Q
Queen, the cap.
Queen’s Road, Queen’s Park etc (Brighton) note the apostrophe.
Question Time, Prime Minister’s Questions caps, but note "questions to the Prime Minister" is l/c.
quotation marks use single quotes in headlines, straps and captions. The other use for single inverted commas is quotations within quotations. Remember punctuation marks go inside the inverted commas if they relate to the words quoted, outside if they relate to the main sentence. Avoid them in sentences where they are clearly unnecessary eg He described the attack as "outrageous".
R
racecourse, racehorse, racetrack
Race For Life note caps.
racquet for tennis, not racket.
Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 use figures.
rainforest one word.
ram-raid, ram-raiders the noun is hyphenated.
Range Rover caps, no hyphen (also Land Rover).
ranks spell out at first mention then abbreviate without full points. An exception is PC which is used from first reference. See special sections.
re- whenever possible, run the prefix on to the word it qualifies eg readmission, remake, rework. There are two main exceptions where you should use a hyphen: 1. where the word begins with an e, for example re-examine, re-enter and 2. where there could be ambiguity, for example re-creation (recreation), re-cover (recover), re-form (reform).
receive people do not receive injuries, they are injured. Do not say someone "received a broken leg" say they "broke a leg".
record do not say "set a new record" or "set an all-time record" – both qualifiers are tautologous.
rector see special sections.
redbrick university but a red-brick building.
Regency cap.
Regent’s Park in London.
register office not registry office.
rein do not confuse with reign or rain.
report l/c in titles of official documents.
republican l/c except when in an official name such as the Republican Party and US Republican candidate.
responsible people bear responsibility, things do not. Storms are not responsible for damage, they cause it.
restaurateur not restauranteur.
Reverend use the Rev with full name at first mention, the Rev Paul Smith or the Very Rev Paul Smith (remember to use "the") then it is Mr Jones. See special sections.
revolutionary new do not use this cliche.
Richter scale measures the energy released by earthquakes. It runs from 0 to 8. It is fairly meaningless to most people so you need to qualify it by describing damage caused.
Right cap in the political context (see Left).
roadblock
roads it is tautologous to write the M23 motorway but correct to say the M40 London to Birmingham motorway.
roadworks
rock ’n’ roll note apostrophes and spaces.
roll-on, roll-off as in ferries (abbreviated to ro-ro).
Rolls-Royce
Roman Catholic see special sections.
Romania not Rumania.
rottweiler l/c. See dogs.
royal, royalty l/c (royal wave, royal baby, royal approval) but cap the Royal Family. Cap the Queen but only cap the others when using full name as in Prince Charles (then the prince), the Princess Royal (then the princess), the Duke of Edinburgh (then the duke). It’s not essential to use their own full titles but is sometimes easier eg Prince Edward and his wife would be referred to as the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution then RNLI.
Royal Shakespeare Company then the RSC. Also the Royal Opera House but no need for royal with the Albert Hall, Festival Hall, National Theatre.
run-down hyphenate the adjective.
rushed to hospital avoid this cliché. Say simply "taken to" or "driven to".
rush hour
S
Sainsbury’s
sat do not confuse with sitting. It's "He was sitting at the table" not "he was sat at the table".
St Bartholomew’s Church
St John Ambulance not St John’s.
St Leonards no apostrophe.
St Thomas’ Hospital London.
Savile Row
Savile, Jimmy
scars do not heal, even metaphorically. Wounds heal, scars remain.
schoolchildren one word. Also schoolboy, schoolgirl but school-leaver.
schools see special sections. Note school years take figures as in Year 7, Year 3.
scientific measures no points or spaces and no s in plural eg 25km, 25g, 25m. Only abbreviate mile to m in mph and mpg. Beware of using m for million or miles when it might be taken for metres. Note we use imperial measurements for distances and metric for weights, except people (style for this is 10st 3lb).
Scotch the whisky. Do not use as a substitute for the the adjectives Scottish and Scots but note Scotch broth, Scotch mist, Scotch egg, Scotch pine and Scotch terrier.
Scots the people are Scots, not Scotch.
Scottish adjective.
Scottish Nationalist Party (then SNP) but a Scottish nationalist.
Scouts capped, as are Guides, Brownies, Sea Cadets etc.
seasons l/c spring, summer, autumn, winter.
seatbelt
second-hand
Second World War and First World War.
seize
Selfridges
sell not sell off.
Sellotape is a trade name.
set to do not use this meaningless phrase.
sewage, sewerage the sewerage is the system of pipes, sewage is what goes through them.
sex offenders' register
Shadow political. Cap in all cases eg Shadow Cabinet, Shadow Environment Secretary etc. See special sections.
