Hot About Hyphens

The Associated Press Stylebook is something of a bible for journalists, at least in the United States; in Canada we have the Canadian Press Stylebook, a copy of which sits on the shelf beside my monitor.

Recently, the AP decided to relax its guidelines on hyphens in compound modifiers (first period goal, for example), saying they weren't necessary when the phrase was commonly used and there was little chance of ambiguity. Prescriptive grammar pedants predictably protested and the AP backtracked slightly, as reported in Boing Boing.

After sustained outrage, the AP backtracked and reversed its advice: "We agree that, for instance, first-half run should be hyphenated. So to conform, we are returning the hyphen to the -quarter phrases. We also hyphenate first-degree murder. But we’re keeping the no-hyphen first grade student, just like high school student."

This, in turn, created more sectarian dissent from people who were still outraged over hyphens.

As a technical writer, I probably used hyphens (and the Oxford comma!) more than strictly necessary, but my main goal was to avoid ambiguity and confusion.

Read more about the controversy in the Columbia Journalism Review.