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

M1 do not say M1 motorway. M6 Toll the new road in the Midlands

Maastricht treaty (l/c treaty), but Treaty of Maastricht; for an unofficial name for the updated version of the treaty, write Maastricht II (not 2 or Two).

Macau (not Macao); the Macau Government (capitalised as the administration of a special administrative region; as Hong Kong). See Chinese names

Mac, Mc always check spelling of these prefixesin Who's Who; in alphabetical lists, treat Mc as Mac

Macaulay, Sarah (Gordon Brown's wife)

McCarthy, Senator Joseph; McCarthyism

McCartney, (Sir) Paul

MacDonald, Ramsay

McDonald, (Sir) Trevor, the newsreader

McDonald's, the hamburger chain

McDonnell Douglas (no hyphen)

MacDowell, Andie

MacKay, Andrew, Tory politician (not Mackay)

McKellen, Sir Ian

MacKenzie, Kelvin chairman and chief executive of the Wireless Group, former Editor of The Sun

Mackintosh, (Sir) Cameron

MacLaine, Shirley

Maclean, Donald

Macleod, Iain

McLuhan, Marshall

Macmillan, Harold, and the publishers

Macpherson, Elle

Macedonia the correct (and politically sensitive) title of the new republic is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (caps as shown). Accept no variations. See Yugoslav

Machiavelli(an)

machinegun, but sub-machinegun

Machu Picchu accept no alternative

mackintosh (raincoat)

macroeconomic, microeconomic (no hyphen)

Macy's (New York store)

Madame Tussauds (no longer an apostrophe). Tussauds Group includes the London Planetarium, Warwick Castle, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures

“mad cow” disease . See BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob

Madejski Stadium, Reading (not Madjeski)

Madison Square Garden, New York (not Gardens)

Madonna her maiden name is Ciccone (not Ciccione)

madrassa Islamic school. No h, two esses. Plural madrassas

maestros (plural of maestro; not maestri)

Mafia cap only in Italian or US context; l/c mafia in countries such as Russia when used as a synonym of gangsters

Mafikeng the new name (since 1980) of Mafeking. Spell according to historical context

Magdalen College, Oxford; but Magdalene College, Cambridge. See Oxford, Cambridge

Maghreb. See Middle East

"magic circle", l/c and quotes first mention, for top law firms in the City; but cap Magic Circle for the magicians' organisation

Maginot line French fortifications against Germany before the Second World War

Magistrates' Association, the note apostrophe

magistrates' courts the Metropolitan Magistrate,West London Magistrate etc, but usually magistrates take l/c. Anacceptable alternative for a non-stipendiary (ie, lay) magistrateis JP (Justice of the Peace). When the accused is appearingbefore the bench, he appears before the magistrates(plural) unless a stipendiary magistrate, now called a district judge (magistrates' courts). The full name of the court is capped, as in Bow StreetMagistrates' Court. See courts, legal terms, Courts specialsection

Magna Carta, not the Magna Carta

mailshot

major do not use as a lazy alternative for big, chief, important or main

Majorca, Minorca use the Anglicised forms. See Spanish regions

majority of do not use as alternative for most of

makeover (one word as noun; but try to avoid this cliché — say remodelling instead)

make-up (cosmetics or typography), not makeup

Málaga note accent

Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister; thereafter Dr Mahathir. His title while the Prime Minister was Datuk Seri. His wife is Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, thereafter Dr Siti Hasmah. In Malaysia, honorary titles are: Tun, approximately equivalent to a life peerage, but with numbers restricted to about 25, with wives who are not Tun in their own right titled Toh Puan; Tan Sri, a federal award similar to Sir, with wives titled Puan Sri; Datuk (preferred to Dato) is a state award, somewhat like a local/regional knighthood, with wives titled Datin

Mall, The (cap “T”)

Mammon (initial cap)

Man cap in the context of humankind. See Nature

management buyout spell out first time, though MBO (plural MBOs) is acceptable on Business pages

manifestos (not -oes)

Manila capital of the Philippines

Manningham-Buller, Elizabeth Director-General of MI5, prefers to be known as Eliza. Second mention, Ms Manningham-Buller

manoeuvre, manoeuvring, manoeuvrable

mantelpiece (not mantlepiece)

manuscript(s) write out when part of a sentence, but abbreviate to MSS when quotation from catalogue, or in headline if context is clear

