spoon·er·ism
(spo͞o′nə-rĭz′əm)n. A transposition of sounds of two or more words, especially a ludicrous one, such as Let me sew you to your sheet for Let me show you to your seat.
[After William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), British cleric and scholar.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
spoonerism
(ˈspuːnəˌrɪzəm) n (Linguistics) the transposition of the initial consonants or consonant clusters of a pair of words, often resulting in an amusing ambiguity of meaning, such as hush my brat for brush my hat
[C20: named after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman renowned for slips of this kind]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
spoon•er•ism
(ˈspu nəˌrɪz əm)
n. the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow.
[1895–1900; after W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), English clergyman noted for such slips]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Spoonerism
the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as “queer dean” for “dear Queen.” [After the Rev. W. A. Spooner, 1844-1930, noted for such slips.] — spoonerize, v.
See also: Language-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
spoonerism
The unintentional, often ludicrous, transposition of the opening sounds of two or more words, as in “tons of soil” instead of “sons of toil;” named for W.A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English clergyman renowned for doing this.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited