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
wacky
not whacky
wagon
not waggon
Wags
wives and girlfriends (generally of footballers: the term was popularised during the 2006 World Cup, although Fabio Capello initially banned them from joining the 2010 team in South Africa); the singular is Wag. Regarded by many as sexist, although variations include Habs (husbands and boyfriends)
Wahhabism
branch of Islam practised by followers of the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab (1703-92)
wah-wah pedal
waiver or waver?
To waive is to relinquish a claim or right, as in the much used headline “Britannia waives the rules”. The associated noun is waiver, which can lead to confusion with waver, meaning to hesitate (or a person waving).
Adding to the fun, waver is sometimes mixed up with haver, which in Scotland means to talk nonsense
wake
“in the wake of” is overused; nothing wrong with “as a result of” or simply “after”
Wales
avoid the word “principality”, and do not use as a unit of measurement (“50 times the size of Wales”)
Wales Office
not Welsh Office
walking stick
Walkman
TM; plural Walkmans not Walkmen
Wallpaper*
magazine (note asterisk)
Wall’s
ice-cream, sausages
Walmart
owner of Asda (previously Wal-Mart)
Wap
(wireless application protocol) phones
war crime, war dance, war game, war zone but warhead, warhorse, warlord, warpath, warship, wartime
ward, wards
Used as an adjective words such as backward, forward, downward, upward, outward should not end in s, but used as an adverb they should, so downward slope, forward planning, outward looking; but peer downwards, move forwards, spread outwards
“war on drugs”, “war on terror”
always in quotes
wars
civil war (England), American civil war, Spanish civil war
Boer war, Crimean war, Korean war, Vietnam war
first world war, second world war (do not say “before the war” or “after the war” when you mean the second world war)
Gulf war (1991), Iraq war (2003)
hundred years war
It actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453
six-day war (1967)
thirty years’ war (1618-48)
ended by the peace of Westphalia
war of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-48)
Wars of the Roses (1455-85)
Lancaster won
Washington DC
no comma or full stops
Washington (NFL team)
Avoid using the name Redskins, a term likely to offend
washing-up liquid
washout
noun; wash out verb
Was (Not Was)
US rock band fronted by Don Was and David Was (no relation)
The Waste Land
poem by TS Eliot (not The Wasteland)
wastewater, rainwater
but flood water, flood waters
Wastwater in the Lake District, not Wast Water and definitely not, as we had it, “Wastewater”
watchdog, watchmaker, watchword
watercolour, watercourse, watermark, waterproof, waterskiing, waterworks
Waterford Wedgwood
glass and china (not Wedgewood)
water polo
Waterstones
bookseller
Watford Gap
service area on the M1 in Northamptonshire, near the village of Watford, 80 miles north of London; nothing to do with the Hertfordshire town of Watford, 60 miles away, with which it is sometimes confused by lazy writers who think such phrases as “anyone north of the Watford Gap” a witty way to depict the unwashed northern hordes
wayzgoose
traditional term for a printer’s works outing
weave (fabric)
past tense wove, past participle woven. This also applies when used metaphorically, as in “Obama’s speech was woven throughout with the language of the US constitution” (we actually printed “weaved”, which was wrong)
weave (from side to side)
past tense weaved, past participle weaved, as in “Cameron dodged and weaved”
web, webpage, website, world wide web
weblog
normally abbreviated to blog
web log
a record of what someone does on the internet; the home secretary is committed to storing web logs as part of plans to extend surveillance powers
web 2.0, web 3.0
websites
addresses can be broken at a sensible point within the name if you need to turn a line
Weee directive
(note three Es) EU scheme to encourage recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment
weight
in kilograms with imperial conversion, eg 65kg (10st 2lb)
Weight Watchers
TM
welch
(not welsh) to fail to honour an obligation
Welch Regiment, Royal Welch Fusiliers
welfare state
well
“He gave a well-prepared speech” but “his speech was well prepared”;
“She liked a well-done steak” but “she liked her steak well done”;
“A well-known song” but “the song was well known” (but note that, as with famous, if something is well known it is not normally necessary to say so)
wellbeing
wellnigh
welly, wellies
