bifurs

is the very moment when one thought slips into something other than itself. It is French for 'word-erasing'.

'yet the point of these bifurs or word-erasing is not so much about exploring the new paths thus opened, or even about pondering their corrected meaning, but rather about pinpointing thought at the rare moment when it sideslips into something other than itself. Only because of this basic ambiguity at the heart of the bifur, is the process of word-association made possible' (Levinas 1992: 146)

bifurs, n.All

bifurs