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Goronsky Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
The Chicago Manual of Style Replied to Me
The Chicago Manual of Style replied to a question of mine and had this to say: " Please see CMOS 6.80; an en dash is used to prevent confusion; it’s a style choice, not a rule that cannot be broken.
"None of your phrases are enhanced by an en dash, as in "a 3–5-day break." It doesn’t improve comprehension, and the mixture of hyphens and en dashes simply looks like bad typesetting. We do not endorse ungainly modifier strings like the ones in your examples, but if you are forced to use them, just use hyphens."
Based on their guidance for just using hyphens, would the following examples accurately represent their reply – yes or no?
Please, no recasts.
a 5-10%-a-year increase
a $30,000-$40,000-a-year job
a $3-$5-million-a-year contract
a group of 50-55-year-olds
a group of 50-55-year-old men
a 2-3-foot hole
a 2-3-foot-deep hole
a 1-2-inch laceration
a 1-2-inch-deep laceration
a 10-15-mile drive
a 10-15-mile-long drive
20-40-minute intervals
20-30-, 40-50-, and 60-70-year-old men
Thank you.
"None of your phrases are enhanced by an en dash, as in "a 3–5-day break." It doesn’t improve comprehension, and the mixture of hyphens and en dashes simply looks like bad typesetting. We do not endorse ungainly modifier strings like the ones in your examples, but if you are forced to use them, just use hyphens."
Based on their guidance for just using hyphens, would the following examples accurately represent their reply – yes or no?
Please, no recasts.
a 5-10%-a-year increase
a $30,000-$40,000-a-year job
a $3-$5-million-a-year contract
a group of 50-55-year-olds
a group of 50-55-year-old men
a 2-3-foot hole
a 2-3-foot-deep hole
a 1-2-inch laceration
a 1-2-inch-deep laceration
a 10-15-mile drive
a 10-15-mile-long drive
20-40-minute intervals
20-30-, 40-50-, and 60-70-year-old men
Thank you.
Top answer
goronsky We do not endorse ungainly modifier strings like the ones in your examples YAY, CMS!!
- goronsky We do not endorse ungainly modifier strings like the ones in your examples YAY, CMS!!
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3 Answers
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goronskyWe do not endorse ungainly modifier strings like the ones in your examplesYAY, CMS!!
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goronskyyes or no?Please, no recasts.People are free to respond in any sensible way they wish, goronsky. If any responses are not to your taste, you may choose to ignore them.
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goronsky" Please see CMOS 6.80; an en dash is used to prevent confusion; it’s a style choice, not a rule that cannot be broken".You are missing the whole purpose of written language: to clearly communicate a person's thoughts over space and time.
Punctuation marks are a convenience of notation, indicating unspoken cadences in speech — no one says "fifty e
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