spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
Some examples: (from the website)
We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
A well-boiled icicle ["well-oiled bicycle"].
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.
Off the top of my head, I can think of only one spoonerism (it might not qualify, but it's still funny); my childhood buddy Joe Bill used to say -usually to a girl- in a low voice:
"Tickle your ass with a feather?"
And when the person did a double-take and said "Excuse me?", Jody would say
"Particularly nasty weather!"
Spoonerisms remind me of Cockney Rhyming Slang.
More spoonerisms
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
Some examples: (from the website)
We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
A well-boiled icicle ["well-oiled bicycle"].
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.
Off the top of my head, I can think of only one spoonerism (it might not qualify, but it's still funny); my childhood buddy Joe Bill used to say -usually to a girl- in a low voice:
"Tickle your ass with a feather?"
And when the person did a double-take and said "Excuse me?", Jody would say
"Particularly nasty weather!"
Spoonerisms remind me of Cockney Rhyming Slang.
More spoonerisms
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