ABC Radio National

not sacreligious

the government may be saddled with a huge debt, not 'straddled'

Arabic word meaning desert, so no need for Sahara desert

same-sex rights, same-sex couples—hyphen required

capitalised, but satanic and devilish not ... heaven and hell also lower case, as is paradise and purgatory

Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland ... not Finland

is the Australian spelling, but it's the Australian Skeptics Association, and all similar state-based organisations use skeptic, which is the American spelling.

The conservation group is called Sea Shepherd. They use various vessels in their anti-whaling activities, including the Steve Irwin.

summer, winter, autumn, spring ... no need to capitalise

a secondary infection (like an ear infection following on from the primary infection of a cold), secondary education (following on from primary education). But a second heart attack, a second cold (suffering the same illness again).

also director-general, vice-chancellor, vice-president—all need their hyphen

trademark, so capitalise

and House of Representatives, Upper House, Lower House—all capitalised

short form is Sr (no punctuation)

a device that responds (without censure, probably) to information received ... a censor is a person much more likely to censure something.

sewage is the raw material that may be carried by pipes and treated in plants which together are called sewerage systems. So it's a sewage treatment plant but a sewerage system.

one word

appear in italics (but not the HMS part) ... HMS Cerberus

certain winner of (usually rigged) race

chips

implants

I sing, she sang, the choir has sung

one word

spoken defamation ... libel is printed or broadcast

snapshot of, not into

no need for quotes as well—so this is one of your so-called meals—because 'so-called' serves the same function as quotes, as in so this is one of your 'meals'. The phrase's ironic tone is out of place in the following serious report, though, and 'so-called' shouldn't be used at all: 'The so-called Herzfeld Report contains several key conclusions...'

should appear in single inverted commas, CD titles in italics

One space only between sentences, please. The two-space rule is a hangover from typewriters, which had monospaced type. The fonts we use now have proportional spacing, so a double space between sentences is too distracting. All professional publishing uses single spacing between sentences and so should we.

be a specialist in a particular field (not on). Specialise in something.

a spectre is a ghostly apparition. Phil Spector is the American record producer and songwriter. (And this error from one of our music experts. Shame!)

he spelled it out for us ... 'supersede' is spelt with two Ss

The Famous Spiegeltent... (in German words ei is pronounced 'eye' (Einstein, zeitgeist) and ie is pronounced 'ee' (Spielberg, Spiegeltent).

'...fears the crackdown could lead to a sharp spark in illegal tobacco.' The writer meant sharp spike, but spikes are always sharp, so 'spike' alone is better.

names in plain text: Melbourne Victory, Fremantle Dockers, Silver Ferns, and so on.

an old standby, but stand by your man, and stand by for updates

the word 'state' should not be capitalised when referring to Australian states. For example, 'state funding', or 'state premiers'. 'The States', when referring to the United States of America, however, should be capitalised—because all countries' names, including their abbreviations and nicknames, are capitalised.

not moving

pens and paper

a sterling effort, a stirring anthem...not 'stirling'.

not 'still lives'

one word

dire straits, Torres Strait, but the straight and narrow

Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)

'Since the subsequent crackdown that followed, signs of dissent and street demonstrations are a rarity.' Watch out for those tautologies. 'Subsequent' means the same as 'that followed'.

must have a capital S

suffer a blow, suffer a heart attack, but suffer from dementia, Parkinson's disease etc.

sports utility vehicle, (USA)

cut a wide swath, across countryside, for instance

bind or bandage (verb), wrappings for a baby (noun)

as president—not 'sworn into the role of president' as seen on Channel 7 headline

please avoid using symbols (such as @ and & for 'at' and 'and') unless they're a recognised part of a trademark or title.

church council