Tongue twisters – Nursery Rhymes

162 English Tongue Twisters

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 09:29:25 +0000

Listed below you will find one of the most varied collections of tongue twisters in English:

B: Brad’s big black bath brush broke.

B: a Big black bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.

B: a Box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits

B: a Bitter biting bittern
Bit a better brother bittern,
And the bitter better bittern
Bit the bitter biter back.
And the bitter bittern, bitten,
By the better bitten bittern,
Said: “I’m a bitter biter bit, lack!”

B: Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades,
blunderbusses, and bludgeons — balancing them badly.

B: Betty Botter had some butter,
“But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter–
that would make my batter better.”
So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So ’twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

B: Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

B: Black bug’s blood.

B: the Boot black bought the black boot back.

B: Ruby Rugby’s Brother bought and brought her
back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

B: Betty better butter Brad’s bread.

B: a bloke’s back bike brake block broke.

B: Good blood, bad blood.

B: The blue bluebird blinks.

C: Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.

Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

D: If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctor
who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the
doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor
the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

F: Fat frogs flying past fast.

F: Flee from fog to fight flu fast!

F: a Flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

F: Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

F: One smart fellow, he felt smart.
Two smart fellows, they felt smart.
Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

F: Freshly fried fresh flesh.

Freshly-fried flying fish.

F: Of all the felt I ever felt,
I never felt a piece of felt
which felt as fine as that felt felt,
when first I felt that felt hat’s felt.

There was a young fisher named Fischer
Who fished for a fish in a fissure.
The fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in;
Now they’re fishing the fissure for Fischer.

G: Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle.

G: Gertie’s great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie’s grammar.

G: Greek grapes.

G: Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.

G: Give me the gift of a grip top sock:
a drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock.

G: three Gray geese in the green grass grazing.
Gray were the geese and green was the grass.

G: Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager
imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?

I: Inchworms itching.

K: Knapsack straps.

L: Lovely lemon liniment.

L: Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

L: Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

L: A lusty lady loved a lawyer
and longed to lure him from his laboratory.

L: Lily ladles little Letty’s lentil soup.

M: Mix, Miss Mix!

M: the Myth of Miss Muffet.

N: Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

N: a Noisy noise annoys an oyster.

N, Kn: I need not your needles, they’re needless to me;
For kneading of noodles, ’twere needless, you see;
But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed,
I then should have need of your needles indeed.

M,N: Moose noshing much mush.

M,N: Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

O: Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.

O: Are our oars oak?

P: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

P: I am not the pheasant plucker,
I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate.
I am only plucking pheasants
’cause the pheasant plucker’s running late.

P: A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place
where a plaice is pleased to be placed.

P: Pick a partner and practice passing,
for if you pass proficiently,
perhaps you’ll play professionally.

P: Please pay promptly.Q: Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

S: Preshrunk silk shirts

S: a Skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk,
but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

S: I Slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

S: Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

S: Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

S: Six sharp smart sharks.

S: She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

S: “Surely Sylvia swims!” shrieked Sammy, surprised.
“Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.”

S: Sam’s shop stocks short spotted socks.

S: Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

S: the Sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

S: Pope Sixtus VI’s six texts.

S: Sly Sam slurps Sally’s soup.

S: Is this your sister’s sixth zither, sir?

S: Suddenly swerving, seven small swans
Swam silently southward,

S: Seeing six swift sailboats
Sailing sedately seaward.

S: Six short slow shepherds.

S: Say this sharply, say this sweetly,
Say this shortly, say this softly.
Say this sixteen times in succession.

S: Six sticky sucker sticks.

S: Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack;
sheep should sleep in a shed.

S: Mrs. Smith’s Fish Sauce Shop.

S: Swan swam over the sea,
Swim, swan, swim!
Swan swam back again
Well swum, swan!

S: Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins.

S: Selfish shells fish.

S: Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.

S: Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See’s saw
Before See sawed Soar’s seesaw,
See’s saw would not have sawed
Soar’s seesaw.
So See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See’s saw sawed
Soar’s seesaw!

S: we Surely shall see the sun shine soon.

S: Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers.

S: Six twin screwed steel steam cruisers.

S: Sure the ship’s shipshape, sir.

S: What a shame such a shapely sash
should such shabby stitches show.

S: Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes
as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

S: Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch
slickly snared six sickly silky snakes.

S: I saw Esau kissing Kate. I saw Esau,
he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

S: Susan shineth shoes and socks;
socks and shoes shines Susan.
She ceased shining shoes and socks,
for shoes and socks shock Susan.

S: the soldiers shouldered shooters on their shoulders.

S: Shredded Swiss cheese.

Strange strategic statistics.

The sawingest saw I ever saw saw
was the saw I saw saw in Arkansas.

Sarah sitting in her Chevrolet,
All she does is sits and shifts,
All she does is sits and shifts.

S: Sixish.

