[U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual]
[Chapter 6- Compounding rules]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 75]]

 
                      6. COMPOUNDING RULES

                (See also ``Compounding Examples'')

  6.1. A compound word is a union of two or more words, either 
with or without a hyphen. It conveys a unit idea that is not as 
clearly or quickly conveyed by the component words in 
unconnected succession. The hyphen is a mark of punctuation 
that not only unites but separates the component words, and 
thus facilitates understanding, aids readability, and ensures 
correct pronunciation. When compound words must be divided at 
the end of a line, such division should be made leaving 
prefixes and combining forms of more than one syllable intact.

  6.2. In applying the rules in this chapter and in using the 
list of examples in the following chapter, ``Compounding 
Examples,'' the fluid nature of our language should be kept in 
mind. Word forms constantly undergo modification. Two-word 
forms, which often acquired the hyphen first, frequently bypass 
the hyphen stage and instantly assume a one-word form.

  6.3. The rules, therefore, are somewhat flexible. Exceptions 
must necessarily be allowed. Current language trends continue 
to point to closing up certain words which, through either 
frequent use or widespread dissemination through modern media 
exposure, have become fixed in the reader's mind as units of 
thought. The tendency to merge two short words continues to be 
a natural progression toward better communication.

General rules

  6.4. In general, omit the hyphen when words appear in regular 
order and the omission causes no ambiguity in sense or sound.

banking hours
blood pressure
book value
census taker
day laborer
eye opener
fellow citizen
living costs
palm oil
patent right
real estate
rock candy
training ship
violin teacher

  6.5. Words are usually combined to express a literal or 
nonliteral (figurative) unit idea that would not be as clearly 
expressed in unconnected succession.

afterglow
bookkeeping
cupboard
forget-me-not
gentleman
newsprint
right-of-way
whitewash

  6.6. A derivative of a compound retains the solid or 
hyphenated form of the original compound unless otherwise 
indicated.

coldbloodedness
footnoting
ill-advisedly
outlawry
praiseworthiness
railroader
Y-shaped

[[Page 76]]


  6.7. A hyphen is used to avoid doubling a vowel or tripling a 
consonant, except after the short prefixes co, de, pre, pro, 
and re, which are generally printed solid. (See also rules 6.29 
and 6.32.)

cooperation
deemphasis
preexisting
anti-inflation
micro-organism
semi-independent
brass-smith
Inverness-shire
thimble-eye
ultra-atomic
shell-like
hull-less
but 
co-occupant
cross section
  

Solid compounds

  6.8. Print solid two nouns that form a third when the 
compound has only one primary accent, especially when the 
prefixed noun consists of only one syllable or when one of the 
elements loses its original accent.

airship
bathroom
bookseller
cupboard
dressmaker
  
fishmonger
footnote
  
locksmith
workman
  

  6.9. Print solid a noun consisting of a short verb and an 
adverb as its second element, except when the use of the solid 
form would interfere with comprehension.

blowout
breakdown
builddown
cooldown
flareback
giveaway
hangover
holdup
makeready
markoff
pickup
  
runoff
setup
showdown
throwaway
tradeoff
  
but
cut-in
phase-in
run-in
sit-in
tie-in

  6.10. Compounds beginning with the following nouns are 
usually printed solid.

book
eye
horse
house
mill
play
school
shop
snow
way
wood
work

  6.11. Compounds ending in the following are usually printed 
solid, especially when the prefixed word consists of one 
syllable.

berry
bird
blossom
board
boat
book
borne
bound
box
boy
brained
bug
bush
craft
field
fish
flower
fly
girl
grower
headed
hearted
holder
hopper
house
keeper
keeping
land
light
like
line
load
maid
maker
making
man
master
mate
mill
mistress
monger
over
owner
  but #ownership
person
picker
picking
piece
plane
power
proof
roach
room
shop
site
skin
smith
stone
store
tail
tight
time (not clock)
ward
ware
water
way
wear
weed
wide
wise
woman
wood
work
worker
working
worm
worthy
writer
writing
yard

  6.12. Print solid any, every, no, and some when combined with 
body, thing, and where. When one is the second element, print 
as

[[Page 77]]

two words if meaning a single or particular person or thing. To 
avoid mispronunciation, print no one as two words at all times.

      anybody
      anything
      anywhere
      anyone
    everybody
    everything
    everywhere
    everyone
    nobody
    nothing
    nowhere
    no one
    somebody
    something
    somewhere
    someone

  but any one of us may stay; every one of the pilots is 
        responsible; every body was accounted for

  6.13. Print compound personal pronouns as one word.

      herself
      himself
      itself
    myself
    oneself
    ourselves
    themselves
    thyself
  
    yourself
    yourselves
  

  6.14. Print as one word compass directions consisting of two 
points, but use a hyphen after the first point when three 
points are combined.

