K

Key is often overused. Think about whether another word, such as ‘vital’ or ‘important’, might be better. 

All one word, please.

We prefer to call Scouts aged under 18 ‘young people’. It’s OK to occasionally use ‘children’ (not ‘kids’) when referring to Beavers and Cubs. You can directly quote someone who’s said ‘kids’ or ‘children’.

Not Mount Kilimanjaro.

Abbreviate them to kg, km, and kW.

HM King Charles III should be referred to as HM The King on first mention, then ‘The King’ or ‘King Charles III’ on subsequent mentions.

Introduced in September 2022. Please don’t forget the apostrophe. It’s the top achievement for Explorer Scouts and Scout Network members, who have to complete a variety of activities to earn the award. It’s linked closely to the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

A national Scout Active Support Unit (sometimes called a SASU) that supports national events both within and outside Scouts. It was formed in 1944, and people who have the Queen’s or King's Scout Award can join before they turn 30. The unit was known as the Queen's Scout Working Party until the Coronation of HM The King on 6 May 2023.

Learn more about the King's Scout Working Party.

A word to describe a response or reaction that’s automatic and unthinking. It’s one word.

To knock out is a verb that means to make someone unconscious or to make them leave a competition by defeating them.

Knockout is a noun, the act of knocking someone out or a tournament where the loser’s eliminated each round. It can also modify nouns, for example, ‘a knockout blow’.

As well as the things you can tie, knots is also a speed measurement. One knot is equal to one nautical mile per hour (a nautical mile isn’t the same as a mile). You’d talk about travelling ‘at a rate of knots’, and a ship might travel ‘at 20 knots’ – don’t say ‘knots per hour’.

Knowhow is one word.