Monday, December 12, 2005

Word of the Day: tmesis

From dictionary.com:

tmesis \TMEE-sis\, noun:In grammar and rhetoric, the separation of the parts of a compound word, now generally done for humorous effect; for example, "what place soever" instead of "whatsoever place," or "abso-bloody-lutely."

If on the first, how heinous e'er it be,To win thy after-love I pardon thee. --Shakespeare, Richard II

His income-tax return, he remarked, was the "most rigged-up marole" he'd ever seen. --Frederic Packard

In two words, im possible. --Samuel Goldwyn

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