7 days ago
Telegraph style book: Ss
S
Saakashvili, Mikheil
safe haven is a tautology
Sainsbury's
Saint Laurent, Yves
Saint-Saëns, Camille (note umlaut)
St Andrews (Scotland); St Andrew's (Birmingham City stadium)
St Bartholomew's Hospital: May be shortened to Barts but never St Barts or St Bart's
St James's Palace
St John Ambulance
St John's wort
St Thomas' Hospital
Sana'a: The capital of Yemen
Santa: We prefer Father Christmas
Sarkozy, Nicolas
Satan: Cap S but satanic is lower case
satnav
Sats: Not Sats tests
Savile: For Lord, Row, Club, Jimmy, Saville Theatre and Inquiry
Scalextric
Schiffer, Claudia
schoolboy, schoolgirl: But school-leaver
Schumacher, Michael
Schwarzenegger, Arnold
Scorsese, Martin
Scotch: Used for whisky, pies, pines, mists and wool shops. Scots or Scottish preferred in other contexts
Scots Porage Oats: Prisoners do porridge
Scott Thomas, Kristin
Scouts: Not Boy Scouts.
Scout leaders: Not Scoutmasters
Sea Lords: They used to work at the Admiralty
seasons: Are all lower case: spring, summer, autumn, winter
seasonable: Appropriate for the time of year, opportune. Its opposite us unseasonable for weather that is unexpected
seasonal: Occurring regularly at a particular season (see spring).
Sebag Montefiore, Simon. His wife is Santa Montefiore
second home owners (three words)
Seinfeld, Jerry
Selfridges
selfie: Not 'selfie'
senior and junior: After American names should be Sr and Jr
Services. The Services takes the cap S, servicemen/women do not
sewerage/sewage: Sewerage is the pipes, sewage the stuff
Sharia law is a tautology: Islamic law is not
shear: Something is shorn off, or shears off: it never sheers off
sheikh, sheikhdom
Shepherd's Bush
shih-tzu
Shia: Not Shi'ite
ship: Uses 'she' as a pronoun: 'The Princess Louise is a ship. She is a beautiful ship'
Sikora, Karol: Cancer expert
Sikorsky (helicopters), Sikorski (Polish politician)
silicon: The element from which chips are made: silicone is a sealant and is used to make cooking utensils
Sindy doll
Sinn Fein: No accents
ski, skier, skied, skiing
Sky News, Sky Sports
smelt: Not smelled
Snowdonia: Not Eryri. Snowdon: Not Yr Wyddfa
somebody, someone
Sotheby's: With apostrophe
sound bite
Speaker of the House of Commons: Always capped.
specialty: The specific discipline of a doctor
speciality: Something that is particular to a certain person, business or institution
spelt not spelled
Spielberg, Steven
spilt: Not spilled
spin doctor: Best used only ironically, ditto the verb to spin in this context
spoilt: But despoiled
spokesman: Not spokeswoman, spokesperson
stadiums: not stadia
Starmer, Sir Keir: Not Kier
Start-up
state: Lower case except when part of a title (State President, Council of State, but state-owned)
stationary: not moving
stationery: writing paper
stiletto: The plural is stilettos
Stratford upon Avon
strike: Not strike action
strangle: If someone has been strangled they are dead; if they are alive they have been throttled. However, there is a criminal offence of strangulation in which the victim is living
suicide: Do not say 'commit suicide', but that a person took their own life. The coroner records a verdict of suicide.
sun: Cap only in (rare) references to it as a star. The sun is out, our sun is one of many suns, the distance between the Sun and Alpha Major is...
Sunni
swap: Preferred to swop
swashbuckler: Not a daredevil but a swaggering bully
swath: Noun, a strip
swathe: The verb
