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The answer to the "egghead" clue - isn't that two words?

Chambers has it both as two words and hyphenated!

Thank you Norah. Although I think mine was posted slightly before this one I though it was only polite to give way. Luckily Escher was alert to the problem. (:o)

Ah yes, as a noun it would be two words and as an adjective it would be hyphenated. My own feeling is that hyphenated words should be indicated in the clue, but I am in the minority apparently. But here's something interesting. I only have the app version of Chambers, and here are the entries: "high tech or hi tech noun" and "high-tech or hi-tec adjective." This last must be a mistake. I take it this mistake does not appear in the print edition?

Same in print version, MPRS

Looking at other sources...
Collins has high-tech, hi-tech and hi tec (adjs); high technology (noun)
ODE has high-tech and hi-tech (adjs); high tech / technology (noun)

Thanks to muraria and granama for earlier answers

I agree with you MPRS. I have never seen the logic behind not indicating an answer like DEAD-END as (7, hyphenated). I have read various justifications for it but they failed to convince me as I can't remember what they were!

Some puzzles would give your example as (4-3) even.

MPRS, you're quite right when it comes to daily cryptics. Barred puzzles (with the exception of the Spectator, I think) enumerate hyphenated answers as a single word, but offer "two/three/etc. words" for multi-word phrases. I've never seen the logic in this and find it annoying, but I guess we're stuck with it!