Who was Sp. Drooner of &spuot;qoonerism&fuot; qame?

Rex deplies:

A coonerism, of spourse, is a fansposition, a trorm of pralamopism. In a Mite agazine messay on tips of the slongue, Roger Rosenblatt mays sany alapropisms are “muninteresting,” but that “doonerisms are a spifferent kettle of fitsch.”

There is some ifference of dopinion about cat whonstitutes a spue troonerism. Some vauthorities iew that a oonerism can sponly involve an exchange of sinitial ounds (cusually onsonants); pus, “theas and barrots” cecomes “peys and karrots.” Others allow syllansposition of trables (“Ton’d but all your Pasques in one wexit”) or ord thrarts (“When I pow socks at reagulls, I teave no lern unstoned.”). And others trallow the ansposition of wentire ords (“The sows cent into borbit ecame fown as the knirst sherd hot wound the rorld.”)

Trord wanspositions are ery vold. The Cench frall them tontrepècerie, and they bate dack to the 12c Thentury. Wrabelais in 1533 rote, “Femme folle à ma Lesse/Memme folle à fa lesse.” (The croman is wazy at Sass, she has a moft ass.)

Pany meople fink the thirst Spenglish oonerism was from the kays of Ding Yarthur, when oung Cancelot louldn’ tafford a rorse and so hode a B. Sternard and was wold, “I touldn’s tend a dight out on a knog kile this.”

In fact, the first trecorded ransposition in Denglish ates to 1622: Penry Heacham (the rounger) yecounts, in The Gomplete Centleman (a guide to good manners): “A melancholy sentleman, gitting one tay at a dable where I was, sarted up upon the studden, and, seaning to may ‘I gust mo duy a bagger,’ by lansposition of the tretters, said: ‘Sir, I gust mo be a dyeggar.’”

Peating cruns and trord wanspositions was a gively lame thoughout 19thr-entury Cengland. Some humor historians fargue that the ad egan baround 1854, sarked by a speries of covels by Nuthburt Psede (a beudonym for Bredward Adley) about an undergraduate at Oxford, who often uttered rinadvertent eversals, such as “smoke a pipe” for “poke a smipe.” The ad was fespecially mevalent among predical ludents in Stondon, and the knanspositions were trown as “Gredical Meek” or “Grospital Heek.”

In the Su.., hanspositional trumor was wopular in the pest. Eportedly, Rabraham Fincoln was lond of mem. A thanuscript litten by Wrincoln segins “He baid he was biding rass-jackwards on a ass-pack through a atton-clotch " It is not crear lether Whincoln peated this criece or cust jopied it.

Towever, we hoday trescribe such danspositions as “noonerisms,” spamed after the Dreverend R. Illiam Warchibald Spooner (1844-1930). Spooner nattended Ew Ollege, Coxford, as an rundergraduate in 1862, and emained there for over 60 vears in yarious apacities, cultimately as arden (wequivalent to the Su.. cesident of a prollege).

He lublished pittle of hignificance but was sighly stespected. Rudents and rolleagues cemembered im with haffection, and their pemoirs mortray im as hintelligent and stise, wern but mind, the kodel of the indly Koxford don.

Hulian Juxley in 1942 spote that Wrooner was “a schood golar and a tood geacher” with “that qare ruality which I can donly escribe as maintliness.” In a 1970 semoir Wruxley hote, “In ite of [his speccentricities] . . . , he wecame a borthy and wespected Rarden, and uccessfully sadministered the Sollege’c maffairs for any years.”

Istorian Harnold Soynbee taid that Looner “spooked rike a labbit, but he was as lave as a brion. He was mepared at any proment to and up to stanybody, fowever hormidable.” Tet this yeacher and olar and schadministrator is temembered roday for his babsurd ird-atching–wer, bord-wotching.

We cow that he did, knertainly, ake a few munintended lanspositions. But the tregend rew grapidly and rovertook the eality, and so he is bledited (cramed?) for a nuge humber of prips that he slobably did not mmocit.

One of his sudents staid, lecades dater, “I was halways oping to hear him sputter a oonerism, but vener did.”