 northeast
 southwest
north-northeast
south-southwest
  also north-south alignment

Unit modifiers

  6.15. Print a hyphen between words, or abbreviations and 
words, combined to form a unit modifier immediately preceding 
the word modified, except as indicated in rule 6.16 and 
elsewhere throughout this chapter. This applies particularly to 
combinations in which one element is a present or past 
participle.
agreed-upon standards
Baltimore-Washington road
collective-bargaining talks
contested-election case
contract-bar rule
cost-of-living increase
drought-stricken area
English-speaking nation
fire-tested material
Federal-State-local cooperation
German-English descent
guided-missile program
hearing-impaired class
high-speed line
large-scale project
law-abiding citizen
long-term loan
line-item veto
long-term-payment loan
low-cost housing
lump-sum payment
most-favored-nation clause
multiple-purpose uses
no-par-value stock
one-on-one situation
part-time personnel
rust-resistant covering
service-connected disability
state-of-the-art technology
supply-side economics
tool-and-die maker
up-or-down vote
U.S.-owned property; U.S.-flag ship
1-inch diameter; 2-inch-diameter pipe
a 4-percent increase, the 10-percent rise
  
but
4 percent citric acid
4 percent interest. (Note the absence of an article: a, an, or the. The 
  word of is understood here.)

  6.16. Where meaning is clear and readability is not aided, it 
is not necessary to use a hyphen to form a temporary or made 
compound. Restraint should be exercised in forming unnecessary 
combinations of words used in normal sequence.

atomic energy power
bituminous coal industry
child welfare plan
civil rights case

[[Page 78]]


civil service examination
durable goods industry
flood control study
free enterprise system
ground water levels
high school student
elementary school grade
income tax form
interstate commerce law
land bank loan
land use program
life insurance company
mutual security funds
national defense appropriation
natural gas company
per capita expenditure
Portland cement plant
production credit loan
public at large
public utility plant
real estate tax
small businessman
Social Security pension
soil conservation measures
special delivery mail
parcel post delivery
speech correction class
  
but no-hyphen rule (readability aided); not no hyphen rule

  6.17. Print without a hyphen a compound predicate adjective 
or predicate noun the second element of which is a present 
participle.

The duties were price fixing.
The effects were far reaching.
The shale was oil bearing.
The area is used for beet raising.

  6.18. Print without a hyphen a compound predicate adjective 
the second element of which is a past participle. Omit the 
hyphen in a predicate modifier of comparative or superlative 
degree.

The area is drought stricken.
The paper is fine grained.
Moderately fine grained wood.
The boy is freckle faced.
This material is fire tested.
The cars are higher priced.
The reporters are better informed.

  6.19. Print without a hyphen a two-word modifier the first 
element of which is a comparative or superlative.

better drained soil
best liked books
higher level decision
highest priced apartment
larger sized dress
better paying job
lower income group
but
uppercrust society
lowercase, uppercase type
upperclassman
bestseller (noun)
lighter-than-air craft
higher-than-market price

  6.20. Do not use a hyphen in a two-word unit modifier the 
first element of which is an adverb ending in ly, nor use 
hyphens in a three-word unit modifier the first two elements of 
which are adverbs.

eagerly awaited moment
wholly owned subsidiary
unusually well preserved specimen
very well defined usage
longer than usual lunch period
not too distant future
most often heard phrase
but
ever-normal granary
ever-rising flood
still-new car
still-lingering doubt
well-known lawyer
well-kept secret

  6.21. Proper nouns used as unit modifiers, either in their 
basic or derived form, retain their original form; but the 
hyphen is printed when combining forms.

Latin American countries
North Carolina roads
a Mexican-American
South American trade
Spanish-American pride
Winston-Salem festival
African-American program
Anglo-Saxon period
Franco-Prussian War
Seventh-day Adventists

[[Page 79]]


but
Minneapolis-St. Paul region
North American-South American sphere
French-English descent
Washington-Wilkes-Barre route
  or Washington/Wilkes-Barre route

  6.22. Do not confuse a modifier with the word it modifies.

elderly clothesman
old-clothes man
competent shoemaker
wooden-shoe maker
field canning factory
tomato-canning factory
gallant serviceman
service men and women
light blue hat (weight)
light-blue hat (color)
average taxpayer
income-tax payer
American flagship (military)
American-flag ship
well-trained schoolteacher
elementary school teacher
preschool children (kindergarten)
pre-school children (before school)
rezoned wastesite
hazardous-waste site

but
common stockholder
stock ownership
small businessman
working men and women
steam powerplant site
meat packinghouse owner
  6.23. Where two or more hyphenated compounds have a common 
basic element and this element is omitted in all but the last 
term, the hyphens are retained.
      2- to 3- and 4- to 5-ton trucks
      2- by 4-inch boards, but boards 2 to 6 inches wide
      8-, 10-, and 16-foot boards
      6.4-, 3.1-, and 2-percent pay raises
      moss- and ivy-covered walls, not moss and ivy-covered 
        walls
      long- and short-term money rates, not long and short-term 
        money rates
  but twofold or threefold, not two or threefold
      goat, sheep, and calf skins, not goat, sheep, and 
        calfskins
      intrastate and intracity, not intra-state and -city
      American owned and managed companies
      preoperative and postoperative examination

