Use of Quotes with Hyphen

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

Can someone please tell me which which is correct? Thanks so much.

"Rite of Passage": Using alcohol and binge drinking are what kids do.

or

"Rite of Passage:" Using alcohol and binge drinking are what kids do.

Bufty · Feb 28, 2008

Where's the hyphen?

dpaterso · Feb 28, 2008

Aren't "Using alcohol" and "binge-drinking" different degrees of much the same thing?

The colon [:] ought to connect to what comes before to what comes after, qualifying a title further. So wrapping the first clause in quotes doesn't seem right.

If I had to write this, I'd recast to something like:

Rite of Passage: Binge-drinking. It's what kids do!

Or maybe even more radical,

Binge-drinking kids: a rite of passage.

These are just random thoughts, don't feel obliged to agree.

-Derek

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

Bufty said:
Where's the hyphen?

Does the hyphen go within the quote mark or outside it?

Darn. Darn. Darn. Semi-colon. Does the semi-colon go within the quote mark or outside it?

Too many pages, not enough time. I'm going crazy.

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

dpaterso said:
Aren't "Using alcohol" and "binge-drinking" different degrees of much the same thing?

The colon [:] ought to connect to what comes before to what comes after, qualifying a title further. So wrapping the first clause in quotes doesn't seem right.

If I had to write this, I'd recast to something like:

Rite of Passage: Binge-drinking. It's what kids do!

Or maybe even more radical,

Binge-drinking kids: a rite of passage.

These are just random thoughts, don't feel obliged to agree.

-Derek

Thanks so much.

Your way would probably be better,but within this document I have to stay within certain "norms" or headings, which someone else chose. Actually, it refers to two different groups. Those who binge drink and those who are just dabbling in alcohol, but are not yet hooked. It's in a tiny chart and space is limited.

dpaterso · Feb 28, 2008

Methinks you need a grammar primer.

- = hyphen (connects words that work together, e.g. walking-stick)

: = colon (used to qualify an item, or signal a list of items)

; = semicolon (used to join two related sentences together; both sentences should be able to stand on their own)

If space is limited, how about "Rite of Passage: Social vs. Binge-drinking" -- it's shorter than "Rite of Passage": Using alcohol and binge drinking are what kids do.

-Derek

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

dpaterso said:
Methinks you need a grammar primer.

- = hyphen (connects words that work together, e.g. walking-stick)

: = colon (used to qualify an item, or signal a list of items)

; = semicolon (used to join two related sentences together; both sentences should be able to stand on their own)

If space is limited, how about "Rite of Passage: Social vs. Binge-drinking" -- it's shorter than "Rite of Passage": Using alcohol and binge drinking are what kids do.

-Derek

Yes. A grammer primer and another couple of weeks.

I really do know the difference in a hyphen and a dash and a colon and all that other stuff. I promise. Post in haste, repent in misery.

Changing the wording is not an option. Charting follows formats set by people higher up the totem pole than I'll ever be. My worry is if the colon goes within the quote marks or outside.

dpaterso · Feb 28, 2008

I would drop the quotes, for reasons stated above.

-Derek

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

dpaterso said:
I would drop the quotes, for reasons stated above.

-Derek

That's exactly what I'm going to do. Thanks so much. Now why didn't I think of that?

benbradley · Feb 28, 2008

Keyboard Hound said:
Does the hyphen go within the quote mark or outside it?

Darn. Darn. Darn. Semi-colon. Does the semi-colon go within the quote mark or outside it?

Too many pages, not enough time. I'm going crazy.

To further confuse you, you're using a colon ":" in the OP, not a semicolon ";." And it (just like any end-of-phrase punctuation should go inside the quotes. At least for the USA. I think I recently read something different about other areas of the world that use English.

And I wanna see the context of this statement (it's certainly true in the USA and perhaps other parts of the Western world)... where is this article going? I have an interest in "alcohol issues..."

benbradley · Feb 28, 2008

Keyboard Hound said:
Yes. A grammer primer and another couple of weeks.

I really do know the difference in a hyphen and a dash and a colon and all that other stuff. I promise. Post in haste, repent in misery.

Changing the wording is not an option. Charting follows formats set by people higher up the totem pole than I'll ever be. My worry is if the colon goes within the quote marks or outside.

Oh, so you're just an "editor"/formatter and have no say in the content. Well, I'd still be interested, but whatever...

Keyboard Hound · Feb 28, 2008

benbradley said:
Oh, so you're just an "editor"/formatter and have no say in the content. Well, I'd still be interested, but whatever...

I'm just an editor for the parts I didn't write.

This is a multi-county, multi-state effort. Certain categories and headings for each section must be uniformly worded as they are what state and federal reports will use to compile statistics from all areas.

(I really do know what a colon is.)

Appalachian Writer · Feb 29, 2008

I don't think the quotes are necessary at all. You're not, I'm assuming, referring to a title from another author's work. I like:
BINGE-DRINKING: RITE OF PASSAGE

Keyboard Hound · Feb 29, 2008

Appalachian Writer said:
I don't think the quotes are necessary at all. You're not, I'm assuming, referring to a title from another author's work. I like:
BINGE-DRINKING: RITE OF PASSAGE

Thanks. I omitted the quotes. Much better.

Use of Quotes with Hyphen

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

Appalachian Writer

Somewhere in the hills....

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!