Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Follies. The Grammar Cop is pleased – no, make that not pleased – to present this little collection of gaffes.
- DAILYMAIL.CO.UK: “Rachel (…) discovered that her partner had been using online dating sights in order to chat…” Somehow I don’t think her partner was sightseeing. Well, I suppose he was, in a way, but the proper word here should be sites… as in web sites.
- CNN.COM: “But in a three hour spell of seamless coordination between President Barack Obama and Clinton’s campaign…” There’s that hyphen-o-phobia rearing its head again. That should be three-hour spell.
- CNN.COM: “Following Obama’s endorsement, the real estate mogul tweeted…” More of the same phobia here! It should be real-estate mogul.
- THE SUBURBAN: “We are the highest taxed jurisdiction in the industrialized west…” Do you notice it on your own now? Or shall I nudge you in the direction of highest-taxed jurisdiction?
This hyphen-o-phobia must be stamped out… preferably by the time our kids are high-school students. They must learn that such oft-repeated mistakes will not be tolerated, especially in graduate- or post-graduate courses. A couple of good online explanations regarding the uses of the hyphen with compound adjectives may be found here and here. Thanks for visiting Friday Follies, and see you next week!
Crossed Eyes and Dotted Tees 
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