I find it annoying when everybody's favourite spoonerism, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy", is attributed to Tom Waits. I mean, seriously. Surely it's much more likely to have come from either W.C. Fields or Dorothy Parker? Rather than Tom Waits, that gravel-voiced dour-merchant?
But it got me thinking about spoonerisms and why I find them so funny. I've decided it's because they make the English language ridiculous even while it makes perfect sense. So "You have hissed all my mystery lectures. You have tasted a whole worm. Please leave Oxford on the next town drain" is good, but "Someone is occupewing my pie. Please sew me to another sheet" is better. I suspect this is a very English thing.
It's not a Spoonerism, but my absolute all time favourite funny silly word thing is,
'Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.'
Never fails. Thank you, Groucho.
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tee hee ho ho. much amusement. sadly (not being of such a literary bent as thou) i hate to admit there is a trace of schadenfreude in my love of spoonerish type utterances. EG the lady at work who insists things are 'well, to be PACIFIC about this...'. i know it does not exactly qualify but comes under the heading (as dear old dennis norden may say) of highly titilating things that i am glad it was not me who said it. there but for the grace of god speak i...
ReplyDeletemy other pet amuse bouche (one has to keep the mind active during work hours) is the constant drivel EG "slicing the salami" referring to budgets and granularity (more detail not sugar). clearly i was obv cut out for comedy not charity (office work not helping those less fortunate lest anyone think i have got above myself).
god bless the grouch. and on another matter entirely i would like to go to a play one day - please think on and advise.
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