UK
Acceptable abbreviation for United Kingdom, but be careful that it is
strictly applicable.
ultimate use sparingly.
Ultimate limit means limit.
ultimatums (not ultimata)
ultraviolet
unchristian (lower case)
uncoordinated
(but co-ordinate)
under-age (hyphenated, as over-age)
underestimate
underreact
undervalue
underwater
One word as adjective, e.g., underwater exploration; but two words as
adverb, e.g., the couple were married under water.
under way
(ALWAYS two words)
Union Jack
Except in most naval and some ceremonial contexts, when Union
Flag is correct.
unique
Means only one, having no like or equal.
Do not use except in this specific sense.
Phrases such as very unique, even more unique, are thus nonsense and are
banned.
unitary authorities
Since the abolition of Avon, Humberside and Cleveland, plus wholesale
reorganisation of Welsh and Scottish local government, we should take care
how we locate towns in these areas.
No problem to use the old names accurately in a historical context.
United Nations, or the UN
Spell out at first mention where possible, though this can no longer be a
hard and fast rule.
United
Reformed Church
(not Reform)
United States (of America) is always followed by a
singular verb.
Common usage allows abbreviation to US, but do not ignore the word
America.
universal claims
Always beware of claiming that something is the first or last of its kind,
or that someone is the first person to ... or the last surviving member of
... or the oldest inhabitant, etc.
Universe
Capital in planetary context, as Sun, Earth, Moon etc., but lower case in
phrases such as “she became the centre of his universe”.
universities
Always cap as in Birmingham University (or the University of Birmingham),
Sussex University, the University of East Anglia etc. Thereafter, the
university lower case.
unlikeable,
unloveable
unmistakable (not one of those with the middle “e”)
unparalleled
unshakeable
Untouchables (in Indian caste system), capital
unveil
Take care with this word, which means to remove a covering from something,
or (by extension) to disclose. It should not be used in phrases such as
unveiling a ship, or unveiling a flag.
up
Avoid, unnecessary use after verbs, as in meet up, rest up, end up.
upbeat, upgrade, upfront
upon
Take care with use of up, upon, up on, and on; e.g., “The cat jumped on
the floor, upon the mouse, up on
the table, then up the tree”.
US see United States
USSR
Avoid wherever possible; say Soviet Union instead. See Russia
utilise almost always prefer use
Utopia, Utopian (capital)
U-turn is an overworked phrase, especially in the
political context.
Be sparing in its use, particularly when only a minor change of policy
direction is involved.
vacuum
In common use as a verb, but avoid Hoover, a trade name.
vagaries
Means aimless wanderings or eccentric ideas, not vicissitudes or changes
(as in weather).
Valentine's Day (normally omit the St), and keep cap for Valentine
card, etc.
valley
Capital in full name, such as the Thames Valley, the Wye Valley, etc.
various
Do not use as a pronoun as in “various of the countries protested”;
write “several/many of the countries ...”.
VAT
Value-added tax; no need to spell out fully.
veld,
not veldt
ventricles (anatomical), not ventricals
veranda (no final “h”)
verbal
Means pertaining to words, oral means pertaining to the mouth. Do not
confuse.
verbosity
Watch out for, and eliminate, meaningless wordy phrases such as “on the
part of” (use by), “a large number of” (many), “numerous
occasions” (often), “this day and age” (does not even demand an
alternative).
verdict
Do not use for civil hearings - verdicts come at the end of criminal
trials.
verger, virger the latter to be used in context of St
Paul's and Winchester Cathedrals.
vermilion (not vermillion)
very one of the most overworked words in English. Always
try to do without.
vetoes (plural)
viable
Do not use as a synonym of feasible or practicable; it means capable of
independent existence.
vicar
Take care not to use as a generic word for priest, parson or
clergyman.
Vicar means specifically the incumbent of a parish (unless a rector); if
in doubt, clergyman is usually a safer word.
vice versa
videotape
(one word)
But video cassette, video recorder/recording.
A video (for the film recording) is now common usage and permissible.
Vietcong (not Viet Cong)
vintage car is one made between 1919 and 1930
veteran car is one made before 1919
Virgil (not Vergil)
vis-à-vis
vocal
cords (not chords)
voiceover
(no hyphen)
volcanoes
(plural of volcano)
volte-face
VP
Never use as abbreviation of vice-president
Wales
Capitalise North Wales, South Wales, Mid Wales, West Wales.
walked free from court
Avoid this lazy cliché.
walkout
Wap (as in mobile telephones)
Short for wireless application protocol (not WAP)
war
crimes tribunal
Capital only when using the full title, the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. It sits at The Hague and has
a President and a Chief Prosecutor.
war game(s) (two words)
warn is a transitive verb that requires a direct personal
object.
In other words, a person has to warn somebody about something. Do not say
“The Chancellor warned that taxes would rise”; say “The Chancellor gave
warning that/issued a warning that ... ”, or alternatively,
“The Chancellor warned MPs that ...”.
