Is it poor form to paraphrase well known authors in dialogue?
Sometimes a situation will suit a well known author's quote and I do like expressions. Someone joked that I had no shame in paraphrasing. Is this poor form and if so why?
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In my mind it's not plagiarism because it's known not to be mine. The poor form question was about it somehow demonstrating poor linguistic ability.
If someone recognized it as a paraphrase, I’d call it a literary allusion. It’s OK to borrow from an author if both you and the listener know it’s not your original thought.
If I don't hear a coworker come in, I can say she came in "on little cat’s feet," and we both know I’m borrowing from a poem by Carl Sandburg (not all my coworkers are so literary).
If you are pretending it’s your own idea, that would be phony, and if the listener knows it’s not your own thought, you will appear pretentious.
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