Compounding Hyphens

The use of the hyphen in newspapers, magazines and advertising appears to be disappearing. When one does appear, it is misused more often than not, and when one is needed, there is just the empty blank space between what should be a compound modifier.

My guess is that we don't understand when or why a hyphen is needed. I remember writing a short piece for a children's section of a daily newspaper in which I tried to explain how one used properly used a hyphen. I likened it to a plus sign that held two words together so that they would add up to one thing (a two-room house; a mid-career move). Without the hyphen, the modifiers might stand alone -- and they wouldn't make much sense. What is a two house or a mid move? If the modifer makes sense alone, then a hyphen likely is not needed.

A hyphen is not needed with an adverb. Tip here: Watch for the "ly" that usually signals an adverb, and be cautious of adding a hyphen. For example, one doesn't need a hyphen to write "a typically-unnecessary" punctuation mark correctly.

So -- here's my salute to a vanishing marker of connectivity, the small reminder that sometimes two are better as one.