The Irish Times - Breaking Local and International News from Ireland. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian. Style guide | Info. A or an before H? Use an before a silent H: an heir, an hour, an honest politician, an honorary consul; use a before an aspirated H: a hero, a hotel, a historian (but don't change a direct quote if the speaker says, for example, "an historic"). With abbreviations, be guided by pronunciation: eg an LSE student A*(A-level and GCSE) not A-star A&Eaccident and emergency; in the US, it's ER (emergency room) abattoir abbeystake initial cap, eg Westminster Abbey Abbottabadcity in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden lived and died abbreviations and acronymsDo not use full points in abbreviations, or spaces between initials, including those in proper names: IMF, mph, eg, 4am, M&S, No 10, AN Wilson, WH Smith, etc.
If an abbreviation or acronym is to be used more than once in a piece, put it in brackets at first mention: so Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), seasonal affective disorder (Sad); alternatively, use the abbreviation with a brief description, eg the conservation charity the RSPB. Abscess. Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.