We investigate subjects here. We do not “probe” them. And no, none of the bodies here are buried in “caskets”; The New York Times Manual of Style prefers the term “coffin.”
For language students and plain speakers, the style guide offers an inside look at the changing world of speech and usage.
Here is a sampling of terms that should be used with care:
access. Use it only as a noun; as a verb it is technical jargon. Conversational substitutes abound: look up, retrieve, find, connect, enter and even gain access.
alien. Avoid this term for a foreigner or an immigrant.
anchor is the preferred term for the chief reporter on a news broadcast. Anchorman and anchorwoman are acceptable, especially in direct quotations. Do not use anchorperson.
beset (v.) is stilted and is best replaced by conversational synonyms like harass or trouble.
Black Muslim. Do not use this term for a member of the Nation of Islam, the black nationalist group founded by Elijah Muhammad in the 1920s. Most black Americans who are Muslim follow traditional Islam or are members of theological splinter groups. They are black Muslims but not Black Muslims.
blind. Apply the word only to those who have no sight. Others may have limited sight or be partly blind. Do not use euphemisms like visually challenged.
casket. Use coffin instead.
chair. Avoid it as a verb meaning lead a committee; try lead, head or preside over instead. Similarly, avoid co-chair (n. and v.).
claim is not a neutral synonym for say. It means assert a right or contend something that may be open to question.
curriculum vitae is too lofty for news copy. Use résumé instead.
decry is stilted and archaic-sounding. Substitute verbs include deplore and denounce.
defense. Do not use as a verb, even in sports contexts.
divorcé(e). The term conveys a whiff of censure. Write instead — and only when pertinent — that a man or woman has been divorced or that a previous marriage ended in divorce.
edgy. … avoid the meaning of far out or on the edge; that sense gained cliché status almost overnight.
equally as. Do not use the words together; one will do.
Far East. Do not use this Western-centric term except for special effect. Ordinarily, use a more specific regional name: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia.
fondle. It means caress or stroke in a tender way. The word is not suitable for descriptions of rape, assault or unwelcome advances. Grab, grope or touch may be more appropriate.
fortnight. Use two weeks instead.
heart condition. Every heart has some kind of condition. Write heart ailment, disease, etc., instead.
hike. Do not use hike as a synonym for increase, whether noun or verb.
homemaker and housewife are dated terms and should be avoided except for special effect.
illegitimate. Do not refer to a child of unmarried parents as illegitimate, and avoid the stodgy born out of wedlock. If the parents’ marital status is pertinent … simply report that the parents are not married or that the child is the son or daughter of a single mother or father.
impact. Do not use it to mean affect or have an effect; in that sense, it is technical jargon.
individual is stilted as a synonym for person. Reserve it for contexts in which a person is being distinguished from a group: Companies will be taxed, but not individuals.
legendary is usually hyperbole. Use it with restraint.
levy, as a noun for tax, is archaic, and at first glance in a headline, looks distractingly like a surname.
ongoing is bureaucratic. Delete it, or substitute one of its many synonyms: continuing, developing, proceeding, etc.
on hold, applied to a delay in anything except a telephone call, is trite.
psych, psyched. The verbs are slang and best confined to quotations.
rap. Performers are rappers, not rap singers.
thirdly. Use third, not thirdly, in enumerations. The phrase is a short form of what is third.
undertaker may be used interchangeably with funeral director. Do not use mortician.
Uniate. Do not use the term, which is sometimes applied to Eastern Rite churches in union with the Roman Catholic Church. The word is often regarded as offensive.