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

Armed Forces Arts Churches Courts Politics Sport Titles

IATA (all caps), the International Air Transport Association

Iberian Peninsula (cap) see peninsula

Ice Age see ages

ice cap no longer hyphen

ice cream no longer hyphen as adjective and noun, similarly ice lolly. But hyphenate adjectivally, eg, ice-cream cone. See Häagen-Dazs

Iceland note Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, the Icelandic Prime Minister. See -dóttir

ice skate (noun), ice-skate (verb), ice skating (noun), ice-skating (modifier), ice-skater (noun)

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 photofit l/c

, ie, use comma either side. See eg

if use the subjunctive after this, eg, "if I were a rich man" (not "if I was a rich man"); more generally, preserve the correct use of the subjunctive

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

Igbo prefer to Ibo for the ethnic group and language chiefly of southern Nigeria; note also Yoruba and Hausa for other predominant groups within Nigeria

Iguaçú cedilla and terminal accent

Ikea

île circumflex whether l/c or cap, as in Île-de-France

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 (no longer hyphen); similarly ill feeling etc and any other simple adjective-and-noun construction

ill intentioned etc (no hyphen) in, eg, "He was ill intentioned"; but ill-intentioned etc (hyphen) in, eg, before a noun, "He had ill-intentioned motives"

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

IMAX (all caps) cinemas

immensity do not use enormity as a synonym

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

impacted on avoid this Americanism

Imperial College London (no comma) is no longer part of the University of London (when it was known formally as Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine). It became a university in its own right in July 2007. See London, University of

Imperial Family cap, eg, in the Japanese and Russian contexts. See Romanov, Royal Family

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

impugn to challenge or attack as false; assail; criticise; cf impute to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, especially a criminal offence) to a person; to attribute to a cause or source; commercially, to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown

in addition to prefer as well as or besides

inadmissible (not -able)

inasmuch as two words

inauguration; but Inauguration Day (US)

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

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

Independent Schools Council information service (ISCis) was formerly the Independent Schools Information Service (ISIS)

indestructible (not -able)

index plural is indices, but indexes for books

India see missiles

Indian general election 2009 see map

Indian place names now prefer Mumbai to Bombay; but continue to use 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 were 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, in fact, almost invariably be omitted

infer do not confuse with imply; to infer is to draw a conclusion from a suggestion, to imply is to make the suggestion. Thus, 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

Infrastructure Planning Commission due to be appointed in 2009

in happier times self-evident cliché banned for captions of photographs showing grinning people now divorced, gravely ill or dead etc; likewise, share a joke is banned for pictures of people smiling or laughing

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 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 an injury - prefer to say they suffered or sustained an injury, or (simply) were injured. Injured or sick people should not be described as satisfactory or critical - it is their condition that is satisfactory etc. Note that in a military context, eg, on a battlefield, it is more normal to refer to wounded rather than injured; although a soldier would be injured in, eg, a straightforward vehicle accident

Inland Revenue see Revenue & Customs, taxman

innocent take great care with this word, and avoid phrases such as “the innocent victim of the attack” 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. See Courts special section

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. Do not confuse insignia, eg, for an MBE appointment, with regalia - strictly emblems of royalty. 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

Institute for Public Policy Research note for, not of, for this left-wing think-tank; at subsequent mentions, refer to the institute and avoid its preferred ippr (l/c) initialism, which looks wrong, hideous and inconsequential in type - presumably, not the intention

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”. See Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service

Intelligence and Security Committee has members from both Houses of Parliament, who are chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the leaders of the two main opposition parties. The Joint Intelligence Committee, which the ISC scrutinises, is part of the Cabinet Office. Its members are senior government department officials and heads of intelligence

intelligentsia

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

inter to bury not to be confused with intern, to detain

InterCity no longer exists as a rail company so use this form only in historic contexts. Write intercity (no longer a hyphen) 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

intern see inter

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) never Authority. See yellow cake

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

International Date Line may be abbreviated subsequently to the date line

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

International Space Station (initial caps)

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

internecine can mean: (1) mutually destructive or ruinous; maiming both or all sides; (2) of or relating to slaughter or carnage; bloody; (3) of or involving conflict within a group or organisation

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

interpretive (now prefer to interpretative)

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

intro see it is

Inuit prefer to Eskimo. Retain Inuit as the plural

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 longer to be used with works of art. See also italics, quotation marks

