spoonerism

WOTD - 20 June 2006    

English

Etymology

Named after the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups.

Pronunciation

• spo͞onʹərĭzəm, /"spu:n@rIz@m/
• IPA: /ˈspuːnərɪzəm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Wikipedia 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.

   The spoonerism "The queer old dean" (instead of "the dear old Queen") is attributed to Rev. Spooner.

Translations

A phrase where sounds are transposed

Breton: treuzviezadenn (br) f. Catalan: contrapet (ca) m. Danish:bakke snagvendt Esperanto: kontraŭknalo (eo) Finnish: sananmuunnokset

French: contrepèterie (fr) f., contrepet (fr) m. German: Schüttelreim (de) Greek: παραδρομή γλώσσας (el) (paradromí glóssas) f. Thai: คำผวน (th) n.