F

facelift is overworked so use sparingly in the metaphorical sense. Obviously acceptable in its cosmetic sense.

face painting two words, no hyphen for verb or noun.

fair trade l/c unless it is the offical organisation Fairtrade.

Far East encompasses China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Taiwan.

farther is applied only to distance (literal or figurative) eg "nothing could be farther from the truth". Further means in addition to, another, eg "a further point".

father use rather than "dad".

Father as in priest. See special sections.

fed up with, not fed up of.

feel this is not a subsitute for "think". Don’t write: "He felt the plan was a good one."

female/male use woman/man.

festivals Brighton Festival and Festival Fringe but l/c if you are using just "the festival" or "the fringe” in subsequent mentions.

fewer of numbers or quantity (fewer people, fewer goals). Less is of size (less meat).

fiancé is a man, fiancée a woman.

firefighter one word.

fire service it’s East (West) Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.

first aid two words, no hyphen.

first-hand adjective and adverb.

First World War and Second World War.

floodgate

floodlight

flyover the noun is one word.

fly-tip, fly-tipper

focused not focussed.

foot-and-mouth disease l/c and hyphenated.

forces see special sections.

for ever means always. Forever (one word) means continuously.

Formula 1 with a number.

four-letter words avoid these and all swear words. If in doubt, eg in court cases where it could be deemed vital, always consult the editor/deputy editor.

fractions do not mix fractions and decimals in the same story. Compounds such as half-hour, half-dozen take a hyphen. Half an hour, half a dozen do not. Use hyphens when fractions are adjectival – "two-thirds full" – but not as nouns – "two thirds of the bus was empty".

free not "for free", eg People will be able to get into the Royal Pavilion free on Monday.

Freemasons cap as in Mason.

front bench l/c. One word when it is adjectival and also "frontbenchers".

fundholders as in NHS, no hyphen.

fundraising, fundraiser no hyphen.

further see farther.

G

Gatwick not Gatwick Airport.

gay an adjective not a noun. Do not write "a gay" or "gays". Lesbian is a noun but “gay woman” is fine too. When talking about the gay community, we would say the lesbian, gay and bisexual community in the first instance then LGB. When talking about transgendered people too, it would be the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, then LGBT. Note, transgender means everything from a cross dresser to a drag queen or transsexual who may be pre or post op.

general election l/c.

get avoid this word, especially in headlines. It’s a lazy verb and an alternative should be found.

gypsy not gipsy.

Girl Guides caps, also Scouts, Brownies.

glamorous

Government cap up the British Government but l/c foreign, past or local governments.

Government departments cap when giving full title (Department of Trade and Industry) and abbreviations (Health Department).

Grade I, Grade II no need to hyphenate "a Grade I listed building".

graffiti

grams not grammes

granddaughter note the double d. Use grandfather rather than granddad but if necessary in a quote it is double d.

The Grand in Brighton. It’s not the Grand Hotel.

green belt l/c.

Green Party or Greens but green issues.

H

hackney carriage l/c

half-term

half-time

halfway

half-hearted

half-marathon

Halloween u/c, no apostrophe.

handout noun, no hyphen.

handover noun but to hand over.

hanged the murderer was hanged, not hung.

hang-glider the person driving it is a hang-glider pilot.

harass, harassment

hardline adjective but taking a hard line.

Harrods no apostrophe.

Harveys the Lewes brewery has no apostrophe.

hay fever no hyphen.

headache one word but avoid as a synonym for difficulty or problem.

head-butt noun or verb.

headlines words to avoid include city, council, town, local, get and slang such as booze, kids, cops.

headteacher one word like headmaster/headmistress. You can often use head.

health care two words like child care, social care, personal care. See special sections.

helpline

heyday

hiccup not hiccough.

High Court

high street l/c in retail/banking/general sense.

high-tech/hi-tech avoid.

hike a long walk, don't use "price hike" say "price rise".

historic it’s a historic building, not an historic building.

HIV a virus not a disease. It does not invariably lead to Aids. Avoid saying HIV (or Aids) victims. Sufferers is acceptable.

