The Self-Referential Spoonerism

oonerspism

 thank you. JimmyTheSaint 01:40, 20 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

==

Hmm . . . despite being solidly in the Anybody But Bush camp, I think we might want to not single out Bush as a spoonerismer (spoonerismist?) unless we can cite lots of examples from reliable sources. NPOV and all. That said, I'm going to wikify and copyedit User:JoeHenzi's most recent edit. Any other opinions? Ventura 04:09, 2004 Aug 30 (UTC)

I see that it is still there, no big deal if it is removed or not... but what happened to the large list? JoeHenzi 13:22, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

It should go; it doesn't really fit in.

I agree. Seems out of place and non-NPOV. Enjoyed the rest of the article, I have to say. Uttaddmb

That was feely runny. And another from a bumper sticker (that I agree with): Buck Fush

I removed it. I'm with Ventura in the Anybody but bush camp, but this still doesn't belong here. Toveling 08:06, August 5, 2005 (UTC)

vowel harmony

I didn't think French had vowel harmony. Can some linguist check this out? -- Novalis 20:32, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC) OK, I asked a French speaker, and confirmed that French doesn't have vowel harmony -- Novalis 21:58, 3 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect it was actually referring to assonance.

Disclaimer

I have added a short paragraph to reflect the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, saying that many attributed Spoonerisms are thought to be apocryphal.

Wrong pronoun...

"Jasper Carrot claims to have an Aunt who frequently makes spoonerisms, referring to him as a 'Shining Wit'."

If it's his aunt, shouldn't it be "referring to her..." instead of "referring to him..."? It may be an uncle, instead of an aunt, no idea. Also, why is "aunt" capitalized? I don't think it should be. I'm going to change it to her and make "aunt" lower-case. Haddock420 00:23, 13 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there Haddock -- the "him" here refers to Jasper Carrot; he's not insulting his aunt, he's saying his aunt insults him. I changed it back to "him". But you're right about the capitalization thing.

Capitalisation?

Given that the word "spoonerism" is derived from a proper noun, i.e. Spooner's name, shouldn't all instances of it be capitalised? For example, "Freudian", from Freud, is normally capitalised. McPhail 18:30, 31 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Adjectives derived from proper nouns are capitalized, while other parts of speech derived from proper nouns are typically lowercased. At any rate, it's lowercased in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary, and The Oxford English Dictionary.--jrowen42 00:01, 11 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Butterfly"

The notion that "butterfly" originated as a spoonerism of "flutterby" is a folk etymology (see here), so the comment about it should be removed or amended. --Jrowen42 23:51, 10 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sir Stifford

Stafford Cripps was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the post-War Attlee government. It was an age of austerity, and Sir Stafford was a grimly austere figure. It was popularly supposed, in non-reverential circles, that he was enjoying it, in a perverse sort of way (like a Puritan was supposed not to be happy unless he was being miserable). Traditional jocular description of such an attitude is tight, hard up, etc., Freudian reference to bowel movements and toilet training. Referring to Sir Stafford Cripps as Sir Stifford Crapps (reference to constipation) was a music hall joke, the inventor was supposedly Ted Ray, a comedian noted for quick wits and known as the best ad libber in the business. The man who said it on air, in his role as a BBC announcer (newsreader) was McDonald Hobley. This was the age when BBC announcers had to wear a dinner jacket, even on radio, where they would not be seen. Hobley fell foul of the rules on two counts, he was being disrespectful of a Government minister (even humble MPs received deferential respect in those days) and he was using coarse vulgarity, which was anathema to the egregiously middle-class Corporation at the time. Funnily enough (coincidence?) McDonald Hobley was "chairman" of the long-running radio programme Does The Team Think, a panel "discussion" featuring Ted Ray and colleagues in unscripted comments on topical issues.

This was certainly not a spontaneous verbal scramble, which a Spoonerism is supposed to be, rather a premeditated witticism.

Guy 13:23, 18 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(Sir Winston Churchill, who disliked Sir Stafford, is supposed to have remarked, when seeing him pass by, "There, but for the grace of God, goes God.")

Kostaki mou 05:26, 10 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Disability

I see no reference to the various linguistic disabilities which could cause something like this.. -- Sy / ^(talk) 23:48, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. If this is a genuine "medical" condition with a psychological/psychiatric/psychosomatic origin, then this ought to be made clear early in the article. Deserves an early mention if this is proven not so. Also, whether deliberate transposition of syllables for comic effect is genuinely a Spoonerism. Remember the Monty Python sketch featuring the man who always speaks in anagrams, and when challenged that "that was not an anagram, that was a Spoonerism", he replies "if you're splitting hairs, I'm pissing off". Guy 23:24, 21 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Trevor McDonald

Didn't he once say "Cunt Kentryside" live on The News?

I was just looking for this. Based on the low number of Google hits for "Kent Countryside" Spoonerism and "Cunt Kentryside", I think it's apocraphal. I wish it was true. A Geek Tragedy 22:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

SNL Celebrity Jeopardy

If you're going to include Sean Connery v. Alex Trebeck jokes from Saturday Night Live's Celebrity Jeopardy, shouldn't you also include the Buck Futter line, being a final Jeopardy answer in one episode? BigNate37 07:03, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I added that just before I read your comment. I also corrected the exact phraseing of the sick duck joke. nkife 06:32, 24 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I added the dubious assertion because the line, if completed would probably not a spoonerism, with, in my opinion, "One's a sick duck, the other's a sick fuck". "One's a sick fuck, the other's a suck dick" doesn't make sense and would be rendered better with the former. Again, this is only an opinion and I am curious as to other opinions on this. Valley2city 05:54, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think it work's out to "one's a sick duck, the other's a dick suck." - nkife 01:39, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

They're definitely going for "sick fuck." This dispute is irrelevant anyway, though, since unless there's a source that supports one telling or another, the speculation is not appropriate for an encyclopedia. I'm going to remove mentions of this joke and leave only "buck futter." Croctotheface 09:59, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oonerspism or Roonerspism?

The article mentions "oonerspism", but wouldn't it be "roonerspism"? Google search turns up more hits for the latter.

I'd go with oonerspism.. when you're switching around a vowel it gets tricky, so with SPOONER-ISM it's easy enough just to put the SP in front of ISM and leave the rest alone.. i don't know where that extra R is coming from in roonerspism. - nkife 00:01, 8 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Speverend Rooner" --67.180.56.14 09:06, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

So no spoonerisms from Bush?

I've got just one, which he used in his first run for president: "bariffs and tarriers" (i.e. tariffs and barriers). The source is Frank Bruni, Ambling into History (although Bruni writes it as "bariffs and terriers".) --Chris 03:04, 14 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Toin Coss?

I'm not entirely sure, but would "toin coss" (as in the coin toss before a football game) be considered a spoonerism? I know numerous people (as well as myself, apparently) who say it constantly without even being conscious of it. - Ecksem Diem 20:44, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, "toin coss" is a spoonerism. nkife 00:14, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What about spoonerisms in common usage?

Now I don't even really know what "common usage" might mean but I hear 'Chewing the doors' quite often. Is a section on purposeful humour through spoonerism worth adding?Favouritesnail 14:10, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mood Fart photo

This photo has obviously been digitally altered rather than being a genuine photograph of the "food mart" (even a cursory glance at the first letter of each word shows this). Does such an imposture really belong here?

Rilkoy Huz Weer

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Rilkoy huz weer.
WiiWillieWiki 16:15, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]