gaff is a hook or spar
gaffe is a blunder or indiscretion.
Note to blow the gaff (let out a secret)
gambit
Is a technical term in chess, meaning an opening involving a sacrifice in
return for general advantage.
Thus opening gambit is tautology. Take care with its use as a metaphor,
and use sparingly.
game show, as chat show, quiz show, talk show,
etc. (no hyphens)
Gandhi, Mahatma, Indira, etc. (NEVER Ghandi)
Gatwick
Sufficiently well-known not to need airport in title.
gauge (not guage)
gay
Where possible, use homosexual or lesbian, but gay has become such common
currency that we should avoid looking or sounding pompous in this
context.
GCSE see examinations
GDP, gross domestic product
gelatine
(rather than gelatin)
gender
Is a term of grammar; do not use as a synonym of a person's sex.
general election ALWAYS lower case
General Strike (of 1926) (capitals)
General Synod (of the Church of England), thereafter the
synod.
Gentile(s)
(capital)
geriatric
Does not mean elderly, but is applied to medical treatment for the
elderly, e.g., geriatric hospital.
Never use as a term of abuse.
Germany
Full title is the Federal Republic of Germany.
If referring to the area that was East Germany, say eastern Germany or the
former East Germany; similarly, western Germany or the former West
Germany.
Ossis, Wessis permissible vernacular for inhabitants of the two parts.
When plural, e.g., the two Germanys, use this form, not Germanies.
gerrymander
get, got
Usually a lazy verb for which an alternative
should be sought.
Ghanaian
(not Ghanian)
ghetto
Use only in the sense of an area of enforced or customary segregation, not
as an ethnic neighbourhood, e.g., middle-class district, not ghetto. Note
plural ghettos.
giant-killer, giant-killing
gibe means taunt or sneer
gybe means to shift direction or change course, particularly in
sailing.
Gibraltar (never Gibralter); and note Strait of Gibraltar
(not Straits)
gig is now acceptable for a musical event, as rave
gillie
(rather than ghillie)
gipsy
see gypsy
giveaway (noun or adjective), one word, as takeaway;
but to give away
glamorise, glamorous, but glamour
glasnost
Glorious Twelfth, the (capitals)
gobbledegook
God
Capital when referring to just one, in any religion.
He, His, Him also take capital.
Many gods, use lower case, as in the Greek gods.
godforsaken,
godless (lower case), but God-fearing
godparents, godfather, godmother, godson, goddaughter, godchild
Goebbels, Joseph (not Goebells, etc.)
goer as a suffix, run on as one word, as in churchgoer,
partygoer, theatregoer, etc.
go-kart (use hyphen)
goodbye
gorilla
Gothenburg
(not Göteborg)
Gothic (capital), rather than Gothick
Government
Capitalise all governments, British and overseas, when referring to a
specific one, e.g., “the Government resigned last night”, “the
Argentine Government sent troops”, and specific past administrations
such as “the Heath Government”.
Only lower case when unspecific or one that has yet to be formed, e.g.,
“all the governments since the war”, or “the next Tory/Labour
government would raise pensions”.
Also lower case government in all adjectival contexts, e.g., a government
minister, a government decision, government expenditure.
government departments
Capitalise both when giving full title (e.g., Department of Trade and
Industry), and even when abbreviated, as in Health Department, Education
Department, Trade Department etc. The same applies to ministries, home and
overseas.
Grade II listed, etc.
gram, not gramme; similarly, kilogram; see metric.
grandad, but granddaughter
grassroots (adjective), the grass roots
(noun).
Still a cliché and should be used sparingly
greater or lesser degree lesser is not correct but is
common usage
green belt (lower case), but greenfield sites (similarly
brownfield)
Green Paper (capitals); see also White Paper
Green Party, or the Greens, but green issues,
etc.
grisly means horrifying, repugnant
grizzly means greyish, grizzled, or is a short form of grizzly
bear
grottoes
ground(s)
In the sense of reason, do not use plural unless more than one is given;
e.g., “he gave up his job on the ground of illness”; but “he gave up
his job on the grounds of his failed marriage and illness”.
guerrilla
Beware of loaded terms for advocates of political violence; see terrorist.
guesthouse
guidebook similarly, chequebook, formbook,
stylebook, textbook, formbook, etc.
guinea-pig (hyphen)
Guinness
Note The Guinness Book of Records has The as
part of the title.
