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

Special sections

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

IATA (all caps), the International Air Transport Association

ice-cap (use hyphen)

ice-cream (hyphen), similarly ice-lolly. See Häagen-Dazs

ICRC is the International Committee of the Red Cross (not for). Equivalent in Muslim lands is the Red Crescent. See Red Cross

Identikit is proprietary, so cap; but photofitl/c

, ie, use comma either side. See eg

IF (not If), short for Intelligent Finance, the internet and telephone banking arm of the Halifax

illegal asylum-seeker is a legally inaccurate phrase and must not be used. An asylum-seeker is someone currently seeking refugee status or humanitarian protection, so cannot in law be "illegal". He or she can become an illegal immigrant only if remaining in the UK after having failed to respond to a removal notice

ill-health (hyphen); similarly ill-feeling, ill-intentioned etc

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

IMAX (all caps) cinemas

Immigration Service (caps, as Prison Service, Probation Service)

impacted on avoid this Americanism

Imperial War Museum North (use only this style) is in Trafford, which is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester. Do not locate it simply as in Manchester

imply. See infer

impostor (not imposter)

impresario

Impressionist, Post-Impressionist. See artistic movements

in addition to prefer as well as or besides

inadmissible (not -able)

include do not confuse with comprise; “breakfast includes toast and coffee”, but “breakfast comprises cereals, toast, butter, marmalade and coffee” (ie, where the full list of elements is given)

incommunicado

"Inland Revenue special commissioners" is a misnomer in reference to tax disputes. The commissioners are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, sit as judges in tax appeals against the Inland Revenue and are distinct from it. It is important that they are, and are seen to be, independent when they make decisions

Independent Police Complaints Commission new name (April 2004) for the Police Complaints Authority

Independent Schools Council information service (ISCis) is the new name for ISIS (the Independent Schools Information Service)

indestructible (not -able)

index plural is indices, but indexes for books

Indian place names continue to use Bombay rather than Mumbai, Madras rather than Chennai, Calcutta rather than Kolkata, and Delhi rather than New Delhi, except where the new names form part of an official company name or similar title. If in doubt, put the alternative name in brackets

indispensable (not -ible)

Indo-China

Industrial Revolution, the (caps)

industrial tribunals have now been renamed employment tribunals. They end with a judgment or a decision, NOT a verdict. Only juries in court hearings, or magistrates hearing cases summarily, deliver a verdict. Note that immigration adjudicators and immigration appeal tribunals deliver determinations. See Courts special section

inevitable do not use as a synonym of customary, usual or predictable

in fact can almost invariably be omitted

infer do not confuse with imply; to inferis to draw a conclusion from a suggestion, to imply is to make the suggestion. A quick mnemonic; we imply things when we speak, we infer things when we listen

infighting (one word), but in-house and in-flight (both with hyphen)

infra-red

initials where totally familiar, no need to spell out at first mention (eg, BBC, TUC, Nato etc). Otherwise, usually give name in full followed by initials in parentheses, and the abbreviated form thereafter (though sometimes a word such as “the organisation” or “the group” will be preferable to avoid a mass of initials in the same story). Also, with a body as well known as the UN, it would be absurd to write the United Nations (UN), so use discretion.
Where the initials can be spoken as a word, we normally write them as upper and lower case, eg, Nato, Gatt, Unesco, Eta - but there are some important exceptions to this, eg, MORI, IATA, RADA, RIBA, SANE, BUPA and AXA.
With people's names, put points between the initials (with thin space between), though omit points in names of companies such as W H Smith, J Sainsbury

injure, injury implies something more serious than hurt. Do not normally say someone received aninjury — prefer to say they suffered or sustained an injury, or(simply) were injured. Injured or sick people should not bedescribed as satisfactory or critical — it istheir condition that is satisfactory etc

Inland Revenue subsequent mentions, the Revenue(cap). See taxman

innocent take great care with this word, andavoid phrases such as “the innocent victim of theattack” and clichés such as “innocent children”.Best to stick to its literal sense of not guilty

innocuous

Inns of Court the order of precedence among the Inns is Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray's Inn

inoculate

in order to simply wastes two words. Delete "in order"

inpatients, outpatients (no hyphen)

inquests. See coroner's court

inquire, inquiry NOT enquire, enquiry. But note the exception, Directory Enquiries

insignia, plural. See honours

in so far as use the four words in this expression; insofar is the American version

install, but instalment

instil

Institute of Contemporary Arts ("of" not "for" and plural Arts)

Institute of Directors IoD acceptable for headings and occasionally in text, though prefer the institute after first mention in full

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

Intelligence cap as a noun in the context of the security services, eg, “he was in British Intelligence”, but l/c in non-specific contexts, eg, "she provided useful intelligence to MI6"; also l/c for adjectival uses, eg, “she was interviewed by intelligence officers”

intelligentsia

intensive do not confuse with intense or extreme. It means concentrated, as in intensive care

