this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2026
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Scare quotes are used derogatorily. They can often be preceded with the term “so-called”. Like so-called “doctors” will rip you off with their so-called “x-rays”, when ChatGPT will do it for free.
When spoken aloud, scare quotes are indicated by the speaker making bouncing bunny ears with their middle and forefingers.
That makes sense, but I think some people misuse that term and just think it's a fun way to say quotes.
Hmmm, I haven’t noticed the term being misused frequently. It wasn’t in this case; chunes correctly identified the scare quotes in the OP
Yes I'm not saying it was used wrong here. "So called" is how I'll try to think of it in the future. Thanks for putting it that way
Yes. I believe I've seen some people say "scare quotes" to refer to actual quotations which are highlighted specifically because they are alarming. Which is understandable, I guess.