Line #29 Main/TongueTwister


1	[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Two tropers tarried to talk "tongue-twister" topic's techniques. Tropers' tongues twisted till tropers' tangled tongues tied totally taut. Talking troubles taught tropers twain to tackle tortuous tongue-twisters tentatively.]]
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3	In plain language, a tongue twister is a sentence or phrase that's meant to be difficult to say, generally because it incorporates rhymes, near-rhymes, alliteration, assonance or all of the above. The simultaneous excitation of so many closely-linked neurons in the brain's speech centers results in unintended {{Spoonerism}}s and VerbalTic-like errors, mid-phrase. Sometimes these phrases are constructed so that the errors will generate [[InnocentSwearing unintentional]] swear-words. A tongue-twister is generally easier to say when speaking slowly; often, short ones will be accompanied by a challenge to say them [[RuleOfThree three times fast]].
4
5	These sayings occur both as works in themselves, and as features of larger works. Often, when a tongue twister is employed within a broader work, it's as a comedic element focusing on just how hard it is to say the phrase properly. Both in RealLife and in fiction, they can be used to practice enunciation in speech therapy and oratory training.
6
7	Interestingly, an equivalent concept exists in sign languages, in which difficult-to-sign phrases are known as "finger fumblers".
8
9	A sister trope of CannotSpitItOut. Often overlaps with AddedAlliterativeAppeal, but not always. If applied to a name, it'll become TheUnpronounceable.
10
11	----
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	[[folder:Typical tongue twisters]]
15	* William Poundstone declared this to be the most challenging tongue-twister in the English language:
16	-->The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us.
17	* This old song, the first line of which is a well-known example:
18	-->She sells sea shells on the sea-shore,\
19	The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.\
20	For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore\
21	Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells.
22	* Just ''try'' to rattle off the following without an error:
23	-->Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.\
24	The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter\
25	And made her batter bitter.\
26	But a bit of better butter makes better batter.\
27	So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter\
28	Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better.
29	* This submission won a contest in ''Games'' magazine in 1979:
30	-->Shep Schwab shopped at Scott's Schnapps shop;\
31	One shot of Scott's Schnapps stopped Schwab's watch.
32	* And while we're on the topic of watches we've got:
33	-->Three Swedish switched witches watch three Swiss Swatch watch switches.\
34	Which Swedish switched witch watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?
35	* This one, while less difficult, is still plenty impressive to rattle off at speed:
36	--> Around the rough and rugged rock, the ragged rascal randomly ran.
37	* Some high-speed examples, which become tongue twisters if said quickly and repeatedly:
38	** A Proper Copper Coffee Pot. (This one inspired a tongue-tangling song by the folk band Trout Fishing In America.)
39	** Betty Bopper's battering batton made Bertie Bopper bite her.
40	** Cecily thought Sicily less thistly than Thessaly.
41	** Irish wristwatch.
42	** Peggy Babcock.
43	** The bog above Bob Gorman's bog.
44	** Pleasant mother pheasant plucker.
45	** Red Leather, Yellow Leather. Or alternately: Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry.
46	** Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper.
47	** Smiley shlug with Shloer.
48	** Mad Man.
49	** Unique New York.
50	** City Shellfish.
51	** Toy boat.
52	* Some other classics:
53	-->Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers --\
54	A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.\
55	If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,\
56	Then where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
57	* These:
58	-->How much wood would a woodchuck chuck\
59	If a woodchuck would chuck wood?
60	** And its answer:
61	--->All of the wood that a woodchuck ''would'',\
62	''if'' a woodchuck ''could'' chuck wood!
63	** Alternatively:
64	--->A woodchuck could chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could\
65	If a woodchuck could chuck wood.
66	** Or the variant:
67	--->How much whey would a zimbab weigh\
68	If a zimbab would weigh whey
69	* According to at least one edition of the ''Guinness Book of World Records'', the world's hardest tongue twister (or at least in English) is:
70	-->The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
71	* "Fuzzy Duck" and "Duckie Fuzz" will eventually make the speaker mess up and say "fuck".
72	** The woodchuck example above is also intended to do this, as is the "pheasant plucker" variant.
