Chicago Style Workout 23:
Hyphens, Part 3b

Home stretch!

This month’s workout, “Hyphens, Part 3b,” is the fourth (and last) segment on hyphenating compounds, taken from our famous hyphenation table at CMOS 17, paragraph 7.89, and in particular the second half of section 3, “Compounds Formed with Specific Terms.”

Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that part of the hyphenation table before answering the questions. (Workout 22, “Hyphens, Part 3a,” covers the first half of section 3.)

Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual. (We also offer a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online.)

Note: Dictionaries and style guides sometimes disagree. These questions are designed to test knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, which prefers Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition. Other style guides may follow a different dictionary.

[Editor’s note: This quiz relies on and links to the 17th edition of CMOS.]

Chicago Style Workout 23: Hyphens, Part 3b

1. Adjective forms containing half are usually hyphenated before and after the noun, although some permanent compounds are closed (per Webster’s).

half-asleep
half-finished

halfway
a.
b.
2. Phrases formed with like are always hyphenated.

cat-like
penitentiary-like institution
bell-like
a.
b.
3. Nouns formed with near are open; adjectival compounds are hyphenated.

in the near term
a near accident
near-term proposal
a.
b.
4. Compounds formed with odd are always hyphenated.

a hundred-odd manuscripts
350-odd books
a.
b.
5. Adjective forms containing old are hyphenated before a noun, open after.

three-year-old horse
a horse that is three years old
a centuries-old debate
a.
b.
6. Compounds with on are sometimes hyphenated, per Webster’s.

online
onstage
on-screen
a.
b.
7. Both noun and adjective compounds with self are hyphenated, with some exceptions.

self-restraint
self-conscious
unselfconscious
a.
b.
8. Compounds formed with step are always open except with grand and great.

step brother
step-granddaughter
a.
b.
9. Adjective and adverb compounds with style are hyphenated; noun forms are usually open.

dined family-style
use headline style for heads
a.
b.
10. Wide compounds are hyphenated both before and after a noun.

world-wide coverage
coverage city-wide
Chicago-wide
the poll was university-wide
a.
b.

 

Photo: Courtesy CDC/Amanda Mills, acquired from Public Health Image Library.

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