REALLY or “REALLY”?

Hello Folks,

I trust you are keeping well and happy.

Today I tackle quotation marks in one very specific sense: when you want to emphasize that something is not really what you are calling it. You are calling its veracity into question. Before your head starts spinning, let me give you a few examples.

Let’s say someone made really bad coffee. You don’t want to call it coffee. So, in a sentence oozing with sarcasm, you would say:

How’d’ya like the “coffee”?

What you mean is, that wasn’t coffee.

Or you want to emphasise that it was really bad coffee. This time, dripping sarcasm (not unlike a cheeky percolator), you say:

Wasn’t that “great” coffee?

Meaning, of course, that it was anything but.

Let’s move away from coffee. We could talk about dolls or dresses or skits. Ok, let’s settle on the last one. Let’s say there’s a bit of drama (pun intended) in the boardroom or the schoolroom. There’s a scene, the players have a tiff, but there almost seems to be an element of unreality to it, like it was staged. But it wasn’t.

So at recess (or coffee break time), you say:

What about that “skit” then?

Because it wasn’t really a skit.

Do you get it?

Now here’s what I don’t get. I’ve started spotting random instances on the Internet where people use quotation marks needlessly.

Did you see that “girl”?

Um, was she really a girl?

In that case, you could get away with:

Did you see that girl?

Or

How “cool” is that?

Right, because what you’re saying is that it’s not cool at all.

If it’s cool, just say:

How cool is that?

Skip the needless quotation marks that only serve to befuddle and muddle and make a puddle (of sorts) in your brain.

So, if you are tempted to put random words between quotation marks, think before you act. More specifically think in this vein:

Do I mean what I say, or do I mean the opposite?

Is the salmon good or is the salmon “good”?

Was that an awesome movie or was that an “awesome” movie?

Was that a quick walk or was that a “quick” walk?

You get it. You totally get what I’m driving at. Or do you get what I’m “driving” at?

Ok, that last one warranted a face palm.

All right Folks, have yourselves a good week.

Or do I mean have yourselves a “good” week?

PerfectlyWriteKids.com – let’s keep the words rolling, Folks.