73	* A German one that translates quite well:
74	-->''Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische, frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze.''\
75	'''English version:''' Fisher(man) Fritz fished fresh fish, fresh fish fished fisher(man) Fritz
76	* Announcers' tests, used to determine if someone has a suitable speaking voice for radio or narration, often include tongue-twisters. A classic example requires reciting the following, from memory, without an error:
77	-->One hen\
78	Two {{Duck}}s\
79	Three [[NoisyNature squawking geese]]\
80	Four [[UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}} Limerick]] oysters\
81	Five [[DolphinsDolphinsEverywhere corpulent porpoises]]\
82	Six bottles of smooth and pink [[ProductPlacement Pepto Bismal]] (or Six pairs of Don Alverzo's Tweezers)\
83	Seven thousand [[ProudWarriorRace Macedonians in full battle array]]\
84	Eight brass monkeys from the [[AncientTomb ancient, sacred crypts]] [[AncientEgypt of Egypt]]\
85	Nine [[GrumpyOldMan apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men]] [[CoolOldGuy on roller skates]] with a [[LazyBum marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth]]\
86	[[SerialEscalation Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who haul stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time]]
87	* There are a few tongue twisters that seek to take advantage of you. These are {{NSFW}} when said aloud and messed up.
88	-->I'm not the pheasant plucker / I'm the pheasant plucker's son\
89	I'm only plucking pheasants 'til the pheasant plucker comes.
90	** And:
91	--->Silent Susan sits in her Chevrolet.\
92	She sits and she shifts and she shifts and she sits.
93	** Also:
94	--->I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
95	** While it's not as hard to say as some of the others, "Cunning Stunts" [[CountryMatters is probably one of the worst to mess up]].
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Tongue-Tangling in Tales]]
99	[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]
100	* In a Toyota commercial, a saleswoman sums up a family's car-buying preferences:
101	-->"So, Clarence is here for clearance to get Cammy a Camry, and Blake wants it in black."
102	* In a Honey Bunches Of Oats Cereal commercial, an actress tries and fails repeatedly to recite what's ''supposed'' to be:
103	--> "Crispy crunchy bunches, for breakfast, brunch, and lunches."
104	* In a commercial for the restaurant chain Culver's:
105	--> "A better bit of beef makes a butter burger better!"
106	* ''Advertising/DairyQueenLips'': In one ad, the Lips say "Brownie Batter Blizzard" four times fast, only for their tongue to literally become tied the fourth time.
107	-->'''DQ Lips:''' ...Huh. Delicious ''and'' a tongue twister.
108
109	[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
110	* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': In Chapter 109, Rentarou supplies his girlfriends with tongue twisters to garble their speech as part of his atmospheric conditions for PlayingDrunk.
111	* In an early episode of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', child prodigy Chiyo-chan admits that tongue twisters are one of the few things she's not good at, as she demonstrates when she adorably stumbles over saying "Basu gasu bakuhatsu" ("Bus gas explosion").
112	* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'': When the kids encounter some Pipismon who keep echoing what they say, they try to confuse them by speaking in tongue twisters.
113	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': In the Egghead Arc, there's a one-off gag where Vegapunk bites his OverlyLongTongue trying to say the name of his Brain-Brain Fruit (in the original Japanese, it's known as the "Nomi Nomi no Mi").
114	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': In Episode 168, Usagi does these in order to make Mamoru pay attention.
115	-->"Moses supposes his toeses are roses!"
116	-->"Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter!"
117
118	[[AC:ComicBooks]]
119	* Practically everything that comes out of V's mouth in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' qualifies. One wonders how many takes it must've taken to produce his dialogue for [[Film/VForVendetta the film]]…
120
121	[[AC:Fanfiction]]
122	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12890884/14/Altair-Institute-of-Magic-BEING-REWRITTEN Altair Institute of Magic]]'' has the following (taken from "Fox in Socks"):
123	-->'''Luna:''' Luke Luck likes lakes, Luke's duck likes lakes. Luke Luck licks lakes, Luke's duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes, Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes.
124	* ''Fanfic/SteelSoulSaga'': In [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/40308/1/steel-soul/steel-soul "Steel Soul"]], using AddedAlliterativeAppeal:
125	--> “Right! So stop all that mopy dopy nonsense and let me fix you up!” The party pony grinned tapping her belt. “It’ll hurt a bit but you’ll be running round with the other crusaders before you can say Chipper Chanter chases Cherry Chimichangas!”\
126	“Chipper Chant cherry chimi...?” The little unicorn’s eyes spun in confusion.\
127	“See what I mean?”