T: The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

T: Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

T: a Tudor who tooted a flute
tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to their tutor,
“Is it harder to toot
or to tutor two tooters to toot?”

T: Three free throws.

T: Tim, the thin twin tinsmith

T: Tragedy strategy.

T: Two toads, totally tired.

T: Two Truckee truckers truculently truckling
to have truck to truck two trucks of truck.

Three twigs twined tightly.

Th: They both, though, have thirty-three thick thimbles to thaw.

Th: I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought
I thought I thought.

Tw: When a twister a-twisting will twist him a twist,
For the twisting of his twist, he three twines doth intwist;
But if one of the twines of the twist do untwist,
The twine that untwisteth untwisteth the twist.Untwirling the twine that untwisteth between,
He twirls, with his twister, the two in a twine;
Then twice having twisted the twines of the twine,
He twitcheth the twice he had twined in twain.

Tw: The twain that in twining before in the twine,
As twines were intwisted he now doth untwine;
Twist the twain inter-twisting a twine more between,
He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of the twine.

Hi-Tech Traveling Tractor Trailor Truck Tracker

V: Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.

W: Which witch wished which wicked wish?

W: how much Wood Would a woodchuck chuck
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

W: While we were walking, we were watching window washers
wash Washington’s windows with warm washing water.

W: Will you, William?

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

W: Who washed Washington’s white woolen underwear
when Washington’s washer woman went west?

Ght: You’ve no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light’s light’s a slight light,
And tonight’s a night that’s light.
When a night’s light, like tonight’s light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

Cheap ship trip.

Flash message!

Peggy Babcock.

Thieves seize skis.

Chop shops stock chops.

Truly rural.

Pacific Lithograph.

Unique New York.

Don’t pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.

The Leith police dismisseth us.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu
choose the shoes he chews?

I cannot bear to see a bear
Bear down upon a hare.
When bare of hair he strips the hare,
Right there I cry, “Forbear!”

Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

My dame hath a lame tame crane,
My dame hath a crane that is lame.

The seething seas ceaseth
and twiceth the seething seas sufficeth us.

Plague-bearing prairie dogs.

Ed had edited it.

A tree toad loved a she-toad
Who lived up in a tree.
He was a two-toed tree toad
But a three-toed toad was she.
The two-toed tree toad tried to win
The three-toed she-toad’s heart,
For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground
That the three-toed tree toad trod.
But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.
He couldn’t please her whim.
From her tree toad bower
With her three-toed power
The she-toad vetoed him.

The crow flew over the river
with a lump of raw liver.

I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor’s reckoning.

Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved.

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,
he thrusts his fist against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts.

Listen to the local yokel yodel.

Give Mr. Snipa’s wife’s knife a swipe.

The epitome of femininity.

She stood on the balcony
inexplicably mimicing him hiccupping,
and amicably welcoming him home.

On mules we find two legs behind
and two we find before.
We stand behind before we find
what those behind be for.

What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

One-One was a racehorse.
Two-Two was one, too.
When One-One won one race,
Two-Two won one, too.

Once upon a barren moor
There dwelt a bear, also a boar.
The bear could not bear the boar.
The boar thought the bear a bore.
At last the bear could bear no more
Of that boar that bored him on the moor,
And so one morn he bored the boar–
That boar will bore the bear no more.

If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot tot
To talk ere the tot could totter,
Ought the Hottenton tot
Be taught to say aught, or naught,
Or what ought to be taught her?
If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot
Be taught by her Hottentot tutor,
Ought the tutor get hot
If the Hottentot tot
Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor?

Just think, that sphinx has a sphincter that stinks!

If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker,
It’s slick to stick a lock upon your stock,
Or some stickler who is slicker
Will stick you of your liquor
If you fail to lock your liquor
With a lock!

Ned Nott was shotand Sam Shott was not.So it is better to be Shottthan Nott.
Some say Nottwas not shot.But Shott sayshe shot Nott.
Either the shot Shott shot at Nottwas not shot,or
Nott was shot.If the shot Shott shot shot Nott,
Nott was shot.But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott,
then Shott was shot,not Nott.
However,the shot Shott shot
shot not Shott –but Nott.

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat.
The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat.
The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye,
And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly.

The ochre ogre ogled the poker.

Theophiles Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,
in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now…..if Theophiles
Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,
in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb,
see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.Success to the successful thistle-sifter!

Thank the other three brothers of their father’s mother’s brother’s side.

Irish wristwatch.

Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.

They have left the thriftshop, and lost both their theatre tickets and the
volume of valuable licenses and coupons for free theatrical frills and thrills.

Whereat with blade,
with bloody, blameful blade,
he bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.

Some International Tongue Twisters

These are in Dutch

Ik zag de zon zakken in de Zuiderzee.

Hoor de kleine klompjes klepperen op de klinkers.

To en Tom aten tomaten; To at en Tom vrat.

Soldatententententoonstelling.

These are in French (and might show up incorrectly on your browser).

