# What words tie your tongue in knots when you try to say them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903 "2005-11-20T08:56:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/1 "2005-11-20T08:56:37Z")
I just looked up the word synonym to make sure I was spelling it correctly (it never looks right to me), and saw the other usages at the bottom, one of which was synonymical. I’m cracking myself up trying to pronounce it. I can hear in my head how it should sound, but my mouth just can’t get it out. To make matters worse, I’ve been struggling with it for the past few minutes and now the word seems to be complete gibberish. The more I try the worse it gets, and the harder I laugh. Another one is superfluous. I always read it as two words, super and fluous, but when I begin to pronounce it that way, I know it’s wrong and my tongue gets tied trying to say it correctly. So, what words always leave you babbling like a drunkard? ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/2 "2005-11-20T09:13:53Z")
Something like “generally”. I always have trouble with that word. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/3 "2005-11-20T09:41:10Z")
“Rural.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/4 "2005-11-20T10:30:48Z")
“stastistics” ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/5 "2005-11-20T10:43:53Z")
colloquial ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/6 "2005-11-20T12:57:44Z")
patented ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/7 "2005-11-20T13:03:39Z")
“Rodriguez” I end up sounding like a second grader with a listp trying to read an unfamiliar word: “Rodweegwes” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/8 "2005-11-20T13:28:44Z")
> [@Cat Jones](#): > > “stastistics” Don’t waste your time trying to pronounce a nonexistent word. Try “statistics” instead. Many people have trouble with “asterisk,” missing the second “s”. Not me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/9 "2005-11-20T15:05:32Z")
**Wario** (Mario’s evil counterpart in Nintendo games). Mario never caused me any problems, but this comes out as “Wawio”. I had an entire room in uproar the first time I said it. From now on he’s just “Mario’s Evil Twin” **Exhibition** took me a long time to crack, and I know I ain’t the only one. **Corollary** I’ve always pronounced it “Koral-ree” in my mind, but it’s “Kor-ol-la-ree”. I guess I don’t expect such a short word to have four syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/10 "2005-11-20T15:10:39Z")
You know that joke about Chinese people trying to serve flied lice? Yeah. (This, despite my American accent. The good news is it’s only happened once, but my friends have never let me live it down.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/11 "2005-11-20T16:12:25Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Don’t waste your time trying to pronounce a nonexistent word. Try “statistics” instead. Um, I know - the speech marks were to indicate that’s how I usually end up saying _statistics_ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/12 "2005-11-20T16:33:38Z")
Statute. I leave off the last t. This wouldn’t be a problem, except that it’s a word I have to say pretty much daily at work. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/13 "2005-11-20T16:41:21Z")
Onomatopoeia. Every. Single. Freaking. Time. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/14 "2005-11-20T18:43:04Z")
The French word _association_. Ass-suss-yass-yaw. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/15 "2005-11-20T20:11:13Z")
Comfortable. The weird thing is that I only get tongue-tied if I think about how to say it before trying to say it. If I just use it in a sentence without thinking I’m fine. I used to not get colonial, until a field trip to colonial Williamsburg cleared that up. (I said “conolial”. ) ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/16 "2005-11-20T20:12:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I used to not get colonial, until a field trip to colonial Williamsburg cleared that up. (I said “conolial”. ) That was a 4th grade field trip, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/17 "2005-11-20T20:34:46Z")
Frank Lloyd Wright. I can’t for the life of me not insert an extra “f” or two in there. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/18 "2005-11-20T20:47:14Z")
> [@Giant\_Spongess](#): > > Frank Lloyd Wright. I can’t for the life of me not insert an extra “f” or two in there. I always get caught on the second “L”. ---
**Author:** ![Miakoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Miakoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miakoda)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/19 "2005-11-20T21:17:55Z")
Stethoscope, catharsis, surreptitiously, preternaturally, fastidiousness, and more. I have problems! ~Miakoda~ **first post, hi ya’ll!** ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903/20 "2005-11-20T21:18:17Z")
_cloths_ and _clothes_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-tie-your-tongue-in-knots-when-you-try-to-say-them/331903.md?page=2)