128
129	[[AC:[[AnimatedFilms Film — Animated]]]]
130	* The third verse of Baloo's "Bare Necessities" song in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' is one long tongue twister (this sounds better with the music):
131	-->Now when you pick a pawpaw, \
132	Or a prickly pear\
133	And you prick a raw paw\
134	Next time beware\
135	Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw\
136	When you pick a pear\
137	Try to use the claw\
138	But you don't need to use the claw, when you pick a pear of the big pawpaw\
139	Have I given you a clue?
140	* In ''WesternAnimation/JetsonsTheMovie'', Rudy-2 uses several tongue twisters involving the phrase "sprocket locker", which comes to a head with this:
141	-->'''Rudy-2''': There's something going on here, George. The two sprocket lockers were unscrewed from the lock sprocket sockets!
142	-->'''George''': Say that again?
143	-->'''Rudy-2''': I can't!
144	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'', Schmendrick tries twice and just gives up:
145	-->"And be wary of wousing a wizard's wath! Rousing a rizard's... Be wary of making a magician angry!"
146
147	[[AC:[[LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]]]
148	* In the 1966 movie ''AroundTheWorldUnderTheSea'', divers have to place a seismic monitoring device near some [[ChekhovsVolcano fumaroles which may well explode]]. They recite "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" as a SurvivalMantra.
149	* Zombie-child movie ''Film/{{Cooties}}'' points out the difficulty one can have in saying the name of those pickup trucks with double-wheels in the back: "dual-rear-wheel".
150	* ''Film/TheCourtJester'' starred Creator/DannyKaye, who could tear through tongue twisters with aplomb. The writers played to this by packing the script full of them:
151	** The instructions for the jester to avoid being poisoned are: "the vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison, and the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." Later (because the chalice from the palace is broken), "the pellet with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon, and the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."
152	** Also: "The Duchess dove at the Duke just when the Duke dove at the Doge. Now the Duke ducked, the Doge dodged, and the Duchess didn't. So the Duke got the Duchess, the Duchess got the Doge, and the Doge got the Duke!"
153	* ''Film/TheJerk'' has a scene of Navin TalkingInBed with Marie in which he quotes the "sheet-slitting" tongue twister:
154	-->'''Navin''': Marie, are you awake? Good. You look so beautiful and peaceful, you almost look dead. I'm glad because there is something that has always been very difficult for me to say. "I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit." I've never been relaxed enough around anyone to be able to say that.
155	* The "Three Musketeers" sketch from ''Franchise/TheMuppets Go to the Movies'' involves the Scarlet Pimpernel dropping a crumpet made from pumpernickel, covered in lumps, from Humperdink's bakery, [[OverlyPrepreparedGag leading to the line]] "It's that simple wimp, Pimpernel, and his Humperdink's lumpy pumpernickel crumpets!" Link Hogthrob, playing one of the Musketeers, keeps stumbling over the line.
156
157	[[AC:LightNovels]]
158	* In episode 14 of ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'', Koyomi Araragi deals with [[CatGirl Black Hanekawa]] ([[spoiler:Tsubasa Hanekawa possessed by a ''male'' bakeneko she refers to as a "meddlesome cat"]]), whose appearance, demeanor, and actions get a rise out of [[ChivalrousPervert Araragi]]. He then asks her to repeat, "Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?" Not only does she repeat the tongue twister flawlessly, but she finds the time to throw in her cat-based VerbalTic as well. [[CutenessProximity Araragi is quite impressed.]]
159	-->'''Black Hanekawa:''' Can mew imyagine an imyaginyary mewnyagerie mewnyager imyagining mewnyaging an imyaginyary mewnyagerie?
160
161	[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
162	* The Brazilian fantasy novel ''Acalantopia - Proezas e Desventuras em um Brazil Encantado'' ("Acalantopia - Prowess and Misadventure in an Enchanted Brazil") centers around a couple that tries to catalogue several magical beings and items inspired by folkloric Brazilian nursery rhymes, sayings, lullabies and the like [[SpeculativeBiology scientifically, giving them formal nomenclatures and descriptions]]. Thus, several of those beings come from popular tongue-twisters -- for instance, the mafagafo is a fictional, undescribed animal in folklore whose meaningless name is used to make neologisms in tongue-twisters with many different variations, such as this:
163	-->Um ninho de mafagafos\
164	Tinha sete mafagafinhos\
165	Quem desmafagafar o ninho de mafagafos\
166	Bom desmafagafador será.[[labelnote:Translation]]A nest of mafagafos had seven little mafagafos. Whoever "unmafagafoes" the nest of mafagafos, a good "unmafagafoer" will be[[/labelnote]]
167	::Since the verses consistently mention a nest, the popular idea of mafagafos is that they are birdlike; ergo, the novel illustrates them as cat-sized griffins, and so forth.
