User:Amgine/SG Details-L

labor, labour
Insure you are using the appropriate spelling for the situation. For example, the Australian Labor Party, the United Kingdom Labour Party, the Indonesian Labor Party, the Norwegian Labour Party, and so on. Labor Day in the US, Labour Day in Canada.

lady, ladies
Prefer woman, women.

Lagos
Although the largest city by population, Abuja is the capital of Nigeria.

lamé
For the fabric, not lame.

lamppost
No hyphen.

Land's End
The point in Cornwall includes the possessive apostrophe.

languor, languorous
Not langour.

laptop
No hyphen.

largesse
Not largess.

last
Is not a synonym for past. Use 'past year' to indicate in the previous 12 months, 'last year' to indicate the final one.

Last Post
Like Reveille, Last Post is sounded, not played.

lavatory
Refers to the fixtures into which humans defecate and urinate, not the room. Since we're on the subject, the following are a few clarification which might be considered when referencing people shitting and pissing (and other elements of human hygiene):

lay, lie
One lays flooring (transitive), or lies on the floor (intransitive).

layoff
Noun, verb form is lay off.

learned
Used to indicate an exclusive story. 'Wikinews has learned...' Note correspondents in other publications often use this phrase as well - and require direct credit in text: BBC is reporting... Individual journalists use the phrase "I understand..." to indicate their personal scoops - direct credit would then be: John Smith reports (or "reporting for BBC")...

Adjectival of learn (as in scholarly.)

learnt
Past tense and past particle of learn.

legal terms
Use lower case for titles, &c., except when in full or specific. Eg the Recorder of Liverpool, thereafter the recorder; Justice Elizabeth Bennet, thereafter the judge; the British Columbia Court of Appeal, thereafter the court.

Always capitalize the Bar, even when used alone. The Bench is only capitalized when referring to the judges as a group; in the United Kingdom a bench of magistrates is always lower case.

A legal document, from a statute to a contract, is lower case except in its proper name. In the United States legislation is often given blatantly political titles out of keeping with, or even in contradiction of, the bill's contents - eg the Patriot Act - and so after the first mention avoid re-use using abbreviations (PA) or constructions such as the law, the legislation.

leitmotiv
Not leitmotif.

Leonardo da Vinci
At subsequent mention always Leonardo, never da Vinci. However, The Da Vinci Code for book and movie.

leprosy patient
Never leper. Do not, generically, describe people by their condition.

less
Less in quantity, fewer in number. See fewer.

Levi's
Use apostrophe, but Levi Strauss for the company.

Liberal Democrat(s)
Liberal Democrat preferred, Lib Dem only under protest, LD in lists/graphs. Never just Liberal(s).

licence, license
Licence is preferred for the noun, license as verb, based on the French and thus wider international recognition.

licensee
An entity to whom a licence is granted.

lieutenant-general
Subsequently, general.

likely
Do not use "He will likely"; use "He is likely to" instead. Do not use "Most likely it will"; use "Very likely it will" instead.

liner
Part of a shipping line. The term is not accurate to use for cruise ships; they are not in the transportation industry, but rather in the hospitality industry - their ships *are* the destination. Reserve the use of "liner" for historical contexts, or the removable cover or lining of something.

liquefy
Not liquify.

literally
Avoid use for emphasis.

LLP
Limited Liability Partnership. Usually a suffix to corporate names, may be omitted when not specifically relevant.

local government
Capitalize full titles, but lower case when not in full eg Vacouver council; all committees in lower case. Capitalize the executive officer title, eg Mayor of Victoria, at first mention. Other titles and subsequent mention all lower case. Capitalize the seat of local governments if sure of its title; eg Vancouver City Hall.

log jam
Two words.

Ltd
Limited. Usually a suffix to corporate names, may be omitted when not specifically relevant.

Lula da Silva
Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, then Mr Lula da Silva. His full name is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.