Spoonerisms are words or phrases in which letters or syllables get swapped. This often happens accidentally in slips of the tongue (or tips of the slung as Spoonerisms are often affectionately called!):
- Tease my ears (Ease my tears)
- A lack of pies (A pack of lies)
- It's roaring with pain (It's pouring with rain)
- Wave the sails (Save the whales)
A spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis), named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency.
Rude Spoonerisms[edit]
Try reading these out loud, but not within earshot of your grandmother... just in case!
- The acrobats displayed some cunning stunts.
- Sir, you are certainly a shining wit.
- He fills her soul with hope.
- It's the Tale of Two Cities.
- Have you brought your sleeping bag?
- She is sure pretty.
- Have you seen her sick duck?
- Oh, the suffering of purgery on my soul!
- He's not a pheasant plucker.
- She showed me her tool kits.
- He's a smart fella.
- A hot pie would make me happy.
- Fire truck.
- Overhead door.