Oxford Professor William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930) is best remembered for his tendency to swap letters, words, or parts of words when he spoke. The result — known as spoonerisms — are generally more memorable than the originally-intended phrase. Some of Spooner’s more-famous examples include:
| Spoken | Intended |
| fighting a liar | lighting a fire |
| you hissed my mystery lecture | you missed my history lecture |
| cattle ships and bruisers | battle ships and cruisers |
| nosy little cook | cozy little nook |
| a blushing crow | a crushing blow |
| tons of soil | sons of toil |
| our queer old Dean | our dear old Queen |
| we’ll have the hags flung out | we’ll have the flags hung out |
| you’ve tasted two worms | you’ve wasted two terms |
| our shoving leopard | our loving shepherd |
| a half-warmed fish | a half-formed wish |
| is the bean dizzy? | is the Dean busy? |
Spooner was also known for his absent-mindedness. He once wrote a professor to ask him to come immediately to help solve a problem. At the end of the letter he added a post-script that the matter had been resolved and he needn’t come, after all.
Another time he invited a colleague to a reception “to welcome Stanley Casson, our new archeology Fellow.” When the man replied, saying, “I am Stanley Casson,” Spooner said, “Never mind. Come all the same.”
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