A project by Marcel Benabou for the
Oulipo journal Bibliotheque Oulipenne.
When certain words are 'broken' other words appear among their
fragments. De
fining those words allow greater or lesser words to be
combined. The project of defining bro
ken words involves a fine line be
tween
poetry and
punnery.
People familiar with UK
Crosswords and
Cryptograms often find these sorts of definitions as clues in thepuzzle.
Examples include:
RRI -- a parcel of territory
ESU -- what
Jesus and
Vesuvius share
ICH -- the
artichoke's heart
RAT -- n
ever
missing from any laboratory.
LIT --
illuminates solitude.
ACT --
determines the conclusion of a pact.
(paraphrased from
Oulipo Compendium)