diff --git a/dw/hyphenator.cc b/dw/hyphenator.cc
index 74a947b..ccfc14f 100644
--- a/dw/hyphenator.cc
+++ b/dw/hyphenator.cc
@@ -181,7 +181,8 @@ void Hyphenator::insertException (char *s)
       if((unsigned char)s[i] == 0xc2 && (unsigned char)s[i + 1] == 0xad)
          breaks->put (new Integer (i - 2 * breaks->size()));
 
-   char *noHyphens = new char[len - 2 * breaks->size() + 1];
+   std::string noHyphens;
+   noHyphens.resize( len - 2 * breaks->size() + 1 );
    int j = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < len; ) {
       if(i < len - 1 &&
@@ -192,8 +193,7 @@ void Hyphenator::insertException (char *s)
    }
    noHyphens[j] = 0;
 
-   exceptions->put (new String (noHyphens), breaks);
-   delete[] noHyphens;
+   exceptions->put (new String (noHyphens.c_str()), breaks);
 }
 
 /**