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Contents 1 FAA 2 face to face 3 facility 4 Fahrenheit 5 Falklands 6 fallacy, fallibility 7 Fallopian tubes 8 FAO 9 Faroes 10 farther, farthest 11 fast bowler 12 faze, phase 13 FBI 14 FCC 15 FDA 16 fears, hopes 17 fedayeen 18 feet, foot 19 fellow 20 Ferris wheel 21 fewer, less than 22 fiance, fiancee 23 fiasco, fiascos 24 fief 25 field marshal 26 FIFA 27 fighter jets 28 Figures 29 filibuster 30 Filipino 31 film titles 32 finalise 33 financial year 34 firefighter 35 firm 36 first lady 37 first quarter, first-quarter 38 first slip 39 First World War 40 fiscal year 41 flack, flak 42 flair, flare 43 flaunt, flout 44 flay, flail 45 Fleet Street 46 flight numbers 47 flip-flop 48 flounder, founder 49 flyer 50 flyhalf 51 focus, focused 52 following 53 follow up, follow-up 54 foodstuffs, supplies 55 foot 56 foot-and-mouth disease 57 forbear, forebear 58 forbid, forbidding, forbade 59 forced 60 forecast 61 forego, forgo 62 forehand 63 foreign language phrases 64 foreign exchange rates 65 forensic 66 foreseeable 67 forever, not for ever. 68 forex 69 former, latter 70 format, formatted 71 formula, formulas, not formulae. 72 Formula One 73 forsake, forsaken, forsook 74 forswear 75 Fort 76 fortnight 77 fortuitous, fortunate 78 forward 79 foul, fowl 80 four-wheel drive 81 Fourth of July 82 fractions 83 Frankenstein 84 Freddie Mac 85 free kick 86 french fries 87 fresco, frescoes 88 Frisbee 89 front line 90 FSA 91 FTC 92 front-runner, front-running 93 fuchsia 94 fuel, fuelled, but in American style fuel, fueling, fueled 95 fulfil, fulfilling, fulfilled, but fulfilment 96 full 97 fulsome 98 fundamentalist 99 fundraiser, fundraising 100 fused participles 101 furlough, not furlow 102 future plans

FAA

Federal Aviation Administration (US).

face to face

Redundant when used to describe a meeting.

facility

A word that can mean almost anything. Avoid and be specific if possible, e.g. a base, a factory, a depot.

Fahrenheit

Use Fahrenheit if it is the scale of the country involved, with Celsius conversion in brackets. Spell in full at first reference, abbreviating to C and F subsequently, 25 Celsius, 40C. Freezing point in Celsius is 0 degrees, in Fahrenheit 32 degrees. Convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit for temperatures above zero by multiplying by 9, dividing by 5 and adding 32, e.g. 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit). For temperatures below zero multiply by nine, divide by five and subtract from 32, e.g. minus 15C (5F), minus 20C (minus 4F). Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius for temperatures above 32 by subtracting 32, multiplying by five and dividing by nine. For temperatures below freezing take the total number of degrees by which the temperature is below 32, multiply by five and divide by nine, e.g. minus 8F is 40 below freezing, 40 x 5/9 gives you 22, therefore minus 22C.

Falklands

This is the internationally accepted name of the Falkland Islands but from an Argentine dateline they may also be called by the Argentine name – the Malvinas (Falkland Islands).

fallacy, fallibility

Fallacy is something regarded as true but actually false. Fallibility is a capacity or tendency to make mistakes.

Fallopian tubes

Capitalise Fallopian.

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organisation (U.N. – Rome). See www.fao.org

Faroes

Not Faeroes.

farther, farthest

Use further, furthest except when referring to physical distance.

fast bowler

Two words in cricket.

faze, phase

Faze is to worry or disturb. Phase is a stage in growth or development.

FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the premier law enforcement agency in the United States. It is part of the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI investigates violations of federal law, including high-profile cases on espionage, drug cartels, organised violence and crime. FBI may be used alone at first reference. If the full name is used alone at first reference the initials need not be bracketed in.

FCC

Federal Communications Commission (U.S.).

FDA

Food and Drug Administration. U.S. regulatory body for the safety and effectiveness of foods, human and veterinary drugs, medical devices and cosmetics.

fears, hopes

Beware of hopes and fears. Unattributed, they represent opinions. We cannot refer to hopes for a settlement of Middle East problems or fears of another oil price increase without saying who is doing the hoping or fearing. But we can refer unsourced to the common hopes and fears of humanity, e.g. Hopes of reaching the trapped miners rose... or Fears that a new epidemic of cholera might sweep... See also emotive words.

fedayeen

Arab or Islamic guerrillas. The singular is feda’i so use guerrilla for simplicity’s sake when referring to one person.

feet, foot

One foot, several feet. Use foot singular as the adjective, e.g. a 12-foot-high wall.

fellow

Often unnecessary, especially before countryman or countrywoman.

