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Have you ever gone out on your lunch break and had a particularly disappointing meal? Perhaps you were inspired to sing a sad ballad about that bad salad. Forgive us — that’s not a bad pun, but an example of a spoonerism. This type of wordplay is “a transposition of usually initial sounds of two or more words.” In other words, it involves mixing up the starting sounds to produce an often-humorous result, such as “sad ballad” being derived from “bad salad.”
The word “spoonerism” is named for William Archibald Spooner, a British clergyman and educator who lived from 1844 to 1930. He’s credited with coming up with the concept and coining many famous spoonerisms, though it’s an open question whether the transpositions were an intentional creation. Some say that Spooner would get nervous and make these slips of the tongue when speaking in public. Others claim his students leaned into the bit and came up with many spoonerisms themselves, which are now attributed to Spooner himself. In either case, the term “spoonerism” was coined as early as 1885. Here are a few fun examples.
Whether these spoonerisms were actually uttered by Spooner or simply attributed to the man later on, they’ve since become synonymous with his legacy.
Spoonerism: Weight of rages
Correct: Rate of wages
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Spooner once said, “The weight of rages will press harder and harder upon the employer.” While he meant to say, “The rate of wages will press harder and harder upon the employer,” it’s entirely possible for both to be true if employers don’t keep their employees happy.
Spoonerism: Queer old dean
Correct: Dear old queen
No, Spooner wasn’t talking about an odd dean of the college he taught at; he was speaking about Queen Victoria. Though the story may be apocryphal, Spooner once delivered a toast to the queen in which he purportedly said, “Three cheers for our queer old dean!”
Spoonerism: Hags flung out
Correct: Flags hung out
When discussing the return of British soldiers after World War I, Spooner is said to have told his students, “When our boys come home from France, we will have the hags flung out.” We’d venture to guess that he was likely talking about the Union Jack flag, instead of suggesting that people would be hurling witches out of windows.
Spoonerism: Shoving leopard
Correct: Loving shepherd
While there are many versions of the Bible, we’re pretty sure there aren’t any that refer to God as a “shoving leopard.” Yet, it’s claimed that Spooner once told his parishioners, “Our Lord is a shoving leopard” (instead of a “loving shepherd”). While God is said to be all-powerful, we’ve never heard about the ability to transform into a big, powerful cat.
Spoonerism: Kisstomary to cuss the bride
Correct: Customary to kiss the bride
On her big day, it’s probably a good idea not to cuss out the bride. But don’t tell that to Spooner, as one of his most well-known attributions goes: “It is kisstomary to cuss the bride.” Let’s hope the groom didn’t listen, or else he might be sleeping on the couch on his wedding night.
Not all spoonerisms are associated with their namesake. Many authors have come up with spoonerisms of their own — some intentionally and others by mistake.
Spoonerism: Hoobert Heever
Correct: Herbert Hoover
In 1931, radio host Harry von Zell famously referred to then-President Herbert Hoover as “Hoobert Heever.” The broadcaster was reading a scripted tribute for the president’s birthday when he made the famous flub. Later, von Zell explained that he “was very nervous,” and thought his career might have “ended right there in that one incident.”
Spoonerism: Bass-ackwards on a jass-ack
Correct: A**-backwards on a jacka**
Presidents and spoonerisms seem to go together. Look no further than this 19th-century letter penned by President Abraham Lincoln. While Lincoln lived before the term “spoonerism” was coined, he seems to have been quite familiar with this bit of wordplay. The letter reads as follows: “He said he was riding bass-ackwards on a jass-ack, through a patton-crotch, on a pair of battle-sags, stuffed full of binger-gred, when the animal steered at a scump… he fell right in a great tow-curd.”
Spoonerism: Runny Babbit
Correct: Bunny Rabbit
Children’s author Shel Silverstein wrote an entire book of spoonerisms titled Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook. The work, published posthumously in 2005, follows the adventures of the title character and his friends Toe Jurtle, Skertie Gunk, Rirty Dat, Dungry Hog, and Snerry Jake.
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