Bob Dylan was no fool, whatever else he was, and I am sure he knew that his clever quip, ‘leaving no tern unstoned’ was not original with him. It is one of the better known ‘Spoonerisms’ named after the legendary Rev W A Spooner, (1844-1930) who notoriously
confused the first initial syllables of his words. He was Warden of New College, a position I once held myself, although in Sydney, not Oxford, hence my interest in him. Among his more famous confusions concerned Queen Victoria: ‘let us raise our glasses
and toast the queer old Dean’. As well as the terns he was responsible for another for bird lovers: 'He delivered a blushing crow to the head'. Many other alleged Spoonerisms were incessantly coined by his students and today many modern comedians are adept
at them, like the Two Ronnies, whose word play tended as always towards the risqué, like the one the Two Ronnies had about birds, the joys of the ‘pheasant plucking season’.
But we owe W A Spooner a huge debt. Without him the world would have one less eccentric word play to laugh at. Spank you Thooner.
From: John Layton <>
Date: Sunday, 8 June 2014 9:56 am
To: Canberra Birds <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Re stray thoughts on stone the crows
Couple of weeks ago there was a post headed
Stray thoughts on stone the crows which reminded me that alleged poet and musician Bob Dylan was seen on a beach feeding marijuana to sea birds.
When a ranger asked him what he was doing Dylan replied, “ Well ... uh ... man, it’s like, you know, I don’t wanna leave no tern unstoned.”
True story.