InterCity no longer exists as a rail company so use this form only in historic contexts. Write inter-city as the generic form. See train companies

interdependence

interesting avoid as an adjective in text; let the reader decide

interest rate cuts/rises (no hyphens); never use hikes for rises

interfaith

intergovernmental conference no hyphen. Abbreviation is IGC

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) NEVER Authority

International Criminal Court, the (ICC), based in The Hague, will have jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the most horrific of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its jurisdiction will be complementary to national courts, and will act only when countries are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute. Established by multilateral treaty, it will be independent of the UN and is designed to replace the current UN system of ad hoc tribunals, eg, for Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia. See Courts section

International Olympic Committee (not Olympics), IOC as abbreviation. See Olympics

International Space Station (initial caps)

Internazionale, the Milan football club; now call it Inter Milan at first mention, thereafter Inter. The other big club in the city is AC Milan (shortened to AC thereafter)

internet, the now l/c, also the net for short. See world wide web

interpretative (not interpretive)

InterRail the ticket and the service officially require capitals; but the practice may be referred to as interrailing and those who do it as interrailers

interred = buried; interned = imprisoned. Do not confuse

intifada (religious struggle or uprising), l/c and roman

Inuit prefer to Eskimo. See Eskimo

inverted commas should be used as sparingly as possible in text: eg, unnecessary in constructions such as he described the book as “turgid”. They are no longerto be used with works of art. See also italics, quotation marks

invite is a verb; do not use as a substitute for invitation

iPod beware tendency to use this trade name as a generic term for MP3 players

Iran, not Persia (though Persia in historical context). The language is not Iranian or Persian; it is Farsi

irascible (not irrascible)

Ireland the two parts should be called the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic (avoid Eire except in direct quotes or historical context), and Northern Ireland or Ulster. Do not use the phrase the Six Counties. Other important styles:

loyalist with a l/c “l” (and no quotes) - to balance republican and nationalist;

a. Unionist, Unionism (caps);

b. the North, the South (caps in this specific Irish context);

c. the Republic (likewise), the Province;

d. the Troubles;

e. the Garda (the police force; but garda/gardai for policeman/policemen); but the phrase Irish police is acceptable;

f. Londonderry, but Derry City Council; and Derry when in direct quotes or in a specifically republican context (this latter rarely);

g. Belfast: cap North Belfast and South Belfast as well as East and West Belfast; and note Shankill Road (not Shankhill);

h. Downing Street declaration;

i. Anglo-Irish agreement;

j. Good Friday agreement;

k. Frameworks for the Future, or the framework document (l/c) - the Anglo-Irish proposals of February 1995;

l. Northern Ireland Assembly; cap Assembly now it has become an established body; same cap rules apply as to Parliament. Similarly Northern Ireland Executive (in context of the Government)

m. avoid Provos as synonym of the Provisional IRA, except in quotes;

n. the Taoiseach is an acceptable alternative for Irish Prime Minister;

o. Irish counties should be written as Co Donegal, Co Down etc. See counties;

p. Orange Order, Orangemen (caps)

q. Stakeknife (codename for informant, no quote marks)

r. Diplock court: a non-jury court in Northern Ireland to try terrorist cases

s. Paisley, the Rev Ian on subsequent mention Mr Paisley (not Dr; his doctorate is honorary). His son is Ian Paisley Jr

iridescent (not irr-)

Iron Curtain

ironic beware of misuse. It means using or displaying irony, or in the nature of irony; it does not mean strange or paradoxical

irreconcilable

irredeemable means not able to be redeemed, saved or reformed; do not confuse with irremediable, which means not able to be remedied, incurable, or irreparable

irresistible (not -able)

Isa(s) individual savings account(s) (l/c), as with Tessas and Peps. Hyphenate mini-Isas, maxi-Isas

Isaf the International Security Assistance Force (in Afghanistan); not Security and Assistance. See War on Terror

-ise, -isation avoid the z construction in almost all cases, eg, apologise, organise, emphasise, televise. But note capsize, synthesizer

Islam is the religion of the Muslims. Islamic is interchangeable with Muslim as the adjective, though normally use Islamic with religion and fundamentalism, Muslim with architecture, politics etc

Israeli is a citizen of Israel; Israelite refers to Ancient Israel. Please bear in mind that Jew is not an appropriate alternative; many of Israel's citizens are not Jewish

italics avoid in headlines and be as restrained as possible in their use in text. However, certain areas do always take italics:

a. all works of art, even where quotation marks used to be used; thus, italics for titles of books, long and short poems, short stories, newspapers (see separate list under newspapers), magazines, pamphlets, chapter headings, White Papers, Green Papers, official reports and studies, programmes on radio and television, films, plays, computer games, musical works including operas, songs, hymns, album titles etc (see musical vocabulary), paintings, drawings, sculptures, titles of exhibitions. See Arts special section;

b. less common, non-Anglicised foreign words go in italics, but err on the side of roman (eg, in extremis, hors d'oeuvre, angst, de rigueur). See foreign words;

c. names of ships, aircraft, locomotives, spacecraft etc;

d. take care in presenting algebraic expressions: individual terms should be in italics, and be sure that superscripts, including squares, and subscripts are properly rendered, eg, E=mc²;

e. a word may be italicised for emphasis, but be sparing with this device

ITN never say ITN news. See television

its/it's use the apostrophe version only as an abbreviation for "it is/has"; no apostrophe in possessive form

ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV News Channel are separate independent television channels under the ITV banner