Spoonerisms- named for the Rev. William Spooner, who actually claimed to have only made one spoonerism in his life (calling a hymn "The Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take"). At it's simplest, it's simply mixing up the first letter or sound of two words, so that
Hilarity Ensues. It's generally meant to appear accidental, either as a result of falking too tast, or tea many martoonis.
It can also, as in that last example, involve mixing up sounds from the middles or ends of words. (This is also known as Kniferism and Forkerism.) It can also involve more than two words, tut bat's amfully awbitious true thigh.
Extra points if the spoonerism still makes sense, just not the sense you would want to make. Spoonerisms can also be used by cunning writers as a form of
Getting Crap Past The Radar.
Characters who speak entirely in these are likely to become
Verbal Ticked. See also
Malaproper.
Examples:
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty had the famous "Fission Mailed" sequence.
- Referred to in Monty Python's "Man who Speaks Entirely in Anagrams" sketch:
Interviewer: Ring Kichard the Thrid? Surely that's not an anagram, it's a spoonerism.
Man who etc: If you're gonna split hairs I'm gonna piss off. (exit)
- Ronnie Barker played the Reverend Spooner (after whom spoonerisms were named) in at least two Two Ronnies sketches.
- BBC Radio's The Burkiss Way had a throwaway line about Friar Tuck being threatened with a spoonerism.
- On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart described something as a "cunch to the punt," after hearing about someone who criticized someone for saying "ass backwards" instead of "bass ackwards." He immediately wished he had said "a dunch to the pick."
- Kenny Everett had a character called Cupid Stunt, although for understandable reasons her surname never appeared in official BBC publicity.
- The Capitol Steps partake of this fairly regularly with their "Lirty Dies." However, some of them can get a little blue thanks to the switches:
Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you the story of Two Thousand Eight and the Road to the Election. *pause* Let me start that all over again . . . Jadies and lentilmen, let me stell you the tory of Ooh Thousand Twate and the Load to the Erection.
- A quirky scientist character in one of Don Rosa's old comics (who invents a universal solvent, which would later be recycled in an Uncle Scrooge story) speaks in near-constant spoonerisms. This becomes particularly embarrasing when he tries to call the president a "smart fella".
- In Action, when Peter's character finds out his ex-wife is pregnant with his baby while bearding for a closeted gay film executive. ...she tells him he can't tell anyone:
Ex-wife: Peter, my husband doesn't want the world to know that you perform all of his vaginal stunts.
Peter: And what a
cunning stunt you are.
- The book The Big Joke Game had fun with Spoonerism.
- Shel Silverstein wrote an entire book around this concept: Runny Babbit.
- Prinderella & The Cince
by Tom Callinan:
Sure she lived in a big HARK DOUSE with her mean old MEP STOTHER and her two SISTY UGLERS and they made her do all the WORDY DIRK while they sat around CHEATING OCKLATES and MAGGING READAZINES....The next day [the prince] went from house to house
but you can't turn that around.
- In Tom Stoppard's On The Razzle (which is an adaptation of Johann Nestroy's Einen Jux will er sich machen, which was also adapted by Thorton Wilder as The Matchmaker, which was adapted by Michael Stewart And Jerry Herman as Hello Dolly!...where was I? Oh, yes...) Zangler, the shop owner does this regulary, usually, but not always correcting himself. Par Exemplum...
Do you suppose I'd let my airedale be hounded up hill and-my heiress be mounted up hill and bank by a truffle-hound-be trifled with by a mountebank?
- Or, he is helped out by another...
Zangler: ...this is the first time Madame Knorr has had the privilige of being swept round the heap of my camp fire.
Christopher: That's very well put, chief.
Zangler: I don't mean the heap of my camp fire.
Christopher: Humped round the scene of your memoirs?
Zangler: No.
Christopher: Squired round the hub of your empire?
Zangler: That's the boy!
- Either Dorothy Parker, Tom Waits, or WC Fields said "I'd rather have a bottle in front or me than a frontal lobotomy."
- Which Dean Martin developed into "I would rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy."
- Radio announcer Harry von Zell referred to the president as "Hoobert Heever".
- In an episode of Xena Warrior Princess, bar harlot Meg poses as Xena and attempts to threaten a group of guards with her trusty... shamrock.
