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Häagen-Dazs the ice-cream invented in America

Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree and Lewisham

Habsburg (not Hapsburg)

haemorrhage means heavy and potentially dangerous bleeding, not simply bleeding. Beware of misuse in metaphor

Hague, Ffion

Hague, The

hairdresser, hairdressing, hairbrush, haircut, hairdryer, hairpin, hairstyle

Haiti, Haitian note that Haiti must never be described as an island; it is joined to the Dominican Republic and together they constitute the island of Hispaniola

haj pilgrimage to Mecca (l/c and roman)

haka the Maori war-dance (l/c and roman)

half-mast (hyphenate)

half-time in a football match etc; the half time in business context (but half-time results)

halfway (no hyphen), but half-hearted

Halley's comet See heavenly bodies

handheld (computers etc), as desktop, laptop, palmtop etc

Hallowe'en

handmade, handbuilt (no hyphen)

handout (as a noun, no hyphen)

hangar (aircraft), hanger (clothes)

hanged “The murderer was hanged at dawn” - NEVER hung. Clothes are hung on a washing line or a hanger

Hansard

harass, harassment

hardcore (one word as adjective, eg, hardcore pornography); but the hard core of the rebels (two words as noun); similarly, hard core (rubble)

hardline (adjective), but taking a hard line

Haringey is a London borough and council, Harringay a London neighbourhood

Harley-Davidson (hyphenate)

HarperCollins, or HarperCollins Publishers, is owned by News Corporation. See News International

Harpers & Queen

Harrods (no apostrophe). See Al Fayed

harvest festival (l/c)

Hattersley, Lord (NOT "of Sparkbrook")

Havisham, Miss (not Miss Haversham) in Dickens's Great Expectations

Hawaiian

hay fever (no hyphen)

headache avoid as a synonym of difficulty

head-butt (noun or verb)

headcount (no hyphen)

headhunt, headhunting etc (no hyphens)

headlines avoid the worst clichés and hyperboles such as bash, crash, shock, slam etc; but 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 they are not overworked.

Inverted commas must always be single in headlines, straps and display panels on News, Sport and Business pages. See quotation marks

headmaster, headmistress one word and l/c except in the formal, official title (and then cap at first mention only). Some schools have variants on the usual style; Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Westminster have a Head Master; St Paul's School and Manchester Grammar School have a High Master; King Edward's School, Birmingham, has a Chief Master; Dulwich, Haileybury and Marlborough have a Master. The correct form is given in the Independent Schools Year Book. Use the colloquial head only in headlines; and note that head teacher is two words except when part of the designated title

headroom (one word), as elbowroom, legroom

heads of state when these are royals, such as King Abdullah of Jordan, after the first mention refer to them as the King (cap). The cap at subsequent mentions applies only to overseas heads of state and the British Royal Family; ie, Prince B. of Thailand (a minor royal) would become the prince thereafter. See Royal Family, titles

head up (an organisation etc) avoid; write simply, eg, "she will head the organisation"

healthcare (one word)

heartbroken, heartbreaking, heartfelt, heartstrings, but hyphenate heart-rending, heart-throb

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

heat wave two words

Heaven, Hell cap in religious context only. See Devil

heavenly bodies cap the proper names of planets, stars, constellations etc: Venus, Arcturus, the Plough, Aries; for comets, l/c the word comet in, for example, Halley's comet. The Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the Universe are capped in their planetary or astronomical sense (see Earth). Use l/c for the adjectives lunar and solar, but cap Martian both adjectivally and as a noun

Heep, Uriah (not Heap)

Hell's Angels

help to (plus verb), eg, “he helped to make the cake” (not “he helped make the cake”)

helping the police with their inquiries avoid this phrase - suspects rarely willingly help the police. Say "were being interviewed" instead

helpline (one word). See hotline

hemisphere northern, southern, eastern, western

heraldry do 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)

Hereford and Worcester abolished on April 1, 1998. It has been replaced by a new Worcestershire County Council and a new unitary authority for Herefordshire. See unitary authorities

Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

Her Majesty's pleasure (detained at)

Hersh, Seymour journalist

Herzegovina (as in Bosnia-Herzegovina), not Hercegovina. See Yugoslav

Heyhoe Flint, Rachael (no hyphen, not Rachel)

Hezbollah (Party of God) in Iran and Lebanon; soft-hyphenate (on a break) as Hezb-ollah

Hibernian means of or concerning Ireland, NOT Scotland - despite the Edinburgh football club of that name

hiccup (not hiccough)

hi-fi is an acceptable abbreviation (noun or adjective) of high fidelity (as wi-fi

high acceptable 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 command avoid its clichéd use, as in “Tory high command”. See Politics special section

High Commissioner (with caps) when specific, 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. See Ambassador

High Court See Courts special section

highfalutin

high-flyer

High Sheriff (caps) when specific

high street is l/c and no hyphen in general sense, as in high street prices. But cap in specifics, eg, Putney High Street

high-tech (adjective); spell out in text, but hi-tech is acceptable in headlines

hike never use in the American sense of a rise or to raise (rates etc); permissible only in direct quotes, or in the context of walking (hitch-hike etc)