  6.24. Do not use a hyphen in a unit modifier consisting of a 
foreign phrase.

ante bellum days
bona fide transaction
ex officio member
per capita tax
per diem employee
prima facie evidence

  6.25. Do not print a hyphen in a unit modifier containing a 
letter or a numeral as its second element.

abstract B pages
article 3 provisions
class II railroad
grade A milk
point 4 program
ward D beds

  6.26. Do not use a hyphen in a unit modifier enclosed in 
quotation marks unless it is normally a hyphenated term, but 
quotation marks are not to be used in lieu of a hyphen.

``blue sky'' law
``good neighbor'' policy
``tie-in'' sale

but
right-to-work law
line-item veto

  6.27. Print combination color terms as separate words, but 
use a hyphen when such color terms are unit modifiers.

bluish green
dark green
orange red
bluish-green feathers
iron-gray sink
silver-gray body



[[Page 80]]


  6.28. Do not use a hyphen between independent adjectives 
preceding a noun.

big gray cat
a fine old southern gentleman

Prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms

  6.29. Print solid combining forms and prefixes, except as 
indicated elsewhere.
afterbirth
Anglomania
antedate
antislavery
biweekly
bylaw
circumnavigation
cisalpine
cooperate
contraposition
countercase
deenergize
demitasse
excommunicate
extracurricular
foretell
heroicomic
hypersensitive
hypoacid
inbound
infrared
interview
intraspinal
introvert
isometric
macroanalysis
mesothorax
metagenesis
microphone
misstate
monogram
multicolor
neophyte
nonneutral
offset
outbake
overactive
pancosmic
paracentric
particoated
peripatetic
planoconvex
polynodal
postscript
preexist
proconsul
pseudoscholastic
reenact
retrospect
semiofficial
stepfather
subsecretary
supermarket
thermocouple
transonic
transship
tricolor
ultraviolet
unnecessary
underflow

  6.30. Print solid combining forms and suffixes, except as 
indicated elsewhere.
portable
coverage
operate
plebiscite
twentyfold
spoonful
kilogram
geography
manhood
selfish
pumpkin
meatless
outlet
wavelike
procurement
innermost
partnership
lonesome
homestead
northward
clockwise

  6.31. Print solid words ending in like, but use a hyphen to 
avoid tripling a consonant or when the first element is a 
proper name.

lifelike
lilylike
girllike
bell-like
Scotland-like
MacArthur-like

  6.32. Use a hyphen or hyphens to prevent mispronunciation, to 
ensure a definite accent on each element of the compound, or to 
avoid ambiguity.

anti-hog-cholera serum
co-occurrence
co-op
mid-decade
multi-ply (several plies)
non-civil-service position
non-tumor-bearing tissue
pre-midcourse review
pre-position (before)
pro-choice
pro-life
re-cover (cover again)
re-creation (create again)
re-lay (lay again)
re-sorting (sort again)
re-treat (treat again)
un-ionized
un-uniformity

but 
rereferred
rereviewed

[[Page 81]]


  6.33. Use a hyphen to join duplicated prefixes.

re-redirect
sub-subcommittee
super-superlative

  6.34. Print with a hyphen the prefixes ex, self, and quasi.

ex-governor
ex-serviceman
ex-son-in-law
ex-vice-president
self-control
self-educated
quasi-academic
quasi-argument
quasi-corporation
quasi-young
  
but 
selfhood
selfsame

  6.35. Unless usage demands otherwise, use a hyphen to join a 
prefix or combining form to a capitalized word. (The hyphen is 
retained in words of this class set in caps.)

anti-American
pro-British
un-American
non-Government
neo-Nazi
post-World War II
  or post-Second World War
non-Federal
  
but 
nongovernmental
overanglicize
transatlantic

Numerical compounds

  6.36. Print a hyphen between the elements of compound numbers 
from twenty-one to ninety-nine and in adjective compounds with 
a numerical first element.
twenty-one
twenty-first
6-footer
6-foot-11-inch man
24-inch ruler
3-week vacation
8-hour day
10-minute delay
20th-century progress
3-to-1 ratio
5-to-4 vote
.22-caliber cartridge
2-cent-per-pound tax
four-in-hand tie
three-and-twenty
two-sided question
multimillion-dollar fund
10-dollar-per-car tax
thirty- (30-) day period
  
but 
one hundred and twenty-one
100-odd
foursome
threescore
foursquare
$20 million airfield
second grade children

