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its strength is measured either by volume (a percentage) or by the more traditional proof system, of which there are British and American variants. Do not confuse the percentage and proof systems by writing, eg that a drink is 48 per cent proof. As an example, a spirit that is 40 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) is 80 degrees proof on the American scale (which runs from 0 to 200, and the proof number being precisely double the ABV figure); on the old British scale, which runs from 0 to 175, 40 per cent ABV would be 70 degrees proof. On the British scale, 100 degrees proof spirit (57.1 per cent ABV) is the minimum strength of distilled alcohol that when mixed with gunpowder sustains its combustion, and this property was used to test the traditional rum ration in the British navy. Since 1980 Britain has used the ABV system. See drink-drive

      A level no hyphen as a noun, but A-level results etc (hyphenate when adjectival). A levels now embrace AS levels and A2s, and can still be used as the generic phrase and in historical context. But use O levels (same hyphenation rules) now only in historical context

      alfresco one word, roman

      algebra take great care in writing and presenting algebraic expressions. Individual terms should be in italics. Be sure that superscripts, including squares of numbers, and subscripts are properly rendered, eg E=mc². As an example in narrative text: “Dr Edwards noted that the mass, m, is proportional to Ax where A is the area of the burger and x is its thickness. If all other parameters remain the same (heat of grill, absence of sudden downpour, mood of cook and so on), then t, the total cooking time, is proportional to x²A.” See italics

      alibi not a general alternative to excuse; it means being elsewhere at the material time

      Alistair always check the spelling of this name (Alastair, Alasdair, Alister etc)

      all in phrases such as “all the president’s men” there is no need to write “all of the president’s men”

      Allahu akbar (God is greatest); note also alhamdulillah (“praise God”, approximately equivalent to the Judaeo-Christian alleluia/hallelujah)

      allcomers one word

      allege avoid the suggestion that the writer is making the allegation; somewhere in the story always specify the source. Do not assume that use of this verb will keep you out of legal trouble; if in doubt, ask a lawyer. Do not use alleged as a synonym of ostensible, apparent or reputed

      All Hallows Eve not Allhallows

      Allies cap the Allies in the Second World War context; generally, lower case alliance, as in the Atlantic alliance, Gulf War alliance etc

      all right never alright, except in the television programme It’ll be Alright on the Night

      All Souls College Oxford (no apostrophe)

      all-time avoid as in all-time high; use highest or record high instead

      al-Qaeda thus, hyphen and ae

      alsatian lower case, the German shepherd dog. See dogs

      alternate (adj) as well as being English for “every other” or “every second” in a sequence, is also American for alternative. This latter use is to be resisted, firmly, although we may need to concede that alternate history has gained more or less universal currency to denote the “what if” school of fiction that imagines, eg life in a Britain occupied by victorious Nazis after the Second World War

      alternative of two, choice of three or more, but there is no need to be obsessive about this

      alternative vote (AV) system; note also first-past-the-post system

      alumnus a (singular, male) graduate of a particular educational institution; alumni is the plural, including for mixed groups. The female equivalents are alumna and alumnae

      ambassador lower case even when specific (see capitalisation); the French ambassador; “he was appointed ambassador to Japan”

      ambience prefer to the French spelling ambiance

      Amendment spell out and upper case for clarity in relation to the US constitution, eg the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment etc

      Americanisms generally to be resisted, unless they have clearly passed into standard English use

      American spellings allow US spellings for proper names of institutions, well-known landmarks etc. So Lincoln Center, World Trade Center, Labor Day, Medal of Honor, Pearl Harbor etc; in practice this means US spellings may be retained in proper names used with initial caps, as it will be clear what is going on; job titles that in our style become lower case (ie almost all of them) should be anglicised (the secretary of defence etc, so that they do not just look like spelling mistakes); for all other words use English spellings.

      Be aware that the differences are not all as obvious as writing theater for theatre or missing the u out of words such as colour; eg US usage does not double the final l of the root verb in forms such as traveller, cancelled, fuelled, modelling etc; license is both verb and noun in US English, and so, confusingly, is practice; avoid all of these and be ready to change them in agency copy or quotes

      America(n)/US in general, try to use American as in “American cities”, “American food” etc; but US in headlines and in the context of government institutions, such as US Congress, US navy, US military operation. Never use America when ambiguity could occur with Canada or Latin America

      amid not amidst; similarly among, not amongst

      amok not amock or amuck

      ampersand use in a company name if the company uses it

      amphitheatres in classical context are oval or circular (eg the Colosseum in Rome); do not confuse with theatres, which are semi-circular or horseshoe-shaped

      Amsterdam treaty (lower case t), but the Treaty of Amsterdam

      analogue in all contexts, noun and adjective

      anathema meaning accursed, consigned to perdition; there is no need for an article, thus: “It is anathema to me.” Although a noun, it is quasi-adjectival in usage

      ancestor strictly means a person from whom another is directly descended, especially someone more distant than a grandparent. Do not use in the looser sense of predecessor; eg Queen Elizabeth I is not the ancestor of the present Queen. An ancestor is not a descendant, so do not mix them up

      ancient Briton/Britain ancient Greek/Greece, ancient Egyptian/Egypt, ancient Roman/Rome, the ancient world; seems fine to lower case the a on ancient but cap the national adjective or noun

      and also do not use together

      androgynous not androgenous in reference to having both male and female characteristics; androgenic refers to male hormones, eg testosterone

      aneurysm not aneurism

      angioplasty is a procedure carried out by cardiologists and is not surgery

      Anglesey never Anglesea

      anglicise, anglophile, anglophobe, anglophone all lower case

      angst roman, lower case

      animals cap proper nouns or adjectives derived from them when naming breeds of animals (or species of birds): Indian elephant,

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