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

Labor Day (in US), but keep Anglicised the Defence Department etc

Labor Party (in Australia)

Labour Party (in UK); abbreviate in lists etc to Lab. See Politics special section

Ladbrokes, the betting shop, but Ladbroke plc; note also William Hill and Coral (neither takes final “s”)

lady, ladies prefer to write woman, women

Lafite, Château. See wines

Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria; Abuja is

laid-back hyphen for noun and adjective

laissez faire do not use the laisser version

Lake District do not include Lake when the name contains its equivalent; thus Windermere, Derwent Water, but Bassenthwaite Lake

lambast (not lambaste)

lamé (to distinguish it from lame)

lamppost (no hyphen)

Land Rover (no hyphen); similarly Range Rover

Land's End

landmine (no hyphen)

landslide (political), landslip(earth)

languor, languorous (not -our)

lap dancer, lap dancing (nouns), but a lap-dancing club (adjectival, hyphenate)

laptop (computer), no hyphen. See desktop

largesse (not largess)

last, past last should not be used as asynonym of latest; “the last few days” means the final few days; “the past few days” means the most recent few days

Last Post, like Reveille, is sounded, not played

Latin be sparing in its use, apart from in the Law Report. When Latin phrases are in common usage, use roman rather than italics, eg, quid pro quo, QED, ex parte injunction, habeas corpus

Latin dancing cap Latin in this and all other contexts, whether the Latin language or history, Latin music, Latin temperament etc

Latin Mass must not be used as a synonym for the older Tridentine rite

latitude, longitude write 45º 32'N, 40º 17'W etc

La traviata (note l/c “t”)

launch a book/film/housing development is launched (not launches)

launch pad (two words)

launderette (not laundrette)

Laurence, Commodore Tim (Princess Royal's husband). No longer Captain. See Titles

lavatory prefer to toilet (or even worse, loo)

law lords, law officers (l/c). See judges, Courts special section

lawnmower (one word)

Law Report in The Times, always initial caps and singular (not Reports); so the style for x-refs is Law Report, page 42 etc

Law Society Consumer Complaints Service new name (April 2004) for the Law Society of England and Wales's Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (ie, complaints and grievance service)

lay, lie a person lays a carpet (transitive verb), but lies on a carpet (intransitive). NEVER confuse

lay-by, but layout and layoff

lay waste means to devastate or destroy, so it does not need a following "to". Goats can lay waste a field, not lay waste to a field

Leader of the Commons/House of Lords; Leader of the Opposition (ie, caps); however, Labour leader (l/c), Tory leader (l/c) etc. See Politics special section

lean, leap past tenses leant, leapt (not leaned,leaped)

Leaning Tower of Pisa (initial caps)

Lea River, but Lee Valley Regional Park Authority etc

Learjet (one word)

learnt (past tense and past participle of learn);
learned (adjective, as in scholarly)

leave, leaving prefer to depart, departing

Lebanon, not the Lebanon (except occasionally inhistorical context). See Sudan

le Carré, John

Lecs (initial cap only), short for local enterprise councils. See Tecs

Lee Kuan Yew (of Singapore)

Left, the cap in the political context when referring to a group of like-minded individuals, eg, “The Left added to Tony Blair's worries”; but l/c in “the party swung to the left”. When the Left is qualified, keep the adjective l/c, eg, the hard Left, the far Left. Also, the left wing, left-wing contenders, leftwingers. See Right

legal aid l/c and never hyphenate, even adjectivally in phrases such as legal aid cases. Note that the Legal Aid Board has been replaced by the Legal Services Commission. See Courts special section

legal terms in general, use l/c for titles etc except when in full or specific; thus, the Recorder of Liverpool (thereafter the recorder), the West London Magistrate, Chelmsford Crown Court, Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court (caps on first mention), etc; but “the court was told”, “the judge said”, “the magistrate ordered” etc. The Bench is capped only when referring to the judges as a group; a bench of magistrates is always l/c. See magistrates' courts. Always cap the Bar and the Inn (even when used on its own). SeeCourts special section

legendary avoid its clichéd use

legionella, listeria, salmonella are all bacteria, not viruses

legionnaires' disease

Legion of Honour or Légion d'honneur; either form is acceptable, according to context

legroom (one word), also elbowroom, headroom

leitmotiv (l/c, roman), prefer to leitmotif

Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons (restaurant)

