#spoonerisms

[anotherknifeinmyhands]

[lingthusiasm]

Bonus 88: Linguistic mixups - spoonerisms, mondegreens, and eggcorns

Have you ever misheard a song lyric like "got a long list of ex-lovers" as "Starbucks lovers"? Or maybe you've swapped some sounds around like "well-boiled icicle" for "well-oiled bicycle" or seen Alzheimer's Disease referred to by the more sensical, similar-sounding name "Old-timer's Disease". Mixups like these are not only fun to share examples of, but they also tell us things about how language works in our brains.

In this bonus episode of (ahem) Thing-Lusiasm, Lauren and Gretchen get enthusiastic about three of our favourite kinds of linguistic mixups: spoonerisms, mondegreens, and eggcorns. We talk about William Spooner, the Oxford prof from the 1800s that many spoonerisms are (falsely) attributed to, Lauren's very Australian 90s picture book of spoonerisms, the Scottish song "The Bonny Earl of Moray" which gave rise to the term mondegreen, why there are so many more mondegreens in older pop songs and folk songs than there are now, and how eggcorn is a double eggcorn (a mis-parsing of acorn, which itself is an eggcorn of oak-corn for akern). Listen to this episode about our favourite kinds of linguistic mixups, and get access to many more bonus episodes by supporting Lingthusiasm on Patreon.

[harringrieve]

I feel so petty, but I’ve fully closed out of fics that have Steve’s dyslexia described as “letters moving/dancing around on the page”and nothing else.

Like VERY few dyslexic people experience that type of visual stress, and when they do it’s not even like what people are describing, which is more closely related to irlens syndrome than dyslexia (related, but not at all the same thing)

I fully didn’t even get diagnosed until WELL into my late 20s bc that’s how I always see it depicted or described in media, and I didn’t have that so OBVIOUSLY I’m not dyslexic. I feel like people just write it like how it was in the first percy Jackson movie or smth, the way they describe it in fics, and it’s really annoying ngl

And I say this as someone w ALL the damn comorbid disabilities and disorders people write this man with as a headcanon (adhd/asd/dyslexia/dysgraphia/ocd tendencies/etc)

[voidingintotheshout]

…and I’m Spoonerism enthusiast Mulia Jorris

A gem of a woman. A gem!

[hindbodes]

Omg, "Junk Mail" might have the best Spoonerism ever. It changes to FUCKING MONK JAIL.

[scurviesdisneyblog]

Visual development for Treasure Planet (2002) by Michael Spooner

[batmasterson]

Frewer's Phrictionary of Daze & Babel

I’ve started pronouncing “Zebra” like a twat. “Twat”, also.

If you’re in the market for a good disposable fountain pen (and who isn’t these days?), I can definitely tell you I’ve tried a new one lately. Hold up. Thing is, right, I said to myself that I wanted to use up all this paper I have in the office so the trees will not have been sacrificed in vain. It’s noble of me, really. And while I love my fountain pens (and want to use them so that the celluloid and iridium wells will not have been tapped in vain), it’d be a bugger if one of these pricey ink-slingers got dropped in a wood chipper, say. Or an unfortunate amount of blood.

So I picked up a Pilot Varsity from Maido, because those are just adorable. (Why didn’t I just put some of this frankly overwhelming collection of bottled inks into one of my many, many refillable cheap-ass Preppies or the like? Because I do want the ink mines depleted in vain. It’s a long story, or it will be, if I can get through this obstinate parenthetical.) The Varsity, though, had a thicker line than I really wanted for the type of notepads I’m secreting about my person. I decided to push the boat out a bit.

Lo, Jetpens! and the remarkably named Zebra Zensation. (This parenthetical, less obstinate, is to let you know that the review linked there is much more straightforward than this one. Which is not a review. Hold up.) I like the Zebra Sarasa gel pens, but I’ve had piss-poor experiences with the nasty office supply store cartridge Zebra fountain pens that have come my way. These looked pretty groovy, though, and I got one in black because it won’t reflect in the searchlight when I like to check a baseline pen performance. Reader, it wrote like a fucking charm of grace and precision. Lovely. Simple. You can take it anywhere. Click goes the cap. Bang go the words. Brilliant. I promptly lost the fucker within a week.

waning Gait and my bink keeps sacking up

It’s good to be alive though, innit? I ordered a second Zensation pen and Doctor Who is back on, again. Double meaning.

And hey, look at that! Someone’s just dropped of some Strange New Star Trek in my belfry. Too bad I’ve got so much “taking care of my life” going these days. Time, Fire, Mars, and Ahab!

Gallifrey One tickets still available

I don’t know. Who knows anything?

[urban-surfin]

Blues and Jazz Fest = Blahs and Jews Fest

Jazz and Ribs Fest = Razz and Fibs Jest

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Hey Frank, can you give us some examples of your favorite spoonerisms (and other forms of wordplay, if you feel so inclined?)

My favorite spoonerism isn't really something I can "give examples of." It's an entire genre of entertaining nonsense poetry, and there are tons of examples all over the Internet.

Here's an example of a spoonerism (the term comes from William A. Spooner) that I wrote and have posted on Tumblr:

She was a vulgar-ass bitch

Some of my favorite phrases I've found on Tumblr and elsewhere are also spoonerisms -- "the pigeon is a great tumulist" and "a pigeon is a great limp-wristed toast-and-butter man" come to mind, and then there's the classic "Why Won't the Army Give Me a Menial Opportunity?" I made a playlist of good examples a while ago.

There are also some nice examples at Wikipedia's Nonce Word page

[i8i8t]

Fairilee Amazia or Merrily Aphasia?

[coquelicoq]

one of these days i am going to get herman melville's name right on the first try. i am going to say "herman", and then i'm going to say "melville", and i'm not going to have to stop myself in the middle of "merman hellville" and start over. not today, though. but hopefully soon. maybe tomorrow.

[detroitlib]

Close-up view of a man, wearing a fur coat and holding a cat, posing in an automobile. Stamped on back: "Spooner & Wells, Inc., photographers, telephones 3472-3473 Columbus, 1931 Broadway, New York." Handwritten on back: "Clothing, 1912."

Lazarnick Collection

National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

[prettyfamous]

From Black Punk Now, edited by Chris L Terry & James Spooner, Soft Skull Press

[pwhl-mybeloved]

excuse the blurriness of this screenshot I just wanted to immortalize these numbers

[adelphenium]

thank you for the wonderful first season, pwhl toronto -- wishing all the best for spooner💙🩵🤍

[forbeswho]

Legends on Twitter