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Armed Forces Arts Churches Courts Politics Sport Titles

race references to race should be used only when relevant to the sense of the story. The word is often better replaced by people, nation, group etc

racecourse, racehorse, racetrack see horse race and Sports special section

Rachmaninov, Sergei not Rachmaninoff

racked by doubts, pain etc; not wracked. See wrack

racket for tennis, not racquet. The game is also rackets

racoon prefer this shorter spelling to raccoon

RADA (all caps), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

radio compounds are generally one word in the wireless context (eg, radiotelephone) or when they concern rays (eg, radioactive, radioisotope, radiotherapy). Broadcasting frequencies are measured in megahertz (MHz) and kilohertz (kHz). But note radio telescope

radio ham this term should strictly be applied only to licensed amateur radio operators, who are offended when it is used to apply to unlicensed “eavesdroppers” spying on private phone calls etc. Take care

radio stations the principal BBC stations are Radio 1, Radio 1 Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5 Live, Radio 5 Live Sport Extra, Radio 6 Music, Radio 7. Details of programming are available via the BBC Radio website

Note also, eg, Classic FM, talkSPORT, Jazz FM etc. With foreign stations, usually write radio l/c generically, eg, Israel radio, Haiti radio, Moscow radio, Singapore radio etc; cap only if we know it is the specific name of the station or organisation. See BBC

RAF the Royal Air Force. See Armed Forces special section.

Do not use RAF as an abbreviation for the Red Army Faction; use the faction (l/c) at subsequent mentions. See Meinhof, Ulrike

RAF crews went on operations (or ops) in the Second World War; American (USAF) crews went on missions. Do not confuse

RAF Regiment is a Corps within the Royal Air Force

Rafsanjani, Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi; write Hojatoleslam Rafsanjani at subsequent mentions. See Iran

railways write East Coast Main Line, West Coast Main Line, Channel Tunnel Rail Link (initial caps). See train companies

railway station do not use the Americanism train station except, eg, in direct quotes, preferably from North Americans

rain, rein, reign beware!

rainforest one word

raison d'être roman

rajah takes the final -h, as does maharajah

Rajapaksa, President, of Sri Lanka. Note that this is his preferred spelling of his surname (http://www.mahindarajapaksa.com ). His first name is Mahinda. See Sri Lanka

Raleigh, Sir Walter (not Ralegh)

Ramsay, Gordon, the chef; Ramsay Street (Neighbours); and Ramsay MacDonald, early 20th-century Labour Prime Minister; but Alf Ramsey, late football manager; Michael Ramsey, late Archbishop of Canterbury; and Ramsey, Isle of Man

R&B abbreviation for rhythm and blues

rand the South African unit of currency. Plural rands. Write, eg, 12.1 billion rands at first mention; subsequently, R2.3 billion etc. See currencies

ranging from overworked and often unnecessary phrase. There must be a scale in which the elements might be ranged: “ranging from 15 to 25 years” is correct, “a crowd ranging from priests to golfers” is not

ranks see Armed Forces special section, police ranks

Ranks Hovis McDougall, but (The) Rank Organisation

Rann of Kutch (prefer to Kachchh), area on Indian-Pakistani border

Rapid Reaction Force cap in Nato context as the force already exists, but l/c in European army context until and if it is made official

rarefied, rarefy (not rarified)

ratcatcher one word

rateable

Ratzinger, Joseph (not Josef) the birth name of Pope Benedict XVI. See Churches special section , the Pope

rave acceptable in context as a musical event. See gig

razzmatazz

re- whenever possible, run the prefix on to the word it qualifies, eg, readmission, remake, rework, etc; but there are two main classes of exceptions:

where the word after re- begins with an "e", eg, re-election, re-emerge, re-examine, re-enter etc;

where there could be serious ambiguity in compounds such as re-creation (recreation), re-cover (recover), re-dress (redress), re-form (pop groups) v reform (delinquent).

