded, admired, eminent, esteemed, leading, noted, outstanding, powerful etc. Often it is more or less redundant and can be deleted anyway

pre-taxhyphenate

pretension but pretentious

prevaricate must not be confused with procrastinate. The first means to

speak or act evasively; the second to defer action, to be dilatory

preventivenot preventative

pricey prefer to pricy

prime meridianlower case

prime ministerlower case: “Theresa May’s record as prime minister”;

“the prime minister said that … ”; “Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister from 1979 to 1990.” Also lower case when using prime minister more generally, eg “Being prime minister has affected many men’s health”; “This is a prime minister with much still to prove.” Avoid not only “prime minister Boris Johnson” but also eg Boris Johnson, the prime minister (Timesreaders will know who he is); say instead Boris Johnson at first mention, then the prime minister at next mention. Never use premier for the British prime minister, and use PM only (sparingly) in headlines; prime minister’s questions, also lower case (but PMQs)

prime timenoun, primetimeadjective

primevalrather than primaeval

Princegenerally prefer to avoid the familiar forms of Prince Charles and

Prince Philip until they have been given their full designation of the Prince of Walesand the Duke of Edinburgh; prefer the princeand the dukeat subsequent mentions. Note the Prince’s Trust.

The Duke of Cambridgeat first mention, thereafter simply the duke(or for variation Prince William, or William); Prince Harryor the Duke of Sussex at first mention, thereafter simply Harry(or for variation the prince, if not ambiguous)

principal (noun or adjective) means chief, main, important, head etc; eg

the principal of a college, or the team’s principal objective. It must never be confused with principle, which is a noun meaning concept, ideal, rule, moral etc; eg her Christian principles

principality, the lower case in Welsh, or any other, context printout one word as noun, two as a verb: to print out prior to avoid wherever possible; use before

prison servicelower case; director-general of the prison servicelower

case; chief inspector of prisonslower case

private finance initiative(PFI), sometimes known as a public-private

partnership(PPP); note no longer caps when spelt out

private sector, public sectordo not use hyphens even when employed

adjectivally, eg public sector pay (as high street shopping)

privy councilandprivy counsellors (not councillors)

prize lower case whenever possible: Nobel prize, Booker prize, Academy

award etc

prizewinnerone word; eg a Nobel prizewinner, also, a Nobel

prizewinning novelist

probation servicelower case as prisons service

probeuse only in a scientific, medical or space context. Never to be used

as journalese for inquiry, even in headlines

problembe sparing with use of this dull and overworked word

procrastinatemeans to defer action, to be dilatory; do not confuse with

prevaricate

procurator fiscal lower case. Crown prosecutor in Scotland

prodigal, the Prodigal Sontake care, as the precise essence of

prodigality is wastefulness or squandering (rather than going far away from home and coming back). Other words, such as waywardor wandering, may be more appropriate in some contexts

Professor cap when used with name, Professor David Jones, otherwise

lower case, professor of history, the professor etc; prefer not to shorten to

Prof except in lists of names

profits especially in business stories should always state the basis of the

figure (pre-tax, operating etc)

program(computers); programme(the arts etc)

“pro-life”beware this contentious phrase for the anti-abortion lobby

(especially in US context); use the phrase anti-abortionwherever possible, but when “pro-life” is unavoidable always quote it

Promssummer season of promenade concerts at the Albert Hall, attended

by enthusiastic Promenaders (or Prommers) and culminating in the Last Night of the Proms

pronemeans lying face down, so does prostrate; supine, face up

proof legally, the standard of proofis the level of proof required of a party

to discharge its burden of proof. In a criminal context, the burden is with the prosecution to prove the facts essential to its case and the standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt; in a civil context, the burden rests with the party bringing the action and the standard of proof is on a balance of probabilities

proofreadone word; also proofreader, proofreading propeller not -or; propellentprefer to propellant prophecynoun, prophesyverb

pros and cons

protagonist in a debate or quarrel means a supporter (of either side); it

does not mean advocate or proponent

protégé if female: protégée; do not confuse with prodigy

protesternever -or

Protestantcap; beware of using for all Christians who are not Roman

Catholic

proven “not proven” is the Scottish legal verdict. In general use, prefer

provedto proven; but proven and unproven may be used (and increasingly are) as a colloquial alternative

provided that …not “providing that …”, but simply “provided” works

in some cases

provinces, provincialtake great care of these words in the context of

“outside London”. Many regard them as patronising; use the regionsor regionalwherever possible

prurientmeans having an unhealthy obsession with sex; it does not mean

puritanical

psychoticdescribes a mental health condition; never use as a term of

abuse

publicone of the few collective nouns where the plural is preferred, eg

“the public are concerned about their safety”

public schoolindependent schoolis now a preferable term; say public

schoolboys, public schoolgirls, if we have to use the phrase

Pulitzer prizelower case p for prize

pullout noun, one word; but to pull out, verb

punctuationno newspaper sentence should be confusing or open to

double meaning. No paragraph should need to be read twice. A sentence other than an exclamation should have a subject and a verb. The best punctuation is the full stop. Commas should usually be kept for

punctuating lists and breaking up sentences to avoid confusion. They should not join sentences that are better separated by a full point. Semicolons are generally best confined to separating lists of phrases. Colons have a specific use, throwing meaning forward. Dashes are a bad habit, often used to pursue a line of thought that the writer cannot be bothered to construct some other way. Brevity is all.

Some important reminders:

1. Keep commas where they should be logically in “broken” sentences.

Thus, the comma goes outside in the following example: “The trouble is”, he said, “that this is a contentious issue.” (There was no comma in what he actually said: “The trouble is that this is a contentious issue.”) Omit the comma before if, unless, before, since, whenunless the rhythm or sense of the sentence demands it. Avoid the so-called Oxford comma; write “he ate bread, butter and jam” rather than “he ate bread, butter, and jam”, EXCEPT where to do so creates nonsense or confusion. There is no need to put a comma between adjectives that form a kind of unit or where the last adjective is in closer relation to the noun than the preceding one(s), eg fine dry evenings, a good little boy. See commas.

2. Dashes should not be used in place of commas. Too many dashes can

be ugly and disruptive. See dashes.

3. Note that punctuation marks go inside the inverted commas if they

relate to the words quoted, outside if they relate to the main sentence, eg She is going to classes in “health and beauty”. If the whole sentence is a quotation, the final point goes inside, eg “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”

4. Interrogation marks are never used with indirect questions or rhetorical

questions, eg “She asked why he did not laugh.”

. Parentheses should be used sparingly; try to use commas instead. Use

square brackets when writing words into a direct quote that were not said, but which explain context or meaning, eg “I condemn [this totalitarianism]” when a speaker has said “I condemn it”.

6. With ellipses, use three points with full non-breaking space after last

word, then thin-spacing between points, then full space before next word; for example, not only … but also

punsan enjoyable device for headline writers. Don’t overdo. Restrict their

use to funny or light stories or features and if in doubt avoid; if irresistible they must at least be in good taste

Puritando not use the word for the 16th/17th-century religious group as a

contemporary adjective; write puritanical

putscha military seizure of power, as in coup pygmy, pygmies

Pyramids the three main Pyramids at Giza (including the Great Pyramid)

should be capped for clarity. But there are many other pyramids (lower case) throughout Egypt

Pyrenees no need for accents unless referring specifically to the French

département

pyrrhic(as with victory), lower case

qatrather than kat or khat, the hypnotic drug

QC, MPthere is no longer a need to use commas each side when used

after a name

QE2ideally spell out Queen Elizabeth 2 at first mention, thereafter QE2 or

simply the ship. Strictly speaking, she is not a liner but a cruise ship. See

liner

qi prefer chifor the vital energy in oriental medicine, martial arts etc,

believed to circulate around the body in currents

quality presspapers like The Times. While qualitygenerally needs a

qualifier (good-, poor-, high-, low- etc), this has never been a rule: quality grocers and quality chop houses have been with us for many years

quango (short for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation), no

need to spell out or to quote

quantum leapavoid this cliché wherever possible quasi- normally hyphenate, as in quasi-judicial, quasi-stellar

Quebecker a native or inhabitant of the province of Quebec; Québécois,

likewise but especially French-speaking

Queen, theretains her capital letter at all specific references; note the

Queen’s Speech(to parliament), caps for clarity, but the Queen’s birthday honours. NB the Queen is not “introduced” to people; people are introduced, or (more correctly) presented, to the Queen. See job titles, royal family

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (no commas) was in her lifetime

referred to at first mention thus in The Times; on her death she became at

first mention the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother; subsequently the Queen Motheror the late Queen Mother. So long after her death, there seems no reason not to use the shorter, more familiar form throughout when reference to her needs to be made

QueensberryMarquess of, and Queensberry rules

Queens’ College, Cambridge, but The Queen’s College, Oxford;

Queen’s University Belfastbut in formal contexts The Queen’s University of Belfast(and either form can be shortened to Queen’s Belfast). See Cambridge, University ofand Oxford, University of

queueingwith middle e

question useful concrete word implying the need for an answer; resist

overuse as a synonym of problem, issue etc

“question mark hangs over”an especially poor (going on bizarre)

metaphor. “There are questions about” is straightforward and more acceptable

question timelower case for the weekly parliamentary ritual of prime

minister’s questions (PMQs), also questions(lower case) to the prime minister, foreign secretaryetc

quicker do not use as an adverb — always say more quickly(or prefer

faster, sooner, according to sense). Quickershould be confined to adjectival comparison, eg “he started at a quicker pace”; adverbial use of quickitself is best restricted to direct quotations of spoken exclamations such as “Come quick!”

quid pro quonot italic

quiz showas chat show, game show, talk showetc (no hyphen), even in

the adjectival sense, eg chat show host

quotation marks(inverted commas), remember: single quotes in

headlines, straps and standfirsts; double quotes in captions. The only other use for single inverted commas is quotations within quotations. Avoid inverted commas in sentences where they are clearly unnecessary, eg He described the attack as “outrageous”.Quotation marks are not to be used for works of art.

When copy starts with a drop cap (as in some features) and the opening words are a quotation, the quotation must be opened as well as closed, ie there must be a large single quote mark alongside the initial drop cap, as well as closing quotes in the text; it may be preferable to rewrite the intro to avoid this

quotesdirect quotes should be corrected only to remove the solecisms and

other errors that occur in speech but look silly in print. Make sure that literary or biblical quotations are absolutely accurate. Always take care that quotes are correctly rendered and properly attributed; never present a quote as having been given directly to The Timesif it was not. Unattributed quotes (eg from anonymous “sources”) should be kept to a minimum, and used only when confidentiality is vital. Unattributed derogatory quotes should not be relied on as the sole basis for criticism of individuals or institutions; they need supporting evidence, and those criticised should have an opportunity to respond before publication.

Normally introduce direct speech with a colon, particularly in news reports; but in features, columns and less formal writing, where direct speech appears mid-sentence and where colons might disrupt the flow, a degree of flexibility must be allowed; the opening and closing quotation marks are often enough to make clear what is going on — if not, a comma may help; use common sense

Quran, theprefer now to Koran

qwerty lower case for the arrangement of the standard English language

keyboard

racereference to a person’s race, colour or ethnicity may be made only

when genuinely relevant to the story; pejorative or prejudicial references breach the Editors’ Code. The word race itself is often better replaced by people, nation, groupetc

racecourse, racehorse, racetrack Rachmaninov, Sergeinot Rachmaninoff

racist languageas with other offensive language, avoid. As a general

rule, if necessary in direct quotes, use asterisks: y**; n***er etc, even when quoting the deliberate use of racist language by those who are usually its targets (eg rap musicians, Tottenham Hotspur fans). On occasion, eg in historical contexts or when quoting from works of literature etc, room for editorial discretion may exist; such occasions will be rare and require careful thought; if in doubt, use asterisks. See

obscenities

rackedby doubts, pain etc; not wracked

racketfor tennis, not racquet. The game is also rackets racoon prefer this shorter spelling to raccoon

radiocompounds are generally one word in the wireless context (eg

radiotelephone) or when they concern rays (eg radioactive, radioisotope, radiotherapy). Broadcasting frequencies are measured in megahertz (MHz) and kilohertz (kHz). But note radio telescope

radio ham this term should strictly be applied only to licensed amateur

radio operators, who are offended when it is used to refer to unlicensed “eavesdroppers” spying on private phone calls etc. Doesn’t often come up these days, but take care

RAF the Royal Air Force. Cap if spelling out

RAF crewswent on operations(or ops) in the Second World War;

Americans went on missions. Do not mix up

railwayswrite east coast main line, west coast main line, Channel tunnel

rail link

railway stationtry to resist the Americanism train stationexcept eg in

direct quotes from North Americans; be aware, however, that this is a losing battle

rain, rein, reignbeware rainforestone word raison d’être roman

rajahtakes the final -h, as does maharajah

ramp upavoid as a tacky journalistic synonym for increaseor strengthen

randthe South African unit of currency. Plural rands. Write, eg 12.1

billion rands at first mention; subsequently R2.3 billion etc

R&Bif a distinction is needed, use R&Bfor the contemporary dance genre

influenced by hip-hop and R’n’Bfor the vintage rhythm and blues from which it ultimately derives

ranging from overworked and often unnecessary phrase. There must be a

scale in which the elements might be ranged: “ranging from 15 to 25 years” is correct, “a crowd ranging from priests to golfers” is not

ranksin the armed services, cap only when attached to a name, eg General

Jones. Prefer not to abbreviate in news stories (Adm, Sgt etc are acceptable in Court page lists of appointments etc).

