Etymology

scare quote

Today it means: A quotation mark deliberately used to provoke a reaction or to indicate that the author does not approve of a term or clause, rather than to identify a direct quotation. Full definition →

First used 1956
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The story

Coined by British analytic philosopher G. E. M. Anscombe in 1956 in her essay “Aristotle and the Sea Battle”. Originally spelt with a hyphen.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1956 A quotation mark deliberately used to provoke a reaction or to indicate that the author does not approve of a term or clause, rather than to identify a direct quotation.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.