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

Inuit singular and plural. See Eskimo

iPod beware tendency to use this trade name as a generic term for MP3 players; capitalise the Nano and the Shuffle. Note also iPhone, iPlayer

Ipswich the victims of the murders in the Suffolk county town in 2006 and, in parentheses, where their bodies were found: Gemma Adams (Hintlesham), Tania Nicol (Copdock), Anneli Alderton (Nacton), Annette Nicholls (Levington), Paula Clennell (Levington). Their honorific in each case is Ms, not Miss. Steve Wright was found guilty in 2008 of all five murders

Iraq the Prime Minister is Nouri al-Maliki, subsequently Mr al-Maliki. Note also Ibrahim Jaafari, Baha Musa. See also war in Iraq

Iraq war l/c; see war in Iraq

Iran not Persia, except in historical context. The language is Farsi, not Iranian or Persian. Note Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the revolution in 1979; President Ahmadinejad (his first name is Mahmoud); Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader; Isfahan.

See Basij, Mousavi, Rafsanjani, Tehran

Iran-Contra scandal etc hyphen

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 less formally Ulster. Do not use the phrase the Six Counties. The historic four provinces are Connaught, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Other important styles:

loyalist with a l/c “l” (and no quotes), likewise, republican and nationalist;

Unionist, Unionism (caps);

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

the Republic; the Province;

the Troubles;

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

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

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

Downing Street declaration;

Anglo-Irish agreement;

Good Friday agreement;

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

Northern Ireland Assembly; cap Assembly; same cap rules apply as to Parliament. Similarly Northern Ireland Executive (in context of the government)

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

the Taoiseach is an acceptable alternative for Irish Prime Minister;

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

Orange Order, Orangemen (caps)

Stakeknife (codename for informant, no quote marks)

Diplock court: a non-jury court in Northern Ireland to try terrorist cases. See Courts special section

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

See Irish

Irgun Zvai Leumi

iridescent (not irr-)

Irish put accents on words, eg, Dáil Éireann, Fianna Fáil, Gráinne, Máire, Micheál, Sinn Féin, Siobhán. See Ireland

Iron Curtain

ironic beware of misuse. It means using or displaying irony, or in the nature of irony - the opposite of what is normally meant, incongruity etc; 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.

Islamist (noun, adj) refers to support or advocacy of Islamic fundamentalism. Note Shia Muslim(s), Sunni Muslim(s). See Islamic terms

Islamic terms note our preferred spellings of fatwa; Hadith (cap; the body of tradition and legend about Muhammad and his followers, used as a basis of Sharia); haj; halal ("lawful", eg, ritually slaughtered meat); Kabba (the most sacred pilgrim shrine in Mecca); kafir (non-Muslim, "unbeliever", "infidel"); umma (the community of Muslims).

See Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr

isotope hyphenate the element name and the atomic mass number, eg, polonium-210, uranium-232, uranium-238 etc.

(The atomic mass of a given element's isotopes varies because, while the number of protons is the same, the number of neutrons varies)

Israel note spellings of Beersheba; David Ben-Gurion; Gilad Schalit; Sderot. Note also Eretz Israel (caps) for the land of Israel of biblical tradition;

the Six Day War (no hyphens); Sabra and Chatila refugee camps (in Lebanon); the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Oslo accords (l/c)

Israel Defence Forces caps for the official name. Otherwise write, eg, the Israeli army (l/c)

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

Italian names note that surnames with Di (cap), D' are generally always capped at all mentions, eg, D'Ancona, Di Canio

italics avoid in headlines and be as restrained as possible in their use in text. Do not use italics in captions. In text, certain areas always take italics:

all works of art; thus, for titles of books, 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;

uncommon, 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 ;

names of ships, aircraft, locomotives, spacecraft etc;

take care in presenting algebraic expressions: individual terms should be in italics, and be sure that superscripts, including squares, and subscripts are properly rendered (in roman when figures rather than letters), eg, E=mc2;

a word may be italicised for emphasis, but be extremely sparing with this device: let good writing show the reader where the emphasis is

It girl thus It bag, It boy, It pet etc

ITN never say ITN news. See television

it is avoid hackneyed use of pretentious constructions, especially in intros, such as "It is one of the most famous London landmarks but yesterday Tower Bridge was closed to traffic." Write simply "Tower Bridge, one of the most famous London landmarks, was closed to traffic yesterday."