Mao Zedong (no longer Mao Tse-tung). See Chinese names

marathon avoid in clichéd sense of a long time as in “a marathon session”. Cap as in London Marathon, New York Marathon

march past (noun; two words in military context)

Mardi Gras for the Shrove Tuesday festival, but note the self-styled Mardi Gra bomber

Margrethe, Queen of Denmark (not Margarethe)

Marines cap in both Royal Marines and US Marines; also, a Marine

marketplace (one word), but market-maker

Marks & Spencer use the ampers and rather than and in text; can abbreviate to M&S inheadlines; the formal legal title is Marks and Spencer plc, but we need use this form only rarely

marquess, not marquis, except in foreign titles. See Titles special section

Marrakesh (not Marrakech)

married couple's allowance

Marriott hotels (not Marriot)

Mars bar(s) (l/c "b")

Marseilles (not Marseille); also call the football club Marseilles (not Olympique de Marseille)

Martini is a trade name, so always cap

Marxist, Marxism derived from Karl Marx, so cap. Do not use as loose variant of communism. See communism

Mary Celeste (not Marie Celeste)

Maryinsky (not Mariinsky, despite internet evidence to the contrary) for the name of the theatre home of the Kirov Ballet.

Masai prefer to Maasai

Mass (cap in its religious context), also Holy Mass, Requiem Mass etc. See Churches special section

Massachusetts

massive avoid as a synonym of big

MasterCard

masterclass (musical etc; no hyphen)

master of foxhounds (l/c). See foxhunt

Master of the Queen's Music

Master of the Rolls. See Courts special section

Matabele singular and plural (a Matabele, the Matabele people)

materialise avoid as a synonym of appear, come about or happen

Mathews, Meg (ex-wife of Noel Gallagher)

matinee (no accent), as premiere, debut, decor etc. See Arts special section

matins (l/c). See evensong, Christian terms

matt (not mat), as in matt paint, matt black etc

Maupassant, Guy de

Mauretania, the liner; Mauritania, the country

may / might do not confuse; use might in sentences referring to past possibilities that did not happen, eg, “If that had happened ten days ago, my whole life might have been different”. A clear distinction is evident in the following example: “He might have been captured by the Iraqis — but he wasn't”, compared with “He may have been captured by the Iraqis — it is possible but we don't know”

Maya, one of the Indian people of Central America; Mayas, plural; and Mayan, adjective

mayday (as in SOS), l/c; but May Day (holiday)

Mayfair, but May Fair Inter-Continental Hotel. See London hotels

mayor for when to cap, see local government, Lord Mayor. But note that the Mayor of London becomes the mayor (l/c) after first mention

Maze prison in Northern Ireland; do not use Long Kesh except in quotes or historical context

MCC, short for Marylebone Cricket Club. Do not say the MCC

mealtimes write breakfast time, lunchtime, teatime, dinner time, supper time (but use hyphens in compounds when adjectival)

means-test, means-tested etc (hyphenate whether as noun, verb or adjective)

means to an end is singular; but “his means are modest”

mecca l/c as in "mecca for tourists"

Médecins sans Frontières

media, plural as in mass media, but mediums (spiritualists). See press

medical officer of health MoH acceptable in headlines

medical terms never use these metaphorically or as terms of abuse (geriatric, paralytic, schizophrenic). In words ending in -tomy (appendectomy, hysterectomy etc), the word “operation” is tautologous and must not be used. See bacteria, X-ray

medications give the generic name (lower case, parentheses) as well as the brand name, eg, Casodex (bicalutamide) for those new or not familiar. Omit in reference to well-known medications, eg, Valium, Viagra

medieval (not mediaeval)

Mediterranean

meet never say meet with

mega- be very sparing with this as a colloquial prefix meaning big

megawatts the capacity of a power station is measured in megawatts; the output is measured in megawatt hours.The correct abbreviation of megawatt is MW (not mW, which means milliwatt). See kilowatt-hour

mêlée

Meles Zenawi is Prime Minister, not President, of Ethiopia. Mr Meles at second mention

