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Using quotes for sarcastic text

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Are quotes only for spoken text? Can I use quotes to emphasize sarcasm, like when somebody physically makes quote symbols with their fingers while reading?

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This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/9283. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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Yes, you can absolutely use quotes to indicate sarcasm (or irony).

If the sarcasm is in dialogue, you can write it exactly as in Hobbes's example. If you want to have the additional stage business of the speaker making air quotes, you can do that too, but most readers will understand what the sarcastic quote marks mean.

If the sarcasm is in prose, you would use double quotes in the same manner.

The audience can see the "twist" coming a mile off.

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