Hope-above Williams

[Bambook]

"Hope-above Williams" is a character of "Micah Clarke" by Arthur Conan Doyle. I guess it is a nickname of Williams. What does it mean? Is the dash sign necessary there? Is this combination ever used in spoken English? I did not find on the internet.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, it's a nickname. The hyphen is a way to compound the two words into a single unit. That's basically always what hyphens do.

Is this combination ever used in spoken English? I did not find on the internet.

What do you mean? What combination?

 

[emsr2d2]

Are you asking if we use "hope-above" as a combination? If so, no. I would think there's something in the book that explains why that person got that nickname.