Member of Parliament (cap Member), but MP almost always preferable

mementoes (not -os)

memoirs (not memoires)

memorandum, plural memorandums (not -a)

meningitis distinguish whether bacterial orviral; the headline cases are usually bacterial

Mercedes-Benz (hyphen)

Merchant Navy (caps)

Merchant Taylors' School (both Middlesex andLiverpool)

Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales (now a unitary authority) must never be shortened to Merthyr, which is a village in Carmarthenshire. See unitary authorities, Wales

Messerschmitt (not -schmidt)

mete out (not meet out), in context of punishment

Method acting use cap "M"

Met Office (no longer the Meteorological Office)

metres, as in distance, poetry etc; meters, as in gas, electricity or parking etc

metric The Times should keep abreast of the trend in the UK to move gradually towards all-metric use, but given the wide age range of our readers, some continuing use of imperial measurements is still necessary. The main aim is to avoid confusing the reader, so try not to mix the two systems in a single article. In general, we should prefer the metric, with imperial conversions in brackets at first mention. This should now apply particularly to temperatures, eg, the temperature on the South Coast hit the low 30s [no longer nineties]; but where specific, eg, 16C (61F). Similarly, for areas prefer hectares and square metres to acres and square yards, but do not use square kilometres in the UK and the US where distances are measured in miles. Whenever converting, try to keep a sense of proportion: it is nonsense to express, for instance, an estimated 15ft as an excessively detailed 4.57m. If the first figure is no more than an estimate, the conversion may safely be rounded to a similarly approximate 4.5m.

The following will remain (for the time being) the principal exceptions to the foregoing:

1. Distances globally Give miles first, and convert (at first mention) to kilometres in brackets for all countries apart from the UK and the US. Speeds: use only miles per hour (mph) in the UK and US; for all other countries use mph but also convert to kilometres per hour (km/h) in brackets at first mention.

2. Personal measurements in height and weight. Continue to say she was 5ft 7in (1.7m) and weighed 9st 10lb (62kg).

3. Altitude and depth: The main exception to metric should be aircraft altitude, where a pilot will announce that "we are now flying at 33,000ft"; metric conversion to 10,058m may be used in brackets here. But now specify mountain heights in metric first, eg, Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Britain at 1,343m (4,406ft).

4. Volume: The main exceptions to metric should be pints of beer and cider, while milk (confusingly) is still sold in pint bottles as well as litre containers. With petrol and fuel now sold in litres rather than gallons, use metric, eg, 75p a litre (no longer any need to convert), but because car manufacturers still do so, give fuel consumption in miles per gallon.

From now on, the overwhelming preference is sporting, foreign, engineering and scientific stories to be metric; similarly foodstuffs and liquids in cookery contexts, recipes etc should be metric, though small amounts can be given in tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp).

The most common metric abbreviations are mm (millimetre), cm (centimetre), m (metre) and km (kilometre); mg (milligram), g (gram), kg (kilogram); sq m (square metre), ha (hectare), sq km (square kilometre), cu m (cubic metre); ml (millilitre), cl (centilitre), l (litre); W (watt), kW (kilowatt). NEVER add a final "s" to any of these abbreviations, eg, 48km (NOT 48kms).

Metropolitan Police (see Commissioner); Metropolitan Magistrate (see magistrates' courts)

metrosexual note that the term was coined by Mark Simpson, a British journalist, not by Marian Saltzman, a US writer

Michelangelo

microchip

microgram do not abbreviate, and certainly not to mcg, which is meaningless under international scientific standard abbreviations

microlight (prefer to microlite)

mid-air (hyphenate, noun or adjective)

midday, midweek (no hyphens)

Middle Ages, the (caps)

Middle-earth. See Lord of the Rings, Tolkien

Middle East comprises Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. In a general sense, it also takes in the countries of the Maghreb: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara. Never abbreviate to the Americanism Mideast

Middle England (caps, in political context)

Middlesbrough

Middlesex is no longer a county. See postal addresses

Mideast unacceptable as abbreviation of MiddleEast

Mid Glamorgan (no hyphen) no longer exists as a local government authority, but name persists in some organisations and titles, eg, Lord-Lieutenant for Mid Glamorgan. See unitary authorities