Times style is to follow the services in dispensing with a hyphen in those ranks consisting of a compound of two individual rank designations, eg:

for the navy, lieutenant commander, commandant general, surgeon captain do not require a hyphen; keep the hyphen for any rank with vice or rear, eg vice-admiral, rear-admiral; also hyphenate commander-inchief

for the army, major general, lieutenant general, lieutenant colonel, sergeant major etc. (Note that there have been no brigadier generals in the British Army since 1921, although they exist still in eg the American and French)

for the RAF, air vice-marshal is the only hyphenated rank; ie no hyphen in squadron leader, wing commander, leading aircraftman, air chief marshal etc

Likewise, there is no need for a hyphen in compounds (apart from naval ranks with vice and rear) that are not made up of two individual rank designations: able seaman, staff sergeant, lance corporal, warrant officer etc

rarefied, rarefynot rarified rateable

rating agency prefer to ratings agency

rave acceptable in context as a musical event. See gig

raze means demolish, destroy, tear down completely, level; there is rarely

much to be gained by adding “to the ground”, which in any case risks turning a vivid verb into a dull cliché

razzmatazz

re- whenever possible, run the prefix on to the word it qualifies, eg

readmission, remake, rework etc; but there are two main classes of exceptions:

1. where the word after re- begins with an e, eg re-election, re-emerge,

re-examine, re-enter etc;

2. where there could be serious ambiguity in compounds, such as re

creation (recreation), re-cover (recover), re-dress (redress), re-form (pop groups) v reform (delinquents)

reach out appalling, cloying corporate jargon for contact; do not use

real estate acceptable as a synonym for (real) property in a North

American context, but write propertywherever possible. Technically, the “real” means immoveable property, eg land and tenements, to distinguish it from personal property

realpolitik roman, lower case

reason “the reason why he did this” is a tautology; prefer “the reason that

he did this”, or rewrite to avoid (eg “he did this because”)

rebut means to argue to the contrary, producing evidence; to refuteis to

win such an argument. Neither should be used as a synonym of reject, deny or counter, all good, straightforward words. Nor should they be used for disputeor respond to

receive“receiving an injury” is to be discouraged, but not banned. Prefer

to say sustainedor suffered; and never say someone received a broken leg etc — prefer suffered a broken leg or, better still, broke a leg

recordnever say “set a new record”, “was an all-time record” etc, where

both the qualifiers are tautologous; treat “record” claims with suspicion anyway

rector like vicar, lower case

recrudescence do not confuse with resurgenceor revival. It means

worsening, in the sense of reopening wounds or recurring diseases

redbrickuniversity, but a red-brickbuilding

red planetinformal name for Mars. No need for cap unless context allows

some possibility of confusion without

reductio ad absurdum (note, not reduction, absurdam or italics),

proving a premise is false by showing its logical consequence to be contradictory or absurd

referendum plural referendums, as with conundrums, stadiums, forums

and most words ending in -um. But note millennia, strata

Reformation, theretain cap only for the historical schism in western

Christianity

refusenik

refutetake care with this word; see rebut

regalia plural. Prefer insignia, eg for an MBE appointment, to regalia,

which are originally and strictly emblems of royalty

Regent’s Canal andRegent’s Park take an apostrophe s, but Regent

Street

regimen should be restricted to medical contexts: a prescribed course of

exercise, way of life, diet etc

registrar(University of Oxford), but registrary(University of

Cambridge); both lower case

registrar-general

regular not the same as frequent

relatively a word that rarely adds anything useful

religious right in American politics. Mostly this will work lower case, so

try it that way first. If the meaning is not clear, cap

Remembrance Sundaypreferred to day

Renaissance, the cap the historical transformation in western culture that

began in the 14th century, but lower case all general use of renaissanceas synonym of revival or rebirth

reorganise

repellantnoun; repellentadjective replacements in rugby union, not substitutes

repetition not always a bad thing. Fear of repetition too often leads

reporters to try their hand at elegant variation, which is usually worse. Eager not to overuse a key word in a story, they resort to a strange and jarring synonym. Thus the otter becomes “the popular fish-eating mammal”, head teachers become “school leaders”, a killer whale becomes “the cetacean”; more worryingly, “pupils” in the north are compared with “students” in the south, leaving readers unsure whether we are comparing like with like. At worst a factual error is quite needlessly introduced; at least one idiotic reference to Istanbul as “the Turkish capital” would have been avoided had the writer just repeated the city’s name.

You want to avoid repeating the same key noun, so make full use of pronouns. Elegant variation is not the answer. Not only is it better to

repeat the right word than to use a weird, unsuitable and possibly wrong alternative, but repetition may sometimes be just what is required: what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; there’s no business like showbusiness; the king is dead, long live the king …

One mention of yesterday or last night in your story is usually enough. You are working at speed and it is easy to repeat this inadvertently. Don’t. Another common failing is to repeat the intro in the second par, rephrasing it slightly and adding only minimal extra information. Don’t

report lower case in titles of official documents such as Taylor report

reportedlyavoid this slack word, which suggests that the writer is unsure

of the source of the material and less than confident of the facts

Republic of Irelandor Irish Republic. Ireland is acceptable,

particularly in a sporting context

republicanlower case except when in an official name, such as the

Republican Party in the US or the Republicans in France

rerun

research shows that …in many cases it does nothing of the kind. Often

it is not research but a (more or less serious) survey or poll. These can make perfectly good stories, but they rarely have the methodological rigour that research implies. If a new survey suggests or a new poll claims, then that is what we should say. None of these phrases inspires much enthusiasm in the reader, it must be said. See also expert

resolution cap for clarity in context of a specific UN one, eg Resolution

688

responsible people bear responsibility, things do not. Storms are not

responsible for damage; they cause it. Avoid the phrase “the rebels claimed responsibility for the bombing”; say instead “the rebels admitted carrying out the bombing”

result inavoid this lazy phrase and find an alternative, such as cause,

bring, create, evoke, lead toetc

retiree ghastly word. Try to find an alternative, such as retired person. See

elderly, aged, oldand pensioners

re-useone of the re- words where the hyphen is essential as “reuse” is

hideous

Reveille like the Last Post, it is sounded, not played

Revenue & Customsbecame the new name (April 2005) for the

combined Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise bodies. At first mention refer to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and subsequently HMRC

reverendat first mention the style is “the Rev Tom Jones”, then Jones; a

parson and his wife are “the Rev Tom and Mrs Jones”. Never say “the Rev Jones” or “Rev Jones”; outside the world of Reverend Bacon, the Harlem demagogue in Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, these are solecisms on a par with calling Sir Bobby Charlton “Sir Charlton”. Never assume that anyone called “the Rev” is “a vicar” or even an Anglican priest

review takes lower case in names of government programmes, such as

strategic defence review, comprehensive spending reviewetc

rhinoceroses for the plural

Richter scale measures the energy released by an earthquake, eg “the

earthquake measured 6 on the Richter scale”. The term may retain some popular currency but the scale itself has been effectively abandoned by seismologists in favour of eg the moment magnitude scale, which can better measure tremors in remote and distant locations, so beware

riffle, rifflingas in flicking through papers or clothes on a rail; riflingin

the sense of ransacking (or for grooves inside the barrel of a gun)

right, the aim not to cap in the political context when referring to a group

of like-minded individuals, eg “The right added to Theresa May’s problems over Brexit”; “the party swung to the right”. When the right is qualified, keep the adjective lower case too, eg the far right, the religious right. Be guided by common sense; if there ever seems to be a risk of serious confusion or ambiguity, resort to a cap, but it should rarely be necessary. Also, theright wing, right-wing contenders, rightwingers. Keep far right for extremists espousing violence, neo-Nazis and the like; for politicians and political parties operating within the democratic process stick to right wingand/or prefer to describe policy in more specific terms: nationalist, populist, anti-immigrant etc

rightist, right-leaning try to avoid these, and also leftist, left-leaning,

which are particularly liked by news agencies, not least in the Americas, and opt for left-wing, right-wing, left-of-centre, right-of-centreetc

right-to-buy hyphenate whether noun or adjective in relation to the policy

first introduced by Margaret Thatcher allowing tenants to buy councilowned properties

rigmarolenot rigamarole

ring fence noun, two words; ring-fenceverb, with hyphen

riot act lower case, eg “read the riot act”, unless specifically referring in a

legal/historical context to the passing of the Riot Act (1714)

riots as good a place as any for a couple of thoughts. First, a riot is defined

in the context of law and order as “a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd”. Second, a reminder to beware claims about any event, including outbreaks of public disorder, being “unprecedented”. For example, in London in the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of June 1780, there were 700 people killed over five days; in Manchester on August 16, 1819, at the Peterloo Massacre, it is thought that there were up to 18 deaths and 700 people seriously injured

rip off(verb), rip-off(noun or adjective); avoid this cliché except in quotes

such as “rip-off Britain”

riverbankone word

Rivercap as a shorthand for the River Thames, eg “All he wanted was a

cab going south of the River”

riverscap in context of River Thames, the Hudson River, the Mississippi

River (or simply the Thames, the Mississippi etc if adjudged well known to all our readership). See estuary

roadblock, roadbuilding, roadbuilderetc

“road map” quoted at first mention and in headlines for the two-state

Middle East peace formula

road rageno need to quote, even at first mention

roads it is as tautologous to write “the M5 motorway” as “the A435 road”,

but it seems pompous to worry unduly over this, as the usage is widespread. It is in any case correct to say “the M40 London to Birmingham motorway”. There is no need to define the M25 as London’s orbital motorway, but generally try to define/locate a road geographically unless context is clear

Robert the Bruce (prefer to Robert Bruce); subsequent mentions, the

Bruce

rock earlier editions of this guide were adamant: “a stoneis a small lump

of rock that can be thrown by someone, eg hypothetically, by an alleged protester at the police. In British English, a rock is too big to be thrown effectively in that way; however, chiefly in North American and Australian English, a stone that can be thrown is called a rock. As we aspire to British English, please do not refer to a rock when we mean a stone.” It’s one of those entries no style guide needs to have. Throw rocks if you must

rock’n’roll

Rohypnolmust not be referred to as the “date rape drug” but must be

capped

Rollerblade is a trade name, so must be capped. The American

company’s lawyers insist that even Rollerblading takes the cap; use in-line skates/skatinginstead

rollerskate, rollercoaster

roll-on, roll-off(as in ferries), abbreviated to ro-ro

roll out(verb), rollout(noun) as in to introduce, or the introduction of, a

new product or process. Use very sparingly; a plain English alternative is almost always better

rollover (as in the national lottery), no hyphen

Rolls-Roycenote hyphen; Rolls-Royce objects to use of its exclusive

marque in a descriptive sense, eg online advertising service spoken of as “The Rolls-Royce of Car Locators”

Roman numeralsusually no full points; thus Edward VIII, Article XVI,

Part II, Psalm xxiii. But in official documents, to designate sub-sections, use the points, eg i., ii., iv. etc

Romanov prefer to Romanoff for the surname of the Russian imperial

family

rom-comhyphenate. Acceptable shorthand for romantic comedy,

especially in cinematic context

roofs absolutely not rooves

roomssay living room, drawing room, laundry room(no hyphens except

when adjectival, eg living-room carpet), but bathroom, bedroom, tearoom

ropey prefer to ropy

rottweiler lower case. See dogs rouble not ruble

Rough Guidea trademark, rigorously protected by the publisher. So

generic phrases such as “a rough guide to …” must be avoided

round-uphyphenate as a noun; to round up(verb)

row be sparing in the use of this word, especially in headlines. Alternatives

are rift, split, clashetc, and disputein text. However, row is not banned

royal, royaltylower case for royalty and for the royal family; royal is

usually lower case when used adjectivally, as in royal couple, royal baby, royal approval, royal visit, the royal wave, royal wedding; a cap may sometimes help clarity in eg royal assent, royal collection, royal household, royal yacht, but try them all lower case first (except when naming the Royal Yacht Britannia) etc

Royal Academycap, then the academy (lower case) or the RA; a Royal

Academician (cap) or an RA, but an academician (lower case). Note the Summer Exhibition (cap, roman)

royal charter no need to cap

royal commissionsshould be capped when the full title is given, eg the

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, but otherwise lower case the royal commission. NB Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords

royal family lower case, British and overseas; with names of the British

royal family, generally give fully at first mention, eg the Duke of Edinburgh, thereafter the duke (lower case) or occasionally Prince Philip; the Duke of Cambridge at first mention, thereafter simply the duke (or for variation Prince William, or William); Prince Harry at first mention, thereafter simply Harry (or for variation the prince, if not ambiguous). In England and Wales, prefer the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (the prince and the duchess at subsequent mention, although Prince Charles is also acceptable). In Scotland, the usage the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay is permissible. The duchess is technically the Princess of Wales, but does not use the title; nor do we. In royalty context, the cap after first mention should be confined to the Queen.

