O2
(ie with cap "O" - not zero) is our style for the name of the company formerly known to its customers as BT Cellnet.
obtuse
means blunt, insensitive, or dull-witted. It does not mean "obscure" or "opaque".
Odisha
Our style is to use Odisha, rather than Orissa, for the Indian state.
OECD
ie all caps. It stands for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - but you can eliminate the need to spell it out by substituting a label eg: The OECD, the club of industrialised nations… or similar.
Office for National Statistics
Don’t make the mistake of calling it the Office of National Statistics.
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Headed by the Commons leader (title capped up if accompanied by name).
off-peak
ie with a hyphen.
OK
ie capped up - and not "okay" or "ok".
O-levels
ie with a hyphen.
one-nation Conservatism
ie lower case " one-nation", hyphenated, and upper case "C".
ongoing
is typical management jargon - best avoided. Try continuing or developing or in progress, as appropriate.
only
Put it as closely as possible to the word(s) it refers to - or risk getting the sense wrong eg: He drinks champagne only at Christmas means he does not drink it at other times of the year. He only drinks champagne at Christmas means he does not do anything else in the festive season. He drinks only champagne at Christmas means he does not drink anything else.
on to
should be two words in all cases eg: He drove his car on to the beach or We left next morning and went on to Leeds.
opinion polls
The long-standing ±«Óãtv rules are set out in full in the .
orangutan
ie without a hyphen.
ordinance/ordnance
Do not confuse ordinance, which means "an authoritative order", with ordnance, which means "heavy guns, military supplies". Ordnance Survey is the mapping agency of Great Britain.
Orkney/the Orkney Islands
are both acceptable, Orkney being the name given to the group of islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is wrong to refer to "the Orkneys". The inhabitants are Orcadians.
Orissa
Our style is to use Odisha, rather than Orissa, for the Indian state.
outage
for a website/online service that temporarily breaks down.
outback
ie lower case.
Outward Bound
is a registered trademark - and must not be used in a generic sense. Use adventure training or similar. The term can, of course, be used in connection with Outward Bound International centres - of which there are six in the UK: at Aberdovey and Ogwen Cottage in Snowdonia; Eskdale, Howtown and Ullswater in the Lake District; and Loch Eil in the Scottish Highlands. There is also a non-residential centre in Glasgow.
owing to
is adverbial (ie it qualifies a verb) and means "because of" eg: Play was stopped owing to rain. It should not be confused with due to, which is adjectival and means "caused by" (eg: There was one stoppage due to fog, and another due to rain).