No. I have mountains of restraining orders to overcome. I find them much more important than pondering compound words: the potential payoff is far more rewarding.
Probably because English creates compounds in a number of different ways, and the patterns to these ways are not always predictable. English forms compounds by uniting two separate words: housewife, doghouse, cupcake, stonecutter, etc. but also uses hyphens: red-orange, freeze-dry, ball-buster, etc. and some compounds are two separate words: lawn tennis, air base, bell tower.
Many compounds have alternate forms that are accepted. Cf. light bulb vs. lightbulb (both acceptable), living room vs. livingroom vs. living-room, all of which are attested, though "living room" remains the most formal.
Many single-word compounds started out as two-word compounds, but as they gained recognition as a unit, their constituents were formally united.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at June 4, 2018 10:09 AM MDT
Jane S 