We've got plenty to be thankful for . . . including hyphenated noun phrases!
As we prepare to enter the holiday season, many of us are reflecting on the things we are most thankful for. I am thankful for my relatively sane friends, my rambunctious cats, and, of course, hyphenated noun phrases. What, you may ask, is a hyphenated noun phrase? It is a phrase consisting of hyphenated words that create an adjective, followed by a noun. For example: third-party defendant. A hyphen combines the words “third” and “party” to form an adjective (“third-party”) that describes the noun, “defendant.”
These hyphenated noun phrases have a way of sticking with us. In the same way that children add apostrophes in front of every single “s” they see once they learn about apostrophes, many of us overzealously hyphenate pairs of words that do not need hyphenation, presumably because we are used to seeing them hyphenated in a noun phrase context. I have found that the most pervasive offender is “sign-up.” The absolutely fine term “sign-up sheet” is such a familiar sight nowadays that I often find myself being incorrectly instructed to “sign-up” for something.
Let’s break this down: the two words, “sign” and “up,” are being combined with a hyphen so that they can form an adjective, “sign-up.” That adjective then describes the noun, “sheet.” Q: What kind of sheet is it? A: It is a sign-up sheet. However, were these two words to be used as a verb, there is no reason to hyphenate. Therefore, I would sign up for an event on the sign-up sheet.
Some further examples:
Be sure to eat every last bite of your mom’s well-done turkey. She made sure it was well done because we all know what happens when it’s undercooked. (“Well-done” describes “turkey.”)
Make sure your wine glass is more than half full during the holidays; a half-full glass is a recipe for disaster. (“Half-full” describes “glass.”)
Your uncle Cleatus is a would-be lawyer; he would be a lawyer if he could properly hyphenate noun phrases, but alas, he cannot even spell his own name. (“Would-be” describes “lawyer.”)
NOTE: One exception is that words ending in –ly are generally not hyphenated (see above use of “absolutely fine term”). But thankfully, this general rule will serve you well: when considering whether to hyphenate two words, ask yourself whether the words are forming an adjective to describe another word. If yes, hyphenate. If no, don’t. Easy as pumpkin pie!
That is all for now …