# Why are tongue twisters hard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670 "2009-10-13T17:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/1 "2009-10-13T17:25:45Z")
Doesn’t it make more sense that the more you say it, the easier it’ll be? And to me, certain letters and sounds are easier. I can say “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” or “Betty Botter bought some butter” much easier than “She sells seashells by the seashore”. Is the S sound somehow more difficult in general? ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/2 "2009-10-13T17:52:12Z")
It’s not the S sound. Its the subtle difference between the S sounds. You say the S sound one way, then are supposed to say it another, but your muscles and neurons want to repeat the same action - So you say She Shells sheshells by the sheshore. instead of Sh S S Sh — S Sh. you end up with Sh Sh Sh Sh Sh Sh. Peter Piper is Pe Pi Pi Pe Pi Pe. And some people don’t have as many problems with that because the differences are bigger between Pe and Pi then S and Sh. Some people have problems with both. ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/3 "2009-10-13T17:54:12Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Doesn’t it make more sense that the more you say it, the easier it’ll be? Yes if you paraphrase the answer to: The more you say it correctly, the easier it will be. But if you keep saying them wrong, the habit will be harder to break. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/4 "2009-10-13T18:03:06Z")
Well, maybe there’s a citaion somewhere, but it seems logical to me that, since we make sounds with teeth, tongue, lips and other mouthparts, and everyone’s are different, we all make slightly different sounds, and it’s hard to get them perfect. One could argure that me carefully going ’ Pe Pi Pi Pe Pi Pe’ flawlessly is like me trying to do a Cockney or US Southern accent – I make one ’ Pe Pi Pe Pe Pi Pi’ and people go, “Aw, leave it to the real professionals, Arkcon, you sound nothing like it was supposed to.” I can make all those sounds, just not in the specific sequence. Most of my daily conversations don’t hinge on aliteration as much. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/5 "2009-10-14T18:36:45Z")
My favorite tongue-twister is “Unique New York”. In this twister, it seems that you want to put the “n” in the same position in each phrase (U-nique New-York wants to be U-nique U-Nork). Eventually, a friend’s aunt figured out that if you concentrate on the word “New” as you say it, it becomes much easier. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/6 "2009-10-14T19:47:01Z")
I think Guiness Book of World Records said the hardest tongue twister was this: _The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep is sick._ That hurts even to type it. I don’t think you can move your mouth and tongue fast enough to say it quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/7 "2009-10-14T20:34:12Z")
With practice, just about any tongue-twisters become pronounceable. I say this as someone who has read **Fox In Socks** many, many times to a toddler. So, when tweedle beetles fight, it’s a tweedle beetle battle. And when they battle in a puddle, it’s a tweedle beetle puddle battle. And when tweedle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle, it’s a tweedle beetle puddle paddle battle. AND, when beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle, it’s called a tweedle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle. AND! When beetles fight these battles in their bottles with their paddles and the bottle’s on a poodle and the poodle’s eating noodles… ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/8 "2009-10-14T22:56:34Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I think Guiness Book of World Records said the hardest tongue twister was this: > > _The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep is sick._ > > That hurts even to type it. I don’t think you can move your mouth and tongue fast enough to say it quickly. In the English language that’s supposed to be the one. Of all languages I believe the worst one was in that African click-tongue. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/9 "2009-10-15T04:05:21Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > My favorite tongue-twister is “Unique New York”. In this twister, it seems that you want to put the “n” in the same position in each phrase (U-nique New-York wants to be U-nique U-Nork). > > Eventually, a friend’s aunt figured out that if you concentrate on the word “New” as you say it, it becomes much easier. I’ve never heard of that one. I can’t say it any other way but perfectly. It doesn’t seem any more twisty to me than, say, “hamburger helper”. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/10 "2009-10-15T04:11:04Z")
I thought Unique New York was easy until I read the U-Nork part and then I started saying it wrong. Still overall it’s pretty easy. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/11 "2009-10-15T07:18:48Z")
Did you try saying it 3 times fast? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/12 "2009-10-15T09:41:28Z")
“Toy boat” a dozen times fast is one of the most concise difficult tongue twisters I know. It seems to me tongue twisters are difficult because the speech area of the brain can send signals out to the tongue faster than the muscles of the tongue can execute them; new instructions arrive before prior ones are completed. As with any repetetive motion, practice can improve the ability. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/13 "2009-10-15T14:31:27Z")
My vote is for “Peggy Babcock”. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/14 "2009-10-16T01:33:40Z")
I called the city (and state) U-Nork for about the first six years of my life (probably until I learned to read). I had cousins that we used to visit in U-Nork. I have a lot of trouble with rubber baby buggy bumpers, but then I often twist words around, as in the example above. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/15 "2009-10-16T02:09:15Z")
An english as a second language friend of mine said ‘she still steals steel.’ Drove him batshit crazy. I just rattled it off and he gave me that ‘I hate you’ look. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/16 "2009-10-16T04:58:30Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I thought Unique New York was easy until I read the U-Nork part and then I started saying it wrong. Still overall it’s pretty easy. Same here! I said it a dozen times fast before I read that. Now it’s much harder. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/17 "2009-10-16T05:36:17Z")
Actual handwritten sign in a little retail shop window: “We Re-weave Rugs” And this one, supposedly overheard on a river rafting trip: “Where are our oars?” . ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/18 "2009-10-16T05:53:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve never heard of that one. I can’t say it any other way but perfectly. It doesn’t seem any more twisty to me than, say, “hamburger helper”. Yeah, that one doesn’t trip me up at all. The sheik one, on the other hand, is a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/19 "2009-10-16T15:30:08Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > “Toy boat” a dozen times fast is one of the most concise difficult tongue twisters I know… That doesn’t bother me in the least. But the “sixth sick sheik” one, which I’d never heard before, is a doozy. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670/20 "2009-10-16T18:29:38Z")
Not to hijack this fine thread but do non-english speakers find it hard to say “The Sixth Sheik etc” If so, I would think that the tongue twister comprises combinations of mouth and tongue movements/combinations not normally used in everyday speech - speech that has been taught since infancy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tongue-twisters-hard/513670.md?page=2)