See hyphens , re-use

realpolitik roman

reason "the reason why he did this" is a tautology; write "the reason that he did this" or "why he did this is that ... "

rebut means to argue to the contrary, producing evidence; to refute is to win such an argument. Neither should be used as a synonym of reject, deny or counter, all good, straightforward words. Nor should they be used for dispute or respond to

receive “receiving an injury” is to be discouraged, though not banned. Prefer to say sustained or suffered; and never say someone received a broken leg etc - prefer suffered a broken leg or, better still, broke a leg. See injure

reckless (as synonym for rash or foolhardy); not wreckless

record never say “set a new record”, “was an all-time record” etc, where both the qualifiers are tautologous

recorders for when to cap in the legal sense, see Courts special section

recrudescence do not confuse with resurgence or revival. It means worsening, in the sense of reopening wounds or recurring diseases

Red Army Faction do not use RAF as an abbreviation; use the faction (l/c) at subsequent mentions. See Meinhof, Ulrike

Red Book caps in the context of the Budget. It covers expectations for the economy and spending plans

redbrick (university), but a red-brick building

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

Red Planet (caps), informal name for Mars. See solar system

Red Sea note the ports of Duba, Safaga

Rees-Mogg, William columnist and former Editor of The Times; formally, Lord Rees-Mogg. See The Times

referendum, plural referendums, as with conundrums, stadiums, forums and most words ending in -um. But note millennia, strata

refute take care with this word. See rebut

regalia, plural. Prefer insignia, eg, for an MBE appointment, to regalia - originally and strictly emblems of royalty. See honours

Regent's Canal

Regent's Park

regimen should be restricted to medical contexts - a prescribed course of exercise, way of life, diet etc. Do not use as a synonym of regime (government or administrative contexts)

register office not registry office

Register of Members' Interests caps. See Politics special section

Registrar (University of Oxford), but Registrary (University of Cambridge)

Registrar-General

regulators of the privatised industries and other watchdogs should be styled as follows:

DWI - the Drinking Water Inspectorate regulates public water supplies in England and Wales. It has a chief inspector;

Ofcom - the Office of Communications, the super-regulator incorporating, and replacing, the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel), the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Independent Television Commission, the Radio Authority and the Radiocommunications Agency, started operation on December 29, 2003, under Lord Currie of Marylebone as chairman

Offa - the Office for Fair Access, concerned with university entrance places;

Ofgem - the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, replacing the former Offer and Ofgas. The energy regulator is replaced by a regulatory authority, the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, which has a chairman (no longer a director-general) who is also chief executive of Ofgem;

Ofsted - the Office for Standards in Education, officially the Office of Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools in England;

Ofwat - the Office of Water Services has a director-general and regulates water and sewerage companies in England and Wales;

Office of Fair Trading - the OFT. The phrase consumer watchdog can be used as an alternative; it has a director-general;

Postcomm - the Postal Services Commission has a chief executive. It regulates the postal service and Consignia/Royal Mail/Post Office;

Office of Rail Regulation - formerly there was the Rail Regulator and the Office of the Rail Regulator. Changes in the Transport Act 2000 confirmed the Rail Regulator as an economic regulator;

SRA - the Strategic Rail Authority had responsibility from 2001 to 2006 for developing the rail network and encouraging integration. Subsuming the powers of the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (Opraf) and the British Railways Board (BRB), it was a strategic investor, awarder of passenger rail franchises and enforcer of consumer protection.

Reid, John the MP is now referred to as Dr Reid at second mention, as he has a PhD (in history). During his time as Health Secretary in 2003-05, he used the title Mr so as not to give the impression that he was qualified medically

Reinfeldt, Fredrik the Swedish Prime Minister

Reith Lecture(s)

reject see rebut

relatively see comparatively

relic something left from the past, hence "relic from the past" is a tautology

Religious Right (caps) in American politics. See the Right

remainder avoid as a synonym of the rest

REME the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (never Reme). See Armed Forces special section

