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
H
The Hague
not “the Hague"
half
no hyphen when used adverbially: you look half dead; it was half wine, half water; hyphen when used adjectivally: a half-eaten sandwich, he got it half-price
half a dozen, half past
halfway, halfwit
handbill, handbook, handout
handicapped
do not use to refer to people with disabilities or learning difficulties
harass, harassment
hardline
adjective, hardliner noun, take a hard line
harebrained
not hairbrained
hat-trick
hazard/risk
scientists use hazard to mean a potential for harm and risk to mean the actual probability of harm occurring; though headline writers may feel more at home with risk than hazard, the distinction is worth bearing in mind
headdress
headlines
Use active verbs where possible, particularly in news headlines: “Editors publish new style guidelines” is much better than “New style guidelines published”. Avoid tabloidese such as bid, brand, dub, and slam, and broadsheet cliches such as insist, signal, and target.
Avoid quotation marks.
headquarters
can be used as a singular (“a large headquarters") or plural (“our headquarters are in London”); HQ, however, takes the singular
headteacher
one word, not headmaster, headmistress; but Association of Head Teachers
Health and Safety Executive
HSE on second mention
healthcare
Heathrow airport
or simply Heathrow; not “London's Heathrow"
hectares
not abbreviated, convert to acres in brackets at first mention
height
in metres with imperial conversion, eg 1.68m (5ft 7in)
Her Majesty
the Queen is HM, never HRH
high flyer
Highways Agency
hike
a walk, not a rise in interest rates
hi-tech
HIV positive
no hyphen
hoard/horde
a hoard of treasure; a horde (or hordes) of tourists
Holland
do not use when you mean the Netherlands, with the exception of the Dutch football team, who are conventionally known as Holland
home counties
homeland
but home town
homepage
homogeneous
uniform, of the same kind homogenous (biology) having a common descent; the latter is often misused for the former
honorifics
Tony Blair or Sir Bobby Charlton at first mention, thereafter Mr Blair, Sir Bobby, etc.
Use surnames only after first mention. Use Dr at second mention for medical and scientific doctors and doctors of divinity.
horrendous
horrific is generally preferable
hospital
use a not an
hospitalised
avoid; use taken (never “rushed") to hospital
hotel
use a not an
housewife
avoid
hummus
you eat it humus you put it on the garden
humour, humorist, humorous
hyphens
Use hyphens to form compound adjectives, eg two-tonne vessel, three-year deal, 19th-century artist
not “the Hague"
half
no hyphen when used adverbially: you look half dead; it was half wine, half water; hyphen when used adjectivally: a half-eaten sandwich, he got it half-price
half a dozen, half past
halfway, halfwit
handbill, handbook, handout
handicapped
do not use to refer to people with disabilities or learning difficulties
harass, harassment
hardline
adjective, hardliner noun, take a hard line
harebrained
not hairbrained
hat-trick
hazard/risk
scientists use hazard to mean a potential for harm and risk to mean the actual probability of harm occurring; though headline writers may feel more at home with risk than hazard, the distinction is worth bearing in mind
headdress
headlines
Use active verbs where possible, particularly in news headlines: “Editors publish new style guidelines” is much better than “New style guidelines published”. Avoid tabloidese such as bid, brand, dub, and slam, and broadsheet cliches such as insist, signal, and target.
Avoid quotation marks.
headquarters
can be used as a singular (“a large headquarters") or plural (“our headquarters are in London”); HQ, however, takes the singular
headteacher
one word, not headmaster, headmistress; but Association of Head Teachers
Health and Safety Executive
HSE on second mention
healthcare
Heathrow airport
or simply Heathrow; not “London's Heathrow"
hectares
not abbreviated, convert to acres in brackets at first mention
height
in metres with imperial conversion, eg 1.68m (5ft 7in)
Her Majesty
the Queen is HM, never HRH
high flyer
Highways Agency
hike
a walk, not a rise in interest rates
hi-tech
HIV positive
no hyphen
hoard/horde
a hoard of treasure; a horde (or hordes) of tourists
Holland
do not use when you mean the Netherlands, with the exception of the Dutch football team, who are conventionally known as Holland
home counties
homeland
but home town
homepage
homogeneous
uniform, of the same kind homogenous (biology) having a common descent; the latter is often misused for the former
honorifics
Tony Blair or Sir Bobby Charlton at first mention, thereafter Mr Blair, Sir Bobby, etc.
Use surnames only after first mention. Use Dr at second mention for medical and scientific doctors and doctors of divinity.
horrendous
horrific is generally preferable
hospital
use a not an
hospitalised
avoid; use taken (never “rushed") to hospital
hotel
use a not an
housewife
avoid
hummus
you eat it humus you put it on the garden
humour, humorist, humorous
hyphens
Use hyphens to form compound adjectives, eg two-tonne vessel, three-year deal, 19th-century artist
