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... In cartoons, profanity is often depicted by substituting symbols for words, as a form of non-specific censorship. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (a word) that consists of more than one other lexeme. ...

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. ... For other uses, see Fuck (disambiguation). ... The term bloom can refer to the following things: Bloom (novel) is a science fiction novel by Wil McCarthy. ... For other uses, see Bleeding (disambiguation). ... // Religious In Western Christian belief, damnation to hell is the punishment of God for persons with unredeemed sin. ... Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as a swear word or expletive attributive (intensifier) in Britain, Ireland, Canada, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. ... Look up fuck in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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 are 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. For the computer operating system, see Syllable (operating system). ... 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

• flabber-fucking-gasted
• congratu-fucku-lations (Harold and Kumar)
• un-fucking-believable
• unbe-fucking-lievable (The White Album, 2000)
• abso-fucking-lutely
• fan-fucking-tastic (Terms of Endearment, 1983; The Departed, 2006)
• out-fucking-standing
• in-fucking-credible
• hi-fucking-larious
• inco-fucking-herent
• noncha-fucking-lantly
• fan-bloody-tastic
• 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 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)
• "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)
• "Pay a-bloody-ttention!" (from Dressed to Kill by Eddie Izzard)
• "Forty-fucking-five!" (from Sex and the City)
• "Contra-fuckin'-band" (from The Departed, 2006)
• "Sen-fucking-sational" (from QI, Series A episode 4, October 2003)

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (published internationally under the title Harold and Kumar get the Munchies) is a 2004 stoner movie that explores stereotypes, especially racial, in American culture. ... The White Album is Lewis Blacks first album, recorded in 1999 and released on October 1, 2000. ... For the Drawn Together episode, see Terms of Endearment (Drawn Together episode). ... The Departed is an Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. ... Earthsiege 2 is a mecha-style simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1995. ... My Fair Lady is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, based on George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion. ... This article is about the musical. ... For other persons named John Wayne, see John Wayne (disambiguation). ... ROTC links here. ... 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. ... John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. ... 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 action crime drama film written and directed by Troy Duffy. ... Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 English crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. ... Smeg is a mild vulgarism. ... This article is about the type of star. ... For other uses, see Forrest Gump (disambiguation). ... Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy motion picture. ... My Chemical Romance are an American rock band formed in 2001. ... Edward John Eddie Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is a double Emmy-winning English[1] stand-up comedian and actor. ... Edward John Eddie Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is a double Emmy-winning English[1] stand-up comedian and actor. ... This article is about the television series. ... The Departed is an Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. ... For other uses, see QI (disambiguation). ...

References

John J. McCarthy John McCarthy (born 1953 in Medford, Massachusetts) is a linguist and professor of phonology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ...

See also

• Tmesis
• Affix

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up affix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External links

• Discussion of where to properly insert the expletive