Coffeehouse?!

[Benjamin Barrett]

Grammar Girl decides to use "coffeehouse" (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hyphens-in-compound-words.aspx) while I'm like "What?" She claims that different dictionaries variously hyphenate, open or close this compound.

Sure enough, Wiktionary gives the open and hyphenated forms as alternatives to "coffeehouse" (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coffeehouse) and the AHD has the open form as an alternative to "coffeehouse" (http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=coffeehouse&submit.x=0&submit.y=0). My Mac spell checker doesn't mind the closed form.

The Mac dictionary has the closed form and provides the Wikipedia article that is also closed.

The OED has citations only through 1876; all but one are hyphenated. (Also, the OED definition and comment are also outdated.)

I don't see myself using the hyphenated or closed form soon, but, to coin a phrase, YouNeverKnow.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

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