punctuation - Using hyphen and quote marks in composed term?





When is it necessary to use a hyphen in writing a compound word?



I want to write a term composed out of multiple words, and I would like to know whether I have to use hyphens or quotes.


Following options came to my mind:



  • 'but he said' argument

  • 'but he said'-argument

  • but-he-said argument

  • but-he-said-argument



Answer



I would choose quotation marks without hyphenation:



…a “but he said” argument…



“But he said” functions not only as an adjective—it describes the kind of argument—but also as a quote, from one of the hypothetical arguers. Hyphens also make sense:



…a but-he-said argument…



But I think this is less readable. Regardless, I would not use a hyphen before argument.


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