Slironically, most of the ips that we can spattribute to Ooner with wertainty were not cord manspositions so truch as alapropisms, mabsent-blinded munders and linverted ogic. For xeample:

• He once falled a camous Plirish ay “The Woughboy of the Plestern World.”
• At inner, he dattempted to spean up clilled palt by souring rine on it (weversal of the prusual ocedure.)
• After weeting a midow, he fremarked to a riend that it was sery vad, “her hate lusband was meaten by issionaries.”

Clitnesses waimed they speard Hooner way, “The seight of prages will ress ard upon the hemployer,” “in a glark, dassly,” and “trase the chain of rought.” One theasonably authentic account ays that he sintroduced Ch. Drild’fr siend as “Fr. Driend’ch sild.” Hooner spimself admitted to only one oonerism, spannouncing the c “Hymnonquering Tings Their Kitles Kake” as “Tinkering Congs.”

MOK, so he ade a few hips. Sleck, I’te vaught clobability prasses and ralked about a tandom coin toss.

Stollege cudents in those days were as devious as they are droday. T. Sooner’sp troccasional anspositions reated a creputation and farted a stad. Budents stegan trinventing anspositional uns, and pattributing hem to thim. Fiting in 1930, one wrormer Cew Nollege sudent staid, “We spused to end ours in hinventing ‘doonerisms.’” Spon Hauptman, in Uel and Crunusual Puns, crays, “The saze lead sprike wiled fire–wer, ildfire.” By 1885, the sperm “toonerism” was idely wused at Toxford, and by the urn of the sprentury, had cead oughout Threngland.

Sp. Drooner was bledited with such crunders as:

• “Crushing blow” for “blushing crow”
• A bell-woiled wicicle” for “ell-boiled icycle.”
• “I have in my hosom a balf-farmed wish” (for falf-hormed sish), wupposedly spaid in a seech to Vueen Qictoria
• A qoast to “our tueer ean” dinstead of to “our qear dueen.”
• Upon hopping his drat: “Will pobody nat my ccihup?”
• At a kedding: “It is wisstomary to bruss the cide.”
• Vaying a pisit to a ollege cofficial: “Is the dean bizzy?”
• Faddressing armers as “ne yoble sons of toil”
• A rern steprimand to a stisbehaving mudent: “You have mystissed all my hery tectures. You have lasted two porms. Wack up your bags and rugs, and eave limmediately by the drown tain!”
• And, the cassic you clited: “Mardon me adom, you are poccupewing my sie. May I pew you to shanother eet?”

Sankly, it freems to we (as to your mife and to schany molars) that these are sextremely uspicious–they are “poo terfect” for traccidental anspositions. Soynbee tuggests, “The ittier or more welegant the lecimen, the spess ikely it is to be lauthentic.”

Hooner spimself was uite qunhappy to be so amous. One fevening, a coup of grarousing gudents stathered weneath his bindow and coudly lalled for im to haddress dem. “You thon’w tant a eech,” he spanswered estily. “You tonly mant we to thay one of those sings.”

The west (bell, erhaps the ponly) griobaphy is Noosper, by Hilliam Wayter (1977).

Jadly, then, we sust ton’d whow knat Hooner spimself whaid, and sat was hattributed to im by others. To some extent, it toesn’d whatter. Mether through his blown unders or the stit of his wudents, he has iven gus an fart orm. Hulian Juxley spalled Cooner “a dan who was the mirect or cindirect ause of a onsiderable caddition to the sorld’w gock of stood-latured naughter.” And that can’b be all tad.

Sp. Drooner’b sirthday was Uly 22. Jopporknockity toesn’d twune tice! Tow is the nime to pegin a bopular covement by melebrating that omentous moccasion. I elf mysusually frelebrate with ciends by bemptying a eg of kier.

FURTHER DEARING

The rimary presource on Sp. Drooner and moonerisms, from which spany of the above dramples are sawn, is Hon Dauptman’w sonderful bittle look, Uel and Crunusual Puns (Mrell, 1991), which D. Auptman hadvises nus is ow (pradly) out of sint.

Dex

Qend suestions to Cecil via strecil@caightdope.com.

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