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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Dashed phrases, or quoted?
I am trying to edit an article which contains several long, dashed phrases. Based on my failure to find any examples in this or any other forum, apparently I am either describing them incorrectly,or there are no grammatical rules that apply.
My question is: Which of the following options is correct?
This is a come-as-you-are event.
This is a "come as you are" event.
This is a come as you are event.
...and when there are multiple instances within a sentence?
"I pine for the days when leisurely, early-days-of-summer schedules allowed us to languish at every stop-along-the-way tourist trap."
My question is: Which of the following options is correct?
This is a come-as-you-are event.
This is a "come as you are" event.
This is a come as you are event.
...and when there are multiple instances within a sentence?
"I pine for the days when leisurely, early-days-of-summer schedules allowed us to languish at every stop-along-the-way tourist trap."
Top answer
Those are hyphens, not dashes. These both seem fine to me: This is a come-as-you-are event. This is a "come as you are" event.
- Those are hyphens, not dashes.
- These both seem fine to me: This is a come-as-you-are event.
- This is a "come as you are" event.
- 'Come-as-you-are party' is a common enough fixed phrase, but the problem (like that of many who ask this question) is that the examples produced are usually awkward or even outrageous, and a native writer would not think of creating them in the first place: I pine for the days when leisurely, early summer schedules allowed us to languish at every roadside tourist trap .
- It is a technique to be used only in extremis by those who have no writing skills.
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4 Answers
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Those are hyphens, not dashes. These both seem fine to me:
This is a come-as-you-are event.
This is a "come as you are" event.
'Come-as-you-are party' is a common enough fixed phrase, but the problem (like that of many who ask this question) is that the examples produced are usually awkward or even outrageous, and a native writer would not think of creating
This is a come-as-you-are event.
This is a "come as you are" event.
'Come-as-you-are party' is a common enough fixed phrase, but the problem (like that of many who ask this question) is that the examples produced are usually awkward or even outrageous, and a native writer would not think of creating
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Point taken, but it dodges the question.
I have an author I am editing. Without completely rewriting the voice of her character, how do I best represent this in print?
I have an author I am editing. Without completely rewriting the voice of her character, how do I best represent this in print?
Really? Have you never read Anthony Bourdain or gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson?
a native writer would not think of creating them in the first place
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I have not dodged your question. If I were doing the editing, I would do exactly what I have indicated for both sentences. Why get upset if an answer does not meet your expectations? Plenty of strange formations are out there, of course. I have no idea who Bourdain is, but I know Hunter Thompson's writing, and I would no more recommend his style to a student or writer than I would James Joyce'
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Sorry, I just re-read your original response. I'll blame it on the late hour and difficult editing.
Thanks for your answer.
P.S. Anthony Bourdain has a program on the Travel Channel. He is one of those interesting individuals who has a lyric style that translates well into spoken narrative, but not so effectively into print.
Thanks for your answer.
P.S. Anthony Bourdain has a program on the Travel Channel. He is one of those interesting individuals who has a lyric style that translates well into spoken narrative, but not so effectively into print.
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