A spoonerism is an error in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see Metathesis ) between two words in a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner , who was famous for doing this.

An example is saying “The Lord is a shoving leopard” instead of “The Lord is a loving shepherd.” While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue, and getting one’s words in a tangle, they can also be used intentionally as a play on words.

For Thanksgiving 2018, I broke bread with dear friends from Butte County, some of whom were displaced by the Camp Fire . After dinner, there was an idea- and cheer-induced conversation on spoonerisms, which segued into humorous ponderings such as…

Why are bees kept in apiaries and apes kept in bestiaries?

Why do they call them apartments when they’re so close together?

Why does cargo go by boat, and a shipment go by cars and trucks?

Why do cars drive in parkways and park in driveways?

How much fuller would the ocean be if they removed all the sponges?

Why are there hysterectomies but no hyrsterectomies?

I then found out that at least one Gumby picture—autographed by his creator, Art Clokey —has been lost forever, amongst many other cherished personal items earned over lifetimes.

By most measurements, Paradise, CA doesn’t exist anymore. This was a community of about 30,000 people.

Here is some provincial hippie-art that survived the blaze:

And maybe you’re wondering what was in Paradise aside from old hippies. Well, Wayne Charvel lost his shop and all of his tools. If you were a guitarist, or a luthier, this news would make you sad.

I’m sure other national treasures existed in the area that were needlessly erased….