F

‘Fairtrade’ describes the certification and labelling system run by Fairtrade International. ‘Fair Trade’ refers to the movement as a whole and any system of trading based on the explicit principle of being fair.

Use east Asia (or southeast Asia) instead.

Capital letters and an apostrophe before the ‘s’, please. Remember that this might be a tricky time for a lot of people – not everyone (and not every young person) lives with, knows, or has a positive relationship with their dad. 

No need for an accent. See accents if you want to know more.

See less or fewer.

See numbers.

Either is fine.

Not fireman.

Two words – no need to capitalise either.

See epilepsy for more information.

These are two words and aren’t capitalised. 

This is one word. 

Don’t use inflammable, even though they mean the same thing. If you want to say something isn’t flammable, it’s non-flammable.

Another name for the Scouts arrowhead.

It’s not focussing. 

If you’re talking about a Scouts form, write the full title with the abbreviation (if there is one) in brackets. After that, you can abbreviate it.

For example, Nights away notification form (NAN form) or Appointment review form (AR form)  

‘Forever’ means continually or all the time, for example, ‘Anika’s forever changing her mind’. ‘For ever’ means for always, for example, ‘Charlie knew they’d love her for ever’.

To ‘forgo’ something means you go without it, for example, a very kind volunteer might forgo a chocolate biscuit so that there are enough for all the Beavers.

To ‘forgoe’ means to go before, but it’s not plain English, so there’s probably a simpler (and better) way to phrase it.

If (and only if) you’re talking about a Cub Scout Forum.

On 22 February (Robert Baden-Powell’s birthday and also, coincidentally, his wife Olave Baden-Powell’s birthday), we take the time to thank all of our fab volunteers, who make Scouts what it is today. You may see us using the phrase Thank You Day (capitalised). Girlguiding celebrates World Thinking Day on the same day.

Write them out in words, for example, two thirds, three quarters, or six and a half. Use decimals in tables and recipes, though. Whatever you use, stick to it – don’t start with a fraction then suddenly switch to decimals or percentages.

Write the phrase out the first time you use it, with the abbreviation in brackets. There’s no need for an apostrophe – the ‘s’ is there because there are multiple questions.

Believe it or not, it’s a trademark. Capitalise it, or use ‘flying disc’ instead.

We sometimes talk about the ‘fundamentals of Scouts’, a part of POR (Policy, Organisation and Rules). The fundamentals of Scouts include the purpose, values, and method of Scouts, as well as all of the sections’ Promises and variations.

‘The fundamentals of Scouts’ is a bit of a mouthful, though, and it’s not exactly self-explanatory. Word it differently if you can.

Use blanket badge instead.