You know how sometimes when you ’re speak , your mouthpiece is moving faster than your wit and you inevitably transpose the beginning parts of a couple of words ? You might be trying to say , " You have a intimate little nook here , " but what comes out is , " You have a prying little cook here . " There ’s a word for that : It ’s called a Spoonerism .
They ’re appoint after theReverend William Archibald Spooner , who was apparently ill-famed for his accidental paronomasia . He would only ever admit to one of them , but there have been some pretty famous and entertaining spoonerism over the years ; here are just a few of them .
1.Runny Babbit
Runny Babbit : A Billy Sookwas written by Shel Silverstein and , as the title indicates , the book is crammed full with spoonerism : " Runny Babbit lend to wunch and heard the saitress way , ' We have some endearing stabbit rew , our special for today . ' "
2. Hoober Heever
Herbert Hoover is kind of a curious name to begin with : try on saying his name 20 times without messing it up at least once . While it ’s all playfulness and plot to most of us , it can be a life history - threatening error when you ’re a radio announcer . Harry von Zell was talking about Hoover ’s life-time and times as part of a birthday tribute . After making it through a pretty lengthy script , Zell ’s tongue could take no more and he incidentally denote to the President as " Hoobert Heever . “
" Fortunately the windows were not operative , " von Zell subsequently said . " They were fixed window or I would have jumped out . " For the disc , von Zell ’s career was just hunky-dory . And technically , this is a " kniferism , " not a Spoonerism , since it reverses the middle syllables of the discussion instead of the beginning sounds .
3. Stifford Crapps
BBC announcer McDonald Hobley run into the same problem as Harry von Zell : a politician with a clapper - twister of a name . At the time , Sir Stafford Cripps was the Chancellor of the Exchequer . Imagine the embarrassment when Hobley precede him as " Stifford Crapps . “
4. Don’t Pet the Sweaty Things
George Carlin fan are likely familiar with his crack , " Do n’t sweat the petty things and do n’t pet the sweaty thing . " ( It ’s sound advice , really . )
5. Kinkering Kongs Their Titles Take
Many Spoonerisms have been impute to Reverend Spooner , but the only one he would accommodate to was this one , whichconfused the deed of conveyance of a popular hymn : " Kinkering Kongs Their Titles Take . " That should be , " subjugation baron Their Titles Take . “
6. Apostle Peale
Norman Vincent Peale was a Protestant sermonizer who was quite vocal about his dislike for Adlai Stevenson . In response , Stevenson intentionally used a Spoonerism in a speech once , saying : " Speaking as a Christian , I find the Apostle Paul invoke and the Apostle Peale dismaying . “
7. Rindercella
Archie Campbell , a author and the wiz of the long - running assortment showHee Haw , loved to use Spoonerisms in skit on the show . One of the most far-famed ones was Campbell ’s telling of RinderCella : a girl who slopped her dripper , of course of study . There was also beep Sleauty .
8. Bass-Ackwards
Abraham Lincoln was quite fond of paronomasia . He once wrote in a varsity letter , " He said he was riding bass - ackwards on a jass - ack through a patton - crotch " ( though we do n’t know whether Lincoln came up with that himself or was actually quote someone ) .
9. The Canadian Broadcorping Castration
This one is somewhat of an urban caption . It ’s never been recorded except on a record book record album calledPardon My Blooper , but it was recreated for the album and not recorded from the original alleged mishap . genuine or not , the joke that someone once said live on the air that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was " the Canadian Broadcorping Castration " struck a chord with masses ; the poor CBC is sometimes still referred to as such .
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