June 5, 2009

Hyphen mayhem

We have a client here who, apparently, has a writer on staff--or at least some kind of wannabe proofreader. This week, we've been having a hyphen saga, complete with Chicago Manual of Style quotes and lots of eye rolling.

Well.

Hyphens are my thing. I like hyphens. They are impeccable little blips of perfection that convey the exact meaning. I just had to retype "impeccable" there 3 times to get the spelling right, but I'm a one-shot deal with hyphens.

Unfortunately, client trumps logic.

So, if you'll allow me to vent what I cannot pass along up the food chain:

"Albany area stores" (sans hyphen) means stores in Albany that sell areas.

"8 to 9-year plan" (again, sans hyphen after the 8) means a plan that's either 9 years in the making, or the number 8.

I'm now stepping off the punctuation soapbox and off to get me a Beaver Tail.

7 comments:

  1. -can't-stop-cring-ing-

    How many times have I quoted to clients from the Chicago Manual of Style on this topic? Let's just say that page is dog eared. Or is it dog-eared? Doggeared?

    /grammar snark

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  2. Well, at least I'm relieved that other people's clients think grammar rules are optional. But dang if I didn't think at least a few of them would think "how fascinating! I didn't know that!" instead of making us backspace the poor hyphen into oblivion...

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  3. I have a long time client who has been named (by me) the Hyphen God. He rules my text with the AP Stylebook! I now know to put a space before and after my use of the ellipses, too. I had no idea how much all this would matter to me when I grew up!!

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  4. Oh, it matters, adchick, it matters... (insert maniacal laughter here).

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  5. The fun part is when you're asked for references and evidence that what you're saying is true. nothing like trust in the work place eh?

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  6. Joker: The even more fun part is when you produce said reference and the client responds with a "whatever, I don't like it so don't do it."

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  7. Funny how so many clients have the maturity and grammar skills of a give year old.

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