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 the second half of paragraph 7.89, section 3, of the Manual before answering the questions. (Workout 22, “Hyphens, Part 3a” covered the first half of section 3.)

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

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.

Chicago Style Workout 23: Hyphens, Part 3b (CMOS 7.89)

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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6 thoughts on “Chicago Style Workout 23: Hyphens, Part 3b

  1. This is a minor (and perhaps humorous) note. In the email that gets sent out to the mailing list,I finally discovered that the titles of these quizzes are hyperlinks, (In the past, I would scan the whole email, find a link to everything else—underlined—and finally give up before hunting for the quiz at the site itself.)

    Today was the first time that I said to myself, “This is ridiculous! Surely, they must provide a hyperlink somewhere . . .” I finally hovered my mouse pointer over the title of the quiz itself and watched it change to a pointing hand.

    I don’t know if any others have found this, but I would strongly suggest linking, and underlining, the running text entry for the current quiz—”Hyphens, Part 3b” in this case. Or, if it’s not possible to separate the formatting between the email and the web page itself, then at least have the title be a blue and underlined hyperlink to itself. (It would be redundant for the web page, but, I think, more than made up for in easing the frustration of those like me when looking at the email.)

    • Thanks so much for this feedback! We aren’t able to duplicate your experience here, but we’ll see if we can figure out a way to put more links into the email, even if we have to spell one out. The formatting seems to vary among devices and browsers and email clients; feel free to let us know where you’re viewing the emails and whether you have the same experience on a different device. We appreciate it!

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