A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
P
pace
Latin tag meaning “by the leave of”, as a courteous nod to the views of a dissenting author, or “even acknowledging the existence of”, not “such as”
paean
song of praise paeon metrical foot of one long and three short syllables
Pandora's box
paralleled
parentheses
see brackets
Parkinson's law
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”
party
lc in name of organisation, eg Labour party
passerby
plural passersby
pedaller
cyclist peddler drug dealer pedlar hawker
pensioners
do not call them “old age pensioners” or “OAPs”; take similar care with the word “elderly”, which should never be used to describe someone under 70
per cent
% in headlines and copy
percentage rises
probably our most common lapse into “mythematics”: an increase from 3% to 5% is a 2 percentage point increase or a 2-point increase, not a 2% increase; any sentence saying “such and such rose or fell by X%” should be considered and checked carefully
phenomenon
plural phenomena
pin
or pin number not Pin or PIN number
pipeline
plateglass
play-off
plc
not PLC
postcode
Post Office
cap up the organisation, but you buy stamps in a post office or sub-post office
practice
noun practise verb
prepositions
appeal against, protest against/over/at, not “appealed the sentence", “protested the verdict", etc
presently
means soon, not at present
press, the
singular: the British press is a shining example to the rest of the world
pressurised
use pressured, put pressure on or pressed to mean apply pressure, ie not “they pressurised the Wolves defence”
prevaricate
“to speak or act falsely with intent to deceive” (Collins); often confused with procrastinate, to put something off
preventive
not preventative
prewar
PricewaterhouseCoopers
one word
prima donna
plural prima donnas
prima facie
not italicised
primary care trusts
lc, eg Southwark primary care trust
prime minister
principal
first in importance principle standard of conduct
procrastinate
to delay or defer; often confused with prevaricate
program
(computer); otherwise programme
prophecy
noun prophesy verb
protester
not protestor
proved/proven
beware the creeping “proven”, featuring (mispronounced) in every other TV ad; proven is not the normal past tense of prove, but a term in Scottish law (“not proven”) and in certain English idioms, eg “proven record”
proviso
plural provisos
publicly
not publically
Latin tag meaning “by the leave of”, as a courteous nod to the views of a dissenting author, or “even acknowledging the existence of”, not “such as”
paean
song of praise paeon metrical foot of one long and three short syllables
Pandora's box
paralleled
parentheses
see brackets
Parkinson's law
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”
party
lc in name of organisation, eg Labour party
passerby
plural passersby
pedaller
cyclist peddler drug dealer pedlar hawker
pensioners
do not call them “old age pensioners” or “OAPs”; take similar care with the word “elderly”, which should never be used to describe someone under 70
per cent
% in headlines and copy
percentage rises
probably our most common lapse into “mythematics”: an increase from 3% to 5% is a 2 percentage point increase or a 2-point increase, not a 2% increase; any sentence saying “such and such rose or fell by X%” should be considered and checked carefully
phenomenon
plural phenomena
pin
or pin number not Pin or PIN number
pipeline
plateglass
play-off
plc
not PLC
postcode
Post Office
cap up the organisation, but you buy stamps in a post office or sub-post office
practice
noun practise verb
prepositions
appeal against, protest against/over/at, not “appealed the sentence", “protested the verdict", etc
presently
means soon, not at present
press, the
singular: the British press is a shining example to the rest of the world
pressurised
use pressured, put pressure on or pressed to mean apply pressure, ie not “they pressurised the Wolves defence”
prevaricate
“to speak or act falsely with intent to deceive” (Collins); often confused with procrastinate, to put something off
preventive
not preventative
prewar
PricewaterhouseCoopers
one word
prima donna
plural prima donnas
prima facie
not italicised
primary care trusts
lc, eg Southwark primary care trust
prime minister
principal
first in importance principle standard of conduct
procrastinate
to delay or defer; often confused with prevaricate
program
(computer); otherwise programme
prophecy
noun prophesy verb
protester
not protestor
proved/proven
beware the creeping “proven”, featuring (mispronounced) in every other TV ad; proven is not the normal past tense of prove, but a term in Scottish law (“not proven”) and in certain English idioms, eg “proven record”
proviso
plural provisos
publicly
not publically
