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Special sections
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New Armed
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Titles
U no full point after Burmese title, eg, U Nu, U Thant
über, ur German prefixes, meaning super and original respectively,
generally no hyphen, umlaut and lower-case in constructions such as überbabe
Ucas (not UCAS), abbreviation of Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service
Uefa (not UEFA), Uefa Cup. The reformatted football competition will
operate as the (Uefa) Europa League from the 2009-10 season. See Cup, Sports
special section
Uighur prefer to Uyghur. Do not refer to this predominantly Muslim
ethnic group, who live in East Turkestan, as Chinese. The World Uighur
Congress is a lobby group whose president is Rebiya Kadeer (these variants
preferred for her names to Rabiya, Rabiye, Rubiya, Qadir). See Chinese
names, Chinese provinces map
UK acceptable abbreviation for United Kingdom in both text and
headlines. But be careful that it is strictly applicable.
United Kingdom = Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
strictly, Britain or Great Britain = England, Wales, Scotland and islands
governed from the mainland (ie, not Isle of Man or Channel Islands), but
Britain is now widely used as another name for the United Kingdom or Great
Britain, and pragmatically we accept this usage;
British Isles = United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and
Channel Islands
Ukraine omit the. Note also Yuliya Tymoshenko, Viktor Yanukovych,
Viktor Yushchenko, the Orange Revolution
Ulster permissible, especially in headlines, but use Northern Ireland
or the Province when possible. See further note on Ireland
ultimate use sparingly. Ultimate limit means limit
ultimatums (not ultimata). See referendum
ultraviolet
Uluru new name for Ayers Rock
UMIST the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
(caps, rather than Umist). See University of Manchester
UMP the French political party is the Union for a Popular Movement
(Union pour un Mouvement Populaire), not the Union for a Popular Majority
unchristian (l/c) see Christian
uncoordinated (but co-ordinate). See hyphens
under-age (hyphenated, as over-age)
underestimate often confused with overestimate: note that the
importance of writing "Its importance cannot be overestimated"
cannot be overestimated
Underground, London. See Tube
underreact
under-secretary use hyphen; same caps or l/c rules as for ministers.
See ministers, Politics special section
under the hammer avoid this cliché for auctions, especially when it
produces unintentionally comic effect about apparent vandalism: "Gandhi’s
iconic spectacles to go under the hammer"
undervalue
underwater one word as adjective, eg, underwater exploration; but two
words as adverb, eg, the couple were married under water
under way always two words
Unesco the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organisation. See United Nations
UNHCR the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. See United
Nations
Union Jack except in most naval and some ceremonial contexts, when
Union Flag is correct; note that in the Royal Navy, Union Jack is used only
when flown at the jackstaff
Unionist cap in the Northern Ireland political context. See Ireland
unique means only one, having no like or equal. Do not use except in
this absolute specific sense, and do not accept gradations, as in "almost
unique", for which words such as rare or remarkable suffice. Phrases
such as very unique, even more unique, are nonsense and are banned
Unison the union formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of Cohse, Nalgo and
Nupe
Unita the Angolan political party
unitary authorities since the abolition of Avon, Humberside and
Cleveland, and the wholesale reorganisation of Welsh and Scottish local
government in 1996-98, we should take especial care about how we locate
towns in these areas.
Places in the former county of Avon should now be described as in
Gloucestershire, Somerset or the Bristol area as appropriate. Hereford and
Worcester unitary authority was replaced by Worcestershire County Council
and a unitary authority for Herefordshire.
Berkshire County Council was replaced by the unitary authorities of Bracknell
Forest, Reading, Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead, and Wokingham. The area
around Newbury, stretching east to Reading and west to the Wiltshire border,
is West Berkshire.
Places in the former Humberside are now in the East Riding (north of the
Humber) or Lincolnshire (south of the river).
The simplest solution to the scrapping of Cleveland and reorganisation of
Yorkshire is to locate places in the new authorities of North Yorkshire (cap
“N”) or East Riding (of Yorkshire), or South or West Yorkshire. These latter
two are not unitary authorities but are cohesive regions such as West
Midlands or Greater Manchester; and note, West Yorkshire Police etc. If in
doubt, say simply Yorkshire. Examples: Thirsk, North Yorkshire; Bridlington,
East Riding; Rotherham, South Yorkshire; Keighley, West Yorkshire.
