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Cribbing

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The use of lines or passages lifted from another author's work without direct citation, often to create a collage or intertextual effect.

Detailed Definition
Cribbing in poetry refers to the deliberate, often transformative borrowing or adaptation of lines, phrases, or structures from other texts—distinguished from plagiarism by its intertextual awareness—used to pay homage, critique, or recontextualize source material within a new poetic framework.
Example
Example in poetry:
Cribbing refers to borrowing lines or phrases from other poets, often as homage or allusion; T.S. Eliot cribbed from Dante in “The Waste Land”: “I had not thought death had undone so many,” echoing Inferno III.
Additional Notes
Informal term for heavy borrowing from sources. Archaic; now called intertextuality. Related to allusion, pastiche. Study tip: Trace echoes of other texts; consider intentionality and transformation.
Also Known As
Plagiarism Textual theft Literary borrowing Copied passages
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