Nonevent

[Erin McKean]

In Verbatim XXIV/2 they were referred to as "misdivisions." When
intentional, they're often called "charades."

A couple of examples:

God in three persons is not bound by his own pronoun-cements.

"Combat-ants" and "Fur-below" are some others often mentioned.

Erin McKean
editor at verbatimmag.com

>On Tue, Jul 16, 2002 at 11:50:03AM -0400, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>
>>  >Is there a word for compounds that
>>  >break more than one way?
>>
>>  Not that I know of, but my favorite has always been BERIBBONED:
>>  the intended parse (be-ribboned) vs. the un- (be-rib-boned).  I guess
>>  these are Janus words in a different sense from that of our old
>>  friends the enantionyms (cleave, sanction,...).
>
>In discussions of the urban legend that the Chevy Nova was a
>failure in Spanish-speaking countries because its name reads
>as "no va" i.e. "no go", it is sometimes brought up that no
>English speakers seem to mind going to their THE RAPIST.
>
>Jesse Sheidlower