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Gaddafi, Colonel (Muammar), the Libyan leader

gaff is a hook or spar; gaffe is a blunder or indiscretion. Note to blow the gaff (let out a secret)

Galloway, George the MP's wife is Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad

Gambia, The always use the cap definite article

gambit is a technical term in chess, meaning an opening involving a sacrifice in return for general advantage. Thus opening gambit is tautology. Take care with its use as a metaphor, and use sparingly

game plan

game show, as chat show, quiz show, talk show etc (no hyphens)

Gandhi, Mahatma, Indira etc (NEVER Ghandi)

Garda See Ireland


Gardeners' Question Time, not Gardener's

gas, gases (noun); gassed, gassing (verbal use), and note gases (not gasses) for present tense, eg, doctor gases patient

gasfield, as coalfield, oilfield

Gatt the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Its successor body is now the World Trade Organisation (WTO). See Uruguay Round, World Trade Organisation

Gatwick sufficiently well-known not to need airport in title. See airports, Heathrow

gauge (not guage)

Gaultier, Jean Paul (no hyphen)

gay now fully acceptable as a synonym for homosexual or lesbian. See straight

"gay marriage" put in quotation marks at first mention only. See civil partnership

GCSE See examinations

GDP, gross domestic product

GEC Alsthom became simply Alstom (note no "h") in mid-1998

gelatine (rather than gelatin)

Geldof, Bob do not write Sir Bob Geldof, as he is an honorary KBE

gender is a term of grammar; try not to use as a synonym of a person's sex

general election ALWAYS l/c

General Secretary of the TUC (caps), but general secretary of individual unions keep l/c. See TUC

General Strike (of 1926) (caps)

General Synod (of the Church of England), thereafter the synod. See Churches special section

Gentile(s) (cap)

gentlemen's club (prefer to gentleman's); also gentlemen's agreement

George, Sir Edward (not Sir Eddie), former Governor of the Bank of England. See King, Mervyn

geriatric does not mean elderly, but is applied to medical treatment for the elderly, eg, geriatric hospital. Never use as a term of abuse

German Bight, as in shipping forecast (not Bite)

Germany full 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

gerrymander

get, got usually a lazy verb for which an alternative should be sought

Getty, Sir Paul (do not use John or J. in his name)

Ghanaian (not Ghanian)

ghetto use only in the sense of an area of enforced or customary segregation, not as an ethnic neighbourhood, eg, middle-class district, not ghetto. Note plural ghettos

giant-killer, giant-killing

gibe means taunt or sneer; gybe means to shift direction or change course, particularly in sailing. For the sake of clarity, jibe (a variant of both) should not be used

Gibraltar (never Gibralter); and note Strait of Gibraltar (not Straits)

Gift Aid (initial caps)

gig is now acceptable for a musical event, as rave

gillie (rather than ghillie)

gipsy See gypsy

girl do not use as a synonym of woman

girlfriend (one word, as boyfriend). Use girlfriend only for young people; otherwise woman friend or just friend (where the gender is obvious)

girlie (not girly)

giro (l/c), as in benefit payments, cheques etc

Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry; thereafter M Giscard

giveaway (noun or adjective), one word, as takeaway; but to give away

glamorise, glamorous, but glamour

glasnost (not italic)

glassmaker

GlaxoSmithKline, the merged pharmaceuticals company (GSK for short)

Glen Coe, the valley; but Glencoe for the battle, the village and the pass

Glorious Twelfth, the (caps)

GMB say the GMB general union

go-ahead, give the prefer approve, shorter and preferable to this cliché

gobbledegook

God cap when referring to just one, in any religion. He, His, Him also take cap. Many gods, use l/c, as in the Greek gods. See Christian terms, and Churches special section

godforsaken, godless (l/c), but God-fearing

godparents, godfather, godmother, godson, goddaughter, godchild

Goebbels, Joseph -oe- not umlaut. Similarly, Hermann Goering

goer as a suffix, run on as one word, as in churchgoer, partygoer, theatregoer etc

go-kart (use hyphen)

Goldeneye (the James Bond film, not GoldenEye)

Golden Jubilee caps for the Queen's celebration in 2002, l/c in general context

Golders Green (no apostrophe)

goldmine, goldmining

Goldsmiths College, London (no apostrophe). Goldsmiths has a Warden, not a Rector. See London University

goodbye

goodwill one word, whether used as a noun or adjective

Gorazde in Bosnia (not Goradze)

Gorbachev, Mikhail

Gore-Tex (caps, trade name)

gorilla

Gormley, Antony (the sculptor)

Gothenburg (not Göteborg)

Gothic (cap), rather than Gothick

Government cap all governments, British and overseas, when referring to a specific one, eg, “the Government resigned last night”, “the Argentine Government sent troops”, and specific past administrations such as “the Heath Government”; only l/c when unspecific or one that has yet to be formed, eg, “all the governments since the war”, or “the next Tory/Labour government would raise pensions”.

