Canadian Style Tip #11: Hyphenation for points of the compass

This post is part of the Canadian Style series.

2.13 Hyphenation: Points of the compass

Write as one word compass directions consisting of two points, but use a hyphen after the first point in those compounds consisting of three points::

  • northwest
  • southeast
  • east-northeast
  • south-southwest

By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.