So try always to find an object with the verb; e.g., X warned the City
that ... , Y warned voters that ... , rather than the somewhat cumbersome
"gave warning" formula.
wars
Capitalise the First World War, Second World War, Cold War, Korean War,
the Vietnam War, the Six Day War (no hyphen), the Gulf War, etc.
But prefer the Falklands conflict because war was never
formally declared; if the phrase has to be used, write Falklands war
(lower case).
warships
Take care with the following distinction: to serve in a
warship, but on a merchant ship; a naval officer is appointed
to serve in HMS Sheffield, and not posted to serve.
wartime
Washington
Not usually necessary to add DC (as in Washington DC), but occasionally
useful to distinguish it from Washington State (capitals). That and New
York State are the only two states we need to capitalise, to avoid
confusion.
washout (one word)
waste
Usually better to write waste than wastage, which means the process of
loss, or its amount or rate.
watchdog
wear
Say menswear, women's wear, children's wear, sportswear.
weigh
anchor
Means to raise a vessel's anchor, not to drop it.
weights
and measures
Abbreviations context will determine when to shorten feet,
inches, stone, pounds, ounces, etc.
“He was 6ft 7in” (not ins, and no space between number and
abbreviation)
But “she stood two feet from the kerb”.
Similarly, “she weighed 8st 12lb” (not lbs)
But “he was several pounds overweight”.
wellbeing
wellington boots (lower case)
Welsh Assembly, capitals, and the Assembly (capital)
thereafter.
The leader of the Assembly is called the First Minister (no longer
the First Secretary).
Welsh Valleys for the (former) mining valleys of South
Wales.
West, the (in global political sense)
Similarly, Western leaders, Western Europe, etc.
whether
Rarely needs or not to follow it
which see that
while (not whilst)
whingeing (with middle “e”)
whips capital Chief Whip, Whips' Office, but lower case
the unspecific, e.g., a government whip.
whisky (from Scotland), Scotch as
alternative.
But whiskey (from Ireland and America).
whistle-blower
White Cliffs
of Dover
(capitals)
white-collar
workers
White Paper (capitals), as with Green Paper.
These should not be capped, however, with anything other than a White
Paper/Green Paper issued by the Government.
who, whom
Which of these to use is determined solely by its function in the relative
clause.
Remember that whom has to be the object of the verb in the relative
clause. Thus, “she is the woman whom the police wish to interview”
(i.e., the police wish to interview HER, not SHE); the other most common
use of whom is after a preposition such as by, with or from, e.g., “the
person from whom he bought a ticket”.
Beware of traps, however: “Who do you think did it?” is correct (not
whom, because who is the subject of “did it”, not the object of “do
you think”); and “Give it to whoever wants it” is correct (not
whomever) because whoever is the subject of the verb wants.
Beware too of constructions such as “he squirted ammonia at a van driver
who [correct] he believed had cut him up” (where “he believed” is
simply an interjection; “who” is not the object of “he believed”
but the subject of the subordinate clause, “who ... had cut him up”).
whodunnit (not whodunit)
why
Usually superfluous after reason, e.g., “the reason he did it was
...”, not “the reason why he did it was ...”
wide
No hyphen in compounds such as countrywide, nationwide, worldwide
wideawake, always one word
widow (woman), widower (man)
Never say “widow of the late John Jones”; she is the “widow of John
Jones”.
wildfowl, wildlife
Wild West
wind
With strong winds, give a description as well as force number (in
numerals), e.g., storm force 10 (add "on the Beaufort scale"
where appropriate. The scale grades wind speeds from 0 to 12; Americans
use the scale to 17).
wines lower case in most cases, for both the type and the
grape, except where it would look out of place.
Say, e.g., bordeaux, burgundy, champagne, claret, moselle, alsace, rioja,
but a Côtes du Rhône, a Hunter Valley chardonnay.
Winter
of Discontent (of
1978-79), initial capitals
witch-hunt,
but witchcraft
withhold (not withold)
witnesses
In British courts witnesses go into the witness box and give evidence;
they do not take the stand and testify. In the general sense, prefer
witness to eyewitness wherever possible.
woebegone, woeful
Woolsack (in Parliament), initial capital
word-processor, word-processing (hyphens)
workforce, workshop, work-to-rule
world
Avoid, wherever possible, phrases such as the fashion world, the theatre
world, the cricket world, etc.
World Wide Web (as with the Internet), capitals and three
words
The Web for short and website (one word and lower
case).
worthwhile
(one word)
Often used where simply worth would be better, e.g., “the programme was
worth recording”.
wrack
Means seaweed or wreckage and must not be used as a synonym of torture;
thus, racked by doubts, etc. See racked.
wreaked (not wrought) havoc, heavy damage, vengeance,
etc.
write-off (noun)
write-up (noun)
but a writedown (in business context)
wrongdoer, wrongdoing
But wrong-footed, wrong-headed
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