Thursday, March 28, 2024

When Is a Bad Hyphen Not So Bad?

I hardly notice bad hyphens anymore, in the midst of all the typos, grammos, and other errors that fly past me (including my own, I admit).

It was nostalgic to look back at posts I wrote on the subject of bad hyphens from my local newspapers in 2008 and 2013. Back when it was possible to care.

That said, it takes an especially bad one to get my attention these days. The kind that makes reading unintelligible:

At first I wondered what kind of name Timet/wofly was. And then I realized it should have been Time-twofly... which is more understandable as Time two fly

In this case, I think the newspaper is not at fault: following the rules of English hyphenation given to the hyphenation program, that was the spot to put a hyphen; even a proofreader could be forgiven for not realizing what the band's name was supposed to be; and the band should consider changing its name to Timet Wofly, because it would probably be clearer all around.


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