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Is "$50-to-$75-million-a-year business" confusing?

(No, I cannot recast as much as I'd like to.)

Could $50 above be initially construed as fifty dollars? Or is the phrase clear as I have it?

I think using the word "million" twice is overkill, as in:

"a $50-million-to-$75-million-a-year business"

In your opinion, is "a $50-to-$75-million-a-year business" the way to go here -- yes or no?

Thank you kindly.

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It's not confusing, in that the meaning is entirely clear. A fifty-dollar business would be preposterous, so there is no need for a redundant "million". The hyphens may be overkill.

Style and phrasing are always debatable but that wasn't what you asked about, and in any case it sounds perfectly fine as a spoken phrase and is acceptable in writing in my opinion.

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First off, the hyphens look like you are desperately trying to protect your sentence from possible confusion. They're not necessary, even though they might feel as if they are.

Second, the sentence as constructed is awkward. Try rewording it, perhaps using the word "annual," and your worry about misunderstandings should fade.

Ex.:

His business has $50 to $75 million in annual billings.

…with annual revenues of $50 to $75 million.

Bluewater Technologies takes in between $50 and $75 million a year.

I understand what it seems you are trying to do, because the sentence "It's a $75-million-a-year business" sounds great verbally, very Tony Robbins-like and punchy.

But in writing, that kind of informal sentence structure is simply awkward and clunky.

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  • Thanks. A college professor whom I emailed said to just use an en dash between the figures and hyphens in the phrasal-adjective part: a $50–$75-million-a-year industry. "To", with hyphens on each side, is redundant, he said.
    – londonderry
    Commented Mar 15, 2016 at 13:57
  • He said the same method could be used with ages and all ranges, e.g., 20–30-year-old females, 50–100-mile radius, 20–30-foot-deep holes, etc.
    – londonderry
    Commented Mar 15, 2016 at 14:00
  • Do the en dashes and hyphens work above? Thank you. Ah yah.
    – londonderry
    Commented Mar 17, 2016 at 10:37
  • Or do just hyphens look okay, as in: A $50-$75-million-a-year industry, 50-75-mile radius. Combo of en dashes + hyphens may look like poor typesetting, agreed? So just use hyphens throughout, yes or no? Thank you... Ah yah.
    – londonderry
    Commented Mar 17, 2016 at 10:40
  • Ah yah? No or yes?
    – londonderry
    Commented Mar 17, 2016 at 10:44

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