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50 Hilarious Cases Of Misused Quotation Marks That Gave Hilarious Results (New Pics)
For all the grown-up kids out there who didn’t particularly enjoy grammar classes, let’s have a quick reminder what quotation marks are, since it will be relevant to get the distorted and alternate meanings shared in this post.
So, these punctuation marks are used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase. You want to use quotation marks with direct quotes, with titles of certain works, to imply alternate meanings, and to write words as words.
There are cases when quotation marks are used not for actual quotes, but rather to carry a connotation of sarcasm, a tongue-in-cheek admission that the thing in quotes isn't actually what it's said to be. When that happens, things take a weird turn.
Scroll down below and see how suspiciously used quotes look and sound in practice. Now, although we cannot really tell whether the authors of these misused quotes used them deliberately or it happened by accident, we cannot deny the entertainment of it all. Psst! More misused quotes can be found in Bored Panda's previous feature right here.
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How Touching
Iām, pretty sure youāre NOT SUPPOSED to put your hands togetherā¦ itāll really just make things worseā¦
Are You Implying It Was Me Who Poop In The Grass?
Threatening Church
“When quotation marks are misused, it changes the meaning of the sentence,” Alex Wong, the marketing expert, book author and creator of “Hijack Copywriter” told Bored Panda in an interview. According to Wong, a misused quotation mark, comma or apostrophe can make a huge difference.
“This can sometimes cause funny unintended results. For example, each of these three sentences have a different meaning:
'She' was filled with excitement.
She was 'filled' with excitement.
She was filled with 'excitement.'”
Wong believes that people fail to pay attention to where they place their quotation marks. “Compared to periods and commas, quotations get much less focus. You’re more likely to use a comma or period in a sentence than a quote.”
The What Sauce?
I Don't Find This Very Reassuring
Alleged āFilmmakerā
“The most common use of quotation marks is for dialogue, such as when someone is speaking. For example, Fred said, ‘The weather is lovely today,’” Wong explained. He said that quotations are also commonly used when you are including a quote in a blog post or essay.
“The researcher states: ‘5 in 10 Americans will get into a car accident sometime.’” He added that he made up this statement.
"Heroes"
He Was Definitely Loved
The Cop Cars In Orange Country Florida All Say Making A Difference In Comic Sans With Useless Quotation Marks. Makes It Seem Like They Aren't Making A Difference
Comic sans is a great font for dyslexics. It's very readable and doesn't deserve all the hate it gets.
The marketing expert and professional writer also shared a couple of the most common writing mistakes that people make. The first most common mistake is “confusing similar words that sound the same but have different meanings. Here are some common mistakes: Your/you’re; Its/it’s; There/their/they're; Whether/weather; To/too/two; By/buy/bye.”
Many people also tend to confuse similar-sounding words with different meanings, Wong argues. For example: “Affects/effects; Further/farther; chews/choose; addition/edition.”The third common mistake Wong notes is using sentence fragments or incomplete sentences. For example, Correct: “I stayed home from work because I had a fever.” Incorrect: “I stayed home from work. Because I had a fever.”
Vaguely Threatening Church
The Place You Go When You Need A Negative Test
This Sign At A Hotel I Stayed In Last Night
It's There To Fool The Horses
Previously, Bored Panda spoke with Searchlights, one of the moderators for the '"Suspiciously" Used Quotation Marks' online community. According to moderator, "I tend to think it's related to the challenge of finding nuance and tone in text. People want to emphasize a word, and for whatever reason they think putting it in quotations gets them there."
"Generally, the use of quotation marks (when they're not an actual quotation) carries a connotation of sarcasm, or of a tongue-in-cheek admission that the thing in quotes isn't actually what it's said to be. That's what has the effect of making the statement suspicious," they explained.
"My favorite examples usually come from the food service industry. There's something alarming about chicken being written dubiously as "chicken" (what is it, really?)," they said.
Thanks, I Hate The Magic Stool Bus
This Massage Parlor Is A Little Sus
When You Find Out That You're Adopted
Miami-Dade Police At Their Best
Most police training world wide is measured in years. In the US it is generally measured in weeks.
So What Kind Of Milk Are We Talking, Exactly?
Oh I gagged at this one. I'm breastfeeding, I'm producing mammal milk.
"Husband"
Appropriate Suspicious Quotes
Just Saw This In A McDonald's
I Don't Understand What They Were Trying To Accomplish With The Quotes
The Pharmacy Thinks I'm Fueling Someone's Drug Habit
I Donāt Think I Want To Know What This Means
Iāve Said It Before And Iāll Say It Again: Quotation Marks Are Not For Emphasis
No Wonder Itās So Small
Quietly Move My Cat Indoors
What Kind Of Hotel Is This?
This Is Just Suspicious All Around
I āLoveā My āHusbandā Dearly
I Think Iāll Pass
"Jesus"
Is āDipping Powderā Code For Coke?
Is It Tho? As Seen Heading North On I-95 In Boca Raton, FL Yesterday
"Birds"
Oh No
Spotted At A Restaurant In Town
So The Food Isnāt Fresh Then, Got It
I Don't Think I Want To Bring My Dog Here
"Our" Community
Wow. That is actually frightening. Needless to say...don't pass through or visit and expect any "help"
Something Tells Me I'm Not Going To Get A Prize Every Time
Found This Subtle Threat In Pakistan
They are caused ... by Mickey Mouse? Dang. Good to know.
