Tmesis
Tmesis (
Greek, "a cutting") is a
figure of speech in which a word or phrase is inserted into another word, often for humorous effect. The insertion may occur between the parts of a compound word, or between other
syllable boundaries (
dystmesis).
Examples:
- "what-place-soever"
- "I can't find it any-blooming-where" (see also expletive infixation)
- "how heinous e'er it be" (Shakespeare's tmesis of "however" in Richard II)
- "any-old-how" (parallel to "any old thing")