William Archibald Spooner
Encyclopedia
William Archibald Spooner (22 July 1844 – 29 August 1930) was a famous Oxford
don
whose name is given to the linguistic phenomenon of spoonerism
.
. He was educated at Oswestry School
and New College, Oxford
, where he was the first non-Wykehamist to become an undergraduate. He was ordained deacon in the Church of England
in 1872 and priest in 1875.
He remained at New College
for more than sixty years, serving as Fellow (1867), Lecturer (1868), Tutor (1869), Dean (1876–1889), and Warden
(1903–1924). He lectured on ancient history
, divinity
, and philosophy
(especially on Aristotle's
ethics
).
Spooner was well liked and respected, described as, "an albino, small, with a pink face, poor eyesight, and a head too large for his body", and, "His reputation was that of a genial, kindly, hospitable man."
In the opinion of Roy Harrod
, William Spooner exceeded all the heads of Oxford
and Cambridge
colleges he had known "having regard to his scholarship, devotion to duty, and wisdom."
s", plays on words
in which corresponding consonant
s, vowel
s, or morphemes are switched. Few, if any, of his own spoonerisms were deliberate, and many of those attributed to him are apocryphal.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
(3rd edition, 1979) lists only one substantiated Spoonerism - "The weight of rages will press hard upon the employer". Spooner himself admitted to uttering "Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take" in a 1930 interview. Spooner is said to have disliked the reputation gained for getting his words muddled.
After the concept of Spoonerisms became popularized, Spooner denounced a crowd that had gathered to hear him speak by saying, "You haven't come for my lecture, you just want to hear one of those...things."
Spooner is supposed to have committed other absent-minded gaffes. He was said to have invited a don to tea
, "to welcome Stanley Casson, our new archaeology Fellow". "But, sir," the man replied, "I am Stanley Casson". "Never mind," Spooner said, "Come all the same."
At a party in North Oxfordshire his wife sustained a cut on her finger. When concerned friends asked him "Did she lose her finger permanently?", he is supposed to have answered "She lost her finger permanently, for a time."
One recorded incident had Spooner write a note asking for a fellow lecturer at New College to see him immediately about a matter. The note had a postscript
informing the lecturer that the matter had been resolved and he no longer needed to see him.
Another story tells of Spooner preaching a sermon about St. Paul, but substituted the name Aristotle
for St. Paul. When he finished, he came down from the pulpit, paused, went back up, and told his bewildered congregation, "Did I say Aristotle? I meant St. Paul." Some versions of this story have Spooner substituting Aristotle for Aquinas
.
It is said that Canon Spooner not only mixed up words, but entire concepts upon occasion. Reportedly, he once spilled salt at a dinner and absent-mindedly poured some wine on it, a reversal of the usual procedure. According to sources, he once remarked of a widow that "her husband was eaten by missionaries."
His attitude towards his unintentional fame softened in his final years, even granting the occasional reprint for humour's sake, regardless of validity.
On his death, the Times
recorded that, "He was not afraid of conversation."
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
don
University don
A don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England.The term — similar to the title still used for Catholic priests — is a historical remnant of Oxford and Cambridge having started as ecclesiastical...
whose name is given to the linguistic phenomenon of spoonerism
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
.
Biography
Spooner was born at 17 Chapel Street, Grosvenor Place, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was educated at Oswestry School
Oswestry School
Oswestry School is a co-educational independent school, located in the town of Oswestry, Shropshire, England. Founded in 1407 by David Holbache and his wife Guinevere Holbache, it is the second oldest non-denominational school in England....
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, where he was the first non-Wykehamist to become an undergraduate. He was ordained deacon in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in 1872 and priest in 1875.
He remained at New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
for more than sixty years, serving as Fellow (1867), Lecturer (1868), Tutor (1869), Dean (1876–1889), and Warden
Warden (college)
A warden is the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford:* All Souls College* Greyfriars* Keble College* Merton College* New College* Nuffield College...
(1903–1924). He lectured on ancient history
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, divinity
Divinity (academic discipline)
Divinity is the study of Christian and other theology and ministry at a school, divinity school, university, or seminary. The term is sometimes a synonym for theology as an academic, speculative pursuit, and sometimes is used for the study of applied theology and ministry to make a distinction...
, and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(especially on Aristotle's
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
).
Spooner was well liked and respected, described as, "an albino, small, with a pink face, poor eyesight, and a head too large for his body", and, "His reputation was that of a genial, kindly, hospitable man."
In the opinion of Roy Harrod
Roy Harrod
Sir Henry Roy Forbes Harrod was an English economist. He is best known for his biography of John Maynard Keynes and the development of the Harrod–Domar model, which he and Evsey Domar developed independently...
