Knowledge (XXG)

Scare quotes

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51:"; they may imply skepticism or disagreement, belief that the words are misused, or that the writer intends a meaning opposite to the words enclosed in quotes. Whether quotation marks are considered scare quotes depends on context because scare quotes are not visually different from actual quotations. The use of scare quotes is sometimes discouraged in formal or academic writing. 167:, in a talk at Case Western Reserve University, described scare quotes as "the enemy", adding that they "kill narrative, they kill story-telling . . . They are a writer's assault on his or her own words." Scare quotes have been described as ubiquitous, and the use of them as expressing distrust in truth, reality, facts, reason and objectivity. 112:
Writers use scare quotes for a variety of reasons. They can imply doubt or ambiguity in words or ideas within the marks, or even outright contempt. They can indicate that a writer is purposely misusing a word or phrase or that the writer is unpersuaded by the text in quotes, and they can help the
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writes: "to put terms like 'identity politics' or 'rape culture' or, yes, 'alt-right' in scare quotes is ... to make, in that placement, a political declaration." In general, the punctuation expresses distance between the writer and the quote.
47:, referential, or otherwise non-standard sense. Scare quotes may indicate that the author is using someone else's term, similar to preceding a phrase with the expression " 942: 223:" before or after the quoted words, or pause before and emphasize the parts in quotes. These spoken methods are also used for literal and conventional quotes. 129:
The scare quotes could indicate that the word is not one the writer would normally use, or that the writer thinks there is something dubious about the word
72:. The use of a graphic symbol on an expression to indicate irony or dubiousness goes back much further: Authors of ancient Greece used a mark called a 190:
examined the trend of using scare quotes in philosophy as a means of neutralizing or suspending words that imply cognitive achievement, such as
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The scare quote is the perfect device for making an insinuation without proving it, or even necessarily making clear what you're insinuating.
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to be "the new scare quotes" in the sense that both are used for "announcing distance". Just like scare quotes, hashtags such as
976: 219:, which mimics quotation marks. A speaker may alternatively say "quote" before and "unquote" after quoted words, or say " 691: 83: 160:
Some experts encourage writers to avoid scare quotes because they can distance the writer and confuse the reader.
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or its application to these people. The exact meaning of the scare quotes is not clear without further context.
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punctuation, including scare quotes, and have found reasons for their frequent use in their writings. In 2014,
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This article is about the typographic practice. For the use of quotations and headlines to scare readers, see
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The 'RF modulator' use is the 'neutral distancing' one on the Knowledge (XXG) page (special terminology).
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as it refers to punctuation marks in 1956 in an essay titled "Aristotle and the Sea Battle", published in
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for that purpose. Beginning in the 1990s, the use of scare quotes suddenly became very widespread.
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that writers place around a word or phrase to signal that they are using it in an
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The Emergence of Sexuality: Historical Epistemology and the Formation of Concepts
949:. Adapted from a talk given at Case Western Reserve University on 10 April 2010. 395: 187: 209:
In spoken conversation, a stand-in for scare quotes is a hand gesture known as
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Scare quotes can be replaced by writing text to make the insinuation explicit.
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The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
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The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl.
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Home Economics: Nationalism and the Making of 'Migrant Workers' in Canada
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Anscombe, G. E. M. (1 January 1956). "I.--Aristotle And The Sea Battle".
