January 24, 2009
The Almost-lost Art of Spoonerisms
People today aren’t as aware of this art form as the generations that came before us, but there’s something called a Spoonerism that’s entertaining in the most wacky way. Spoonerisms are fairy tales and fables, told in convoluted form. Originally invented by Reverend William Archibald Spooner, Spoonerisms involve the swapping of the first letter or phonetic sound of one word with the next word or one a few words away. For example, “lighting a fire” becomes “fighting a liar.” You can see how when this pattern is repeated and carried through an entire fairy tale, the results would be hilarious, and possibly a little confusing!