Explanation and Discussion
In American English
Compound Nouns
are sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not. No real rules exist but some
trends do. Below I have some of the major groups of words and their
generalities.
On
Words
Compound nouns ending in
"on"
are typically hyphenated. For Example:
|
add-on
|
carrying-on
|
come-on
|
follow-on
|
goings-on
|
hangers-on
|
lookers-on
|
put-on
|
|
run-on
|
slip-on
|
turn-on
|
However with this exception
Off
Words
Compound nouns ending in
"off"
are either solid or hyphenated. For example:
|
checkoff
|
cutoff
|
falloff
|
kickoff
|
knockoff
|
layoff
|
leadoff
|
liftoff
|
|
payoff
|
runoff
|
shutoff
|
standoff
|
takeoff
|
turnoff
|
brush-off
|
drop-off
|
|
goof-off
|
play-off
|
rake-off
|
rip-off
|
sell-off
|
send-off
|
show-off
|
sign-off
|
|
spin-off
|
tip-off
|
trade-off
|
write-off
|
|