The rules about putting quotes around clichés, figures of speech and slang
vary. However, most modern writers refrain from putting clichés in quotes.
Clichés, no matter how overused, are still part of the sentence and
do not require quotes.
Incorrect: The car was going faster
than a "speeding bullet."
Correct: The car was going faster than a speeding bullet.
Figures of speech do not necessarily require quotes. Like clichés,
these are part of the sentence and generally form a grammatically correct structure.
However, if the meaning of figurative speech is unclear in the sentence context,
the phrase may require quotes to reduce confusion.
Incorrect: We will take the information
and "predigest" it - break it down into its smallest component fragments.
Note that this usage is technically correct. However, it is not necessary and can
distort the meaning of the sentence.
Correct: We will take the information and predigest it - break it down into its
smallest component fragments.
The sentence does not require quotes because it is speaking in figurative terms.
The reader should know that the sentence does not literally mean that we will take
information and put it through a real biological digestive system before presenting
it.
Slang terms may need quotes, especially if the term is obscure, new or obsolete.
Quotes around a slang term identify it as slang and inform the reader that any apparent
spelling or grammar errors in the phrase are actually due to its slang characteristics.
A subtler use of quotes involves irony, sarcasm and deliberate contradiction. Putting
quotes around certain words can change the meaning of the word into almost an opposite
meaning. Over-reliance on this technique can weaken your writing.
The "house" we moved into didn’t have indoor plumbing.
In this case, the reader can infer that the quotes indicate the writer of this sentence
doesn’t really believe the dwelling qualifies as a house. However, a typical
reader could easily infer from the lack of indoor plumbing that the so-called house
may not actually fit the modern definition of a house.
At the start of the Vietnam War, America had sent in military "advisors."
The quotes in this sentence are more appropriate because they single out a word
that may have been deliberately misused. Without quotes, a reader may think that
the writer meant actual advisors.
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