The Economist Style Guide Hyphenation Rules

Here is a summary of the hyphenation rules from the Economist Style Guide.

The essence of style

There is no firm rule to help you decide which words are run together, hyphenated or left separate. If in doubt, consult a dictionary. Do not overdo the literary device of hyphenating words that are not usually linked: the stringing-together-of-lotsand-lots-of-words-and-ideas tendency can be tiresome.

1. Words with common or short prefixes

In general, try to avoid putting hyphens into words formed of one word and a short prefix.

3D, asexual, biplane, declassify, disfranchise, geopolitical, neoclassicism, neoconservative but neo-cons, neoliberal, Neolithic, neologism, neonatal, overcapacity, overdone, overeducated, overemployment, precondition, predate, subcontinent, preoccupied, subcontract, preordained, subhuman, prepay, submachinegun, realign, suboptimal, rearm, subprime, rearrange, tetravalent, reborn, underdog, redirect, underdone, reopen, underinvest, reorder, underpaid, repurchase, subcommittee, upended

2. Words beginning with re-

Some words that begin with re are hyphenated to avoid confusion:

re-cast
re-create (meaning create again)
re-present (meaning present again)
re-sort (meaning sort again)

3. Unfamiliar combinations

Words making unfamiliar combinations, especially if they would involve running consonants or vowels together, may benefit from a hyphen, so:

cross-reference (a cross reference would be unpleasant)
demi-paradise
over-governed
sub-investment grade
under-age
under-secretary
Antidisestablishmentarianism would, however, lose its point if it were hyphenated.

4. Fractions

Whether nouns or adjectives, these take hyphens:

one-half
one-sixth
four-fifths
two-thirds

But note that it is a half, a fifth, a sixth.

5. Words that begin with

agri
infra
post
anti
inter
pre
counter
mid
semi
extra
multi
ultra
half
non

The rules vary:

agri-business, agriculture
anti-aircraft, anti-fascist, anti-submarine (but antibiotic, anticlimax, antidote, antiseptic, antitrust) counter-attack, counter-clockwise, counter-espionage, counter-intuitive (but counteract, countermand, counterpane)
extraordinary, extraterrestrial, extraterritorial (but extra¬ judicial)
half-baked, half-hearted, half-serious (but halfway) infra-red
inter-agency, inter-country, inter-faith, inter-governmental, inter-regional (but intermediate, international, interpose) mid-August, mid-week
multibillion, multilingual, multiracial (but multi-occupancy, multi-storey, multi-user)
non-combatant, non-existent, non-payment, non-violent (but nonaligned, nonconformist, nonplussed, nonstop) postdate, post-war, pre-war semi-automatic, semi-conscious, semi-detached ultra-violet

6. The word worth

A sum followed by the word worth needs a hyphen: $25m-worth of goods.

7. Some titles

attorney-general
lieutenant-colonel
under-secretary
director-general
major-general
vice-president
field-marshal
secretary-general

But:

deputy
director
district
attorney
deputy
secretary
general
secretary

8. Avoiding ambiguities

fine-tooth comb (most people do not comb their teeth)
a little used-car lot (a little-used car lot)
third-world war (third world-war)
cross-complaint (cross complaint)
high-school results (high school-results)

9. Aircraft

DC-10
Mirage F-1E
MiG-23
Lockheed p-3 Orion

(If in doubt, consult Jane’; “All the World’s Aircraft”.)

Note that Airbus A340, BAe RJ70 do not have hyphens.

10. Calibres

The style for calibres is 50mm or 105mm with no hyphen, but 5.5-inch and 25-pounder.

11. Adjectives formed from two or more words

70-year-old judge
balance-of-payments difficulties
private-sector wages
public-sector borrowing requirement
right-wing groups (but the right wing of the party)
state-of-the-union message
value-added tax (VAT)

12. Adverbs

Adverbs do not need to be linked to participles or adjectives by hyphens in simple constructions:

The regiment was ill equipped for its task.
The principle is well established.
Though expensively educated, the journalist knew no grammar.