Midland Bank no longer exists as a trading entity. It is part of HSBC, so use Midland only in historical context. See Hong Kong

midlife crisis but do not overuse this cliché

midnight (not 12 midnight). See noon

midsummer, midwinter

Midwest (US)

MiG, the former Soviet aircraft

migrant do not use in place of emigrant or immigrant. It means one who is in the process of migrating

mike (not mic), as abbreviation for microphone

mileage

military ranks use hyphens in compounds such as Major-General, Lieutenant-Colonel etc (where two ranks are joined), but not with Second Lieutenant, Lance Corporal, Air Commodore etc. Do not abbreviate ranks except in lists. Refer, eg, to Major-General Geoffrey Blimp, Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Blank at first mention, thereafter General Blimp, Colonel Blank; similarly, Rear-Admiral Horatio Salt, thereafter Admiral Salt. See Armed Forces special section

militate (against or in favour of); do not confuse with mitigate

millennium common usage says that the millennium ended on December 31, 1999, though technically it should have been December 31, 2000. We should accept the former. Note the Millennium Dome (and Dome at all other times too), Millennium Fund, Millennium Commission, Millennium Exhibition (caps). Also Millennium Eve (as New Year's Eve). Also Millennium Wheel (as with the Dome), even though its official name is the London Eye. Note also the Millennium Bridge over the Thames. The plural of millennium is millennia (unlike memorandums etc; see referendum). Note also millenarian (only one middle “n”) meaning of, or related to, the millennium. See zones

millions write out millions from one to ten, thereafter 11 million etc. Abbreviate to “m” only forheadlines. For currencies, spell out in text, eg, £15 million, but abbreviate to £15m in headlines. With decimal notations, best to restrict to two decimal points in text, rounded up or down (eg, £1.53 million), though in headlines try to avoid decimals altogether. In text, write 2.5 million rather thanspelling out two and a half million; but “three millionshares changed hands” (not 3 million shares) etc

Mind the mental health charity (no longer MIND). But see SANE, initials

mindset is a cliché; prefer mentality

minimal do not use as a synonym of small; it means smallest, or the least possible in size, duration etc

miniskirt (no hyphen); also, minicab

ministers (political) cap all ministers, whetherin the Cabinet or not. The same applies to ministers in overseas governments: give name and full title (capped) first time, thereafter name or just “the minister”. See Politics special section

Minnelli, Liza

minuscule (not miniscule). Originally, a medieval script. Use sparingly, as it is heavily overworked as a synonym of very small or unimportant

Mishcon de Reya, solicitors (l/c “de”)

mis-hit (hyphen), mis-sell; butsee misspell

Miss, Ms Ms is nowadays fully acceptable when a woman (married or unmarried) wants to be called thus, or when it is not known for certain if she is Mrs or Miss. Ms is increasingly common in American and UK contexts. See appellations

missiles Pakistan's missiles are the Hatf (short-range), Shaheen (short), Ghaznavi (medium) and Ghauri (medium). India's are the Prithvi (short-range) and Agni (medium). Most of the above may have numerals after them, eg, Shaheen2

Mississippi

misspell (no hyphen; see spelt)

mitigate means to make milder, moderating (as in mitigating circumstances in a law case); not to beconfused with militate

Mitterrand, François, the late French President

mobile phone do not abbreviate to mobile even after first mention; cellphone in US only

moccasins (not mocassins)

MoD acceptable abbreviation for Ministry of Defence, especially in headlines

Moët & Chandon (no longer Moët et Chandon)

Mogul (not Mughal) for the empire and art

Mohammed. See Muhammad

Moldova (no longer Moldavia)

Mona Lisa (not Monna Lisa)

monarch; (l/c) for the British monarch; but the Sovereign, the Crown. See Royal Family

Mönchengladbach (no hyphen), rather than the former spelling of München-Gladbach

Monetary Policy Committee (caps) of the Bank of England; MPC at subsequent mentions

moneys (plural of money), but money will usually serve. Also, moneyed, not monied

money laundering two words as noun; but hyphenate adjective, a money-laundering gang

Mongol, Mongolian, for the race. Never refer to a Down's syndrome sufferer as a mongol

Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) is now renamed the Competition Commission. Refer to the MMC now only in historical context

