spoonerism--Mom

spoon·er·ism  (spn-rzm)

n.

A transposition of sounds of two or more words, especially a ludicrous one, such as Let me sew you to your sheet for Let me show you to your seat.

When Mom's flabbergasted, she sometimes creates spoonerisms. My favorie spoonerism was when she called a couple named Muff and Judge, "Juff and Mudge."

detritus--Mom

de·tri·tus  (d-trts)

n. pl. detritus

1. Loose fragments or grains that have been worn away from rock.

2.

a. Disintegrated or eroded matter: the detritus of past civilizations.

b. Accumulated material; debris: "Poems, engravings, press releaseshe eagerly scrutinizes the detritus of fame" (Carlin Romano).

Weary of cleaning up Christmas detritus, Mom started the tradition of not wrapping Christmas gifts.