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Example: You do not get a free pass. Words will be your downfall.

Notice how the end of the sentence, pass, can be combined with the first word of the next sentence, words, to form: passwords.

What is the literary term for this?

I did some searching and found plenty on repetition, zeugma, and word association football, none of which correctly describe my example.

See here, where the question is more about the meaning of the words and how they relate to each other.

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mslhrt
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    Well... passwords is a compound word. I have no idea about the name for the literary device, but if you were saying it to me, I would call that particular example a threat... – Adam Hayes Mar 10 '16 at 16:13
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    I'm not sure that 'literary' is the right descriptor ('crosswords' as literature?), and I'd guess there isn't a term. Also the sentences don't match very well. This is more about games than the study of English. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 10 '16 at 16:19
  • @Edwin If you believe there isn't a term for it, feel free to answer the question and back yourself up with some research. I'm new to this exchange and don't appreciate disparaging comments when I have a legitimate question about the "English Language & [it's] Usage". The example in this case doesn't matter, as it works for my question. Just because it is not to your liking doesn't somehow make it a question not worthy of "the study of English". – mslhrt Mar 10 '16 at 17:05
  • Miss Susie had a steamboat. The steamboat had a bell. When she went to heaven, the steamboat went to.... – cobaltduck Mar 10 '16 at 17:06
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because single word requests are often whimsical rather than useful, and this seems more whimsical than most. Though I suppose it's a double single word single word single word request. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 10 '16 at 23:39
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    @Edwin I'm a little confused. Feel free to look at the link which goes to another question of a VERY similar nature. That question was not downvoted to be closed and had meaningful discussion. So in other words, since a literary device existed for THAT question, it's an okay question? But because no academic scholar has come up with a literary device for MY question it is somehow off-topic? That's ridiculous. – mslhrt Mar 11 '16 at 14:00
  • I've visited there for the first time, and taken what I consider the correct action (including close-voting the question). MετάEd's answer contains some fine poetry, but the Monty Python sketch is more suitable for a games etc website. Crosswords are off-topic on ELU, as are anagrams per se, and this is in the same vein. It's not going to help with the understanding of English usage, or promote refined style. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 11 '16 at 16:33
  • It's a pun. No, not a pun ... what's that thing that spells the same backwards as forwards? A palindrome? The palindrome of password would be drowssap. It don't work! – MetaEd Mar 11 '16 at 18:51
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    This is practically an oronym. Oronym is a modern term for two phrases which sound alike, such as "I scream"/"ice cream". You could argue that "pass. Words" sounds like "passwords", at least when the text is spoken quickly. – MetaEd Mar 11 '16 at 18:58
  • @ZachFord, part of the problem is, why do you think that there IS a literary term for this? Do you see a lot of people purposefully making use of the technique? Did someone mention its name once and you've forgotten it? Or is it "hey, I noticed that you can make compound words across punctuation boundaries, I wonder if there's a name for it." Without some justification, this looks like a "drive-by idle curiosity" question that most well-educated people would just say "why on earth would we NEED a name for that??" and move on from. – Hellion Mar 11 '16 at 19:17
  • (And that reaction generally equates to "downvote/closevote" here on ELU.) – Hellion Mar 11 '16 at 19:17
  • @Edwin Thank you! As I stated, I'm new to this exchange and a simple explanation, as you just provided, was all I needed to understand why folks believe my question to be "off-topic." I disagree, but the explanation is all I was looking for, not the one liners that sounded more like games than a meaningful explanation of why this does not fulfill "study of English and it's usage" criteria. I find it rather baffling that folks here would rather I go to yahoo answers than utilize an academic forum for garnering knowledge [not explicitly stated, of course, but that's my general take away]. – mslhrt Mar 14 '16 at 13:15
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    @Hellion As a matter of fact, a teacher of mine did explain this very thing and I cannot remember the name given or exact discussion about the topic. I totally understand where you're coming from, but my exasperation here is because there are almost 1000 literary devices in the English language, so I find it COMPLETELY opinion-based as to what constitutes "idle curiosity" and "why on earth..." I have decided by asking my question that it's worthy of investigation, no? If nobody on this forum can provide an answer, that's one thing, but to close the question as off-topic seems to me a cop-out. – mslhrt Mar 14 '16 at 13:21

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If it were poetry rather than prose you were dealing with, then 'enjambement' or 'enjambment' might describe what you are doing: the meaning runs over from one line to the next, as in your example the meaning runs over from one sentence to the next.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online's definition of 'enjambement' or 'enjambment':

in ​poetry, the ​continuing of a ​sentence from one ​line of a ​poem into the ​start of the next ​line

Cambridge Dictionaries Online's definition of 'enjambement' or 'enjambment'

The etymology of 'enjambment' on Online Etymology:

also enjambement, 1837, from French enjambement or from enjamb (c. 1600), from French enjamber "to stride over," from en- (see en- (1)) + jambe "leg" (see jamb).

the etymology of 'enjambement' or 'enjambement' on Online Etymology

The etymology of 'en- (1)':

word-forming element meaning "in; into," from French and Old French en-, from Latin in- "in, into" (see in- (2)). Typically assimilated before -p-, -b-, -m-, -l-, and -r-. Latin in- became en- in French, Spanish, Portuguese, but remained in- in Italian.

etymology of prefix 'en-' (1) on Online Etymology

The etymology of 'jamb':

side-piece of an opening of a door, window, etc., early 14c., from Old French jambe "pier, side post of a door," originally "a leg, shank" (12c.), from Late Latin gamba "leg, (horse's) hock" (see gambol).

etmology of 'jamb' on Online Etymology

user58319
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  • Great answer. +1. Can you [edit] it to quote the actual definition and etymology? It's much more convenient for readers, but more importantly, links have a known tendency to rot. So quoting he actual content will mitigate the risk that the answer becomes permanently incomplete in a few years. – Dan Bron Mar 10 '16 at 17:02
  • @DanBron: 'rot'? Get inadequate with the passing of time? – user58319 Mar 10 '16 at 17:11
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    More specifically *link rot*, the tendency observed on the internet, since the beginning, for hyperlinks to become outdated and their referents unavailable. – Dan Bron Mar 10 '16 at 17:12
  • @DanBron: Got it! – user58319 Mar 10 '16 at 17:13
  • @user58319 Thanks for your answer. Enjambment seems to me less about the words itself and more about the rhythm of a poem as well as using the device to maintain the meter of the poem. My question is more about how the words actually form a compound word. See my update with link for an answer more closely associated to my question. – mslhrt Mar 10 '16 at 17:21
  • @ZachFord: the meaning remains incomplete, you can't get it, until you have the beginning of the next sentence/verse/line… It doesn't have to be a compound noun: it could be a fixed phrase, etc. 'Let this not get you down. To earth or not to earth is to get shocked or not!' – user58319 Mar 10 '16 at 18:26
  • This is a totally different concept. There's a link in the discourse in enjambment, not a formal quirk of juxtaposition of words. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 10 '16 at 23:37
  • Enjambment refers only to where line breaks occur between words: when a phrase does not end where the line ends, there is enjambment. – MetaEd Mar 11 '16 at 18:55