--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The closest we can get to set hyphen…" description: "\"“The closest we can get to set hyphen rules are that the prefixes ex, self, and all always require hyphens while adverbs ending in ly never do: Goldilo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/jenny-baranick-17184_hyphens_the-closest-we-can-get-to-set-hyphen-rul_2286692.jpg" --- # The closest we can get to set hyphen rules are that the… ![“The closest we can get to set hyphen rules are that the prefixes ex, self, and all always require hyphens while adverbs ending in ly never do: Goldilocks first told the jury that she had been walking through the dimly lit forest and mistook the three bears’ house for an all-inclusive resort. When…” quote by Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/jenny-baranick-17184_hyphens_the-closest-we-can-get-to-set-hyphen-rul_2286692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/jenny-baranick-17184_hyphens_the-closest-we-can-get-to-set-hyphen-rul_2286692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/jenny-baranick-17184_hyphens_the-closest-we-can-get-to-set-hyphen-rul_2286692.jpg) > ““The closest we can get to set hyphen rules are that the prefixes ex, self, and all always require hyphens while adverbs ending in ly never do: Goldilocks first told the jury that she had been walking through the dimly lit forest and mistook the three bears’ house for an all-inclusive resort. When the jury seemed skeptical, she changed her story and said she had been in a highly emotional state and was suffering from low self-esteem because her ex-boyfriend Jack left her to climb a beanstalk.”” [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote humorously illustrates how people manipulate language and narratives to fit personal circumstances, often using complex rules or excuses to justify actions. **In simple terms:** People twist words and stories to suit their needs. Key Takeaway Be aware of rationalizations and seek clarity. Themes communication self‑justification language psychology storytelling Mood reflective analytical Type advice observational When to use this quote - personal relationships - legal testimony - public speaking - writing - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive bias framing self‑presentation Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice when you adjust language to protect yourself? - How can clearer communication reduce misunderstandings? A Different Perspective The anecdote may oversimplify linguistic rules and ignore genuine grammatical standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hyphens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hyphens/) ## Related quotes > [This morning I deleted the hyphen from "hell-bound" and made it one word; this afternoon I redivided it and restored the hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-arlington-robinson/this-morning-i-deleted-the-hyphen-from-hell-bound-and-made-it-one/) [Edwin Arlington Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-arlington-robinson/) > [One must regard the hyphen as a blemish to be avoided wherever possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/one-must-regard-the-hyphen-as-a-blemish-to-be-avoided-wherever/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The only difference between resigning and resigning is a hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mccarver/the-only-difference-between-resigning-and-resigning-is-a-hyphen/) [Tim McCarver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mccarver/) > [There are some men who in a fifty-fifty proposition insist on getting the hyphen too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/there-are-some-men-who-in-a-fifty-fifty-proposition-insist-on-getting/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over, heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them-2/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Tea - that perfume that one drinks, that connecting hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/tea-that-perfume-that-one-drinks-that-connecting-hyphen/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and And and And and Chips in my Fish-and-Chips sign' have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/wouldn-t-the-sentence-i-want-to-put-a-hyphen-between-the-words-fish/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [“As you can see, the hyphen is a nasty, tricky, evil little mark that gets its kicks igniting arguments in newsrooms and trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-casagrande/as-you-can-see-the-hyphen-is-a-nasty-tricky-evil-little-mark-that/) [June Casagrande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-casagrande/) > [Hollywood has 'The Body' Marie McDonald and 'The Look' Lauren Bacall and 'The Voice' Frank Sinatra. I'm 'The Dash' From my first contract on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/hollywood-has-the-body-marie-mcdonald-and-the-look-lauren-bacall-and/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [“Sexy isn’t my middle name. Lust-factory is, with the hyphen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/sexy-isn-t-my-middle-name-lust-factory-is-with-the-hyphen/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“We are a handful of dust in God’s image Before we return again to dusty grave Life isn’t a war, it’s a scrimmage A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-wetch/we-are-a-handful-of-dust-in-god-s-image-before-we-return-again-to/) [Justin Wetch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-wetch/) > [I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I got married. There's no hyphen. Stops it being posh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-bailey-rae/i-was-corinne-bailey-i-added-on-rae-my-husband-s-name-when-i-got/) [Corinne Bailey Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-bailey-rae/) > [“You realize that everything you think and feel now will be encompassed in the hyphen between two years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paige-harbison/you-realize-that-everything-you-think-and-feel-now-will-be/) [paige harbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paige-harbison/) > [“When we turned right on Thirty-fifth Street our suffix came along. By the time we rolled to the curb in front of Wolfe's house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/when-we-turned-right-on-thirty-fifth-street-our-suffix-came-along-by/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names because only part of them has come over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More by Jenny Baranick > [“The difference between lay and lie is like the difference between sadism and masochism: one means doing something to someone (or something) else, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-difference-between-lay-and-lie-is-like-the-difference-between/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“We use the en dash when we want to express a range of values: Goldilocks will only sleep on Egyptian cotton sheets with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-use-the-en-dash-when-we-want-to-express-a-range-of-values/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Lacks commitment: I suppose I could marry Dan. Acknowledges commitment: I’m supposed to marry Dan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/lacks-commitment-i-suppose-i-could-marry-dan-acknowledges-commitment/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“First impressions stick. That’s why it’s so important that we do tedious things like remember to wear deodorant, brush our teeth, and insert