Hyphens, En Dashes, Em Dashes
Q. Would you hyphenate “less skilled workers” or “more efficient method”? Section 7.90 of CMOS 15 (subsection 1: adverb not ending in ly + participle or adverb) indicates that compounds with “least” and “most” are usually open. If you would hyphenate, or if you wouldn’t, what is the reason? A colleague and I do not hyphenate such compounds, and we haven’t for years, but we can’t quite say why. Any insight you can provide would be appreciated. Answer »
Q. I’m copyediting a novel in which the author has gone hyphen-mad. She is fond of such terms as “horse-yard,” “juniper-wood,” “yard-gate,” “cedar-grove,” and so on. I want to defer to an author’s stylistic preferences, but I feel too much is too much. In most cases, the meaning seems perfectly clear without a hyphen. What can I say to this author? Answer »
Q. Dear CMOS, I am experiencing a meltdown at work. My colleagues believe that “test taker” is one word, while I believe that it should be hyphenated as “test-taker.” I am also unclear, after reading the CMOS, about another form of this phrase, “test taking.” If I write, “It is an important strategy for test taking,” should “test-taking” be hyphenated? Thank you for your help. This has become a highly debated issue within our office and I would love to resolve it once and for all. Answer »
Q. Are there compounds that are always hyphenated, such as “up-to-date” or “step-by-step,” or are these only hyphenated when modifying another word, as in “up-to-date rules” or “step-by-step procedures”? My company is writing “We’ll walk you through it step by step,” and I thought that it should be “We’ll walk you through it step-by-step.” Answer »
Q. Please help! My British colleagues keep giving me books to proofread (for U.S. publication, so they should be in American style) in which phrases like “parent-teacher relationship” and “human-animal bond” contain an en dash rather than a hyphen. Chicago says that if either “parent” or “teacher” were an open compound (such as, I suppose, “math teacher”), an en dash would be appropriate—so am I to conclude that since this is not the case I should use a hyphen? As far as I can tell, none of the examples in the section on hyphenation pertain to this construction. Are the en dashes correct, or are they just British? Answer »
Q. I seem to remember from somewhere that breaking a word from the recto page to the verso page should be avoided. I can’t find such a rule in The Chicago Manual of Style. Is this a figment of my imagination? Also, what about breaking a word from the verso page to the recto page? Answer »
Q. Is it your recommendation to still use a hyphen in a phrases like “mid-1985”? If so, then would it be best to write “mid- to late 1985”? Answer »
Q. In sports, does the score require a hyphen or should you use an en dash? What about decisions on the Supreme Court? Answer »
Q. Do you recommend using a hyphen when spelling out the time of day? Answer »
Q. I have a hyphenation question that I wasn’t able to resolve after reading CMOS or the Q&A page on your website. I am in a debate with a fellow attorney about the proper hyphenation for the phrase “explicitly-defined” when used in the context of “an explicitly-defined rule governing adoptions.” My colleague insists there should be no hyphen between “explicitly” and “defined.” I think that there should be a hyphen between the two words. Answer »
Q. Can you offer any guidance as to how best to render people’s height? I’ve seen “five feet, two inches” (tall), “five-feet-two-inches” “five-feet-two,” “five-foot-two” (yikes!), “five-two,” all of the preceding with the hyphens placed otherwise or omitted, and, of course, good old 5' 2''. I’ve searched “Chicago” but haven’t found the answer. Help! Answer »
Q. Dear Chicago, I’m in a debate with my 73-year-old publisher. I lost my AP Style book in a recent move and I can’t remember the rule for putting hyphens in a person’s age. My publisher says it is only used when the age is a modifier. I say it needs to be used when it is a noun as well, such as: “The healthy 18-year-old jumped in his car . . .” He claims it is only used in a sentence similar to this: “An 8-year-old boy.” Please let me know which is correct so I can end this debate and put this magazine to bed! Thank you, Missouri. Answer »
Q. Now here’s one phrase I’ve always found difficult to hyphenate. “Foreign policy making elite,” referring to an elite making foreign policy. Would Chicago write “foreign policymaking elite”? Answer »
Q. When referring to a telephone call for which the calling party is not charged, is it (a) a “toll free call,” (b) a “tollfree call,” or (c) a “toll-free call.” My own preference is for c first, then b. However, our marketing bunch uses a. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This is driving me nuts (or at least nuttier than usual). Answer »
Q. What is the difference in usage between an em dash and an en dash? Answer »
Q. I am an American translator working in Germany and I am having difficulty determining whether the following formulation is correct according to Chicago style: Answer »
Q. In “University of California Berkeley,” for example, which mark would you place before “Berkeley”: hyphen, en dash, or comma? (I couldn’t find this in your manual.) My preference would be either the en dash or the comma, but never the hyphen. What say you? Answer »
Q. I’m wondering about the proper uses of the prefix auto-. When one cannot find the word using this prefix in the dictionary, is there a standard for how to use it? To hyphenate or not to hyphenate, that is the question. My specific example is autosequence, auto-sequence, or auto sequence. Which would Chicago recommend? Answer »
Q. Some authors in the company for which I copyedit have been using an en dash, rather than a hyphen, for the negative sign in negative numbers, i.e., –3 versus -3. Some of our required fonts exaggerate the difference, and occasionally this results in negative signs of varying size in our technical documentation. I would prefer that all authors use the hyphen to create a more consistent look. As CMOS is this company’s style reference guide, I have searched through it for a recommendation regarding this topic but have not found one. Does CMOS have a preference? Answer »
Q. I need to know the difference between a soft and hard hyphen in regard to proofing marks. Can you please help me out? Thank you kindly. Answer »
Q. Is the prefix “non” always used without the hyphen now? For example: nonresponse, as opposed to non-response. Answer »
Q. Editors at the three campuses of the University of Illinois are questioning the use of hyphens in these terms for a report: Native-American students or Native American students? African-American students or African American students? Asian-American students or Asian American students? All three campuses are using hyphens for the second two examples, but not for the first. We aren’t able to say why exactly, and I wasn’t able to find an answer in CMOS. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks. Answer »
Q. What is an en dash? Answer »
Q. Should the word “pre-dewatering” be hyphenated? Answer »
Q. A coeditor and I have a difference of opinion with regard to the following as it relates to “spare use” of hyphens. I maintain that hyphens are necessary because both words together modify the noun that follows. My coeditor thinks they aren’t needed. Can you settle the debate? Here are some examples: “IBM-based software” or “IBM based software” “End-user documentation” or “end user documentation” Answer »
