,
QC, MP, commas each side when
used after name
QE2
Normally spell out Queen Elizabeth 2 at first mention, thereafter QE2 or
simply the ship.
quadriplegia, quadriplegic (not quadra-)
quality press
Prefer broadsheet
quango
(short for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation), no need to
spell out or to quote.
quantum leap
Avoid this cliché wherever possible.
Queen, the
Note the Queen's Speech (to Parliament), capitals; also the Queen's
Birthday Honours.
NB, the Queen is not "introduced" to people; people are
introduced (or even more correctly) presented to, the Queen.
Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
(no commas)
ALWAYS this style at first mention, thereafter the Queen Mother.
Queensberry, Marquess of, and Queensberry Rules
queueing (with middle “e”)
questionnaire
Question Time, Prime Minister's Questions (capitals)
But questions (lower case) to the Prime Minister, Foreign
Secretary, etc.
quicker
Never use as an adverb - always say more quickly. Quicker must be confined
to adjectival comparison, e.g., “he started at a quicker pace”.
quid pro quo
quiz show
As chat show, game show, talk show, etc. (no hyphen)
quotation marks (inverted commas)
The only other use for single inverted commas is quotations within
quotations.
Avoid inverted commas in sentences where they are clearly unnecessary,
e.g., He described the attack as “outrageous”.
See punctuation for when punctuation goes inside or outside
quotation marks.
quotes
Direct quotes should be corrected only to remove the solecisms (syntax
absurdities) and other errors that occur in speech but look silly written
out.
Always take care that quotes are correctly attributed; and especially that
literary or biblical quotations are 100 per cent accurate.
race
References to race should be used only when relevant. The word is often
better replaced by people, nation, group, etc.
racked by doubts, pain, etc., not wracked
RADA (all caps), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
radio
Compounds are hyphenated in the wireless context (e.g., radio-telephone);
but one word when they concern rays (e.g., radioactive,
radioisotope, radiotherapy).
Broadcasting frequencies are measured in megahertz (MHz) and kilohertz
(kHz).
RAF Regiment is a Corps within the Royal Air Force
railways
Write East Coast Main Line, West Coast Main Line,
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now all initial capitals).
rainforest
(one word)
raison d'être (use italics)
Raleigh, Sir Walter (no longer Ralegh)
R&B abbreviation for rhythm and blues
ranging
from
Overworked and often unnecessary phrase.
There must be a scale in which the elements might be ranged: “ranging
from 15 to 25 years” is correct, “a crowd ranging from priests to
golfers” is not.
rarefied, rarefy (not rarified)
rateable
razzmatazz
re-
Whenever possible, run the prefix onto the word it
qualifies, e.g., readmission, remake, rework, etc; but there are two main
classes of exceptions:
Where
the word after re- begins with an “e”, e.g., re-election,
re-emerge, re-examine, re-enter, etc.
Where
there could be serious ambiguity in compounds such as re-creation
(recreation), re- cover (recover), re-dress (redress).
rebut
Means to argue to the contrary, producing evidence.
To refute is to win such an argument.
Neither should be used as a synonym of reject or deny, both of which are
good, straightforward words. Nor should they be used for dispute or
respond to.
reckless (as synonym for rash or foolhardy); NOT
wreckless
record
Never say “set a new record”, “was an all-time record” etc., where
both the qualifiers are tautologous.
recrudescence
Do not confuse with resurgence or revival. It means worsening, in the
sense of reopening wounds or recurring diseases.
redbrick (university)
But a red-brick building
Red Planet (capitals), informal name for Mars
referendum, plural referendums, as with conundrums,
stadiums, forums and most words ending in -um. But note millennia, strata.
refute take care with this word. See rebut
reject see rebut
relatively see comparatively
Religion
remainder avoid as a synonym of the rest
Remembrance Sunday (preferred to Day)
Renaissance, the
But lower case renaissance as synonym of revival or rebirth.
reorganise
repellent (noun or adjective, not repellant)
reportedly
Avoid this slack word, which suggests that the writer is unsure of the
source of the material.
rerun
respect of
Avoid “in respect of” whenever possible; never say “in respect to”.
responsible
People bear responsibility, things do not.
Storms are not responsible for damage; they cause it.
result
in
Avoid this lazy phrase and always find an alternative, such as cause,
bring, create, evoke, lead to, etc.
re-use
One of the re- words where the hyphen is essential as reuse is hideous.
Reveille, like Last Post, is sounded, not played
Revelation,
Book of (not Revelations)
rhinoceroses (plural)
Richter scale
Measures the energy released by an earthquake.
It runs from 0 to 8; say “the earthquake measured 6 on the Richter
scale”.
riffle, riffling
As in flicking through papers or clothes on a rail; rifling only in the
sense of ransacking.
Right, the
Capital in the political context when referring to a group of like-minded
individuals, e.g., “The Right added to John Major's dilemma on the EU”.
But lower case in “the party swung to the right”.
When the Right is qualified, generally keep the adjective lower case,
e.g., the far Right (but note the Religious Right in the US).
Also, the right wing, right-wing contenders, rightwingers.
See Left
rigmarole (not rigamarole)
ring-fence (hyphen)
rip
off (verb), rip-off (noun or adj)
Avoid this cliché except in quotes such as "rip-off Britain".
riverbank (one word)
rivers
Capital in context of River Thames, the Mississippi River (or simply the
Thames, the Mississippi etc.). Similarly, cap estuary
when part of the name.
roadblock,
roadbuilding, roadbuilder, etc.
roads
As tautologous to write “the M5 motorway” as “the A435 road”.
But correct to say “the M40 London to Birmingham motorway”.
Unnecessary to define the M25 as London's orbital motorway, but generally,
define a road geographically unless context is clear.
Robert the Bruce (prefer to Robert Bruce); subsequent
mentions, the Bruce
rock'n'roll
rollerskate, rollercoaster
roll-on, roll-off (as in ferries), abbreviated to ro-ro
Rolls-Royce
Roman Catholic
Roman numerals
Usually no full points; thus Edward VIII, Article XVI, Part II, Psalm
xxiii.
But in official documents, to designate sub-sections, use the points,
e.g., i., ii., iv., etc.
roofs (not rooves)
rooms
Say living room, drawing room, laundry room (no hyphens except when
adjectival, e.g., living-room carpet), but bathroom, bedroom.
royal, royalty
Lower case for royalty but capital the Royal Family. See People
Royal is usually lower case when used adjectivally, as in royal baby,
royal approval, the royal wave, but takes the cap in titles such as Royal
Assent, Royal Collection, Royal Household, Royal Yacht, etc.
Royal Corps of Signals, or Royal Signals
(not Royal Corps of Signallers).
Royal
Military Academy Sandhurst; similarly, Royal Air Force
College Cranwell and Royal Naval College Dartmouth (no
commas)
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI); not Life-Boat
Royal Shakespeare Company (thereafter the RSC)
And Royal Opera House
But generally no need for the Royal with Albert Hall, Festival
Hall, National Theatre.
rubbish
Do not use as a verb.
run-down (adjective), as in decaying or exhausted
rundown (noun) as in briefing
to run down (verb)
running-mate (hyphen)
rush hour (noun)
but rush-hour (adjective, hyphen, as in rush-hour traffic)
Russia
Take care to set the historical context when referring to parts of the
former Soviet Union as Russia to avoid confusion with present day, e.g. Ukraine, Georgia are no longer part of Russia.