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

ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 are separate independent television channels under the ITV banner. The ITV News Channel no longer exists

Last edited: July 30, 2009

IATA (all caps), the International Air Transport Association

Iberian Peninsula (cap) see peninsula

Ice Age see ages

ice cap no longer hyphen

ice cream no longer hyphen as adjective and noun, similarly ice lolly. But hyphenate adjectivally, eg, ice-cream cone. See Häagen-Dazs

Iceland note Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, the Icelandic Prime Minister. See -dóttir

ice skate (noun), ice-skate (verb), ice skating (noun), ice-skating (modifier), ice-skater (noun)

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 photofit l/c

, ie, use comma either side. See eg

if use the subjunctive after this, eg, "if I were a rich man" (not "if I was a rich man"); more generally, preserve the correct use of the subjunctive

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

Igbo prefer to Ibo for the ethnic group and language chiefly of southern Nigeria; note also Yoruba and Hausa for other predominant groups within Nigeria

Iguaçú cedilla and terminal accent

Ikea

île circumflex whether l/c or cap, as in Île-de-France

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 (no longer hyphen); similarly ill feeling etc and any other simple adjective-and-noun construction

ill intentioned etc (no hyphen) in, eg, "He was ill intentioned"; but ill-intentioned etc (hyphen) in, eg, before a noun, "He had ill-intentioned motives"

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

IMAX (all caps) cinemas

immensity do not use enormity as a synonym

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

impacted on avoid this Americanism

Imperial College London (no comma) is no longer part of the University of London (when it was known formally as Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine). It became a university in its own right in July 2007. See London, University of

Imperial Family cap, eg, in the Japanese and Russian contexts. See Romanov, Royal Family

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

impugn to challenge or attack as false; assail; criticise; cf impute to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, especially a criminal offence) to a person; to attribute to a cause or source; commercially, to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown

in addition to prefer as well as or besides

inadmissible (not -able)

inasmuch as two words

inauguration; but Inauguration Day (US)

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

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

Independent Schools Council information service (ISCis) was formerly the Independent Schools Information Service (ISIS)

indestructible (not -able)

index plural is indices, but indexes for books

India see missiles

Indian general election 2009 see map

Indian place names now prefer Mumbai to Bombay; but continue to use 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 were 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, in fact, almost invariably be omitted

infer do not confuse with imply; to infer is to draw a conclusion from a suggestion, to imply is to make the suggestion. Thus, 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

Infrastructure Planning Commission due to be appointed in 2009

in happier times self-evident cliché banned for captions of photographs showing grinning people now divorced, gravely ill or dead etc; likewise, share a joke is banned for pictures of people smiling or laughing

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 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 an injury - prefer to say they suffered or sustained an injury, or (simply) were injured. Injured or sick people should not be described as satisfactory or critical - it is their condition that is satisfactory etc. Note that in a military context, eg, on a battlefield, it is more normal to refer to wounded rather than injured; although a soldier would be injured in, eg, a straightforward vehicle accident

Inland Revenue see Revenue & Customs, taxman

innocent take great care with this word, and avoid phrases such as “the innocent victim of the attack” 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. See Courts special section

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. Do not confuse insignia, eg, for an MBE appointment, with regalia - strictly emblems of royalty. 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

Institute for Public Policy Research note for, not of, for this left-wing think-tank; at subsequent mentions, refer to the institute and avoid its preferred ippr (l/c) initialism, which looks wrong, hideous and inconsequential in type - presumably, not the intention

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”. See Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service

Intelligence and Security Committee has members from both Houses of Parliament, who are chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the leaders of the two main opposition parties. The Joint Intelligence Committee, which the ISC scrutinises, is part of the Cabinet Office. Its members are senior government department officials and heads of intelligence

intelligentsia

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

inter to bury not to be confused with intern, to detain

InterCity no longer exists as a rail company so use this form only in historic contexts. Write intercity (no longer a hyphen) 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

intern see inter

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) never Authority. See ElBaradei, yellow cake

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

International Date Line may be abbreviated subsequently to the date line

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

International Space Station (initial caps)

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

internecine can mean: (1) mutually destructive or ruinous; maiming both or all sides; (2) of or relating to slaughter or carnage; bloody; (3) of or involving conflict within a group or organisation

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

interpretive (now prefer to interpretative)

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

intro see it is

Inuit prefer to Eskimo. Retain Inuit as the plural

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 longer to be used with works of art. See also italics, quotation marks

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

Inuit singular and plural. See Eskimo

iPod beware tendency to use this trade name as a generic term for MP3 players; capitalise the Nano and the Shuffle. Note also iPhone, iPlayer

