# Un-Frigging-Believable

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 1, 1999, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373 "1999-09-01T08:48:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![steno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@steno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steno)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/1 "1999-09-01T08:48:00Z")

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Once, many years ago, I learned the word that describes words that have other words inserted inside them, a la “Abso-frigging-lutely.” It seems that it also applied to exclamations out of place in a phrase, as in “animal friggin’ cookies.”

Anyone know what they’re called?

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/2 "1999-09-01T18:37:00Z")

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Paul Dickson in his book entitled “Words” calls them “sandwich words.” It is in Chapter 49, entitled “Word Words.”

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**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/3 "1999-09-01T18:39:00Z")

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From [www.csi.uottawa.ca/~kbarker/ling-devices.html](http://www.csi.uottawa.ca/~kbarker/ling-devices.html)

> [@](#):
>
> dystmesis  
> A form of tmesis in which the compound is separated at an inappropriate or unlikely position.  
> a whole nother story  
> unbe-freakin-lievable

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 1999, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/4 "1999-09-03T05:13:00Z")

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Gilligan…neat! What other forms of tmesis are there? (I can’t believe I typed that right the first time!)

The generic term for something like this is an infix, a la prefix and suffix. Some languages use them regularly.

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**Author:** ![steno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@steno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steno)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 1999, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/5 "1999-09-03T05:21:00Z")

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Thanks, G!

From that Web site, though, it looks like the word I want is just _tmesis_, and that _dystmesis_ is reserved for those situations where the infixed word is in an unlikely place. The examples given are:

tmesis: unfreakingbelievable  
dystmesis: unbefreakinglievable

What exactly “unlikely” means in this context is presumably up to the perceiver…

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**Author:** ![realm505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@realm505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/realm505)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 1999, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/6 "1999-09-03T05:55:00Z")

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ok, then what is RI-goddamn-DICULOUS

what the hell is that then, My friend useses that word all the time. what is the name for that useage of a “Sanwich name”?

I think “Roylee w/ cheese”

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**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 1999, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-frigging-believable/7373/7 "1999-09-02T18:19:00Z")

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Ah!

This explains who Cinderfuckinrella is!?

:):):):):):):):):)🙂