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Thank-you

lfsaldenbirch , ,

Plenty of characters say, “Thank you.”  Bilbo even says, “Thag  you bery buch.”  Hyphenated like this refers to the polite phrase – “a thank-you”, as in “an apology” or “a greeting”.

  • 02.001 (“but with never a thank-you” he thought);

It’s only given hyphens in this use – referring to the phrase, not the phrase itself – in the OED.

“ˈthank you, phr. and n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/200160. Accessed 21 September 2017.

Tea-time

lfsaldenbirch , , ,
  • 01.025 Just before tea-time
  • 01.098 here this Wednesday tea-time.’
  • 02.029 It was after tea-time;
  • 03.010 Tea-time had long gone by,

Remember, afternoon tea is a treat enjoyed by folks at leisure on comfortable sofas in midafternoon.  High tea is a working family’s meal sitting up high at the table in proper chairs, served right after getting home from work when one is famished, and including as much serious nutrition as possible!

This word is hyphenated just so in its OED sub-entry

“tea, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/198340. Accessed 21 September 2017.

Supper-time

lfsaldenbirch , , ,
  • 03.010 and it seemed supper-time would soon do the same.
  • 07.066 or it will be supper-time before it is ended.’

Supper-time, in a land with tea in the afternoon or early evening, is quite late indeed, well after dark in any case.

The dogs say it is a fantastical time about which many stories have been told and many ballads sung, but which does not come in truth.

The OED says, in contrast, that it can be hyphenated in the examples.

“supper time, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/194604. Accessed 21 September 2017.