t(x) %*% (W %x% x)
W <- matrix(1:9, ncol = 3, nrow = 3) W
## [,1] [,2] [,3] ## [1,] 1 4 7 ## [2,] 2 5 8 ## [3,] 3 6 9
x <- c(2, -1, 1) W %*% x
## [,1] ## [1,] 5 ## [2,] 7 ## [3,] 9
z <- t(x) %*% (W %*% x) z
## [,1] ## [1,] 12