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To Hyphenate or Not to Hyphenate, That is the Question

Another confusing area of the English language, is the use of dashes, hyphens and right parentheses.  This was pointed out by a dear reader of Lingua Franca. I told him it would be part of my yesterday’s homework.

For some reason, writers and editors have a tendency to overuse hyphens.  They won’t lose an opportunity to put these horizontal characters in their work, even if they don’t need them.

Below are thirty words that should not be hyphenated, even though you will find them split in half in many Web sites. Maybe at one time these words were hyphenated, but they aren’t any more.

backstabbing
breakup (noun)
breathtaking
comeback (noun)
counterintuitive
downright
hobnob
latchkey
mainstream
midweek
nevertheless
newfound
nighttime
nonetheless
nonstop
overdo
overexpose
overpriced
overrated
oversized
postpartum
preteen
rendezvous
roundup (noun)
secondhand
sidekick
sightseeing
sourpuss
straightforward
woebegone

I’m keeping this list handy.  It’s a good writing reference for my future posts.  How skillful are you with hyphens?  Good Day.

Source:  30 Words That Don’t Need a Hyphen – Terribly Write

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