quote unquote en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /kwəʊ̯t ʌn.kwəʊ̯t/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- kwōt ŏn-kwōt (proscribed)
- audio AuE
- kwōt ŭn-kwōt
- /kwəʊ̯t ɒn.kwəʊ̯t/ (Received-Pronunciation, proscribed)
Etymology
From quote + unquote, a spoken equivalent of air quotes, used to express satire, sarcasm, irony or euphemism, analogous to scare quotes in print.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, not-comparable) Emphasizes the following (or sometimes preceding) word or phrase for irony, or marks it as not the normal sense of the term.
As a performer, [Sydney] Sweeney is best when she’s given a challenge. Asked to play a quote-unquote normal girl in, say, the rom-com “Anyone but You” (2023), one of her biggest box office triumphs to date, she falls flat.
2025 December 21, Esther Zuckerman, “Is Sydney Sweeney Today’s Most Perplexing Movie Star?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:`We're a young quote-unquote club. [...] In time, it will become a club.'
1997 August 18, New York, page 38:“Brandishing weapons and leaning into gun culture is viewed as revolutionary, and by revolutionary I mean, in their minds, the most virtuous sense, as defenders of quote unquote America,” he says.
2022 April 13, Ryan Bort, “The Real Reason Republicans Are Loading Their 2022 Campaign Ads With Guns”, in Rolling Stone:Maybe you should ask your quote unquote friend what happened to the money.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| quote end quote | alternative | lexicographic | |
| quote-unquote | alternative | lexicographic | |
| quote on quote | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (20)
de in Anführungszeichen (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · he במירכאות (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · fi lainausmerkeissä (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · pl w cudzysłowie (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · vi nháy nháy (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · pl w cudzysłowiu (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · it tra virgolette (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · az dırnaqarası (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · hu idézőjeles (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · hu úgynevezett (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · he יעני (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · pt entre aspas (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · fr soi-disant (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · es entre comillas (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · ru в кавы́чках (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · fr entre guillemets (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · da i gåseøjne (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · lt kabutėse (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · ca entre cometas (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony) · hu idézőjelben (emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony)