Word of the Day

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Another Sunday, and the holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and that means Christmas... yikes! Did the year speed by?  It's a good thing we have our word of the day to keep us centered on today, so just write something using today's word and post it in the comments.  

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Spoonerism

[SPOO-nə-riz-əm]Part of speech: noun

Origin: english, 1921

• A transposition of the initial letters of two words
• Any error in speech that swaps two syllables between two words

Examples of Spoonerism in a sentence

• He was so nervous to give his speech that he started out with the spoonerism, 'Welcome, fear dends.'
• If you’re speaking too quickly you might stumble over your words and utter a spoonerism.

Popularity Over Time

About Spoonerism

A slip of the tongue is an idiom for a mistake made while speaking, or when you say something you’re not supposed to reveal. A spoonerism is a specific type of a slip of the tongue. It happens when two sounds, usually at the beginning of two words, are swapped. For example, “know your blose” instead of “blow your nose” would be a spoonerism.

Did you Know?

The word "spoonerism" was inspired by the Reverend William Archibald Spooner. The 19th-century Oxford don was known for switching the first sounds of his words, hence the creation of the term. Many of the spoonerisms attributed to the reverend are thought to be apocryphal, but they’re still funny: “Three cheers for our queer old dean!” Oops! Sorry, Queen Victoria.

Comments

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

Napoleon Solo smiled and hummed to himself, his gaze wandering aimlessly around medical, unable to focus on one thing for any length of time. The medical personnel were doing their best not to laugh out loud. It was unknown what drug THRUSH had pumped into the CEA, nor how he escaped from their clutches. Napoleon had shown up on the steps of De Floria's, high as a kite and relatively unharmed. Illya tried again to get Napoleon to answer him. "How did you get away Napoleon?"
"It was a blushing crow! and, and a well boiled icicle!" The doctor snickered.
Illya sighed and tried again, "How did you escape again?"
"A blushing crow to his head, and and and.....
"Yes my friend, a well boiled icicle..I know."
The Doctor laughed out loud "This is a first, a THRUSH drug that causes spoonerisms!"