168	* In Heinlein's short time-paradox story "Literature/ByHisBootstraps", Wilson demonstrates that he '''is''' drunk by reciting "Peter Piper", and having it come out "Peter Piper pepped a pick of pippered peckles".
169	* In ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge: A Halloween Boo Fest'', the Man in the Yellow Hat sends George to select a pumpkin. The young man who's managing the pumpkin patch rattles off a whole series of these, explaining that he's a "peppy expert picker, picking proper pumpkins".
170	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
171	** ''The Pheasant Plucking Song'' is referenced in the City Watch novels, as Fred Colon was once in a military regiment called the Pheasant Pluckers. In reminiscing, he recalls how the regimental song was a bit difficult to sing correctly.
172	** In ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', Vimes recites "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" to prove he's not drunk.
173	* Creator/DrSeuss' ''Fox In Socks'' is made up of examples of this trope, as well as ''Oh Say Can You Say''.
174	** ''Fox in Socks'' is a more solid tongue-twisting read. Good luck getting through the "three free fleas" tongue twister without stumbling.
175	-->'''Mr. Knox''': I can't blab such blibber-blubber!\
176	My tongue isn't made of rubber!
177	** ''Oh Say Can You Say'''s twisters are of varying quality and ease, but a few of them top ''Fox in Socks'' when taken individually. Yes, we're looking at you, "Never buy your Daddy a Walrus".
178	--->A walrus with whiskers is not a good pet.\
179	And a walrus which whispers is worse even yet.\
180	When a walrus lisps whispers through tough rough wet whiskers,\
181	your poor daddy’s ear will get blispers and bliskers.
182	* ''Literature/GarrettPI'': In ''Wicked Bronze Ambition'', Garrett's sorceress companion teases him about [[DoesNotLikeSpam his least favorite food]], saying that if he could ban green peppers as he wished, his criminal friends would all start picking and packing pecks of peppers for the black market. Garrett himself has had trouble enunciating the phrase "saber-toothed tiger" ever since ''Bitter Gold Hearts''.
183	* Non-alliterative example: In ''Literature/{{It}}'', Stuttering Bill's speech therapist has him recite "He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts". This awkward sentence becomes something of a confidence-building mantra for Bill. It's actually much older than the movie or the book it was based on (first recorded in print sometime in the 18th century), and often used as a warmup for theatre actors. The full version goes "Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts[=/=]With barest wrists and stoutest boasts[=/=]He thrusts his fists against the posts[=/=]And still insists he sees the ghosts."
184	* A variant of the "announcers' test" example, above, appears in the 1997 novel ''Matters of Chance'' by Jeannette Haien:
185	-->One good hen\
186	Two ducks\
187	Three cackling geese\
188	Four plump partridges\
189	Five Limerick oysters\
190	Six pairs of Don Alphonso tweezers\
191	Seven hundred Macedonian horseman [''sic''] dressed in full battle array\
192	Eight sympathetic, apathetic, diabetic old men on crutches\
193	Nine brass monkeys from the Sacred Sepulchres of Ancient Egypt\
194	Ten lyrical, spherical heliotropes from the Iliad Missionary Institute
195	* Creator/JasperFforde's ''Literature/NurseryCrime'': A subplot in ''The Fourth Bear'' turns out to be an OverlyPreparedGag setup to a tongue-twister, which prompts one character to say "[[WhoWritesThisCrap I don't know how he gets away with it]]".
196	* In one of Creator/JasperFforde's ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books, a fictional character gets Thursday to try to say one, and is quite intrigued by her inability, because fictional characters have no trouble with them.
197	* F. Gwynplaine Macintyre's historical murder-mystery story ''The Weighing of the Heart'' opens with a TongueTwister in ''Ancient Egyptian'', no less:
198	-->''Medu m'at mai ma'at mety'' ["A mummy speaks in straightforward truth"]
199	* Creator/StephenFry has recounted how the phrase "Harry pocketed it" gave him ''horrible'' stuttering problems while recording the audiobook version of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban''.
