'Fine' Works by 'Excellent' Sign Makers

Sign makers get a lot of grief for their typos. So I try not to add to their woes. But a blog I came across recently is just too fun not to pass along.

It calls itself The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotes and has pictures of some doozies like:

Please "No" Men Inside Ladies Room

(I love the "You know what I mean, nudge, nudge, wink, wink" quality of that one.) And:

Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. "Dr. Martin Luther King Junior"

(Kind of long for a nickname. I'd have just opted for "Marty.")

Anyway, enjoy!

Single Quotation Marks = Quotation Marks 'Lite'? Nope

If regular quotation marks can be used for unfamiliar terms, then single quotation marks must be for kinda-sorta unfamiliar terms, right?

For some reason, this idea seems to be growing in popularity with writers whose work I copy edit. They're writing stuff like:

The episode's 'reveal' came when Joe turned up alive.
Elizabeth 'showcased' her talents.
The poker player had a serious 'tell.'

While I can see why someone would think this, it's officially getting on my nerves (since I have to fix them).

In American style, quotation marks are used mainly for direct quotations, to denote irony, or to denote unfamiliar terms: You can "showcase" your "awesome" car by parking it out front.

Single quotation marks are usually just for quoted matter within quoted matter: "Joe told me to 'pipe down,'" Becky said. The biggest exception is in headlines, where a lot of styles call for single quotation marks instead of regular quotation marks: Body Surfing 'Totally Rad,' Obama Says.

But, according to most mainstream style guides, that's about it. They're not quotation marks "lite."

(Sorry if I sound "cranky," but I'm very "busy" working for an "employer" whose recent Chapter 11 filing is causing them to make a mockery of the word "compensation.")

Yeah, I 'Knew' That

I "learned" a term this weekend. One it seems I "should" have known, since it's in the Chicago Manual online and probably the hard copy version, too. (I'll check when I get "home.")

The term is "scare quotes." It means, according to Chicago online, quotation marks used not to identify a quotation but "to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard, ironic, or other special sense."

How did I, someone who has "read" the Chicago Manual and other style guides "many" times, manage to overlook that term? I'm sure I was just focused on more "important" things.

Hope someone out there finds this "helpful."

P.S. Thanks to Cortney for edumacating me on this one!