Online style guide
- raccoon
- radiographer
takes x-rays ... a radiologist interprets them afterwards
- raft
'a raft of awards' is overused ... use many instead
- raft
Raft has become a popular way to describe a big collection of things, like 'a raft of awards', but it has a subtly ironic tone. Therefore '...following a raft of attacks on Indian students' was a questionable choice of words. Maybe better to pick a more neutral term, like 'number of'.
- rap over the knuckles
but wrap a parcel
- rarefy, rarefies, rarefied
- rate of knots
- raze
means completely demolish, so 'razed to the ground' is a tautology
See: tautology- razzmatazz
- re-form
we re-form the queue or the band, but reform the outdated policy
- real McCoy
- realpolitik
- reason because
In 'the reason I'm so cold is because the heating's broken' because is redundant. It should be 'the reason I'm so cold is that the heating's broken.'
- reason why
In 'the reason why we like mussels is a mystery', why is redundant. It should be 'The reason we like mussels is a mystery.'
- reconciled to
not with
- Red Planet
needs caps when used as the nickname referring exclusively to Mars
- reek
it reeks of corruption, but wreaks havoc
- regalia
means royal insignia, so 'royal regalia' is a tautology
- regardless of
irrespective of, not taking into account ... not irregardless—there's no such word.
- rein or reign
rein in corporate big spenders or horses ... but reigning monarchs
- rendezvous
- replaceable
- report
write a report on something, not into. The report often follows an inquiry into or an investigation of something, the results of which are reported on.
- reported question
In reported speech: It led many to ask what Joe Hockey was hiding from. No question mark. But in direct speech: It led many to ask, 'What is Joe Hockey hiding from?' the question mark is needed.
- reshuffle
one word
- restaurateur
no 'n'
- résumé
summary, CV (French word normally written with its acute accents to distinguish it from the English word resume)
- resuscitation
- retaliate
retaliate against an action, not for.
- reticent, reluctant
A listener pointed out that reticent (defined by the Macquarie dictionary as 'disposed to be silent, not inclined to speak freely; reserved) is sometimes used where reluctant ('unwilling, disinclined') is called for. So 'When asked for his source he was reticent' is correct, but 'He was reticent to divulge his source' is not. We should say 'He was reluctant to divulge his source.'
- revert
means go back, so never 'revert back'
- review
conduct a review of something
- revue
theatrical entertainment ... review is the criticism of it
- rhetoric
- rhetorical v grammatical punctuation
'Today's Jewel in the Crown, is a work in fibreglass by Peter Corlett...' This is an example of rhetorical punctuation. The comma has been put where one might pause for emphasis when reading aloud. But grammatically it doesn't make sense, because we don't put a single comma between a subject and its verb. For online publication we need to make sense grammatically, so we write: 'Today's Jewel in the Crown is a work in fibreglass by Peter Corlett.'
- Rice, Condoleezza
- rich as Croesus
- ricochet, ricocheted, ricocheting
- rift
a rift is usually healed, not reconciled. People are reconciled, and the act of reconciliation may heal a rift.
- right wing, the
of a political party
- right-wing politician
- rite of passage
not to be confused with right of way
- rock and roll
three words, or rock'n'roll, three words contracted to one
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Roebourne Prison, Western Australia
- roller-coaster
cliche: 'emotional roller-coaster' etc, and beware the mixed metaphor. There's only one thing you can do with a roller-coaster, emotional or otherwise, and that's ride it. You can't battle through it or be battered by it.
- Rollerblade
trademark, so capitalise
- Rorschach test
interpretation of inkblots
- Rottnest Island
off Western Australia, home to the quokka
- round-up (noun), round up (verb)
We bring you a round-up of the news. We round up the days news to bring you this round-up.
- royal commissions
capitalise only when citing the full title of a particular royal commission
- runner-up
runners-up (plural)
- russian roulette
no caps