Take care with the naming of deposed and former royalty. For example, write “the former King Constantine of Greece” and then Constantine subsequently.

Note, “for Queen and country”, “for King and country”, cap as the monarch being served is always specific

Royal Marines use military rather than naval ranks but are the

amphibious troops of the Royal Navy. Carelessly referring to them as “soldiers” or as part of the army will annoy

Royal Shakespeare Company(thereafter the RSC) and Royal

Opera House(ROH), or informally Covent Garden; the Albert Hall and the Festival Hall are acceptable with or without their Royals; the National Theatre is better without Royal

Royal Standard is only for the Sovereign. Other members of the royal

family have a personal standard

royal train lower case

royal wedding usually lower case rubbish do not use as a verb

Rudolphnot Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer

run-down(adjective), as in decaying or exhausted; rundown(noun), as in

briefing; to run down(verb)

running-matehyphen

run up(verb), run-up(noun); “In the run-up to” is a cliché; beware of “in

the run-up to last week’s climbdown” and similarly absurd combinations

rush hour(noun), but rush-hour(adjective, hyphen, as in rush-hour

traffic)

rushed to hospitalavoid this cliché. Say simply taken toor driven to;

similarly, say a victim was flown to hospitalrather than “airlifted to …”. Generally avoid the American hospitalise

Russiatake care not to designate parts of the former Soviet Union as

Russia when they no longer are, even if Russia might wish they were — eg Ukraine, Georgia. The same applies to the people (although there are millions of ethnic Russians throughout the former Soviet Union). So always specify the republic concerned and do not use Russian in the inclusive sense except in the phrase Russian vodka. Use Sovietand the Soviet Uniononly in their historical contexts — and avoid USSR except in the titles of popular songs

Russian namesgenerally use “i” as first name ending, but “y” for

surnames, eg Arkadi Volsky, Gennadi Yavlinsky; and use “ks” rather than “x” in the middle, eg Aleksei, Aleksi, Aleksandr (except for historical figures, eg Alexander the Great). We should use the -ya rather than -ia in Natalya and Tatyana (not Natalia, Tatiana). But this should not apply to Russians who live in or are well known in the West and have clearly adopted a particular spelling, eg Sergey Lavrov, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Authentic Twitter accounts and the Russian embassy and Kremlin websites are useful sources

saccharin(noun), saccharine(adjective)

sack beware of using in the context of losing a job if not absolutely

confident of the circumstances; it is almost certainly defamatory to say that someone was sacked when they resigned

sacrebleuone word (lower case, italics) for the French exclamation sacrilegiousfrom sacrilege; not sacreligious

Sadler’s Wells

saidprefer the construction “Brown said” rather than “said Brown”

Sainsburythe formal style is J Sainsbury (no point), especially in

business stories, but Sainsbury’s is preferable in general news stories

St Catharine’s College(Cambridge), but St Catherine’s College

(Oxford)

sakéJapanese rice wine. Use accent to avoid confusion with sake saleroomone word

salutary not salutory

sanatorium(not sanitorium), plural sanatoriums sarcophagus plural -gi

sarin (the nerve gas), lower case

Sarsthe viral respiratory complaint is severe acute respiratory syndrome

(lower case); spell out in copy at first mention if deemed necessary

sat is the past tense and the past participle of “to sit”. Except in (rare)

deliberate use of regional dialect, never write that somebody “was sat” in his car, her living room etc; write “was seated” or “was sitting”

Satancap; but satanism, satanist, satanicetc, lower case

sat-navlower case and hyphen for acceptable abbreviation for satellite

navigation system

Saudi must not be used as short form for the country, Saudi Arabia; the

people may, however, be referred to as Saudis

sautéedprefer this variant for fried quickly in a little hot fat saveable use the variant with the middle e

scarifytake care; its meaning is to cut into, to cut skin from; its colloquial

meaning of to terrify should be avoided wherever possible

scarsdo not heal (even metaphorically); wounds heal, scars remain

schadenfreudelower case, roman; means the malicious enjoyment of

another’s misfortunes. Do not misuse

schizophrenic suffering from a long-term mental disorder that involves a

breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion and behaviour; never use as a term of abuse and avoid as a lazy metaphor

schmaltzprefer with the c and the t; generally, though, try shrather than

sch in these Yiddish-derived colloquialisms

schmoozeanother that seems better with sch

schoolscap when the full name is given, and after checking that it is a

school and not a college or academy (if in doubt, consult the school’s website); nowadays use the classifications of independent, state, grantmaintained, comprehensive, grammar, secondary modern (rarely) etc, rather than public, private etc (except in historical context)

schoolchildrenone word; similarly, schoolgirl, schoolboy, schooldays,

schoolmaster, schoolmistressand schoolteacher(rarely; just teacherwill usually do); but school-leaver

science The Timeshas a reputation for reporting science accurately and

responsibly. That reputation should not be jeopardised by sloppy reporting or by credulous repetition of pseudo-scientific nonsense, whatever the source. The paper employs excellent specialist correspondents in science (and in medicine); non-specialists should consult them if in any doubt about the reliability of information supplied or if unsure about the use of scientific terminology or facts

scientific measureswrite out first time with abbreviations in

parentheses, shorten thereafter. The abbreviation takes no point and no “s” in the plural, eg 14km, not 14kms. Some basic international units and their abbreviations are: metre (m); gram (g); litre (l); ampere (A); volt (V); watt (W); note also kilowatt-hour (kWh). Only abbreviate mile to m in mph and mpg; and gallon to g in mpg (otherwise gal). Beware of using m for million or for miles in any scientific context when it might be taken for metres

scientific nameswhen employing the Latin terminology, we must use the

internationally accepted convention of initial cap on the first (generic) word, then lower case for the second (specific); eg Homo sapiens, Branta canadensis(Canada goose) etc. All should be italicised

Scilly, Isles ofprefer to Scilly Isles

Scotch upper case for whisky, broth, mist, egg, terrier etc. Scotch (upper

case) is not to be used generally as a substitute for the adjectives Scottish and Scots. Note Scots pine

scot-freewithout harm, loss or penalty; derived from the 13th-century

scot, meaning a tax

Scottish National Party(SNP), NB National not Nationalist in party

name though members and supporters may be nationalists (lower case)

Scottish place namesnever say eg Motherwell, Scotland; instead say

Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The same principle about counties applies to Wales and Northern Ireland; give the county unless the town or city is big enough or well enough known for the county to be unnecessary

scrapheapone word

scratchcardone word, as smartcard, swipecard

Scripture(s) cap as in Holy Scripture, but scriptural(lower case) scriptwriter

sculpturesshould have their names in italic. With photographs of

sculptures always give the sculptor’s name

seabird, seahorse, seagull, seasick, seawaterno hyphens; but note

also sea bed, sea lion, sea shanty, sea snake, sea urchinetc

seanceno accent

seasonal relating to, occurring at a particular time of the year; note

unseasonable(not unseasonal) meaning not suitable, appropriate to the season. Note also seasonal affective disorder(lower case), abbreviated to SAD

seasons always lower case when unattached, ie spring, summer, autumn,

winter; but Winter Olympics etc. Note also summertime, wintertime, springtime, but British Summer Time(BST), and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Write, eg “in the spring of 2009”, not “in spring 2009”

seatbelt

secondas an adverb, prefer to secondly; thus write “first … second …

third … ” etc

second-handhyphenated

Second World Warnot World War II/Two etc

Secret Intelligence Servicetakes caps; its head is its chief; abbreviate

to SIS or (preferably) the more familiar MI6; don’t mix the two abbreviations

Secret Service in the US protects the president and vice-president. As a

colloquial phrase in the UK it must be lower case, but prefer (to avoid confusion) to use Secret Intelligence Service (MI6 or SIS)

secretary-generalof the United Nations, Nato

Security Service(MI5) takes cap; but lower case for the security services

in non-specific use

seepeople see things; so do collective entities made up of people

(companies, teams, clubs, organisations etc). Dates, developments, situations, incidents, objects, concepts etc can’t “see” anything at all. So, the BBC can see its audience figures fall; the working classes can see bread prices rise; Manchester United can see their prospects of victory dwindling. Tuesday, however, cannot see a fall in the BBC’s audience figures; higher bread prices cannot see an increase in starvation; Manchester United’s poor season cannot see an outbreak of panic in the boardroom

select committees and parliamentary committeesare lower case even

when full title is given, eg the (Commons) foreign affairs select committee, the Treasury select committee; thereafter, the select committee or the committee

self-hyphen in general for self-compounds such as self-employed, self

interest, self-serviceetc

sell-off, sell-outas nouns, but see buyout

Sellotapeis a trade name; otherwise, write sticky tapeor adhesive tape

Senate(US) Joe Bloggs, the Massachusetts senator, then just Bloggs. Note

lower case in phrases such as the first-term senator. Also note cap in titles of the Senate majority leader, the House minority leader etc

seniorabbreviate to Sr (not Snr) in American-style names, eg Henry

Ramstein Sr. Avoid the cliché “senior executive” when you mean executive— nine times out of ten the adjective is redundant (like “major”)

sensational generally best avoided; readers can mostly judge for

themselves the significance of revelations, claims, allegations etc

serious case reviewlower case for this and other generic social work

procedures

serjeant the archaic spelling still used in The Rifles for the rank that the

rest of the British Army renders as sergeant

serjeant at armsthe House of Commons official should be fine lower

case

serve ina warship (but ona merchant ship), and serve in (not on) a

submarine, even though subs are boats, not ships. Important to make this distinction; readers complain every time we get it wrong. See also boat, ships

services, thelower case; the armed servicesor the armed forces(lower

case); lower case serviceman, servicewoman

setbacknoun; but to set back, verb

set piecetwo words sett as with badgers

settlement by definition, not possible in a contested divorce, in which

case there will be a decision, orderor judgment

set to eg “the Bank of England is set to raise interest rates”; journalese for

“will” or “will probably” (particularly when we’re not sure which); often just towould suffice

set-up try to find a synonym such as arrangement, organisation, structure,

systemetc

sewageis the waste matter that is carried in sewers; a system of sewers is

sewerage

sex change avoid this inaccurate and potentially offensive shorthand for

the process of gender reassignmentby surgical and other medical procedures. Note that from a legal perspective, people in the process of gender reassignment should be called by whatever name and honorific they prefer, and that the appropriate personal pronouns reflecting that change should also be used. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 makes it an offence to identify a person who has been granted a gender recognition certificate by their previous name or gender. The Editors’ Code covers gender identity in its clause on discrimination: it is one of the things to which pejorative or prejudicial reference may not be made, and details of which must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to a story. Note that transgenderand transgendered(adjectives, never nouns) are terms used by people with this condition and by the medical profession in preference to the older term transsexual

sexismwithout destroying idiom, we should acknowledge changing usage and avoid giving needless offence; we should beware, in particular, of casual sexism, using language of women that we would not use of men

sex offenders register lower case, no apostrophe

shadowuse of the titles may be applied to the main opposition party and

the Liberal Democrats, for example, the shadow chancellor, the Liberal Democrats’ shadow chancellor. Lower case in all cases, ie shadow cabinet, shadow environment secretary, shadow chief whip, a shadow spokesman

shake-out, shake-upas nouns

Shakespeare titles as Henry IV (Part One)to avoid use of two sets of

Roman numerals. And NB Shakespearean(not -ian)

shall, shouldgood practice is that shalland shouldgo with the first

person singular and plural (I shall, we shall), willand wouldwith the others (he will, they will). Shallwith second and third persons singular and plural has a slightly more emphatic meaning than will(“they shall not pass”; “you shall go to the ball”)

shamblesstrictly, if archaically, a butcher’s slaughterhouse, and by

extension a scene of carnage; by all means deploy it in that sense if an opportunity should arise, at the risk of being misunderstood; generally, however, there seems no reason to follow previous (quite recent) editions of this guide in trying to discourage its more familiar use to describe a state of chaos or disorder

