Spoonergrams II

Word Ways, Nov, 2007 by Jim Puder

One, two, three, four!     A, B, C, D!
Fun? Woo tea-throw'r       Day "E," B. C.:
Thrun Foo; we tour         "Say, Dee, 'ee' be--
'Ton through fee war!      Bey, see Dee 'ee'!"

Spooneristic switches of sounds between words can occur not just in pairs of words, but in trios, quartets, etc. of words as well. When every word in a group of n words partakes of an equivalent exchange of sounds with every other word in the group, the result can be graphically represented as an array of n lines of n words called a spoonergram.

In a previous Word Ways article ["Spoonergrams," 40:202], it was proposed that, to regularize the composition of spoonergrams as a logological recreation, the following rules be observed:

1) As suggested by Susan Thorpe [40:87], the exchanged sounds should shift to the left or right along the lines of words from one line to the next in spoonergrams in a stepwise and circular fashion.

2) Each line of a spoonergram 1s required to form a complete sentence.

3) The minimum syntactical standard for such sentences is the abbreviated syntax exemplified by newspaper headlines.

4) Punctuation is permitted.

5) All beginning and ending sounds must occur once and once only in each line of the array.

In the earlier article, the attempt was made to create successful spoonergrams from nine-word groups, the nine-group being considered as probably being the largest group whose spoonerization would not require the use of exotic vocabulary. It was concluded that, although it is probably possible to compose an order nine spoonergram in which every line forms a "good" sentence, for practical purposes this remains a largely hit-or-miss proposition, with the odds stacked heavily against complete success.

The purpose of the present article is simply to display the best spoonergrams so far found at each level from order four to order ten, as follows:

Four    Bad dairies mold cores!
        Cad buries doled Moors!
        Mad Cary's bowled doors!
        Dad marries cold bores!

Five    Darry's bad--hauls cold mills!
        Mary's dad bawls, "Hold kills!"
        Cary's mad dolls bowled Hill's!
        Harry's cad mauls--doled bills!
        Barry's had Call's "moled" dills!

Six     Baited fairies had "molls" sold dills!
        Dated berries fad "halls" moled Sills!
        Sated, Darry's bad falls hold Mills!
        Mated, Sari's dad bawls, "Fold, Hills!"
        Hated Mary's sad dolls bowled Phil's!
        Feted, Harry's mad--Saul's doled bills!

Seven   Hated Barry's foe, Gad, mauls doled sills!
        Sated Harry's "beau fad" galled moled Dills!
        Dated, Sari's hoe, bad, falls--gold mills!
        Mated Darry's so "had"; bawls, "Fold, gills!"
        Gated, Mary's doe sad--hauls bold Phils!
        Fated: Garys mow dad Saul's, hold bills!
        Baited, fairies go mad--Dahl's sold hills!

Eight   Kerry's foe palls; whores' gold baits daze Mills!
        Mary's Coe falls; "Pores!! Hold gates!" bays Dills.
        Dairy's Moe calls fours; polled, "hates" Gay's bills!
        Barry's doe mauls Coors' fold; pates haze Gil's!
        Garri's beau Dahl's moor's "cold"--fetes Paye's hills!
        Harry's "go" balls' doors mold; cates faze "pills"!
        Perry's hoe galls boors' doled mates--Kay's Phil's!
        Fairies' Poe hauls, gores bold dates; maize kills!

Nine    Kerry's foe--gad!--palls; whores, sold baits, daze mills!
        "Mary's ko fad galls--poor's hold sates," bays Dills!
        Dairy's Moe--cad!--falls; Gore's polled--hates Say's bills!
        Barry's dough-mad calls for's "gold pates" haze Sills!
        Sari's beau dad mauls Coors' fold--Gates pays Hills!
        "Harry's so bad..."--Dahls; Moore's cold fates Gay's pills!
        Perry's Ho sad, bawls--doors mold; cares faze "gills"!
        Gary's "Poe" had Saul's boors doled mates--Kay's Phil's!
        Fairies go; Pad hauls 'Saurs' bold dates--maize kills!

Ten     Rated Cary's foe, Gad palls; whores, sold baits, daze Mills!
        Mated raree's ko fad "galls"; poor's hold sates bay's Dills!
        Dated Mary's "Roe" cad falls, gores; polled, "hates" Say's
        bills!
        Baited, dairy's Moe, "rad," calls fours "gold"; pates haze
        Sills!
        "Sated" Barry's dough-mad--rales, "Coors, fold!"; Gates pays
        Hills.
        Hated, Sari's "beau" dad mauls, roars "Cold fate's gaze,
        pills!"
        Pated, Harry's so bad, Dahl's Moors "rolled"; cates faze
        "gills"!
        Gated, Perri's Ho, sad, bawls, "Doors mold!"; rates Kays fills!
        Feted, Gary's Poe had Saul's boors doled mates; Ray's kills!
        Cated, fairies go; Pad Hall's 'saur's bold--dates May's
        "rilles"!

Success, a subjective judgment in any case, is not necessarily claimed
for any of the foregoing.

JIM PUDER

Saratoga, California