Ferris wheel

fewer, less than

Use fewer when referring to numbers of individuals or individual items, less for quantities, e.g. Fewer than 10 rescuers were hurt but Less than 1,000 tons of coal was lost.

fiance, fiancee

fiance is the man, fiancee the woman.

fiasco, fiascos

fief

Not fiefdom.

field marshal

Note only one l.

FIFA

International Football Federation, based in Zurich (soccer). See www.fifa.com

fighter jets

Write fighter planes, since modern fighters are almost invariably jets.

Figures

Always check any numbers in a story, and then recheck them. Are they internally consistent? If a number rises to a new number then is the second number larger than the first? Check that the units of measurement are not out by a factor of 10, or a 100, or a 1,000. Try to appreciate the underlying logic of the numbers rather than accepting them at face value. Ask yourself if the numbers are feasible and realistic. Remember that a journalist plus a calculator often equals mistake.

Spell out the digits one to nine in text except for dates and times, when figures should always be used, e.g. The four foreign ministers will meet at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on March 3. The same applies to ordinal numbers: first, second, third etc up to ninth, then 10th 100th 144th etc. Use numerals in ages, 4-year-old, and before millions and billions, 2 million, 5 billion. Use numerals before percent, 6 percent. Use numerals for dimensions, He lost 4 cm from the end of his finger.

Write 10 and above as figures except at the start of a sentence, e.g. Fourteen people were killed when 20 tons of ice crashed through the roof. Do not however start a sentence with a complex figure, e.g. Two hundred and forty-three runners finished the Boston marathon ...Where possible rewrite the sentence to avoid starting with a number if it is long and clumsy.

Repeat figures in stories when they are unexpected and err on the side of caution. Place repeated figures in brackets to remove any doubt. Write ... raised bank rate to 6.5 percent (repeat 6.5 percent).

Figures in brackets are generally used only for comparisons. In comparisons always put new figures before old ones, e.g. The U.S. dollar closed at 0.9782 euros compared with 0.9804 at mid-morning.

Do not run two sets of figures together. This can lead to errors. Separate them by a word or spell out one of the two, e.g. 20,000 new 50-cent shares or 20,000 shares with a nominal value of 50 cents each, not 20,000 50-cent shares.

Write fractions as 4-1/2, 8-3/4 etc.

Round off unwieldy figures, e.g. Japan produced 1.45 million cars in the six months ended... not Japan produced 1,453,123 cars... As a rule round off millions to the nearest 10,000, thousands to the nearest 100, hundreds to the nearest 10.

Figures are normally rounded to two significant decimals, with halves rounded upwards. Thus 15.564 becomes 15.56, while 15.565 becomes 15.57.

Do not round interest rates. Give them to the full number of decimal places as given by the source of the information.

Round foreign exchange quotations to four decimal places, e.g. the dollar rose to 0.9784 euros. If a country adjusts its currency, any rate given must not be rounded off, e.g. Manchukistan announced a rate of 5.79831 thaler to the dollar.

Do not round company dividends, e.g. the company announced a dividend of 0.123456 pence per share.

Where totals do not add up because of rounding, this should be explained.

When reporting decimalised figures always use a full stop, e.g. 42.5. Do not follow the practice in continental Europe of using a comma instead of a decimal point. When reporting thousands, use a comma, not a full stop, e.g. 10,000.

When reporting a range of figures use the style 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion not 1.2-1.4 billion or between 400 and 500 miles not between 400-500 miles.

Always spell out billion, except in headlines when it can be abbreviated to bln. Use decimals before million and billion. Write 2.5 million not two and a half million.

Twice – not two time or two times. Bigger numbers should be in the plural, e.g. seven times champion.

Ranges – Repeat the denominator when describing a range of figures, e.g. $22 million to $30 million not $22 to $33 million.

filibuster

To delay parliamentary proceedings by making long speeches.

Filipino

A native of the Philippines. Feminine Filipina. Plural Filipinos, Filipinas. The adjective is Philippine.

film titles

Books, films, plays, poems, operas, songs and works of art: capitalise every word in the title apart from conjunctions, articles, particles and short prepositions, e.g. “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “Gone with the Wind”. The same is true of radio and television programmes other than news and current affairs, e.g. “American Idol” but Meet the Press.

finalise

Use complete, finish.

financial year

The year used for a company's accounting purposes. It can be a calendar year or it can cover a different period, often starting in April. It can also be referred to as the company's fiscal year.

firefighter

Not fireman.

firm

Use firm only for business partnerships. Use company for publicly quoted corporations.

first lady

Lower case in accordance with American style.

first quarter, first-quarter

Two words for the noun, one word for the adjective. First-quarter results will be released shortly after the first quarter.

first slip

Two words for cricket fielding position.

