Use-mention distinction

[Digit]

I haven't found any official statement from style manuals (though I'm sure my saying of that has instantaneously retroactively brought official statements into existence and promoted their page ranks).

[Squirrel]

Are you talking about four-letter words, or quotes/referencing? I need a little help here.

[Digit]

I tried to give an example of what each option was in case identifying a mention made less than full sense. You could replace with (X is a(n) X.)

[Katya]

I voted for double quotes, but I would only use them if you're going to be using them relatively rarely. If you're going to have tons of mentions in your writing (e.g., if you're writing a paper in English about English etymology), I'd probably go with italics as being less "busy." (But for a single use or infrequent uses, I'd worry that italics might be mistaken for emphasis.)

[Squirrel]

I tried to give an example of what each option was in case identifying a mention made less than full sense. You could replace with (X is a(n) X.)

OHHH! * FACEPALM*

[mic0]

Squirrel, i had no idea either :/

[Craig Jessop]

I'm still confused.

[Laser Jock]

If you're explicitly calling out a word in typed text (like, say, the word carpet), do you put it in italics, like I just did? Or would you say that the word should be in double quotes, or single quotes, or something else? That's what the examples in the poll are trying to show, too.

[Yarjka]

I voted for double quotes, but I would only use them if you're going to be using them relatively rarely. If you're going to have tons of mentions in your writing (e.g., if you're writing a paper in English about English etymology), I'd probably go with italics as being less "busy." (But for a single use or infrequent uses, I'd worry that italics might be mistaken for emphasis.)

+1