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I once read that it was used systematically by a well-known logician or linguist (Tarski? Chomsky?) in the 1950's to convey in lectures the use of a quoted linguistic expression as a name for its own form, i.e. " 'snow' " means the word "snow" whereas "snow" refers to the substance snow.
Does anyone have a source for this? It would give some weight to the history of this sign well before its passage into popular culture. -- 84.227.230.13 ( talk) 07:25, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
I would have thought that the likeliest origin for air quotes is Victor Borges visual punctuation. -- 82.181.254.50 17:18, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
I'm a German native speaker, and I've never seen any of my fellow speakers using an "inverted hand" to mimic German-style quotes, and the whole idea seems pretty silly to me. I'd say this is an urban legend.
Also, the famous "laser" quote performed by Dr. Evil in Austin Powers should be added as an example. -- Mkill ( talk) 05:44, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
How would one do a Guillemet finger quote? Scytheandsickle ( talk) 21:14, 18 January 2009 (UTC)
Added image to demonstrate air quotes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Historydude69 ( talk • contribs) 21:14, 25 March 2011 (UTC)
Don't people also keep flexing their fingers thru out the whole word or phrase somtimes? -- TiagoTiago ( talk) 01:17, 10 September 2011 (UTC)
The mention of "scare quotes" in the last sentence of the article (at least, in this version of the article) suggests that the phrase "scare quotes" might have influenced the choice of words (well, at least, the first word) in [the etymology of] the phrase "air quotes".
Would it be OK to mention that "air quotes" rhymes with "scare quotes", right after that?
Also, "air quotes" rhymes with "scare quotes".
Comments welcome. -- Mike Schwartz ( talk) 23:45, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
This article should try utilizing sources from academic publications such as journals to convey the information. This would provide a neutral, widely accepted explanation of air quotes and cut down on the use of author opinion and interpretation when explaining what TV shows or movie characters meant when using air quotes on screen.
SmileEveryday34 ( talk) 00:21, 12 October 2023 (UTC)
Sorry, I don't remember how to edit correctly. Revert if you see fit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.136.139.238 ( talk) 12:43, 11 December 2023 (UTC)