Skip to main content
The art of breaking one word into two parts, inserting a different word (often an expletive) in between those two parts, hence forth turning two different words into one in order to give extra emphasis

from Greek, a cutting, from temnein, to cut (see tem- in Indo-European roots)
Examples of tmesis are found in the following, well-known quotes:

La-dee-freakin-da, a less offensive alternative, was made famous via Chris Farley on SNL.

Wel-diddly-elcome, one of many ri-goddamn-diculous phrases Ned Flanders often drops on the Simpsons.

Other famous phrases include:
Fan-fucking-tastic (The Departed)
Ala-fucking-bama (My Cousin Vinny)
Viet-fucking-nam! (Forrest Gump)
I'm not o-fucking-kay (My Chemical Romance)
That makes him a lia-fucking-bility (Boondock Saints), and
A whole 'nother' (insertion of "whole" into "another," rather than "a whole new")
Tmesis by Erkworm December 28, 2007
Related Words

thesisitis 

The feeling one gets when thinking about writing their thesis, usually making them feel physically and/or mentally ill.

Symptoms can include, nausea, lethargy, incoherent conversations and sometimes momentary lapses of motor skills (eg. walking).

Without treatment thesisitis can result in excessive desk chair racing and may result in injury.
Student: Man, every time I think about my thesis I feel sick.
Friend: Well maybe you've got thesisitis, it's probably a good idea to take the day off.

Student: Today I rode an elephant backwards up the stairs.
Concerned friend: Pretty sure you have thesisitis... I'm just gonna keep my distance in case it's contagious.

Thesis Guilt 

Typically when writing a thesis for a PhD, the author will feel guilt all of the time. When doing any other activity other than thesis writing, such as watching TV for relaxation, the guilt will always be there. The only known cure is finishing the thesis.
Jane is unhappy out for dinner with her friends because she has thesis guilt.
Thesis Guilt by NicTail September 26, 2011

A Cruel Angel's Thesis 

(Zankoku na tenshi no teze) the opening of 1995 anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, cures depression, whilst the show itself brings all of that said depression back
"wew, my depression disappears when i listen to A Cruel Angel's Thesis"
A Cruel Angel's Thesis by ofrfr October 11, 2020

encryptment thesis 

The theory popularized by time-travel researcher Nicholas Meyler, that information from the Future, frequently about disasters, is often embedded or encrypted subtly (see "steganography") into artworks like music, or literature, as possible warnings, to avert damage.
The FBI could have used the encryptment thesis to deduce the September 11 attacks before they happened, but, instead, obstructed justice.

tresistance 

Tresistance is the combination of the words troll and resistance - it is your ability to resist people trying to troll you.
Chris told Nick that its called an xbox 360 because when you see it, you turn 360 degrees and walk away, but Nick's tresistance prevented him from getting trolled.
tresistance by coolcreep January 4, 2010