It's small. It's flat. It's black. And according to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, its numbers are shrinking. Welcome to the world of the hyphen. Having been around since at least the birth of ...

Certain compound nouns, such as “ice cream”, “fig leaf”, “hobby horse”, and “water bed”, have been separated into two distinct words.

This is the reason why the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary has removed hyphens from 16,000 words, but let us keep away from the “hyphen-thief gangs,” and remember what HW Fowler advised us ...

Hyphenated compound words consist of two or more individual words and are separated by a hyphen. Knowing when to add a hyphen can be tricky, but it’s easier if you remember that a compound adjective, ...

Certain compound adjectives are existing phrases, or proper nouns, and therefore don’t need a hyphen: phrases such as “pro bono legal work,” “USS Enterprise crewman,” “holier than thou attitude.” If a ...

But when two words forming a compound adjective follow a noun, generally omit the hyphen. Thus, “The well-played game was well played,” and, “The tough-minded executive was tough minded.” ...

A compound noun is one word A compound verb is two words A compound adjective is hyphenated Again, there are all kinds of exceptions to these so-called rules.

Besides, the onus is on you to cease using “make-up” (a hyphenated compound noun) and “make up” (a phrasal verb) interchangeably. On that evidence, “Owing to the fact that consideration is part of ...