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>
> I'm seeing "roundtrip" spelled solid as a noun or and adjective more
> and more frequently in our environment. It seems to be coming
> together into one word, as have many compounds before it. I was just
> wondering whether it was time for our group to follow suit.
>
Could this vacillation between ways of writing 'roundtrip' be due to
writers in your software environment, self-consciously coming up to
speed on a word they haven't had much occasion to write until now?
Granted, this is a relatively new use of the word, so the literal
meaning assigned to it *is* a new definition of roundtrip. But still,
it is the same well-established word, now with yet another meaning, not
a period neologism like /log on/log-on/logon/.
However, if someone *wants* to argue that virtual bits in a highly
edified data environment are not doing the same thing that an ocean
liner sailing a roundtrip route is doing, I'd listen. I'm up to here
with cute metaphors in computing. They've swamped technical writing.
Adding just one more could finally encourage imprecise thinking beyond
tolerances. It could capsize the language or break the camel's keel.
But getting back to your your question, I don't believe anyone would
have a problem with "roundtrip" except where print resolution or font
pitch make the "dt" hard to distinguish.
Good luck.
Ned Bedinger
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com
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