Ipswich the victims of the murders in the Suffolk county town in 2006 and, in parentheses, where their bodies were found: Gemma Adams (Hintlesham), Tania Nicol (Copdock), Anneli Alderton (Nacton), Annette Nicholls (Levington), Paula Clennell (Levington). Their honorific in each case is Ms, not Miss. Steve Wright was found guilty in 2008 of all five murders

Iraq the Prime Minister is Nouri al-Maliki, subsequently Mr al-Maliki. Note also Ibrahim Jaafari, Baha Musa. See also war in Iraq

Iraq war l/c; see war in Iraq

Iran not Persia, except in historical context. The language is Farsi, not Iranian or Persian. Note Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the revolution in 1979; President Ahmadinejad (his first name is Mahmoud); Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader (subsequently Ayatollah Khamenei); Isfahan.

See Basij, Mousavi, Rafsanjani, Tehran

Iran-Contra scandal etc hyphen

irascible not irrascible

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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 less formally Ulster. Do not use the phrase the Six Counties. The historic four provinces are Connaught, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Other important styles:

loyalist with a l/c “l” (and no quotes), likewise, republican and nationalist;

Unionist, Unionism (caps);

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

the Republic; the Province;

the Troubles;

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

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

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

Downing Street declaration;

Anglo-Irish agreement;

Good Friday agreement;

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

Northern Ireland Assembly; cap Assembly; same cap rules apply as to Parliament. Similarly Northern Ireland Executive (in context of the government)

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

the Taoiseach is an acceptable alternative for Irish Prime Minister;

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

Orange Order, Orangemen (caps)

Stakeknife (codename for informant, no quote marks)

Diplock court: a non-jury court in Northern Ireland to try terrorist cases. See Courts special section

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

See Irish

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Irgun Zvai Leumi

iridescent (not irr-)

Irish put accents on words, eg, Dáil Éireann, Fianna Fáil, Gráinne, Máire, Micheál, Sinn Féin, Siobhán. See Ireland

Iron Curtain

ironic beware of misuse. It means using or displaying irony, or in the nature of irony - the opposite of what is normally meant, incongruity etc; 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.

Islamist (noun, adj) refers to support or advocacy of Islamic fundamentalism. Note Shia Muslim(s), Sunni Muslim(s). See Islamic terms

Islamic terms note our preferred spellings of fatwa; Hadith (cap; the body of tradition and legend about Muhammad and his followers, used as a basis of Sharia); haj; halal ("lawful", eg, ritually slaughtered meat); Kabba (the most sacred pilgrim shrine in Mecca); kafir (non-Muslim, "unbeliever", "infidel"); umma (the community of Muslims).

See Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr

isotope hyphenate the element name and the atomic mass number, eg, polonium-210, uranium-232, uranium-238 etc.

(The atomic mass of a given element's isotopes varies because, while the number of protons is the same, the number of neutrons varies)

Israel note spellings of Beersheba; David Ben-Gurion; Gilad Schalit; Sderot. Note also Eretz Israel (caps) for the land of Israel of biblical tradition;

the Six Day War (no hyphens); Sabra and Chatila refugee camps (in Lebanon); the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Oslo accords (l/c)

Israel Defence Forces caps for the official name. Otherwise write, eg, the Israeli army (l/c)

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

Italian names note that surnames with Di (cap), D' are generally always capped at all mentions, eg, D'Ancona, Di Canio

italics avoid in headlines and be as restrained as possible in their use in text. Do not use italics in captions. In text, certain areas always take italics:

all works of art; thus, for titles of books, 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;

uncommon, 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;

names of ships, aircraft, locomotives, spacecraft etc;

take care in presenting algebraic expressions: individual terms should be in italics, and be sure that superscripts, including squares, and subscripts are properly rendered (in roman when figures rather than letters), eg, E=mc2;

a word may be italicised for emphasis, but be extremely sparing with this device: let good writing show the reader where the emphasis is

It girl thus It bag, It boy, It pet etc

ITN never say ITN news. See television

it is avoid hackneyed use of pretentious constructions, especially in intros, such as "It is one of the most famous London landmarks but yesterday Tower Bridge was closed to traffic." Write simply "Tower Bridge, one of the most famous London landmarks, was closed to traffic yesterday."

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

ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 are separate independent television channels under the ITV banner. The ITV News Channel no longer exists

Last edited: September 2, 2009