In spoken English, people often say "quote-unquote" (or "quote-endquote") to indicate that part of what they are saying is a quotation (scare or otherwise). Sometimes the quoted material will go between quote and unquote, and occasionaly it will precede the quote-unquote. Often, though, "quote unquote" introduces the quoted material.
Why does quote unquote precede the quotation?
It would seem that quote opens the quoted text and that unquote closes it, but then why would we close the quotation before actually providing it. It would be the equivalent of writing your quotation marks together, "", rather than around the quoted text.
What are the origins of this construction?
Three years ago ChrisR asked this well-received question on whether it is correct to use quote, unquote. The answers did not deal with origins, but one commenter suggested that quote-unquote is a corruption of quote-on-quote, but he provided no evidence, nor any real explanation.
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