Shangri-La

shanks’s pony lower case shantytownone word

share a jokeself-evident local paper cliché banned in captions on

photographs showing people laughing; likewise “in happier times”, for photographs showing grinning people now divorced, gravely ill or dead etc

sharia means Islamic law; “sharia law” is a tautology, if not a particularly

offensive one; lower case

sheikhnot shaikh

shemozzle a noisy confusion; uproar; no need for sch, nor in shlep,

shlock, shtick

Shetlandor the Shetland Islands, not the Shetlands

Shia not Shiite or any such variation; write Shia Muslims, in contrast to

Sunni Muslims

shiitake prefer to the single i variant

Shipping Forecastthe BBC programme. Write the areas thus: Southeast

Iceland, Faeroes, Fair Isle, Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Fisher, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, German Bight, Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, Biscay, Trafalgar, FitzRoy, Sole, Fastnet, Lundy, Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey

shipsdo not italicise when giving names, eg HMS Sheffield. Ships are

often treated as feminine by mariners but we should prefer itand its to she and her; if they are Royal Navy vessels, they are served in, not on. See also boat

ship’s company all the officers and men (and women)

ships’ tonnagethese are deep waters for the unwary. Your first question

should be: do we really need to give the tonnage for the ship we are writing about? In most cases it will be nothing but a big, impressive figure. If you have a photograph of a giant cruise ship, or cargo ship, is that not enough to give the reader a good idea of the scale? If you decide to give the relevant tonnage you must be 100 per cent certain that it is accurate. The figures most commonly given are net registered tonnage and gross registered tonnage. These are measurements of volume, not weight, and the correct spelling is ton, each ton being 100 cubic feet. The gross tonnage is the total volume of all the enclosed spaces on board; the net tonnage is the volume of all the enclosed spaces available for passengers and/or cargo — ie the gross tonnage minus the space allotted

for the crew, machinery and fuel. Ship owners will often give the gross tonnage because it is a bigger figure and they like to boast. The actual weight of a ship is called lightweight tonnageand is rarely given in a news story. If you are writing about gross or net tonnage, never say that the ship “weighs” so many thousand tons. That is wrong. But it is possible to say, using the gross tonnage: “the QM2 is a 150,000-ton ship” or “the 150,000-ton QM2”. Do this if you really need to, but check with Lloyd’s Register

shock as an adjective is journalese, and to be treated with caution. Shock

victories, defeats, results, revelations etc are mostly clichés and often just empty hyperbole. No need to ban the usage altogether. “Shock” meaning “highly unexpected” has more force than eg “surprising” while avoiding the suggestion of disapprobation that “shocking” tends to convey; on the whole, however, readers should be left to decide for themselves whether something is a shock

shock wavestwo words, but use sparingly as a metaphor as it is a cliché shoo-in(not shoe-in), if you have to use this American phrase

shoot-out hyphenate the noun, as in penalty shoot-out; but avoid in the

sense of gunfight

shopaholicand workaholic, but chocoholic

shopkeeper, shopowner, shopfront, shopliftetc; but shop assistant

and shop steward

shortcutone word

shortlistone word as noun or verb short-selling, short-sellerhyphens

short sentences andshort words often better than long ones; be aware,

however, that a succession of short sentences (if not done for effect) may

jar

showbusinessone word (except in the title of the Irving Berlin song from

Annie Get Your Gun, where it’s two); showbizis an acceptable abbreviation in quotes and informal context

showcase try to avoid using as a verb. Prefer eg displayor exhibit

showjumpingone word except when it appears in a title such as the

British Show Jumping Association, or is part of the name of an event that uses it as two words; similarly, showjumper

shrink, shrank(past tense), shrunk orshrunken(past participle) shtoom as in to keep shtoom, or remain silent

shut downverb, two words (the factory was shut down); one word as a

noun (a factory shutdown); hyphenate as an adjective (a shut-down factory)

Siamesecats, twins; for Siam use Thailand except in historical context

(adjective Thai). Note that Siamese twins is the non-technical name for conjoined twins; the latter term is now widely preferred

[sic] generally avoid; if it were not [sic], why would we be publishing it

like that?

sickbedone word, as deathbed side-effects

Silicon Valley, silicon chips,but silicone implants(for breasts etc) silkbarristers take silk and become silks (all lower case) sin-bin use hyphen

singalong

Singhwhen used as a surname, eg Manmohan Singh, write Singh

subsequently. When a middle name, eg Manohar Singh Gill, write Gill subsequently

sink, sankthe past participle is sunk, the adjective sunken siphonnot syphon

sitcomno hyphen; permissible abbreviation for situation comedy

situationdismal word, to be avoided wherever possible; such inelegant

and lazy phrases as crisis situation, ongoing situation and no-win situation are banned unless a direct quote positively demands them

sizeable

skulduggery with one “l”

Slavicdo not use; Slavis the noun and adjective for the people; use

Slavonicrelating to the languages

slayis a biblical word; US newspapers are fond of it, especially in

headlines, for kill or murder;do not emulate

slither to slide cf sliver, a thin piece; do not confuse slimlineone word

Slovak for the people and language, Slovakianfor the national adjective

slow motionrender the informal (and faintly antique) abbreviation,

whether noun or adjective, as slow-mo

smart alec(not Aleck)

smartcardone word, as scratchcard, swipecard smartphone

smelt not smelled smidgin

smokescreenone word

smoky also the Great Smoky Mountains smorgasbordavoid its clichéd metaphorical use snarl-updo not use as a synonym of traffic jam, confusionetc snowball, snowbound, snowdrift, snowfall, snowmanetc

soap opera prefer to use rather than just soap, although the latter may

have its place in less formal pieces, as in diary items or reviews

sobriquetprefer to soubriquet

so-callednormally there is no need to write the following noun etc in

quote marks, as context will make it clear, eg “The so-called disaster has turned into something of a triumph”

soccer is an alternative for football to be avoided except in direct quotes,

or in the American context

social chapter lower case, as it is an informal title for a separate protocol

attaching to the Maastricht treaty; now historical

socialism, socialist cap only in names of specific political parties softie prefer to softy

soirée use acute accent

solar systemlower case. In order from the sun, its planets are Mercury,

Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Pluto, formerly classified as a planet, has been downgraded to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union

solicitor-advocatehyphen

solicitor-general hyphen, as attorney-general; similarly, solicitor-general

for Scotland

sootheto make calm, hence soothing; cf sooth: truth, reality, true, real,

hence soothsayer

Sophie’s Choice in the novel and film of that name, a mother is forced on

arrival at Auschwitz to choose which of her two children is to be immediately killed. Resist the temptation to use it as a crass, lazy, inappropriate and clichéd headline on features about a woman called Sophie with some lifestyle decision to make

sorcerernot -or

southerner lower case, as northerner, in most contexts, including the

United Kingdom; but Southerner(cap) in the United States when referring to the Confederacy

Southern Oceancaps south of France

south, southernetc; cap in US contexts when referring to the

Confederacy; NB southeast, southwest(one word for adjective and noun)

Sovereign, the cap not essential but may be helpful for clarity

Soviet Unionnever refer to “the Soviets” for the people or the

government, even in the historical context. The phrase is an Americanism often with disparaging overtones; a soviet is a committee, not a person. Refer instead to the Soviet people or the Soviet governmentin historical context

soya beantwo words, not soybean

Spam the foodstuff is an American invention. See trade names

Spanish surnames conventionally, someone called Juan Garcيa Lَpez

would be Juan Garcيa at first mention and subsequently, using the patronym only (Lَpez being the matronym) eg: Severiano Ballesteros (Sota); José Marيa Olazلbal (Manterola); Mariano Rajoy (Brey); and Rafael Benيtez (Maudes). But there are exceptions: some use only the matronym, particularly if their patronym is a common name (the footballer David Silva’s full surname is Jiménez Silva). Others use both at all times, sometimes with a hyphen. This is perhaps more common in public life. The Spanish poet Federico Garcيa Lorcais usually known in Spain as Garcيa Lorcaat second mention, and the Colombian author Gabriel Garcيa Mلrquezis usually Garcيa Mلrquezsubsequently, but the Spanish press will sometimes follow English speakers in referring to them as Lorcaand Mلrquez, especially in headlines; Garcيa is a relatively common name. No alternative but to check; if completely stumped, give both surnames, which will at least not be wrong

spastic never use figuratively or as a term of abuse

Speaker, the seems to need a cap for clarity in parliamentary context;

deputy speakeris lower case, however; there is no risk of linguistic confusion, and there are several of them anyway

Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park (not Speaker’s) Special Branchcap for clarity

special forces in the UK or US, generically lower case. But cap eg 5th

Special Forces Group in US for specific units

speltnot spelled; note misspelt

Spider-Man the agile comic-book superhero is written, oddly, thus spidersare not insects, although like insects they are arthropods spiky not spikey

spiltnot spilled

spin, spun do not use span as past tense spin doctortwo words

Spinning, Spinner trade names for stationary bicycle exercise spiritualism, spiritualist

split infinitivesno need to avoid. The split infinitive has been variously

in and out of favour with English grammarians (and Times style guides) over many years. It was regarded as an “undesirable construction” by the 1970 edition of this guide, “never” acceptable in 1992, and “banned” in 2003. More recent editions take a less repressive approach. In this we follow HW Fowler, who was robust in denouncing the “bogy-haunted creatures” whose “aversion to the split infinitive springs not from instinctive good taste but from tame acceptance of the misinterpreted opinion of others”. “When a man splits an infinitive,“ Fowler knew, “he may be deliberately rejecting the trammels of convention and announcing that he means to do as he will with his own infinitives.” And quite right too. Avoiding the split infinitive can (and all too often does) lead to an unnatural or ambiguous construction and an ugly mess. Far better in such cases to fearlessly split

spoiltnot spoiled; but despoiled

spokesman, spokeswomanavoid where possible, eg “the ministry said”

rather than “a ministry spokesman said”. Officialis a useful alternative. Use spokeswomanif appropriate, but spokesman if in any doubt. Spokesperson is an absolute last resort. See chair

spongeingprefer to sponging

sportsmen, sportswomen omit the Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms etc

sports writing notoriously vulnerable to cliché and jargon. Apart from

direct quotes, avoid the kind of language used by players and television commentators

spot one word for blackspot, hotspot, troublespotetc; but spot check, spot

marketetc

sprangprefer to sprung as the past tense of the verb to spring, eg “she

sprang into action”; sprungis the past participle, and has no alternative, eg “the wind has sprung up”

spring-clean hyphenate noun and verb

squadsin police context, usually lower case, but Flying Squadbetter

capped for clarity

stadium plural stadiums. See -um

stagey now seems the more natural and less ugly adjective from stage,

meaning excessively theatrical, unrealistic, unconvincingly dramatic etc

stakeholder meaning “someone with an interest” is silly corporate jargon,

widespread in business and the public sector but not to be used unblushingly in The Times

stanch (verb), as “to stanch a flow of blood”; staunchis an adjective

meaning loyal or firm

stand-off(noun, hyphen), but standby(noun, no hyphen) stand-up prefer to spell out stand-up comedian/comic, stand-up act stargazers, stargazing

