CHAPTER 56

Hyphens

The hyphen is very useful when properly used. Unfortunately, it was heavily overused in the past and this

has caused a reaction with some experts, who suggest that it be abandoned. It makes very little sense to
throw out the baby with the bathwater (bath-water? bath water?) because the rules are quite clear.

Somewhere in the middle of the 20th century, the humble schwa became immensely popular, and people
who ought to have known better began to sprinkle it everywhere. Lazy lexicographers and careless editors
stuck in a schwa wherever they thought it would fit. Needless to say, spelling, diction, and correct
pronunciation suffered and have continued to suffer.

The purpose of the hyphen is to join two words, such as light and house, to form a single word. At first,
the hyphen was used and we had light-house, but after a few years the hyphen disappeared and we now
have the compound word lighthouse. Not every noun and adjective combination should be made into a
compound word or hyphenated. A red car is just a red car, but a sportscar is a special type of car and
deserves to be a compound like sportsman. The spelling rule is quite logical.

Spelling rule: The hyphen should only be used when its absence might cause confusion.
There might be confusion if a compound were to be joined at two identical vowels. Is it or is it not a
diphthong?

(^) When writing numbers in words, we hyphenate fractions and all numbers from twenty-one to ninety-
nine:
(^) Combinations of more than two words should be hyphenated:
(^) We hyphenate a prefix that is used with a word that must have a capital letter or any other combination
of proper nouns:
(^) When there may be confusion between words that are spelled alike except for the hyphen, the hyphen
can make a difference in meaning:
(^) The hyphen may occasionally be used for emphasis:
(^) Note that word blends are new words created by putting together parts of other words without using
hyphens,