I proof a ton of stuff for ad agencies, and it seems that even the best of them don’t always use the right dash in the right place. I figured a couple of blog posts might help when you need to know what goes where. Let’s start with hyphens.

Some, but not all compound words, are connected by hyphens. When in doubt, I check merriam-webster.

hell-raiser

troublemaker

heartbreaker

When you’ve got two or more words that serve a single adjective, use a hyphen. I write a lot about real estate and hospitality, so I’ll give you some examples that come up all the time:

10,000-square-foot ballroom

but

10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space

two-, three- and four-bedroom luxury suites (they are really into bedrooms)

but

luxury suites with two bedrooms

Use hyphens for compound numbers.

I got ninety-nine problems, but a hyphen ain’t one*

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?

Use hyphens to eliminate confusion, as with these words:

I re-sent the email (vs. I resent your implication that I never sent the email)

Could you re-sign this divorce agreement? (vs. I resign this shitty-ass job)

Use a hyphen with certain prefixes, such as ex-, self- and –all, and also between a prefix and a capitalized word, or with figures and letters.

ex-husband

ex-convict (psst, if you have to use both these ex’s in the same sentence, hyphens are the least of your problems)

self-absorbed

T-shirt

mid-1980s

X-ray

anti-inflammatory

pre-Colombian

Sure, there are plenty rules about hyphen usage, but these are the highlights, and the ones that seem to come up again and again.

Next week, I’ll be back with a riveting post about the en dash. Stay tuned.