Monsignor (Mgr abbreviated) can now be used for Roman Catholic archbishops or bishops in Britain (where appropriate), as well as in foreign contexts. See Churches special section

Montagu of Beaulieu, Lord

Montenegrin is the adjective from Montenegro (not Montenegran)

months abbreviate (only in lists or listings) asfollows: Jan, Feb, March, April, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec

Moon cap in planetary context, otherwise l/c.See Earth, Sun, Universe

Moral Re-Armament (not Rearmament), MRA at subsequent mentions

more than always use rather than over with numbers, eg, “more than 2,500 people attended the rally”, not “over 2,500... "

Moreton-in-Marsh (not Morton, nor -in-the-)

MORI must cap

Morissette, Alanis

Morrell, Lady Ottoline (not Otteline)

morris dancing/dancers

Morrisons the supermarket; in business-orientated stories, the company is Wm Morrison at first mention, then Morrison

Morse code

mortar do not use by itself when the meaning is mortar bomb; the mortar is the launcher from which the shell is fired. But mortar attack is perfectly correct

mortuary not morgue

mosquitoes (not -os as plural)

most favoured nation status

MoT certificate, test; but the Department for Transport, or Transport Department (not Ministry of...)

Mother Nature (initial caps). See Nature

Mother Teresa (NOT Theresa)

Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday (not Mothers')

motocross (not motorcross)

motorcycle, motorcyclist, motorbike etc

motoring terms the following terms should be standardised throughout the paper thus: carburettor, wheelspin, four-wheel drive (shorten to 4x4 or 4WD), but a four-wheel-drive vehicle (two hyphenswhen adjectival), power steering, anti-lock brakes,3-litre car, 1.9 diesel (hyphenated when adjectival), four-door, hatchback, four-star petrol, E-type Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz E-class etc, airbag, seatbelt, numberplate, sports car. For the foreseeable future, continue to give fuel consumptionfigures in miles per gallon. See metric

motor neuron (no final e) disease but note the Motor Neurone Disease Association

motorway junctions styled Junction 6 (cap, numeral) of the M40, etc

moveable (keep middle “e”)

movies, although an Americanism, is now so common as to be an acceptable synonym of films; but use films whenever possible

, MP, QC, commas each side when used after name. Plural MPs (never MP's). See Member of Parliament, Politics special section, Courts special section

Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms. See appellations

mugging strictly means theft by violence in the open air. Take care not to overuse

Muhammad use this spelling for the Prophet, but respect the other spellings of the name according to individuals' preference; if in doubt, use Muhammad. Note also Muhammad Ali but King Mohammed VI of Morocco. See names

Muhammad al-Masari (Saudi dissident); then Dr Masari

Mullah Muhammad Omar supreme leader of the Taleban; Mullah Omar at subsequent mention. See War on Terror

Mujahidin (cap), the fighters in a jihad or holywar

multi incline towards making multi compounds one word wherever possible, whether used as a noun oras an adjective, eg, multimillionaire, multinational,multilateral, multimedia, multiracial, multispeed, multistorey,multitrack (and note multispeed, multitrack Europe).However, when the compound appears too hideous, such as multi-ethnic, hyphenate.

multimillion-pound (multimillion-dollar) deal etc

mum. See dad and mum

Murdoch, Elisabeth; refer to her as Ms Murdoch at subsequent mentions

Murdoch, Rupert; at first mention he should bedescribed as chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, parent company of The Times. See News International, The Times

Murphy-O'Connor, Cardinal Cormac, Archbishop of Westminster. Note hyphen

Musharraf, General Pervez (not Pervaiz), President of Pakistan from 2001. Refer to him as General Musharraf after first mention

musical vocabulary

a. song titles (classical or pop), album titles, operas (including arias), take italics;

b. symphonies Symphony No 3 (roman, caps); but where symphonies have numbers and popular alternative titles (Eroica, Pastoral) the titles, when used, are in italics, eg, Eroica;

c. concertos First Violin Concerto (roman caps). For fuller list, see Arts special section

music-hall

Muslim, not Moslem or Mohamedan. See Islam, Muhammad

Mussorgsky, Modest (prefer to Moussorgsky)

Muzak (cap, proprietary)

Myanmar continue to call the country Burma

mynah bird (prefer to mina, myna)