Spoonerisms: Difference between revisions
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* [[Another hex in the fawn house]], another fox in the henhouse | * [[Another hex in the fawn house]], another fox in the henhouse | ||
* "Blade Runner, [[Blood Rainer]] — whatever it takes" | |||
* [[Crimes against mathematical constants]] | * [[Crimes against mathematical constants]] | ||
* [[Cryptic stencil, styptic pencil]] | * [[Cryptic stencil, styptic pencil]] | ||
Revision as of 13:11, 14 February 2022
A spoonerism is an error in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words in a phrase.[1][a] These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner, who reputedly did this.
They were already renowned by the author François Rabelais in the 16th century, and called contrepèteries. In his novel Pantagruel, he wrote "femme folle à la messe et femme molle à la fesse" ("insane woman at mass, woman with flabby buttocks").
An example is saying "The Lord is a shoving leopard" instead of "The Lord is a loving shepherd." While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue, and getting one's words in a tangle, they can also be used intentionally as a play on words.
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
- Another hex in the fawn house, another fox in the henhouse
- "Blade Runner, Blood Rainer — whatever it takes"
- Crimes against mathematical constants
- Cryptic stencil, styptic pencil
- Gnomon algorithm
- Gnomon Chronicles
- Poppa's Gotta Brag New Band, Poppa's Got a Brand New Bag
Nonfiction cross-reference
External links
- Spoonerism @ Wikipedia