200
201	[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
202	* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Jenna starred in a film called "The Rural Juror", which no one can pronounce without it sounding like gibberish.
203	* ''Series/AdventuresInWonderland'': In the episode "Untwist of Fate", Alice gets caught in a twister. It turns out that it was a "tongue twister", so every time she tries to speak, she says a random tongue twister.
204	* In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', a recurring character Bob Loblaw is a lawyer, creating various instants of tongue twister in both visual and dialogue form.
205	-->'''Bob Loblaw:''' Actually, I was going to stay in my office tonight and work on my law blog.\
206	'''Tobias:''' Of course. ''Bob Loblaw Law Blog.''
207	* In ''Series/TheBradyBunch'', little Cindy was attempting to get rid of her lisp:
208	-->'''Cindy:''' She sells seashells by the seashore. She sells seashells by the seashore. She sells seashells by the seashore.\
209	'''Marcia:''' Cindy, would you mind practicing somewhere else? Arithmetic is kind of hard.\
210	'''Cindy:''' So are S's.
211	* In ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', Jake and Terry turn one of these into a tool of gloating after using a mobile situation command vehicle borrowed from the Department of Homeland Security to gain the upper-hand in a bet with Amy and Charles to see who can recover the most escape fugitives from a prison bus crash:
212	-->''[Regarding the mobile situation command vehicle]''\
213	'''Terry:''' She's also got a holding cell. Which is big enough for three perps. Jake, counting this guy, how many perps have we caught and placed in the three-perp perp cell?\
214	'''Jake:''' Well, Sarge, we've placed three perps in the three-perp perp cell.\
215	'''Terry:''' So the three-perp perp cell is full?\
216	'''Jake:''' Full of three perps is the three-perp perp cell--\
217	'''Amy:''' ''Okay stop saying 'perps' and 'cell' and 'three'.''
218	* In an episode of ''Series/TheColbertReport'', Creator/MartinFreeman discussed playing Bilbo Baggins in ''Film/TheHobbit''. He mentioned how thrilled he was that he, along with the rest of the cast, were immortalized as Lego figures.
219	-->'''Colbert''': Is there a Lego Legolas?\
220	'''Freeman''': Yes, but he only goes down to here (indicates his waist) so he's a legless Lego Legolas.
221	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
222	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks The Power of the Daleks]]": The Second Doctor gets distracted by this trope after asking his companions "But will Lesterson listen?". Polly joins him in repeating "Lesterson listen" as fast as possible.
223	** From "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays The Parting of the Ways]]":
224	--->'''Captain Jack:''' We've got a fully-functional force field. Try saying ''that'' when you're drunk.
225	* In season 6 of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', when Ted confronts Victoria about her quite close friend Klaus from her class:
226	-->'''Ted:''' When you were living in Germany, and we were doing the whole long-distance thing... wasn't there a Klaus in your class?\
227	'''Victoria:''' There was a Klaus in my class.\
228	'''Ted:''' And you and Klaus were close.\
229	'''Victoria:''' Not that close.\
230	'''Ted:''' Yes, yes, you and the Klaus from your class were quite close.\
231	'''Victoria:''' Kind of close.\
232	'''Ted:''' Was that your Klaus?\
233	'''Victoria:''' My Klaus?\
234	'''Ted:''' In your class.\
235	'''Victoria:''' In my class?\
236	'''Ted:''' Is your Klaus the kind of close Klaus from your class?
237	* ''Series/LambchopsPlayAlong'' has a segment in which a tongue twister is recited by one of the characters and a song about such phrases.
238	* During the "Deadly Drones" build on ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'', Adam stumbles over the phrase "burst of blue blood" while explaining how the simulated gel-and-dye neck he's crafted should respond to a quadcopter's rotor cutting into it.
239	* ''Series/TheSmothersBrothersComedyHour'' had "My Old Man", a song in which each verse started "My old man's an X, what do you think about that?" and X was then included multiple times in the verse (starting with "sailor", and then "anthropologist" and "refrigerator repairman"). The last verse started "My old man's a cotton-pickin, finger-lickin, chicken plucker, what do you think about that?" ("You'd better not make a mistake!" "[[TemptingFate Let's hope not.]]")
240	* ''Series/TodaysSpecial'': In the episode "Fun", tongue twisters are one of the ways the characters have fun when their work is done. Sam repeatedly fails "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".
