To hyphenate or not?

[zu_ritz]

My colleague insists that we should hyphenate phrases such as "newly-created" position, "recently-discovered" hot spot and "real-estate" agent as he thinks that the words within the quote marks are the adjective preceding the noun. I've asked a similar question before but got no replies. I really, really need an answer this time. Thank you.

[Casiopea]

Here are the rules: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/hyphens.asp

[zu_ritz]

Thanks, Casiopea. So based on Rule 4, we should drop the hyphen, right?
Not quite, my colleague says and he points to the examples found in The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th edition, page 798, for the word "newly" /adv: a friend newly arrived; a newly-discovered country
I'm lost! What's your take, Casiopea?

[Casiopea]

Right. The rule is, if the word ends in -ly and it's an adverb, there's no need to hyphenate; yet, the rule doesn't say doing so is incorrect. There's the rub!

See here: http://publications.eu.int/code/en/en-4100210en.htm

Here's a list of authoritative sources that leave out the hyphen: http://barelybad.com/xwderrors_asimov.htm

[Casiopea]

Additionally, if I were you, I'd go directly to the source.

Click here: http://www.askoxford.com/

[ewelina]

One small question, if I am allowed.

I have read all from the above mentioned links, checked up with dictionaries and couldn't find the rules for "so ? called". In the web, I have found many examples for both - with or without a hyphen - and I am deeply confused.

I am compiling my time reports, so called "billable hours"
I am compiling my time reports, so-called "billable hours"

The PWN-Oxford Dictionary says the latter is the proper form.

Also, I hope that

hard-work habit
a fast learner
time billing

are spelled here properly?

Please clarify
Ewelina

[Casiopea]

Welcome, ewelina.

I have read all from the above mentioned links, checked up with dictionaries and couldn't find the rules for "so ? called". In the web, I have found many examples for both - with or without a hyphen - and I am deeply confused.

I am compiling my time reports, so called "billable hours"
I am compiling my time reports, so-called "billable hours"

The PWN-Oxford Dictionary says the latter is the proper form.

The primary problem with "so-called" is that it has contradictory meanings – "commonly called" versus "improperly called" – and it's not always clear what the speaker or writer intends.

For well over a century, "so-called" has suggested something or someone with a designation that is either inappropriate (so-called safety feature) or applied with scorn (so-called friends). In recent years, however, it's also become a neutral way of pointing out a relatively new or unfamiliar name (so-called generation X or so-called Stockholm syndrome), which loses this branding as it becomes better known. The term is also used to draw attention to a specific description (so-called dirty energy or so-called champagne socialists). Some manuals, including Eric Partridge's Usage and Abusage and the Guide to Canadian English Usage, recommend avoiding the last two approaches, arguing that "so-called" always implies irony or skepticism. But it may be a bit hard for everyone to accept this so-called reasoning, especially since as a predicative (falling after the noun) the words "so called" (without a hyphen) have been used to mean "designated by that name" since the 1650s. The Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, includes this example from more than 300 years ago: "Rubrick, a name given to a book of the civil law, so called because the heads of the chapters were written in red letters."

Read more here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/socalled.html

[ewelina]

Thank you.

Have you had the time to look at the rest of the given examples?

Ewelina

[zu_ritz]

http://publications.eu.int/code/en/en-4100210en.htm
http://barelybad.com/xwderrors_asimov.htm

Thanks, Casiopea. Visited both sites and am happy to note that I agree with you and both editors ... but how to tell my colleague without him losing "face" -- it's an Asian thing ... hmm.

Thanks too for directing me to http://www.askoxford.com/. Will check out the site later. Cheers!

[ewelina]

Please clarify the below:

level headedness
levelheadedness
level-headedness -->

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

levelheaded

One entry found for levelheaded. Main Entry: lev·el·head·ed
Pronunciation: "le-v&l-'he-d&d
Function: adjective
: having sound judgment : SENSIBLE
- lev·el·head·ed·ness noun








level-headed


• adjective calm and sensible. — DERIVATIVES level-headedly adverb level-headedness noun.