[Vocabulary] RE: Slang Abbreviations

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Chevrolet is a brand name. Louis Chevrolet named the company after himself. There's no dispute about its correct spelling.

There must be misspellings in the sources where I read it. But this was only whilst surfing online (eg. Bing Images) and so I guess up-loaders spell things how they will.

And yes, a proper-noun.

Paul

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

There must be misspellings in the sources where I read it. But this was only whilst surfing online (eg. Bing Images) and so I guess up-loaders spell things how they will.:tick:

And yes, a proper (no hyphen) noun.

See above.

 

[andrewg927]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Obviously, those fat faggot lawyers couldn’t give a rats-ass about the extremely high probability their client’s piano-wired torsos would wind up in the trunk of some old cheverellet, twenty thousand leagues beneath the Sixth Street Viaduct. Those rich law-schooled fags just wanted ta make a fast-dime - and at anyone’s peril.

Don't use a hyphen with fast dime. Just use "make a fast dime".

I agree with GoesStation. There is only one correct spelling of Chevrolet I know of.

And I'm afraid your exaggerated distance would leave me confused since there is no indication that it is an exaggeration.

 

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Don't use a hyphen with fast dime. Just use "make a fast dime".

Andrew,

Correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that a 'hyphen' could be used quite freely? For example, a writer could - or could not - apply it (to join words) as he/she saw fit. For instance, "rat's ass" could be written with or with a hyphen.

Sometimes, writers even join a string of words together, if the content forms a saying: "... because my mother always told me that a-bad-penny-always-turns-up."

Thanks,

Paul

 

[andrewg927]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

I guess as a writer you have license to exercise hyphenation wherever you see fit. However, from a perspective of a reader too much hyphenating will likely cause confusion. There are words that readers don't expect to see with a hyphen and when there is one it will disrupt the reading experience (ex. a proper-noun). I would say appropriate hyphenation is best reserved for specific effects.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Andrew,

Correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that a 'hyphen' could be used quite freely? For example, a writer could - or could not - apply it (to join words) as he/she saw fit. For instance, "rat's ass" could be written with or with a hyphen.

Sometimes, writers even join a string of words together, if the content forms a saying: "... because my mother always told me that a-bad-penny-always-turns-up."

You're wrong.

 

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

I guess as a writer you have license to exercise hyphenation wherever you see fit. However, from a perspective of a reader too much hyphenating will likely cause confusion. There are words that readers don't expect to see with a hyphen and when there is one it will disrupt the reading experience (ex. a proper-noun). I would say appropriate hyphenation is best reserved for specific effects.

Hi Andrew,

Thanks very much.

I do find it a little distracting when there are hyphenated words within the content of an em-dash:

"Freewheeling the car - which we all knew was a bad idea due to the wobbly-wheels, shaky-steering, slipping-clutch, and spongy-brakes - resulted in us crashing before we even reached the bottom."​

Cheers.

 

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

You're wrong.

GoesStation,

You mean I am wrong, or the authors who hyphenate words belonging to a saying are wrong (for doing so), please?

Paul

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Hi Andrew,

Thanks very much.

I do find it a little distracting when there are hyphenated words within the content of an em-dash:

"Freewheeling the car - which we all knew was a bad idea due to the wobbly-wheels, shaky-steering, slipping-clutch, and spongy-brakes - resulted in us crashing before we even reached the bottom."​

None of the hyphens belong there. You've joined adjectives to the noun they modify. You should only do this when you want to create a compound adjective: The wobbly-wheeled car veered off the road.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

Correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that a 'hyphen' could be used quite freely? For example, a writer could - or could not - apply it (to join words) as he/she saw fit. For instance, "rat's ass" could be written with or with a hyphen.

Sometimes, writers even join a string of words together, if the content forms a saying: "... because my mother always told me that a-bad-penny-always-turns-up."

You mean I am wrong, or the authors who hyphenate words belonging to a saying are wrong (for doing so), please?

It's wrong to say that a hyphen (no quotation marks) can be used quite freely. The quoted sentence is also incorrect because the hyphenated saying isn't modifying anything. You can hyphenate a saying when you're using it as a modifier: She told him to mind his punctuation in a mother-always-knows-best tone of voice.

Many writers are confused about where to use hyphens, so much so that editors may come to accept them in places where they would once have been expunged, but I think your writing will be clearest if you follow established rules. Grammar Girl writes about hyphen basics here and here.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

None of the hyphens belong there. You've joined adjectives to the noun they modify. You should only do this when you want to create a compound adjective: The wobbly-wheeled car veered off the road.

The hyphen in a compound adjective indicates that you join the words more closely in speech than you would otherwise. Compare The car had wobbly wheels with the wobbly-wheeled car; most speakers would distinctly emphasize the first and third syllable of the first phrase but only the first syllable of the hyphenated one.

 

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

It's wrong to say that a hyphen (no quotation marks) can be used quite freely. The quoted sentence is also incorrect because the hyphenated saying isn't modifying anything. You can hyphenate a saying when you're using it as a modifier: She told him to mind his punctuation in a mother-always-knows-best tone of voice.

Many writers are confused about where to use hyphens, so much so that editors may come to accept them in places where they would once have been expunged, but I think your writing will be clearest if you follow established rules. Grammar Girl writes about hyphen basics here and here.

Thanks GoesStations,

I get your drift. I never looked at it before from the point of view of an adjective modifying a noun. Your "mother" example helped.

I will check out the Grammar Girl links.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[monsterjazzlicks]

Re: Slang Abbreviations

The hyphen in a compound adjective indicates that you join the words more closely in speech than you would otherwise. Compare The car had wobbly wheels with the wobbly-wheeled car; most speakers would distinctly emphasize the first and third syllable of the first phrase but only the first syllable of the hyphenated one.

Hi again,

This, I think, is my intellectual limit as far as English goes.

I need to try and absorb these principles before moving on to the next stage. It is all very interesting but maybe I am a little ahead of myself at the moment.

Thanks,

Paul