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A Twister of Twists A Tangler of Tongues - Tongue Twisters PDFDrive
A Twister of Twists A Tangler of Tongues - Tongue Twisters PDFDrive
A Twister of Twists A Tangler of Tongues - Tongue Twisters PDFDrive
ATANGLER OF TONGUES
ii' 'h
another.
In the process of being passed along,
twisters change. Some of them become re-
Book Club
Edition
Digitized by the Internet Arciiive
in 2010
http://www.archive.org/details/twisteroftwiststOOscliw
A Twister of Twists,
ATANGLER OF TONGUES
aTwister of Twists,
atangler of tongues
J. B. COMPANY
LIPPINCOTT
PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK
Text Copyright © 1972 by Alvin Schwartz
Fighting Men 30
Food and Drink 36
Health 44
Love and Marriage 47
Music 53
Nature 56
Occupations 60
Other Things 92
Twisters in Other Tongues 99
French, German, Greek,
10
ers continue to appear, and by some mysterious proc-
ess the best take root and spread.
This collection includes twisters on rockets, biscuit
mixers, rubber baby buggy bumpers, Yo-Yo's, alumi-
num, preshrunk shirts, and other modem inventions,
each the creation of an unknown author who had dis-
but now try some that already are part of our heritage.
Alvin Schwartz
11
A Twister of twists,
Once twisted a twist,
.'^-^..
13
A Twister of Twists,
ATANCLER OF TONGUES
ANIMALS
AND INSECTS
u 'In I
17
A noisy noise annoys an oyster.
18
4 fat dogs frying fritters and
fiddling ferociously.
19
O silent snakes slithering slowly southward.
6 selfish shellfish.
OO sickly chicks.
20
The rat ran by the river with a lump of raw liver.
21
The skunk sat on a stump and thunk
the stump stunk.
But the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
2.2,
Once upon a barren moor
There dwelt a bear.
also a boar.
23
•••
24
A tree toad loved a she-toad
as
A pale pink proud peacock
pompously preened its pretty plumage.
26
The sixth sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
27
A shy little she said, "Shool"
To a fly and a flea in a flue.
28
Can you imagine
an imaginary
menagerie manager
imagining
managing
an imaginary
menagerie
29
FIGHTING MEN
30
Shining
soldiers.
Soldiers' shoulders ^ j g *
5 u 6^
when SHRILL
shells SHRIEK,
Sister Susie's
sewing shirts
for soldiers.
31
Six twin-screw cruisers.
standing silent
as
short,
sharp,
shattering
shocks
shake
their splendid ship.
32
Ned Nott was shot
and Sam Shott was not
So it is better to be Shott
than Nott.
Some say Nott
was not shot
But Shott says
he shot Nott.
Either the shot Shott shot at Nott
was 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.
33
Mr. See owned a saw
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See
Whicli made Soar sore.
34
Bandy-legg'd Borachio Mustachio Whiskerifusti-
35
FOOD AND DRINK
Cuthbert's custard.
36
Greek grapes.
37
^^^''^^^^^
38
I? •*
"^"^m!^.
39
^ *^ .^
40
Betty Better
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—
in her batter.
And the batter
was not bitter.
So 'twas better
Betty Botter
Bought a bit
of better butter.
41
A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits,
42
Coop up the cookl
43
HEALTH
Lemon
liniment.
44
If one doctor doctors another, does the doctor who
doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doc-
tor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor the
doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?
45
Theophilus Thisdedown,
the successful thistle sifter,
46
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
t^"
J-.'fef
.aii^«
47
Tho* a kiss be amiss
She who misses the kisses,
As Miss without kiss,
Bisqmck—Kiss quickl
48
A tall eastern girl named Short long loved a big Mr.
Little. But Little, thinking little of Short, loved a Httle
lass named Long. To belittle Long, Short annomiced
she would marry Little before long. This caused Little
to shortly marry Long.
To make a long story short, did tall Short love big
Little less because Little loved Httle Long more?
49
SHREWD SIMON SHORT
Shrewd Simon Short sewed shoes. Seventeen sum-
mers saw Simon's small, shabby shop still standing, saw
Simon s selfsame squeaking sign still swinging swiftly,
specifying:
SIMON SHORT
Smithfield's Sole Surviving
SHOEMAKER
Shoes Soled • Sewed Superfinely
50
"Softly," said sweet Sally. "Sam's smitten. Sam's
51
"S-s-sartin," said Sam.
Silence, seventeen seconds.
