topics
about-us
style-book
simon-heffers-style-notes
5495158
-----
# Style notes 21: June 3 2009

1:03PM BST 10 Jun 2009

Dear Colleagues

My apologies for the gap since the last of these notes: we've all been rather
busy.

First, some changes to what we have done in the past. We need to observe a
distinction between the adjectives Islamic and Islamist. The former relates to
Islam; the latter to Islamic militancy and fundamentalism. So it is not
"Islamic terrorists" but "Islamist terrorists". Also, we should abbreviate the
RAF rank of squadron leader in future as "sqn ldr" and not as before, as this
is consistent with RAF usage. Finally, the additional costs allowance does not
need to be capped (except perhaps in financial terms). We do tend to be rather
liberal with initial caps but there are many instances where we don't need
them, such as with geographical features - the Swat valley, the Niger delta
and the Rocky mountains, for example.

We have been either ignoring or ignorant of the rules for capitalising words
at the beginning of stories. Please refer to the style book entry on p61 for
clarification. There is no need for a colon after a bold kicker. However,
where you use a colon legitimately please be sure that it is followed by a
word beginning with a lower case letter, unless it is a proper noun or the
beginning of a quote. I must also emphasise that when we talk of a 19-year-old
girl it is hyphenated thus, whereas a 19 year-old as a noun has only the one
hyphen.

Homophones continue to be a problem. The latest batch includes sewing crops,
the knave of York Minster (which we, incidentally, decided to call "the York
Minster"), silver-guilt and security grills. We have also had curb for kerb
(not the first time: enough is enough), won for one and broaches for brooches.
Other slips of words were where we wrote of "the ongoing sandal of MPs'
expenses" and a "sceptic tank". We need also to note that pheasants are hung
but men are hanged, and we must stop confusing "ancestor" with "descendant".
We have also confused "homonym" with "homophone". Also, the writer who spoke
of the "enormity" of Jenson Button's victory did not quite mean that.

Since we are not an American newspaper we should not write about forms being
filled out, but of their being filled in. We also still have difficulties with
participles: "Several Japanese tourists filmed the couple for up to 20 minutes
before being arrested" prompted inquiries from readers about what the tourists
had done to deserve being arrested. The distinction between "who" and "whom"
remains important. "Who" is the subject of a clause, "whom" is its object.
Thus it is "No-one knows who sent it" but "no-one knows to whom it was sent".

A brief word about headlines: they should not, in the news pages, pass comment
except with the express permission of the editor, or when on humorous stories.
And we should avoid headlines loaded with tabloid words, especially in the
sports pages. "Chelsea fury as they crash out" was not really becoming of a
broadsheet quality newspaper.

Two other geographical points: Niagara may rhyme with Viagra but it has one
more "a". Rocester and Rochester are two different English towns, one in
Staffordshire, the other in Kent.

Finally, the round-the-world sailor Jesse Martin: when we wrote of "her"
achievements we rather missed the point that "she" is a man.

With best wishes

Simon Heffer

Associate Editor

The Daily Telegraph

[X][1] Share & bookmark

Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter

Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz

[What are these?][2]

  * Share: [Share][1]   [ ][3]   [ ][4]

[Tweet][5]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/simon-heffers-style-
notes/5495158/Style-notes-21-June-3-2009.html

Telegraph

## [Simon Heffer's Style Notes][6]

[X][1] Share & bookmark

Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter

Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz

[What are these?][2]

Share:

  * [ ][1]

  * [ ][3]

  * [ ][4]

  * [Tweet][5]

  * Advertisement

![][7]

Advertisement

[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][8]

###  [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][9]

[![Gil Scott-Heron][10]][9]

Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
on the black American experience.

###  [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][11]

###  [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][12]

###  [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][13]

###  [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][14]

Advertisement

Classified Advertising

  * [Services][15]

  * [Property][16]

  * [Motoring][17]

Loading

[Find your ideal job with Telegraph Jobs][18]

var puffs_8120657 = new Array();