Carlene Havel's Blog: Carlene - Posts Tagged "spooneristm"
Feeling Shished Today?
My little brother and I never agreed much on toys. I loved paper dolls. He often chose to play with the container instead of the toy inside. One of his favorites was a large cardboard box he could sit in. Once he managed to close the lid, he would proclaim that he was the television or a radio, demanding that I come and turn him on (that phrase had no double entendre back then—or if it did we didn’t know it). Once the imaginary switch was flipped, he would entertain the family with his singing and crazy ads. Yet he was too shy to put on a show when he could be seen. Every time I hear the phrase “thinking outside the box,” I remember George and the clever ideas that emanated from inside his cardboard box.
Our MOST favorite plaything? Words, hands down. Even as a pre-schooler, George was the master of the Spoonerism (think “sending a twit via Tweeter”). We didn’t know the technical term, but his linguistic twists made us laugh nevertheless. George created his own songs and lyrics—still does. He also made up his own words, some of which have become firmly entrenched in our familial lexicon. For example: A hug is just a hug, but a great, loving bear hug is a “shusha.” We always give and get shushas at family gatherings!
The most useful word George invented is “shish”. To be shished is to be embarrassed, flabbergasted or speechless, maybe a combination of all three. When feeling totally shished, a shusha is the best antidote.
Carlene Havel,
Author of "A Hero's Homecoming" co-author “Daughter of the King”
http://goo.gl/s6EQS
Our MOST favorite plaything? Words, hands down. Even as a pre-schooler, George was the master of the Spoonerism (think “sending a twit via Tweeter”). We didn’t know the technical term, but his linguistic twists made us laugh nevertheless. George created his own songs and lyrics—still does. He also made up his own words, some of which have become firmly entrenched in our familial lexicon. For example: A hug is just a hug, but a great, loving bear hug is a “shusha.” We always give and get shushas at family gatherings!
The most useful word George invented is “shish”. To be shished is to be embarrassed, flabbergasted or speechless, maybe a combination of all three. When feeling totally shished, a shusha is the best antidote.
Carlene Havel,
Author of "A Hero's Homecoming" co-author “Daughter of the King”
http://goo.gl/s6EQS
