Recently, I wrote about some changes to the AP Stylebook’s rules on hyphens. Specifically, I reported that AP is going lighter on them, arguing that if a hyphen doesn’t do anything to make a compound ...

People get hyped about hyphens. Hyphens are tricky creatures that can't be summed up in a few words. They are sometimes overused, other times underused. They follow a few rules then haphazardly ignore ...

Call me crazy. I'm dog-sitting this weekend, and we already have three dogs of our own. The visiting dog is a 1-year-old miniature beagle, and our beagle mix thinks he's a long-lost brother. They race ...

Which is right: a backup plan, a back-up plan or a back up plan? How about a cutoff date, a cut-off date or a cut off date? A takeout menu, a take-out menu or a take out menu? The answer: There is no ...

Numbers one through nine are written out; 10 and up are digits. This can be confusing because you can switch between writing out numbers and digits in the same sentence. EXAMPLE: There are eight ...

Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter. During the recent gathering of the American Copy Editors Society, a lot of “hyphen” jokes made the rounds. One was “Why we ...