Stars and Stripes cap for clarity in reference to the flag

state lower case in political context, whether for the state as a wide

concept, or the welfare state, the nanny state or used adjectivally, such as state benefits; the state opening of parliament. Lower case also in US contexts: Washington state, New York state, the state legislature; cap only in names eg US State Department, the State University of New York (SUNY) etc

state of the union address

stationary (not moving), stationery(writing materials) stationmaster one word, but station manager

stationslower case in Euston station, Waterloo station, Birmingham New

Street station, but where possible, simply Euston, Waterloo etc

statistic(s)do not use as a fancy word for figure(s) or number(s) status quoroman; likewise status quo ante

statute book

stealth bomber steamrollerone word

steelworks, steelworkeretc

stem cell thus for the noun, but hyphenate adjectivally, eg the stem-cell

procedure

stepchild, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughterbut step

family, step-parents

sterling lower case the currency; not worth a capital stetsonlower case even though a trademark

stock exchangelower case, whether London, New York or anywhere

else; note lower case for the stock market

stony not stoney

storyteller, storytelling

straight be very sparing in the use of this word to mean heterosexual straight awayshould always be two words

straight-faced but straightforward straitjacket

strait-laced

stratumplural strata stress-free hyphen

stricturemeans adverse criticism or censure, not constraint stripy prefer to stripey

strive note the past tense “he stroveto get things right”, and the past

participle striven

stylebookone word, as with guidebook, textbooketc; but style guide

studentnow commonly and rather tiresomely used to refer to

schoolchildren. There may be little point in resisting this, as the usage is almost universal within the education system; but there is certainly no reason to encourage it. Pupilremains a perfectly good word for those engaged more in learning than in studying

sub-like multi-, the hyphen here is often a question of what looks better. A

random sample gives us subdivision, sublet, subnormal, subplot, subsection, substandard, subtext, subtitle, subcontract(or); in contrast, sub-committee, sub-editor, to sub-let, sub-postmaster, sub-post office etc

subcontinent, thelower case, for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

subjects, academic use lower case for most subjects studied at school or

university, eg “she was reading modern history with philosophy”; but where a proper name is involved, the cap is retained, eg “he got a first in English literature and German after he dropped Latin in his second year”; and always cap Classics and the abbreviated PPE (short for philosophy, politics and economics)

sub-machinegun

submarinealways a boat, not a ship subpoena subpoenas, subpoenaing, subpoenaed sub-Saharan Africa

subtropicalone word

such asdo not always substitute for like; the effect may sometimes be

unnatural and needlessly ponderous

Sudan not the Sudan, except occasionally in historical context. Note South

Sudan(cap)

sudoku

suffragan lower case

suffragette lower case, double f, double t; Emmeline Pankhurst; her

daughters Dame Christabel Pankhurstand Sylvia Pankhurst

suicide be sensitive in reporting suicide; avoid sensationalism,

oversimplification and speculation about motive; in particular beware, in giving details of method, of the risk of encouraging imitation; excessive detail of method will breach the Editors’ Code. Be aware that the Samaritans’ generally commendable guidelines on reporting suicide strongly discourage the use of the phrase “commit suicide”, on the grounds that the verb confers a stigma and suggests that suicide is still a crime. As it’s sixty years now since suicide was decriminalised (in the Suicide Act of 1961), the argument may seem far fetched. It has been taken up, however, by many campaigners, and whenever the phrase appears there will be complaints. No need to rewrite direct quotes, or to go to elaborate lengths; but it’s a fight no one really wants to have, and alternatives are not difficult to find

suicide bomb/bomber/bombing two words suingnot sueing

Summer Exhibitioncap, roman, for the Royal Academy event

summit avoid calling every high-level meeting a summit. Restrict its use

to meetings of heads of government, or things actually called summits by those involved

summonthe verb is to summon, the noun a summons(plural summonses).

A person is summoned to appear before a tribunal etc; but a person in receipt of a specific summons can be said to have been summonsed

sun rarely any need to cap, (except rarely if it helps clarity or consistency

in specific astronomical context such as Night Sky column etc when surrounded by lots of capped planet names etc), so usually lower case; solar system, also lower case

sunbathing, sunburn, sunglasses, sunlounger, sunstroke, suntan

etc, but sun-care(products etc)

super-as a prefix, use a hyphen only if the compound looks hideous

superbug note that someone can be a carrier of/colonised by, say, MRSA

(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and suffer no ill effects because they are not infected

supercasinoone word

superhighway(as in information superhighway); similarly,

superconductor

superinjunction one word; likewise hyperinjunction. Injunctions always

prevent publication of something. A superinjunction prevents publication even of the basic information that the particular order exists. Only a few superinjunctions are granted each year so the likelihood is that most orders granted are simply privacy injunctions. A hyperinjunction is a superinjunction that additionally seeks to gag parliament (eg the Trafigura injunction) but it seems unlikely that there will be any more of them

superlativesbeware of calling any person, event or thing the first, the

biggest, the best, the last etc without firm evidence that this is correct. Readers will always know better, and tell us so. Also, never (ever) say first-ever, best-ever etc

supernovaplural supernovas

supersonic(of speeds); for waves, use ultrasonic super-unionhyphen

supervisornot superviser

supinemeans lying face up; face down is prone Supreme Courtcap for US and also now for UK

swapnot swop; do not use unless a mutual exchange is involved and never

for organ transplants

swathe prefer to swath in all senses; it looks nicer and reflects

pronunciation

swearingavoid wherever possible. If there is no alternative (eg in direct

quotes essential to the story), use asterisks — f***, f***ing, c*** etc. Many readers are much less tolerant of this kind of language than some regular Times columnists would like to believe. See four-letter words, obscenities

swatting(flies), swotting(study)

swingeingbest avoided; unthinking use with “cuts” is a cliché swipecard as scratchcard, smartcard

Symphony Hall, Birmingham does not take “the” sync prefer to synch, as in the phrase “out of sync” synodlower case on its own, but General Synod(cap) synthesizer(musical), but synthesise(chemical etc)

Dno hyphen

-tin nearly all cases, where there is a choice of past tense between a final -t

or -ed, use -t, as in burnt, spelt etc. But never earnt

tabloidesewe don’t put hobbies, geographical origin, political allegiance,

sports positions or job descriptions in front of a person’s name as if they were titles: stamp collector Stevie Smith, Yorkshireman Bob Bradley, Labour voter Fred Roberts, barmaid Bet Lynch, Rovers striker Roy Race; no one, outside the columns of popular papers, actually says such things. You can write theactor Tom Cruise or the Labour MP John Smith (with “the” and no commas) for someone who is famous as such. That is plain English

t’ai chinote apostrophe

take-off (noun, hyphen), take off(verb)

takeover(noun), but to take over(verb); takeover codebut Takeover

Panel

Talibanrefer to the Taliban (or the Taliban authorities etc), and use the

plural verb (“are” rather than “is” etc)

talk show as chat show, game show, quiz showetc tally-ho hyphenate; plural tally-hos

Tannoy is a trade name; use eg loudspeakeror PA systemas generic

alternatives

taoiseachlower case; “the Irish taoiseach” is redundant because no other

country has one; prefer in any case to write “the Irish prime minister”

targetbeware lazy use of this word as a verb; eg a campaign is aimed ator

directed atchildren (rather than targeting children). Try to restrict its use to military (hostile acts) contexts. Note targeted(not targetted)

Tarmacis a trade name, but confine the cap version to the civil

engineering company. Common usage allows the road surface or airport runway to be written as tarmac; tarmacadamis not a trade name

Tartars now seems old-fashioned; prefer Tatars Taser cap (trademark) for the stun gun, but as a verb to taser Tatarsprefer now to Tartars

teabag, teacup, teapot, teacake, teaspoon, tearoom, teatimeone

word; but tea biscuit, tea break, tea cloth, tea cosy, tea dance, tea garden, tea kettle, tea lady, tea leaf, tea light, tea maker, tea party, tea towel, tea trolley

team-mate note hyphen

teamsnormally plural, eg “West Ham United are on outstanding form.”

But sports clubs usually take the singular, especially in news stories, eg “Manchester City Football Club was fined heavily for crowd disturbances”

teamworkone word, no hyphen tear gastwo words

Tea Party cap the US right-wing movement (which is not a political

party)

Technicoloris a trade name. It should be used only in the context of the

making of colour motion pictures and not as a descriptive adjective or synonym for multicoloured

Teddy boy cap t for adherents or imitators of the 1950s subculture

Tel Avivdo not use as a metonym or variant for Israel. Most embassies are

in Tel Aviv, in recognition of the disputed status of Jerusalem (where the Israeli parliament sits). Neither city should be referred to as the country’s capital. This is a highly vexed question; take great care

telephone numberswith three groups of figures, no need to hyphenate

the first two (eg 0151 234 8464; 020 7782 5000; 030 312 31113). For other national numbers write as two groups of numbers (eg 01483 123456). Similarly, for numbers with, eg 0800, 0845, 0870 codes, and for mobile numbers, write as two groups of unhyphenated numbers, thus: 0870 1234567, 07721 123456

televisionTV is acceptable in headlines and text television and radio programmesare italicised telltale one word

temazepamis a non-proprietary sedative, so lower case

temperaturesnowadays will rarely need converting to Fahrenheit, so say

that the temperature on the south coast hit the low 30s (no longer the 90s); where specific, just 16C, 28C etc. Give Fahrenheit only where there is good reason, such as in a historical context. Conversions, where appropriate, should be in brackets: 19C (66F). In any case, remember that a rise in temperature of 3C does not equate to 37F (the direct equivalent of 3C), but rather to an increase of 5.4F, and you will never need to convert that. Prefer “minus” to a minus sign in text. Do not refer to temperatures as hot or cold; they are high or low

ten-minute rule(bill) etc

tennis Centre Court at Wimbledon cap; likewise, No 1 Court, No 14 Court

etc

tepee use this variant for the Native American tent Territorial Army now known as the Army Reserve

terror there was no good reason to follow George W Bush in abandoning

the perfectly good and specific words terrorism or terrorist (adj) in favour of a “war on terror”. But follow him the world did. Terror suspect, terror attack, terror group, terror trial etc are all in common use; in headlines, where space is tight, they have the advantage of concision; but the more precise terms should not be abandoned

terroristtake care with this word and the associated terrorism. Use only to

describe those who seek to achieve their political aims through illegitimate acts intended to provoke widespread fear in a civilian population (or in a particular community). Beyond this, there is neither a generally accepted definition of terrorism nor a universal agreement on which groups are terrorists and which are not; be aware, especially in news reports, that through our use of language we can seem to be taking sides. Other words — radicals, militants, paramilitaries, guerrillas, separatistsetc — may sometimes be less loaded, but their use will depend on context

Test match should apply only to international cricket (five-day games)

and rugby union; for other sports use the term international(match)

tête-à-tête for the plural, prefer tête-à-têtes

that rarely necessary after said or similar verbs (denied, claimed etc);

dropping it — he said (that) he was ill — it will often improve the flow of a sentence and make it sound more natural; there will be times, however, when its inclusion will be helpful. eg “he denied that the evidence was confusing” is clearer and easier to read than “he denied the evidence was confusing”.

The word “that” is generally better than “which” in a defining (or restricting) clause, eg “the train that I take stops at Slough”. As a general rule, prefer whichfor descriptive clauses (ie ones that add information)

and place it between commas, eg “the night train, which used to carry newspapers, stops at Crewe”. Be aware, however, that usage (at least in British English) is quite flexible here, and that more damage is probably done to decent prose in the name of this “rule” than of almost any other; if in doubt, and if the meaning is clear, leave well alone

theatreattach Theatre(cap) at first mention to names where it is part of

the title, eg the Criterion Theatre (thereafter the Criterion or simply the theatre). Some of the main London exceptions are the Old Vic, Young Vic, Palladium, Coliseum, Apollo Victoria, Donmar Warehouse, Hackney Empire; and outside London, many such as the Birmingham Hippodrome, Oxford Playhouse, West Yorkshire Playhouse etc

theatregoer see -goer

the thenthen is not an adjective, so prefer to avoid expressions such as

“the then prime minister” or (worse) “the then James Callaghan”; say “Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, then prime minister”, and “Callaghan, who was prime minister at the time”

thinly veiled cliché that without any real loss of meaning can usually just

be deleted from phrases such as “thinly veiled warning” etc

The Timesalmost always use italics for the name of the newspaper,

except in headlines. But Times Newspapers Ltd (roman), publisher of The Timesand The Sunday Times, is the operating company of Times Newspapers Holdings. The parent company of The Timesis News UK.

In text, say “the Times political correspondent”, “the Times wine correspondent” etc, if you need an alternative to “political editor of The Times”, “wine correspondent of The Times” etc; these forms are easier to read and less ugly than “The Times’s correspondent” etc. Also (in features headlines etc) The Times art critic etc is an acceptable style to avoid a mass of italics and apostrophes. Always say “the editor of The Times”, “the deputy editor of The Times” etc. It is permissible to say “a Times reader”, “Timesreaders”, but prefer “readers of The Times”. Similarly, adjectival uses such as “a Times article”, “a Times offer” are acceptable.

Keep phrases such as “told The Times” to a minimum: saidis usually preferable.

Also note Times Law Report (without The), the Times Crossword etc. Again, some flexibility — to avoid a proliferation of italics — can be used in puff material etc.

For sections of the paper, whether historic or current, avoid italics: eg Times2 (closed up), The TimesMagazine etc.

