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a, an use a before all words beginning with a vowel or diphthong with the sound of u (as in unit) - a eulogy, a European etc; but use an before unaspirated h - an heir, an honest woman, an honour; also, prefer an hotel to a hotel, an historic to a historic, an heroic rather than a heroic

abattoir

Abbey is a bank, not a building society. Note that some of its funds are still branded Abbey National. Others that have similarly changed status include the Halifax, the Woolwich, the Alliance & Leicester etc. See building societies

abbreviation prefer not to abbreviate Professor to Prof, Father to Fr etc. See acronym, military ranks; days/months

abbreviated negatives (can't, don't, shan't etc, plus similar abbreviations such as I'll, you're) should be discouraged in all text except in direct quotes, though in chatty pieces such as the Diary and some features they are permissible when the full form would sound pedantic

Abdication cap with specific reference to Edward VIII's; in general sense, use l/c. See Royal Family

Abhisit Vejjajiva the Thai Prime Minister; Mr Abhisit at subsequent mentions

aboard prefer on board. See Armed Forces special section

Aboriginal (singular, noun and adjective), and

Aborigines (plural), for native Australian(s);

aboriginal (l/c) for wider adjectival use

Abu means "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. See Arabic names

Acas the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service www.acas.org.uk

accents give French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Irish and Ancient Greek words their proper accents and diacritical marks; omit in other languages unless you are sure of them. Accents should be used in headlines and on capital letters. With Anglicised words, no need for accents in foreign words that have taken English nationality (hotel, depot, debacle, elite, regime etc), but keep the accent when it makes a crucial difference to pronunciation or understanding - café, communiqué, détente, émigré, façade, fête, fiancée, mêlée, métier, pâté, protégé, raison d'être; also note vis-à-vis. See foreign words , Spanish

Achilles' heel, but Achilles tendon. See apostrophes

acknowledgement

acoustic(s) (not accoustics)

acquiesce

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;

cf abbreviation, a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, eg, Mr for Mister, UEA for the University of East Anglia, kg for kilogram;

and initialism, which can be an acronym, eg, Nato, or a set of initials representing a name, organisation etc, with each letter pronounced separately, eg, BBC for the British Broadcasting Corporation

Act and Bill cap whether fully identified or not

actor, actress. See feminine designations

Actuary the Government Actuary takes caps

AD, BC note that AD comes before the date, eg, AD35; BC comes after, 350BC. With century, both are used after, eg, 3rd century BC/AD

adapter (person who adapts); adaptor (plug, device)

Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge

addresses no commas in 1 Pennington Street etc; and do not abbreviate Street. See postal addresses

adidas (l/c) policy is now to allow companies the styles they wish to follow. See AXA, easyJet etc; but note that Bupa has reverted to l/c

adjectives avoid clichéd adjectives as in long-felt want, serious danger, widespread concern, substantial majority etc

Adjutant-General takes the hyphen

Administration (US) cap when specific, eg, the Obama Administration; generic l/c, eg, a lame-duck administration, also l/c adjectival, eg, an administration official.

See Obama Administration

Admiral do not abbreviate to Adm Jones etc except in lists; subsequent mentions, the admiral. See Armed Forces special section

admissible, inadmissible (not -able)

ad nauseam (not ad nauseum)

adrenalin (prefer to adrenaline)

adult films, adult magazines avoid this circumlocution; write pornographic films, pornographic magazines instead

adverbs when they are used to qualify adjectives, the joining hyphen is rarely needed, eg, heavily pregnant, classically carved, colourfully decorated. But in some cases, 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. Thus, "the island is well regulated", but "it is a well-regulated island". See well or well-

advertisement prefer to advert, especially at first mention; but advert is now acceptable (at second mention, in headings etc). Avoid ad

adviser (never advisor)

-aemia not -emia, for blood conditions such as anaemia, leukaemia; thus anaemic, leukaemic

