spoonerism

[ spoo-nuh-riz-uhm ]

noun

1. the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow.

spoonerism

/ ˈspuːnəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. the transposition of the initial consonants or consonant clusters of a pair of words, often resulting in an amusing ambiguity of meaning, such as hush my brat for brush my hat

spoonerism

1. A reversal of sounds in two words, with humorous effect. Spoonerisms were named after William Spooner, an English clergyman and scholar of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In one spoonerism attributed to him, he meant “May I show you to another seat?” but said, “May I sew you to another sheet?”

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoonerism¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman noted for such slips; -ism

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoonerism¹

C20: named after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman renowned for slips of this kind

Example Sentences

The headline “Gagging Us With a Spoonerism” is by Chris Doyle; Chris also wrote the honorable-mentions subhead.

From Washington Post

Still running — deadline Monday night, Nov. 29: Our contest for spoonerism jokes.

From Washington Post

This week: Write an original Q-A joke featuring a spoonerism, the transposition of the beginnings of different words, as in the entries above from our 1995 contest.

From Washington Post

Tariffs have consistently retained broad global support despite the spoonerism.

From Economist

Nothing, it's just a stupid spoonerism.

From The Guardian