Spoonerisms are phrases, sentences, or words in language with swapped sounds. Usually this happens by accident, particularly if you're speaking fast. Come and wook out of the lindow is an example.
Of course, there are many millions of possible Spoonerisms, but those which are of most interest (mainly for their amusement value) are the ones in which the Spoonerism makes sense as well as the original phrase. Go and shake a tower and a well-boiled icicle illustrate this well (go and take a shower, a well-oiled bicycle).
Since Spoonerisms are phonetic transpositions, it is not so much the letters which are swapped as the sounds themselves. Transposing initial consonants in the speed of light gives the leed of spight which is clearly meaningless when written, but phonetically it becomes the lead of spite.
It is not restricted simply to the transposition of individual sounds; whole words or large parts of words may be swapped: to gap the bridge and manahuman soup (to bridge the gap, superhuman man). And sounds within a word may be transposed to form a Spoonerism too, as in crinimal and cerely (criminal, celery). It is not uncommon for Spoonerisms of this type to be created unintentionally.
Generally Spoonerisms which are produced accidentally are transpositions between words that resemble one another phonetically, such as cuss and kiddle and slow and sneet (kiss and cuddle, snow and sleet).
The name Spoonerism comes from the Reverend William Archibald Spooner who is reputed to have been particularly prone to making this type of verbal slip.
List of Spoonerism is given below:
SL.No |
Spoonerism |
Correct Phrases |
1 |
Tease my ears |
Ease my tears |
2 |
A lack of pies |
A pack of lies |
3 |
It's roaring with pain |
It's pouring with rain |
4 |
Wave the sails |
Save the whales |
5 |
Cat flap |
Flat cap |
6 |
Bad salad |
Sad ballad |
7 |
Soap in your hole |
Hope in your soul |
8 |
Mean as custard |
Keen as mustard |
9 |
Plaster man |
Master plan |
10 |
Pleating and humming |
Heating and plumbing |
11 |
Trim your snow tail |
Trim your toe nails |
12 |
Birthington's washday |
Washington's Birthday |
13 |
Trail snacks |
Snail tracks |
14 |
Sale of two titties |
Tale of two cities |
15 |
Rental Deceptionist |
Dental Receptionist |
16 |
Flock of bats |
Block of flats |
17 |
Chewing the doors |
Doing the chores |
18 |
Fighting a liar |
Lighting a fire |
19 |
You hissed my mystery lecture |
You missed my history lecture |
20 |
Cattle ships and bruisers |
Battle ships and cruisers |
21 |
Nosey little cook |
Cosy little nook |
22 |
A blushing crow |
A crushing blow |
23 |
Tons of soil |
Sons of toil |
24 |
Our queer old Dean |
Our dear old Queen |
25 |
We'll have the hags flung out |
We'll have the flags hung out |
26 |
You've tasted two worms |
You've wasted two terms |
27 |
Our shoving leopard |
Our loving shepherd |
28 |
A half-warmed fish |
A half-formed wish |
29 |
Is the bean dizzy? |
Is the Dean busy? |