Mechanics 101 For 10/17‏

[Comsie]

This week is all about the almighty hyphen in certain words. I've seen hyphenated versions of these words, and I've seen unhyphenated versions.

 

Words like mind-blowing, heart-breaking, nerve-wracking, stand-still...are they considered 'wrong' if spelled without the hyphen included? (if so...BOY have I got a lot of re-editing to do! Hehehe!)

 

I never had an actual spell check before getting this new system about five or six months ago, and since I've been seeing that a lot, I've been attempting to put some faith in the idea that the spell check knows more than I do (so does most of the population of Earth and most lab monkeys). But is this a 'right or wrong' type of thing? Or can it be done either way without making readers cringe?

Edited October 18, 2008 by Comsie

[TalonRider]

This is a topic that has come up for discussion before here. You might also find some useful information located in the Grammar & Punctuation Workshop.