It's a way to say "syllable" with less than one of those. This text in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/science/john-conway-math.html https

It's a way to say "syllable" with less than one of those. This text in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/science/john-conway-math.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/science/john-conway-math.... calls it "One Bit Word Game". I think "slab" might be a good choice, too, 'cause it sounds like the long word it stands in for. This game is hard, but in some tongues, it may be worse, if there are just a few slabs that can be used and most words have more than one.