Hinckley, Leicestershire; but Hinkley Point, Somerset

Hindi for language context (the Hindi language); but use Hindu for religious or ethnic contexts (an adherent to Hinduism, or relating to Hinduism)

hippy, hippies nowadays as old-fashioned as beatniks. See Gypsy, travellers

Hips trade abbreviation for home information packs, more widely known as sellers' packs (qv) for home sales

Hirst, Damien (not Damian), the artist

historic, historical prefer an historic event rather than a historic. See a, an. 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 an historic building is now in common usage as a synonym of an old building

hit 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

hitch-hiker, hitch-hiking etc

Hitchin, Hertfordshire (not Hitchen)

hitlist, hitman (no hyphens)

HIV is a virus, NOT a disease. Do not write HIV virus (tautology), but use a phrase such as HIV-infected. See Aids

hoards are stocks or stores (of treasure, for example); to hoard is to amass and store food, money etc; hordes are large groups or gangs (of wild beasts etc)

Hogmanay (cap)

hoi polloi do not use "the" (it means, literally, "the many"). Roman, not italic

holidaymaker (one word)

Holland now use the Netherlands (no longer cap The) for all contexts except sports teams, historical uses, or when referring to the provinces of North and South Holland. The adjective is Dutch. See Netherlands

Holy Communion (caps). See Christian terms

Holy Grail (caps) when referring to the Last Supper; holy grail (l/c) when used figuratively (as mecca)

Holyroodhouse. See Palace

homebuyers, homeowners (no hyphens)

Home Counties, the (caps)

home-made (hyphenate)

home town (two words), but hyphenate in adjectival use, eg, home-town memories

homoeopathy (not the American homeopathy)

homogeneous means having parts all of the same kind; homogenous means similar owing to common descent

Homo sapiens. See scientific names

homosexual. See gay

Hon, the normally use this form of address (the Hon So-and-So) only on the Court Page

Hong Kong, but Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Until July 1, 1997, when Britain handed the colony over to China, Hong Kong had a Governor (cap); now it has a Chief Executive. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China; it may be referred to as the territory for variation. Its Government is capitalised. See Chinese names, Midland

honours people are appointed Privy Counsellor, Baronet, KBE, CBE, OBE, MBE etc; never say they were made, received, were awarded, or got the OBE etc. Peers and above (viscounts etc) are created, not appointed etc. At investitures, those honoured receive the insignia of the award, not the award itself. Normally (except on Court Page) omit honours and decorations after names, but the following can be used where relevant; KG, KT, VC, GC, OM, CH, MP, QC, RA, FRS etc. See Titles special section

honours lists. See New Year Honours

hoody plural hoodies

Hoon, Geoff (prefer to Geoffrey)

Hoover is a trade name so must be capped as a noun; generally, use vacuum cleaner, or to vacuum. But as a verb use l/c, eg, he hoovered up his food

hopefully try to avoid in the sense of it is hoped that, even though this usage is so widespread

Horse Guards Parade

horse race/racing two words, but racing alone is preferable. Note Horserace Betting Levy Board. See racecourse, Sports special section

horticulturist (not horticulturalist)

hospitalise, hospitalisation always avoid these Americanisms; say taken to hospital etc

host avoid using as a verb as in “Arsenal will host Aston Villa on Saturday”; use play host to instead. But a person can host an event

hotline (one word); similarly, helpline

hotpants (one word)

hot-water bottle (note hyphen)

hoummos. See taramasalata

hour and a half, an no hyphens. Similarly, two and a half years, two thirds, but twenty-three

housebuilder, housebuilding; but note the House Builders Federation (no longer House-Builders')

however when 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 ...”)

Hubble Space Telescope (caps)

Hudson Bay, but Hudson's Bay Company

human beings, rather than just humans, at first mention

Human Genome Project (initial caps)

human rights European 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). See Courts special section

humorist (not humourist)

Humphrys, John (radio and TV); but Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage etc)

Hundred Years' War, the note apostrophe

Huntington's chorea — now properly known as Huntington's disease

hunting with hounds (not with dogs). See foxhunt

Hussein, the late King (of Jordan), not Husain; similarly, Saddam Hussein

Hutus, Tutsis, the plural of the Rwandan tribes (not simply Hutu, Tutsi)

hydroelectric (no hyphen)

hyphens generally be 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 in this Style Guide. However, a few guidelines can be specified:

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, co-ordinate, co-operate, re-establish.

hyphenate generally in composites where the same two letters come together, eg, film-makers, but an exception should be made for double r in the middle: override, overrule (not over-ride etc), and note granddaughter and goddaughter.

generally do not use dangling hyphens - say full and part-time employment etc; but this does not apply to prefixes - pre- or post-match drinks.

for hyphenation when qualifying adjectives. See adverbs.

always use a hyphen rather than a slash (/) in dates etc - 1982-83 (not 1982/83)

hypothermia too cold; hyperthermia too hot