Could you tell me the exact meaning of this sentense?

Learning English Forum - Ask a Tutor
1

here’s the whole paragraph:

Steve: Another use of the word say or said, you know, the past tense of tell is told, in what’s known as reported speech, alright. If we read a book and the detective says to the criminal, we don’t say the detective tells the criminal. Well, we might, but the most often used term for reported speech is “said”. You know, “What can I do for you?” said the shop owner. “Whom do you want to speak to?” said the receptionist, not “told” the receptionist.

thx very much!

2

well, er…maybe i’m concerning about 2 words inside most, they are:

term. what dose it mean in the sentence?

reported speech. what’s the exact meaning of it?

other than that, i can understand.

thank you very much!!

3

In that context the word “term” means “word.”
Reported speech is “words that are used to tell what someone says without repeating their actual words.”(LDOCE)