Hyphen with Letters and Numbers
The Hyphen
Rulebase Summary
Use a hyphen when letters and numbers combine in specific designations: exhibit labels (Exhibit P-4), aircraft designations (F-16, B-52s, DC-10s), military rank codes (E-5, E-7), some medical terminology (DSM-III-R, C5-C6), and musical keys followed by flat, natural, or sharp (A-sharp, E-flat — but F minor, with no hyphen for minor or major).
Hyphenate the letters of words that are spelled out (F-o-r-d-h-a-m). Use a hyphen when a single letter acts as an adjective, prefix, or part of a verb (U-turn, A-line, T-intersection, L-shaped). Some numerical expressions are traditionally hyphenated when spelled out (9-1-1). A lowercased letter sometimes represents a shortened word and is hyphenated to the noun it modifies (b-ball, c-sections, e-mail).
Examples
A. I made a Uturn at the intersection.
A. I made a U-turn at the intersection.
A single letter used as an adjective takes a hyphen before the noun.
Q. Could you spell that name? A. F o r d h a m.
Q. Could you spell that name? A. F-o-r-d-h-a-m.
Letters of a word being spelled out are joined with hyphens.
Transcript Notes
Some numerical expressions traditionally contain hyphens when spelled out (9-1-1). Sometimes a lowercased letter represents a shortened version of a word and is hyphened to the noun (b-ball, c-sections, e-mail).
For letter-for-letter spelling, hyphenate between each letter. Follow the normal capitalization and spacing of the word (M-c-C-a-l-l for McCall; D-e L-a V-e-g-a for De La Vega). When only a portion is spelled, put a hyphen in front of the first letter (-f-f-e, -a-n-t). When spelling is interrupted, leave the last letter before the break with no hyphen after it, and put a hyphen before the first letter when spelling resumes.
When someone says 'capital' to indicate an uppercase letter, either capitalize the letter and omit the word 'capital,' or include the word 'capital' (no hyphen) followed by the capitalized letter. The same applies to 'double' for a repeated letter.
Style Guide References (13)
Morson's
Morson's
Morson's
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
Morson's