1. iolair

    iolair Active Member

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    Wave tops, wavetops or wave-tops

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by iolair, Jun 20, 2013.

    I was just spell-checking the fifth draft of my novel, and have queries on a couple of things the spellchecker rejected.

    I prefer "wavetops" but the spellchecker suggested "wave tops" or "wave-tops"

    Equally, I prefer "worklights" but the spellchecker suggested "work lights" or "work-lights"

    Opinions? Are the compound forms acceptable?
     
  2. SwampDog

    SwampDog Senior Member

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    Given that spellcheckers (spell checkers, spell-checkers) can be notoriously unreliable, I'd go with the unhyphenated compound, as it's the whole entity that's being referenced - wavetops.
     
  3. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    google comparisons are a good way to test various terms:

    33,400 hits for wave tops & wave-tops
    9,830 for wavetops
     
  4. Anthony Martin

    Anthony Martin Active Member

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    I run into this so often! Damn hyphen use to hell! And Microsoft Word only further muddies the water, doesn't it? Sheesh.

    Do Strunk & White cover hyphen use and compound words? I'm going to check later tonight ...
     
  5. raven6625

    raven6625 Member

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    hyphens are not so bad, as long as you are consistent. I prefer the hyphens to compounds, it's less german.
     
  6. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Microsoft Word is a tool, not a primary reference.

    Start with one or more dictionaries. If that fails, hit your search engines.
     

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