Shakespearean not Shakespearian.
shear do not confuse with sheer.
shopkeeper also shopowner, shopfront, shoplift etc but note shop assistant, shop steward.
Shoreham Port note caps but it’s Shoreham harbour (l/c).
shortlist
showjumping
siege
site of special scientific interest (l/c), then SSSI.
situation avoid wherever possible. Phrases such as "crisis situation", "ongoing situation" are banned.
sixth-formers
skilful not skillful.
slang avoid. We do not say kids, booze, mum, dad, cops, gobsmacked etc etc.
soccer avoid this Americanism.
social socialist as with communism, communist, it’s best to cap only when in a specific party context.
Solent, the l/c the.
Sotheby’s
south see compass points for when to cap.
South Coast caps but note "coast" on its own is l/c.
South Downs capped. Also the Downs but note downland.
South East no hyphen.
South East England Development Agency, then Seeda.
South East England Regional Assembly at first mention, then Seera. Also, South East England Development Agency, then Seeda.
Speaker initial cap as in Speaker of the House of Commons.
special overworked and usually unnecessary. Don’t write “Paul Smith was given a special award..." unless it really was special.
Special Branch caps but no "the".
spelt not spelled. Note misspelt.
Spielberg, Steven
spilt not spilled.
split infinitives avoid except in famous quotes such as "to boldly go...".
spokesman, spokeswoman never spokesperson.
SSSI site of special scientific interest (l/c).
Stansted airport not Stanstead.
station u/c full titles as in Brighton Station (rail), Haywards Heath Fire Station, Hove Police Station.
stationary means not moving. Stationery is writing materials.
Sterling cap when referring to money.
Stock Exchange caps for London and New York. Note l/c stock market.
storytelling one word.
submarine is always a boat, not a ship.
such as do not confuse with "like".
suffer write actively, not passively ie "He broke his leg" not "He suffered a broken leg".
summon the verb is to summon, the noun is a summons (plural summonses). A person is summoned to appear before a tribunal etc but a person in receipt of a specific summons can be said to have been summonsed.
Sun like moon and earth, cap only in a planetary or astronomical sense.
superlatives beware of saying anything is the first, the biggest, the best etc without firm evidence.
supervisor not superviser.
swap not swop.
swearing see four-letter words.
synod l/c on its own but cap General Synod. See special sections.
T
tailback
takeaway meals but to take away.
takeover noun but to take over is the verb.
take place note accidents do not take place, they happen.
Taliban
targeted
Tarmac is a trade name.
task force
tattoos, tattooed, tattooing
taxman one word as colloquialism for the Revenue.
taxpayer one word. Note council taxpayer.
teams normally plural eg Albion were disappointed. Note hyphen in team-mates.
teatime
teetotal
telephone numbers keep spacing to a minimum. Write London numbers thus: 0207 123 1234. Other examples are: 0800 555111 (not 0800 555 111), 0845 6070999 (not 0845 60 70 999).
temperatures use 30C (86F). We must still show the Fahrenheit equivalent in brackets. For minus temperatures, spell it out eg minus 5C (23F).
tenses watch these carefully, particularly in reported speech eg Paul Smith said drivers were (not are) banned from the seafront.
that usually superfluous eg He said that it was time that things changed.
Theatre Royal Brighton at first mention but the Theatre Royal (capped) or the theatre (l/c) is acceptable thereafter.
Third World use developing world instead.
times no spaces or points eg 7pm, 6.30am, 5.15pm. Note it’s noon and midnight not 12pm or 12am. Times for races etc are written thus: 3hrs 4mins 36secs or 23mins 10secs.
titles of books, films, TV programmes, songs etc should be capped fully eg I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! The Lord Of The Rings.
tons use this rather than tonnes.
town halls cap for full title eg Brighton Town Hall, otherwise l/c.
Trade Descriptions Act
trade names many are in common use but must be given a capital letter eg Biro, Dictaphone, Hoover, Jeep, Land Rover, Tannoy, Tarmac, Thermos. Always check.
trade unions is plural, not trades unions but note Trades Union Congress (TUC).
tranquilliser
transatlantic
Triangle, The in Burgess Hill. Note caps.
trolley the plural is trolleys.
troop an assembled company but it's a troupe of actors etc. Note, trooping the colour.
try to the verb try must be followed by "to" before the next verb, never "and". It is "I will try to cross the road" not "I will try and cross the road".
T-shirt
Tube cap when talking about the London Underground.
tuk-tuks but the company is TucTuc Ltd.
TV channels BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, Five, ITV 1, ITV 2 etc.