My friends call me 'Prew'

Even with a well-established word, comprising a familiar root and prefix combination, a hyphen can greatly aid a reader. This clarifying use of the hyphen is common enough when adding a prefix creates a double vowel that could be hard to read correctly (like de-emphasize, rather than deemphasize).

I would like to make a plea for the inclusion of such clarifying hyphens is in any word that the addition of a prefix can lead to a mispronunciation. No matter how common the word may be.

When I see the word "prewar," it looks like it should rhyme with "brewer."

Now, if you are reading about a military topic, the context is likely to be adequate and you might just read it as it is intended, as "pre-war," before the war.

But if you just come across something about "Prewar Gibson Banjos," you really do need a hyphen to keep that from being read as Prewar-rhymes-with-brewer Gibson Banjos, rather than a designation of a certain make of banjos made before the war.

As in, "Hi, my name's Gibson. Prewar Gibson. My friends call me Prew. Would you like to see my banjos?"

All of this confusion -- and amusement -- could be avoided with more generous use of the hyphen.

I mean, give us a break. English is weird enough already.