Joe,

> lcName = [Bob "Skip" O'Hara]
>
> lcSql = "UPDATE nametbl SET name = "+lcName+" WHERE id = 5"
>
> &lcSql

I think you want:

lcSql = "UPDATE nametbl SET name = lcName WHERE id = 5"

or

lcSql = "UPDATE nametbl SET name = [" +lcName+ "] WHERE id = 5"

Those should work for VFP -- I haven't tested with SQL Server.