Cleverly-labeled

Question

HiWhat does it mean that something is "cleverly-labeled" for example a medicine? Dos it have a negative connotation?

MIG · Accepted Answer

I think its wrong to use hyphen.
"cleverly labeled" is correct.

Elanguest · Answer

Yes, it can have a negative connotation. It can mean that the product is not very good, but is packaged in such a way as to make people want it.

Elanguest · Answer

By the way, you wouldn't need a hyphen in your sentence: What does it mean when something is "cleverly labeled," for example a medicine?

It would need a hyphen in the following sentence: He is selling cleverly-labeled snake oil.

MIG · Answer

Hi Elanguest.

It would need a hyphen in the following sentence: He is selling cleverly-labeled snake oil.

"Cleverly" is an adverb ending with -ly so I think you can't do it.

Blue Jay · Answer

Cleverly refers to labeled, so it is correct.

GPY · Answer

I think that many style guides advise against hyphenating such compounds with -ly adverbs. I personally would not hyphenate "cleverly labeled snake oil".

Blue Jay · Answer

I ignored the hyphen entirely, and took it as a matter of whether cleverly went with labeled. I clearly need to pay more attention to the quoted section.

Elanguest · Answer

About the never-ending hyphen subject, this was the principle I was referring to (text from www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/hyphen):

"With compound adjectives formed from the adverb well and a participle (e.g. well-known), or from a phrase (e.g. up-to-date), you should use a hyphen when the compound comes before the noun:

well-known brands of coffee
an up-to-date account

but not when the compound comes after the noun:

His music was also well known in England.
Their figures are up to date."

However, I did find this on Wikipedia about -ly adverbs (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen):

"In the 19th century, it was common to hyphenate adverb–adjective modifiers with the adverb ending in -ly. However, this has become rare. For example, wholly owned subsidiary and quickly moving vehicle are unambiguous, because the adverbs clearly modify the adjectives: "quickly" cannot modify "vehicle". However, if an adverb can also function as an adjective, then a hyphen may be or should be used for clarity, depending on the style guide.^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen#cite_note-Grammar_book-4} For example, the phrase more-important reasons ("reasons that are more important") is distinguished from more important reasons ("additional important reasons"), where more is an adjective."

Hyphen use is one of the ambiguities of grammar. It is constantly changing, and there are always people trying to force its usage into concrete rules. In Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, the word today is spelled to-day. I think no one can challenge Wilde's use of the English language, but everyone would agree that to use a hyphen between to and day is incorrect in modern usage. Wilde's play was published little more than a hundred years ago, a fact which proves how quickly "grammar rules" can change. They change because they are not absolute. Language is art, not science.

That being said, I'd like to say to the original poster: I am sorry for this long discussion, which had nothing whatever to do with the question you asked. If you do happen to be interested in hyphen usage, the texts I've pasted above should provide some guidance about how hyphens are being used at the present moment in English. According to Wikipedia, you would not need a hyphen in "cleverly labeled snake oil" because it is not ambiguous that "cleverly" modifies "labeled."

Cleverly-labeled

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