Write The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Charity Appeal, Christmas Appeal or Charity Appeal (cap).

Note The Times Literary Supplement, which is owned by News UK; other UK publications with “Times” in their mastheads, such as Times Higher Education, are not owned by News UK.

Times+ (roman) is the agreed marketing device, so do not write Times Plus.

Cap Times Archive for the online resource, and for the invaluable corporate repository of material relating to the paper’s history; Times archives (lower case) in reference to generic source material, eg at the end of fact boxes.

“The Timesclimbed into a taxi … was bought a beer … ducked to avoid the incoming missiles” etc. It is probably a while since any Times reporter was tempted to adopt this coy impersonal substitute for “we” or “I”; let’s keep it that way.

Thermos must take the initial cap; it is a trade name that must always be

observed

The Sunday Times Rich List “calculates” people’s worth think tank no hyphen

third(adverb), prefer to thirdly

third world no need for cap unless confusion seems likely without (same

for first world); generally avoid in favour of terms such as developing world anyway

Thought for the Day no need to italicise this and similar slots in radio

or TV programmes

thronecap sparingly, only in terms of the institution, eg “he deferred to the

wisdom of the Throne”; in other contexts, as with the chair itself, use lower case, eg “The Queen came to the throne in 1952”

thunderboltsare mythological and do not exist; lightning bolts and

thunderclaps do exist and can also be used metaphorically

“tiger” economies of southeast Asia and the Pacific; use quotes for first

mention, subsequently without quotes, and always lower case

time bomb, time framebut timeline, timescale, timeshare Time Lord cap in the context of Doctor Who

timesnever write, eg 6pm last night, 9am tomorrow morning; say six

o’clock last night, 11 o’clock tomorrow morning or (if the context allows) 6pm, or 9am tomorrow. Use a point in expressing continental time — 01.55, 14.00 etc

Tinseltown(as in Hollywood), one word

titles the most common solecism is the misplaced use of first names with

titles. It is wrong to write eg Lord Peter Mandelson when we should write Lord Mandelson, or Lady Helen Brown etc when we should say simply Lady Brown. “Lord Peter Mandelson” improbably suggests that the Labour life peer is the younger son of a duke or a marquess; “Lady Helen Brown” would be correct for the wife of eg Sir John Brown ONLY if she were also the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl.

Other examples of what readers still expect The Timesto get right are covered at some length below.

Titles of nobility in descending order of precedence are as follows: duke, marquess(not marquis, except in foreign contexts, occasional Scottish titles and the names of pubs), earl, viscountand baron. At first mention, give the formal title (as in Who’s Who), eg the Marquess of Paddington, the Earl of Waterloo, but then the marquess, the earl etc. This does not apply to barons, who are always Lord except in the formal announcement of new baronies. Dukes are always dukes and do not become Lord (eg the Duke of Rutland; at second mention “the duke”).

Baronessesin their own right or life peeresses are generally Baroness at first mention. Subsequently use the surname only (eg Baroness Benjamin, then Benjamin; Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, then Lawrence).

The wife of a duke is a duchess(and is always, eg the Duchess of X, later the duchess). The wife of a marquess is a marchioness, of an earl a countess, of a viscount a viscountess; use the marchioness, the countess, the viscountess at second and subsequent mentions for these, though occasionally Lady X will be acceptable for clarity. Widows or former wives of peers who have not remarried use their Christian name before these titles, eg Margaret Duchess of Argyll (no commas) or Mary Lady Jones. A widow may also be known as the Dowager Duchess of Y, or the Dowager Lady Z.

All these titles, including royalty, take cap only at first mention, when the full name is given, then lower case (the Duke of Argyll, or of Edinburgh, thereafter the duke).

Some titles include a place name, eg Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, while others do not. Follow Who’s Who: if the place name appears in bold caps there and is not separated from the name by a comma, it is part of the title and should be included at first mention (it may subsequently be dropped, unless this would cause confusion). Always check with Debrett’sor Who’s Whoif in the slightest doubt; for peers who are members of the House of Lords, the UK parliament website gives titles in the correct form.

Baronets and knights are known as Sir John Smith, thereafter Smith. Again, to repeat this essential point, no wife of a baronet or knight takes her Christian name in her title unless she is the daughter of a duke, a marquess or an earl. If a baronet has had more than one wife, the former wife is eg Mary Lady Smith (no commas, the style also assumed by a baronet’s widow) while the current one is Lady Smith — the same forms apply to the wives of a baron. If a knight has had more than one wife, the former wife puts her Christian name in brackets, eg Lady (Alice) Brown, to distinguish her from the present wife, Lady Brown. Also, if there are two baronets or knights with the same name, their wives (when mentioned apart from their husbands), put his Christian name in brackets, eg Lady (Stephen) Brown, Lady (Andrew) Brown. Baronets may be distinguished from knights by writing the suffix Bt after the name: Sir John Smith, Bt. In practice we tend to do this only on the Court Page or in obituaries.

Dames of an order of chivalry take the same style as knights, eg Dame Felicity Brown, thereafter Brown. A dame who is married may prefer to use her own style, eg Dame Margaret Arrowroot, wife of Lord Arrowroot of Nice; personal preferences should be respected.

Children of peers. The eldest sons of a duke, marquess or earl use the father’s second title as a courtesy title (eg the Duke of Bedford’s son is the Marquess of Tavistock). These people are not peers, even in headlines. Younger sons of dukes and marquesses use their first names and the family surname, eg Lord John Worthington; subsequently he is Lord John, never Lord Worthington, though now we would just call him Worthington; his wife is Lady John Worthington, never Lady Worthington (and not Lady Carol Worthington unless she is also the daughter of a duke or marquess whose title takes precedence over that of her husband’s family and she has chosen to style herself so — a complication mercifully quite rare).

Again, a woman is Lady Olive York etc only if she is the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl; subsequently she would be Lady Olive, never Lady York. Younger sons of earls and all children of viscounts and barons have the style the Hon, but it is unnecessary to use this except in Court

Page copy; normally, they are simply Mr, Miss, Ms etc (none is a peer) and we should refer to them by surname only at second mention.

Baronets, knights and dames take the appropriate title as soon as the honour is announced. Peers have to submit their choice of title for approval, so they must wait until the formal public announcement (usually in The London Gazette) and then their formal introduction in the chamber of the Upper House. See Ladyand peers

titles of books, films, discs, programmes, albums, stories,

poems, songsetc, in English titles avoid an initial cap for every word (eg do not write The Hound Of The Baskervilles). As a rule of thumb, use lower case for prepositions, conjunctions, definite and indefinite articles, eg Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina; Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick; The Hound of the Baskervilles; for French titles capitalisation is complicated (and the French can’t seem to agree on how to do it). Traditionally it involved capping the first word and the first significant noun, as well as (sometimes) any qualifying adjective, and (perhaps) any subsequent noun that might be linked to the first in a familiar phrase. The simpler and more consistent approach, now quite widely adopted in France, is to treat titles as in Italian and capitalise only the first word, which may well be an article or a preposition. So Le rouge et le noir, ہ la recherche du temps perdu, De la guerre, L’éducation sentimentale, Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, La cousine Bette(any proper names are also capitalised, of course), and so on

tmesisinterpolation of a word or group of words between the parts of a

compound word, eg abso-f***inglutely

toiletprefer the word lavatory. Reserve the use of loo for informal contexts

together with avoid; prefer simply with; also beware such tautology as

blend together, meet together, link togetheretc

toll used with ofor on, depending on context: “The war took its toll of the

inhabitants,” “Years of pumping iron have taken their toll on his body”

Tomb of the Unknown Warriorin Westminster Abbey (not Unknown

Soldier)

tons, tonnes prefer to use tonnesin most contexts, although in historical

passages tonswould be more appropriate; and note “tons of help” metaphorically; beware (and see) ship’s tonnage

too does not need a comma preceding it, for example at the end of a clause

or sentence

too-wit too-woorender thus how an owl sounds. (But note that strictly

speaking this is not a generic owl call but the sound of a male and female tawny owl calling to each other)

Top Ten, Top 20, Top 40etc caps for official or semi-official musical or

other lists; but lower case for more generic uses

tormentor prefer to tormenter

tornado plural tornados(storms); also Tornado, Tornados (aircraft) torpedo but plural torpedoes

Tory, Tories acceptable alternative for Conservative(s), especially after

first mention. Tory party is permissible

totalisator, totetake lower case, no quotes; the Tote refers to the

organisation

Tourette syndrome towardsnot toward

tracheostomy, tracheotomy note no letter a in the middle. The -ostomy

is the surgical formation of an opening into the trachea after an (emergency) incision, which is the -otomy

trademarkone word

trade names many names of products, services and organisations in

common use are proprietary. They should not be used as generics and must be given a capital letter. There is a risk of legal action for failure to do so. Biro, Outward Bound and Portaloo are among those whose use is policed by their owners with particular zeal. Be especially careful about drugs; try if possible to use non-proprietary words such as aspirin, sleeping pills etc

trade unions (plural), not trades unions; but Trades Union Congress transatlantic, transcontinentalbut cross-Channel

transpiremeans to come to light or to leak out. Do not use as a pompous

alternative of to happenor occur

transsexualno hyphen; but now prefer transgender

trauma, traumatic avoid in the clichéd sense of deeply upsetting,

distressingetc; it ought really to be confined to its medical meaning of severe shock after an accident or stressful event

Travellers as with Gypsies, cap when referring to what is now a legally

recognised and protected ethnic group; lower case if simply describing an elective itinerant lifestyle; so Irish Travellers, but new age travellers

Treasury cap the government department (but not the titles of those who

work there), eg financial secretary to the Treasury

treatylower case in Amsterdam treaty, Maastricht treaty etc, but note

Treaty of Amsterdametc

triads no need to cap in Chinese gangster context

tribunalsindustrial tribunals are now called employment tribunals. Note

that immigration adjudicatorsand immigration appeal tribunals deliver determinations. See also industrial tribunals

Tricolourcap for the French flag, lower case in more general context

trillionoriginally American for a thousand billion (or a million million,

1,000,000,000,000), and now accepted in British usage with that meaning, superseding the earlier British definition of a trillion as 1 followed by 18 zeros. In headings, abbreviate to trn, eg £1trn, $1trn

triple crownin rugby union; an honour contested annually by the home

nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) who compete in the larger Six Nations Championship. If any one of these teams beats the other three they win the triple crown

tripos lower case for the degree examinations in all subjects, eg the history

tripos, at the University of Cambridge

trinitroglycerin no terminal e needed

Trojan horse but the computer virus is a trojan, lower case

Trooping the Colour (not of the Colour); similarly, sounding reveille,

beating retreat

tropical stormcap as part of title, eg Tropical Storm Linda; similarly,

Hurricane Andrew

Tropics, thecap; note also the Tropic of Capricorn/Cancer, but tropical,

subtropical(lower case)

Troubles, the cap in Irish context

trumpeters, buglers cavalry regiments have trumpeters, infantry

regiments have buglers. They are not interchangeable

try to the verb try should be followed by tobefore the next verb, not by

and, eg “I will try to cross the road”, not “I will try and cross the road”

tsarnot czar. Likewise, tsarevich, tsaritsa(not czarina); caps with the

name (Tsar Alexander II), otherwise lower case. There is no reason that government-appointed co-ordinators should not be spelt the same way: drugs tsar, mental health tsar etc, although these terms are in any case best not overused

T-shirt

Tube cap, acceptable in context on its own for the London Tube, or

London Underground. Also cap the various lines, such as Central Line, Metropolitan Line, Victoria Line etc

tuberculosisprefer tuberculousas the adjective for the disease, rather

than tubercular

TUCthe Trades Union Congress. Note, first mention, general council of

the TUC, thereafter general council; general secretary of the TUC and general secretaries of individual unions are lower case

tumbrelprefer to tumbril

turbo-jet, turbo-prop

Turin Shroudcap, then the shroud at second and subsequent mentions

(lower case)

Turkestanprefer to Turkistan

Turkey the capital is Ankara, not Istanbul turn down prefer rejector refuse(except of beds)

Turner prize and note Turner prizewinner, Turner prizewinning artist etc

turnlinesshould be styled eg “Continued on page 2, col 7” or “Continued

from page 1”

turn-off, turn-on(nouns), but no hyphens in turnout, turnaround,

turnabout

Tutankhamun if the name has to be broken across two lines, it may be

hyphenated as Tut-ankhamun or Tutankh-amun

twat not, as one former prime minister seemed to think, a harmless variant

of twit, but quite a rude word

twentysomething, thirtysomething, fortysomethingetc; thus, if

you must use

Twenty20the limited-overs cricket format; can be abbreviated to T20

twin towers(of the former World Trade Center in New York, destroyed in

the 9/11 attacks in 2001); the northern towerand the southern tower(all lower case)

