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Re: Spoonerisms

Posted by R. Berg on November 13, 2002

In Reply to: Re: Spoonerisms posted by ESC on November 12, 2002

: : Recent discussions prompt me to wonder what exactly a spoonerism is. Is it simply a transposition of letters or syllables, or do the transposed elements have to make sense? For example, "cattleships and bruisers" makes sense but "naily dewspaper" doesn't. Any advice?

: From dictionary.com

: Word of the Day for Monday April 15, 2002:

: spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:
: The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.

: Some examples:
: We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
: The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"].
: It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.
: Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?
: When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out ["flags hung out"]!
: Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].

: Spoonerism comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. All the above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him.

Spoonerisms don't have to make sense. "Paily daper" qualifies. It's just that the ones that do make sense, especially if it's a ludicrous sense, get quoted over and over.