52
MUSIC
53
If to hoot and to toot
A Hottentot tot
Was taught by a Hottentot tutor,
Should the tutor get hot
If the Hottentot tot
Hoots and toots
54
while trying to whistle
Christopher Twistle
This is a zither.
55
NATURE
-**'^4
56
3 tree twigs.
6 slim saplings.
6 thick swamps.
Really rural.
57
Beautiful
brooks
between
blossoming
banks.
58
Some shun sunshine.
59
OCCUPATIONS
60
A bootblack blacks boots
with a black blacking brush.
in six seconds.
61
^* V*'-'
62
She stood at the door of Mrs. Smith's fish sauce
ShaU
seashells
be
sold
?
63
Wise
wives
whisde
while
weaving
worsted
waistcoats.
64
Rush the washing, Russell!
65
many cans
Can a canner can,
' If a canner
Can can cans?
A canner can can
As many cans
As a canner can
If a canner
" lan cans.
66
Esaw Wood sawed wood. Esaw Wood would saw
Wood would sawl One day
wood. Oh, the wood that
Esaw Wood saw a saw saw wood as no other wood-
saw Wood ever saw would saw wood. Of all the wood-
saws Wood ever saw saw wood, Wood never saw a
wood-saw that would saw like the wood-saw Wood
saw would.
Now Esaw saws with that saw he saw saw wood.
67
Wood said he would carry the wood
through the wood.
And if Wood said he would.
Wood would.
68
A maid with a duster
Made a furious bluster
Dusting a bust in the hall.
69
A regal rural ruler.
70
OVERWEAR
AND UNDERWEAR
WHO
washed Washington's
white woolen underwear
when Washington's washerwoman went West?
71
His shirt soon shrank in the suds.
Preshrunk shirts.
7a
I need not your needles
They're needless to me.
For needing needles
Is needless, you see.
I
73
Does this shop stock short socks with spots?
74
Shoes and socks shock Susie.
75
PEOPLE,
WITCHES,
GHOSTS
76
Peggy Babcock.
77
Which is the witch that wished the wicked wish?
78
As I went into the garden
I saw fi\-e bra\'e maids
Sitting on five broad beds
Braiding broad braids.
I said to these five brave maids
Sitting on five broad beds
Braiding broad braids,
"Braid broad braids, brave maids.*
79
Round and round the rugged rock the ragged
rascal ran.
80
I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I
thought I thought.
If the thought I thought I thought had been the
thought I thought, I wouldn't have thought so much.
8i
READING,
WRITING,
ARITHMETIC
I can't stand
,yx^^^JU-?^, n^^rvCtt^Hz.''
when it's written rotten.
82
The bootblack brought the book back.
83
84
Xisbeth lisps lengthy lessons.
85
TRAVEL
86
The
sinJcing
^feaoj
er
^
S7
The two twenty-two tore through town.
88
•^ ^*h -7IS**V\'* •"-
89
Let little Nellie run a little.
90
The dude dropped in at the Dewdrop Inn.
91
OTHER THINGS
9^
Toy boat.
Silver thimbles.
Yellow Yo-Yo's.
93
A black-backed bath brush.
A knapsack strap.
94
My wife gave Mr. Snipe's
wife's knife a swipe.
95
*
* *
(c at'
000'
9
O06'«^ .. f
Truly plural
96
Does
the
wristwatch
shop
shut
soon
?
Which wristwatches
are Swiss wristwatches?
97
The wild wind whipped Whit from the wharf.
98
TWISTERS IN
OTHER TONGUES
99
FRENCH
100
GERMAN
s.-^,,^M.w^JL&L-w
lOl
GREEK
Mia ira^ria ma Tria nama.?
102
HEBREW
HUNGARIAN
103
ITALIAN
cheaply.
104
JAPANESE
POLISH
105
SPANISH
106
Tres tristes tigres trillaron trigo en un trigal.
107
'"-»•..
^o <
108
El otorrinolaringologo de Parangaricutirimicuaro
se quiere
desotorrinolaringologoparangaricutirimicuarizar
porque si no se
desotorrinolaringologoparangaricutirimicuarizara
lo van a
desotorrinolaringologoparangaricutirimicuarizar.
tee-ree-mi-quah-ree-zara
low vahn a
des-oto-ree-no-?a/i-rine-go-logo-paran-ga/i-ree-coo-
tee-ree-mi-quah-iee-zar.
109
TO TWIST YOUR
OWN TWISTER
skill.
