Hyphenated Phrasal Adjectives

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Another great post from Daily Writing Tips explaining when to use hyphens. I know I learned something.

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5 Sentences Requiring Hyphenated Phrasal Adjectives

By Mark Nichol

When two or more words team up to describe something, they’re usually hyphenated to make their symbiotic relationship clear. Each of the following sentences contains a phrasal adjective that should be linked with one or more hyphens; each example is followed by a brief discussion and a revision.

1. Their affair wasn’t exactly the best kept secret.

This sentence refers to a secret that is the best kept, not a kept secret that is better than any other, so link the phrasal adjective together: “Their affair wasn’t exactly the best-kept secret.”