Aertex trade name (not Airtex)

affect, effect as 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

affidavit a written declaration on oath. Such phrases as "sworn affidavit" and "he swore an affidavit" are therefore tautologous

Afghan noun or adjective; an afghani (l/c) is a unit of currency, not a person

Afghanistan note Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province; Mohammad Mohaqiq, the politician and a presidential candidate in 2004. For spellings of Afghan provinces, see map of Afghanistan. Note also the 2009 presidential candidate Ramazan Bashardost, at second mention Dr Bashardost; and Ahmad Wali Karzai. If you need to distinguish him subsequently from his half-brother, the President, ie, Mr Karzai is insufficient, write Wali Karzai. Note also Ahmad Nader Nadery, of the Afghan Free and Fair Election Foundation

"Afpak" quote marks at all mentions, including headings, of this Obama Administration shorthand for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Africa note North Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa (caps) for the four main regions. See South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa

African-American hyphenate; see blacks

African Union (AU abbreviated) replaced (summer of 2002) the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)

Afrika Korps the German force led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Afrikaans, the language; Afrikaners, the people

after almost invariably to be used rather than following. Also, beware of careless use in sentences such as “The British player won a place in the final after beating the seeded German”. Say instead “ ... by beating the seeded German”. See as, following

afterlife (one word)

ages normal style is "Joe Brown, 33, a porter," but occasional variations such as “Andrew Hunt, who is 74,” are permissible. Similarly keep children's ages as a figure, so “Emma Watson, 7, who ...”, and "children aged 5 to 14" (not "five to 14"); but “the seven-year-old child said ...” (up to and including ten). Other examples where a figure should be used: "At the age of 7, he moved to London"; "The girl, aged 6, attends the village school". Note caps in Ice Age, Stone Age, the Dark Ages etc. See elderly

ageing takes the middle “e” - as in likeable, mileage, moveable, rateable, sizeable, unlikeable, unshakeable etc. The most common exceptions are listed separately, eg, axing, unmistakable

aggravate means to make (an evil or complaint) worse. It does not mean to annoy or irritate

AGM caps, but prefer annual meeting in text

agoraphobia (not agaro-, agra- etc)

Agriculture, Ministry/Minister of (not Department/Secretary) no longer exists, having been subsumed into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In historical contexts, the old Ministry of Agriculture may be abbreviated to MAFF

ahead of do not use in the sense of timing to mean before/prior to/in advance of

Ahern, Bertie

Ahmed, Lord not Lord Ahmed of Rotherham. Note that after first mention, write simply Ahmed (no honorific) until his suspended prison sentence is exhausted early in 2010

Aïda use the diaresis for the opera by Verdi. See Arts special section

aide-mémoire roman, hyphen, accent; plural aides-mémoire

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 the rule about never saying “died of Aids”. Write HIV/Aids when appropriate regarding the virus and the condition together.

See HIV

AIM the Alternative Investment Market; keep caps in abbreviation

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (caps, and note Accidents)

airbase, airstrip, airspace (no hyphens); but see air fares, air show, airstrikes

Air Force One the US presidential jet

air conditioner, air conditioning no longer hyphenate as adjective and noun; but hyphenate adjectivally, eg, an air-conditioning unit

aircraft prefer to planes wherever possible. Remember that not all aircraft are jets - some are still turbo-prop. Also always avoid the American airplanes. See flying boat, planes, turbo-jet, turbo-prop

aircraft names are italicised, as with ships' or locomotive names, eg, the Enola Gay (Hiroshima bomber). See locomotive names , ships

aircraft types B52, F111 etc (no hyphens between letter and numbers). See Messerschmitt

aircraftman, aircraftwoman not aircraftsman etc. See Armed Forces special section

air fares (two words, as rail fares, bus fares etc)

air force cap in full name such as Royal Air Force (thereafter the RAF), US Air Force (USAF), Brazilian Air Force (thereafter the air force, l/c); and l/c in adjectival use, eg, an air force raid. See Armed Forces special section

