Scotch whisky
(see whisky)

schizophrenia
is an illness.
Never use 'schizophrenic' when you mean 'in two minds'. It is demeaning and offensive to do so

seasons
lc spring, summer, autumn, winter

self-congratulation
avoid 'told The Observer' when 'said' will do.
There will be exceptions, such as wherewe wish to underline the exclusivityof our information, but we should use it sparingly

Sellotape

sell-off
hyphenate: it looks ugly as one word

Shia
Majority Muslim sect in Iraq (minority in Iran) ;
Shias, not Shi'ites

ships
no quotes, no italic. Pref. pronoun it.
You sail in not 'on' ships

Singular/plural
Corporate entities take the singular: eg: The BBC has decided (not 'have'). In subsequent references make sure the pronoun is singular: 'It (not 'they') will press for an increase inthe licence fee.'

Sporting teams and rock bands are the exception - Thus 'England have an uphill task' is OK, as is 'Nirvana are overrated')

skied, skiing

Slovene
is a language, Slovenian describes the people.
Similarly Slovak, Slovakian

smelt

south east Asia

(Former) Soviet Union
· Abkhazia
· Armenia (Armenian); capital city: Yerevan
· Azerbaijan (Azeri) Baku
· Belarus (Belarussian) Minsk
· Chechnya (Chechen) Grozny
· Dagestan (Dagestani) Makhachkala
· Estonia (Estonian) Tallinn
· Georgia (Georgian ) Tbilisi
· Kazakhstan (Kazakh) Alma Ata
· Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz) Bishkek
· Latvia (Latvian) Riga
· Lithuania (Lithuanian) Vilnius
· Moldova (Moldovan) Kishinyov
· Russia (Russian) Moscow
· Tajikstan (Tajik) Dushanbe
· Turkmenistan (Turkmen) Ashkhabad (not Turkmenia)
· Ukraine (Ukrainian) Kiev (not 'the Ukraine')
· Uzbekistan (Uzbek) Tashkent

spelt

spell check
all stories should be spell checked, but remember that even when a machine cheques sum spelling, it does not check whether the words make sense.

spoilt

spring

St Andrews
(golf and university)

St John Ambulance
The Ambulance Brigade of the Order of the St. John of Jerusalem and not the personal property of the saint himself. Thus it shortens to St John Ambulance.

state
lc in all uses

Stock Exchange
caps, but stock market, lc

straight and narrow, straitjacket, straitlaced

summer
all seasons are lower case

Sunni, Sunnis
Minority Muslimsect in Iraq

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