second(-) tallest

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He is the second-tallest man.

Is hyphen needed? Is the phrase correct?

Many thanks.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 3 • Views: 729 • Replies: 5

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The phrase is correct . . . the hyphen is not correct.

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Not for the first time, I find myself in fraternal disagreement with the learned Setanta.

Smile

Firstborn, first-born and first born (to take another example) may make my objection plainer.

I cannot articulate it in exact terminology, but I think it is something to do with the words being combined into a compound adjective. They work together to convey their meaning.

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How about well-beloved? Best-known?

Spurn not the simple hyphen, that least-appreciated device.

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McTag wrote:

How about well-beloved? Best-known?

Spurn not the simple hyphen, that least-appreciated device.

(see my post on the other thread about the 16,000 hyphens recently murdered by one of the Oxford dictionaries)

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http://essayinfo.com/sguides/hyphen.php

Quote:

...

To avoid ambiguity, use hyphens to link words in compound adjectives (or compound modifiers) before nouns. If you can insert and between the modifying words before a noun and make sense of the new construction, you do not have a compound adjective: And would make sense in a sunny, warm day; sunny, warm is not a compound modifier. But and would not work in a well-rounded employee; well-rounded is a compound modifier. Another test: If your sentence would make sense if you reversed the order of the modifying words or even eliminated one of them, don't connect the words with a hyphen.

"Second-tallest man" is correct.

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second(-) tallest

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