Customer Reviews

One Word, Two Words, Hyphenated?

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a court reporter and a proofreader for a newspaper, I use this book religiously. This book is a must for anyone writing college papers or writing professionally.

I am a freelance (no hyphen, per the book!) proofreader and copyeditor, and I have an extensive reference library. I keep TWO copies of this book around so I don't have to go far to grab it. It's amazing how many times I look something up in this book, and the answer is almost always there. I recommend this book to most of my clients, as well, as it helps minimize how many corrections I need to make on their materials. It's compact and helpful. Keep one nearby. (I also do customized travel and restaurant research, and when I'm writing reports for my clients about the best places for them to travel and where to stay and eat, I keep encountering words that I want to double check.)It is definitely NOT just for someone responsible for proofreading. While the trend is away from hyphenation and toward "solid" words, this book helps clarify what the current approved format is.

I just came here looking for an update to my 1998 edition, and I can't see a pub. date for what's for sale. Over the last five years, I've seen many two-words turn into one word, and would love an update. This book is fast and easy to use. I have six copies--one for everyone in the office. What about jughandle or jug handle(the traffic engineering term)? It's not listed!

I agree with the reviewers that this book NEEDS an update. It still lists online as on-line. That's ancient! (As far as I'm concerned.)

Otherwise, a great book.

This is a handy helps resource for those who edit or proofread.

I only gave this book a 3. If all you want is a long list of words which may or may not contain a hyphen, this book is for you. I was disappointed on two scores. First, there is virtually no discussion of the hyphen. The author has less than two pages on what her book is, and what it isn't. If you want a discussion of the hyphen, I recommend the book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. The hyphen is discussed in the chapter "A Little Used Punctuation Mark." Another problem I have with the One Word, Two Words, Hyphenated? book is that there are errors in it. I used the Merrian-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, as my source. The author, Mary Gilman, for example, says the words "brand name" do not have a hyphen. Websters' says it is "brand-name". The author says "crowd pleaser" does not have a hyphen, but Webster's says it does ("crowd-pleaser"). Again, the author says "fortuneteller" and "fortunetelling" do not have hyphens. Websters says they do. Hence, "fortune-teller" and "fortune-telling". Granted most of the words in the author's list are ok, but I am surprised to find her list is not 100% correct. Maybe this has to do with the changing of our English language. If you need a quick reference regarding hyphenated words, I recommend this book. But if you need an explanation of hyphens, I recommend Lynne Turss' book. Good luck in any case.

Obviously, more people *need* this awesome book! :) Editing medical transcription, I use it all the time and see instances multiple times daily where others should have...Great also because it's jam-packed but a really thin, space-saving volume.

UPDATE: Though I've changed careers and am now editing legal transcripts and closed captioning, I STILL use this book daily. SO worth the money!

I didn't pay much for this book, but I really enjoy it. I'm a court reporting student and punctuation and grammar are extremely important in my field. I use this book all the time while transcribing tests as a reference.

This was an excellent book and wonderful purchase. I am a court reporting student and this has been a very useful tool for me to have. I am very happy with my purchase.

This is a very handy book! Working in my industry (educational writing), it helps to have a go-to resource.