Is it to get rid of the hyphen?

looking down the list of examples I can see a logic to it ...

the first list contain words where the meaning is strongly connected to both words - ice cream, water bed

the second list seems to contain words where the meaning is only loosely connected to the words - chickpea (has little to do with chick), pigeonhole (has little to do with a pigeon, and not really a 'hole' more a concept)

just my thoughts

I first read it as "Thousands of hyenas perish as English marches on."

I read it as thousands of hymens perish as the english march on

pigeonhole (has little to do with a pigeon, and not really a 'hole' more a concept)

A pigeonhole is also a noun as well, being a small compartment for storing of filing things, such as for sorting mail in offices and appartment blocks.

A pigeonhole is also of course a hole in a pigeon loft where a pigeon nests, having everything to do with pigeons and holes.

Bah. I always liked hyphens; lots of my favorite authors used 'em. My prediction: once hyphens become less common, writers will pick 'em up again in order to be unique, and -- voila! -- we're back where we started.

skwilinator - lol

if thats the case jstates1, than english is messed up crazy