155 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
155 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
topics
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about-us
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style-book
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simon-heffers-style-notes
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4176430
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-----
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# Style notes 9: Nov 27 2008
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3:32PM GMT 27 Nov 2008
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Dear Colleagues
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I know that in these classless times, with socialism red in tooth and claw
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once more on the rampage, correct forms of address can seem rather a bore.
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However, yet again we have had a Lady given her wrong title, and this is
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starting to become irritating. Let me be precise. The wife of a knight, a
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baronet, or a peer of any degree except a dukedom is Lady Bloggs. Lady Sarah
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Bloggs must be the daughter of an earl, a marquess or a duke. Perhaps you
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should recite this in the small hours in order to help induce sleep. We also
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noted the other day that a knight had been ennobled thanks to his knighthood.
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A knighthood does not confer nobility on the recipient: only a peerage can do
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that.
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For search engine purposes we have started to call Bombay "Mumbai" on the
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internet. In the paper this should remain Bombay, following style. There are
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many reasons for this, not the least of which being that if we were to have a
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standard of using local names for cities we should have to write about
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Firenze, Milano, Roma, and heaven knows what when it comes to Poland and
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various parts of the former Soviet empire.
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Favourite among this week's literals was someone appearing on a "shat show".
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It is a matter of taste whether the initial consonant, or the vowel, was
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wrong. The verbs forego and forgo (the style book will tell you the
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difference) do not require an "e" at the end. We also managed to write "focal"
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where we meant "vocal". Other literals seemed to highlight our difficulties
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with geography. There is apparently a benighted African country called
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Solamlia, and a place in California called Beverley Hills, where no doubt the
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actress Meryl Steep lives. The less said about Boris Johnson's plans "to cut
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red rape", the better.
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Can I remind you about the difference between practice as a noun and practise
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as a verb? Also, there is quite a difference between affecting and effecting
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something. We might try to master the difference between something that is
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straitened, and something that is straightened; and between an omission and an
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admission. Also, please note that "rubbish" is not an adjective, and that
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"neither" takes a singular verb. Since we do not yet live in America we appeal
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against a verdict, we do not appeal it.
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There have been some interesting factual errors. One or two of our Mormon
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readers complained that we did not correctly refer to the Church of Jesus
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Christ of Latter Day Saints, but left the Son of God out of the title. Please
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refrain from doing that in future. We put the village where a young girl had
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died in Suffolk when it was in Sussex, which caused more distress to some of
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her friends. We confused Tangiers with Tierra del Fuego, putting the former at
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the point where the Pacific and Atlantic meet; no O level geography there
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either. We confused inches and centimetres in talking of snowfall: our readers
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much prefer inches, so stick to them as prescribed in the style book. We also
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managed to confuse a temperature of 21 degrees Fahrenheit with one of -21
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degrees Fahrenheit, which is when polar bears start roaming. We also confused
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amyl nitrate, an additive to diesel, with amyl nitrite, a recreational drug
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for the oversexed. I am told the former is quite definitely an appetite
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suppressant.
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Can we please avoid promiscuous use of the adjective "brilliant" to describe
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various aspects of our output? It is very tabloid, and the readers will be the
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judge of whether something is brilliant or not.
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There are still a few dictionaries left if anyone wants one. Please email Emma
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Hartley, the style book editor.
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Yours ever
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Simon Heffer
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Associate Editor
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The Daily Telegraph
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[Tweet][5]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/simon-heffers-style-
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notes/4176430/Style-notes-9-Nov-27-2008.html
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Telegraph
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## [Simon Heffer's Style Notes][6]
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[What are these?][2]
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Share:
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* [ ][1]
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* [ ][3]
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* [ ][4]
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* [Tweet][5]
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* Advertisement
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![][7]
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][8]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][9]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][11]
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### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][13]
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