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Say what You Mean!: A Troubleshooter's Guide to English Style and Usage
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Reading at the Social Limit: Affect, Mass Culture, and Edgar Allan Poe
144:. An author may use scare quotes not to convey alarm, but to signal a 346:
Music in Words : A Guide to Researching and Writing about Music
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Anything Goes: Origins of the Cult of Scientific Irrationalism
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Postmodern Sophistry: Stanley Fish and the Critical Enterprise
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writer deny responsibility for the quote. Megan Garber in
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Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate: Unfashionable Essays
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Inroads: Paths in Ancient and Modern Western Philosophy
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Why Do We Quote?: The Culture and History of Quotation
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Mind: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy
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Time and Exteriority: Aristotle, Heidegger, Derrida
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Quotation marks used to indicate non-standard usage
922:What is this thing called Philosophy of Language? 623:Garden Plots: The Politics and Poetics of Gardens 860:Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 369:. The Publishing Training Center. (2008). p. 68. 1007:John M. Lawler, Prof. Emeritus of Linguistics, 148:quibble. Scare quotes may suggest or create a 805:"The Scare Quote: 2016 in a Punctuation Mark" 463:"The Scare Quote: 2016 in a Punctuation Mark" 382:. University of Chicago Press (2010). p. 365. 8: 978:Popper and After: Four Modern Irrationalists 655:. Bucknell University Press (1994), p. 120. 418:The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage 762:MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 82:authors in particular have theorized about 975:Stove, David (1982). "Part 1, Chapter 1". 858:McArthur, Thomas Burns. McArthur, Roshan. 404:University of Sussex Guide to Punctuation 104:signal that the phrase is not one's own. 981:. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Archived from 390: 388: 126:Some "groupies" were following the band. 943:"Greil Marcus - Notes on the Making of 270: 608:The Unravelling of the Postmodern Mind 544:Outrage: Art, Controversy, and Society 327:. University of Toronto Press (2003). 903:. University of Toronto Press (2006) 610:. Edinburgh University Press. (2001) 570:. University of Chicago Press (2000) 140:may be confusing because of the word 7: 743:. David R. Godine Publisher (2005) 692:"Hashtags Are the New Scare Quotes" 670:. Stanford University Press (1995) 378:University of Chicago Press staff. 882:. Harvard University Press (2004) 803:Garber, Megan (23 December 2016). 625:. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. (2006) 461:Garber, Megan (23 December 2016). 348:. Oxford University Press (2009). 281:. Harvard University Press (1999) 14: 985:on 2 February 2015. Reprinted as 945:A New Literary History of America 862:. Oxford University Press (2005) 837:from the original on 1 July 2012 719:. Transaction Publishers (1999) 525:. Open Book Publishers (2011). 829:linguistlaura (18 June 2012). 636:Olson, Gary A. Worsham, Lynn. 152:with the words set in quotes. 