Hyphens

January 20, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 3 Comments

I have previously covered how to use an en dash (–) and an em dash (—). Now to turn to the thing they are not: a hyphen.

A hyphen (-) shows that the matter it is attached to is not a complete word by itself. It should not be used with a space at both ends, although sometimes it is appropriate for it to have a space at one end.

The use of hyphens is often a matter of style. But they are used to do the following things:

join compound words
join compound modifiers
attach prefixes
indicate a piece of a word
indicate a word break at the end of a line

You might have heard of soft hyphens and hard hyphens. Soft hyphens are those that indicate word division at the end of a line. Hard hyphens are those that indicate words or parts of words are joined together to form compounds. There’s no difference in size or shape.

Hyphens are also used to indicate stammering or paused speech:

'W-w-what are we to do?'

And they indicate the omission of the second part of a hyphenated expression or solid compound:

three- and five-door cars
over- and underpaid employees

If you would like to find out more about when to use a hyphen, I can recommend the Penguin Guide to Punctuation for a thorough and simple explanation.

‘Mold’ and ‘mould’

January 18, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 2 Comments

The difference between mold and mould is the u. The meanings are the same. If you use American English, the spelling is mold. If you use British English, the spelling is mould.

Mold/mould:

a shaped hollow container into which liquid is poured so it sets in a particular shape
a shape, form, nature, character or type
a framework around which something is constructed or shaped
something made using a mould (usually a foodstuff)
to make something in a mould
to shape, form, influence, change or direct
a growth of fungi or bacteria that typically develops in a warm, damp atmosphere
soft loose soil (often rich in organic matter)

Googleganger

January 15, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 3 Comments

Googleganger is a fairly new word; it has an equally interesting synonym in doppelgoogler.

A googleganger is a person who has the same name as you and is discovered when you search for yourself using an internet search engine.

The origin of both googleganger and doppelgoogler is the originally German word doppelgänger, meaning ‘a double of a living person’.

Googleganger has been named the Macquarie Dictionary word of the year (2010) and was nominated (in the form Googlegänger) for word of the year (2007) by the American Dialect Society.

Em rules

January 13, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 7 Comments

Last week I posted about en rules. An em rule (—) is twice the length of an en rule (–). They are also referred to as en dashes and em dashes.

You will often see em rules used closed up (no spaces on either side) as a parenthetical dash; this is usually the preferred style for US publishers (instead of spaced en rules).

A spaced em rule can indicate the omission of a word; a closed-up em rule can indicate the omission of part of a word. It can also be used closed up in written dialogue to indicate a sudden break or interruption:

'You probably shouldn't put your knife in the toast—'

It is unusual but you might see some writers use a single closed-up em rule to set off dialogue instead of using quotation marks:

—Will he make it for dinner tonight?
—Not in this weather!

You may also see a closed-up em rule between an introductory noun (or nouns) and the pronoun introducing the main clause:

Cars, thunder, the neighbour's cat—nothing disturbed the plucky dog.

Em rules are used in indexes to indicate a repeated word, and they are sometimes used to indicate a repeated author’s name in consecutive bibliographic entries.

‘Cue’ and ‘queue’

January 11, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 4 Comments

The first homophones of the year are cue and queue. The order of the vowels in queue is also a source of confusion for some writers.

Cue:

a signal for action
a signal for an actor to enter or begin
a hint or signal about how to behave
a reminder
a long, straight, tapering wooden rod used to strike the ball in games such as billiards and snooker; to hit a ball with a cue
to act as a prompt or reminder
to set audio or visual equipment in readiness to play
on cue – at the right moment

Queue:

a line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn; to form or remain in a line while waiting
(in computing) a list of data items, commands, etc., stored so they are retrievable in a particular order; to arrange such items in a queue
a plait of hair or braid worn at the back
to be keen to do or have something (e.g. they were queuing up to hire him)

Cue jokes about British people in a queue.

Gallimaufry

January 8, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 3 Comments

No, I have not misspelled Gallifrey.

Gallimaufry is an old-fashioned word and I think it deserves to be used more than it is.

It means ‘a confused jumble’, and it is a synonym of the equally glorious hodgepodge.

Gallimaufry originally meant ragout (the stew). It first appeared in the mid 16th century, having developed from the archaic French word galimafrée meaning ‘unappetizing dish’.

It is thought to combine the Old French galer ‘to have a good time’ with the dialect mafrer ‘to eat a lot’.

En rules

January 6, 2016March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 3 Comments

You are probably familiar with two types of dashes: the en rule and the em rule. Neither is to be used as if it is a hyphen.

The en rule (–) is longer than a hyphen (-) and half the length of an em rule (—).

You will often see it used with a space either side as a parenthetical dash; this is usually the preferred style for British publishers (the alternative is a closed-up em rule).

When considering the other uses, it might be helpful to think of the en rule as meaning (roughly) and or to.

The en rule should be used closed up (with no spaces either side) in elements (usually figures) that form a range:

pp. 18–25        1865–72        Monday–Friday

The en rule should also be used at the end of unfinished number ranges.

It is important to remember to always write from xxxx to xxxx or xxxx–xxxx. Do not use a combination of the two. The same applies when writing between xxxx and xxxx.

An en rule can be used closed up to express connection or relation between words, to express an alternative (in a similar way to a solidus) or to indicate joint creators (a hyphen between the names would suggest it was only one person).

En rules can also be used to indicate individual missing letters:

'The utter b – – – – – – !' she shouted.

It isn’t common to see this any more; people tend to be able to cope with seeing rude words spelt out.

Noel

December 18, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 7 Comments

If you sing or listen to carols, this word is probably very familiar. It is to me – some of my best childhood memories are of singing carols with a choir at Christmas.

Noel is often used as a refrain in carols and on Christmas cards. It means ‘Christmas’. A noel is a Christmas carol.

Its origin is early 19th century, from the French Noël. Noël is based on the Latin word natalis meaning ‘birthday’.

Joyeux Noel is sometimes used by English speakers to wish others a happy or merry Christmas. If you are writing to a French speaker, remember to use Noël.

You may have seen the spelling Nowell or Nowel. Nowell is the Middle English spelling of Noel. It’s now regarded as archaic and is rarely used. However, it is common for the carol ‘The First Nowell’ to be spelt using the original form (you can read more on why here).

If you use Spotify, here’s the carol with its famous refrain:

This is my last post for a week or so. I’ll still be contactable should you have any proofreading-related emergencies.

I wish you a very merry Christmas.

Proofreading advice: create your own style sheet

December 16, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 13 Comments

If you are a student, you should have a style guide supplied by your department or institution. That doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful to supplement it with your own (more limited) list.

All writers, particularly authors, should think about putting together their own style sheet. (Publishers and large organisations are likely to already have a house style guide but you might want to keep a list of any things it doesn’t cover.)

Keep a record of the style decisions you make and then tidy it up into a neat list.

The style decisions you make should include the following:

Word endings: ‘ize’ or ‘ise’?
Numbers: numerals or words?
Commas: serial or not serial?
Dashes: spaced en rules or closed-up em rules?
Quote marks: single or double?

There will be lots more, and many are not as simple as choosing one option for all circumstances – just make sure your decisions make sense.

You should also keep track of words you have hyphenated and any alternative spellings you have chosen.

If you are formatting your own work, extend your style sheet by creating a design specification. This should include decisions such as how headings of equal importance should look and what size the margins should be.

It may seem like a lot of effort, but a style sheet should help you spot where you have been inconsistent. Spotting inconsistencies is a key part of the proofreading process. If you aren’t sure where to start, there is a sample style sheet available on my Resources page.

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