As a matter of fact, someone became famous because of his slip of the tongue. Reverend William A. Spooner said "foon and spork" instead of "spoon and fork." As a result, his name is immortalised to describe this play of words when the speaker transposes the corresponding consonants, vowels or morphemes. Till today, this play of words is known as "spoonerism."
Some examples of spoonerisms I find funny with what the person actually wanted to say in bold:
- May I sew you another sheet? (May I show you another seat?)
- Shake a tower. (Take a shower.)
- Well-boiled icicle. (Well-oiled bicycle.)
- He gave the man a blushing crow. (He gave the man a crushing blow.)
- I have a half-warmed fish in my mind. (I have a half-farmed wish in my mind.)
- Talking wall. (Walking tall.)
- The wrestler gave him a hair bug. (The wrestler gave him a bear hug.)
- Paving the way for everyone. (Waiving the pay for everyone.)
Oh, 22nd July is designated as Spoonerism Day. I never knew that. So do we have to talk spoonerish on that day? Hmmm...
6 comments:
Hi :o)
Blog-hopped from Idham's blog.
This is an interesting entry and funny too ... never knew about spoonerisms hehehe
Now I'll be looking out for it (more of listening for it) :o)
Welcome Syana. Never knew abt spoonerisms myself until quite recently. Glad u liked the entry. Come back again, ya?
So it's called spoonerism eh? Bukan dyslexia ek... hehe. Anyway, my bro used to tunggang-terbalikkan words when he was little, so cute the way he says 'toskin', 'hopistal' and 'gafru' :-)
Not too sure about the difference between dyslexia and spoonerism. Cuma I think dyslexia is a medical condition while spoonerism has now become a wordplay. About ur bro tunggang-terbalikkan words, I think that's about true with most young children. While my son hasn't done so, I've a nephew who said "toskin" though.
Interesting... reminded me of a phrase made by one of our partners speaking on work life balance to our team... he said something about everybody wants to go home and spend time to "play with the plants and water the dog"... Gosh I giggled till I fell off my chair
Ermmm.. how do you "play" with your plants I wonder?
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