Remembrance Sunday (preferred to Day). See Armistice Day , two minutes' silence

Renaissance, the; but l/c renaissance as synonym of revival or rebirth

reorganise

repellent noun or adjective; not repellant)

replacements in rugby union, not substitutes. See Sports special section ; rugby union special section

report l/c in titles of official documents such as Taylor report

reportedly avoid this slack word, which suggests that the writer is unsure of the source of the material

Republic of Ireland or Irish Republic. See Ireland

republican l/c except when in an official name, such as the Republican Party or Republicans in the US. See Ireland

rerun

research shows that . . . in many cases it does not. Like most polls, it merely indicates, suggests, hints at, implies ... so beware

resolution cap in context of a specific UN one, eg, Resolution 688

respect of avoid “in respect of” whenever possible; never say “in respect to”

responsible people bear responsibility, things do not. Storms are not responsible for damage; they cause it. Avoid the phrase “the rebels claimed responsibility for the bombing”; say instead “the rebels admitted causing the bombing”

restaurateur (never restauranteur)

result in avoid this lazy phrase and always find an alternative, such as cause, bring, create, evoke, lead to etc

retail prices index (RPI); also consumer prices index (not price)

re-use one of the re- words where the hyphen is essential as reuse is hideous

Reuters use this form for the news agency founded by Paul Julius Reuter

Reveille like the Last Post, it is sounded, not played

Revelation the final book of the Bible (not Revelations)

Revenue & Customs became the new name (Apr 2005) for the combined Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise bodies. At first mention, refer to Revenue & Customs (abbreviated HMRC, if need be). In an article primarily about taxation, use Revenue at second mention; Customs in a piece about smuggling or duty etc.

Note that "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 Revenue and are distinct from it. It is important that they are, and are seen to be, independent when they make decisions. See Customs and Excise

reverend at first mention, the style is “the Rev Tom Jones”, then Mr Jones. Never say “the Rev Jones” or (even worse) “Rev Jones” (which is as great a solecism as calling Sir Bobby Charlton “Sir Charlton”). A parson and his wife are referred to as “the Rev Tom and Mrs Jones”. See archbishops, Churches special section

Review takes the cap in names of government programmes, such as Strategic Defence Review, Comprehensive Spending Review etc

Reykjavik the Icelandic capital

Reynolds, Debby the former Chief Veterinary Officer; Debbie Reynolds, the actress

rhinoceroses for the plural

Rhodes scholar/scholarship (l/c s)

Rhys Jones, Griff no hyphen

Rhys-Jones, Sophie became the Countess of Wessex (subsequent mentions the Countess). See Titles special section

RIBA all caps for the abbreviation of the Royal Institute of British Architects

Rice, Condoleezza the US Secretary of State in the Administration of George W. Bush. She is Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and has a PhD, so may be referred to as Professor Rice or Dr Rice subsequently as appropriate

Richmond upon Thames no hyphens. Postally, it is in Surrey; administratively, it is in southwest London. See postal addresses

Richter scale measures the energy released by an earthquake. It runs from 0 to 8; say “the earthquake measured 6 on the Richter scale”. The Richter scale and magnitude measurements are not completely interchangeable, so use the scale that is filed in an individual story

RICS Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (note all caps, and Institution)

riffle, riffling as in flicking through papers or clothes on a rail; rifling only in the sense of ransacking

Rifkind, Sir Malcolm was knighted in 1997

the Right cap in the political context when referring to a group of like-minded individuals, eg, “The Right added to John Major's dilemma on the EU”; but l/c in “the party swung to the right”. When the Right is qualified, generally keep the adjective l/c, eg, the far Right (but note the Religious Right in the US). Also, the right wing, right-wing contenders, rightwingers. See Left, Politics special section

rightist, right-leaning try to avoid these, and also leftist, left-leaning, which are particularly liked by news agencies, not least in the Americas, and opt for left-wing, right-wing, left-of-centre, right-of-centre etc

rigmarole not rigamarole

ring-fence hyphen

ringtone one word

Rio Tinto no longer Rio Tinto-Zinc or RTZ

Riot Act initial caps, as in "read the Riot Act"

rip off verb, rip-off noun or adjective. Avoid this cliché except in quotes such as "rip-off Britain"

