Posts in category: BHG Stylebook

Common prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms (see lists below) generally are joined to words without a hyphen. Use a hyphen when adding a prefix, suffix, or combined form creates an ambiguous word (as in the case of homonyms) or a word that would make the reader hesitate.
You can re-cover the chair.
Can you recover the money?
He re-sided the house.
He resided in Des Moines.

Common prefixes joined to words without a hyphen:
anti-
de-
dis-
in-
infra-
inter-
intra-
mid- (except months)
mis-
multi-*
non-
over-
per-
post-
pre-
pro-
re-
semi-
sub-
super- (unless it means very)
supra-
trans-
ultra-
un-
under-
*except multi-ply (which could be confused with multiply)

Use a hyphen with the prefix ex-.
ex-president

Use a hyphen when the main word element is capitalized or is a figure or a word combination.
un-American
pre-Queen Anne
pre-1980

EXCEPTIONS:
transatlantic
prerevolutionary

Hyphens
Combining forms
Line-break rules
Prefixes
Suffixes

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Common combining forms joined to words without a hyphen:
ge(o)-
-like*
maxi-
-proof
pseud(o)-
-scape
-side
-ware
-wise**
-work
-worthy
*Use a hyphen with like when it is joined to a proper name or is noted in the stylebook.
Tokyo-like
Reagan-like
**The suffix wise does not take a hyphen when used to mean “in the manner of” or “relating to.”
(updated 9/24/13)
Budgetwise, a design-build firm is the the best option.
Colorwise, she has always stuck with blues.
Moneywise, we were in better shape three years ago.
**The suffix wise does take a hyphen when used to mean “smart.”
(updated 9/24/13)
A color-wise friend suggested orange accents.
Money-wise homeowners are focusing on energy efficiency.
Use a hyphen with all-, quasi-, and self-.
all-inclusive
quasi-public
self-righteous
Mini can stand alone (as an adjective) unless it’s combined in Webster’s 11th or on the Word List.
miniblind
miniskirt
miniseries
mini pantry
mini kitchen
mini greenhouse
If confusion might result, mini may occasionally be hyphenated:
mini-print wallpaper, as opposed to mini print wallpaper, which might be misunderstood as very small wallpaper rather than wallpaper with a very small print.

Hyphens
Combining forms
Line-break rules
Prefixes
Suffixes

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These people can help with translation issues. Click on a name to send an e-mail.

Afrikaans
Samantha Hart

Dutch
Mark Filip

French
Erika Bjorklund
Mary Heaton
Patrick Phillips-Schrock
Elizabeth Keest Sedrel

Gaelic
Patrick Phillips-Schrock

German
Mark Filip
Lindsay Mayland

Latin
Patrick Phillips-Schrock

Polish
Denny Schrock

Russian
Patrick Phillips-Schrock

Spanish
Mary Ellen Barber

Foreign words
Accent marks
Translation help

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The dash is a powerful punctuation mark. Overuse dilutes its strength. Let a colon, semicolon, comma,
period, or a new sentence do its usual work and save the dash for its specialty: an abrupt change in the continuity of a sentence.

Em dash
Use an em dash (shift-option-hyphen) to add emphasis or explanation.
This versatile plan lets you try out your ideas—all of them—at the kitchen table.
On the next page you’ll find a portfolio of external surface materials—what they are, what they look
like, and what jobs they do best.
Use an em dash (shift-option-hyphen) to enumerate or define an element added to a sentence.
Each type—brushes, rollers, and pads—has a specific use.
Craft this elegant accessory—a silvery picture frame—to commemorate a couple’s 25th wedding anniversary.
Use an em dash (shift-option-hyphen) to set off a parenthetical expression when a comma might be misread.
Several alternatives—resilient tiles and sheet goods, wood, and hard-surface flooring—offer you an opportunity to experiment.

Use an em dash (shift-option-hyphen) to set off a sudden break in thought or sentence construction.
Will he—can he—obtain the necessary signatures?
The tree, the bush, the fern—all are attractive to the neighbor’s dog.

En dash
Use an en dash (option-hyphen) to represent “to” between figures, including fractions, except in recipe copy, quilting materials lists, and where hanging hyphens are used.
31⁄2–4 inches
the years 1970–73
pages 5–15
23–28 percent increase

Exceptions:
3 to 31⁄2 cups
Bake 18 to 20 minutes
10 to 12—9×22″ pieces (fat eighths)
2- to 3-inch piece

The word to, not an en dash, must be used if the numbers are preceded by the word from.
Wrong: Construction of the transcontinental railroad from 1869–1885 …
Right: Construction of the transcontinental railroad from 1869 to 1885 …
OR: Construction of the transcontinental railroad, 1869–1885, …
Wrong: Chief among these were the two governors, George Clinton (from 1777–95) and DeWitt
Clinton (from 1817–22 and 1824–28).
Right: Chief among these were the two governors, George Clinton (1777–95) and DeWitt Clinton (1817–22 and 1824–28).
See also Hyphens.

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For “up-style” sell lines:
• Capitalize all main words (adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and verbs).
• Capitalize the first word in each line. Articles may be lowercase or uppercase when they start a line
other than the first line.
• Capitalize conjunctions and prepositions with more than four letters (about, before, between,
through, without).
Presents with
A Personal Twist
For “down-style” sell lines:
• Capitalize the first word
• Capitalize all proper nouns
Presents with
a personal twist
for Christmas
When page numbers are included with sell lines, the page number should be separated from the rest of the sell line with a dash, a comma, or a change of typestyle or type size. Page should be abbreviated “p.,” followed by the page number that the story begins on.
Great Kitchen Makeovers, p. 52

Numbers should be used as figures, not as words (although CEs may grant leeway here for design purposes).
12 Great Ideas for Decorating Your Bath
3 Cures for Cabin Fever

Sell lines
For designers

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A contraction is a shortened form of a word or phrase. An apostrophe takes the place of the omitted letters. Although many stylebooks discourage contractions, when used appropriately they can be an effective tool in establishing the conversational tone we seek in our magazines.