Un chasseur sachant chasser chassait sans son chien de chasse.

Ton thé, t’a-t-il ôté ta toux?

Étant sorti sans parapluie, il m’eût plus plu qu’il plût plus tôt.

These are in Pinoy

Minimekaniko ni Monico ang makina ng Minica ni Monica.

Botica, Bituka, Butiki.

This one is in Hebrew.

Sara shara shir sameyach.

This one is Japanese.

Namamugi, Namagome, Namatamago.

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck

All Nursery Rhymes — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 08:13:06 +0000

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck if a Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood is a very popular tongue twister and song that dates back to the early 20th century, more precisely to 1902 when Robert Hobart Davis published it for the musical “The Runaway”. Two years later the song became even more popular when it was adapted by Theodore Morse and recorded by Ragtime Roberts.

The nonsensical tongue twister question has a nonsensical answer: A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood; or sometimes: he would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

While those do not answer the question, some people with more time on their hands actually sat down and calculated that on a good day a woodchuck could move around 700 pounds of wood.

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck Lyrics

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck,

If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

He would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could

If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Betty Botter

All Nursery Rhymes — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 15:54:07 +0000

Betty Botter is one of the toughest yet more popular English tongue twisters. Originally it was known as “The Butter Betty Bought” and it was written by Carolyn Wells.

Since its first publication in 1899, Betty Botter has suffered many alterations and currently different versions of this tongue twister coexist. The most popular version is found below.

“Betty Botter” Lyrics

Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter’s bitter,
“If I put it in my batter
It will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter
Will make my batter better.”

So she bought some better butter
Better than the bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter
And her batter was not bitter,
So ’twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter

“”Betty Botter” Original lyrics

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter;
“But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter!
If I put it in my batter
It will make my batter bitter.
But a bit o’ better butter
Will make my batter better.”

Then she bought a bit o’ butter
Better than the bitter butter,
Made her bitter batter better.
So ’twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit o’ better butter.

“Betty Botter” Version

Another popular yet short version can be found below

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter
but the bit of butter was bitter
so Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
to make the bit of bitter butter better.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear

All Nursery Rhymes — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 20:08:50 +0000

Fuzzy Wuzzy is one of the most popular tongue twisters. The origins of this nursery rhyme aren’t clear but the term “fuzzy wuzzy” was used to describe the Hadendoa warriors in Sudan in a 1892 poem by Rudyard Kipling.

The nursery rhyme was first mentioned in a 1942 edition of “The Yorker” magazine with no reference to its origins.

The link between the Hadendoa warriors and the nursery rhyme is fuzzy, there is no definitive link between the two but it is possible the rhyme refers to the bravery of the Hadendoa (hence they are a bear).

“Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear” Lyrics

Original Version

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t really fuzzy,
Was he?

Extended modern lyrics

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy
No, by gosh, he wasn’t, was he?

Silly Willy was a worm
Silly Willy wouldn’t squirm
Silly Willy wasn’t silly
No, by gosh, he wasn’t really

Iddy Biddy was a mouse
Iddy Biddy had no spouse
Iddy Biddy wasn’t pretty
Oh, by gosh, it was a pity

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy
No, by god, he wasn’t, was he?

She Sells Seashells

All Nursery Rhymes — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 15:39:14 +0000

She Sells Seashells, also known as Sally Sells Seashells is an old tongue twister made popular by Terry Sullivan in 1909. The phrase was a popular tongue twister even before that, “She Sells Seashells” appearing in the 1 December 1871 edition of “The Family Herald; a Domestic Magazine of Useful Information and Amusement”.

It is often claimed that Terry Sullivan was inspired by renowned paleontologist and fossil collector, Mary Anning but there is no evidence to support this hypothesis.

“She Sells Seashells” Lyrics

She sells seashells by the seashore,
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.
So if she sells seashells on the seashore,
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

Alternatve version

Various modern versions exist that are based on this song, often “she” is replaced by “Sally”. One popular modern tongue twister can be found below:

Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
She sells seashells on the seashell shore.
The seashells she sells are seashore shells,
Of that I’m sure.
She sells seashells by the seashore.
She hopes she will sell all her seashells soon.
If neither he sells seashells
Nor she sells seashells,
Who shall sell seashells?
Shall seashells be sold?

Peter Piper

All Nursery Rhymes — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:21:20 +0000

“Peter Piper” is one of the most popular tongue twisters and nursery rhymes original to England.

Although it was known earlier as well, it was first published in John Harris’s Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation in 1813, thus making it one of the oldest tongue twisters known to us.

Peter Piper may refer to a Mauritian government official called Peter Poivre, who examined Seychelles’s potential for the cultivation of spices.

As most tongue twisters, Peter Piper’s lyrics make it hard for anybody to rapidly articulate the rhyme. Its lyrics can be found below:

“Peter Piper” Lyrics

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Alternative Version

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick
if he picked a peck of pickled peppers?