Welsh assembly
The devolved government’s representative body, with 60 assembly members – AMs – meeting in the Senedd; initial capitals for its full title, the National Assembly for Wales
welsh dresser
Welsh government
led by the first minister, currently Carwyn Jones
Welsh, Irvine
Scottish author
welsh rarebit or “posh cheese on toast”, as the Hairy Bikers describe it
Welsh spellings
(eg F for the V sound in English): prefer Welsh spellings such as Caernarfon and Conwy to old-fashioned anglicised versions (Caernarvon, Conway) – although there are exceptions, such as Cardiff not Caerdydd
wendy house
Wen Jiabao
Chinese premier (prime minister) from 2002-12, having succeeded Zhu Rongji
west, western, the west, western Europe
western (cowboy film)
West Bank
West Bank barrier
should always be called a barrier when referred to in its totality, as it is in places a steel and barbed-wire fence and in others an eight-metre-high concrete wall; if referring to a particular section of it then calling it a fence or a wall may be appropriate. It can also be described as a “separation barrier/fence/wall” or “security barrier/fence/wall”, according to the nature of the article
west coast mainline
runs from London Euston to Glasgow. The official name of the franchise is InterCity West Coast, currently operated by Virgin Trains
West Country
West End
of London, rather than the tabloid “London’s West End”; Glasgow also has a West End
Western Isles
West Lothian question
asks why MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are able to vote on policies that will apply in England but, because of devolution, will not apply in their own constituencies
West Midlands
Westminster Abbey
West Nile virus
Weyerhaeuser
US pulp and paper company
what is
a phrase that, while occasionally helpful to add emphasis, has become overused to the point of tedium; examples from the paper include:
“Beckham repaid the committed public support with what was a man-of-the-match performance ... “
“Principal among Schofield’s 19 recommendations in what is a wide-ranging report ... “
What is clear is that these would be improved by what would be the simple step of removing the offending phrase
wheelchair
Say (if relevant) that someone uses a wheelchair, not that they are “in a wheelchair” or “wheelchair-bound” – stigmatising and offensive, as well as inaccurate
whence
means “where from”, so don’t write “from whence”
whereabouts
singular: her whereabouts is not known
which or that?
This is quite easy, really: “that” defines, “which” gives extra information (often in a clause enclosed by commas):
This is the house that Jack built; but this house, which John built, is falling down. The Guardian, which I read every day, is the paper that I admire above all others. I am very proud of the sunflowers that I grew from seed (some of the sunflowers); I am very proud of the sunflowers, which I grew from seed (all the sunflowers).
Note that in such examples the sentence remains grammatical without “that” (the house Jack built, the paper I admire, the sunflowers I grew), but not without “which”
Which?
the magazine, and the organisation that publishes it (formerly the Consumers’ Association)
while
not whilst
whisky, whiskey
scotch whisky, or simply scotch, plural whiskies
Irish and American whiskey, plural whiskeys
whistleblower
white
lc in racial context
white paper
white-van man
Whitsuntide, Whit Sunday
not Whitsun
whiz, whiz-kid
not whizz or wiz
whodunnit
who or whom?
This is how to do it: “When it comes to sci-fi villains, few have endured as well as the Martians, whom HG Wells depicted wielding a weapon called the Heat-Ray in The War of the Worlds, back in 1898.”
And this is how not to do it: “A nation’s weeping turned to tears of joy with the news that Louie – for who media commentators had to commission new words for camp ... – is to star in his own 10-part series.”
Only those with a tin ear for language could be unaware that “who” sounds wrong in the second example, but it is not always so obvious.
If in doubt, ask yourself how the clause beginning who/whom would read in the form of a sentence giving he, him, she, her, they or them instead: if the who/whom person turns into he/she/they, then “who” is right; if it becomes him/her/them, then it should be “whom”.
In this example: “Straw was criticised for attacking Clegg, whom he despised” – “whom” is correct because he despised “him”.
But in “Straw attacked Clegg, who he thought was wrong” – “who” is correct, because it is “he” not “him” who is considered wrong.