Rise the Channel 4 breakfast TV programme; do not use RI:SE

riverbank (one word)

River cap as a shorthand for the River Thames, eg, "All he wanted was a cab going south of the River"

rivers cap in context of River Thames, the Hudson River, the Mississippi River (or simply the Thames, the Mississippi etc if adjudged well known to all our readership). Similarly, cap estuary when part of the name. See Thames

Riverside, the cricket ground in Chester-le-Street

riveting try to avoid its clichéd use as a metaphor

RNIB is the Royal National Institute of Blind People (not for). In context, it may be possible to write RNIB from first mention

roadblock, roadbuilding, roadbuilder etc

"road map" quoted at first mention and in headlines for the two-state Middle East peace formula

road rage no need to quote, even at first mention

roads it is as tautologous to write “the M5 motorway” as “the A435 road”, but correct to say “the M40 London to Birmingham motorway”. It is unnecessary to define the M25 as London's orbital motorway, but generally define a road geographically unless context is clear

Robert the Bruce (prefer to Robert Bruce); subsequent mentions, the Bruce

rock'n'roll

Roddenberry, Gene the creator of Star Trek

Rogge, Jacques president of the International Olympic Committee. He is Belgian, so is Mr Rogge at second mention

Rohypnol must not be referred to as the "date rape drug"

role no circumflex

roll call two words

Rollerblade is a trade name, so must be capped. The American company's lawyers insist that even Rollerblading takes the cap; use in-line skates/skating instead

rollerskate, rollercoaster

roll-on, roll-off (as in ferries), abbreviated to ro-ro

rollover (as in Lotto, the renamed National Lottery), no hyphen. See National Lottery

Rolls-Royce note hyphen; Rolls-Royce objects to use of its exclusive marque in a descriptive sense, eg, online advertising service spoken of as "The Rolls-Royce of Car Locators".

See trade names

Roman Catholic see Catholic

Romania, not Rumania. See Ceausescu

Roman numerals usually no full points; thus Edward VIII, Article XVI, Part II, Psalm xxiii. But in official documents, to designate sub-sections, use the points, eg, i., ii., iv. etc

Romanov prefer to Romanoff for the surname of the Russian Imperial Family. See Imperial Family, Royal Family

rom-com hyphenate. Acceptable shorthand for romantic comedy, especially in cinematic context

roofs (not rooves)

rooms say living room, drawing room, laundry room (no hyphens except when adjectival, eg, living-room carpet), but bathroom, bedroom, tearoom

rottweiler (l/c). See dogs

Rough Guide a trademark, rigorously protected by the publishers. So generic phrases such as "a rough guide to ..." must be avoided. See trade names

round-up hyphenate as noun

row be sparing in the use of this word, especially in headlines. Alternatives are rift, split, clash etc, and dispute in text. However, row is not banned

Rowntree be sure to distinguish between the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charity and independent funder of social policy research and development; and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, not a charity and an entirely separate company that funds projects often with a political dimension

royal, royalty l/c for royalty but cap the Royal Family; royal is usually l/c when used adjectivally, as in royal couple, royal baby, royal approval, royal visit, the royal wave, but takes the cap in titles such as Royal Assent, Royal Collection, Royal Household, Royal Yacht etc

Royal Academy (caps), then the academy (l/c); a Royal Academician (caps), but an academician (l/c). Note the Summer Exhibition (caps, roman)

Royal & SunAlliance (note ampersand and SunAlliance) has rebranded as RSA

Royal College of Nursing (not Nurses)

royal commissions should be capped when the full title is given, eg, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, but otherwise l/c, the royal commission. NB, Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords. See committee

Royal Corps of Signals, or Royal Signals (not Royal Corps of Signallers). See Armed Forces special section

