VOL. XXXIV.

The New York Herald said not long ago: "A twelve foot man eating shark was shot and killed in the Delaware river at Taconey." Why so remarkable a curiosity as a twelvefoot man should have been killed, even if he were eating shark was not explained. Perhaps a twelve-foot man-eating shark was what the Herald writer meant; but a few days afterward the Herald said: "An 850 pound man eating shark was found in a net in the Freeport inlet yesterday."

Often we see strange words in the newspapers. When first we saw "prewar," we may have wondered whether it should be pronounced "proo-ar," or how, but now we know it means "pre-war." So some very likely were puzzled by the headline, "George W. Monroe Rewed Privately," until they realized

No. 8.

that Mr. Monroe had been re-wed. The second word in the title of a book, set all in capitals, "THE PANGERMAN PLOT UNMASKED," looked like a man's name until it was realized that it referred to the Pan-German Plot. The headline, "Frozen Fish Dealers Arrange for Profits," appeared in April, when fish-dealers are not likely to be frozen, although fish may be. The story underneath showed that frozen-fish-dealers were meant. A wholly wrong idea was given by the headline printed in the Canton Daily News, "BRIDE TO BE KILLED BY MOTORCYCLE." It should have read : "BRIDE-TO-BE KILLED BY MOTORCYCLE." Another headline, "Anti-Trading Stamp Bill Filed in Senate," also gave the wrong idea. It was an anti-trading-stamp bill that was filed. Reading that a tract of land is to be divided into thirty acre farms, how do you know whether thirty one-acre farms or a number of thirty-acre farms is meant?

Compound words sometimes look queer when printed without a hyphen, as, for instance, "hydroaeroplane," "hydroelectric," "antiimperialist," "taillight," or "motheaten." Of course, reading that the New Jersey Republican State Committee "is asking the members of the party to contribute to its coffers one hundred thousand dollar bills," we know that the committee is n't asking for one hundred thousand-dollar bills, but the meaning would have been plainer if the phrase had been printed "100,000 dollar bills."

Sometimes the omission of a hyphen seriously changes the meaning of a sentence, as in the advertisement said to have been printed as follows in a London paper: "Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Levi, having cast off clothing of every description, invite an early inspection."

Common sense is a good guide for the use or the non-use of the hyphen. It does n't make much difference whether we write

proof reader, proofreader or proof-reader, since the meaning is clear in any case, but it does make a difference whether we write re-cover or recover; recreation or re-creation; re-mark or remark, because the alternative words mean different things The hyphen should always be used if misinterpretation is possible without it, as "a poor-rate collection,"

66

66

a poor rate-collection"; "a pickled herring-merchant," "a pickled-herring merchant." The following phrases, as printed, with or without hyphens, are obviously wrong: An infallible wrinkle-remover and a superfluous hair-remover ( should be 3 superfluous-hair-remover "); the most bigoted anti-trade unionist (should be "anti-tradeunionist "); lay-writers (nonprofessional writers, not writers of lays; should be "lay writers"); the strong Navy agitation (should be "the strong-Navy agitation"); an antihigh tariff editorial ( should be “an anti-hightariff editorial"); the ex-Navy League president (should be "the ex-Navy-League-president" or, much better, the ex-President of the Navy League); pre-World War cost of living (should be " pre World-War cost of living"); cost of living statistics (should be "cost-of-living statistics").

Common-sense consideration of the mean. ing intended to be conveyed in these cases makes it plain whether or not the hyphen should be used. The object of the hyphen is to make the meaning clear.

Sometimes the way in which we pronounce a phrase indicates whether or not the hyphen should be used in writing it. For instance, when we say : "Robins are not blue birds, and they are not at all like bluebirds," we pronounce "blue birds" and bluebirds " with a difference of accent which indicates that "blue birds" should be written as two words, while "bluebirds" should be written as a compound word. So, in pronunciation we make a distinction between "a strong Navy agitation" and a strong-Navy agitation."

Thus rules for the use of the hyphen are beginning to appear. A hyphen, or as many hypl.ens as are necessary, should be used when words are combined to make an adjectival expression, representing a single idea before a noun, as never-to-be-forgotten event, peace-at-any-price principles, well-to-do fam

ily. Hyphens should not be used when such combinations are used as predicate adjectives. We should write: "He is a man quite up to date, with up-to-date ideas"; "You often see him in the moving-picture theatres, because he likes the moving pictures"; "Those who belong to the middle class may be expected to have middle-class ideas."