Air Miles take care when to cap; the Air Miles scheme is run by BA and should usually be capped; but it can take the l/c if used in a general context

airports as a general rule for British airports, use the name of the city or town followed by l/c airport, eg, Manchester airport, Leeds/Bradford airport, Nottingham (formerly East Midlands) airport, Luton airport; but see Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted. Note at Heathrow, Terminal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc

air raid (two words, but see airstrikes)

air show (two words); cap when specific, eg, the Paris Air Show, the Farnborough Air Show

airstrikes one word in military sense, but air raids (two words)

air traffic control service See National Air Traffic Services

akimbo use 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. See Arabic names

Alastair (Campbell), Aleister (Crowley), Alistair (Darling), Alasdair, Alaster, Alyster etc ... there are several dozen variants. Beware

Albert Hall generally omit Royal

alcohol and driving The legal levels are: blood 80mg per 100ml; breath 35mcg per 100ml. See drink-drive

A level no hyphen as a noun, but A-level results etc (hyphenate when adjectival). A levels now embrace AS levels and A2s, and can still be used as the generic phrase and in historical context. But use O levels (same hyphenation rules) now only in historical context. See GCSE , examinations

Al Fayed Mohamed Al Fayed is chairman of Harrods. His youngest brother Ali Fayed is deputy chairman of Harrods. Their brother Saleh Fayed is not a resident of the UK. The brothers should be spelt like this, with no variation. The late elder son was Dodi Fayed

Alfa Romeo

alfresco one word, roman

algebra take 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=mc2. As an example in narrative text: "Dr Edwards noted that the mass, m, is proportional to Ax where A is the area of the burger and x is 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 x2A."

alibi not a general alternative to excuse; it means being elsewhere at the material time

al-Jazeera TV station in Qatar. See War on Terror

Aliyev, Heydar late former President of Azerbaijan, who handed over to his son, Ilham Aliyev

Alka-Seltzer note hyphen and capitals

all in 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)

allcomers (one word)

allege avoid the suggestion that the writer is making the allegation, so specify its source. Do not use alleged as a synonym of ostensible, apparent or reputed

Allende, Isabel the Chilean novelist (born in Lima, Peru) is the niece and goddaughter of the former Chilean President, Salvador Allende, NOT his daughter

All England Club home of the Wimbledon Championships (no hyphen)

All Hallows Eve (not Allhallows)

Allies cap the Allies in the Second World War context; generally, l/c alliance, as in the Atlantic alliance, Gulf War alliance etc

Allitt, Beverly the child-killer convicted in May 1993

all right never alright

All Souls College, Oxford (no apostrophe). See Oxford University

all-time avoid as in all-time high; use highest or record high instead

al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden's group. See War on Terror

alsatian (l/c, the German shepherd dog); wherever possible, l/c for breeds of dogs; but obvious exceptions include Great Dane, Yorkshire terrier. See dogs

alternative of two, choice of three or more

Alwaleed, Prince despite our usual style with Arabic names (l/c al, followed by hyphen, cap first letter of name, -id preferred to -eed) the Saudi investor and businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz prefers to style himself thus (though Prince Alwaleed is usually sufficient). His son is Prince Khalid Bin Alwaleed. See Arabic names, Saudi

al-Yamamah the oil-for-arms defence project; not Al Yamamah

al-Zaidi, Muntazer Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush in December 2008

Amateur Athletic Association (not Athletics)

Amazon.com (use initial cap) www.amazon.co.uk

ambassador cap when specific, eg, the French Ambassador, thereafter the ambassador. See President , Prime Minister , Governor

ambience prefer to the French spelling ambiance

America(n)/US in general, try to use American as 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. See United States

