Last Sunday was National Tongue Twister Day. Your assignment, should you decide to accept it, is to have your family do a Tongue Twister Challenge.
Here are a few to try, some are better for younger kids! (To win you have to say it three times really fast without error.)
Red leather yellow leather.
Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
She sells seashells by the seashore.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. So Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot
Said the two to the tutor
“Is it tougher to toot
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”
Betty Boughter 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 it better than the bitter butter
So she bought a bit of better butter
And put it in her batter
And her batter was not bitter
So t’was Betty Boughter bought a bit of better butter and put it in her
batter and her batter was not bitter.
Then try to sing along with this one (Lyrics below):
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
A dull, dark dock, a life-long lock,
A short, sharp shock, a big black block!
To sit in solemn silence in a pestilential prison,
And awaiting the sensation
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
(by W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan from The Mikado)
Henry Styron
…….well, there goes any hope of getting anything done today.
(I might also recommend the excellent “Fox in Socks” by Dr. Seuss.)
Carol Ashby
These are great, Steve. I’d add poor Peter Piper and his peck of pickled peppers.
Quick, without looking it up: how big is a peck?
Michael Emmanuel
I did a lot of ‘Betty Boughter’ while growing. Should be easy to ace.
Tisha Martin
Ah, these bring back fond memories of when I was in freshman speech class a decade ago. I’ve tried most of those, but never heard of the “witch” or “leather” twisters. I imagine there will be giggles in home across the world tonight. 😉 Incidentally, the Mikado song also brings back memories of college production days. We students had to practically sit on the edge of our seats to follow along!
Sheri Dean Parmelee
I have always been found of “She sells….” but maybe that’s because I grew up in Florida…..
Melissa Henderson
Now I have the giggles. Thank you. 🙂
Bob Boeck
Freddie fries fresh fish fast.
Kristen Terrette
I totally just tried to say all of these! Crazy how you brain can read it, but your tongue can’t say it! Will see if my kids can say them tomorrow, and I’m already planning on videoing it and posting it to social media for a laugh. 🙂