But if the adverb is one of two words together being used adjectivally, a hyphen may be needed:

The ill-equipped regiment was soon repulsed.
All well-established principles should be periodically challenged.

The hyphen is especially likely to be needed if the adverb is short and common, such as ill, little, much and well. Less common adverbs, including all those that end -ly, are less likely to need hyphens:

Never employ an expensively educated journalist.

13. Separating identical letters

book-keeping
re-emerge
coat-tails
re-entry
co-operate
side-effect
pre-eminent
trans-ship
pre-empt
unco-operative

Exceptions include:

overrate
overrun
overreach
skiing
override
underrate
overrule
withhold

14. Some nouns formed from prepositional verbs

bail-out
pay-off
shake-out
build-up
pull-out
shake-up
buy-out
rip-off
stand-off
call-up
round-up
start-up
get-together
run-up
trade-off
lay-off
set-up

But:

fallout
lockout
handout
payout
knockout
turnout

15. The quarters of the compass

mid-west(ern)
south-east(ern)
north-east(ern)
south-west(ern)
north-west(ern)

16. Hybrid ethnics

Greek-Cypriot, Irish-American, etc, whether noun or adjective.

17. Makers and making

A general, though not iron, rule for makers and making: if the prefix is of one or two syllables, attach it without a hyphen to form a single word, but if the prefix is of three or more syllables, introduce a hyphen.

antimacassar-maker
clockmaker
steelmaker
holiday-maker
tiramisu-maker
lawmaker
troublemaker
marketmaker
peacemaker
bookmaker
candlestick-maker
carmaker
chipmaker

Policymaker and profitmaking are one word and an exception. But: note foreign-policy maker (-ing).

18. Other words ending -er (-ing) that are similar to maker and making

The general rule should be to insert a hyphen:

arms-trader
copper-miner
drug-dealer
drug-trafficker
field-worker
front-runner
gun-runner
home-owner
hostage-taker
mill-owner
truck-driver
vegetable-grower

But some prefixes, especially those of one syllable, can be used to form single words.

coalminer
metalworker
shipowner
farmworker
muckraker
steelworker
foxhunter
nitpicker (-ing)
steeplechaser
gatekeeper
peacekeeper
taxpayer
householder
shipbroker
landowner
shipbuilder

Less common combinations are better written as two words:

crossword
compiler
gun
owner
currency
trader
insurance
broker
dog
owner
tuba
player

19. Quotes

Words gathered together in quotation marks as adjectives do not usually need hyphens as well:

the “Live Free or Die” state.

20. One word

airfield
airspace
airtime
bedfellow
bestseller (-ing)
bilingual
blackboard
blackout
blueprint
bookseller
businessman
bypass
cashflow (but cash flow in accountancy)
catchphrase
ceasefire
checklist
coastguard
codebreaker
comeback
commonsense (adj)
crossfire
cyberspace
dotcom
downturn (noun)
faultline
figleaf
fivefold
foothold
forever (adv, when preceding verb)
foxhunter (-ing)
frontline (adj, but noun front line)
girlfriend
goodwill
grassroots (adj and noun)
groundsman
halfhearted
halfway
handpicked
handwriting
hardline
headache
hijack
hobnob
kowtow
lacklustre
landmine
laptop
logjam
loophole
lopsided
lukewarm
machinegun
marketplace
minefield
nationwide
nevertheless
nonetheless
offline
offshore
oilfield
oilrig
online
onshore
peacetime
petrochemical
pickup truck
placename
rainforest
ringtone
roadblock
rustbelt
salesforce
seabed
shorthand
shortlist
shutdown
sidestep
soyabean
spillover
startup
statewide
stockmarket
streetwalker
strongman
sunbelt
takeover
threefold
threshold
timetable
trademark
transatlantic
transpacific
twofold
videocassette
videodisc
wartime
watchdog
website
whistleblower
windfall
workforce
worldwide
worthwhile

