Scare quotes are defined as the use of quotation marks to show that a word is not being used in its usual sense. Scare quotes can also be used to indicate irony. Here are some examples:
The people who lived in the small town, “the natives,” claimed to have a “big city attitude.” Many of them had memberships in the local “fitness” center which was merely a big room with some tread mills in it. A large group met there daily to discuss the town “news.” This often amounted to no more than a discussion of who went to church on Sunday and which “reprobates” did not.
What scare quotes really do is separate the writer from the term he or she is using. The writer of the paragraph above apparently does not want to be grouped with the residents of that town. Putting “the natives” in quotes casts doubt on whether the town residents were born there and also, makes a comment about them since natives tend to be thought of as indigenous peoples in grass huts. Putting “big city attitude” in quotes suggests the writer does not agree that the townies have a big city attitude. The same is true of “fitness” and “news.”
Here is the same paragraph without the scare quotes:
The people who lived in the small town, claimed to have a big city attitude. Many of them had memberships in the local fitness center which was merely a big room with some tread mills in it. A large group met there daily to discuss the town news. This often amounted to no more than a discussion of who went to church on Sunday.
Note that the second graph is entirely different from the first in feel and message.
Scare quotes do NOT merely call attention to words. They comment on them and sometimes they can hint at a sneer. They also interject the writer into the narrative which can be a good thing if the writer’s or narrator’s personal opinion is in some way central to the material. But if it isn’t, scare quotes can interfere. Think carefully about getting in between the reader and the narrative. It can be disruptive.