Gujarati,
person or language (not Guje-)
Gulf,
the
Avoid the term Persian Gulf as it angers Iraqis and many other Arabs.
gunboat, gunfight, gunfire, gunman, gunpoint, gunshot,
gunsmith but gun dog
gunned down avoid this Americanism; instead say shot dead
gunwales (nautical, not gunwhales)
Gurkhas
guttural (not gutteral)
Gwyn, Nell
Gypsy/gypsy (not gipsy).
Use the capital when referring to a specific group of this semi-nomadic
people, but lower case in the more general sense of somebody constantly on
the move, e.g., “the Gypsies on Epsom Downs threatened to retaliate”;
but “police said they would chase all gypsies from the county”.
The other wandering groups in Britain are the Irish tinkers, who prefer
the name Irish travellers; the Scottish tinkers
(or tinklers); and the hippies, whom we can call New Age
travellers; travellers is a useful generic term.
haemorrhage
Means heavy and potentially dangerous bleeding, not simply bleeding.
Beware of misuse in metaphor.
Hague, The
hairdresser, hairdressing, hairbrush, haircut, hairdryer, hairpin,
hairstyle
Haiti, Haitian
Note that Haiti must never be described
as an island; it is joined to the Dominican Republic and together they
constitute the island of Hispaniola.
haj, pilgrimage to Mecca (lower case)
halfway (no hyphen), but half-hearted
handheld (computers etc.), as desktop, laptop, palmtop,
etc
Hallowe'en
handmade,
handbuilt
(no hyphen)
handout (as a noun, no hyphen)
hangar (aircraft)
hanger (clothes)
hanged “The murderer was hanged at dawn” - NEVER
hung.
Clothes are hung on a washing line or a hanger.
harass, harassment
hardcore
(one word as adjective, e.g., hardcore pornography); but the hard core of
the rebels (two words as noun); similarly, hard core (rubble).
hardline (adjective), but taking a hard line
Harley-Davidson (hyphenate)
Harrods (no apostrophe)
harvest festival (lower case)
Hawaiian
hay fever (no hyphen)
headache
Avoid as a synonym of difficulty
head-butt (noun or verb)
headhunt, headhunting etc (no hyphens)
headmaster, headmistress
Note that head teacher is two words except when part of
the designated title.
headroom (one word), as elbowroom, legroom
heads of state
When these are royals, such as King Abdullah of Jordan, after the first
mention refer to them as the King (capital).
The capital at subsequent mentions applies only to overseas heads of state
and the British Royal Family; i.e., Prince B. of Thailand (a minor royal)
would become the prince thereafter.
healthcare
(one word)
heartbroken, heartbreaking, heartfelt, heartstrings, but
hyphenate heart-rending, heart-throb
Heathrow sufficiently well-known not to need airport in
title.
Heaven, Hell capital in religious context only; see Devil
heavenly bodies
Capitalise the proper names of planets, stars, constellations, etc: Venus,
Arcturus, the Plough, Aries
For comets, lower case the word comet in, for example, Halley's
comet.
The Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the Universe are capped in their planetary
or astronomical sense.
Use lower case for the adjectives lunar and solar, but cap Martian both
adjectivally and as a noun.
Heep, Uriah (not Heap)
Hell's Angels
help to (plus verb), e.g., “he helped to
make the cake” (not “he helped make the cake”)
hemisphere, northern, southern, eastern, western
heraldry
Do not confuse crests with coats of arms.
Most arms consist of a shield and a crest; crests are the topmost part of
the coat of arms (think of the crest of a bird or a wave).
