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
119:
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
804:
462:
182:
The scare quote is the perfect device for making an insinuation without proving it, or even necessarily making clear what you're insinuating.
834:
96:
to be "the new scare quotes" in the sense that both are used for "announcing distance". Just like scare quotes, hashtags such as
976:
994:
219:, which mimics quotation marks. A speaker may alternatively say "quote" before and "unquote" after quoted words, or say "
691:
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Some experts encourage writers to avoid scare quotes because they can distance the writer and confuse the reader.
133:
or its application to these people. The exact meaning of the scare quotes is not clear without further context.
86:
punctuation, including scare quotes, and have found reasons for their frequent use in their writings. In 2014,
21:
This article is about the typographic practice. For the use of quotations and headlines to scare readers, see
322:
66:
as it refers to punctuation marks in 1956 in an essay titled "Aristotle and the Sea Battle", published in
83:
847:
The 'RF modulator' use is the 'neutral distancing' one on the
Knowledge page (special terminology).
78:
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
959:
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The
Emergence of Sexuality: Historical Epistemology and the Formation of Concepts
101:
949:. Adapted from a talk given at Case Western Reserve University on 10 April 2010.
1046:
209:
In spoken conversation, a stand-in for scare quotes is a hand gesture known as
201:
Scare quotes can be replaced by writing text to make the insinuation explicit.
171:
68:
40:
303:
The Sense of Style: The
Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
48:
1030:
232:
79:
783:
The
Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl.
164:
115:
500:
1006:
901:
Home
Economics: Nationalism and the Making of 'Migrant Workers' in Canada
487:
Anscombe, G. E. M. (1 January 1956). "I.--Aristotle And The Sea Battle".
395:
187:
741:
Say what You Mean!: A Troubleshooter's Guide to
English Style and Usage
735:
733:
508:
259:
211:
22:
668:
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
247:
730:
346:
Music in Words : A Guide to
Researching and Writing about Music
145:
93:
987:
Anything Goes: Origins of the Cult of
Scientific Irrationalism
638:
Postmodern
Sophistry: Stanley Fish and the Critical Enterprise
562:
560:
44:
557:
113:
writer deny responsibility for the quote. Megan Garber in
253:
568:
Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate: Unfashionable Essays
324:
Inroads: Paths in Ancient and Modern Western Philosophy
523:
Why Do We Quote?: The Culture and History of Quotation
489:
Mind: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy
297:
295:
764:. The Modern Language Association of America (1995)
653:
Time and Exteriority: Aristotle, Heidegger, Derrida
18:
Quotation marks used to indicate non-standard usage
292:
922:What is this thing called Philosophy of Language?
623:Garden Plots: The Politics and Poetics of Gardens
1028:
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
828:
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.
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
486:
390:
388:
126:Some "groupies" were following the band.
943:"Greil Marcus - Notes on the Making of
689:
1029:
802:
608:The Unravelling of the Postmodern Mind
544:Outrage: Art, Controversy, and Society
460:
327:. University of Toronto Press (2003).
952:
903:. University of Toronto Press (2006)
610:. Edinburgh University Press. (2001)
570:. University of Chicago Press (2000)
394:
385:
140:may be confusing because of the word
1000:
743:. David R. Godine Publisher (2005)
692:"Hashtags Are the New Scare Quotes"
670:. Stanford University Press (1995)
378:University of Chicago Press staff.
13:
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:
1058:
985:on 2 February 2015. Reprinted as
945:A New Literary History of America
862:. Oxford University Press (2005)
437:
837:from the original on 1 July 2012
719:. Transaction Publishers (1999)
969:
935:
914:
893:
872:
852:
822:
796:
775:
754:
709:
683:
598:
581:
536:
525:. Open Book Publishers (2011).
515:
480:
454:
829:linguistlaura (18 June 2012).
636:Olson, Gary A. Worsham, Lynn.
431:
410:
372:
359:
338:
315:
271:
152:with the words set in quotes.
1:
941:Marcus, Greil (10 May 2010).
546:. Palgrave Macmillan. (2012)
420:. Three Rivers Press (1999).
265:
717:Against the Idols of the Age
690:Waldman, Katy (6 May 2014).
204:
155:
7:
226:
10:
1063:
593:Columbia Journalism Review
542:Howells, Richard, editor.
54:
20:
739:Trask, Robert Lawrence.
107:
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:
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964:The New Republic
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715:Stove, David C.
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521:Finnegan, Ruth.
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301:Pinker, Steven.
299:
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277:Boolos, George.
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176:The New Republic
150:problematization
62:coined the term
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809:The Atlantic
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467:The Atlantic
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367:Copy-editing
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165:Greil Marcus
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138:scare quotes
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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
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428:. p. 280.
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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
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751:p. 228.
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