The humble hyphen

‘To hyphenate or not to hyphenate?’ This may seem a trivial question, but it is a recurring source of uncertainty for editors and writers. Fowler heroically attempted to systematize its use, but it seems best to concede that this is impossible. It is often simply a matter of usage, and the best advice (when in doubt) is to consult a dictionary. Here are some examples of variations in usage: ‘water-gauge’ but ‘water heater’; water-meadow’ but ‘water main’; ‘watercolour’ (UK) but ‘water-colour’ (US). Nevertheless, something may usefully be said.

1. It is used in compound adjectives, in particular to avoid ambiguity. There is a big difference between ‘six-inch nails’ and ‘six inch nails’; and (as Lynne Truss wittily points out) there is an even bigger difference between ‘extra-marital sex’ and ‘extra marital sex’!
2. It is used to link words, especially when used adjectivally. E.g. ‘an out-of-work taxi driver’ (but ‘a taxi driver who is out of work’).
3. Certain prefixes need hyphens: ‘Are you pro-abortion or pro-life?’; ‘The anti-apartheid movement’.
4. It is sometimes used to avoid ‘letter collision’, as in ‘de-ice’. However there is no reason to hyphenate ‘coordinate’ or ‘cooperate’
5. The use of ‘floating hyphens’ is inelegant, but not incorrect. e.g. ‘Are you looking for full- or part-time employment?’
6. Hyphens are of course often used to divide words at the end of a line.