commas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/first-impressions-stick-that-s-why-it-s-so-important-that-we-do/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“The semicolon, my friends, is the punctuation mark we use to join two complete sentences. When we want to separate two complete sentences, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-semicolon-my-friends-is-the-punctuation-mark-we-use-to-join-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Guys who kiss like they’re giving CPR should have to attend kissing classes. If I take out “who kiss like they’re giving CPR,” this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/guys-who-kiss-like-they-re-giving-cpr-should-have-to-attend-kissing/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“You may think that you don't need to worry about actually learning the grammar rules because spell check and grammar check will come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/you-may-think-that-you-don-t-need-to-worry-about-actually-learning/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“In high school, I was such a slut. And I was not alone; most girls in my high school were total sluts. We didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/in-high-school-i-was-such-a-slut-and-i-was-not-alone-most-girls-in-my/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“I am the English teacher who teaches the “boring stuff”— I teach a class on grammar called Writing Skills. My students think I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/i-am-the-english-teacher-who-teaches-the-boring-stuff-i-teach-a-class/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“A comma splice means that a comma has been inserted between two complete sentences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/a-comma-splice-means-that-a-comma-has-been-inserted-between-two/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Incorrect: I use to be the most popular guy in school, but now I am the Thursday night trivia king at the local bar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/incorrect-i-use-to-be-the-most-popular-guy-in-school-but-now-i-am-the/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“We might also want to use a semicolon to hold together two sentences to avoid giving the reader too much time to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/we-might-also-want-to-use-a-semicolon-to-hold-together-two-sentences/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Dictionaries are like vitamins and floss; we buy them and then never use them. Even I, an English teacher, a lover of words, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/dictionaries-are-like-vitamins-and-floss-we-buy-them-and-then-never/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“One of the most pressing questions of our time is arguably this: Does size matter? Is it about quantity or quality? Is it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/one-of-the-most-pressing-questions-of-our-time-is-arguably-this-does/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Not only can rearranging our sentences to avoid ending them in prepositions sound pretentious, it’s also unnecessary. Grammar experts agree that it’s perfectly acceptable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/not-only-can-rearranging-our-sentences-to-avoid-ending-them-in/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) [Explore all 38 Jenny Baranick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) ## More Hyphens quotes > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names because only part of them has come over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [It's not enough to be American. You always have to be something else, Irish-American, German-American, and you'd wonder how they'd get along if someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/it-s-not-enough-to-be-american-you-always-have-to-be-something-else/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [There is a phase in the life of every copy editor when she is obsessed with hyphens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/there-is-a-phase-in-the-life-of-every-copy-editor-when-she-is/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Tea - that perfume that one drinks, that connecting hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/tea-that-perfume-that-one-drinks-that-connecting-hyphen/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [“If you take hyphens seriously, you will surely go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oxford-university-press/if-you-take-hyphens-seriously-you-will-surely-go-mad/) [Oxford University Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oxford-university-press/) > [Parenthesis-proud, bracket-bold, happiest with hyphens, The writers stagger intoxicated by terms, adjective-unsteadied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-brode/parenthesis-proud-bracket-bold-happiest-with-hyphens-the-writers/) Anthony Brode > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over, heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them-2/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Hyphens, like cats, are capable of arousing tenderness or shudders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-frankau/hyphens-like-cats-are-capable-of-arousing-tenderness-or-shudders/) Pamela Frankau > [There are some men who in a fifty-fifty proposition insist on getting the hyphen too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/there-are-some-men-who-in-a-fifty-fifty-proposition-insist-on-getting/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [The only difference between resigning and resigning is a hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mccarver/the-only-difference-between-resigning-and-resigning-is-a-hyphen/) [Tim McCarver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mccarver/) > [One must regard the hyphen as a blemish to be avoided wherever possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/one-must-regard-the-hyphen-as-a-blemish-to-be-avoided-wherever/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You know, mind allows us to portray in different sensory modalities, visual, auditory, olfactory, you name it, what we are like and what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/you-know-mind-allows-us-to-portray-in-different-sensory-modalities/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [I guess none of the sides of my hyphen are particularly subtle cultures. But perhaps there is also a sense that these characters are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-guess-none-of-the-sides-of-my-hyphen-are-particularly-subtle/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and And and And and Chips in my Fish-and-Chips sign' have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/wouldn-t-the-sentence-i-want-to-put-a-hyphen-between-the-words-fish/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Like italics and hyphens, quotation marks are to be used as sparingly as possible. They should light the way, not darken it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-partridge/like-italics-and-hyphens-quotation-marks-are-to-be-used-as-sparingly/) [Eric Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-partridge/) [Browse all 26 Hyphens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hyphens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The closest we can get to set hyphen rules are that the prefixes ex, self, and all always require hyphens while adverbs ending in ly never do: Goldilocks first told the jury that she had been walking through the dimly lit forest and mistook the three bears’ house for an all-inclusive resort. 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