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BuzzFeed Staff

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Hyphens and en dashes and em dashes, oh my!

Smash And Dash This Copyediting Quiz

BuzzFeed style is to use a pair of em dashes (not en dashes) with a space on either side to connect thoughts, and an en dash (not a hyphen) in sports scores.

The US Women’s National Team won their second consecutive World Cup — and their fourth overall — after beating the Netherlands 2–0 in this year’s final.

Select the sentence below that follows BuzzFeed style.

BuzzFeed opts for an en dash for compound noun constructions like “US–Mexico border” to signal a partnership or pairing where both entities are equal. When we decide whether to close up or hyphenate, we consult _Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_ and consider readability and comprehension. Thus, “media-shaming.” Remember never to grammar-shame!

In an interview with ABC News’ Tom Llamas, Melania said she wore the “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket to the US–Mexico border in response to the media-shaming she had previously received.

Ahh, Mr. Carter. Mr. Sasha Fierce. The man of many names. Jay-Z — who is actually JAY-Z, but BuzzFeed doesn’t recognize vanity capitalization (or vanity punctuation for that matter) — started off his career with a hyphen, lost the hyphen, and adopted it again. Moral of the story: Jay-Z can afford to have a hyphen or not. Hip-hop is also hyphenated per the style guide. We also adhere to using phrasal adjectives to modify a noun, hence “fifth-richest black person.”

According to a Forbes report earlier this summer, Jay-Z has become the first billionaire in hip-hop and the fifth-richest black person in the US.

Louis-Dreyfus does use the hyphen in her surname. (However, the Louis Dreyfus Company, founded by Julia’s great-grandfather, does not use the hyphen.) We never use hyphens after _-ly_ adverbs. Reelection is also closed up per the BuzzFeed Style Guide, _AP Stylebook_, and _Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary_. And again, phrasal adjectives are hyphenated, thus “Emmy-winning.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus — nominated in the highly competitive Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy Series category for her role on _Veep_ — played Selina Meyer, whose presidential reelection campaign was the focus of the Emmy-winning show’s final seas

The em dash is used to indicate a pause — some folks opt to use the double hyphen for the same effect. Don’t be those folks. While _Merriam-Webster_ does include “sucker punch” as an entry, the rest were at the discretion of BuzzFeed’s copy editors. In short, don’t shit-talk the style guide unless you want to get mindfucked?

Beware of shit-talking — it can be a mindfuck or sucker punch of sorts for those on the receiving end.

We've all been there — brush up on your grammar and try again!

Should've just hit it and quit it, eh?

We applaud you for trying. You'll surely do better next time!

A for effort?

You know your en dashes from em dashes. Share the wealth and teach your friends!

Hey, you're pretty good at this thing!

We _are_ looking for a senior copy editor \*hint hint, wink wink\* — maybe you have what it takes?

Hyph-FIVE! You're KILLING it!

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Smash And Dash This Copyediting Quiz

Check out the BuzzFeed Style Guide as you take the quiz.