Tmesis is the separation of parts of a compound word, usually by a single word. Here are some examples:
Classic Examples:
* "Abso-freaking-lutely" (separating "absolutely" by "freaking")
* "Fan-bloody-tastic" (separating "fantastic" by "bloody")
* "What in the world is going on?" (separating "world" from "on" by "in the")
* "It is a very, very, very bad day" (separating "very" from "very" by "very" for emphasis)
Literary Examples:
* "All, in the open air, that day, the whole world seemed to be, for once, in perfect harmony" (from "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway)
* "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" (from Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
Informal Examples:
* "You are so freakin' awesome!"
* "It was super-duper exciting!"
* "I'm like, totally going to the party!"
Note:
Tmesis is often used for emphasis or to create a humorous or informal effect. It is generally considered to be more common in spoken language than in formal writing.
Other examples:
* "Good-for-nothing"
* "Go-to-meeting"
* "Never-ending"
* "Heart-stopping"
* "Un-freaking-believable"
It's important to note that not every instance of word separation is tmesis. It specifically refers to the separation of parts of a compound word.
