New Delhi: The two-volume short Oxford English Dictionary has done away with 16, 000 hyphens in an attempt to give way to the growing usage of SMS and email language.
The small black - that's been around since the birth of printing has finally been killed off even though it has sparked off criticism from literature purists.
- Fig-leaf is now Fig leaf
- Pot-belly now Pot belly
- Pigeon-hole now pigeonhole
- Leap-frog is leapfrog
The dictionary officials though claim it reflects the changing times of grammar usage. But that's not all; new words have been added as well.
Other words in the dictionary include:
- Biosecurity
- Webinar
- Manbag
- Carbon Footprint
Moral of the story: if you don't follow the dictionary, the dictionary follows you.
(With inputs from Supriya Dravid)
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