1: 941:Marcus, Greil (10 May 2010). 546:. Palgrave Macmillan. (2012) 420:. Three Rivers Press (1999). 717:Against the Idols of the Age 690:Waldman, Katy (6 May 2014). 1063: 593:Columbia Journalism Review 542:Howells, Richard, editor. 20: 739:Trask, Robert Lawrence. 989:(1998). Macleay Press. 380:Chicago Manual of Style 279:Logic, Logic, and Logic 899:Sharma, Nandita Rani. 566:Haack, Susan, editor. 442:. University of Sussex 406:, University of Sussex 184: 170:Political commentator 878:Davidson, Arnold. I. 186:In 1982, philosopher 180: 640:. SUNY Press (2004) 1013:, Univ. of Michigan 966:, 31 December 2008. 606:Nash, Christopher. 501:10.1093/mind/65.1.1 98:#firstworldproblems 75:diple periestigmene 621:Saguaro, Shelley. 595:. 28 January 2013. 591:'Scare' Tactics". 587:Perlman, Merrill. 60:Elizabeth Anscombe 924:Routledge (2013) 785:Macmillan (2009) 781:Fogarty, Mignon. 760:Gibaldi, Joseph. 666:Elmer, Johathan. 416:Siegal, Allan M. 344:Herbert, Trevor. 305:. Penguin (2014) 243:Irony punctuation 1054: 1022: 1021: 1020: 1018: 1004: 998: 973: 967: 964:The New Republic 958:Jonathan Chait, 956: 950: 939: 933: 918: 912: 897: 891: 876: 870: 856: 850: 849: 844: 842: 826: 820: 819: 817: 815: 800: 794: 779: 773: 758: 752: 737: 728: 715:Stove, David C. 713: 707: 706: 704: 702: 687: 681: 602: 596: 590: 585: 579: 564: 555: 540: 534: 521:Finnegan, Ruth. 519: 513: 512: 484: 478: 477: 475: 473: 458: 452: 451: 449: 447: 435: 429: 414: 408: 407: 392: 383: 376: 370: 363: 357: 342: 336: 319: 313: 301:Pinker, Steven. 299: 290: 277:Boolos, George. 275: 176:The New Republic 150:problematization 62:coined the term 1062: 1061: 1057: 1056: 1055: 1053: 1052: 1051: 1027: 1026: 1025: 1016: 1014: 1010:Quote, Unquote. 1006: 1005: 1001: 974: 970: 957: 953: 940: 936: 919: 915: 898: 894: 877: 873: 857: 853: 840: 838: 828: 827: 823: 813: 811: 802: 801: 797: 780: 776: 759: 755: 738: 731: 714: 710: 700: 698: 689: 688: 684: 651:Protevi, John. 603: 599: 588: 586: 582: 565: 558: 541: 537: 520: 516: 486: 485: 481: 471: 469: 460: 459: 455: 445: 443: 437: 436: 432: 415: 411: 394: 393: 386: 377: 373: 365:Horn, Barbara. 364: 360: 343: 339: 321:Miles, Murray, 320: 316: 300: 293: 276: 272: 268: 229: 207: 158: 127: 110: 57: 41:quotation marks 26: 19: 12: 11: 5: 1060: 1058: 1050: 1049: 1044: 1039: 1029: 1028: 1024: 1023: 999: 968: 951: 934: 913: 892: 871: 851: 831:"Scare quotes" 821: 795: 774: 753: 729: 708: 696:Slate Magazine 682: 680: 679: 664: 649: 634: 619: 597: 580: 556: 535: 514: 479: 453: 440:"Scare Quotes" 438:Trask, Larry. 430: 409: 400:"Scare Quotes" 384: 371: 358: 337: 314: 291: 269: 267: 264: 263: 262: 257: 250: 245: 240: 235: 228: 225: 206: 203: 172:Jonathan Chait 157: 154: 125: 109: 106: 56: 53: 33:shudder quotes 17: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1059: 1048: 1045: 1043: 1040: 1038: 1035: 1034: 1032: 1012: 1011: 1003: 1000: 996: 995:1 876492 01 5 992: 988: 984: 980: 979: 972: 969: 965: 961: 955: 952: 948: 946: 938: 935: 931: 930:9781135084851 927: 923: 917: 914: 910: 909:9781551930589 906: 902: 896: 893: 889: 888:9780674013704 885: 881: 875: 872: 869: 868:9780192806376 865: 861: 855: 852: 848: 836: 832: 825: 822: 810: 806: 799: 796: 792: 791:9781429964401 788: 784: 778: 775: 771: 770:0-87352-565-5 767: 763: 757: 754: 750: 749:9781567922639 746: 742: 736: 734: 730: 727:pp. xxv–xxvi. 726: 725:9781412816649 722: 718: 712: 709: 697: 693: 686: 683: 677: 676:9780804725415 673: 669: 665: 662: 661:9780838752296 658: 654: 650: 647: 646:9780791462133 643: 639: 635: 632: 631:9780754637530 628: 624: 620: 617: 616:9780748612154 