No, “honest”

Partial quotation marks make everything sound like you’re making fun of it. It doesn’t even matter where the quotes are or whether you’re reading them or saying them out loud (when saying out loud you must do ‘air quotes’ to get the same effect). Try it with your own examples. Here are mine:

  • I “love” you.
  • The “dingo” ate your baby.
  • Where did the dirty man touch “you”
  • Who’s your “daddy?”
  • I have “a” bomb on my chest.
  • I’m going to “kill” myself right now.
  • Semper “fi.”
  • Oh, yeah, you’re “mature.”

After a few examples, though, you rapidly grow tired of raising and lowering your voice (and the voice in your head) to get the right pitch and enunciation. It goes from “funny” to “annoying as hell” in five examples flat.

So try it. Just don’t go overboard.

Partial quotation marks make everything sound like you’re making fun of it. It doesn’t even matter where the quotes are or whether you’re reading them or saying them out loud (when saying out loud you must do ‘air quotes’ to get the same effect). Try it with your own examples. Here are mine: I “love”…

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