Reply #231: Use–mention distinction

[Xipe Totec]

The use–mention distinction (sometimes referred to as the words-as-words distinction) is the distinction between using a word (or phrase) and mentioning it. It arises in the context of grammar and philosophy.

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In written language, mentioned words or phrases often appear between quotation marks ("Chicago" contains three vowels) or in italics (When I say honey, I mean the sweet stuff that bees make), and some authorities insist that mentioned words or phrases must always be made visually distinct in this manner. Used words or phrases (much more common than mentioned ones) do not bear any typographic distinction.

If quotes are used, it is sometimes the practice to distinguish between the quotation marks used for speech and those used for mentioned words, with double quotes in one place and single in the other:

* When Larry said, "That has three letters," he was referring to the word 'bee'.
* With reference to "bumbershoot", Peter explained that 'The term refers to an umbrella.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction

Note that the example, "bumbershoot", shows the comma outside the quotation marks.