Hyphens, En Dashes, Em Dashes

Q. The clarification on compound color hyphenation in the 16th edition is greatly appreciated, but my coeditors and I still disagree on a problem common in fiction: do general modifiers such as “dark,” “light,” or “bright” count as compounds when used with a color (“dark-blue tie,” akin to “midnight-blue tie”) or as a set of distinct adjectives following Chicago’s preference for minimal hyphenation (“dark blue tie,” akin to “old blue tie”)?

Q. Is co-worker hyphenated? The dictionary that I have does not list coworker—it only lists the word in relation to the prefix co- and shows co-worker in a list with other words. I looked in the hyphenation section of the manual that shows examples, and I don’t see examples for a prefix (like co-) and a noun.

Q. Consider the following sentence: “I am bored by exhibitions of folk-, line-, and square dancing.” Are the hyphens correct even though the compounds contain no hyphens? Similarly, “He was a poor student in both middle- and high school.” I believe the hyphen is needed here, but will defer to your opinion.

Q. A coeditor and I have a difference of opinion with regard to the following as it relates to “spare use” of hyphens. I maintain that hyphens are necessary because both words together modify the noun that follows. My coeditor thinks they aren’t needed. Can you settle the debate? Here are some examples: “IBM-based software” or “IBM based software” “End-user documentation” or “end user documentation”

Q. Editors at the three campuses of the University of Illinois are questioning the use of hyphens in these terms for a report: Native-American students or Native American students? African-American students or African American students? Asian-American students or Asian American students? All three campuses are using hyphens for the second two examples, but not for the first. We aren’t able to say why exactly, and I wasn’t able to find an answer in CMOS. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks.

Q. I need to know the difference between a soft and hard hyphen in regard to proofing marks. Can you please help me out? Thank you kindly.

Q. Is the prefix “non” always used without the hyphen now? For example: nonresponse, as opposed to non-response.

Q. Should the word “pre-dewatering” be hyphenated?

Q. What is an en dash?

Q. I’m interested in how you would treat the following issue of double punctuation: U.S.-oriented. I decided to omit the hyphen, which I would have otherwise used, because I didn’t like the way it looked following an abbreviation period.