A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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What's New Armed Forces Arts Churches Courts Politics Sport Titles

F111s (no hyphen). See aircraft types

façade (use the cedilla)

facelift use sparingly in its metaphoricalsense, where it has become overworked. In its cosmetic contextquite acceptable, however

fact that almost always an unnecessarycircumlocution, so avoid (eg, “owing to the fact that” means because)

fact sheet

Faeroe Isles, or the Faeroes

fahrenheit See celsius

Fairtrade (one word, cap) referring to the mark sanctioned by the Fairtrade Foundation on goods; fair trade (l/c, two words) for the general concept

fairytale no hyphen

Faithfull, Marianne

falangist in Spain; phalangist in Lebanon

fallacy means a faulty argument, not an erroneous belief

Fallopian tubes (cap "F")

fallout (noun)

Farc (not FARC), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

Far East encompasses the following: China, HongKong, Japan, North and South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Taiwan. See Asean,South-East Asia

farther is applied only to distance (literal or figurative); eg, “nothing could be farther from the truth”. Further means in addition to, another, eg, “a further point”

fascia (not facia)

Fascist cap in the political sense, but as aterm of abuse, l/c; but fascism l/c except inspecifically party context. See communism

fat cat no quotation marks, no hyphen. Hyphen as modifier, eg, fat-cat salaries

Father (as in priest) avoid the ugly abbreviation Fr before a name

father of two, mother of three no hyphens. Do not define people by their relationships unequally: don't 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 Day (not Fathers'). See Mother's Day

fatwa (not italic), a Muslim religious edict, not a sentence of punishment

fault-line (hyphen)

Fayed, Dodi (not Dodi Al Fayed), the late elder son of Mohamed Al Fayed

FDA is the name by which the First Division Association, the union that represents leading civil and public servants, wishes to be known.

Fed, the (US) say Federal Reserve (Board notusually necessary) at first mention; cap the Chairman of the Fed, as with Governor of the Bank of England, President of the Bundesbank etc

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (in US); not Agency or Authority

Federation of Small Businesses (not Business)

feel-good factor (no longer use quotes)

Fellow cap in specific title such as Dr ArthurBrown, a Fellow of Magdalen, or in the more obvious Fellow of theRoyal College of Surgeons (FRCS); but in general sense, “agroup of fellows in the quadrangle”, l/c; keep fellowshipl/c

female do not write female councillors, female directors etc; say women councillors, women directors

feminine designations, such as authoress,poetess, wardress, should be avoided. But actress is such commonusage that it is acceptable. See comedienne

Ferris wheel

Fez not Fes (Morocco)

Festival Hall generally omit Royal

festivals cap the Edinburgh Festival (cultural),Reading Festival (pop), Cheltenham Festival (racing) etc,thereafter the festival (l/c). See Fringe

fête (with accent)

fewer, of numbers (fewer people, fewer goals); less,of size, in quantity, or singular nouns (less population, lessmeat). See less

fiancé (man), fiancée (woman). See divorcé

Fianna Fail; Fine Gael See Ireland

Fide (not FIDE), the world chess body. See chessnames

fifty write 50-50 chance; note Fifties (cap) for the decade, but “she was in her fifties” (age, l/c)

fighting for his/her life avoid this meaningless phrase. Instead say critically ill/injured

fig leaf (two words)

figures See numbers

filibuster (not fillibuster)

Filipinos, Filipinas (women), the Philippines

film festival in copy, write The Times bfi London Film Festival. In puffs, use the logo device, where bfi is italicised instead, thus: The Times bfi London Film Festival. See The Times

films titles in italics (see Arts specialsection); note film-maker. See movies

film star (two words)


Filofax (proprietary, MUST cap). Use "personal organiser" for generic

final-salary scheme (with hyphen). See pension funds

Financial Ombudsman Service (not Service Ombudsman). See ombudsman

Financial Services Authority (FSA) has replaced the Securities and Investments Board. See Personal Investment Authority

