Q. Hello, I've tried to grasp the rule on hyphenating a couple of words I'm confronted with; could you please confirm I'm right
in my reasoning: nontoxic (“non-toxic” would look better); nonsmokers (“non-smokers”
would look better); noneicosanoid functions (“non-eicosanoid” would look better;
nonphosphorylated form (“non-phosphorylated” would look better).
A. Clearly, you like the looks of the hyphen, so I'd say go for it, although Chicago style is to close up the prefix in all
those cases.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’m seeing this particular use of hyphens: low-to-moderate income families. I don’t
think it’s correct, but it’s becoming so common that I’m
beginning to wonder if I missed something.
A. Chicago style renders this phrase“low- to moderate-income families,” and others
hyphenate it as “low-to-moderate-income families,” but this level of hyphen usage
is subtle enough that it’s not surprising that you don’t find it consistently
applied.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I was not able to find this in CMOS anywhere: how do you hyphenate a word that has both a prefix and a suffix? For example, should “seminationwide”
have any hyphens?
A. In Chicago style, it would not have hyphens. I should point out, however, that such a word might invite further editorial
scrutiny.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Should “64 Slice Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography Program” be hyphenated
“64-Slice”?
Q. Obviously, two adjectives separated by “and” need not be hyphenated, as in “Brackett Omensetter was a wide and happy man.” But how about suspended compound nouns, for example, “city- and state government” or a musician’s “recording- and practice space”? Need the first modifier have a suspended hyphen? I vote hyphen, myself, but I’ve been called to account and could find neither backup nor smackdown in the Chicago Manual.
A. Okay, here’s the smackdown from CMOS: You’re overdoing it. No hyphens. Even if you were to use phrases like those to modify yet another noun, you might well get away without hyphens. You simply have to consider whether the meaning of each phrase would be clear without them: city and state government contracts; recording- and practice-space expenses.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Please help. Does “blue black berries” require a hyphen? What about “deep violet blue color”? We’ve had to look beyond CMOS for guidance because the issue of compound color modifiers isn’t thoroughly covered, although as CMOS is our primary reference, we would happily defer to you. Many of our publications include compound color modifiers, and it’s become a bit tense around here as some insert hyphens and others remove them.
A. You’re right—so CMOS clarified this issue, starting with the sixteenth edition. Simply hyphenate compound color modifiers before a noun but not after. See the table at CMOS 7.89, section 1, under “colors.”
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. My question relates to commonly used Latin terms. Does one hyphenate if the phrase is used as a compound modifier? Examples:
“The board has four ex officio members.” “Ad hoc committee
members do not participate in executive sessions.”
A. Latin terms are not usually hyphenated when used as modifiers, perhaps because they used to be (and often still are) set
in italics. In any case, the eye groups the Latin terms naturally enough without the aid.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’ve come across a book that uses the slash (/) between coequal nouns, as in “the
Jones/Smith team,” or “the Brown/Green work association.”
Is the slash acceptable or should a hyphen be used?
A. When names are put together in this way, a slash works better than a hyphen because “Jones-Smith”
might be mistaken for a single hyphenated name.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In a technical proposal, would you say “400-ton-per-day scrubber” or “400-tons-per-day scrubber”? Thanks a bunch!
A. The first construction is the more usual one. (Btw, what is a 400-ton-per-day scrubber, exactly? And where can we get one?)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Would you hyphenate the phrase “day and a half”?
A. No, unless you are using it to modify a noun (not always the best idea):
It took a day and a half to throw all his stuff onto the lawn.
The day-and-a-half class required hip waders, a claw hammer, and a signed liability release.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]