I'm not superseding 14Tonks' response, just expanding on it. What I generally do is go to OneLook.com. You can put the phrase in question in the search box without hyphens. If the results show it hyphenated in all the dictionaries in which it appears, you probably don't need to go further. If dictionaries disagree, then you need to judge the results based on the quality and reliability of the dictionary as well as the copyright date (styles change!).
If hyphens are problematic for you, my article in e-Perspectives might help. You can download it for free from HPIsum.com.
Ellen
Edited by ebadrake (04/30/08 01:06 PM)
