Q. Hello, No hyphen after a number and before the word “percent”; that’s the rule, per Chicago. But if part of a longer modifier, would the following be correct? Mike said, “A 15-to-20-percent-a-year increase in sales is what’s expected.” Thank you.
A. That’s tricky, but it doesn’t need to be. Just change “a-year” to “yearly” or “annual” (and edit out the redundant “what’s” while you’re at it). Now you have “a 15 to 20 percent annual increase in sales is expected.” Or you could use an en dash in place of “to”: “a 15–20 percent annual increase . . .” (see our hyphenation guide, under “number + percent”).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I’ve been having a discussion about the use of the term “water-resistant.” Chicago style dictates the use of a hyphen in such a compound only when it precedes a noun. However, the term is recognized by Merriam-Webster.
A. You’re lucky—you can’t go wrong! If you value consistency, make a note of which one you choose. Keep in mind that when such adjectival compounds follow the noun they modify, hyphenation is usually unnecessary, even for those that are hyphenated in Merriam-Webster (such as well-read or ill-humored).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Does CMOS have an official position on hyphenating “the then” when used to indicate something or someone’s former status?
A. Since then is just an adjective like any other adjective, there’s no need for a hyphen.
- the current secretary of state
- the previous secretary of state
- the then secretary of state
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. How would you treat “over apologize” in this sentence? “Be careful not to over apologize.”
A. Over is a prefix in that case, so close it up: “Be careful not to overapologize.” Please see CMOS 7.89, section 4 (“Words Formed with Prefixes”), under the prefix over.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Hi CMOS—I work in mortgages, and with the increasing popularity of a “digital lending process” come electronic signatures. No one in my company can seem to agree on how to style this particular term, and as you can imagine, it comes up quite a lot. I’ve seen it four ways:
e-sign(ature)
E-sign(ature)
e-Sign(ature)
eSign(ature)
As I’m working on our in-house style guide, I’m also having to decide how it’s styled in a title or section heading of a policy document. Currently, I have eSignature as a noun and e-sign as a verb, and when it’s a verb capitalized in a title or section heading, it’s E-sign. I need to decide on four styles: (1) noun in a sentence, (2) noun in a title or at the beginning of a sentence, (3) verb in a sentence, and (4) verb in a title or at the beginning of a sentence. This is making my eyes cross. Am I good with what I have, or do you have a suggestion? I’ve consulted M-W and turned up nothing.
A. CMOS covers this at 7.89 (“Hyphenation Guide”), in section 3 under e: “Hyphenated except for email (a departure from previous editions) and certain proper nouns.” Note that capping the S in e-Signature gives it the look of a trademarked or branded product. In a title or section heading you would follow the normal CMOS style for nouns or verbs beginning with a hyphenated prefix: E-signature, E-sign. Please see CMOS 8.161.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is word-for-word hyphenated? Is side-by-side hyphenated?
A. They are both hyphenated only if they precede the word that they modify: There were side-by-side mirrors. The mirrors were side by side.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If someone has a compound surname like “De Chicago-Smith,” do we use an en dash? I understand the rationale, but I think it looks weird (but who cares what I think?). What about “De Chicago-Von Suedkurve Auf Der CSS&SBRR,” for example?
A. Although a simple hyphenated name normally takes (no surprise) a hyphen, a name with multiple appendages might be able to pull off the slightly longer en dash. Anyone with such a dazzling name as “De Chicago–Von Suedkurve Auf Der CSS&SBRR” deserves all the dashes and doodads they want. (And we care what you think.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Forgive me for what might be an obvious and maybe annoying question, but what do you recommend when your advice seems to differ from Merriam-Webster when it comes to hyphenation of prefixes?
A. Here at CMOS we follow our own hyphenation advice. That’s more or less the point of coming up with it. Merriam-Webster is the backup resource that we use when CMOS doesn’t state a specific style.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Our office compiles, edits, and publishes the laws and statutes for the state legislature. Some people in the office are averse to hyphenating phrasal adjectives, particularly ones that consist of open compounds, because they feel “these are terms recognized by everyone and are unnecessary to hyphenate. There is no confusion when reading ‘wild rice industry,’ ‘general fund appropriation,’ ‘high school student.’ These terms are instantly recognizable.” A bit presumptuous, no? A good editor helps the reader, especially when it comes to law and litigation. How does one decide whether a term is known to everyone in the world?
A. It’s not easy. You must send out a survey to everyone in the world and wait for them all to reply. Meanwhile, the rest of us will struggle along with common sense, CMOS 7.84, and a good dictionary.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. According to the CMOS hyphenation guide, number + noun modifiers call for a hyphen, but what about noun + number modifiers? I’m interested in cases such as “stage-2 cancer” versus “stage 2 cancer” and “stage-C3 HIV” versus “stage C3 HIV.” My suspicion is that the answer is in fact to forgo the hyphen.
A. You’re right—no hyphen. You can find this advice in the “noun + numeral or enumerator” section of the hyphenation guide, which says, “Both noun and adjective forms always open” and gives the following examples:
a type A executive
type 2 diabetes
size 12 slacks
a page 1 headline
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]