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
S
scientific measurements
Take care:“m” in scientific terms stands for “milli” (1mW is 1,000th of a watt), while “M” denotes “mega” (1MW is a million watts); in such circumstances it is wise not to bung in another “m” when you mean million, so write out, for example, 10million C.
amps A, volts V, watts W, megawatts MW, milliwatts mW, joules J, kilojoules kJ
scientific terms
Some silly cliches you might wish to avoid: you would find it difficult to hesitate for a nanosecond (the shortest measurable human hesitation is probably about 250 million nanoseconds, or a quarter of a second); “astronomical sums" when talking about large sums of money is rather dated (the national debt surpassed the standard astronomical unit of 93 million [miles] 100 years ago)
seasons
spring, summer, autumn, winter, all lc
seize
not sieze
self-control, self-defence, self-esteem, self-respect
semicolon
Use seldom, even if you know how to
shakeout, shakeup
side-effects
sidestreet
siege
not seige
silicon
computer chips silicone breast implants
sink
past tense sank, past participle sunk: he sinks, he sank, he has sunk
ski, skis, skier, skied, skiing
span of years
1995-99; but between 1995 and 1999, not between 1995-99
special
usually redundant
spelled/spelt
she spelled it out for him:“the word is spelt like this”
split infinitives
It is perfectly acceptable to sensibly split infinitives, and stubbornly to resist doing so can sound awkward and make for ambiguity: “the workers are declared strongly to favour a strike” raises the question of whether the declaration, or the favouring, is strong.
spoiled/spoilt
she spoiled her son: in fact he was a spoilt brat
spokesman, spokeswoman
are preferable to “spokesperson”, but if possible attribute a quote to the organisation, eg “The AA said… ”
square metres
not the same as metres squared: eg 300m squared is 90,000 sq m which is very different to 300 sq m
stadium
plural stadiums
stalemate
do not use to mean deadlock or impasse; a stalemate is the end of the game, and cannot be broken or resolved
stationary
not moving stationery writing materials
sterling
(the pound)
subcommittee, subcontinent, subeditor, sublet, sublieutenant, subplot, subsection
subjunctive
The author Somerset Maugham noted more than 50 years ago: “The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is put it out of its misery as soon as possible.” Would that that were so. Most commonly, it is a third person singular form of the verb expressing hypothesis, typically something demanded, proposed, imagined: he demanded that she resign at once, I propose that she be sacked, she insisted Jane sit down. The subjunctive is particularly common in American English and in formal or poetic contexts: If I were a rich man, etc. It can sound hyper-correct or pretentious, so use common sense; Fowler notes that is is “seldom obligatory”
subpoena, subpoenaed
supermarkets
Marks & Spencer or M&S, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, Tesco (no wonder people get confused about apostrophes)
supersede
not supercede
surge
prefer rise or increase, if that is the meaning; but surge is preferable to “upsurge”
swap
not swop
swingeing
synopsis
plural synopses
synthesis, synthesise, synthesiser
Take care:“m” in scientific terms stands for “milli” (1mW is 1,000th of a watt), while “M” denotes “mega” (1MW is a million watts); in such circumstances it is wise not to bung in another “m” when you mean million, so write out, for example, 10million C.
amps A, volts V, watts W, megawatts MW, milliwatts mW, joules J, kilojoules kJ
scientific terms
Some silly cliches you might wish to avoid: you would find it difficult to hesitate for a nanosecond (the shortest measurable human hesitation is probably about 250 million nanoseconds, or a quarter of a second); “astronomical sums" when talking about large sums of money is rather dated (the national debt surpassed the standard astronomical unit of 93 million [miles] 100 years ago)
seasons
spring, summer, autumn, winter, all lc
seize
not sieze
self-control, self-defence, self-esteem, self-respect
semicolon
Use seldom, even if you know how to
shakeout, shakeup
side-effects
sidestreet
siege
not seige
silicon
computer chips silicone breast implants
sink
past tense sank, past participle sunk: he sinks, he sank, he has sunk
ski, skis, skier, skied, skiing
span of years
1995-99; but between 1995 and 1999, not between 1995-99
special
usually redundant
spelled/spelt
she spelled it out for him:“the word is spelt like this”
split infinitives
It is perfectly acceptable to sensibly split infinitives, and stubbornly to resist doing so can sound awkward and make for ambiguity: “the workers are declared strongly to favour a strike” raises the question of whether the declaration, or the favouring, is strong.
spoiled/spoilt
she spoiled her son: in fact he was a spoilt brat
spokesman, spokeswoman
are preferable to “spokesperson”, but if possible attribute a quote to the organisation, eg “The AA said… ”
square metres
not the same as metres squared: eg 300m squared is 90,000 sq m which is very different to 300 sq m
stadium
plural stadiums
stalemate
do not use to mean deadlock or impasse; a stalemate is the end of the game, and cannot be broken or resolved
stationary
not moving stationery writing materials
sterling
(the pound)
subcommittee, subcontinent, subeditor, sublet, sublieutenant, subplot, subsection
subjunctive
The author Somerset Maugham noted more than 50 years ago: “The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is put it out of its misery as soon as possible.” Would that that were so. Most commonly, it is a third person singular form of the verb expressing hypothesis, typically something demanded, proposed, imagined: he demanded that she resign at once, I propose that she be sacked, she insisted Jane sit down. The subjunctive is particularly common in American English and in formal or poetic contexts: If I were a rich man, etc. It can sound hyper-correct or pretentious, so use common sense; Fowler notes that is is “seldom obligatory”
subpoena, subpoenaed
supermarkets
Marks & Spencer or M&S, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, Tesco (no wonder people get confused about apostrophes)
supersede
not supercede
surge
prefer rise or increase, if that is the meaning; but surge is preferable to “upsurge”
swap
not swop
swingeing
synopsis
plural synopses
synthesis, synthesise, synthesiser
