unquote

English

Etymology

From un- +‎ quote; possibly an eggcorn of end quote.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊt

Interjection

unquote

  1. Used in speech to indicate the end of a quotation.
    • 1942, “The Dover Boys at Pimento University” (1:53 from the start), in Chuck Jones, director, Merrie Melodies, spoken by Telegram Boy:
      Telegram for the Dover Boys, Messrs. Tom, Dick and Larry, care of Wayward Tavern, Upper Bottleneck, New York, sirs, quote, HEEEELP!, unquote, signed Dora. 35 cents collect.
    • 1967, Arlo Guthrie, “Alice's Restaurant Massacree”, in Alice's Restaurant:
      And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the quote Scene of the Crime unquote.
    • 2012, Jim Broadbent as Vyvyan Ayrs, Cloud Atlas, circa 1:28:04
      Mackerras himself wrote, and I quote: "He is a prostitute, whose liaisons with perverts and sodomites were commonplace in his brief and forgettable career at Caius. Lock up the silverware." Unquote.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

unquote (third-person singular simple present unquotes, present participle unquoting, simple past and past participle unquoted)

  1. (transitive, computing) To convert (a quoted expression) back to its original form.