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I think that comes from a kind of computer (pseudo teletype) display convention. I know that I have used such a system that displays the keystrokes (rather than a true text editor). As a result, if you press a key that performs a nonprintable character action, such as Delete or Backspace the diplay device will show that keystroke as an asterisk. As a result, I got quite good at reading the likes of this:
Now is the tune***ime for ajj**ll gook*d men
I always assumed that was the source of the convention.
I usually add quotes when a word or phrase is colloquial or slang but might be misunderstood when written. (If spoken in conversation, the tone of voice and other clues in context would convey the intended meaning.) Examples:
That was bad!
. . . I would mean the usual definition, e.g., of poor quality.
That was "bad"!
. . . I would mean the 80s slang usage (equivalent to "cool", "groovy", etc.). Michael Jackson had a popular album with that one-word title. [The fact that this particular word was used to convey two opposite meanings is the reason Weird Al Yankovich was able to deliberately and humorously misinterpret it and produce a parody album with the title, "Even Worse."]
This is just my own usage. What do you think? Does it clarify? or confuse?
David Hoffman said:
That's really interesting, Glenn. Who uses, or used, machines that have that kind of display?
Well, the technology may be beyond my expertise, but I was pretty sure that it was a TTY device running UNIX (which uses TTY as part of the underlying architecture). As it turns out, based on the explanation I just got TTY can run in "raw" or "cooked" modes, and the "raw" mode shows each individual keystroke. It seems that TDD conventions (a form of TTY) tend to use X instead of * to indicate backspaces.
I usually add quotes when a word or phrase is colloquial or slang but might be misunderstood when written. (If spoken in conversation, the tone of voice and other clues in context would convey the intended meaning.) Examples:
That was bad! . . . I would mean the usual definition, e.g., of poor quality.
That was "bad"! . . . I would mean the 80s slang usage (equivalent to "cool", "groovy", etc.). Michael Jackson had a popular album with that one-word title. [The fact that this particular word was used to convey two opposite meanings is the reason Weird Al Yankovich was able to deliberately and humorously misinterpret it and produce a parody album with the title, "Even Worse."]This is just my own usage. What do you think? Does it clarify? or confuse?
That use seems standard and, in my opinion, is self-explanatory. If I saw, for example, "That was 'bad'!" even out of context my first inclination would be that we were discussing the colloquial meaning of the word. Other possibilities would exist, of course.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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