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Special sections
What's
New Armed
Forces Arts
Churches
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Politics
Sport
Titles
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
abbreviations prefer not to abbreviate Professor to Prof,
Father to Fr etc. See 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
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
accents give French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian 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 - café, communiqué, fête, fiancée, mêlée, émigré, pâté,
protégé; also note vis-à-vis, façade. See foreign words, Spanish
Achilles' heel, but Achilles tendon. See apostrophes
acknowledgement
acoustic(s) (not accoustics)
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, BUPA, easyJet etc
adjectives avoid clichéd adjectives as in long-felt
want, serious danger, widespread concern, substantial
majority etc
Adjutant-General takes the hyphen
Administration (US)
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 magazines avoid this circumlocution; say 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, the compound looks better 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
advertisement prefer to advert, especially at first mention; but
advert is now acceptable (at second mention, in headings etc). Avoid ad
adviser (never advisor)
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
African Union (AU abbreviated) replaces (summer 2002) the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
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 axeing,
likeable, mileage, moveable, rateable, sizeable, unlikeable, unshakeable
etc. The most common exceptions are listed separately, eg, 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 to mean before/prior to/in advance of
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”. 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 (hyphenate)
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 planes
aircraft names are italicised, as with ships' or locomotive
names, eg, the Enola Gay (Hiroshima bomber). See locomotive, ships
aircraft types B52, F111 etc (no hyphens between letter and
numbers)
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
Albert Hall generally omit Royal
alcohol and driving The legal levels are: blood 80mg per 100ml; breath
35mcg per 100ml. See drink-driving
A level, no hyphen, but A-level results etc (hyphenate only
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 colleges
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 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 and cap first letter of name) 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 (oil-for-arms defence project); not Al Yamamah
Amateur Athletic Association (not Athletics)
Amazon.com (use initial cap)
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 (change to Centre); but Labor Day (which
has no UK equivalent) is an exception. See also 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)
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
analog (in computer context); but keep analogue as in
an analogous or parallel thing. See program
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
Ancient Briton/Britain, Ancient Greek/Greece, Ancient
Egyptian/Egypt, Ancient Roman/Rome
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)
Andersen, the accountancy firm (no longer Arthur Andersen);
the former Andersen Consulting is now Accenture
Andersen, Hans Christian (NOT Anderson)
aneurysm not aneurism
Anglesey (never Anglesea)
Anglicise, Anglophile (caps), anglophone
(l/c)
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)
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)
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
any more always two words
Apennines, Italy (not Appenines)
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",
do not use the apostrophe "s", eg, Aristophanes' plays,
Achilles' heel, Socrates' life, Archimedes' principle.
Beware of organisations that have variations as their house style, eg, St
Thomas' Hospital, where we must respect their whim. 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
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:
a. First mention, Herbert Palfry, Juliette Worth, subsequently Mr
Palfry, Mrs/Miss/Ms Worth.
b. Put the name first, then the age (if relevant), then the
description; eg, Jane Fonda, 57, the American actress; avoid the
journalese construction “actress Jane Fonda” or the like
c. Avoid initials and middle initials (as in American names) unless the
person is best-known thereby (eg, W.G. Grace, with full points).
d. Ms is nowadays fully acceptable when a woman wants to be called
thus, or when it is not known for certain if she is Mrs or Miss.
e. Dr is no longer confined to medical doctors; if a person has a
doctorate from a reputable university, Dr is acceptable.
f. 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 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 names, 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
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. 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.
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
a. 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;
b. The Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of All England, the
Archbishop of York is Primate of England;
c. Anglican bishops are consecrated, Roman Catholic bishops ordained;
d. 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
Argentine is the adjective; an Argentinian
is a person from Argentina (never the Argentine)
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
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
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 (Feb 2003) for the Arts Council
of England, national development agency for the arts
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 ..."
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
Ashcroft, Lord (not "of Belize" or of anything else)
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (Apec as
abbreviation)
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
Association of First Division Civil Servants, or First
Division Association (FDA) for short
assure you assure your life; ensure
means to make certain; you insure against risk
AstroTurf proprietary; note two caps
asylum-seekers (hyphenate)
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)
Attorney-General, Solicitor-General (both are hyphenated);
they are law officers, not legal officers. See Courts special section
Auditor-General (with hyphen)
Auntie (not aunty) as colloquialism for the BBC. See BBC
Autocue (cap, proprietary)
Autumn Statement (caps). See Budget
Awol, absent without leave, not AWOL
AXA (not Axa), the financial services group
axeing (with middle “e”); but try to avoid in sense of
cutting jobs, dismissal etc
ay (yes), aye (ever), Ayes
(debate)
Ayckbourn, (Sir) Alan
Ayers Rock now use Uluru
Aznar, José María former Prime Minister of Spain
(two accents)