Twitter cap the name of the site; lower case tweetfor the verb to post on

it; tweet(noun) for a posting

twofold, threefold, fourfold, tenfoldetc. Beware of confusing, say, a

threefold increase with a 300 per cent increase (if it goes up by 300 per cent it is a fourfold increase — do the maths)

two minutes’ silence

two thirds, three quartersetc, but a two-thirds share (hyphenate

adjectival use). See fractions

tyrannosaurus roman, lower case when used as the common name of the

dinosaur (“he was attacked by a tyrannosaurus”). But for the scientific name write Tyrannosaurus rex(italics), and T. rexat subsequent mentions

(roman and no point in headlines). The pop group led a long time ago by Marc Bolan chose to style itself first Tyrannosaurus Rex and then T. Rex; resist any urge to correct

Tyrolnot Tirol

Uno full point after Burmese title, eg U Nu, U Thant

UAEacceptable at first mention for the United Arab Emirates. The seven

emirates in order from west to east are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The UAE has a president

uber, ur(German prefixes, meaning super and original respectively),

generally no hyphen, no umlaut and lower case in hideous constructions such as uberbabe. Use sparingly. The minicab operation Uber has no umlaut

ubiquitousmeans being everywhere; so treat like unique, and do not

attempt to qualify or suggest nonsensical gradations (more ubiquitous, most ubiquitous etc)

Uefanot UEFA, European football’s governing body

Uighurprefer to Uyghur. Do not refer to this predominantly Muslim

ethnic group, who live in East Turkestan, as Chinese

UKacceptable abbreviation for United Kingdom in text and headlines but

use sparingly and be careful that it is strictly applicable

United Kingdom comprises Great Britain and Northern Ireland; strictly,

Britain or Great Britain is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and islands governed from the mainland (ie not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), but Britain is now widely used as another name for the United Kingdom or Great Britain, and pragmatically we accept this usage; the British Isles is the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands

Ukipcap then lower case as any acronym; the UK Independence Party if

ever spelt out, but usually no need

Ukraine omit the. Note the Orange Revolution (caps); also Kyiv, Odesa

Ulsterpermissible, especially in headlines, but use Northern Irelandor the

provincewhen possible

ultimatumsnot ultimata. See -um ultraviolet one word

Ulurutraditional and now preferred name for Ayers Rock

-umfor plurals of words ending in -um prefer to add an s, thus stadiums,

not stadia; gymnasiums, not gymnasia. But note millennia, strata

unchristian lower case

uncoordinated but co-ordinate

under-age (adjective, hyphen), but he is under age

underestimateoften confused with overestimate: note that the

importance of writing “its importance cannot be overestimated” cannot be overestimated

Underground London

under-secretarylower case, hyphen

under the hammeravoid this cliché for auctions, especially when it

produces unintentionally comic effect: “Gandhi’s iconic spectacles go under the hammer”

under wayalways two words

Unioncap for the union of England and Wales from 1543; that of the

English and Scottish crowns (1603-1707); the union of England and

Scotland from 1707; the political union of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1920); and the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1920. Also cap as a synonym of the United States; and the northern states during the American Civil War (also cap Confederacy)

unionistno need to cap in the Northern Ireland political context unless

naming political parties and their MPs. So, unionists generally, but a Unionist MP for a member of the DUP or UUP

Union Jack is fine and arguments to the contrary may be ignored. The

Flag Institute (“the UK’s National Flag Charity”) says this: “It is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. From early in its life the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially. Such use was given parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that ‘the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag’ ”

uniquemeans only one, having no like or equal. Do not use except in this

absolute specific sense, and do not accept gradations, as in “almost unique”, for which words such as rareor remarkablesuffice. Phrases such as “very unique” are nonsense and are banned

unitary authorities since the abolition of Avon, Humberside and

Cleveland, and the wholesale reorganisation of Welsh and Scottish local government from 1996 to 1998, we should take especial care about how we locate towns in these areas

United Nations or the UN; usually no need to spell out even at first

mention. Also note, the UN secretary-general, UN security council, UN general assembly, all lower case; UN derivatives such as Unesco, Unifil, Unprofor etc are written thus where the word can be voiced (see initials); the UN high commissioner for refugees (never commission) is the organisation, as well as a person, but we may as well treat as a job title,

which is what it sounds like, so lower case; abbreviate to UNHCR after first mention

United States (of America) is always followed by a singular verb.

Common usage allows abbreviation to US in text as well as headlines, but do not ignore the word America; in most cultural (non-official) contexts prefer American to US as the adjective: American actress, American film, American way of lifeetc

universal and absolute claims beware of making assertions about what

“everybody” thinks or does or is talking about; they may have a place in lighter features; they are not to be adopted as matters of serious fact. Be careful, too, in stating that anyone is the first or the last or the only person to do a particular thing, or that anything is the biggest, fastest, oldest of its kind. Readers like nothing better than to prove such statements wrong

universe lower case in all contexts, including astronomical units Downing Street policy unit (lower case), social exclusion unit etc

University College Londonno comma; similarly, University College

Dublin

university posts all lower case, eg the vice-chancellor of the University

of Sheffield, the chancellor of …, pro-vice-chancellor, master, professor, reader in chemistry, fellow etc

unlikeable, unloveable with the middle e unmistakable not one of those with the middle e unparalleled

unprecedented never done or known before; use it to mean what it

means, not as an empty hyperbolic alternative to eg “striking”, “unusual” or “big”

unshakeable e

until as a shorter variant, prefer tillto ’til

“Untouchables” (in Indian caste system), cap and in quotes at first

mention; also (and now more often) known as Dalit(s)

unveil take care with this word, which means to remove a covering from

something, or (by extension) to disclose. It should not be used in phrases such as unveiling a ship, or unveiling a flag

up avoid unnecessary use after verbs, as in meet up, rest up, end up upbeat, upgrade, upfront, upmarket

upcomingprefer eg forthcoming, coming soon, imminentetc

upon take care with use of up, upon, up onand on; eg “The cat jumped on

the floor, uponthe mouse, up onthe table, then upthe tree”

upper house, lower house

useableprefer to usable

USSR avoid wherever possible; say Soviet Unioninstead (and now only in

historical context)

utopiacap only in refs to Sir Thomas More

U-turnis an overworked phrase, especially in the political context. Be

sparing in its use, particularly when only a minor change of policy direction is involved; a partial U-turn is no U-turn at all; cap U if you must use it at all

vacuumin common use as a verb

vagaries means aimless wanderings or eccentric ideas, not vicissitudes or

changes (as in weather)

Valentine’s Daynormally omit the St, and keep cap for Valentine card

etc

Valiumproprietary name of diazepam, so cap

valley cap in full name of recognised places, such as the Thames Valley,

the Wye Valley etc

Van cap in Dutch names when surname alone is given, as in Van Gogh, but

lower case when used in full, eg Vincent van Gogh. Note Ludwig van Beethoven (not von), although the composer was German

Varsitymatchacceptable colloquialism for the Oxford-Cambridge rugby

match

Vaseline proprietary, so cap

VAT keep caps for clarity, even though often treated as an acronym

VE Day May 8, 1945, no need for hyphen; likewise VJ Day, August 15,

1945

Velcrocap, proprietary veld not veldt

veranda no final h

verbalmeans pertaining to words, oralmeans pertaining to the mouth. Do

not confuse. Sadly, corrupted phrases such as verbal abuseand verbal warninghave permeated journalism to the point of our having to accept them, but try to restrict such use and find an alternative

verbositywatch out for, and eliminate, wordy phrases such as “on the part

of” (use by), “a large number of” (many), “numerous occasions” (often), “this day and age” (does not even demand an alternative)

verbs a dull or poorly chosen verb will drag a sentence down. For telling a

story, active is often better than passive, transitive than intransitive; headlines, in particular, are almost always better with a well-chosen active verb. Adverbs may distract the reader, and so weaken rather than strengthen the verb they modify; a different active verb may do a better job

verdictdo not use for civil hearings: verdicts come at the end of criminal

trials

verger generally (and if in doubt) thus for the church official; some

cathedrals, eg St Paul’s and Winchester, prefer virger, in acknowledgment of the virgaor rod of office, which symbolises the role

vermilionprefer to vermillion

versus abbreviation is v (lower case, no point)

very rarely a helpful word, and usually redundant (“constant use merely

inflates the language without strengthening the meaning”, according to the 1959 edition of this guide)

vet(s) at first mention, write veteran(s), veterinary surgeon(s), veterinary

scientist(s) etc as appropriate; vet(s) is allowed in headings for veterinary surgeons or scientists

vetoesplural noun and third-person singular

viabledo not use as a synonym of feasible or practicable; it means capable

of independent existence

vicar take care to use this word accurately, because it is not a generic for

parson, clergyman etc. Always check that the cleric in question actually is a vicar and not, for instance, a rector or a perpetual curate, let alone a nonconformist minister or a Catholic priest. Vicar (and rector) should absolutely not be applied to other categories of Anglican cleric, eg bishops, priests-in-charge, deans, canons, non-stipendiaries etc. Clergy of other denominations should be referred to as priests, ministers etc as appropriate. Lower case always except in names of literary figures and titles of books/poems/television programmes (the Vicar of Bray, Wakefield, Dibley etc)

vicar-general

vice always hyphenate in its deputy context (vice-chairman, vice-president

of a company etc) but not in its depravity context, eg vice squad. Do not confine the meaning of vice to sex; it is the opposite of virtue and has a correspondingly wide range of meaning

vice-chancellor of a university vice versaroman, no hyphen

Victoria and Albert(Museum) use the ampersand only in the

abbreviated V&A, which now appears to be the museum’s preferred way of marketing itself, perhaps because Victoria and Albert are felt to sound a bit behind the times; this modish preference may be acknowledged but need not bind the rest of us

vintage car is one made between 1919 and 1930; a veteran caris one

made before 1919

vis-à-vis roman, hyphens, with accent viscountcy describes the rank

vizabbreviation for videlicet; prefer namely, that is, or simply ie VJ Day August 15, 1945, no need for hyphen. See VE Day Vodafone not Vodaphone

vogue wordsnew words, or old words with new and peculiar meanings,

come along all the time and need no encouragement from us; they soon become tired and meaningless. Or else they pass into general use. The hazards (and limits) of prescription are soberingly demonstrated by the 1970 edition of this guide, which lists the following as vogue words “to be avoided wherever possible”: abrasive, ambience, backlash, blueprint, catalyst, charisma(tic), confrontation, consensus, dichotomy, escalate, facelift, grass-roots, gritty, massive, persona, preemptive, symbiosis, trauma(tic); all may be words to approach with circumspection, and some are worth eschewing even now; most, however, remain as irritatingly in vogue as they were half a century ago. See Canute

voiceover one word

volcanoesplural of volcano. Note also prefer volcanology, volcanologist

to vulcan- spellings

volte-face roman, hyphen; plural remains volte-face

von(German) is usually lower case in the middle of a name, and capped

only at the beginning of a sentence. See Van

vote “yes” vote, “no” vote

VP never use as abbreviation of vice-president of the US or other state (or

vice-president of a company)

wackynot whacky

WAGswives and girlfriends (especially of sports teams); singular WAG

(acronym but upper case needed, exceptionally, for clarity)

Wahhabi (Muslim sect), not Wahabi

Waleslower case north Wales, south Wales, mid Wales, west Wales walked free from courtavoid this lazy cliché

walkout

war cabinet no need for caps unless helpful for clarity in historical refs

war crimes tribunallower case even when using the full title, the

international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It sits at the Hague and has a president and a chief prosecutor

war game(s)two words

war zonetwo words

warnmay be used transitively or intransitively. A caveat is not to create an

epidemic of “he warned” etc if we only mean “he said”. We are at liberty, however, to avoid the cumbersome “gave warning that”, or the strange “he cautioned”, which used to be demanded by old editions of this guide. For variety, do use transitive constructions as appropriate, eg: “The chancellor warned MPs that …”

war on terrorcaps seem obtrusive and unnecessary now

warrant officers in the British Army, regimental sergeant-major and

company sergeant-major are warrant officer ranks (between the NCOs and commissioned officers)

warscap the First World War, Second World War, the hypothetical Third

World War (or World War Three), Cold War, Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Six Day War (no hyphen), the Gulf War etc; prefer the Falklands conflict because war was never formally declared; if the phrase has to be used, write Falklands war (lower case); similarly, the Iraq war

warshipstake care with the following distinction: to serve in a warship,

but ona merchant ship; a naval officer is appointed to serve in HMS Sheffield, and not posted to serve on

