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This section is specifically about hyphens rather than dashes.
Hyphens allow green-ink using pedants to write mind numbing nonsense.
This sentence needs a hyphen because we could be considering people who write their letters to The Telegraph in green ink (green-ink using). Or we could be considering green people who use ink (green ink-using).
The crucial point is that hyphens should be used only when they avoid confusion. We could have hyphenated mind-numbing nonsense if we wanted to, but no reader is going to need the extra help that this gives.
Hyphens are always a judgement call, and there will be times when you get them wrong, but a light touch is best. Read a sentence a couple of times and try to see if you can make it acquire a different meaning if you're not sure. Do use them where they are absolutely essential, for example a two-person team. And be aware of context:
out-of-date clothes. (hyphen needed to avoid ambiguity)
his clothes are out of date. (hyphen not needed)
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