Finnigan, Judy (not Finnegan) and Richard Madeley, chat-show hosts

firearms do not confuse bullets with shotguncartridges (containing pellets); so a gunshot wound is markedlydifferent from a bullet wound

fire brigade l/c in general context, but capspecifics, eg, Kent Fire Brigade

firefight (or fire-fight) should not be used as a synonym of military skirmish or exchange of fire; firefighters try to extinguish flames. Note that we should always refer to firefighters rather than firemen, as a substantial number in the Fire Service are now women

firing line — militarily, the group doing the shooting. Do not confuse with line of fire, qv

firm do not use as a synonym of company. Seecompanies

first serves as an adverb; avoid firstly. If a list of priorities is essential in a story, write first,secondly, thirdly etc. Never say first-ever. Use first-class (for service, hotel etc) generally; but because the denomination is specified, 1st-class and 2nd-class for stamps. See ever, superlatives, universal claims

first aid (noun, no hyphen); but hyphenate whenadjectival, eg, first-aid qualifications

First Lady caps, and restrict use primarily to US context - never for the British Prime Minister's wife

First World War (not World War One); similarly, Second World War. See wars

Fischer, Joschka, German politician

Fitzgerald, Garret

Five Nations Championship (rugby), initial caps, became the Six Nations Championship in 2000 (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy)

fjord (not fiord)

flair, as in talent, must never be confused with

flare, as in fire, fashion etc

flat-owners (hyphen), but homeowners

flaunt means to make an ostentatious or defiantdisplay, eg, “she flaunted her finery”; to flout is to show contempt for, eg, “he flouted the law”

fledgeling

fleur-de-lys (not lis)

flight numbers cap in stories where the numberof the flight is relevant, eg, Flight 103 (in the Lockerbiedisaster)

flight path (two words)

floodlighting, but floodlit

flotation (shares), but floatation (tanks)

flout See flaunt

flowerbed (one word); also flowerpot

flu (no apostrophe), acceptable for influenza

Flushing Meadows (not Meadow), New York home of the US Open tennis championships. See Sports special section

flyer whether a pilot or a handbill. As high-flyer

Flying Squad cap, as it is the only one in the UK. But l/c fraud squads as there are several; similarly vice squads, drug squads, crime squads, regional crime squads

focused

foetus, foetal (not fetus etc); similarly, foetid (not fetid)

folk-song, folk-singer (use hyphen)

following avoid as a sloppy synonym of after.ALWAYS use after in preference

Food and Drug Administration (US)

foodstuffs where place names form part of the phrase, generally use the cap, eg, Brussels sprouts, Cheddar cheese, chicken Kiev, Cornish pasties, potatoes Lyonnaise; butkeep l/c for hamburger, frankfurter etc. See metric

foolproof (no 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 forbears (refrains), forebears(ancestors); forgo (go without), forego(go before, as in foregone conclusion). Take particular care with forswear and foresee(able),both frequently misspelt

Forces say the Armed Forces wherever possible,but if the word has to be used alone, cap Forces both as a nounand adjectivally (as Service); but confine this formula to UK Forces, not foreign. See Armed Forces special section

forced to Always look twice at this phrase: "The police were forced to call in troops in support...." Is "forced to" giving the correct impression?

forecastle — please do not attempt to abbreviate

Foreign and Commonwealth Office use full term at first mention; thereafter Foreign Office or FCO (abbreviation permissible in headlines). Historically, Foreign Office alone pre-1968

foreign appellations The Times useslocal honorifics for:

France: M, Mme, Mlle and Me (for Maître,legal);

Germany and Austria: Herr, Frau (for all grown women, whether married or not), and Fraülein

Spain and Spanish-speaking

Latin America:Señor, Señora, Señorita;

Italy: Signor, Signora, Signorina;

Portugal and Brazil: Senhor, Senhora (but not Senhorina).

Note that with Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Canada, Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms etc are used because of those countries' linguistic sensitivities (eg, Jacques Santer, former President of the European Commission, should subsequently be Mr Santer). Similarly the English forms with Francophone Africa, where French is more the language of the elite rather than the lingua franca.

For all other nationalities, use English except where it is possible to use a local title (eg, Ayatollah, Begum, Chief, Pandit, Sheikh), or a military one (eg, Colonel Gaddafi); occasionally, where titles are in general use (eg, Baron von X in Germany), we would respect such exceptions.

