the accidental transposition of initial sounds or syllables of two words, usually with humorous results, as roaring pain for pouring rain. Note: The word comes from Dr. W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), a warden of New College at Oxford University, who is said to have made many such transpositions.
A slip of the tongue involving the transposition of two or more sounds in an utterance (after English cleric William A. Spooner). Example The Lord is a shoving leopard.---Spooner.
transposition of initial consonants in a pair of words
a funny word trick where you take words
an erroneous or humorous transposition of two or more sounds in a word or phrase
a pair of words that can have the initial sounds switched to form new words
a transposing of syllables whether in a phrase or a single word
a transposition usually of the initial sounds of two or more words
The accidental switching of the initial sounds or syllables of two words; for example, saying "our queer old dean" instead of "our dear old queen."
(noun) The transposition of the initial portion of words in a phrase. This process is named after William A. Spooner (1844-1930), warden of New College, Oxford, who was most famous for this extended form of metathesis. One famous example is his toast: "Let us drink to the queer old dean". He meant, of course: "Let us drink to the dear old queen"
Swapping the first letter or syllable of adjacent or near-adjacent words, often resulting in equally valid words, e.g., "I made a spoonerism" to "I spade a moonerism".
Getting the initial letters of words mixed up. For example: Dr Spooner (guess who it was named after) was heard to say about a student "He hissed all his lectures."
A spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis). It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency.
