March 1, 2007: Issue 179
“Put quotation marks around random words for decoration,” Dave Barry, writing as Mr. Language Person, once advised. Too many writers seem to take that idea seriously.
Single words and short phrases rarely require quotation marks.
incorrect: Sheer draperies were “a great idea,” he says.
incorrect: She was “thrilled” with her weight loss.
In cases like these, eliminate the quotation marks or use a longer piece of the direct quote.
correct: She was thrilled with her weight loss.
correct: “I was thrilled with this new, fit version of myself,” she says.
Put short passages in quotes when:
• You use a word in a different sense from its generally accepted meaning.
correct: An aquarium “porthole” adds to the illusion that this playroom is deep undersea.
• You use a newly coined or made-up term.
correct: “White-coat syndrome” can drive up your blood pressure in the doctor’s office.
correct: As Michael Scott of The Office might say, the design team had an “epiphery.”
• You use a technical term that won’t be familiar to most readers.
correct: Consider a food’s “nutrition density,” or the benefit you get for the number of calories.
More Mr. Language Person: Find a compilation of Dave Barry’s columns on grammar.
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