Gosh, no! Not to me, anyway. Am I misunderstanding something?

"Scare", not "square", but no, I would never have thought of that. I was thinking of battered women something more in the news than lesbians. Are there any homes for lesbians other than their own?

Gosh, I know several of them, but none of them are in refuges.
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

How true, how true.

Uh, what's that equals sign doing there? Never mind that's crap. It'd sell, though.

I'd hope that the high schools would teach better sentence structure than that, and that linguists would stay out of that sort of a mess.
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Why would it require any dashes on hyphens? "New York based company" does not leave any room for misinterpretation whatsoever, innit?

Whoopee!

I don't think that there are any that could be classified as being authoritative anyway, lacking any definite punctuation rules for the English language.

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

}
}> I can see I have my work cut out for me on hyperhyphenation (q.g.). }> First of all, an en-dash is *never* used in hyperhyphenation it's }> only used in things like date ranges, and it's simulated with a }> hyphen (or with a slash when it's used in hyperendashation, as in }> George Washington (1730/9-1790/9)).
}
} How true, how true.
}
}> Second of all, "convent turned women's refuge" doesn't need *any* }> hyphens as a noun phrase. It's a convent that has turned (or has }> been turned) into a women's refuge. If necessary to avoid confusion }> with surrounding words, the "turned women's refuge" can be }> parenthesized. It's only when using the whole thing as a compound }> modifier that hyphenation kicks in, and that is where the }> hyperhyphenation comes to the rescue. The gift shop, for instance, }> might sell convent-turned-women's=refuge T-shirts. }
} Uh, what's that equals sign doing there?
That's not an equals sign; it's a hyperhyphen. Your computer should display it the same length as a hyphen. If it is displaying the same length as an en-dash, I don't wonder at your confusion. Hyperhyphens bind more tightly than hyphens, which bind more tightly than spaces. (Hypohyphens (on the other hand) look a lot like spaces, but are found in capitalized, italicized, quoted, or otherwise set-off material that don't need hyphens when serving as compound modifiers.) Didn't they teach this stuff in school back in the old days? Google "hyperhyphenation" or "hypohyphenation" for other discussion.
} Never mind that's crap. It'd } sell, though.
I don't see why not: Chicago sells.
}> It's a shame these linguist schools don't teach this stuff. It's the }> minimum I'd expect from a good high school.
}
} I'd hope that the high schools would teach better sentence structure than } that, and that linguists would stay out of that sort of a mess.

You have some problem with the sentence structure? Out with it. This is the place, and now is the time. Linguists are as welcome here as other users of English, but are asked to check their Linguist usage at the door.

R. J. Valentine

...
} First the original sentence:
} In (the book) "Paradise", a convent-turned-women's refuge is } stormed by townsmen.
}
} Now the all new, vastly improved, fat-free and healthful revised offering } (may we have a BIG round of applause?)
}
} Here it is
}
} are you ready?
}
} "Paradise", a convent now turned into a women's refuge, is stormed by the } townsmen.
}
} Call the police! Don't let them get away with the panties!

Is "Paradise" a book or the name of the former convent? The two sentences certainly say different things. There is no need at all for hyphens in the original version. Assuming that "Paradise" changes from being a book to being a former convent, the revised version is certainly readable at a lower grade level.

R. J. Valentine