Trying to define someone being in a place e.g. 'Earth-side' or 'Ship-side'. Or should it be 'shipside' which in a dictionary does not convey that meaning. Note by 'ship' I mean in a Spaceship! Advice appreciated.
I think either works. I see your conundrum with the dictionary definition of shipside, but I think as you use the terms its intuitive and will be easy for readers to grasp. Go with what looks best to you. If there is a time to worry about it, it is while editing.
What's more important than whatever you choose, you stay with it the entire work. Any variations will look like error, while maintenance gives an illusion of being correct even if you aren't.
I *think* OED defines it as "airside", although it seems American English might be different on this.
I'd write it without the hyphen, but agree with the idea that it's consistency through the story that matters.
Well, Websters does not have 'airside' or 'air-side'. Weird! But 'shipside' seems to have a restricted meaning i.e. 'by the dock'. So I go for ship-side. many thanks.
This is almost about mariner jargon, so it gets kind of confusing even more. Myself I would write it down as shipside, only because it is the same as dockside, and that is how I would write that word. ???
I'd write "shipside." Not that the other is wrong or anything. You can use words that aren't in the dictionary. There's all sorts of neologisms new words that get coined every day. With the new compounds, they typically start with a hyphen (good-bye), and eventually it gets dropped (goodbye). So the lack of a comma reflects the age of the word and gives it stature. If you're using sailor jargon, then it makes sense to let it sound old. (Goodbye = God be with ye. In this secular age, I always find that amusing, what people say without knowing. Holiday is another funny one. "It's not the Christmas season, it's the winter holidays!")
I like that idea! Adopted! PS Aren't these smilies silly? They are too small! I wonder if they could be used in a novel as mood setting thingy's?
I agree. The word is going to be part of the vernacular of the characters, to be used frequently. Words like this eventually drop the hyphen (like our words babysitter, restroom, email and so on). If you want to convey the impression that the word is one that comes readily to the lips of your characters, streamlining the word is the way to do it.