What does spooner mean?
The word spooner has two broadly connected uses. In dated, especially British naval slang, it means a stupid or ineffectual person, comparable to a simpleton or oaf. In older literal usage, it means a person who eats food with a spoon or is fed with one; the related verb means to feed someone with a spoon. The noun was formed from spoon and is chiefly found in historical text and informal, mildly insulting language today. Its best-known cultural association is with spoonerism, a comic transposition of the sounds or syllables of words. That term was named after William Spooner, the Oxford academic remembered for repeatedly exchanging similar-sounding words. A spooner is therefore the person, while a spoonerism is the linguistic joke; confusing the two is easy but discouraged. For modern readers, the word is chiefly interesting as a dated piece of vocabulary and as the source of a familiar comic term.
A person regarded as stupid or ineffectual, especially in dated nautical slang; in older usage, a person who eats with a spoon or is fed by one.
"His fellow sailors dismissed him as a spooner who could not be trusted with even a simple task."
The figurative sense is dated and derogatory; the literal senses are archaic.
To feed someone with a spoon.
"The nurse spoonered the convalescent her breakfast."
This verb is archaic and uncommon in contemporary English.
The ordinary plural is spooners, although the word itself is now chiefly dated.
"The officers regarded the new recruits as a pair of spooners."
The better-known spoonerism takes its name from Oxford academic William Spooner, whose own frequent word swaps became the model for the joke.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spooner come from?
The noun and verb were formed in English from spoon and the suffix -er, originally referring to a person who eats with a spoon or feeds someone with one. The base noun continues Old English spōn and has close Germanic cognates, including Old Norse spónn and Old High German spān. The related term spoonerism was named for William Spooner, whose recurring word transpositions became the basis for the comic form.
Related word forms
How spooner is actually used
The word is now chiefly dated and informal, and its figurative use can sound insulting. Its literal senses are archaic. The verb is uncommon and generally treated as literary or historical.
Easily confused with spooner
A spooner is a person, whereas a spoonerism is a comic word or syllable transposition named after William Spooner.