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Oy, where would you stick a hyphen in either of the two phrases I used in this thread to illustrate ambiguity? For your convenience, here they are again:
rubber baby buggy bumpers
ancient history teacher
I say only a misguided hyperhyphenated prescriptivist would insist on hyphens in either of these two noun phrases. And he would be wrong, too. BTW, one of the prhases is from Saroyan's Human Comedy and the other is a near-folk saying.
And if you're going to quote Fowler's chapter and verse, at least be kind enough to use the first & preferred edition.
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