Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Origin: William Spooner (1844-1930), British university teacher who supposedly often made such mistakes

spoonerism

 noun
     
Related topics: Linguistics
spoo‧ner‧is‧m [countable]
SL a phrase in which the speaker accidentally exchanges the first sounds of two words, with a funny result, for example 'sew you to a sheet' instead of 'show you to a seat'
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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