3 Types of Scare Quotes

3 Types of Scare Quotes 3 Types of Scare Quotes 3 Types of Scare Quotes By Mark Nichol Framing a word or phrase in scare quotes, or quotation marks used for emphasis, can be an effective tool for signaling editorial distance- that is, subtly and succinctly clarifying that the word or phrase is not of the writer’s choosing or that it is euphemistic or otherwise specious or spurious. However, too often, scare quotes are gratuitous or redundant, as shown in the examples below: 1. They must look to the senior management to help them acquire this â€Å"big picture† view. This sentence features gratuitous use of scare quotes- gratuitous, because the writer seems to mistakenly assume that any idiom, no matter how quotidian, must be enclosed in quotation marks to signal that the meaning is not literal. The marks are unnecessary with most established idiom: â€Å"They must look to the senior management to help them acquire this big-picture view.† 2. The guidelines set forth the separate responsibilities for management and so-called â€Å"front-line† units. Here, the scare quotes are redundant. The quotation marks serve to inform the reader that the writer did not generate a word or phrase; rather, he or she is merely reporting a usage that someone else employed. But so-called signals this fact to the reader, so it is superfluous to use scare quotes as well. When such redundancy occurs, the writer (or editor) should opt to delete the scare quotes and retain so-called: â€Å"The guidelines set forth the separate responsibilities for management and so-called front-line units.† 3. That same budget funded quote-unquote â€Å"crisis pregnancy centers.† Using the phrase quote-unquote in speech is understandable, because scare quotes are not visible in speech- another approach is to use air quotes, hand gestures that suggest quotation marks- but in writing, doing so is an intrusive alternative to so-called: â€Å"That same budget funded so-called crisis pregnancy centers.† (In this case, however, because the writer is criticizing the use of the euphemistic phrase â€Å"crisis pregnancy centers† for a type of facility associated with deceptive advertising and misleading information, use of scare quotes in lieu of so-called is also appropriate.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph Examples50 Idioms About Roads and PathsMankind vs. Humankind

Urk is not a standard spelling

Urk is not a standard spelling Urk is not a standard spelling Urk is not a standard spelling By Maeve Maddox Yes, it’s in the Urban Dictionary, but then, what isn’t? I’ve begun noticing the spelling â€Å"urk† where standard English calls for irk. Headline on the Keene-Valley (NY) Forum: what urks me most Blog title: Stuff That Urks Me Twitter Tweet: One thing that URKS ME THE MOST is people who cross the street when it clearly says DONT WALK! irk: to irritate or disgust (as a person) usually by reason of tiresome or wearying qualities -Merriam-Webster The etymology of irk is uncertain. It may be related to O.N. yrkju â€Å"work.† The modern use of the verb irk with the meaning â€Å"annoy† dates from the late 15th century. The adjective irksome, â€Å"bothersome,† dates from the 1510s. (Online Etymology Dictionary) English orthography makes use of five different letter combinations to spell the /er/ sound: er her, after, determine ir sir, stir, girdle, bird ur urn, turn, burn, spurn, pursue, murder, burr, cur (w)or work, word, world, worm, worship ear early, earth, earl, earn, learn, heard, pearl, search, yearn Yes, it does seem excessively irksome to have five ways to spell one sound, but that’s the way it is. The best way to deal with it is to pay attention to words that contain the /er/ sound the first time you have occasion to write them. Romalda Spaldings mnemonic is an effective way to remember the five spellings: Her first nurse works early. In this sentence the spellings occur in the order of their frequency. Most of the time the /er/ sound is spelled er. The er of early, on the other hand, represents the /er/ sound in only a few English words. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business LetterHomogeneous vs. Heterogeneous20 Clipped Forms and Their Place (If Any) in Formal Writing