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formed in the air with one's fingers when speaking. The gesture is typically done with both hands held shoulder-width apart and at the eye or shoulders level of the speaker, with the index and middle fingers on each hand flexing at the beginning and end of the phrase being quoted. The air-quoted
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Use of similar gestures has been recorded as early as 1927, and Glenda
Farrell used air quotes in a 1937 screwball comedy, "Breakfast for Two." In 1889, in Lewis Carroll's last novel, the author described air brackets and an air question mark. The term "air quotes" first appeared in a 1989
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makes exaggerated use of air quotes when explaining matters to his henchmen, particularly while using real phrases he erroneously believes himself to have coined such as "
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394:"An investigation of air quotes, mostly used to discredit the other side's words, not your own, as per Sean Spicer - The Washington Post"
302:«he marked the parenthesis, in the air, with his finger» and «what can be simpler than just to make a “?” in the air with your finger?»
168:) uses air quotes several times while reciting reviews of her brother's violin recitals. In the episode "Nurse's Wild" of TV show
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195:, an aggressive but socially awkward commentator who used air quotes to mock societal expectations of him. Additionally, in the
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calls air quotes "a snide, easy way to discredit or distance oneself from the other side’s words."
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How We Got Here: The '70s, the decade that brought you modern life, for better or worse
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phrase is, in the most common usage, a few words. Air quotes are often used to express
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174:(1972), the character Roy DeSoto uses air quotes at Rampart Hospital base station.
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in stand-up comedy shows. Another popularization of air quotes was the character
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The gesture became very popular in the 1990s and was frequently used by comedian
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used air quotes when he criticized “quote-President” Obama's refugee policies.
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158:(1979) as the standard signal for a quote or phrase. In the 1965
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The index and middle finger are bent twice in succession.
149:, who state it became a common gesture around 1980.
314:Rudnick, Paul (March 1989). "The Irony Epidemic".
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152:The gesture was used routinely in the TV show
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164:episode "Prodigy", Gladys Kravitz (played by
32:The examples and perspective in this article
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16:Finger gesture indicating quotation marks
73:Learn how and when to remove this message
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333:. New York: BasicBooks. p. 421.
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277:from the original on 3 November 2008
18:
765:Three-finger salute (pro-democracy)
185:, played on the sketch comedy show
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1:
760:Three-finger salute (Serbian)
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402:. 2020-11-23. Archived from
371:. 2020-11-28. Archived from
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49:, discuss the issue on the
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40:. The specific issue is:
1143:Nonverbal communication
927:Thumb/index-finger ring
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551:Liberian snap handshake
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1123:Articulatory gestures
755:Scout sign and salute
121:and are analogous to
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1133:Manual communication
794:Celebratory gestures
329:Frum, David (2000).
55:create a new article
47:improve this article
34:may not represent a
595:Gestures of respect
406:on 23 November 2020
399:The Washington Post
375:on 28 November 2020
368:The Washington Post
188:Saturday Night Live
42:Where is this used?
155:Celebrity Charades
91:
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1155:
1102:Sign of the cross
1062:Hand-in-waistcoat
922:Sign of the horns
770:Two-finger salute
459:Friendly gestures
318:. pp. 93–98.
271:The Phrase Finder
243:Irony punctuation
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57:, as appropriate.
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1118:List of gestures
960:Talk to the hand
869:Obscene gestures
617:Canonical digits
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1128:Hand signals
1082:Merkel-Raute
1067:Hand rubbing
1037:Duterte fist
1001:
969:Head motions
750:Roman salute
637:Genuflection
607:Añjali Mudrā
586:Thumb signal
501:Finger heart
408:. Retrieved
404:the original
397:
388:
377:. Retrieved
373:the original
366:
357:
330:
324:
316:Spy Magazine
315:
309:
295:
291:
279:. Retrieved
270:
267:"Air quotes"
229:
226:
224:
215:Donald Trump
196:
193:Chris Farley
186:
179:Steve Martin
176:
169:
166:Alice Pearce
159:
153:
151:
143:Paul Rudnick
136:
132:
123:scare quotes
97:
93:
92:
69:
60:
41:
33:
1174:Punctuation
1057:Gang signal
1042:Eyelid pull
976:Head bobble
907:Nazi salute
780:Wolf salute
745:Raised fist
740:Nazi salute
692:Prostration
571:Pinky swear
496:Eskimo kiss
281:18 November
141:article by
1163:Categories
1077:Laban sign
1072:Jazz hands
1052:Finger gun
1002:Air quotes
981:Head shake
707:Schwurhand
516:Hand heart
491:Elbow bump
481:Cheek kiss
410:2022-04-28
379:2022-04-28
249:References
211:Death Star
171:Emergency!
125:in print.
94:Air quotes
1022:Che vuoi?
854:Chisanbop
816:High five
811:Fist pump
642:Hand-kiss
576:Pound hug
531:High five
526:Hand wave
521:Handshake
506:Fist bump
161:Bewitched
119:euphemism
51:talk page
1179:Rhetoric
1087:Pointing
1047:Facepalm
887:Fig sign
877:Anasyrma
821:Low five
801:Applause
556:Lip kiss
541:ILY sign
476:Applause
471:Air kiss
452:Gestures
349:45706071
275:Archived
237:See also
203:Dr. Evil
139:magazine
63:May 2017
45:You may
1111:Related
917:Shocker
902:Mountza
897:Mooning
727:Salutes
717:Zolgokh
697:Sampeah
687:Pranāma
672:Namaste
657:Kuji-in
647:Hat tip
561:Namaste
221:Meaning
209:" and "
129:History
111:sarcasm
1138:Mudras
950:Akanbe
942:Taunts
932:Wanker
831:V sign
702:Sembah
652:Kowtow
622:Curtsy
347:
337:
107:satire
1184:Doubt
1097:Shrug
955:Loser
682:Orans
677:Ojigi
667:Mudra
632:Gadaw
581:Shaka
536:Hongi
466:Aegyo
207:laser
115:irony
53:, or
662:Mano
602:Adab
546:Kiss
345:OCLC
335:ISBN
283:2008
145:and
986:Nod
712:Wai
612:Bow
486:Dap
227:The
213:."
191:by
137:Spy
117:or
1165::
566:OK
396:.
365:.
343:.
273:.
269:.
257:^
113:,
109:,
444:e
437:t
430:v
413:.
382:.
351:.
304:.
285:.
76:)
70:(
65:)
61:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
