Expletive infixation is a process by which an expletive or profanity is inserted into a word, usually for intensification. It is similar to tmesis, but not all instances are covered by the usual definition of tmesis because the words are not necessarily compounds. ^[1] The word expletive is currently used in three senses: syntactic expletives, expletive attributives, and bad language. The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning to fill, via expletivus, filling out. It was introduced into English in the seventeenth century to refer to various kinds of padding -- the padding... Look up Profanity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up tmesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A compound is a word (lexeme) that consists of more than one free morpheme. ...

The most commonly inserted expletives are adjectival: either participles (fucking, mother-fucking, freaking, blooming, bleeding, damned) or adjectives (bloody). They are usually somewhat phonetically altered (fuckin'). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Although most speakers are not exposed to these formations until after childhood, they can form new examples readily once introduced to the process, and their judgements of which formations are acceptable is remarkably consistent.^[2] This suggests that the rules for the placement of the expletive are not arbitrary, but instead derive from fundamental aspects of English phonology. English phonology is the study of the phonology (ie the sound system) of the English language. ...

A simple rule is that the insertion occurs at a syllable boundary, usually just before the primary stressed syllable.^[1] Thus, one hears abso-fuckin-lutely rather than *ab-fuckin-solutely. This rule is insufficient to describe examples such as un-fuckin-believable (not *unbe-fuckin-lievable), however, so modifications to this rule are proposed such as morpheme boundaries taking precedence over stress. A syllable (Ancient Greek: ) is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. ... In morpheme-based morphology, a morpheme is the smallest lingual unit that carries a semantic interpretation. ...

A more fundamental theory due to John McCarthy is based on prosody.^[2] Its basic principle is that "the metrical stress tree of the host is minimally restructured to accommodate the stress tree of the infix". For example, although unbelievable and irresponsible have identical stress patterns, and the first syllable of each is a separate morpheme, the preferred insertion points are different: un-fuckin-believable, but irre-fuckin-sponsible. McCarthy explains this by saying they have different prosodic structures: un(be((lieva)ble)), but (irre)((sponsi)ble). The infix cannot fall between the syllables ir and re because they form a single prosodic foot. John J. McCarthy John McCarthy (born 1953 in Medford, Massachusetts) is a linguist and professor of phonology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ... In linguistics, prosody refers to intonation, rhythm, and vocal stress in speech. ... In verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem. ...

Examples

• unbe-fucking-lievable
• abso-fucking-lutely (Sex and the City)
• fan-fucking-tastic ("Terms of Endearment", 1983)
• out-fucking-standing
• hi-fucking-larious
• inco-fucking-herent
• fan-damn-tastic (Earthsiege 2)
• guaran-damn-tee (Southwest American slang)
• "Ah, so loverly, sittin' abso-bloomin'-lutely still..." (from the song "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" in the musical My Fair Lady)
• "the emanci-mother-fuckin-pator of the slaves" (from the musical Hair)
• "ri-goddamn-diculous" (attributed to a drunken John Wayne, in an address to some quondam graduating ROTC cadets, also used in the movies Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Haggard )
• "abso-fraggin'-lutely" (catch phrase of character John Sheridan in the television show Babylon 5)
• "Ala-fucking-bama" (used in the movie My Cousin Vinny)
• "I'd say that makes him a lia-fucking-bility." (from The Boondock Saints)
• "You don't look like your average horti-fucking-culturalist." (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)
• "Fan-smegging-tastic" (a fictional infix from Red Dwarf)
• "You give me that juris-my-dick-tion crap, you can cram it up your ass." (The Matrix)
• "The war in Viet-fucking-nam!" (from the movie Forrest Gump)
• "Cinder-fucking-rella" (from Pretty Woman)
• Don't inter-fucking-rupt!
• "I'm not o-fucking-kay!" (from 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' by My Chemical Romance)
• "Leave me a-fuckin'-lone!" (from Glorious by Eddie Izzard)

Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ... Earthsiege 2 is a mecha-style simulation computer game for Windows 95, released by Dynamix in 1995. ... The original poster for the Broadway production of the show designed by Al Hirschfeld My Fair Lady is a 1956 musical theater production with lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. ... The original poster for the show. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), born Marion Robert Morrison, popularly known as The Duke, was an iconic, Academy Award winning, American film actor whose career began in silent movies in the 1920s. ... For the Doctor Who science fiction episode, see Rise of the Cybermen. ... Categories: Stub | 2004 films | Comedy films ... Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me is the second film in the Austin Powers series started with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued in Austin Powers in Goldmember. ... Haggard may refer to one of the following. ... now. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 American movie, released on Friday, 13 March, starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. ... The Boondock Saints is a (1999) crime film, directed by Troy Duffy. ... Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) is a British film directed and written by Guy Ritchie, and produced by Matthew Vaughn. ... The mild vulgarism smeg is conjectively a shortened version of the word smegma. ... For the type of star, see Red dwarf. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... The Matrix is a science fiction/action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving. ... Tagline: Forrest Gump is a 1985 novel by Winston Groom, a 1994 film adaptation, and the name of the title character of both. ... Pretty Woman is an American romantic comedy motion picture that was one of the top films at the box office in 1990. ... My Chemical Romance (also known as My Chem or MCR) is an American rock band from New Jersey. ... Edward John Izzard, better known as Eddie Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is a British cross-dressing stand-up comedian and actor who describes himself as an executive transvestite. As a comedian, he has a style of rambling, surreal monologue. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} McMillan, James B. (1980). "Infixing and Interposing in English" (GIF). American Speech 55 (3): 163–183. Retrieved on 2006-08-30.
2. ^ ^{a b} McCarthy, John J. (1982). "Prosodic Structure and Expletive Infixation" (GIF). Language 58 (3): 574–590. Retrieved on 2006-08-30.

2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... John J. McCarthy John McCarthy (born 1953 in Medford, Massachusetts) is a linguist and professor of phonology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ...

External links

• Discussion of where to properly insert the expletive