Punctuation question

[Nordic Bill]

There is no finding this one in any dictionary I have:

Do we write "They have a washer-dryer" or "... a washer/dryer"?

Thanks,
Bill

[Tdol]

I'd use a hyphen.

[Nordic Bill]

Thank you. (It's impossible to find this sort of terminology in your standard dictionary).

[SweetMommaSue]

Hello Nordic Bill!

That's a good one! And I see that there's room for debate!

tdol, would you really use a hyphen?? I'd definitely go for the slash! Now, I'll have to hunt around for a grammatical explanation.

I'll be back!
SweetMommaSue

[SweetMommaSue]

It's not in my dictionary, either. Nor can I find a way to look it up in my grammar references. However, in real estate publications, it is commonly abbreviated as w/d; at least, here in the States it is.

If I were writing about a washer/dryer combination, as in a stacked unit, I would use the slash. Otherwise, I may just treat the two as separate entities and say: both a washer and a dryer. Or something to that effect.

[AlainK]

Hi,
It's listed with a hyphen here:
http://www.granddictionnaire.com/

Alain

[Nordic Bill]

Wow, I can't believe all this assistance. Thanks, everybody.

And apparently this is no exact science, either.

AlainK, that website you directed me to actually shows washer dryer as two seperate words, not connected by anything, which now seems to indicate my little problem is threefold! Incredible. Great dictionary, by the way. I've bookmarked it.

SweetMommaSue, I have an additional question for you as you have commented on some terminology that I would like to have clarified, if possible:

When referring to these stacked units you mentioned, do you refer to them as such in daily speech? Would you say "We have just purchased a stacked washer-dryer unit" or is that too drawn out? I'd really appreciate a tip there.

Thanx,

Bill

[AlainK]

AlainK, that website you directed me to actually shows washer dryer as two seperate words, not connected by anything, which now seems to indicate my little problem is threefold! Incredible. Great dictionary, by the way. I've bookmarked it.

Err, I've just checked again, it's listed as "washer-drier" under the entry "washer"...
But it's true that the example given refers to the industry of glass. Still, I think it would probably the same for more common types of washer-driers...

Alain

[Nordic Bill]

Thanks again, AlainK. I punched in washer dryer (with a 'y' in 'dryer'), household equipment comes up as a sub-heading, and washer dryer comes up under that without the hyphen.

Still a great site, though!

[AlainK]

Still a great site, though!

Yes, that's right: French and English are brothers in arms and enemy brothers at the same time
Actually, France is the linguistic border between Germanic languages and Romanese languages (I think), that's probably why we've always felt so important in many domains
But true, even if you don't speak French, "Le GTD" is something worth respect...
All the best,
alain