First World War

Use World War One. Not WWI

fiscal year

The one-year bookkeeping period or financial year used by a government. It varies from country to country. In the United States it is October 1 to September 30 and is named as the year in which it ends, so the year ending in September 2005 is fiscal 2005. In Japan the year is April 1 to March 31 and is named as the year in which it starts, so the year ending in March 2005 is fiscal 2004. In text write out, e.g. fiscal 2003/04 but in alerts and headlines 03/04 may be used for space reasons. Do not shorten to 03/4. The term fiscal year is sometimes used for company accounting periods but it is preferable to say financial or business year.

flack, flak

Flack is an American slang term for a public relations person, to be used only if explained. Flak is anti-aircraft fire or heavy criticism.

flair, flare

A flair is a talent, a flare is an illuminating device.

flaunt, flout

To flaunt is to display ostentatiously (not just to display), to flout is to defy, e. g. By flaunting your wealth you flout convention.

flay, flail

Flay is to flog or subject to savage criticism. Flail is to strike or swing.

Fleet Street

No longer a useful synonym for the British press.

flight numbers

When scheduled flights come into the news – crashes, hijackings, bomb scares. etc. – give the flight number together with other identification such as type of aircraft, airline, destination and route.

flip-flop

flounder, founder

Flounder is a fish or to struggle violently or stumble helplessly. Founder is to subside, sink or collapse in ruins.

flyer

Not flier, but in American style use flier for both aviator and handbill. Some trains and buses use flyer as part of their proper name.

flyhalf

One word for rugby position

focus, focused

Use sparingly.

following

Prefer after as a preposition, e.g. After the crash... not Following the crash...

follow up, follow-up

Two words for the verb, one word for the noun and adjective.

foodstuffs, supplies

In most cases food is enough.

foot

To convert to metres roughly multiply by 3 and divide by 10. To convert precisely multiply by 0.305.

foot-and-mouth disease

Retain the hyphenation even if foot-and-mouth is used alone without the noun it qualifies. Not hoof-and-mouth.

forbear, forebear

Forbear means to abstain or keep oneself in check, a forebear is an ancestor.

forbid, forbidding, forbade

forced

Do not say troops were forced to open fire, or the company was forced to make staff redunant. It implies a judgment.

forecast

Past tense is forecast not forecasted.

forego, forgo

Forego is to precede, forgo to do without.

forehand

One word in tennis.

foreign language phrases

Use such phrases or quotes only in exceptional cases, for instance where no generally recognised English equivalent exists. They must always be explained, e.g. Dismissing the libel action, the judge said, “De minimis non curat lex “ (a Latin phrase meaning “The law does not concern itself with very small matters’).

foreign exchange rates

Use mid-rate in general news stories -- high + low quote divided by 2. See exchange rates

forensic

Of or used in courts of law. Do not use forensic examination when you mean examination by forensic scientists.

foreseeable

forever, not for ever.

forex

A widely used abbreviation for foreign exchange. It can be used in headlines if there are space constraints. Elsewhere, use the full description. Forex is also a club grouping foreign exchange dealers and each major foreign exchange dealing centre has its own forex club.

former, latter

Avoid these expressions, which force readers to read backwards to understand the meaning.

format, formatted

formula, formulas, not formulae.

Formula One

Capitalised in motor sport.

forsake, forsaken, forsook

forswear

Fort

Do not abbreviate in the names of cities or military installations. e.g. Fort Lauderdale.

fortnight

Prefer two weeks.

fortuitous, fortunate

Fortuitous means by chance and fortunate means lucky.

forward

Not forwards.

foul, fowl

Foul is dirty, disfigured or an infraction in sport. Fowl is a bird.

four-wheel drive

Not 4x4 unless it is part of a proper name.

Fourth of July

Or July Fourth for the U.S. holiday.

fractions

Where mathematical precision is not essential, use a quarter, a third, a half rather than 25, 33, 50 percent. In a lead on an opinion poll, for instance, it is better to write Two Germans in three prefer.. than Sixty-nine per cent of Germans prefer.. The precise figure should be given lower in the story. Do not mix decimals and fractions in the same sentence, e.g. do not write 25 per cent of Germans prefer this while two-thirds prefer that... Hyphenate fractions like two-thirds, three-quarters. See also figures.

Frankenstein

The creator, not the monster.

Freddie Mac

Acceptable at first reference but put the full title Federal Home Mortgage Corp. later in the story.

free kick

Two words.

french fries

Lower case.

fresco, frescoes

Frisbee

(trade mark)

front line

Two words as noun. But front-line positions.

FSA

Financial Services Authority, the British regulator for most financial services markets, exchanges and firms.

FTC

Federal Trade Commission (U.S.)

front-runner, front-running

fuchsia

fuel, fuelled, but in American style fuel, fueling, fueled

fulfil, fulfilling, fulfilled, but fulfilment

full

Hyphenate when used to form compound words, e.g. full-length, full-service.

fulsome

Not fullsome. It is not a synonym for lavish. Fulsome praise is excessive and fawning.

fundamentalist

One who believes in the literal truth of a sacred religious text such as the Bible or the Koran. Now more commonly used to describe extreme political and religious views. It has disparaging overtones, so use with care.

fundraiser, fundraising

One word.

fused participles

Defuse them. The bank tried to prevent him selling becomes the bank tried to prevent him from selling.

furlough, not furlow

future plans

Tautology. Just plans will do. Excise it from future prospects and future hopes.

Category: The Reuters General Style Guide

This page was last modified 12:08, 10 November 2010.