Shifting usage: "Who quoted this?"

[Ben Zimmer]

Indeed. Amanda Katz, who edited the Globe Ideas column in question,
explained on Twitter that that's why it was phrased that way:

https://twitter.com/katzish/status/445650442509639680

On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 11:45 PM, Alice Faber wrote:
>
> Actually, he was quoting a heckler (who said it in Yiddish).
>
> On 3/27/14 11:22 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> > Well, he said it first in Yiddish ("A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an
> > armey un a flot"), and then self-quoted in English.  Sort of like a verbal selfie.
> >
> > On Mar 27, 2014, at 10:46 PM, Neal Whitman wrote:
> >
> >> Wasn't familiar with this usage, but just saw this today:
> >>
> >> As Yiddish linguist Max Weinreich famously quoted, "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy."
> >> http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/03/15/the-long-war-over-ukrainian-language/HXlLbK9wVnhwGShNVPKIUP/story.html?camp=id
> >>
> >>> On Mar 27, 2014, at 4:18 PM, "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Now if they'd said "who quothed this?", all would be
> >>> okey-dokey.  [Yes, I know the past tense of "queath" is "quoth", but
> >>> as all things tend toward regularity ...]
> >>>
> >>> At 3/27/2014 03:20 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> >>>> A couple years ago I came across websites with questions of the form
> >>>> "Who quoted this?" I believe the queries were asking for the name of
> >>>> the person who originated a particular quotation.
> >>>>
> >>>> I apologize if this has already been discussed ad nauseam
> >>>>
> >>>> Merriam Webster has:
> >>>> quote (verb)
> >>>> 1. to repeat (a passage, phrase, etc.) from a book, speech, or the
> >>>> like, as by way of authority, illustration, etc.
> >>>>
> >>>> So the meaning of the verb has shifted for some speakers. Here are
> >>>> two examples.
> >>>>
> >>>> https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120426210420AAu5k9Z
> >>>>
> >>>> [Begin excerpt]
> >>>> Do you know who quoted this?
> >>>> who quoted:
> >>>> "family is not about blood it's about who is willing to hold your hand
> >>>> when you need it the most"
> >>>> Update 1: other than me obviously Looney, you know what i meant :p
> >>>> [End excerpt]
> >>>>
> >>>> One response:
> >>>> [Begin excerpt]
> >>>> You just quoted it.
> >>>> [End excerpt]
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32643-Who-quoted-it
> >>>>
> >>>> 11-29-2011, 07:37 PM #1
> >>>> Bruce M (offline Senior Member)
> >>>> Join Date  Dec 2008
> >>>> Location Chesapeake VA
> >>>> Subject: Who quoted it?
> >>>>
> >>>> [Begin excerpt]
> >>>>    Im a big fan of good quotes and I just remembered this stupid game
> >>>> we played in school where someone would tell a quote and we had to
> >>>> guess who quoted it. I'll start.
> >>>>    "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments
> >>>> of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge
> >>>> and controversy"
> >>>>
> >>>>    EZ one, I know, but its one of my favorites.
> >>>> [End excerpt]

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