Economist Style Guide - Redress Information & Analysis

short words Use them. They are often Anglo-Saxon rather than Latin
in origin. They are easy to spell and easy to understand. Thus
prefer:
about to approximately plant to facility
after to following set up to establish
but to however show to demonstrate
enough to suffi cient spending to expenditure
let to permit take part to participate
make to manufacture use to utilise
Underdeveloped countries are often better described as poor.
Substantive often means real or big. “Short words are best and the old
words when short are best of all.” (Winston Churchill)
simplistic Prefer simple-minded, naive.
Singaporean names see names.
singular or plural? see grammar and syntax.
skills are turning up all over the place – in learning skills, thinking
skills, teaching skills – instead of the ability to. He has the skills
probably means He can.
skyrocketed Rocketed, not skyrocketed.
short words > sloppy writing
slither, sliver As a noun, slither is scree. As a verb, it means slide. If
you mean a slice, the word you want is sliver.
sloppy writing Use words with care.
If This door is alarmed, does its hair stand on end? If this
envelope says Urgent: dated material, is it really too old-fashioned
to be worth reading? Is offensive marketing just rude salesmanship?
More serious diffi culties may arise with indicted war criminals.
As their lawyers could one day remind you, these may turn out to
be innocent people accused of war crimes.
A heart condition is usually a bad heart. A near miss is probably
a near hit. Positive thoughts (held by long-suffering creditors,
according to The Economist) presumably means optimism, just
as a negative report is probably a critical report. Industrial action
is usually industrial inaction, industrial disruption or a strike.
A courtesy call is generally a sales offer or an uninvited visit. A
123