In the following example: "Always the same with you Nancy, 'Clean up after yourself, ya dirty old fool--blah blah blah--If this place isn't spick-and-span by tonight...' I'm just sick of you bossing me around!" How would I punctuate what the main character's mimicry of what Nancy might say. Would I use single quotes as I've done there? Italics? Something else? Thanks.
I think either would work. I'd do what you did though because it's more than one sentence. Too many italics can hurt the eyes.
If I didn't have the "blah blah blah" in there, would it be clear--using single quotes--that it was something Nancy might say, as opposed to something she absolutely said. This is what confuses me.
What I don't like here is the comma after Nancy. It's not technically a comma splice, because "Always the same with you, Nancy" isn't technically a sentence. (It works because it's dialogue, and the "It's" is implied.) It does read like one, though, and the comma seems awkward. I'd keep all the quote marks as you have them, but I'd put a period/full stop after Nancy. In essence, there are three sentences here. I'd punctuate them as such. "Always the same with you Nancy. 'Clean up after yourself, ya dirty old fool--blah blah blah--If this place isn't spick-and-span by tonight....' I'm just sick of you bossing me around!"