Also l/c government in all adjectival contexts, eg, a government minister, a government decision, government expenditure. A further instance of l/c use is in phrases such as “the Bosnian government troops” or “the British government-backed trade delegation”, when the use is again principally adjectival.

Also, note that provincial or state governments in Australia, Canada, India etc retain the l/c. See Politics special section

government departments cap both when giving full title (eg, Department of Trade and Industry), and even when abbreviated, as in Health Department, Education Department, Trade Department etc. The same applies to ministries, home and overseas. See departments

Government Information and Communication Service (initial caps) can be shortened to government information service (l/c) or GICS. It comprises the information officers in government departments

Governor of the Bank of England (cap at every mention), also cap Deputy Governor of the Bank. Similarly cap the Governor of the Falkland Islands at every mention; but prison governors at first mention only, eg, James X, Governor of Parkhurst, thereafter l/c, and l/c deputy governors of prisons.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is Governor of California. On subsequent mentions of his title, the governor (l/c), as in Ken Livingstone and mayor. Similarly for US states, capitalise specific title mention of John D, Lieutenant-Governor of Hawaii, l/c thereafter

Governor-General takes a hyphen everywhere except Canada

Graces The Three Graces (Canova's statue). See Arts special section

Grade II listed, Grade II* listed etc

gram, not gramme; similarly, kilogram. See metric

grandad, but granddaughter

Grand Guignol caps, not italic

Grand Jury (caps) in US contexts

grandmaster (chess) l/c. See chess names

Grappelli, Stéphane (use acute accent)

grassroots (adjective), the grass roots (noun). Still a cliché and should be used sparingly

great and the good, the (all l/c, and quotes usually unnecessary)

Great Britain or 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. Do not confuse these entities

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 some 400. The London Assembly (NOT the Greater London Assembly) is an elected body of 25 members providing checks and balances on the Mayor of London

greater or lesser degree lesser is not correct but is common usage

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (no longer Sick Children)

Greco-, not Graeco-

green belt (l/c), but greenfield sites (similarly brownfield)

green line l/c, demarcation line between hostile factions in, eg, Jerusalem, Beirut, Cyprus

Green Paper (caps). See also White Paper

Green Party, or the Greens, but green issues etc

grenade no need to write hand grenade; but qualify if delivered in another way, eg, rocket-propelled grenade

grisly means horrifying, repugnant; grizzly means greyish, grizzled, or is a short form of grizzly bear

grottoes

ground(s) in the sense of reason, do not use plural unless more than one is given; eg, “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”

Group 4 (security company)

G-string

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (no accents). See War on Terror

guerrilla beware of loaded terms for advocates of political violence. See terrorist

guest avoid 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). See host

guesthouse (no hyphen)

guidebook similarly, chequebook, formbook, stylebook, textbook etc

Guides (not Girl Guides); Girlguiding UK is the new name (April 2002) for the Guide Association; the individual members are still known as Guides, Brownies and Rainbows. See Scouts

Guildhall (London); never the Guildhall

guinea-pig (hyphen)

Guinness note The Guinness Book of Records has The as part of the title

Gujarati, person or language (not Guje-)

gulag do not use when labour camps is meant; Gulag (cap) was the Soviet organisation that ran the prisons and forced labour camps

Gulf, the avoid both Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf in this politically sensitive area

gunboat, gunfight, gunfire, gunman, gunpoint, gunshot, gunsmith but gun dog

gunned down avoid this Americanism, which means shot; if you mean shot dead, say it

gunwales (nautical, not gunwhales)

Gurkhas

guttural (not 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

Guy Fawkes Night (no apostrophe, initial caps); similarly Bonfire Night

Gwyn, Nell

Gypsy/gypsy (not gipsy). Use the cap when referring to a specific group of this semi-nomadic people, but l/c in the fashion or general sense, as in "gypsy style is the look for spring". The other wandering groups in Britain are the Irish tinkers, who prefer the name Irish travellers; the Scottish Gypsies/travellers; and the hippies, whom we can call New Age travellers; travellers is a useful generic term.

Note (the) Roma is the term for Gypsies from the Continent, some of whom have sought asylum in Western Europe. The singular and adjectival form is Romany, eg, a Romany woman, but Gypsy can be used in the same way.

Note also that the Gypsy Council (or Romani Kris) is not the same as the Gypsy Council for Education, Culture, Welfare and Civil Rights (GCECWCR). This second organisation must not be shortened to Gypsy Council.