escaping math operators?

[killa seven]

PHP Code:

$totalscore = $cvote - $ovote; 


ok this was the first attempt, i know that for integers you don't put double quotes around them but if you don't it acts as a integer and does any math...

PHP Code:

$totalscore = "$cvote - $ovote"; 


i made the totalscore into a string, i thought maybe it would do this without doing any math

say the score is 5-2 i don't want this to do the math and subtract 2 from 5

i want it to display as 5-2