Ill
NOTES,
SOURCES,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTES
A Twister of twists (page 13). The "Twister^* twister,
from which the title of this book is taken, is one of the
oldest in the English language. However, it has
changed considerably since it appeared in 1674 ^
Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae by John Wallis, a
grammar published in Oxford, England. Then it read:
"5
Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers (page 31):
The "Sister Susie" twister actually is part of a song that
was popular in England during World War I. Whether
the twister or the song came first is not known, but
the entire song was a twister of sorts. Sidney Hamer of
Washington, D.C., who was a performer in EngUsh
music halls in that period, recalled these lyrics in a
letter to the Library of Congress:
116
is a variation of one of the most durable twisters in
the United States. The best known version is "The sea
ceaseth and it sufficeth for us," which some beUeve to
be of BibHcal origin. In the Standard Dictionary of
Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, the folklorist Char-
les Francis Potter suggests that the twister might have
its roots in the Old Testament's book of Jonah, "the sea
ceased from her raging" and the New Testament's
Gospel of Saint John, "Lord, show us the Father, and
it sufficeth us."
117
pepper Peter Piper picked?" ) Here, for example,
. is the
report on Questing Quidnunc:
one version starts with "Round and round the rock the
ragged rascal ran," which frequently is treated as a
twister in its own right.
118
SOURCES
A number of tongue twisters in this book were re-
called from my childhood. Some were acquired from
friends and acquaintances. As word of my project
spread, others were sent to me by persons I did not
know but who had twisters they wanted to share.
Among these, the major contributor was Wallace G.
Scott, a California speech teacher. In addition, the fol-
"9
1930's. The collectors were unemployed folklorists and
writers the government hired as part of the Federal
120
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
1947-
•Halhwell-PhiUips, James Orchard, The Nursery
121
Rhymes and Nursery Tales of England. London,
Frederick Wame and Co., 1865.
Howard, Dorothy, Folk Rhymes and Jingles of Ameri-
can Children. New York, New York University,
1938. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Hyatt, Harry M., Folklore from Adams County, Illi-
nois. New York, Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation,
1935-
•Justus, May T., The Complete Peddler's Pack: Games,
Songs, Rhymes, b- Riddles from Mountain Folk-
lore. Kaoxville, Tennessee, University of Tennes-
see Press, 1967.
Koch, Wilham E., and Sacket, Sidney J., Kansas Folk-
lore. Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska
Press, 1961.
1959-
,The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes.
London and New York, Oxford University Press,
1951-
, The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book. London and
New York, Oxford University Press, 1955.
Parkin, Ken, Anthology of British Tongue Twisters.
122
Peter Piper's Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect
Pronunciation. London, J. Harris, undated.
* Potter, Charles Francis, More Tongue Tanglers b- a
Rigmarole. Cleveland and New York, World Pub-
lishing Company, 1964.
*
, Tongue Tanglers. Cleveland and New York,
ARTICLES
123
Gordon, Maxine W., The Folklore of Vieques, Yauco,
and Loqvillo, Puerto Rico." Journal of American
Folklore, v.64:55 (1951).
Leland, Charles E., "Possible Origin of a Nursery
Rhyme." Journal of American Folklore, ¥.4:170
(1891). The possibihty, later disproved, that the
name Peter Piper derives from Peter Pipemus, a
seventeenth-century Italian author and priest.
Leventhal, Nancy C, and Cray, Ed, "Depth Collecting
from a Sixth Grade Class." Western Folklore, v.22:-
159, 231 (1963)-
Loomis, C. Grant, "A Handful of Tongue Twisters."
Western Folklore, ¥.8:373 (1949).
Mook, Maurice A., "Tongue Tanglers from Western
Pennsylvania." Journal of American Folklore,
¥.72:291 (1959)-
O'Brien, Ahce Crissman, "Tongue Twisters from Cali-
124
Steadman, J. M., Jr., "Tongue-Twisters: Difficult Pro-
nunciation as a Source of Verbal Taboos." Amer-
ican Speech, v.i 1:203 (^QS^)-
"A Twist of Twisters." New York Folklore Quarterly,
v.3:246 (1947).
Waugh, F. W., "Canadian Folklore from Ontario."
Journal of American Folklore, v.3i:4 (1918).
Winslow, David J.,
"An Annotated Collection of Chil-
dren's Lore." Keystone Folklore Quarterly, v.ii:-
151 (1966).
, "An Introduction to Oral Tradition Among
Children." Keystone Folklore Quarterly, v. 11:43
(1966).
Wintemberg, W. J. and Katherine, "Folklore from
Grey County, Ontario." Journal of American Folk-
lore, ¥.31:82 (1918).
125
ABOUT ALVIN SCHWARTZ
Alvin Schwartz has written many books for young peo-
ple and for families on subjects as varied as folklore,