Tmesis

By Deane Barker

This is generally when another word is inserted in between the two segments of a compound word, usually as slang or exclamation.

Example: “un-freaking-believable”

There is a more technical definition, when the subject is inserted into a verb phrase: “turn off” becomes “turn the radio off”

Why I Looked It Up

I found it in a discussion of interactive fiction in Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature.

This is item #743 in a sequence of 811 items.

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