What term describes a pun in which two words are mixed up?

What term describes a pun in which two words are mixed up?

• A. Malapropism
• B. Spoonerism
• C. Pun
• D. Oxymoron

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how swapping sounds between words creates humor. This phenomenon is called a spoonerism: two words exchange their initial sounds, giving a new, often silly phrase. For example, swapping the sounds in “missed history lectures” yields “hissed mystery lectures,” which plays on the listener’s expectations and sounds funny because the swapped words still resemble the originals. This is different from a malapropism, which uses a wrong word that sounds similar, and from an oxymoron, which pairs opposite terms. So the described pun—a humor created by swapping words’ sounds—fits spoonerism.

The main idea here is how swapping sounds between words creates humor. This phenomenon is called a spoonerism: two words exchange their initial sounds, giving a new, often silly phrase. For example, swapping the sounds in “missed history lectures” yields “hissed mystery lectures,” which plays on the listener’s expectations and sounds funny because the swapped words still resemble the originals. This is different from a malapropism, which uses a wrong word that sounds similar, and from an oxymoron, which pairs opposite terms. So the described pun—a humor created by swapping words’ sounds—fits spoonerism.