The Times Style Guide: A guide to English usage. Ian Brunskill

of Canterbury, the role of dean of Westminster, the first woman bishop of Gloucester etc.

      Royalty etc The Queen, exceptionally, and as a courtesy, remains the Queen (upper case) at subsequent mentions, whenever the individual monarch is intended (likewise in historical stories referring to the reigning monarch of the day). There is no need for other monarchs or for senior members of the royal family to have capitals at all times; so, treat in the same way as senior clergy: the King of Spain, then the king; the Duke of Edinburgh, then the duke; the Prince of Wales, or Prince Charles, then the prince; the Duke of Cambridge, then the duke; Prince Harry, then the prince. The courtesy of a capital at all times is also extended to the Pope, whenever the individual pontiff is intended. When referring to the position of queen or pope rather than the person, use lower case: “the Queen (or Queen Elizabeth II) has had an impressive reign, which any future queen will struggle to match”; “the Pope (or Pope Francis) is the first pope to come from Latin America”.

      Aristocrats The Duke of Wherever is thus at first mention; subsequently the duke; never Lord W. Other aristocrats take a capital when named in full: the Marquess of X; Viscount Y; the Earl of Z; at subsequent references all normally become Lord X, Y, Z (although the marquess, the viscount, the earl etc would be acceptable for occasional variety). Lower case when not naming individuals: an earlier marquess of Bath, future earls of Oxford, the seat of the dukes of Devonshire etc.

      Similarly with military ranks, General Jackson would usually remain General Jackson at subsequent mentions, but the general might be used if variety seems necessary.

      Police ranks are capped when attached to names: Chief Inspector Morse etc; subsequently the chief inspector or Mr Morse; chief constable, like prime minister, is not generally used with a name. We don’t say Chief Constable Jones, it remains lower case: Mr Jones, the chief constable; the chief constable of Merseyside etc.

      With few exceptions, such as those indicated, resist using capitals to indicate the dignity or supposed dignity of a position.

      Government departments etc The names of specific government departments and other significant national or international bodies or organisations are upper case when the full name is used (the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Education, the European Commission, the Law Society, the Football Association, the Independent Press Standards Organisation) but otherwise (or subsequently) lower case: the ministry, the education department, the commission, the regulator etc. The Home Office, the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury remain upper case. All committees, etc, are lower case. In local government, generally upper case only for the name of the place: Norwich city council, West Somerset rural district council planning department (if such a thing exists).

      Political terms in general Government, parliament, administration and cabinet are always lower case except when used as part of an official title, such as Government House, Houses of Parliament, Her Majesty’s Government or the Cabinet Office. The opposition is likewise lower case; there is some risk of ambiguity, but context will usually make quite clear what is meant. (Her Majesty’s Opposition, like Her Majesty’s Government, would be upper case if for some reason used.) Also lower case for all references to the state (except in naming, eg the US State Department): a state visit, the state opening of parliament, church and state. The word party is upper case where it it integral to the title: thus Labour Party, Conservative Party, Social and Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) and United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip). Similarly in the case of foreign parties where the equivalent word is integral to the title: Popular Party (Partido Popular of Spain), Workers’ Party, Freedom Party etc.

      Terms derived from proper names There are grey areas here and common sense is required.

      As a general principle, with terms derived from the names of people (or peoples), the closer the connection with the proper name, the more likely it is to be upper case. Christian values, Thatcherite Tories, Homeric epithets and Marxist academics, for instance, all depend for their significance on the proper noun from which they derive; without knowing something of Christ, Margaret Thatcher, Homer or Karl Marx, we will not understand what is meant. When we talk of spartan conditions, herculean tasks, gargantuan appetites and quixotic acts, however, we are using words which have become common adjectives; they denote familiar attributes, and their meaning may be understood by people who know nothing of Greek history or myth, and who have never read Rabelais or Cervantes.

      It will often be difficult to draw such a neat distinction, however. In such cases, rather than waste time worrying over how close the connection may be between a word and the person or place to which it refers, consider what is likely to seem more natural to the reader. This is an area in which our general preference for lower case may have to be qualified. Because we are so used to seeing them capped, the names of people and places (and the proper adjectives derived from them) tend often simply to look wrong when lower case.

      For examples see the lists under food and drink, animals and birds, dogs, cheeses, wines etc. They are not exhaustive. They undoubtedly contain some expressions where the capital letter may seem otiose; the question to ask then is whether the needless capital in those phrases is more irritating than a missing capital would be in the rest.

      God Cap when referring to the deity of monotheistic religions. No need for he, his, him to take cap unless there is a risk of confusion. Where there are many gods, use lower case, as in the Greek gods (or eg the Greek god of war).

      When spelling out capitalised abbreviations such as CAP (common agricultural policy) use lower case.

      Compass points and other terms indicating location except in proper place names, these are now generally lower case: east London, central London, west Africa, eastern Europe etc. See entries below

      capsize is spelt thus. See -ise, -isation

      captions are often read before the reports to which they relate. They need to make sense on their own, and to explain as much of the story as space allows. It is surprising how often this basic journalistic principle is overlooked. They should be clear, informative and, where appropriate, witty; they should make the reader want to go on to read the story. What they must not be is pointless or dull. Do not state the obvious. Readers can see the photograph for themselves; there is no need to describe what it quite clearly shows; say something useful or interesting about it instead. Dismal local-paper caption clichés — sharing a joke, in happier times etc — are banned.

      Style in captions When a caption covers two or more images it should start with the main one. When space is tight, especially on single-column “mugshots”, the name may be just the surname, even when the person is titled, eg Sir Marcus Fox would be simply Fox, as in headlines. Where women are photographed be sensitive: readers complain about our omitting the Christian name, especially in court cases where the woman is the victim. Where possible give the woman’s full name, although this is not a hard-and-fast ruling.

      When identifying faces with left and right etc, use commas rather than brackets (eg Fred Smith, left, and his wife, Jean, leaving the court); make the identification in the caption fit the sequence of faces (left to right) in the photograph. Words such as “pictured” and “inset” should be redundant. Note that, as in text, double quotation marks are used in captions, including narrow-measure captions next to narrow-measure illustrations. Don’t tie yourself in knots trying to link lots of pictures in a single caption of continuous prose; if it can be done, and done elegantly, so much the better; if not, opt for clarity instead and link separate caption elements with semi-colons

      carabiniere (lower case), an Italian police officer; plural carabinieri

      carat a measure of purity in gold (24-carat is 100 per cent); in precious stones and pearls, a measure of weight. The international carat is standardised at 200mg (0.2g; about 7/1000th of an ounce)

      car boot sale no hyphen

       carcass

       cardholder

      cardiac arrest not synonymous with heart attack;