American spellings normally use the English spelling even with offices or institutions such as Secretary of Defense (change to Defence), American Federation of Labor (change to Labour), or with buildings, eg, the Lincoln Center, the World Trade Center (change to Centre); but Labor Day (which has no UK equivalent) and thus Labor Department etc are exceptions, as is Pearl Harbor. See Labor Day , Pearl Harbor

America's Cup, the (yachting)

amid, not amidst; similarly among, not amongst

Amnesty International the charity. Spell out at first mention, Amnesty thereafter (and in headlines) www.amnesty.org.uk

amok not amock or amuck

amphitheatres in 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 (l/c “t”), but the Treaty of Amsterdam (caps). See Maastricht treaty

analog (in computer context); but keep analogue as in an analogous or parallel thing. See program

anathema meaning accursed, consigned to perdition; there is no need for an article, thus "It is anathema to me". Although a noun, it is quasi-adjectival in usage

ancestor strictly 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. Clearly, an ancestor is not a descendant, so do not mix them up

Ancient Briton/Britain, Ancient Greek/Greece, Ancient Egyptian/Egypt, Ancient Roman/Rome

ancillary

Ancram, Michael (Tory politician); he is formally the Earl of Ancram, but he sits as an MP and we refer to him simply as Michael Ancram, or Mr Ancram. His daughters are Lady Clare Kerr and Lady Mary Kerr (not Ancram)

and may be used at the beginning of a sentence, especially for emphasis. Likewise for but

Andersen, the accountancy firm (no longer Arthur Andersen); the former Andersen Consulting is now Accenture

Andersen, Hans Christian not Anderson

androgynous not androgenous in reference to having both male and female characteristics; androgenic refers to male hormones, eg, testosterone

aneurysm not aneurism

Angel of the North (not The) by Antony Gormley

angioplasty is a procedure carried out by cardiologists and is not surgery

Anglesey (never Anglesea)

anglicise (l/c), Anglophile, Anglophobe, Anglophone (caps)

Anglo-Irish agreement See Ireland

angst (roman l/c)

animals beware the solecism “birds and animals”; say “birds and mammals” instead

animal names call an animal "he" or "she" if the sex is definitely known or if called by a masculine or feminine name (eg, Felix the cat had only himself to blame). But use "it" if sex is unspecified. On the racing pages, horses are always "he" or "she"

annexe (noun), but to annex (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

anoint not annoint

answerphone or answering machine

Antarctic, Arctic never Antartic etc

antennae (plural of antenna) in zoological sense;

antennas in radio or aerial sense

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty all initial caps, ABM Treaty for short

Antichrist (initial cap, no hyphen)

anticipate not to be used for expect. It means to deal with, or use, in advance of, or before, the due time. To anticipate marriage is different from expecting to marry

antidepressant (noun or adjective), no hyphen

Antipodes, Antipodean cap A when referring to Australia and New Zealand

anti-Semitic, anti-Semitism

antisocial, anticlimax, antitrust

antisocial (no hyphen) behaviour order (ASBO); plural ASBOs

Anti-Terrorist Branch, Special Branch; (caps); but police squads in most cases l/c, except Flying Squad and Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Squad

antiviral one word

any more always two words

apart from do not use the Americanism "aside from"

Apennines, Italy (not Appenines)

aphelion see perihelion

apostrophes with 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's style (or Times style); 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 must respect their preference. Also, take care with apostrophes with plural nouns, eg, women's, not womens'; children's, not childrens'; people's, not peoples'.

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

An apostrophe should be used to indicate the plural of single letters - p's and q's

apothegm maxim; prefer to apophthegm

app write application (app) at first mention of such mobile phone functions to assist the technically challenged

apparatchik

appellations on news pages, though not on features and sport, almost every surname should be granted the courtesy of a title. The exceptions are: convicted offenders, the dead (but not the recently dead, except in obituaries), and - mostly in the arts, sports, books and diary sections - cases where common usage omits a title. On news pages, similarly, sportsmen, artists, authors, film stars, pop stars, actors etc should now normally not be referred to as Mr/Mrs/Ms etc, except in court cases or exceptional occasions where guilt would be implied by omitting the honorific.

