Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [spoo-nuh-riz-uh m]
- /ˈspu nəˌrɪz əm/
- /ˈspuː.nə.rɪ.zəm/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [spoo-nuh-riz-uh m]
- /ˈspu nəˌrɪz əm/
Definitions of spoonerism word
- noun spoonerism the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow. 1
- noun spoonerism comical pronunciation error 1
- countable noun spoonerism A spoonerism is a mistake made by a speaker in which the first sounds of two words are changed over, often with a humorous result, for example when someone says 'wrong load' instead of 'long road'. 0
- noun spoonerism 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 0
- noun spoonerism an unintentional interchange of sounds, usually initial sounds, in two or more words (Ex.: “a well-boiled icicle” for “a well-oiled bicycle”) 0
Information block about the term
Origin of spoonerism
First appearance:
before 1895 One of the 18% newest English words
1895-1900; after W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), English clergyman noted for such slips; see -ism
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Spoonerism
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
spoonerism popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 51% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
spoonerism usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for spoonerism
noun spoonerism
- lapsus linguae — a slip of the tongue.
- misspeaking — (obsolete) Speaking ill; defamation, slander.
Top questions with spoonerism
- what is spoonerism?
- what is a spoonerism?
- what does spoonerism mean?
See also
Matching words
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- Words starting with spoonerism