Herzegovina
(as in Bosnia-Herzegovina), not Hercegovina.
Hibernian
Means of or concerning Ireland, NOT Scotland - despite the Edinburgh
football club of that name.
hiccup (not hiccough)
high acceptable usage as a noun, e.g., “she was on a
high”.
But avoid clichés such as all-time high and hits new high.
highbrow, lowbrow
High Commissioner (with capitals) when specific, e.g.,
the Indian High Commissioner; thereafter, the high commissioner.
Remember that Commonwealth countries and the UK have high commissioners
serving in high commissions in each other's countries, not ambassadors
serving in embassies.
High Court
highfalutin
high-flyer
High Sheriff (capitals) when specific
high street
Lower case and no hyphen in general sense, as in high street prices.
But capitals in specifics, e.g., Putney High Street.
high-tech (adjective)
Hindi
For language context (the Hindi language)
But use Hindu for religious or ethnic contexts (an
adherent to Hinduism, or relating to Hinduism).
hippy, hippies nowadays as old-fashioned as beatniks; see
Gypsy
historic, historical
Prefer an historic event rather than a historic; see a, an.
Also, take care with use of historical and historic; the former can refer
only to past history, while the latter can refer to a contemporary event
likely to be of long-term significance.
But an historic building is now in common usage as a synonym of an old
building.
hitlist, hitman (now no hyphens)
HIV
Is a virus, NOT a disease. Do not write HIV virus (tautology), but use a
phrase such as HIV- infected.
hoards are stocks or stores (of treasure, for example);
to hoard is to amass and store food, money, etc;
hordes are large groups or gangs (of wild beasts, etc.)
Hogmanay (capital)
hoi polloi do not use "the" (it means, literally,
"the many").
holidaymaker
(one word)
Holy Communion (capitals)
Holy Grail (capitals)
Home Counties, the (capitals)
home-made (hyphenate)
homoeopathy
(not the American homeopathy)
homogeneous means having parts all of the same kind
homogenous means similar owing to common descent
homosexual see gay
Hong Kong
honours
People are appointed Privy Counsellor, Baronet,
KBE, CBE, OBE, MBE, etc; never say they were made, received, were
awarded, or got the OBE, etc.
Peers and above (viscounts etc.) are created,
not appointed, etc.
At investitures, those honoured receive the insignia of the award, not the
award itself. Normally omit honours and decorations after names, but the
following can be used where relevant; KG, KT, VC, GC, OM, CH, MP, QC, RA,
FRS, etc.
honours
lists see New Year Honours
Hoover is a trade name so must be capped
Generally, use vacuum cleaner, or to vacuum
Horse Guards Parade
horse race/racing two words
But racing alone is
preferable.
horticulturist (not horticulturalist)
host
Avoid using as a verb as in “Arsenal will host Aston Villa on
Saturday”; use play host to instead. But a person can
host an event.
hotline (one word); similarly, helpline
hotpants (one word)
hot-water bottle (note hyphen)
however
When used in the sense of nevertheless, always needs a comma after it (and
before, when in the middle of a sentence, e.g., “It was said, however,
that the agent ...”)
human
beings, rather than just humans
human rights
European Convention on Human Rights; European Court of Human Rights;
European Commission of Human Rights; all established under the aegis of
the Council of Europe, not the European Union (or EC).
Hutus, Tutsis
The plural of the Rwandan tribes (not simply Hutu, Tutsi)
hyphens
Generally be sparing with hyphens and run together words where the sense
suggests and where they look familiar and right; e.g., blacklist,
businessman, goldmine, knockout, intercontinental, motorcycle, takeover,
and walkover.
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, co-operate, re-establish.
Hyphenate generally in composites where the same two letters come
together, e.g., film-makers, but an exception should be
made for double r in the middle: override, overrule (not
over-ride etc), and note granddaughter and goddaughter.
Always use a hyphen rather than a slash (/) in dates etc. 1982-83 (not
1982/83)
hypothermia
too cold
hyperthermia too hot