: Re: How to quote something somebody was told by someone else? (Third-party, hearsay) THE ISSUE There must be a catch-phrase or soundbite to describe this scenario, but so far, I've been unsuccessful

@Samaraweera193

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This is called an indirect (or secondhand) quote. Typically, the advice is to replace it with a primary quote if at all possible. But in an oral recollection like this, it might not be possible to recover the primary source. If possible, I'd suggest NOT placing the putative quotation in quotation marks, which are usually reserved for exact quotes that you can verify.

Johnson then quoted Billy Ray's mother as telling him to always be a good boy.

However, if you are directly and accurately quoting someone who is quoting someone else, it is generally permissible to put the secondary quote in internal quotes, with the implication that it is only as accurate as your source.

"My mama always said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates,'" quoted Forest.

Even here, however, it's worth noting the actual quote from the movie is "My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates..." which properly takes no internal quotes and is therefore not promised to be 100% accurate. With that in mind, it should also be noted that you shouldn't put quotes even around your primary source unless you are certifying the accuracy of your transcription. Quotation marks express a promise of fidelity to the source.

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