Washington DC no comma if you need to distinguish from Washington

state (which mostly you will not). Do not generally use abbreviations in this way to refer to US states (or districts, or counties): write out Richmond, Virginia, not Richmond VA etc

washoutone word

Wasp acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant; adjective Waspy

wasteusually better to write wastethan wastage, which means the process

of loss or its amount or rate

watt unit of power, eg a 60W lightbulb. See energy, power

weaponsno hyphens for AK47 (although we prefer Kalashnikov), M16,

M79 etc

wear write menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, sportswear

weather stationstry always to include the county or other location if not

widely known

weather stories(about floods, hurricanes, snow, record sunshine etc in

the UK) should always take a cross-reference to the weather forecast. Style is: “Forecast, page 69” or “Weather Eye, page 69”

website one word. Unlike, say, computer games, do not routinely italicise

websites in normal copy. Italics or other type changes may be appropriate for display purposes in some contexts, eg listings pages

week, weekendthe week ends on Saturday night. Common sense will

dictate whether to say last week, this week, next week etc. Beware of references to “at the weekend” in Monday papers: always make clear whether you mean the weekend just past or next Saturday and Sunday, although the tense of the verb may be enough to indicate this. The phrase “this weekend” should refer only to the coming weekend, but if it is likely to cause any ambiguity then do not use it. “On the weekend” remains an Americanism; long may this be so

weigh anchormeans to raise a vessel’s anchor, not to drop it

weights and measures abbreviationscontext will determine when to

shorten kilometres, grams, feet, inches, stone, pounds, ounces etc. “He was 6ft 7in” (not ins, and no space between number and abbreviation); but “she stood two feet from the kerb”. Similarly, “she weighed 8st 12lb” (not lbs); but “he was several pounds overweight”

welfare state lower case

welfare to workprogramme (lower case, no hyphens)

well or well- with adjective: no hyphen needed if the construction is after

the noun, but write a hyphen if before the noun. Thus, “the island is well regulated”, but “it is a well-regulated island”

wellwisherdo not hyphenate. Beware of misuse: people who line the

street to watch a funeral procession are not wellwishers

Welsh accents put only on personal names, where the person is known to

use one, eg Siân.

Welsh assemblynow the Welsh parliamentor Senedd; likewise l/c

noun for Northern Ireland assembly; Scottish parliament; the leader of each of these devolved administrations is the first minister(no longer the first secretary)

Welsh secretary(or the secretary of state for Wales) Welsh valleysfor the (former) mining valleys of South Wales

west, westernetc; usually lower case, but cap the Westfor clarity in its

geopolitical sense (similarly East); always western leaders, western Europeetc (unless capital is helpful in a specific historical Cold War context); the Wild West(but the films are westerns, lower case)

West Country, theupper case, for clarity

wharfprefer wharfsas plural

wheelchair-boundmany (though not all) wheelchair users dislike the

term “wheelchair-bound”, with its suggestion of confinement; they resent being defined by the way they happen to get about; it’s rarely difficult to find an alternative

whencemeans “from where”. Never write “from whence”

whereaboutsis singular, eg “his whereabouts is not known”. Prefer

“nobody knows where he is”

which in an ideal world, a relative clause with which would give additional

information, while one with that would define and restrict. In practice there is a degree of fluidity (or muddle); it is possible to be overzealous in tidying this up

whilenot whilst

whingeingwith middle e

whips lower case chief whip, whips’ office, a government whip

whiskyfrom Scotland, Scotch as alternative; but whiskeyfrom Ireland and

America; prefer whisky (but not Scotch) in more general or non-specific use, eg Japanese whisky, whisky sauce etc

whistleblower but whistle-stop(hyphenated), as in whistle-stop tour White Cliffs of Dovercaps

White House chief of staff

white paperas with green paper, lower case

white phosphorus, white phosphorus bomb for adjective and noun,

and its adjectival use

whizz double z in all senses and compounds

who, whomwhich of these to use is determined solely by its function in

the relative clause. Remember that whomhas to be the object of the verb in the relative clause. Thus, “she is the woman whom the police wish to interview” (ie the police wish to interview her, not she); the other most common use of whom is after a preposition such as by, with or from, eg “the person from whom he bought a ticket”.

Beware of traps, however: “Who do you think did it?” is correct (not whom, because who is the subject of “did it”, not the object of “do you think”); and “Give it to whoever wants it” is correct (not whomever) because whoever is the subject of the verb wants.

Beware too of constructions such as “he squirted ammonia at a van driver who [correct] he believed had cut him up” (where “he believed” is simply

an interjection; “who” is not the object of “he believed” but the subject of the subordinate clause, “who … had cut him up”)

whodunnitnot whodunit

WH Smithno full points

whyoften superfluous after reason, eg “the reason he did it was …”, not

“the reason why he did it was …”; “there are good reasons why this is the case” is a long way of saying “there are good reasons for this”

-wideno hyphen in compounds such as countrywide, nationwide,

worldwide, but needed in Europe-wide

wi-filower case, hyphen

wind with strong winds, give a description as well as force number in

numerals (add “on the Beaufort scale” where appropriate. The scale grades wind speeds from 0 to 12; Americans use the scale to 17). Write, eg force 4 (lower case, numeral), up to force 7; thereafter, gale force 8, severe gale force 9, storm force 10, violent storm force 11 and hurricane force 12. But the vernacular “force 11 winds” is acceptable

wind farmtwo words

winesdefinitely not an area where consistency should trump common

sense, but generally prefer lower case when a familiar proper name is being used in a generic way, ie to describe a well-known style or type of wine rather than to name an individual bottle or denote a precise geographical origin: a first-growth bordeaux, red burgundy, vintage champagne, good ordinary claret, decent chablis, fruity beaujolais, white rioja etc. Cap when proper names are used more specifically, eg to identify individual wines (“Of the several excellent chablis bottlings by the enterprising young winemaker Patrick Piuze, the Chablis ‘Terroirs de Courgis’ is one of the best.” “If you like mature rioja, it is worth looking out for older vintages of Rioja Reserva Vina Ardanza from La Rioja Alta”); to attach a geographical designation to a grape variety also grown

elsewhere (an Alsace pinot blanc, a Mosel riesling, a Hunter Valley chardonnay, a New Zealand pinot noir; grapes all lower case); to refer to specific villages/vineyards and to smaller or less familiar appellations or those which simply look odd without a cap (“When it comes to red burgundy, Fixin, Marsannay and Rully are much cheaper than ChambolleMusigny or Gevrey-Chambertin”); to refer to the wine-growing region rather than the wine itself (“If you are looking for the best-value classic French wine, it comes neither from Bordeaux nor Burgundy but from the Rhône”; “he preferred to buy his champagne only in Champagne”)

wintryprefer to wintery (or indeed winterly)

Wirral(not Wirrall); it’s a peninsula so prefer on the Wirral(as most

people who live there would say) to in Wirral

wisterianow prefer to wistaria as the variant for the common name, after

epic, unfathomable controversy in 2009 at The Times. The internationally agreed scientific name for the genus is Wisteria, hence, for example, Chinese wisteria is Wisteria chinensis. The plant was named by Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist, in honour of Caspar Wistar, an American anatomist and physician (1761-1818) and friend of Thomas Jefferson, but bizarrely he decided to spell the genus Wisteria. Wistar’s family came from Germany with the surname Wüster: one branch, so to speak, decided to change it to Wister rather than Wistar, which may have confused Nuttall (for more detail, if you must, see a passage and footnote from The Perennial Philadelphians, by Nathaniel Burt). The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, the first American independent biomedical research facility, also commemorates Caspar Wistar

witch-hunt but witchcraftand witchdoctor

witnessesin British courts, witnesses go into the witness box and give

evidence; they do not take the stand and testify

women doctors, women teachersetc adopt the plural through

common usage; but beware of gratuitously using “woman” or “women” as an adjective in this way; always ask what it is adding and why it is there

woke widely (but not universally) used as a term of dismissal or abuse, to

convey what used to be known as “political correctness gone mad”. Using it like that may resonate with one section of the readership, but it will alienate another; let columnists take sides if they must; take care in news reports. Lazy cliché anyway, grown tiresome with overuse

Woolf reformsseveral important changes have been made in civil

litigation rules and terminology since April 1999. Three of the commonest are: plaintiffs became claimants; a writ became a claim form; and notices of applicationare served in the place of summonses

Woolsackin parliament, initial cap

word hyphenate in c-word, s-word, f-word etc. See four-letter words,

obscenities, swearing

wordinessshould be resisted. Do not use a long phrase if a shorter one

says the same thing

workaholicas shopaholic, but note chocoholic

workers farmworkers, metalworkersand roadworkerseach one word, but

two for car workers, care workers, oil workers, office workersetc

workforce, workshop, work-to-rule

worldavoid, wherever possible, phrases such as the fashion world, the

theatre world, the cricket world etc

World Cup, World Cup final worldwideone word for general adjective

World War One/Two/I/II/1/2 etc; avoid. Use only First World War,

Second World War, but note that World War Three may be used for the war that has not yet happened

wrackmeans seaweed or wreckage and must not be used as a synonym of

torture; thus, “racked by doubts” etc

wreaked(not wrought) havoc, heavy damage, vengeance etc. This is

merely a preference, but one with something to commend it. As MerriamWebster observes, wrought “is not an error, but you may want to take the fact that some people mistakenly think that it is into account in deciding whether or not to use it”. Or “you can avoid the whole issue by calling wreak havoca cliché and dismissing it contemptuously from your vocabulary”. Good advice

Wrensuse only in historical context. Women sailors are now fully integrated into the Royal Navy and the WRNS no longer exists as a separate entity. If necessary to specify, refer to a woman captain etc

writeswith written-in bylines, prefer the construction Ann Bloggs writesto

writes Ann Bloggs. Use the singular with eg “(Our foreign staff writes)”. Normal style is to use the brackets on news and sports pages, the italics on features

wrongdoer, wrongdoing but wrong-footed, wrong-headed

Xbox

Xeroxa trade name so must cap The X Factor, The X Files no hyphen Xhosa(not Khosa), plural Xhosas, the Bantu tribe

Xmasshould not be used in The Times unless part of a special title or in a

direct quote etc

x-ray fully acceptable abbreviation of x-ray examination. It can also be

used as a verb, to x-ray someone. Note, however, Camp X-Rayat Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (later replaced by Camp Delta)

Yahwehvocalisation of the Tetragrammaton, YWWH, the Hebrew name

of God

Yale lock trade name so must cap

yard the metre and the yard are sufficiently similar that conversions such

as 500m (547 yards) are generally unnecessary. Conversions between metres and feet are often more useful

years note that two and a half yearsis spelt out

yellow cakelower case, no quotes for semi-refined uranium ore Yemen not theYemen

“yes” vote, “no” vote but Yes campaign, No campaign yoghurt prefer with the h

yoke (oxen), yolk(egg)

Yorkshire specify the location for smaller towns and villages, eg Thirsk,

North Yorkshire, but not for eg Bradford or Leeds (West Yorkshire)

Yorkshire pudding, Yorkshire terrier

young offender institution lower case, as in Feltham young offender

institution

Young Turkscap

youth courts not juvenile courts, which no longer exist

yuanthe Chinese currency; prefer to renminbi.Renminbi — “the people’s

currency” — is the official name of the currency introduced by the Communist regime in 1949. A yuan is a unit of the renminbi. A parallel distinction might be between sterling, the currency, and pound, the unit in which sterling is denominated. Yuan, like pound, will be right in almost all contexts: it is the unit for indicating eg prices (something costs 1,000 yuan, not 1,000 renminbi) but it will also serve as a synonym for renminbi in discussing eg “the strength of the yuan against the dollar”

Yugoslav(meaning southern Slav) is the adjective from Yugoslavia (not

Yugoslavian)

yuletidelower case, but hard to think of a good reason for using at all

Zambezi is the common spelling today and the one to use; the Victorians

preferred Zambesi

-ze in almost all cases use the -ise ending rather than the -ize. Two of the

few exceptions are capsizeand synthesizer. (If we were to adopt -ize, there would be far more exceptions to worry about, as there are quite a few words that have to end -ise)

zeitgeist (lower case, roman), means the spirit of the times zerosprefer to zeroes as plural

Zimmer frame is a trade name, so cap

zodiac, zodiacal lower case, as in signs of the zodiac zoocap in full names: London Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Bristol Zoo etc

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The official style guide followed by The Times and The Sunday Times.