21. Two words

ad hoc
air base
air force
air strike
all right
any more
any time
arm’s length
ballot box
birth rate
call centre
child care (noun)
cluster bombs
common sense (noun)
dare say
errand boy
for ever (when used after a verb)
health care (noun)
hedge fund
home page
joint venture
Land Rover
no one
photo opportunity
plea bargain
some day
some time
under way
vice versa
wild flowers (but adj. wildflower)

22. Two hyphenated words

aid-worker
aircraft-carrier
asylum-seekers
baby-boomer
balance-sheet
bell-ringer
break-even
climb-down
come-uppance
court-martial (noun and verb)
cross-border
cross-dresser
cross-sell
death-squads
derring-do
downpayment
drawing-board
end-game
end-year
faint-hearted
fund-raiser (-ing)
grown-up
hand-held
health-care (adj)
heir-apparent
home-made
hot-head
ice-cream
in-fighting
interest-group
kerb-crawler
know-how
laughing-stock
like-minded
long-standing
machine-tool
money-laundering
nation-building
nation-state
nest-egg
news-stand
number-plate
pot-hole
pressuregroup
question-mark
rain-check
safety-valve
short-lived
starting-point
stickingpoint
stumbling-block
subject-matter
suicide-bomb (-er, -ing)
talking-shop
task-force
tear-gas
think-tank
time-bomb
turning-point
voice-over
vote-winner
war-chest
well-being
Wi-Fi
Wi-Max
window-dressing
wish-list
witch-hunt
working-party
write-down (noun)

23. Three words

ad hoc agreement (meeting, etc)
armoured personnel carrier
consumer price index
chief(s) of staff
half a dozen
in as much
in so far
multiple rocket launcher
nuclear power station
sovereign wealth fund
third world war (if things get bad)

24. Three hyphenated words

A-turned-B (unless this leads to something unwieldy, so jobbing churchwarden turned captain of industry)
brother-in-law
chock-a-block
commander-in-chief
no-man’s-land
prisoners-of-war
second-in-command
stock-in-trade

25. Numbers

Avoid from 1947-50 (say in 1947-50 or from 1947 to 1950) and between 1961-65 (say in 1961-65, between 1961 and 1965 or from 1961 to 1965).

“If you take hyphens seriously, you will surely go mad.” (Oxford University Press style manual)

Proofreading

Word breaks

It may be necessary to break words, using a hyphen, at the end of lines. Computer word-processing programs come with standard hyphenation rules but these can always be changed or overruled. Ideally, the aim should be to make these breaks as undisruptive as possible, so that the reader does not stumble or falter. Whenever possible, the word should be broken so that, helped by the context, the reader can anticipate the whole word from the part of it given before the break. Here are some useful principles for deciding how to break a word.

Words that are already hyphenated should be broken at the hyphen, not given a second hyphen.
Words can be broken according to either their derivation (the British convention) or their pronunciation (the US convention): thus, aristo-cracy (UK) or aristoc-racy (US), melli-fluous (UK) or mellif-luous (US). (See Part 2 for American usage.)
Words of one syllable should not be broken.
Words of five or fewer characters should not be broken.
At least three characters must be taken over to the next line.
Words should not be broken so that their identity is confused or their identifying sound is distorted: thus, avoid fun¬ dament, the-rapist.
Personal names and acronyms (eg, nato) should not be broken.
Figures should not be broken or separated from their unit of measurement.
A word formed with a prefix or suffix should be broken at that point: thus, bi-furcated, ante-diluvian, convertible.
If a breakable word contains a double consonant, split it at that point: thus, assess, ship-ping, prob-lem.
Do not hyphenate the last word on the right-hand page.

Extracted from:

The Economist Style Guide