I Require The "Sauce"
"Guitar Lessons"
My Cousin Got This For His 18th Birthday
Found At My Local "Mall Sword Store"
Patient Survey
Now That's A Clever Slogan
"Duck"
Sure
How is this misusing quote marks? Itās quoting something someone said, right?
Reminder That Covid Is āRealā
I love there are no other comments. No one wants to go "there" about COVID.
My Son Really Did Turn Six Today, Despite His Grandparentsā Inexplicable Use Of Quotation Marks
"Rest" Room?
Something tells me I wouldn't really want to use that "rest" room under any circumstances.
Letās Just Say You Donāt Pay... With Money
Just so you don't miss the implication, the box straight up calls you a ho.
Incorrect Usage Of Quotation Marks
A Cocktail That's Finished With 'Love'
Oh My
hmm maybe the manager is pedantic about whether nuts are nuts as opposed to legumes
I Almost Went Into The Next Room
Hmm
I always do this at home. And keep my toothbrush and paste in cupboard or drawer.
So Subjective
Please Work Here, There Is "Good Pay"
My Best Friend Works At A Physical Therapy Practice And She Sent Me This
āItās Real Foodā
Iād Rather Not
It's "Orange"
Ah Yes... A "Shoe" Shine
The Realest āCreamā In Town
"Vegetarian" Spring Rolls
Weird. I have a pack of these in my freezer "right now". (Seriously, I currently have a pack of these in my freezer.) Going to recheck the ingredients list...
What In The Everloving Heck Is That Made Of
I Am Kayla And My Dad Packed All Of My Things So They Could Move. I Have No Idea What Is In Here
Must Be One Of Those People Who Thinks That Birds Arenāt Real
Who Else Would Do That?
4 Out Of 5 āDentistsā Agree
Dentists make the most money from filling cavities so they are financially motivated to recommend the worst product for oral hygiene. Trust the fifth, honest, dentist
Very Suspicious Indeed
Iām Not Sure If This Is A Legit Vitamin
Maybe it's something that starts with C, hence the quotation marks... cyanide?
So-Called "Son"
Valentineās Day Card From My Parents With Some Suspicious Advice
Not Sure If I'm Buying A Kebab Or Drugs
I Wonder If Thereās A Name For This Old-Fashioned Schoolhouse Type Of Decor
Go Ahead... Take It
Remember, Ii "quotations marks" aren't sus enough, you can always add a "smiley face" that's half-deranged with glee.
Saw This At The Local Landfill. I'm Sure My Safety Is On Their Mind
"Fresh" Seafood
Guests, like "fish", begin to smell after three days- Benjamin Franklin
Oh... Was I Here Before?
Put this in a place that does research on memory to really mess with the test subjects
Does The Smiley Face Make It Better?
Are they threatening me with the death penalty for texting grandma?
Son And āDaughterā
Someone Clearly Doesn't Know How Quotation Marks Work
"Taxi"
Would You Eat This Salsa
Great Value And Suspicious Quotes. Wow
Wait, if you thought it was fake butter and you were wrong, doesn't that make it real butter?
Doubt It
They don't want to hurt the rabbits' feelings about their dentures. Respect.
This Sign In Front Of The Busiest Subway On My Universityās Campus
One Slice A Day, Unless There's Three
"Green"
How "Natural" Are We Talking Here?
Come āWashā Your āCarā
Use Them For āFishingā
When Neither Bags, Convenience Nor Coronavirus Is Real: Triple Threat
What Are They Serving Exactly?
Anyone else love Fried Green Tomatoes? āSecretās in the sauceā
"Spaghetti"
So Is It High Precision Or Not
I guess that would depend on what kind of tolerance you're trying to hold.
Three-In-One Combo At My Local Brooklyn Dollar Store
So... Don't Trust The Science? (Sign Outside Marjorie Taylor Greene's Office For Extra Irony)
Will You Really Miss Us While You're Closed? I'm Not Convinced
Not Sure What It Is
What am I missing here? It obviously means daughter and son in law. Nothing wrong here I think..
Thanks āMomā
This is just 130 examples of people (incorrectly) using quotation marks for emphasis instead of using bold, capitals, italics, etc.
...yes? The humor here is reading the examples as if the quotation marks *were* used intentionally, in which case they'd mean "I'm using this word but I don't think it applies".
Load More Replies... I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. Are people really this stupid?
It's puzzled me for decades. I worked with several people who would insist that using quotation marks for emphasis is correct, despite being told over and over that it is incorrect and confusing, often by their bosses. They were willing to die on that hill. I don't know where this is being taught. I've lived in the US my whole life and I'm in my 50s. I never had a teacher that instructed us to use quotation marks this way. The vast majority of people I know, whether older or younger, know this is wrong.
Load More Replies...
This is just 130 examples of people (incorrectly) using quotation marks for emphasis instead of using bold, capitals, italics, etc.
...yes? The humor here is reading the examples as if the quotation marks *were* used intentionally, in which case they'd mean "I'm using this word but I don't think it applies".
Load More Replies... I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. Are people really this stupid?
It's puzzled me for decades. I worked with several people who would insist that using quotation marks for emphasis is correct, despite being told over and over that it is incorrect and confusing, often by their bosses. They were willing to die on that hill. I don't know where this is being taught. I've lived in the US my whole life and I'm in my 50s. I never had a teacher that instructed us to use quotation marks this way. The vast majority of people I know, whether older or younger, know this is wrong.
Load More Replies...