Don't read this column. Really. It's not like the other articles out there that impart knowledge. Instead, this one could leave you feeling like you know less than you did before you started reading.

Which is right: a backup plan, a back-up plan or a back up plan? How about a cutoff date, a cut-off date or a cut off date? A takeout menu, a take-out menu or a take out menu? The answer: There is no ...

Once upon a time, “goodbye” was hyphenated. So was “teenager.” So was “email.” So were many other terms that we don’t hyphenate today. What happened? The same thing that happens to a lot of multiword ...

“Are the hyphens in this sentence correct?” a colleague asked me recently: “The couple moved in to the beautiful 175-luxury apartment-home community just two weeks after it opened.” Hyphens are often ...

Is there a simple rule for using hyphens between numbers and units? M.A.K., Stillwater. Yes: If you form a compound modifier using numbers and words, add a hyphen. For example, a child 4 years old ...