For Wales, Clwyd, Dyfed and Gwent no longer exist as authorities: unless the
new county has a traditional and familiar name (eg, Pembrokeshire,
Carmarthenshire, Powys, Denbighshire etc), locate smaller towns and villages
in North Wales, Mid Wales, West Wales, South Wales. Gwynedd does still exist
as a unitary authority, though smaller than when it was a county. If in
doubt, use one of the North, Mid, West, or South designations. For Scotland,
regions such as Central, Grampian and Strathclyde should now be referred to
only in their historical context or if they persist in official titles. It
is permissible too to refer informally to the Central belt (between
Edinburgh and Glasgow), despite the scrapping of Central region.
United Nations, or the UN; usually no need to spell out even at first
mention. Other points:
the UN Secretary-General: now Ban Ki Moon (see Korean names); his predecessor
was Kofi Annan
UN Security Council, UN General Assembly at first mention, and thereafter keep
the caps, as in the Security Council, the General Assembly
UN derivatives such as Unesco, Unifil, Unprofor etc are written thus where the
word can be voiced. See initials
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (never Commission) is the organisation,
as well as a person. Abbreviate to UNHCR after first mention
United Reformed Church (not Reform). See Churches special section
United States (of America) is always followed by a singular verb.
Common usage allows abbreviation to US in text as well as headlines, but do
not ignore the word America. See America(n), New York, Washington. See also
US states, capitals and nicknames
units Downing Street policy unit (l/c), but the Social Exclusion Unit
(initial caps), as it has official status. See Downing Street
universal claims always beware of claiming that something is the first
or last of its kind, or that someone is the first person to ... or the last
surviving member of ... or the oldest inhabitant etc. See ever, first,
superlatives, unique
Universe cap in planetary context, as Sun, Earth, Moon etc, but l/c in
phrases such as “she became the centre of his universe”. See Earth, solar
system
universities cap, and use the correct title, as in Aberystwyth
University, the University of Birmingham, the University of East Anglia, the
University of Sheffield etc; thereafter, the university l/c. Note the
universities (l/c, collectively) of Birmingham, East Anglia and Sheffield.
If in doubt about the proper title, consult The Times Good University Guide or
the Universities UK website. See also Universities UK below
See Cambridge, University of; Imperial College London; London, University of;
Oxford, University of; University of the Arts London; vice-chancellor
Universities UK was formerly the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and
Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom (CVCP)
University College London (no comma; see London University); similarly,
University College Dublin
University of the Arts London comprises six colleges: Camberwell
College of Arts, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Chelsea
College of Art and Design, London College of Communication, London College
of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Art
University of Manchester is the body instituted in October 2004
combining the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST (University of
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology)
university posts at first mention, when given in full with name of
institution, subject etc, cap titles, eg, the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Sheffield, the Chancellor of ... , Pro-Vice-Chancellor,
Pro-Chancellor, Dean, Master, Professor, Reader in Chemistry at the
University of Life, Fellow etc; at subsequent mentions, l/c; eg, Tim
Birkhead, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Sheffield,
said ... ; Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol,
said ... later, the professor said or Professor Birkhead said/Professor
Hutton said etc
unlikeable, unloveable
unmistakable (not one of those with the middle “e”)
unparalleled
unshakeable
"Untouchables" (in Indian caste system), cap and in quotes at
first mention; also known as Dalits
unveil take care with this word, which means to remove a covering from
something, or (by extension) to disclose. It should not be used in phrases
such as unveiling a ship,
or unveiling a flag
up avoid unnecessary use after verbs, as in meet up, rest up, end up.
See down
upbeat, upgrade, upfront
upcoming despite a depressingly increasing number of sightings, prefer
forthcoming or coming soon
upmarket, as downmarket
upon take care with use of up, upon, up on, and on; eg, “The cat jumped
on the floor, upon the mouse, up on the table, then up the tree”
Upper House, Lower House see Politics special section
Uruguay Round (caps), the world trade deal. See Gatt, World Trade
Organisation
US see America(n), United States
USAid note capitals
USSR avoid wherever possible; say Soviet Union instead (and now only in
historical context). See Russia
US Supreme Court note also John Roberts, the (US) Chief Justice, at
first mention; subsequently, Justice Roberts. See Courts special section
utilise almost always prefer use
Utopia, Utopian cap
U-turn is an overworked phrase, especially in the political context. Be
sparing in its use, particularly when only a minor change of policy
direction is involved.
A U-turn results in a reversal of direction
Uzbekistan note the Ferghana (not Fergana) Valley
Last edited: July 9, 2009
