William
Archibald
Spooner
Born in Elmdon, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom
Ancestors 
Son of William Spooner
and Jane Lydia (Wilson) Spooner
Brother of
Janet Sarah (Spooner) Salt
Husband of
Frances Wycliffe (Goodwin) Spooner
— married
2 Sep 1878 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
William Wycliffe Spooner and Frances Catharine (Spooner) Dodgson
Died
at age 86
in London, England, United Kingdom
Profile last modified
| Created 15 Nov 2018
This page has been accessed 700 times.
Biography
William Spooner is Notable.
William Archibald Spooner (22 July 1844 – 29 August 1930) was a long-serving Oxford don, notable for absent-mindedness, and supposedly liable to mix up the syllables in a spoken phrase, with unintentionally comic effect. Such phrases became known as spoonerisms, and are often used humorously. Many spoonerisms have been invented and attributed to Spooner.
Spooner has become famous for his (real or alleged) "spoonerisms", plays on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched. Few, if any, of his own spoonerisms were deliberate, and many of those attributed to him are apocryphal. Spooner is said to have disliked the reputation gained for getting his words muddled.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (3rd edition, 1979) lists only one substantiated spoonerism: "The weight of rages will press hard upon the employer." In a 1930 interview, Spooner himself admitted to uttering "Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take"[5] (Conquering Kings...) Spooner called this hymn out from the pulpit in 1879.
Many other quotations, "probable and improbable, were invented" and attributed to Spooner, including:
"It is kisstomary to cuss the bride" (...customary to kiss the bride)
"I am tired of addressing beery wenches" (weary benches) "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).
Occupation Fellow and tutor of New College, Oxford
Sources
- William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930) on Find A Grave: Memorial #4222 retrieved 20 November 2018
- UK Census at Walton Lodge, Waxton, Baswich, Stafford with parents and sister Janet Sarah
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Mark Burch
Mark Burch
Spooner-1626 and Spooner-1490 appear to represent the same person because: clear duplicate
posted
by Mark Burch
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Categories: England, Notables | Notables