Leonardo da Vinci; at second mention always Leonardo, never da Vinci

leprosy patient in modern context, prefer to leper. Always avoid defining people by condition or illness: a schizophrenic, a diabetic, a paraplegic

lèse-majesté (treason, or insult to a monarch) takes italic and accents

less in quantity, fewer in number. See fewer

lesser opposite to greater (eg, the lesser evil); not to be used as a synonym of less

letter bomb (hyphenate only in adjectival use)

letterbox, postbox (no hyphens)

leukaemia

Levi's (jeans) should take the apostrophe; but use Levi Strauss for the company

liaison, liaise the word link would often be better. The verb to liaise has forced its way into the language; however, use sparingly and only in its correct sense — to establish co-operation, to act as a link with, not as a synonym of meet or talk

Liberal Democrats Lib Dems is an acceptable alternative in either headlines or text. But do not shorten simply to Liberals. Abbreviate in lists etc to LD. See Politics special section

licence (noun), license (verb), but beware of licensee (noun), licensed, licensing. See practice, practise

Liechtenstein

lifeguard (on a beach); Life Guardsman (on a horse)

lifelong (one word as adjective)

liferaft (one word), as lifeboat, lifebelt etc

lifesize(d) (no hyphen)

lift-off (spacecraft etc), as take-off (hyphenated)

light bulb two words as noun, but hyphenate adjectivally

lightning (as in electrical storm), lightening (as in making lighter)

light-year

like do not use as a synonym of such as (eg, say “cities such as Manchester are ambitious”, not “cities like Manchester ... ”); nor as a synonym of as if (eg, say “he looks as if he is succeeding”, not “he looks like he is succeeding”)

likeable

lily of the valley

linchpin (not lynchpin)

line of control l/c, boundary in Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas

line of fire — militarily, in the flight path of a fired missile. Do not confuse with firing line, qv

liner take care with this word, which strictly no longer applies to passenger cruise ships. Liners nowadays are cargo vessels trading regularly between designated ports, eg, container ships. Confine use of "liner" for passenger ships to historical contexts, eg, the transatlantic liner Queen Mary

line-up (noun), but to line up (verb)

Lions (rugby) officially the touring rugby union team is known as the British Isles; alternatively, the Lions. At a pinch, they may be referred to as the British and Irish Lions. They are not the British Lions

Lipizzaner horses (prefer this version to Lippizaner)

liquefy (not liquify), but liquidate

liquorice, not the American licorice

lira (singular), lire (plural), the former Italian currency

literally avoid as expression of emphasis; “he literally exploded with anger” is absurd

livery halls (in the City of London) do not take the definite article (eg, Drapers' Hall, not the Drapers' Hall). See London

living room (no hyphen, as dining room etc)

Livingstone, Ken; Dr (David) Livingstone (explorer), but Livingston, West Lothian

Livorno rather than Leghorn, despite usual style on Anglicising foreign names

Llewelyn-Bowen, Laurence, interior designer

Lloyds TSB, the bank, but Lloyd's of London (insurance)

Lloyd's of London now use this full name at first mention, Lloyd's thereafter. Note Lloyd's names

Lloyd Webber all family members (father William and sons Andrew and Julian) have no hyphen except in reference to Andrew as Lord Lloyd-Webber

LLP (limited liability partnership) as for Ltd or plc, there is not normally a need to add LLP at the end of a firm's name

loan is a noun (ie, never say “I loaned him £20” etc); the verb is lend/lent

loathe (verb), loath (adjective; not loth)

local government cap councils when full title, eg, Watford Borough Council, Newtown District Council (thereafter the council); but l/c when title is not in full, eg, Watford council; all council committees in l/c; although we cap Mayor at first mention (eg, Albert Hobart, Mayor of Rochdale), l/c for council officials such as borough surveyor, town clerk; cap the seat of local government if we are sure of its title (eg, Leeds City Hall, Birmingham Council House — not to be confused with Birmingham Town Hall — Lambeth Town Hall etc)

lochs in Scotland, loughs in Ireland

Lockerbie suspects the convicted man is Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi (after first mention, al-Megrahi); his co-accused was Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah (thereafter Mr Fhimah)

lockout (in industrial disputes etc), one word; but to lock out

locomotive names are italicised, as with ships' or aircraft names, eg, Mallard. Do not use "the" unless certain it is part of the name. See aircraft names, ships

log jam two words

London cap the East End and the West End of London, and now also North London, South London, East London, West London, Central London, Inner London; but l/c southeast London, southwest London etc. The local council for the City of London is the Court of Common Council, whose members are common councilmen; cap Borough in titles of particular boroughs, eg, London Borough of Bromley. See livery halls

London Assembly. See Greater London Authority

London Clinic, The (cap “T”)

