Every public speaker dreads them,
but from time to time most make them anyway. I am referring to what are often
called slips of the tongue. Or as
Rev. William Archibald Spooner might say, tips
of the slung.
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| William A. Spooner (1844-1930) |
Spooner, who died August 29,
1930, was an Englishman whose name is given to the linguistic gaffes now known
as spoonerisms. Born in London, Spooner became an Anglican priest and
a scholar. During a 60-year association with Oxford University, he lectured in
history, philosophy, and theology.
I have long enjoyed Spooner’s
humorous statements and have often intentionally, and sometimes
unintentionally, made similar ones. As I head toward the bathroom, sometimes I
will say to June, “I’m going to shake a
tower now.” Some time ago when I was eating a tasty dish that June had
prepared, I said, “These puffed steppers
sure are good!” (As you recognize, those are spoonerisms for take a shower and stuffed peppers).
Back in 1995, the Reader’s Digest published an article
titled, “Reverend Spooner’s Tips of the Slung.” (The title of this posting as
well as some of spoonerisms below have been taken from that article).
Spooner would have trouble speaking correctly when
agitated by his students, it seems. He reportedly reprimanded one student for
“fighting a liar” (lighting a fire) on campus. He complained to another, “You
hissed my mystery lecture” (missed my history lecture), and said in disgust to
yet another, “You have tasted two worms” (wasted two terms).
Spooner was also excited when
Queen Victoria visited Oxford. He proposed a toast to “our queer old Dean”
(dear old Queen).
Some of the goofs were made in
Chapel: “Our Lord is a shoving leopard”
(loving shepherd), he once intoned. Then officiating at a wedding, he
prompted a hesitant bridegroom, “Son,
it is now kisstomary to cuss the bride” (customary to kiss the bride).
And at
the church he regularly attended, he said to someone sitting in the pew where
he usually sat, “I believe you’re occupewing my pie. May I sew you to another
sheet?”
Well,
politicians may rarely utter spoonerisms, but they do make “tips of the slung”
from time to time. On August 11 we were surprised to hear Mitt Romney introduce
Paul Ryan as “the next President of the United States.” Although he quickly
caught the mistake himself, in 2008 then-candidate Obama similarly introduced
Joe Biden as the next President.
We
shouldn’t make a big deal out of verbal gaffes, though. Most have no
significance at all. Rather, we should be concerned about the clear and
deliberate statements that politicians make.
On
August 19, Rep. Todd Akin who is seeking election as a U.S. Senator from
Missouri, made a statement about “legitimate rape.” This has been referred to
as a “misstatement” and a “gaffe.” Perhaps it was, to a certain extent. But it
seems clear that his opposition to abortion is absolute. Again in 2011, he and Vice-President nominee Ryan, among many others (all Republicans),
were co-sponsors of “Sanctity of Human Life Act” (H.R.212), which declares that
human life begins
with fertilization, “at which time every human has all legal and constitutional
attributes and privileges of personhood.” No exception is made for rape or
incest.
During
these next two months of intense political campaigning, let’s laugh off the
spoonerisms or other verbal goofs the candidates may make. But let’s give
serious attention to what they say intentionally about important issues of the
day (including, but certainly not limited to, abortion)—and then vote
accordingly.
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