bail, bale In the hayfield, bale; otherwise bail, bail out and bail-out (noun).
Bangladeshi names see names.
-based A Paris-based group may be all right, if, say, that group operates abroad (otherwise just say a group in Paris). But avoid community-based, faith-based, knowledge-based, etc. A community-based organisation is perhaps a community organisation; a faith-based organisation is probably a church; a knowledge-based industry needs explanation: all industries depend on knowledge.
beg the question means neither raise the question, invite the question nor evade the answer. To beg the question is to adopt an argument whose conclusion depends upon assuming the truth of the very conclusion the argument is designed to produce.
All governments should promote free trade because otherwise protectionism will increase. This begs the question.
Belarusian names see names.
bellwether This is the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung. It has nothing to do with climate, prevailing winds or the like, but the term is used in the stockmarket.
between see among and between.
biannual, biennial Biannual can mean twice a year or once every two years. Avoid. Since biennial also means once every two years, that is best avoided too. So are bimonthly and biweekly, which also have two meanings. Luckily, fortnightly is unambiguous.
bicentennial Prefer bicentenary (as a noun).
black In the black means in profit in Britain, but making losses in some places. Use in profit.
blond, blonde Blond is an adjective and, unusually, in its adjectival use it retains its two genders (see grammar and syntax, masculine or feminine). Use blonde as a noun, referring to a woman with blond hair: the blonde in the corner of the room. Use blond for everything else, including the hair of a blonde.
blooded, bloodied Blooded means pedigreed (as in blue-blooded) or initiated. Bloodied means wounded.
bon vivant not bon viveur.
born, borne are both past participles of the verb bear. Born is used in the sense of giving birth: She was born in April. Borne is used for supporting or putting up with (The victims had borne enough pain) and for giving birth in active constructions (She had already borne six children).
both … and A preposition placed after both should be repeated after and. Thus both to right and to left; but to both right and left is all right.
brackets see punctuation.
British titles see titles.
brokerage is what a stockbroking firm does, not what it is.