  6.37. Print without a hyphen a modifier consisting of a 
possessive noun preceded by a numeral. (See also rule 8.14.)

1 month's layoff
1 week's pay
2 hours' work
  
3 weeks' vacation
1 minute's delay
  
but a 1-minute delay

  6.38. Print a hyphen between the elements of a fraction, but 
omit it between the numerator and the denominator when the 
hyphen appears in either or in both.

one-thousandth
two-thirds
two one-thousandths
twenty-three thirtieths
twenty-one thirty-seconds
three-fourths of an inch

[[Page 82]]


  6.39. A unit modifier following and reading back to the word 
or words modified takes a hyphen and is printed in the 
singular.

      motor, alternating-current, 3-phase, 60-cycle, 115-volt
      glass jars: 5-gallon, 2-gallon, 1-quart
      belts: 2-inch, 1\1/4\-inch, \1/2\-inch, \1/4\-inch

Civil and military titles

  6.40. Do not hyphenate a civil or military title denoting a 
single office, but print a double title with a hyphen.

ambassador at large
assistant attorney general
commander in chief
comptroller general
Congressman at Large
major general
sergeant at arms
notary public
secretary general
secretary-treasurer
treasurer-manager
under secretary
  but under-secretaryship
vice president
  but vice-presidency

  6.41. The adjectives elect and designate, as the last element 
of a title, require a hyphen.

President-elect (Federal)
Vice-President-elect (Federal)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development-designate
ambassador-designate
minister-designate

Scientific and technical terms

  6.42. Do not print a hyphen in scientific terms (names of 
chemicals, diseases, animals, insects, plants) used as unit 
modifiers if no hyphen appears in their original form.

carbon monoxide poisoning
guinea pig raising
hog cholera serum
methyl bromide solution
stem rust control
equivalent uranium content
whooping cough remedy
  
 but
Russian-olive plantings
Douglas-fir tree

  6.43. Chemical elements used in combination with figures use 
a hyphen, except with superior figures.

Freon-12
polonium-210
uranium-235
 U235
Sr90
92U234

  6.44. Note use of hyphens and closeup punctuation in chemical 
formulas.

      9-nitroanthra(1,9,4,10)bis(1)oxathiazone-2,7-bisdioxide
      Cr-Ni-Mo
      2,4-D

  6.45. Print a hyphen between the elements of technical or 
contrived compound units of measurement.

candela-hour
crop-year
horsepower-hour
light-year
passenger-mile
staff-hour
work-year
  
but kilowatthour

[[Page 83]]



Improvised compounds

  6.46. Print with a hyphen the elements of an improvised 
compound.

blue-pencil (v.)
18-year-old (n., u.m.)
know-it-all (n.)
know-how (n.)
lick-the-finger-and-test-the-wind economics
make-believe (n., u.m.)
one-man-one-vote principle
roll-on/roll-off ship
George ``Pay-As-You-Go'' Miller
stick-in-the-mud (n.)
let-George-do-it attitude
how-to-be-beautiful course
hard-and-fast rule
penny-wise and pound-foolish policy
first-come-first-served basis
  but a basis of first come, first
     served

  6.47. Use hyphens in a prepositional-phrase compound noun 
consisting of three or more words.

cat-o'-nine-tails
government-in-exile
grant-in-aid
jack-in-the-box
  
man-of-war
mother-in-law
mother-of-pearl
patent-in-fee
  
but
coat of arms
heir at law
next of kin
officer in charge

  6.48. When the corresponding noun form is printed as separate 
words, the verb form is always hyphenated.

cold-shoulder
blue-pencil
cross-brace

  6.49. Print a hyphen in a compound formed of repetitive or 
conflicting terms and in a compound naming the same thing under 
two aspects.

boogie-woogie
comedy-ballet
dead-alive
devil-devil
even-stephen
farce-melodrama
fiddle-faddle
hanky-panky
murder-suicide
nitty-gritty
pitter-patter
razzle-dazzle
walkie-talkie
willy-nilly
young-old
  
but 
bowwow
dillydally
hubbub
nitwit
riffraff

  6.50. Use a hyphen in a nonliteral compound expression 
containing an apostrophe in its first element.

asses'-eyes
ass's-foot
bull's-eye
cat's-paw
crow's-nest

  6.51. Use a hyphen to join a single capital letter to a noun 
or a participle.

H-bomb
I-beam
T-shaped
U-boat
C-chip
C-section
V-necked
  
S-iron
T-square
X-ed out
  
but 
x ray
x raying
S turns

  6.52. Print idiomatic phrases without hyphens.

come by
inasmuch as
insofar as
Monday week
nowadays


[[Page 84]]

                            NOTES