, William Spooner exceeded all the heads of Oxford
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
and Cambridge
Colleges of the University of Cambridge
This is a list of the colleges within the University of Cambridge. These colleges are the primary source of accommodation for undergraduates and graduates at the University and at the undergraduate level have responsibility for admitting students and organising their tuition. They also provide...
colleges he had known "having regard to his scholarship, devotion to duty, and wisdom."
Spoonerisms
Spooner has become famous for his (real or alleged) "spoonerismSpoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
s", plays on words
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
in which corresponding consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s, vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s, or morphemes are switched. Few, if any, of his own spoonerisms were deliberate, and many of those attributed to him are apocryphal.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture....
(3rd edition, 1979) lists only one substantiated Spoonerism - "The weight of rages will press hard upon the employer". Spooner himself admitted to uttering "Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take" in a 1930 interview. Spooner is said to have disliked the reputation gained for getting his words muddled.
After the concept of Spoonerisms became popularized, Spooner denounced a crowd that had gathered to hear him speak by saying, "You haven't come for my lecture, you just want to hear one of those...things."
Spooner is supposed to have committed other absent-minded gaffes. He was said to have invited a don to tea
Tea (meal)
Tea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former British Empire...
, "to welcome Stanley Casson, our new archaeology Fellow". "But, sir," the man replied, "I am Stanley Casson". "Never mind," Spooner said, "Come all the same."
At a party in North Oxfordshire his wife sustained a cut on her finger. When concerned friends asked him "Did she lose her finger permanently?", he is supposed to have answered "She lost her finger permanently, for a time."
One recorded incident had Spooner write a note asking for a fellow lecturer at New College to see him immediately about a matter. The note had a postscript
Postscript
A postscript, abbreviated P.S., is writing added after the main body of a letter . The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, an expression meaning "written after" .A postscript may be a sentence, a paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added, often hastily and...
informing the lecturer that the matter had been resolved and he no longer needed to see him.
Another story tells of Spooner preaching a sermon about St. Paul, but substituted the name Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
for St. Paul. When he finished, he came down from the pulpit, paused, went back up, and told his bewildered congregation, "Did I say Aristotle? I meant St. Paul." Some versions of this story have Spooner substituting Aristotle for Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
.
It is said that Canon Spooner not only mixed up words, but entire concepts upon occasion. Reportedly, he once spilled salt at a dinner and absent-mindedly poured some wine on it, a reversal of the usual procedure. According to sources, he once remarked of a widow that "her husband was eaten by missionaries."
His attitude towards his unintentional fame softened in his final years, even granting the occasional reprint for humour's sake, regardless of validity.
On his death, the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
recorded that, "He was not afraid of conversation."
Select spoonerisms
Some of the more famous quotations attributed to Spooner (and possibly Spooner's students) include:- "The Lord is a shoving leopard", or "Come into the arms of the shoving leopard" (Loving shepherd)
- "It is kisstomary to cuss the bride" (...customary to kiss the bride)
- "Mardon me padam, this pie is occupewed. Can I sew you to another sheet?" (Pardon me, madam, this pew is occupied. Can I show you to another seat?)
- "You have hissed all my mystery lectures, and were caught fighting a liar in the quad. Having tasted two worms, you will leave by the next town drain" (You have missed all my history lectures, and were caught lighting a fire in the quad. Having wasted two terms, you will leave by the next down train)
- He supposedly remarked to one lady, during a college reception, "You'll soon be had as a matter of course" (You'll soon be mad as a Hatter of course)
- "Let us glaze our rasses to the queer old Dean" (...raise our glasses to the dear old queen. Note: Alternatively, "Let us glaze our asses"; presumably to be a spoonerism the letter r is placed at the beginning of "asses" but when spoken the r's in "our" and "rasses" are nearly indistinguishable, thus producing the alternative, more humorous "glaze our asses.")
- "We'll have the hags flung out" (...flags hung out)
- "a half-warmed fish" (A half-formed wish)
- "Is the bean dizzy?" (Is the Dean busy?)
- "Go and shake a tower" (Go and take a shower)
- "a well-boiled icicle" (A well-oiled bicycle)
- "I've lost my signifying glass". (Later): "Oh, well, it doesn't magnify."
- "This vast display of cattleships and bruisers". (This vast display of battleships and cruisers)
- "Such Bulgarians should be vanished...". (Such vulgarians should be banished)
- "He was killed by a blushing crow". (He was killed by a crushing blow)
Sources
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (includes photo)[broken link]
- Obituary in the Manchester Guardian on 1 September 1930
External links
- Who was Dr. Spooner of "spoonerism" fame? (from The Straight Dope website)
- The 'Brief History of The College' states that Dr. Spooner 'almost certainly never uttered a 'spoonerism,' but equally certainly had a number of curious verbal traits'. (From the website of New College, where Dr. Spooner was a fellow.)