spoonerism

English
WOTD – 20 June 2006

Etymology

Spooner +‎ -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈspuːnəɹɪzəm/, enPR: spo͞onʹərĭzəm
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun
Examples
  • “The queer old dean” (for “the dear old Queen”)

spoonerism (plural spoonerisms)

  1. A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed.
    Synonym: marrowsky

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams
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