Talk:quote unquote

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I want to create an article to show the use of the words quote and unquote in a phrase such as "He is out of hospital and being looked after by quote, care in the community, unquote.". An audible version of air quotes. Should I call it quote unquote or should it have a title that draws attention to the missing text between the two words? quote . . . unquote for instance.

I would go with the former, as the phrase "quote unquote" is found. For example, someone might say "He is out of hospital and being looked after by care in the community", and then another could reply "Quote unquote." Perhaps not the best of examples, but I do hear the phrase around. --Wytukaze 16:53, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
That's probably just as well. Generating a term like "verbal quotes" could be creating a protologism. Eclecticology 18:11, 2005 Jun 8 (UTC)
  • OK, I've gone for it. But I can't make up my mind what part of speech it is. Feel free to change it. SemperBlotto 19:02, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

<Jun-Dai 19:17, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)>

I think we may need a part of speech for verbal punctuation. This would include things like:
  • "THE TRAIN BROKE DOWN STOP I'M GOING TO BE LATE"
  • "I'm finished. I'm leaving, and I won't be back again. Period!"
Then again, these have all developed out of the practice of dictating, where it is normal to name the punctuation, and where those words don't really required a separate part of speech other than the usual noun. It is meta-information that exists outside of or to contextualize the sentence it's being used in. </Jun-Dai>
Sentence adverb may be the right term. Eclecticology 19:56, 2005 Jun 8 (UTC)


"quote" used without a following "unquote"[edit]

I've had just about enough / Of quote, "diamonds in the rough" / Because my backbone is paper thin

suzukaze (tc) 06:54, 4 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing unusual about that. What I personally find stupid is to say "quote unquote" before the actual quote. The "unquote" must come afterwards, which is without doubt the way it was originally used, and which some people still do adhere to. Saying "unquote" before the quote makes no sense. Of course, I don't deny that it is common and generally accepted usage. 178.4.151.88 01:08, 23 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]