The Times Style Guide: A guide to English usage. Ian Brunskill

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СКАЧАТЬ such as Baftas, Oscars etc should be lower case, eg best actor, best director. Also, note Academy award. See prize

      awayday one word

      Awol absent without leave, not AWOL

      axing no middle e; but try to avoid in sense of cutting jobs, dismissal etc

      ay (yes), aye (ever), Ayes (debate)

Bb

      b (abbreviation for born), no full point, eg b 1906. Likewise d for died: d 1997

      baby boomer (no hyphen) a person born in the postwar demographic baby boom (roughly 1946–64)

       baby-walker

      baccalaureate use anglicised spelling with lower case for general use, but cap in specific context of the International Baccalaureate, taken in some British schools; and note the specifically French examination or degree from which this derives, the Baccalauréat (italic, cap, accent, no final e)

      backache, backbreaking but back pain

      back benches (parliamentary) two words; but backbenchers, backbench (adjectival, as in backbench revolt)

      back burner no hyphen, but be sparing of the cliché “on the back burner”, especially when context renders it idiotic (“Never put an explosive issue on the back burner”)

      backlash overworked word; try to avoid

      backstreet(s) noun or adjective, no hyphen; similarly, backyard

      back-up noun, hyphenate

      bacteria is the plural of bacterium. Bacteria and viruses are different and the terms are not interchangeable. Make sure the terminology is correct. Note that antibiotics are used to treat bacterial but not viral infections

      bail out as in to bail someone out of trouble; also bail water from a boat; but bale out of an aircraft by parachute, to escape. NB bailout (one word, as noun)

      bait see bated

      balk not baulk

      Balkans prefer to Balkan states. This region includes the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, as well as Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and the European part of Turkey

      ball plural in Court Page headlines is dances

      ballgown one word

      balloted like benefited, budgeted etc, has only one t

      Baltic states (lower case states) from north to south, and coincidentally in alphabetical order, they are Estonia (capital Tallinn), Latvia (capital Riga) and Lithuania (Vilnius). Do not use the abbreviated Baltics

      bandana prefer to bandanna

      B&B with caps and closed up around ampersand as abbreviation for bed and breakfast

      banister not bannister

      bank holiday bank holiday Monday etc, lower case

      Bank of England retain cap for clarity in subsequent refs to the Bank

       Bank of Mum and Dad

      bankruptcy in Britain people file a petition for bankruptcy; they do not file for bankruptcy

      baptistry prefer to baptistery

      Bar, the (legal); also cap for the Bar (but not the bars) of the House of Commons and cap in military honours sense, eg DFC and Bar

      barbecue, barbecuing barbeques should be confined to pub menus

      barcode one word

      bar mitzvah lower case, roman; also bat mitzvah for girls

      barony pertains to barons (who are Lord X, never Baron X, except in the formal announcement that a title has been gazetted). Baronetcy to baronets (hereditary titles carrying the prefix Sir, eg Sir Fred Y. The Times does not usually use the Bt suffix except with obituaries). Knighthoods, which also use the title Sir, are not hereditary

      baroque lower case like similar terms

      barter to exchange one thing (or service) for another; not a synonym for bargain or haggle

      basically greatly overworked word that rarely adds anything to a sentence. Always try to avoid

      basis “on a … basis” is a cliché and to be avoided. For “employment on a part-time basis” say “part-time employment”. Other usages are similarly redundant (“on a regular basis” — “regularly”; “on a daily basis” — “daily”; “on a voluntary basis” — “voluntarily”, “willingly”, or “without pay”, depending on context; and so on)

      Basle (Switzerland), not Basel or Bâle. But note, FC Basel, the football team, and Art Basel, the art fair

       Basque country, the

      bated/baited note the difference: bated breath; baited hook; bait as a verb is to persecute, tease or torment (as in bear baiting); bate is the verb to use of a tethered hawk beating its wings and trying to jump from its perch, should you have occasion to write about such a thing

      battalion never batallion. Say the 1st Battalion, the 7th Battalion etc (not First, Seventh)

      battle try to avoid using as a transitive verb as in “The students battled the police …”; use “fought” or “battled against” instead; be wary of using at all (along with similar language) in relation to illness (battle against cancer etc)

       battle cry

      battleship a heavily armoured warship of the largest type, with many large-calibre guns. Beware. Battleship is not synonymous with warship: eg cruisers and destroyers are warships but they are not battleships. Historically, a battleship (line-of-battle ship) was any warship of sufficient size and armament to take her place in the line of battle; in other words, a ship of the line

      BBC no need to spell out as British Broadcasting Corporation, although “the corporation” is a useful alternative in text. Avoid “the Beeb” except, on rare occasions, in columns or commentaries . The BBC is an organisation fond of capitals. Most are unnecessary. СКАЧАТЬ