Manly and Powell's "A Manual for Writers" says the hyphen should be used in nouns formed by the combination of two nouns one of which stands in an objective relation to the other, as mind-reader, office-holder, hero-worship, wood-turning. The main question is whether the compound word, expressing the combined ideas of its component parts, can be written without a hyphen and still not shock the eye. Schoolroom, workshop, taxpayer can ; story-teller, sleeping-room, office-holder, property-owner cannot. The modern tendency is to omit the hyphen where it is not required. To-day, to-night, and to-morrow always used to be written and printed with a hyphen. Now in these words the hyphen is generally omitted, with no loss to any one.

The following rules for the use of the hyphen are given by authorities :

Wilson says the hyphen should be used: 1. In those compounds in which the first of the primitive words ends, and the second begins with the same letter; as, book-keeping, ear-ring, night-time.

2. In those compounds in which the first of two primitives ends, and the second begins, with a vowel; as, fire-arms, peace-offering.

3. In those compounds whose meaning would be obscured, or whose pronunciation would be less easily known, by the consolidation of the simples, as, pot-herb, soap-house, first-rate. [Wilson might have added top-hat.]

4. In all compounds ending with the word tree"; as, pear-tree, apple-tree; also in those terminating with "book"; as, day-book, shop-book.

5. In nouns formed of a verb and an adverb or preposition; as, a break-down, a look-out or of a present participle and a noun; as, dwelling-place, humming-bird, printing-press.

6. In adjectives, or epithets, which are formed in a great variety of ways; as, heart-broken, first-born, one-legged, two

leaved, ill-bred, grown-up, unlooked-for, unheard-of, good-looking, above-said, churchgoing, brain-racking.

Manly and Powell say :

A verbal noun ending in -ing united with a preposition used absolutely (i.e., not governing a following noun) should take a hyphen; as, The putting-in or taking-out of a hyphen. Compounds of fellow, father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, parent, and foster should be hyphenated when forming the first element of the compound; as, fellow-man, fellow-beings, father-love (but fatherland), mother-tongue, brother-officer, sister-nation, foster-son, parent-word.

Compounds of "great," indicating the fourth degree in a direct line of descent, should be hyphenated; as, great-grandfather, great-grandmother.

Compounds of dealer, god (when this word forms the second element of the compound ), life, maker, master, and world take a hyphen ; as, coal-dealer, sun-god (but godson, godfather, godsend), life-principle (exception lifetime ), tool-maker, master-stroke (exception masterpiece), world-power.

Half, quarter, etc., combined with a noun should be followed by a hyphen; as, halftruth, half-tone, half-year, half-title; quartermile.

Compounds having self" or "by" as the first element of the compound are hyphenated; as, self-evident, self-respect; by-product, bylaws.

Combinations with "fold" should be written as one word if the number contains only one syllable; as two words if it contains more than one syllable; as, twofold, tenfold ; fifteen fold, a hundred fold.

Adjectives formed by the suffixation of "like" to a noun are usually written as one word if the noun contains only one syllable (except when ending in 1); if it contains more (or is a proper noun), they should be hyphenated; as, childlike, homelike, warlike, godlike; eel-like, bell-like, woman-like, business-like; Napoleon-like (but: Christlike). "Vice," "ex," "elect," "general," and "lieutenant," constituting parts of titles should be connected with the chief noun by a hyphen; as, Vice-Consul Taylor, ex-President Roose

velt, the governor-elect, the postmaster-general, the lieutenant-colonel. [It should be noted that "ex" properly begins with a small letter instead of with a capital E, as it is often printed.]

The prefix "non-" should ordinarily be followed by a hyphen except in the commonest words; as, non-contagious, non-unionist, noninterference; but nonessential, noncombatant.

The prefixes ante-, anti-, bi-, co-, demi-, infra-, inter-, intra-, pre-, post-, re-, semi-, sub-, super-, tri-, are ordinarily joined to the word without a hyphen unless followed by the same vowel as that in which they terminate, or by W or y; as, antechamber, antiseptic (but anti-imperialistic), biweekly, bipartisan, coequal (but : co-ordinate), demigod, intramural (but intra-atomic), postgraduate, prearrange (but pre-empt ), recast (but re-enter), semiannual, subconscious, subtitle, superfine, triweekly, tricolor (but co-workers, re-yield ). Exceptions are such formations as ante-bellum, anteNicene, anti-Semitic, post-revolutionary, and combinations with proper names, long or unusual formations, and words in which the omission of the hyphen would convey a meaning different from that intended; as, preRaphaelite, re-for.nation (as distinguished from reformation ), re-cover (meaning to cover again).

Quasi, extra, super, and ultra (prefixed to a noun or adjective) as a rule call for a hyphen; as, quasi-historical, extra-hazardous, ultra-conservative extraordinary, Ultramontane ).

(but :