Well DON'T HYPHENATE Meaning Advice

I've been wondering about hyphens for compound adjectives that aren't really compound adjectives. I think there are so many rules that it's too much to figure it out. So, I'll just give some examples that bother me, and maybe you can tell me what's up.

Healthy looking hair: I say no hyphen. What do you say?

Well meaning friend: I say no hyphen. What do you say?

I'm with you. But, there are rules of grammar and writing, there are house styles, and there are clashes between the two. Advertising firms are in love with the hyphen, God only knows why. But, then, advertisers are in the habit of turning many a grammar rule or beautifully written phrase into a gnarly mess and passing it off as hyper-correct.

My rule of thumb is to hyphenate adjectival compounds if the lack of a hyphen would cause confusion OR sometimes (and this is a killer) if I believe the reader expects there to be a hyphen and would be distracted by its absence.

But, here are two guidelines you might consider:

• Don't hyphenate adjectival compounds that contain an adverb ending in –ly.
• Don't hyphenate adjectival compounds when the first adjective is obviously not modifying the noun.

For example: "Healthy looking hair" should not be hyphenated because "healthy" isn't modifying "hair"; it's modifying "looking," which isn't even a descriptive adjective.

For the same reason, when you write "a well meaning friend," you don't need a hyphen, because no one will think you mean a friend who isn't ill.

These are the guidelines I follow, and I believe The Chicago Manual of Style has my back. However, there are many who would disagree with me. So, unless you're bound by the style choices of a particular company, choose the style that suits your sensibilities, and then stick to it.