I'm writing about hyphens right now for my upcoming AP style webinar, and I always use examples from the fabulous Lisa McLendon, who used to tweet them a lot. (She is @MadamGrammar on Twitter; her book is "The Perfect English Grammar Workbook.") This is one of hers:
A "tiny house fire" is not the same as a "tiny-house fire."
Since hashtags are a big deal here, I'm thinking it might be fun to collect these with a #WhyWeNeedHyphens hashtag. Add yours!
@grammargirl How about this one?
A great-grandfather is not always a great grandfather.
@grammargirl So, hyphens are not dashes, granted. But just in case your article should happen to include dashes along with hyphens...
Something I think more typesetters need to do: put non-breaking space before (but not after) dashes (both em and en). That keeps them from ever being the first thing on a line. They can be at the end of a line, but i always found it hinders reading speed and comprehension to have a line begin with a dash.
Grammar Girl
Joanne Mason
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