spoonerism
A play on words on a phrase in which the initial sounds of two or more of the main…A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed.
» "One swell foop" is a Spoonerism, "the flaw in the ointment" is a Farberism.
Meaning
1 senses(rhetoric)A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed.
спунери́змspunerízm, спунери́змspunɛrízm, каламбу́рkalambúr
transposition of initial consonants in a pair of words
Examples
1 sentences"One swell foop" is a Spoonerism, "the flaw in the ointment" is a Farberism.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Spooner + -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supFrom Spooner + -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups.
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