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
y or ie?
As a general rule: -y is an English suffix, whose function is to create an adjective (usually from a noun, eg creamy); -ie was originally a Scottish suffix, whose function is to add the meaning of "diminutive" (usually from a noun, eg beastie).
So in most cases, where there is dispute over whether a noun takes a -y or an -ie ending, the correct answer is -ie: she's a girly girl, but she's no helpless girlie. Think also scrunchie, beanie, nightie, meanie ... There are exceptions (a hippy, an indie band), but where specific examples are not given, use -ie for nouns and -y for adjectives
Yahoo
(the company) no exclamation mark
y'all
Yangon
not Rangoon
Yangtze
river; not Yangtse
Yar'Adua, Umaru
president of Nigeria from 2007, when he succeeded Olusegun Obasanjo, to his death in 2010
year
write 2012, not "the year 2012"; for a span of years use hyphen thus: 2011-12, not 2011/12. If you need to say it aloud – for example, in a podcast – say "twenty-twelve" not "two thousand and twelve"
year 1, year 10
etc (schools)
yearbook
Yedioth Ahronoth
Israel's biggest-selling newspaper
Yekaterinburg
Yellow Pages
TM
Yemen
not "the Yemen"
yes campaign, no campaign
not Yes or "yes" campaign.
The yes campaign, or yes campaigners, campaign for a yes vote; the no campaign campaigns for a no vote. Don't say "no campaigners" or "no vote campaigners" as this can be ambiguous
yesses and noes
yesterday
Give some thought to where you place the time element in a story: do not automatically put it at the start ("David Cameron yesterday insisted ... "), a style satirised by the subeditor turned bestselling author Bill Bryson, who wrote: "Anyone not acquainted with journalists could be forgiven for assuming that they must talk something like this: I last night went to bed early because I this morning had to catch an early flight."
Constructions such as "the two sides were today to consider", as we have been known to say, sound ugly and artificial. As with headlines, try reading out loud to find the most natural arrangement.
Remember that we have millions of readers in different time zones around the world, for whom yesterday, today and tomorrow will not necessarily mean the same thing. Terms such as yesterday, today, tonight and tomorrow should not be used on the website: if you need to specify, say "on Wednesday", etc.
"Yesterday" remains appropriate for some newspaper stories, which are most likely to be read in the UK first thing in the morning, but not for the website, which may be read at any time, anywhere in the world
yoghurt
yo-yo
Yo-Yo Ma
cellist
York Minster
Yorkshire
North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire but east Yorkshire
Yorkshire dales
but North York Moors national park
yorkshire pudding, yorkshire terrier
Yorkshire Ripper
Young, Lady
Lady Young of Hornsey
a former actor (she appeared in the TV series Metal Mickey), artist and academic.
Lady Young of Old Scone
former chief executive of the Environment Agency and the Care Quality Commission, appointed chancellor of Cranfield University in 2010.
Lady Young of Farnworth
a former Tory leader of the Lords and staunch defender of section 28, died in 2002
young offender institution
young turks
The Young Visiters
(not Visitors) novel by the Victorian child author Daisy Ashford, filmed by the BBC in 2003
yours
no apostrophe
YouTube
yuan
Chinese currency; we don't call it renminbi
Yu-Gi-Oh!
trading card game
yuletide