London clubs important to get the names correct as our readership remains strong in clubland. Note particularly the Athenaeum; Boodle's; Brooks's; Buck's Club; Pratt's Club; the Queen's Club; Royal Over-Seas League; Savile Club; Travellers Club; United Oxford and Cambridge University Club; White's Club.It would be wrong to say, eg, Boodle's Club; on the other hand, it is permissible to refer to the Garrick Club, the Reform Club, the Savage Club etc simply as the Garrick, the Reform or the Savage

Londonderry. See Ireland

London hotels and restaurants as with London clubs, it is essential to give the correct form of the following: Berkeley Hotel; Brown's Hotel; Claridge's; the Dorchester; Four Seasons Hotel; Le Meridien Grosvenor House; Hilton London Kensington (one of some 16 Hiltons in the capital); Hyatt Carlton Tower hotel; Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel; The Lanesborough; Langham Hilton; Le Meridien Piccadilly; London Hilton on Park Lane; Marriott Hotel (several in the capital); May Fair Inter-Continental Hotel; New Connaught Rooms; Sheraton Park Lane Hotel; Quaglino's; Ritz Hotel; The Savoy; Simpson's-in-the-Strand; The Tower; Le Meridien Waldorf; Royal Westmoreland Hotel

London Olympics. See Olympics

London Stock Exchange may be abbreviated to LSE, but use sparingly and only in context, especially in headlines, because of confusion with the London School of Economics. Prefer the Exchange (initial cap) wherever possible. See LSE

London Transport has been rebranded as Transport for London (abbreviate TfL), not Transport in London. See Transport

London University the constituent colleges are: Birkbeck College; Courtauld Institute of Art; Goldsmiths College (no apostrophe); Heythrop College; Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (Imperial College, London acceptable shortened form); Institute of Education; King's College London (no comma); London Business School; London School of Economics and Political Science (London School of Economics or LSE acceptable shortened forms); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Queen Mary (NB, no College attached); Royal Academy of Music; Royal Holloway (NB, no College attached); Royal Veterinary College; St George's Hospital Medical School; School of Oriental and African Studies; School of Pharmacy; University College London (no comma). See University of the Arts London

London Zoo (cap Zoo)

Longchamp (not Longchamps), the French racecourse

longstanding do not use hyphen

lookout (noun, no hyphen)

Lord Advocate do not add for Scotland

Lord Chancellor's Department (caps, and not Lord Chancellor's Office)

Lord Mayor (caps) as in Lord Mayor of London, Birmingham etc; thereafter, the lord mayor; the same applies to Mayor of Guildford etc

Lord of the Rings, The, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Note The is part of the title. The second film in the cycle is called The Two Towers (not Twin Towers). See Middle-earth, Tolkien

Lord's (cricket ground)

Lords takes singular verb, eg, the Lords is sitting …

lords justices (both words take the plural)

lord-lieutenant should be hyphenated, according to the Association of Lord-Lieutenants (note this plural, NOT lords-lieutenant); use l/c in general use, but the Lord-Lieutenant for Gloucestershire etc (when specific)

lorry prefer lorry to truck, but the American truck has become ubiquitous and cannot be banned, especially from foreign stories

loss-maker, loss-making

Lotto the renamed main game of the national lottery. See National Lottery, rollover

loveable takes the middle “e”, as likeable

Lovells City solicitors, no longer Lovell White Durrant

lowbrow (as highbrow)

Lower House, Upper House (of Parliament). See Politics special section

low-key

Loya Jirga (roman, initial caps), the Afghan national council that meets irregularly. See War on Terror

loyalist. See Ireland

LSE short for London School of Economics, or — sparingly and only in context in Business pages — London Stock Exchange. See London University

Ltd can usually be dropped from company names (as can plc). See LLP

Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, then Senhor Lula da Silva

lullaby (not -bye)

lumbar, as in the lower back (eg, lumbar puncture); lumber as in junk furniture, lumberjacks, or (verbally) moving clumsily about etc

Lurex (initial cap)

Luton airport (l/c airport), and resist pressure to insert international. See airports

Luxembourg (not -burg); the inhabitants should be called Mr, Mrs etc, rather than M or Mme (see foreign appellations, and Santer); but note Rosa Luxemburg (leader of Berlin uprising in 1919)

Lycra (cap, proprietary)

lying in state (noun, no hyphens; nor the verb, to lie in state)

Lyons (not Lyon). See Marseilles, foreign places

Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (no comma)

-lyse the style is analyse, paralyse etc (not -ize). See -ise, -isation

Lytham St Anne's, Lancashire (use the apostrophe, but no hyphens)

Lyttelton Theatre (at the National); similarly, Humphrey Lyttelton (jazz musician)