3 ms·
Yes, supposedly quote-on-quote benign not actually proven in fact.
by MichaelZuo 4y ago
Yes, supposedly quote-on-quote benign not actually proven in fact.
- gameshot911 4y agoFYI just in case you didn't know, it's "quote unquote", signifying the starting and ending quotation marks.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoSince HN has a large number of English language learners in the reader-base I figure this spelling is less likely to induce confusion.
- hanoz 4y agoHow would it be less likely to induce confusion? What is it even supposed to mean in that form? I had no idea what you were talking about until someone explained your error.
- msrenee 4y agoIf we're splitting hares, I feel like it's more likely to confuse people whose first language isn't English. Why introduce an incorrect parsing that sounds similar? That's more likely to lead learners astray than help them understand the idiom.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoI wouldn't recommend trying to split hares.
- msrenee 4y agoWhy not? If you've got a hare to butcher, you'd likely want to split it. You could leave the carcass whole and roast it, but that's only one of the many ways to use the animal. If you want to argue over details that make little difference though, I'd recommend using the term "splitting hairs" instead.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoI was jesting but a serious reason why 'quote unquote' may be confusing is the fact that this kind of immediate negation is not considered correct grammar in any other context I know of. 'kind unkind' 'known unknown' (unless your Donald Rumsfeld) 'seen unseen' etc.
- msrenee 4y agoNot my Donald Rumsfeld. I feel like writing quote-on-quote takes away the ability of non-native speakers to search for and learn the basis of the idiom. I really don't see how it would be more understandable than just typing "quote".
- damiankennedy 4y agoAlso when writing (as opposed to talking) you can actually use quotes (as demonstrated by the quotes around "quote unquote"). However in the case of "benign" the quotes are implying, correctly, that it's not benign at all. My preferred method when talking is to use hand signals for quotes, question marks and on occasion, exclamation points.