A couple of days ago I shared part of a list of delightful spoonerisms a friend and I collected while working in the same place and which reduced us to hysterical giggles in team meetings. Here are another selection I first posted a while ago:
This still makes me chuckle:
Many years ago when I had a day job, there was a member of the team, a senior member who was a lovely person but had a tendency to mix metaphors, adopt Mr Spooner’s way of expressing herself, and generally not always hear what was coming out of their mouth! I know I have shared some of these before, but I can’t help but laugh when I look at them again.
I haven’t include the most spectacular flights of linguistic creativeness ( “a gunpowder plot boy” – who knows what was meant? An anarchist? He liked playing with fire? Who now knows?) but here is just a selection:
- Bend over backwards and make a rod for your own back
- Bushy eyed and bright tailed
- Can’t see the light for the trees
- Handed a spoon to redeem himself
- He sets himself up as a tangent
- I don’t want this to go between these two walls
- It’s good to have bolts and braces
- Lying out of his seat
- Oh that old cherry (chestnut)
- Smoke on your face (egg on your face)
- Speaking hand on head
- That was a bit below the table (below the belt)
- The ears have walls
- Thorn in the ointment
- You could cut the ice with a knife
Lois Elsden 