Hyphen hyperactivity

[cimorene]

Journeying through Golden age detective novels, most of the time the plots have furnished my major complaints, but this time I've found someone who has a wildly wrong idea of how hyphens work.

It's not often that terrible punctuation is the biggest problem in a published novel! Given that publishers have editors and proofreaders, perhaps the real surprise is that it happens as often as it does. But still, it's been quite a while since I've run into it.

And regardless, this George Bellairs is special. Hyphen errors aren't all that rare, but I've never seen someone so determined to use them as this. It's like he's bought a pack of a thousand and they're going to spoil if he doesn't use them up quickly.

These are all from one chapter.

• As Littlejohn started-up Haworth’s car,




• took the rebuke lying-down,




• Just before the ironmaster re-entered, Littlejohn heard the front-door open and slam.




• few hundred poundsworth, turned-out by a first-class maker!




• On the top of a massive secretaire lay a gun-case,




• "It’s just damned nonsense going-on with it.”





• Why root-up all that’s past?




• what was going-on in Littlejohn’s mind




• “They’ve surely not called-in Scotland Yard"




• The pale-blue eyes met those of the detective.




• His head was broad and shining-bald




• just as Big Ben boomed nine from a wireless-set




• unable through sentiment or taste to part with the humbler odds-and-ends of their less prosperous days,




• She ushered him into a small, cheerless room and switched-on an electric heater,




• “Better ring-up The Hall and see if he’ll see you. You can take my car, you know.”




• Ross was on duty and left him to cool-off in the cells overnight.




• the money that Sykes came-by just before his death.




• His name keeps cropping-up




• children warming-up to their play




• the child, who obediently toddled-off at her bidding.