spoonerism

[ spoo-nuh-riz-uhm ]
See synonyms for spoonerism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow.

Origin of spoonerism

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman noted for such slips; see -ism

Words Nearby spoonerism

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British Dictionary definitions for spoonerism

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

Origin of spoonerism

1
C20: named after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman renowned for slips of this kind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for spoonerism

spoonerism

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?”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.