Have you ever read a sign advertising "fresh" strawberries and wondered if the fruit was actually fresh at all? You've just encountered a "shout quote"—a pervasive grammatical quirk that is leaving readers deeply confused.
While quotation marks are traditionally meant to indicate direct speech or denote specific titles, many well-meaning writers mistakenly use them to add emphasis. Unfortunately, this often creates a tone of unintended sarcasm or suspicion. Instead of highlighting a word's importance, a shout quote makes the reader question the writer's sincerity.
This tricky punctuation habit is not just confined to clumsy storefront signs or casual text messages; it has made its way into the highest levels of public discourse. Former President Donald Trump notably adopted the shout quote as a signature element of his writing style. Throughout his time in the political spotlight, Trump has frequently deployed the punctuation mark in social media posts to amplify specific words, sidestepping traditional grammatical rules in the process.
If you want to ensure your message is taken seriously, grammar experts suggest a simple fix: stick to bold text or italics when you want to make a point. Otherwise, your "important" statement might just become the punchline of a grammatical joke.