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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Spoonerisms, anyone?

First, you need to know that a spoonerism is an unfortunate funny statement that can occur when you transpose initial sounds in a pair of words. Example: "The Lord is a shoving leopard ['loving shepherd']." And: It is kisstomary to cuss ['customary to kiss'] the bride." The term, spoonerism, comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. The above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him. But Spoonerisms aren't exclusive to the padre. Diana Malloy once meant to compliment a "smart feller" for his wall of academic degrees, with disastrous results. Have you ever uttered a Spoonerism?

DFO: Newcomer Harry Cooley scores first with this excellent Spoonerism: "This is so funny! My boss just caught me using the company internet, asked me what I was looking at and I said my daily dose of 'Buckle Herries'!"



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.