# Post your favorite tongue-twister here! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968 "2001-04-05T19:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/1 "2001-04-05T19:48:34Z")
**We cash tax checks.** ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/2 "2001-04-05T20:10:20Z")
Sister Susie’s sewing shirts for soldiers— Such skill at sewing shirts our shy young sister Susie shows! Some soldiers send epistles saying they’d sooner sleep on thistles Than the saucy, starched-up shirts for soldiers sister Susie sews! ---
**Author:** ![frobozz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed8c4c/32.png) [@frobozz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frobozz)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/3 "2001-04-05T20:15:39Z")
Unique New York, Unique New York, Unique New York. You know you need unique New York. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/4 "2001-04-05T20:28:32Z")
The sixth sheik’s sthixt sheesh ish shick. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/5 "2001-04-05T20:29:31Z")
Ummmm. I have one but I can’t post it here unless the thread is moved to the Pit. It doesn’t have any bad words in it till you make a mistake, though… 🙂 Come t’think of it I have thousands. What have I been doing with my life? I’m a grown man. [sub]Well, okay, not thousands. At least four, though. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/6 "2001-04-05T21:34:02Z")
I’m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s son. I’m only plucking pheasants Till the pheasant plucker comes. That the one you had in mind, **Ross**? I think it’s safe enough here in MPSIMS. There are plenty more of these things [here](http://members.tripod.com/~bjs/tt.html). ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/7 "2001-04-05T21:42:42Z")
How about one from zee French: “Y a-t-il un chasseur sachant chasser sans chiens?” Translation: Is there a wise hunter hunting without dogs. The French /ch/ sounds like the English /sh/ and the first three syllables in simple phoentics would be: “EEE a TEEL” ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/8 "2001-04-05T21:47:28Z")
Damn you Beer for beating me to it! But for the whole (and a bit harder IMO) version: > [@](#): > > The sixth sick sheiks’ sixth sick sheeps’ sick. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/9 "2001-04-05T22:10:54Z")
“She stood on her balcony, inexplicably mimicking his hiccuping and amicably beckoning him in” BTW - does anybody know exactly which dirty words I was supposed to be saying when pinching my tongue and saying “I was born on an apple ship?” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/10 "2001-04-05T22:32:16Z")
Per Willam Poundstone in his book “The Ultimate”, the toughest tongue twister is: The Leith police dismisseth us. (out of thirty attempts per person, this one was only said correctly 3% of the time) He may be right about it being the hardest, 'cause I can’t say “dismisseth” without the rest of the sentence. Other nominees I liked are: The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us. Twixt six thick thumbs stick six thick sticks The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick (the runner up: had a 30% success rate) My favorite, however, isn’t in the Poundstone book, and isn’t particularly hard, but it’s fun to say (plus it’s Science Fiction related…brownie points to whoever gets why) Amidst the mists and frozen frosts, he thrusts his fists against the posts, yet still insists he sees the ghosts Fabulous Furious Fenris ---
**Author:** ![katiekilldare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/838e76/32.png) [@katiekilldare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katiekilldare)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/11 "2001-04-05T22:41:55Z")
Theopholus Thistle, (the successful thistle-sifter) successfully sifted three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. * * * Rubber baby buggy bumpers Rubber baby buggy bumpers Rubber baby buggy bumpers ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/12 "2001-04-05T22:51:15Z")
And more brownie points to anyone who can identify the author and booktitle from whence came this masterpiece: > [@](#): > > The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pligrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets Fenris, who wishes he could write half as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jenericho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Jenericho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenericho)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/13 "2001-04-05T22:55:14Z")
Back when Shell were selling themselves off there was “she sells Shell shares on the sea shore”… More difficult are: red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry And (said as quickly as you can… go on, try it, ause others in the same room)… spectroscopy spectroscopy spectroscopy from the Greg Benson book Timescape (nothing to do with the Jeff Daniels film (I keep watching Jeff Daniels films because I get him confused with Jeff Bridges)). ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/14 "2001-04-05T23:00:13Z")
Here’s a good Irish one: Seacht sicín ina seasamh sna sneachta lá sioctha. It translates to “seven chickens standing in the snow on a freezing cold day” and a rough pronunciation is “shocked shickeen in a shasoo sna shnockta la shocka”. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/15 "2001-04-05T23:10:14Z")
**Fenris** , that’s from Stephen King’s _It_, of course! (At least in the movie version.) My favorite: “Somebody shot the city sherrif” (say it really fast.) Or a simple yet hard one: “Toyboat” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/16 "2001-04-05T23:16:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KJ \* > **Fenris, that’s from Stephen King’s _It_, of course! (At least in the movie version.)** KJ, half a brownie point: You’re right, King used it, but it was a crucial plot element in an earlier book. I believe King referenced the earlier book in IT. The question’s still open. (I llked the “Sherriff” one, by the way) Fenris ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/17 "2001-04-05T23:25:18Z")
Two witches had two watches Which witch would watch which watch? Which watch would watch which witch? - Hero’s Quest: So You Want to be a Hero (aka Quest for Glory) ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/18 "2001-04-06T03:35:00Z")
How about… I slit a sheet, a sheet I slit. Upon the slitted sheet I sit. ---
**Author:** ![5CentCigar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/ea5d25/32.png) [@5CentCigar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5CentCigar)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/19 "2001-04-06T06:45:45Z")
Peggy Babcock. John Ciardi says it’s the hardest name to say in the English language. Try it five times fast. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968/20 "2001-04-06T08:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slithy Tove \* > \*\*“She stood on her balcony, inexplicably mimicking his hiccuping and amicably beckoning him in” > \*\* I learned this as “She stood on the balcony inimitably mimicking him hiccupping while amicably welcoming him in” Where in the heck did it come from anyways? How about a Czech one- “Strc prst krc” (lacking the diacriticals, sorry) no vowels and it means to “stick your finger through your throat” -Tcat [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-favorite-tongue-twister-here/60968.md?page=2)