HM Revenue and Customs we drop the HM. After first mention, call it "the Revenue" or "Customs" depending on the subject. Note the taxman, tax staff or tax officials (l/c) and customs officers (l/c).

holidaymakers

homebuyers

homeowners

honours people are appointed or made Privy Counsellor, Baronet, KBE, CBE, OBE, MBE, not awarded or given. Peers (barons and baronesses, earls, viscounts, marquesses and dukes) are created.

hoodie not hoody.

hospitals see special sections.

hot spot two words.

humous

humorous

hyphens as a general rule, avoid hyphens unless the meaning requires them. Run together words where the sense suggests and where they look right eg businessman, goldmine, motorcycle. A few guidelines: 1. Usually run together prefixes except where the last letter of the prefix is the same as the first letter of the word to which it attaches – prearrange, postwar, prewar, nonconformist but pre-empt, co-ordinate, re-establish.
2. Hyphenate generally in composites where the same two letters come together eg film-makers. An exception is for double r – override, overrule.
3. Usually hyphenate compound adjectives eg a three-year-old girl, mother-of-three Paula Smith. Note, Paula Smith is a mother of three (no hyphens).

I

ice cream

ice-skating hyphen.

ill-health hyphen.

impacted on do not use this Americanism.

impresario

in people live in streets, not on them. Similarly, shops etc are in streets, not on them.

include do not confuse with comprise. "Breakfast includes toast and jam" but "breakfast comprises cereals, toast, butter, jam and coffee" ie where the full list of elements is given. Note, it is "comprises", not "comprises of".

Independent councillor/candidate is capped.

Indian refers to natives of India only. Americans Indians should be so called.

indispensable not indispensible.

Industrial Revolution the (caps).

initials where totally familiar there is no need to spell out at first mention eg BBC, TUC, RSPCA, NSPCC. Otherwise, usually give name in full and follow it by the initials in parentheses ONLY if you are mentioning it in the story again. Sometimes a word such as "the organisation" or "the group" is preferable to avoid a mass of initials. Where the initials can be spoken as a word, we write them with an initial cap then l/c eg Aids, Nato, Mind. See special sections.

innocuous

inoculate

inpatients and outpatients, no hyphen.

inquests see special sections.

inquire/inquiry not enquire/enquiry.

install but instalment.

installation

instil

insure you insure against risk and assure your life. Ensure means to make certain.

interred means buried, Interned means imprisoned.

into usually one word but note on to, two words (not onto).

inverted commas should be used sparingly. They are usually unnecessary in phrases such as "He said the idea was "rubbish" and should be scrapped".

iPod

Ireland the two parts should be called the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland or Ulster.

-ise, -isation avoid the -ize construction in almost all cases (eg apologise, televise).

Islam is the religion of Muslims. Islamic is interchangeable with Muslim as the adjective but normally use Islamic with religion and fundamentalism, Muslim with architecture, politics etc.

it’s and its the first is short for it is (and not it has) and its is possessive.

J

Jacuzzi is a trade name so cap. If in doubt, use whirlpool bath.

Jeep is proprietary and should be capped.

Jehovah’s Witness

Jekyll and Hyde

jet see aircraft.

jet lag two words.

jet ski noun. The verb is jet-ski.

jeweller, jewellery

jobcentre l/c in general sense but Brighton Jobcentre.

jobseeker’s allowance

job titles the general rule is for the most senior, high-profile jobs we should cap at first mention with the name then l/c. Thus Archbishop and church titles, diplomatic and political leaders, civic leaders, academic titles, police ranks, military titles would be capped at first mention then, usually, l/c. Chairman, director, managing director, general secretary etc are l/c.

John o’Groat’s

joyrider acceptable but use sparingly. An alternative is young car thief.

jubilee strictly a 50th anniversary but can be used for a periodic celebration, especially of royalty. It is l/c.

judges see special section on courts.

judgment no middle "e".

junction write in full for motorway exits, eg junction nine, junction 23.

K

karaoke

Kemp Town but Kemptown is the political constituency.

Key Stage 3 caps and numeral.

kick-boxing noun.

kick-off noun but the verb is to kick off.

kids do not use this slang term in copy or headlines.

kilogram not kilogramme. The abbreviation is kg as in 7kg, 10kg, no space. See weights and measurements.

kilometres per hour abbreviation is km/h.

Kimberly-Clark

King Alfred Leisure Centre at first mention then the King Alfred.

King’s College London apostrophe, no comma.

King’s Cross

King’s Lynn

King’s Road in Brighton and London.

knockout noun but verb is to knock out.

knowledgeable

Koran preceded by "the", capped (like the Bible).

kung fu