When learning to document in patient medical records, medical students are taught to document patients' presenting symptoms in the patient's own words (for example, Mrs. Smith presents today with a primary symptom of “urinating all day”). Rather than reinterpreting what the patient has said into medical terms (frequent urination), the clinician-author may attempt to avoid interpretive errors by allowing the patient's voice to be expressed in the record. The benevolent intent is to maintain accuracy and neutrality and to give voice to the patient. Our experience suggests that we have strayed far from that goal. Just as the use of quotes is shifting in society, so is their use in medical records. We have found that quotations in medical records often lack any theoretical value in terms of ensuring accuracy, providing important context clues (for example, “crushing chest pain”), or providing a more holistic view of the patient. Instead, we find many examples of physician disapproval of or frustration with patients, implications that what the patient said is inaccurate, or highlighting of unsophisticated language, which can function to mock the patient.