Use of “whom” has all but disappeared from spoken English, and seems to be going the same way in most forms of written English too. If you are not sure, it is much better to use “who” when “whom” would traditionally have been required than to use “whom” incorrectly for “who”, something even great writers have been guilty of: “There was a big man whom I think was an hôtelier from Phnom Penh and a French girl I’d never seen before ...” (The Quiet American, Graham Greene – who as a former subeditor should have known better).
wicketkeeper
Widdecombe, Ann
former Tory cabinet minister who, briefly, became a Guardian agony aunt
wide awake
Wiesel, Elie
Holocaust survivor and author; he was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1986, and female status in a particularly crass Guardian error
wifi
not Wi-Fi
Wii
Nintendo games machine
wiki
website that allows multiple users to edit its content, hence WikiLeaks, Wikipedia
wild west
Willans, Geoffrey
(not Williams or Willians, as have appeared in the paper) author of the Molesworth books, illustrated by Ronald Searle, as any fule kno
will.i.am
real name William James Adams, Jr
Wimpey houses; Wimpy burgers
Windermere
not Lake Windermere; note that Windermere is also the name of the town
windfarm
one word
Windows Phone 7
not Windows 7 Phone
wines
normally lc, whether taking their name from a region (eg beaujolais, bordeaux, burgundy, chablis, champagne) or a grape variety (eg cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, muscadet).
The regions themselves are capped up – so one might drink a burgundy from Burgundy, or a muscadet from the Loire valley – as are wines of individual chateaux, eg I enjoyed a glass of Cos d’Estournel 1970
wing commander
in leading articles, abbreviate on second mention to Wing Co; Wing Commander Barry Johnson, subsequently Wing Co Johnson; otherwise just Johnson
Winnie-the-Pooh
in the original AA Milne books, although the “bear of little brain” has lost the hyphens in his Disney incarnation
winter, wintry
winter of discontent
overused
wipeout noun; wipe out verb
Wirral
not “the Wirral”, unless referring specifically to the Wirral peninsula
wishlist
wisteria
not wistaria
witchcraft
but witch-doctor, witch-hunt
with
not “together with”
withhold
witness
not eyewitness, except for the Eyewitness picture spread in the Guardian
wits’ end
WMDs
abbreviation for weapons of mass destruction (or, as they are known in the UK, “Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent”)
woeful
Wolfram Alpha
“computational knowledge engine”
Wollstonecraft, Mary
wrote Vindication of the Rights of Woman (not “Women”, a frequent error)
woman, women
are nouns, not adjectives, so say female president, female MPs etc rather than “woman president”, “women MPs”
womenswear
but the magazine is Women’s Wear Daily
woodwork
Wookiee
Note two Es; a species in Star Wars of which Chewbacca is a member
Woolies
the defunct shopping chain more formally known as Woolworths
woollies
jumpers
Worcestershire sauce
not Worcester
Work Programme
the coalition government scheme that, it was revealed in November 2012, found long-term jobs for 3.5% of the unemployed people it was designed to help
working class
noun; working-class adjective
working tax credit
replaced the working families tax credit
World Bank
world championship
World Cup, World Cup final
football, cricket or rugby
World Food Programme
may be abbreviated to WFP after first mention
World Health Organization
WHO on second mention
world heritage site
World Series
It is a myth that this baseball event got its name from the New York World: originally known as the World’s Championship Series, it had nothing to do with the newspaper.
It has become tedious every time the World Series comes round to see its name cited as an example of American arrogance
World Trade Center, Ground Zero
but the twin towers
worldview
worldwide
often redundant, eg “it has automotive plants in 30 countries worldwide” (as opposed to galaxy-wide?)
world wide web
wounds
combatants in battle are wounded, not injured
wrack
seaweed; racked with guilt and shame, not wracked; rack and ruin
wreaked
is the past tense of wreak (eg wreaked havoc); wrought is not – it’s an archaic past tense form of work, and is used as an adjective, eg wrought iron, finely wrought embroidery
wrest
as in wresting back, rather than wrestling back, your title
wriggle room
not wiggle room
wrinklies
patronising, unfunny way to refer to elderly people; do not use
wrongdoing
wrongfoot
(verb) as in I was wrongfooted by the question
wryly
not wrily
wuss
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, formerly the World Wrestling Federation
WWF
formerly the World Wide Fund for Nature (or, in the US, World Wildlife Fund)
