When:
🗓️ July 22
Where:
🌐 Everywhere
Since:
❓
💬
Spoonerisms are a manner of speech named after William Archibald Spooner.
Spooner was a scholar and a priest who, despite his love for reading and learning, suffered from bad eyesight, was often absent minded and his speech often lagged way behind his fast thinking.
In modern times he probably would have been tested for ADHD and of course been prescribed better glasses or even eye surgery.
But Spooner was born in the 1800’s and did his very best to have good conversations and sermons.
He was interesting enough to listen to so many people noticed that at times he would phrase words and sentences in noticeably odd ways.
A common oddity in his speech was where he would switch the first letters of words around or sometimes even whole words in a sentence. These verbal accidents became named after him.
Among the most famous original spoonerisms are these:
“It is kisstomary to cuss the bride.”
“The Lord is a shoving leopard” (‘loving shepherd’)
“I have in my bosom a half-warmed fish” (‘half-formed wish’)
“Go and shake a tower” (Go and take a shower)
“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.”
(George Carlin)
