Spoonerisms are mistakes made when talking by exchanging the first syllables of two consecutive words. For example, ‘blushing crow’ is a spoonerism of ‘crushing blow’. This term comes from William Archibald Spooner, an Oxford professor, who reputedly mixed up his syllables unintentionally to comic effect.

In this type of clue, you will get the description or meaning of the answer as well as a phrase that Spooner might have said. These clues will almost always have the word ‘Spooner’ in them. Also note that the question mark (?) in a clue tells us that the setter is bending a few crossword rules and is either being humourous or asking us to look for an example of something.

Let’s understand this with an example:
Sitting comfortably? Here, perhaps, is Spooner’s popular but second-rate tune (4,5)
The answer of two words (4 and 5 letters in length) is what you need to sit comfortably. EASY CHAIR comes to mind. We know this is indeed the correct answer because the Spoonerism of this is ‘cheesy air’ which is a second-rate tune.

Here’s another example:
Spooner’s criminal with nurse finding hiding places (4,3,6)
The answer is NOOK AND CRANNY – which is a Spoonerism of CROOK (criminal) AND NANNY (nurse)

Here’s a 3rd example:
According to Spooner, married gambler who is incontinent (9)
The answer is BED-WETTER – which is a Spoonerism of WED (married) BETTER (gambler)

Here’s a clue for you to try on your own:
Spooner’s cheerful enthusiast? He’ll get you across (8)