NB: in Burma, U means Mr, Daw means Mrs; in China, use the first Chinese name as surname, eg, Deng Xiaoping becomes Mr Deng

foreign places as a general rule, use the spellings in The Times Atlas of the World, including Chinese place names (see Chinese names). However, The Times retains the Anglicised spellings of many familiar (and especially European) cities and countries, such as Brussels, Cologne, Cracow, Dunkirk, Florence, Geneva, Gothenburg, The Hague, Lyons, Majorca, Marseilles, Mexico City, Minorca, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Prague, Rheims, Rome, Salonika, Venice. See also Spanish regions

foreign words write in roman when foreign wordsand phrases have become essentially a part of the Englishlanguage (eg, an elite, a debacle, a fête, de rigueur); otherwise, useitalic (eg, a bon mot, a bête noire, the raisond'être). Avoid pretension by using an English phrasewherever one will serve. See accents

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 medicine etc

for ever means always; forever means continuously

forklift truck

Formica (cap, proprietary) please be sure not to use the brand name in a generic sense to describe decorative plastic laminates

formula plural usually formulas, but formulae in mathematical contexts

for real avoid this cliché when all you mean is "really". See free

Fortnum & Mason (note ampersand)

fortuitous does not mean fortunate. Itmeans by chance or accidental. Do not confuse

forum plural forums. See referendum

four-letter words avoid wherever possible as these obscenities upset most readers. If there is no alternative (eg, in direct quotes, where they are essential to the story), soften them with asterisks - f***, f***ing, c*** etc. See obscenities

Fourth of July, or US Independence Day (not 4th)

four-wheel drive (for the power system), but a four-wheel-drive vehicle; see motoring terms

foxhunt, foxhunting (no hyphens), as foxhound, foxhole, master of foxhounds (l/c). See hunting

Fox News, Fox Sports, Twentieth Century Fox (or 20th Century Fox in logo form), etc are part of the Fox Entertainment Group, which is 82.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times.

FPA formerly the Family Planning Association

fractions do not mix fractions and decimals in the same story. Compounds such as half-hour, half-dozen etc take a hyphen; half an hour, half a dozen do not. Hyphenate when fractions are adjectival - “two-thirds full” - but not as nouns - “two thirds of the bus was empty”. See two thirds

franc l/c, and abbreviate as Fr40; specify ifnot French, eg, BFr40 (Belgian), SwFr40 (Swiss) - now often historical contexts

franchisor (no longer franchiser)

Frankenstein foods never use this pejorative phrase to describe genetically modified (GM) foods, except in direct quotations

fraud squad (l/c). See Flying Squad

free avoid the modern cliché for free when the meaning is simply free

“freebie” permissible as colloquialism for a handout, free trip etc, but use inverted commas

Free Churches, Free Churchman etc (caps)

Freedom of Information Act spell out in full at first mention, thereafter simply the Act. As a concept, freedom of information may be abbreviated to FoI; use sparingly

freefall (one word)

Freemasonry, Mason, Masonic

French names prefer the more Anglicised style for street names etc: Rue Royale, Place de la Victoire, Boulevard des Montagnes. No need to hyphenate place names such as St Malo, St Etienne etc

french windows (l/c)

frescoes (not frescos)

Fresh Start, the Government's education initiative. Initial caps, as with other government programmes such as Third Way, Welfare to Work etc

Freud, Lucian (not Lucien)

Fringe, the Edinburgh; always cap, whether asnoun or adjective (eg, a Fringe puppet show on the Royal Mile)

Frisbee (cap, proprietary)

front bench, the (noun); but frontbencher, frontbench power etc. See Politics special section

frontline (adjective, as in the frontline states), but the front line (noun)

front-runner

FTSE 100 index (no longer hyphenate FT-SE); also FTSE all-share index; both can be shortened to the FTSE 100 or the FTSE all-share

fuchsia

fuel is becoming a greatly overworked verb,especially in headlines; always seek alternatives such as raise,increase, add to, even boost

Führer (not Fuehrer)

Fujiyama or Mount Fuji, not Mount Fujiyama

fulfil, fulfilment, but fulfilled, fulfilling

full points note thin space after initials and points, eg, F. W. de Klerk. But with companies, omit the full points, eg, W H Smith. See companies, initials

-ful, -fuls so cupfuls, not cupsful

full-time (adj), but full time (noun, as in football)

fulsome be very careful — and sparing — with the use of this word. It means excessive or insincere (the cliché fulsome praise actually means excessive praise, not generous or warm praise). Try to avoid it, especially the clichéd (and wrong) use

fundholders (as in NHS)

fundraising, fundraiser (no hyphen)

further See farther

fury please avoid temptation to over-use this short headline word. "Fury" is rarely expressed or intended; anger or even mild disappointment is more likely

fusillade