General rules:

First mention, Herbert Palfry, Juliette Worth, subsequently Mr Palfry, Mrs/Miss/Ms Worth.

Put the name first, then the age (if relevant), then the description; eg, Penélope Cruz, 34, the Spanish actress; avoid the journalese construction “actress Penélope Cruz” or the like

Avoid initials and middle initials (as in American names) unless the person is best known thereby (eg, W.G. Grace, with full points).

Ms is fully acceptable when a woman wants to be called thus, or when it is not known for certain if she is Mrs or Miss.

Dr is no longer confined to medical doctors; if a person has a doctorate from a reputable university, Dr is acceptable. Generally, as for Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms, do not use Dr at first mention. See the exceptions made for archbishops and bishops

Court proceedings: accused people should be accorded the appropriate title (Mr, Miss etc) - however guilty they may appear - after name and first name have been given at first mention; only convicted persons or those who have admitted guilt in recognised legal proceedings should be referred to by surname alone. But do be sensitive especially in murder cases, where the accused is given, for example, his "Mr"; the victim (despite the dead not usually being given a title) should here be accorded the courtesy of the title. Otherwise the stark contrast of, say, Mr X being accused of the murder of Dando, can appear gratuitously offensive

See also foreign appellations , titles , Armed Forces special section , Courts special section

appendix plural appendices, but appendixes in anatomy

Apple Computer, not Computers, for the Mac company

appraise means evaluate; apprise means inform. Never confuse

appurtenance

ap Rhys Pryce, Tom the lawyer robbed and murdered in January 2006; the surname is ap Rhys Pryce

April Fool's Day, April fool, but All Fools' Day

Aqaba, Gulf of (Red Sea)

aqueduct (not aquaduct)

Arabic refers to the language. Use Arab in such phrases as "the Arab world"

Arabic names always take care in this difficult area of transliteration. But remember the basic rule of al-X (l/c al, with hyphen, before name; rarely use the el- form). Spell names such as Rashid with an "i" rather than double "e" (Rasheed). Thus Fedayin (not Fedayeen) and Mujahidin. Abu means "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. See Al Fayed, Alwaleed, Prince, Sheikh Mohammed

Arafat, Yassir not Yasser

arbitrate, arbitration do 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 see palaeontology

archbishops

Anglican archbishops and diocesan 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, but if a doctor, the Bishop of Barchester, Dr John Smith; subsequent references, the Archbishop (Bishop) (caps), or Dr Smith (if so entitled) - never Mr Smith;

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;

Roman Catholic archbishops, at first mention: the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Rev John X, subsequent mentions Archbishop X or the Archbishop; bishops, first mention the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Rev Christopher Y, thereafter Bishop Y or the Bishop, unless he has a doctorate, when he is Dr Y. See Churches special section .

Archer, Garath (not Gareth), former England rugby player

arch rival two words

Arctic Monkeys no "the" in the band's name

Argentine is the adjective; an Argentinian is a person from Argentina (never the Argentine). Note that the President is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the "de Kirchner" being derived from the surname of her husband, Néstor Kirchner, the former President. So she should be referred to as President Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina at first mention; subsequently, she is Mrs Kirchner. Note the accents on Raúl Alfonsín, the late former President

armada be careful with imprecise use of this word; it means a fleet of armed ships, so strictly should not be applied to any collection of boats or ships

Armageddon (cap)

armchair, deckchair (no hyphens)

Armed Forces, the (caps); also the Services. See Armed Forces special section

Armistice Day is not the same as Remembrance Sunday (unless November 11 falls on a Sunday). See two minutes' silence , Remembrance Sunday

Armstrong Siddeley (no hyphen)