Contractions are formed by combining pronouns with verbs …
I’m hungry (I am)
She’s angry (She is)

… or auxiliary verbs.
They’ll arrive tomorrow (They will)
They won’t arrive tomorrow (They will not)

Note: Avoid use of clumsy contractions, such as it’ll and that’ll.

Do not combine nouns and verbs to form contractions because the contraction may be mistaken for a possessive or may result in poor grammar.
The coffee is ready (not coffee’s).
John will leave next week (not John’ll).

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It’s just one little hyphen, but when it comes to color combinations, figuring out whether it’s needed or not can give a copy editor fits. Read through these steps to find the answer.

1. Is the color listed in Webster’s Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary or Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, unabridged? (If you don’t have access to an unabridged Webster’s, consider using the online version. It will tell you if the word is in the unabridged dictionary, though it won’t give you a definition.) (Clarified 10/28/13.)
YES: Treat it that way in all uses.       NO: Read on to No. 2.
Examples of colors listed as two words in Webster’s (so are never hyphenated):
• baby blue
• brick red
• chocolate brown (added 10/28/13)
• coral pink (added 10/28/13)
• forest green
• hunter green
• lemon yellow
• lime green
• navy blue
• pea green
• powder blue
• royal blue
• royal purple
• sea green
• sky blue
• slate gray
• teal blue

Examples of colors hyphenated in Webster’s (so are always hyphenated):
• fire-engine red
• jet-black
• nut-brown

2. Is it a two-color combination (such as “blue-green” or “orange-red”)?
YES: Hyphenate in all uses.                NO: Read on to No. 3.
3. Is the color used as a noun or an adverb, with one part modifying the other, such as in the following sentences?
Stitch the outline in cherry red.
The sun shone yellowish red in the evening sky.
YES: Don’t hyphenate.                       NO: Read on to No. 4.
4. Is the color used as a compound adjective before a noun, such as in the following sentences?
The cherry-red chair creates a bright focal point.
The yellowish-red sun shone in the evening sky.
YES: Hyphenate.                                 NO: Read on to No. 5.
5. Is the color combination used as a compound adjective after a noun, such as in the following sentences?
The chair is cherry red.
The sky appeared a brilliant yellowish red
YES: In general, leave as two words unless hyphenation is deemed necessary for clarity.
6. If the adjective immediately preceding a common color describes the particular hue, shade, or intensity, and could be used with many colors, do not hyphenate the color as a compound modifier.
Toss the light green pillow on the chair.
Let the pale blue pillow create a soft focal point.
The soft pink glassware sparkles in the sun.
7. In all other uses, apply standard rules of SIM style and grammar.

Colors and hyphens
Products and project instructions

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Capitalize Zone or Zones when referring to the climate regions used primarily in gardening contexts.
a Zone 4 garden site
The plant is hardy in Zones 4–8.
Check with a nursery for cultivars suitable for your Zone.
Some plants are unsuitable for colder Zones.
Also see the garden style section of SIMStylebook.com.

Capitalization
Acronyms
After colons
Company names
Directions and regions
Generic terms
Headlines
Job titles
Product names
Websites
Zones

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Capitalize a title when it comes immediately before a person’s name, describes a designated authority, and is not set off by commas:
President Barack Obama
Pope Benedict XVI
Professor Patricia Prijatel
Don’t capitalize a title that comes after a person’s name:
Barack Obama, president of the United States
Don’t capitalize a title that stands alone:
the 266th pope
Don’t capitalize a title set off by commas, even when it comes before a name:
a Drake University professor, Patricia Prijatel
Don’t capitalize job descriptions:
architect Stephen Herlong
dietitian Jeannette Jordan
chef Cat Cora

Capitalization
Acronyms
After colons
Company names
Directions and regions
Generic terms
Headlines
Job titles
Product names
Websites
Zones

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Text references to headlines are up-style, no matter the style—all caps, all lowercase, up-style, or down-style—of the actual headline.
See “Fun Finishes,” opposite.
For more information, see “The Lowdown on Lighting” on page 24.
For uppercase and lowercase headlines, capitalize all main words (adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, nouns, and verbs). Also capitalize the first and last words in a head. In up-style headlines, other words needn’t be capped when they start a line other than the first line, but they can be capped for design purposes. (See also Covers.)
Presents with
a Personal Twist
Presents with
A Personal Twist
Lighting for Less
Lowercase prepositions and conjunctions of four letters or fewer unless they begin a headline (or a line of a headline for design purposes).
for
from
into
like
out
with
Capitalize conjunctions and prepositions with more than four letters (about, before, between, through, without).
All Through the Night
Capitalize that in headlines when used as a pronoun or adjective. Don’t capitalize as a conjunction.

Capitalize prepositions that are a basic part of a verb form.
Wake Up a Breakfast Room
Add On a Bump-Out
EXCEPTION: “to” in infinitives.
to Be
to Do
to Go
Capitalize both words of compound terms and hyphenated words.
Built-Ins for Storage
Built-In Storage
Easy-Care Houseplants
Make-Ahead Meals
Two-Way Desk
Good-Looking
Eye-Catching

Lowercase prepositions and articles in hyphenated multiple-word descriptors.
Out-of-the-Way Storage


Also see the Titles section of BHGStylebook.com.

Capitalization
Acronyms
After colons
Company names
Directions and regions
Generic terms
Headlines
Job titles
Product names
Websites
Zones

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