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(zsh.info)Quoting

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Quoting
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A character may be QUOTED (that is, made to stand for itself) by
preceding it with a `\'.  `\' followed by a newline is ignored.

A string enclosed between `$'' and `'' is processed the same way as the
string arguments of the print builtin, and the resulting string is
considered to be entirely quoted.  A literal `'' character can be
included in the string by using the `\'' escape.

All characters enclosed between a pair of single quotes ('') that is
not preceded by a `$' are quoted.  A single quote cannot appear within
single quotes unless the option RC_QUOTES is set, in which case a pair
of single quotes are turned into a single quote.  For example,

     print ''''

outputs nothing apart from a newline if RC_QUOTES is not set, but one
single quote if it is set.

Inside double quotes (""), parameter and command substitution occur,
and `\' quotes the characters `\', ``', `"', and `$'.