Army cap in context of the British Army (thereafter the Army, capped), and foreign armies, as in the Belgian Army, the Swiss Army (but thereafter the army, l/c); and always l/c when used adjectivally, eg, an army helicopter, a British army tank; thus, a US navy pilot etc. See Armed Forces special section

A-road, B-road etc, hyphenated

Arran (Isle of), in 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 sweater etc

artefact do not use artifact

artistic knights with these, use only surname in their artistic contexts (eg, Rattle conducted the Berlin Philharmonic with panache), but full title in news stories with, for example, political or social contexts (eg, Sir Simon Rattle visited No 10 yesterday). Similarly, McKellen played Lear, but Sir Ian McKellen led the gay rights march

artistic movements cap Art Deco, Baroque, Classical, Neo-Classical, Cubist, Gothic, Impressionist, Minimalist, Modernist, Post-Modern, Pre-Columbian, Pre-Raphaelite, Rococo, Romantic, Surrealist etc in cultural contexts; but in wider general use, l/c, eg, “He had a surrealist sense of humour but a romantic nature”

Arts and Crafts movement

arts awards initial cap for titles of awards such as Best Actress, Best Film, Play of the Year etc

Arts Council England new name (from Feb 2003) for the Arts Council of England, national development agency for the arts

Art Fund new name (from May 2006) for the National Art Collections Fund

as beware of sloppy use in sentences such as “They were moved out as the blast tore open the building”; say simply “after the 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

ascendant, ascendancy prefer to ascendent, ascendency

Asdic an early sonar device for detecting submarines. The name is an acronym for Antisubmarine Detection Investigation Committee. See submarine

Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations): Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Burma, Laos and Cambodia. See South-East Asia, Far East

ASH caps for abbreviation of Action on Smoking and Health, the anti-smoking pressure group

Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire

Ashcroft, Lord (not "of Belize" or of anything else)

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (Apec as abbreviation)

aside from do not use this Americanism. Write "apart from"

assassin to be used only in the murder of a statesman or politician from a political motive (same applies to assassination); not to be used for the killing of general celebrities or others. See execution and killer

assault rifle an outmoded term to be avoided. The British Army standard SA80 is a rifle

Assisted Places Scheme (caps), but assisted places (in schools)

assizes, like quarter sessions, no longer function, having been replaced by the Crown Court. See quarter sessions, Courts special section

Association of First Division Civil Servants, or First Division Association, now wishes to be known as the FDA. See FDA

assure you assure your life; ensure means to make certain; you insure against risk

AstroTurf proprietary; note two caps

asylum seeker (no longer hyphenated)

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

Athenaeum, the See London clubs

Atlantic (Ocean), North Atlantic, South Atlantic, but transatlantic

Atomic Energy Authority in the UK (not Agency), abbreviated to AEA; but note International Atomic Energy Agency, abbreviated to IAEA

ATS short for Auxiliary Territorial Service (not Auxiliary Training Service)

Attlee, Clement not Atlee

Attorney-General, Solicitor-General (both are hyphenated); they are law officers, not legal officers. See Courts special section

aubrieta prefer to aubrietia and aubretia (named after Claude Aubriet). The genus, as per standard botanical style, is Aubrieta. See plant names ; wisteria

Au Clair de la Lune the French folk song

Auditor-General (with hyphen)

Auntie (not aunty) as colloquialism for the BBC. See BBC

Autocue (cap, proprietary)

Autumn Statement (caps). See Budget

awayday one word

Awol, absent without leave, not AWOL

AXA (not Axa), the financial services group

axing (no middle “e”); but try to avoid in sense of cutting jobs, dismissal etc

Axis of Evil cap, but only put in quote marks if attribution is not clear, in reference to President George W. Bush's description in 2002 of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as governments that he accused of backing terrorism and seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. See War on Terror

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

Ayckbourn, (Sir) Alan

Ayers Rock now use Uluru

Aznar, José María former Spanish Prime Minister (two accents)

Last edited: July 9, 2009