Royal Family takes caps, British and overseas; with names of the British Royal Family, give fully at first mention, eg, the Duke of Edinburgh, thereafter the Duke (cap) or occasionally Prince Philip; Prince William and Prince Harry, thereafter the Prince or simply William, Harry. In England and Wales, refer to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (the Prince and the Duchess at subsequent mention). In Scotland, the usage the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay is permissible. The Duchess is technically the Princess of Wales, but does not use the title; nor do we. In royalty context, the cap after first mention should be confined to the British Royal Family and overseas heads of state. See Diana, Princess of Wales,

Duke of Edinburgh, heads of state, Parker Bowles, Prince, Queen, Titles special section. See the royal website for the line of succession

Royal Fine Art Commission

Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships are entitled RFA, not HMS; eg, RFA Fort George. See Armed Forces special section

Royal Institute of International Affairs (often known as Chatham House); not Institution

Royal Logistic Corps not Logistics. See Armed Forces special section

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; similarly, Royal Air Force College Cranwell and Royal Naval College Dartmouth (no commas)

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI); not Life-Boat

Royal Over-Seas League see London clubs

Royal Shakespeare Company (thereafter the RSC), and Royal Opera House (ROH); but generally no need for the Royal with Albert Hall, Festival Hall, National Theatre

Royal Standard is only for the Sovereign. Other members of the Royal Family have a personal standard. See ensign

Royal Train caps, as with the Royal Yacht. See Britannia

Royal Welch Fusiliers, The; but Welsh Guards. See Armed Forces special section

Royal Yacht see Britannia

RPI the retail prices index (note plural and l/c); note also the consumer prices index (CPI)

RPM (caps), resale price maintenance (not retail); and rpm (l/c), revolutions per minute

RSPCA does not exist in Scotland, which has the Scottish SPCA

rubbish do not use as a verb

Rubens, not Reubens (the Flemish painter)

Rubik's Cube subsequently cube (l/c)

Rubinstein, Arthur the late pianist preferred to be called Arthur rather than the oft-written Artur

Rudolph not Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer

Rue Royale see French names

Rügen northern German Baltic island

Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna and Sanday are the Small Isles. Note that there is also a Sanday in the Orkney Islands

run-down (adjective), as in decaying or exhausted; rundown (noun) as in briefing; to run down (verb)

run up as a verb; but run-up for the noun

running-mate hyphen

Runyon, Damon

Rural England see Campaign to Protect Rural England

rush hour (noun), but rush-hour (adjective, hyphen, as in rush-hour traffic)

rushed to hospital avoid this cliché. Say simply taken to or driven to; similarly, say a victim was flown to hospital rather than airlifted to ... Always avoid the American hospitalise

Russell Group of Britain's so-called 19 elite universities are: Oxford; Cambridge; Imperial College London; King's College London; London School of Economics; University College London; Birmingham; Bristol; Cardiff; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Leeds; Liverpool; Manchester; Newcastle; Nottingham; Sheffield; Southampton; and Warwick. See universities

Russia take care not to designate parts of the former Soviet Union as Russia when they no longer are, eg, Ukraine, Georgia. The same applies to the people (though there are millions of ethnic Russians throughout the former Soviet Union). So always specify the republic concerned and do not use Russian in the inclusive sense except in the phrase Russian vodka. Use Soviet and the Soviet Union only in their historical contexts - and avoid USSR wherever possible. See Soviet Union

Russian names use “i” as first name ending, but “y” for surnames, eg, Arkadi Volsky, Gennadi Yavlinsky (but note the exception Rutskoi cf Lugovoy); and use “ks” rather than “x” in the middle, eg, Aleksei, Aleksi, Aleksandr; also note Kirill, Viktor. We should use the -ya rather than -ia in Natalya and Tatyana (not Natalia, Tatiana). But note that the styles of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov are sufficiently Westernised to be spelt thus. Note Alexander Lebedev. See chess names, Patriarch

Rwanda tribally, the majority are Hutus, the minority Tutsis. The other tribal group are the pygmy Twa

Last edited: July 9, 2009