Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
|
Does your English Dictionary give you the help you need? We publish dictionaries for people learning English all over the world. |
Definition
spoonerism noun
/ˈspuː.nər.ɪ.zəm/
/-nɚ-/ n [C]
/-nɚ-/ n [C] a mistake made when speaking in which the first sounds of two words are exchanged with each other to produce a not intended and usually funny meaning
The Reverend William Spooner used to produce spoonerisms such as 'a scoop of boy trouts', instead of what he had meant to say - 'a troop of boy scouts'.
(Definition of spoonerism noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
