Do you agree with my bolded examples below? I don't think there is any need for hyphens in the compound modifiers. He applied for the assistant store manager position. (Not: ...assistant-store-manager position.) He is in the store manager trainee position. (Not: ...store-manager-trainee position.) She likes chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. (Not: ...chocolate-chip cookie-dough ice cream.) The technology is state of the art. (Not: ...is state-of-the-art.) The software is cutting edge. (Not: ...is cutting-edge.) The test is multiple choice and fill in the blank. (Not: The test is multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank.) The test consists of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. (Hyphens are required here, agreed?) Thank you.
My impression is that modern English is changing so that words that are normally hyphenated aren't hyphenated anymore (or aren't required to be hyphenated by certain style guides). However, I would still add hyphens in a few places ("state-of-the-art" and "fill-in-the-blank" are two examples) for clarity and because they're required. Consider the last example. Not having hyphens could make the phrase "fill in the blank" seem like a separate command (i.e., "The test is multiple choice, and fill in the blank."). The hyphens make it clearer in this case. So I agree with your first three choices but not with your last three. However, in the fifth example, "multiple choice" is not hyphenated.
Thank you kindly. But you do agree with these? The technology is state of the art. (Not: ...is state-of-the-art.) The software is cutting edge. (Not: ...is cutting-edge.) Mike
i'm with thirdwind on all of it... but it's not really a cut-and-dried issue, so editors may have differing opinions... btw, those who say/write 'cut and dry' instead of 'cut-and-dried' annoy the bleep outa me!
