a/an: an hour, heir; a hotel, historian (if the H is pronounced, use A).
Aborigine: note the cap A. Aboriginal in its specific use to describe the native Australian people, should also be capped.
abdicate, abnegate and abrogate all have different meanings. The first is to renounce high responsibilities; the second to deny oneself or someone else something; the third to abolish by an official proclamation. See also prevaricate.
accents: Accents should be used on all foreign proper names (including anglicised names taking an accent - eg John Le Carré) and on all foreign words that have passed into regular English usage - for example, café and pâté. If quoting a foreign phrase that includes a word with an accent, use it. Avoid accents in headlines: they do not need to be used on capital letters (see also italics).
accessary for a person (after the fact, for example); accessory for a thing.
acid house parties
across: the slang usage of someone "being across" something to suggest they are cognisant of it is banned.
Act (law) takes a cap at every mention. So does a parliamentary Bill.
actress is the term we use for a female actor.
AD precedes the year (AD 1066). It follows centuries (fourth century AD), although centuries are assumed to be AD unless BC is used.
addresses: the point of giving an address is usually to give the reader an idea of relative geography. If the person concerned lives in a small town it is sufficient to name that town and its county. In the case of a village it should be related to the nearest well-known town. If he or she lives in a large town or city use district names rather than boroughs or postal numbers. Do not presume that people outside London know where, for example, Eltham is. If it is impossible to clarify in an indirect reference, use Eltham, south-east London. Do not give house numbers or names unless there is a compelling reason or the address is famous or notorious (10 Downing Street, 10 Rillington Place).
The words Street, Road, Avenue etc are printed in full and capped.
adjournment line: in court cases this is now "The case/trial/hearing continues".
adrenalin has no "e" on the end.
adultery requires one party to be married. Anything else is merely fornication.
adverbs are the necessary accompaniment of verbs. One does not do something quick, one does it quickly; one does not sell something cheap, one sells it cheaply; and so on.
advertisement, never ad. Advert is allowed when essential in heads.
adviser but advisory.
Aertex: trade name.
AEW (Airborne Early Warning) but Awacs (Airborne Warning and Control System). In full or with explanation at first mention.
Afrikaner for the people and culture; Afrikaans for the language.
ageing/ ageist: not aging/ agist.
Agence France Presse.
ages: John Smith, 25, not John Smith, aged 25, but 25-year-old John Smith or John Smith, who is 25, are more appealing in narratives or descriptive writing. Avoid Mary Smith, nine, and John Smith, two months. Whereas the adjectival usage is "25-year-old John Smith", the nominal usage is "John Smith, a 25 year-old".
Aids: initial cap only. Since it is a condition rather than a disease, write "died of an Aids-related condition", not "died of Aids".
aircraft, which covers helicopters and airships, is the preferred usage, but planes is acceptable in headlines. Where possible be precise: airliner, fighter, trainer. Aircraft types: BAe-lll, DC-lO, F-lll, F-5E, Tu-144, MiG-21. But Boeing 727, Boeing 747-400. The use of hyphens between letters and figures is needed for consistency, although the use of hyphens by manufacturers follows no set pattern. Tornado becomes Tornados in the plural; the cap differentiates the name from the wind and enables us to follow RAF style. Concorde.
Airfix: trade name.
Albany, Piccadilly, not The Albany.
A-level: lc l
alibi is not an excuse; it means proof of being elsewhere.
al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya: Egyptian terrorist group.
allies and allied take caps only in established contemporary usages such as Allied Forces, in historical usage (the Allied Powers) or in titles (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe, which is normally abbreviated to Shape). The Nato allies, Britain's allies.
alleged is not a magic incantation against libel and contempt of court. It means said or claimed, but, because of its criminal connotations, can be unfair when used in reporting controversies. Alleged and kindred words are often redundant as in "Police charged him with allegedly murdering..."
allelulia: hallelujah is preferred.
all-time high: see tautology. Avoid.
allude to: it means to speak of something without mentioning it directly.
alright is an abomination. It is all right.
alsatian/ Alsatian: lc dogs, cap people.
alternatives: there can only ever be two. Where there is a choice of three or more, they are options.
amaze, amazing: avoid.
Americanisms. Do not use an Americanism when there is a reasonable word of our own: i.e. candidates "stand" for office, they do not "run". But "running mate" is permitted in American election stories. American courts do not contain witness boxes, so witness stand is acceptable in reports of American trials.
People live "in" not "on" a street. "Movie" is allowed in stories about the US industry... otherwise use "film". We do things "at" the weekend, not "on" it.
amok: no Daily Telegraph style book would be complete without the observation that only Malays can run amok. See also berserk.
ancestor: an earlier generation of a family. The opposite is descendant.
Andrews liver salts: St Andrews University.
anger: use sparingly.
angler/fisherman: the difference between the pleasure fisherman and the professional is worth pointing out when writing about people missing off the coast. In one case we may be talking about two men in a dinghy and in the other about an ocean-going trawler.
animals: these are neuter even if we are well aware of their gender. Anthropomorphism has no place in balanced news reporting.
anonymous quotes: under the parliamentary lobby system these are, regrettably, sometimes inevitable. In other circumstances they should be avoided wherever possible.
An Phoblacht: Sinn Fein/IRA newspaper.
anticipate is not a synonym for expect; it conveys the meaning of acting in expectation of an event. A reporter who expects to be sent to Zaire may anticipate the assignment by buying tropical clothes. A couple who anticipate marriage may, for instance, open a joint bank account.
any more/anymore: we do not want any more errors in the newspaper; we will not put up with this anymore.
apostrophes should not be used in shortened words that have ceased to be regarded as slang or informal such as "flu" and "cello". "Phone" is acceptable for headlines but keep "telephone" in text. The apostrophe is used to indicate the omission of letters, and in plural forms of lower case letters standing alone (crossing the i's and dotting the t's).
appeal, as a verb, requires the preposition "against": only Americans appeal verdicts and sentences; we appeal against them.
aqueduct, not aquaduct
Aran: one r for knitwear
arc lamps: outmoded. Use TV lights, floodlights, searchlights, as appropriate.
Argentina: Argentine for the citizen and the adjective, not Argentinian
Argyll: the county
Armed Forces: uc if British
artefact, not artifact.
arts: to protect the paper, criticism should refer to the performance rather than the performer. It is safer to say that, on a particular night, an actor did not display the qualities demanded by a role than to say that he is incapable of playing it. Comment must be fair - not inspired by malice - and "on a matter of public interest", which means that discussion of the subject benefits the public, not merely that it satisfies curiosity. Critics and reviewers have as much right as anyone else to express honestly held opinions - but no more. In law no additional rights are conferred on them because they are invited to attend performances or receive books "for favour of review". Conversely the freedom to comment is not restricted by the lack of free tickets.
ASB: Alternative Service Book
assume in an abstract sense is to take something for granted, presume is to make a supposition on the basis of probability.
assure lives, insure property.
Asprey: the jewellers
as to, as in "as to what", "as to which", etc is pointless and is banned.
at a point or a village, in an area, town or city
Attorney General: no hyphen
autarchy: absolute sovereignty
author is a noun. The American habit of using it as a verb is to be studiously avoided.
Ayatollah Khomenei (dead), Khamenei (living)
axe: this is an implement used for chopping wood and a weapon of choice for certain murderers. It is not a verb. While the usage may just about be tolerated in headlines, bear in mind that if someone is axed they have been sacked, if spending is axed it has been cut and if a television programme is axed it is dropped.