613: 609: 605: 604: 601: 598: 594: 584: 581: 577: 576:9780226311371 573: 569: 563: 561: 557: 553: 552:9780230350168 549: 545: 539: 536: 532: 531:9781906924331 528: 524: 518: 515: 510: 506: 502: 498: 494: 490: 483: 480: 468: 464: 457: 454: 441: 434: 431: 427: 426:9780812963892 423: 419: 413: 410: 405: 401: 397: 391: 389: 385: 381: 375: 372: 368: 362: 359: 355: 354:9780199706150 351: 347: 341: 338: 334: 333:9780802085313 330: 326: 325: 318: 315: 312: 311:9780698170308 308: 304: 298: 296: 292: 288: 287:9780674537675 284: 280: 274: 271: 265: 261: 258: 256: 255: 251: 249: 246: 244: 241: 239: 236: 234: 233:Evidentiality 231: 230: 226: 224: 222: 221:quote unquote 218: 217:finger quotes 214: 213: 204: 202: 199: 197: 193: 189: 183: 179: 177: 173: 168: 166: 161: 155: 153: 151: 147: 143: 139: 134: 132: 124: 123:For example: 121: 118: 117: 107: 105: 103: 99: 95: 91: 90: 85: 81: 80:Postmodernist 77: 76: 71: 70: 65: 61: 54: 52: 50: 46: 42: 38: 34: 31:(also called 30: 24: 16: 1015:, retrieved 1009: 1002: 986: 983:the original 977: 971: 963: 960:"Scared Yet? 954: 944: 937: 921: 920:Kemp, Gary. 916: 900: 895: 879: 874: 859: 854: 846: 839:. Retrieved 824: 812:. Retrieved 809:The Atlantic 808: 798: 782: 777: 761: 756: 740: 716: 711: 699:. Retrieved 695: 685: 667: 652: 637: 622: 607: 600: 592: 583: 567: 543: 538: 522: 517: 492: 488: 482: 470:. Retrieved 467:The Atlantic 466: 456: 444:. Retrieved 433: 417: 412: 403: 396:Trask, Larry 379: 374: 367:Copy-editing 366: 361: 345: 340: 323: 317: 302: 278: 273: 252: 216: 210: 208: 200: 195: 191: 185: 181: 175: 169: 165:Greil Marcus 162: 159: 141: 138:scare quotes 137: 135: 130: 128: 122: 116:The Atlantic 114: 111: 87: 73: 67: 64:scare quotes 63: 58: 37:sneer quotes 36: 32: 29:Scare quotes 28: 27: 15: 1037:Punctuation 841:29 December 495:(1): 1–15. 188:David Stove 1031:Categories 890:pp. 87–88. 266:References 260:Air quotes 212:air quotes 84:bracketing 23:Scare-line 1017:9 October 578:, p. 202. 428:. p. 280. 356:. p. 126. 335:. p. 134. 248:Quotation 205:In speech 196:discovery 192:knowledge 174:wrote in 156:Criticism 136:The term 92:declared 49:so-called 1042:Rhetoric 932:p. xxii. 835:Archived 814:28 April 701:28 April 678:. p. 34. 648:, p. 18. 633:, p. 62. 618:, p. 92. 554:, p. 89. 533:. p. 86. 472:25 March 446:25 March 398:(1997), 227:See also 146:semantic 131:groupies 94:hashtags 911:p. 169. 793:p. 207. 751:p. 228. 509:2251218 289:p. 400. 163:Editor 55:History 39:,) are 993:  928:  907:  886:  866:  789:  772:p. 56. 768:  747:  723:  674:  659:  644:  629:  614:  574:  550:  529:  507:  424:  352:  331:  309:  285:  45:ironic 35:, and 1047:Doubt 505:JSTOR 238:Hedge 142:scare 108:Usage 102:#YOLO 89:Slate 1019:2010 991:ISBN 926:ISBN 905:ISBN 884:ISBN 864:ISBN 843:2021 816:2022 787:ISBN 766:ISBN 745:ISBN 721:ISBN 703:2022 672:ISBN 657:ISBN 642:ISBN 627:ISBN 612:ISBN 572:ISBN 548:ISBN 527:ISBN 474:2023 448:2023 422:ISBN 350:ISBN 329:ISBN 307:ISBN 283:ISBN 69:Mind 497:doi 254:Sic 215:or 198:. 194:or 100:or 1033:: 962:, 845:. 833:. 807:. 732:^ 694:. 559:^ 503:. 493:65 491:. 465:. 402:, 387:^ 294:^ 178:, 997:. 947:" 818:. 705:. 663:. 589:" 511:. 499:: 476:. 450:. 25:.

Index

Scare-line
quotation marks
ironic
so-called
Elizabeth Anscombe
Mind
diple periestigmene
Postmodernist
bracketing
Slate
hashtags
#firstworldproblems
#YOLO
The Atlantic
semantic
problematization
Greil Marcus
Jonathan Chait
David Stove
air quotes
quote unquote
Evidentiality
Hedge
Irony punctuation
Quotation
Sic
Air quotes
ISBN
9780674537675

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