If someone reststes someone elses quote (as a guestion), can I enclose the question mark in parentheis, to show distance or unoriginality? What did she mean by that, "ugly as a troll(?)" What the hell does that mean?
I think this is what you're shooting for (but I'm not sure) ... What did she mean by "ugly as a troll"? That is, what she said was "ugly as a troll"; but your question that surrounds it is what did she mean by the phrase "ugly as a troll." The question mark goes outside of the close quotation mark (because it's your question, not part of what she said). A semicolon would also go outside of the quotation marks (if that was necessary). Periods and/or commas, however, would go inside the quotation marks (in American English).
