(From Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, 2003) The Hyphen (From Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, 2003)
“There are a great many hyphens left in America “There are a great many hyphens left in America. For my part, I think the most un-American thing in the world is a hyphen.” Woodrow Wilson, 1919 1856-1924 Former US President, 1912-1920. Re-elected in 1916.)
Uses of the Hyphen A re-formed musical group. 1. To avoid ambiguity. A re-formed musical group. (The group separated and then came back together) A reformed musical group. (The group had “problems/issues” but has since changed for the better) A long-standing friend. (Friend for a long time) A long standing friend. (The friend has been standing upright for a long time)
3. Linking nouns to other nouns. 2. Spelling out numbers. Twenty-three. Forty-two. 3. Linking nouns to other nouns. The London-Brighton train. American-French relations. Tarzan the ape-man.
4. A noun phrase modifying another noun. Stainless steel – not hyphenated, just an adjective modifying a noun. Stainless-steel kitchen – “stainless steel” works as a noun phrase, and the hyphen prevents reading it as a stainless kitchen made out of steel.
5. Certain (but not all) prefixes. Un-American Anti-Communist Quasi-grammatical But not: Prejudice Subordinate
6. Spelling out words Muammar Qaddafi’s name has been spelled: G-h-a-d-d-a-f-i K-a-d-d-a-f-i G-a-d-h-a-f-i K-h-a-d-a-f-y (and over 30 other variants)
7. To avoid “letter collision” in compound words: Shell-like, not Shelllike Re-elect, not reelect. De-ice, not deice.
8. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables:pref-er-ence sell-ing in-di-vid-u-al-ist 9. For line breaks, divide already-hyphenated words only at the hyphen: mass-produced self-conscious
When does a word stop being hyphenated? Through repeated use, typically. Previous hyphenated words: To-morrow Sub-marine Good-bye
What’s the difference? Little-used car. Little used car. Pickled-eggs salesman. Pickled eggs salesman.