Tmesis

From Wacklepedia - The Free Encyclopedia

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")