241	* ''Series/BetweenTheLions'' had the song "Sven Said, 'Ted, Send Ten Tents'". The title should say it all.
242
243	[[AC:{{Music}}]]
244	* In Harry Lauder's "Wee Deoch an Doris" one is used as an index of sobriety.
245	-->Just a wee deoch an doris, just a wee drop, that's all.\
246	Just a wee deoch an doris afore ye gang awa.\
247	There's a wee wifie waitin' in a wee but an ben.\
248	If you can say, "It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht",\
249	Then yer a'richt, ye ken.
250	* Edward "Eddy J" Lemberger's ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Tongue Twister Song!]]''
251	* One of Music/RayStevens' earliest hits is "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills" about a cure-all patent medicinal pill, with one of the lengthiest song titles which it would be impossible to say three consecutive times fast, let alone twice.
252	* The 6ths, a side project from Stephen Merritt of Music/TheMagneticFields, have a name that itself is difficult to say without just sounding like "the six." Their two albums so far are titled ''Wasps' Nests'' and ''Hyacinths & Thistles'', the latter of which is almost impossible to say fast once, much less three times.
253	* "Proper Cup Of Coffee", a 1926 music-hall comedy song by Bert Lee and R.P. Weston. Popular as an audience-participation ditty at folk festivals.
254
255	[[AC:{{Radio}}]]
256	* One skit on ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'' had two management consultants questioning whether by the seashore is the best place to sell seashells, with the tongue twister in question getting increasingly convoluted, until Mrs Shaw (the "she" in question) explains:
257	-->'''Mrs Shaw''': Right... But these shells that I sell here in my store, I sell as souvenirs ''of'' the seashore. Here by the seashore, shells are a draw, but inshore seashells lose their allure. When you buy seashells, if ever, I'm sure you buy seashells by the seashore.
258
259	[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
260	* Actors often use these to warm up for a performance; if someone is about to go onstage (in-universe or otherwise), you might see them preparing by speaking one of these aloud.
261	* This exchange in ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'':
262	-->'''Miles Gloriosus''': Oh, her bridal bower becomes a burial bier of bitter bereavement! \
263	'''Pseudolus''': Very good! Can you say "Titus the tailor told ten tall tales to Titania the titmouse"?
264	* ''Theatre/LadyInTheDark'' has one in "The Best Years Of His Life" (which fortunately is nowhere near as fast as the PatterSong sung by the same character immediately after):
265	-->The mister who once was the master of two\
266	Would make of his mistress his Mrs.\
267	But he's missed out on Mrs. for the mistress is through--\
268	What a mess of a mish-mash this is!
269	* These are used as teaching tools in ''Theatre/MyFairLady'': "In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen." At the Ascot race, Eliza shows off her eloquence by discussing the weather in tongue twisters.
270
271	[[AC:VideoGames]]
272	* ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'': At the end of the "Taller Tellers" upgrade description:
273	-->"Able to process a higher amount of transactions. Careful though, as taller tellers tell tall tales."
274	* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'': Guybrush can ask the carpenter on Scabb Island "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" Trying to get an answer to this question turns into an OverlyLongGag. Then the UpdatedRerelease gave audiences a fully-voiced version of the exchange.
275	* ''The Last Crown'' (sequel to ''VideoGame/TheLostCrown: A Ghosthunting Adventure'') includes the phrase "powerful paranormal phenomena", which the creator's blog suggests gave voice actress Emma Harry some RealLife Tongue Twister issues.
276	* You can play tongue twisters with Rio in ''[[VideoGame/OperatorsSide Lifeline]]'' after locating the correct command. Copy her without flubbing the words and she regains some health for free.
277	* In the final episode of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'', "The City That Dares Not Sleep", Mr. Featherly repeats "Unique New York" a few times in order to warm up for... laying an egg. ItMakesSenseInContext.
278
279	[[AC:WebOriginal]]
280	* ''WebVideo/AskThatGuyWithTheGlasses'' once rattled off three tongue-twisters in sequence, without stumbling or pausing for breath. One can only imagine the amount of takes it must have taken for him to do that.
281	* In his review of ''Film/RogueOne'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO9eq6DLUrI Epic Voice Guy explains]]: "Rogue One is a sequel to the prequels of the sequels of the prequels that are the originals in which this is a prequel of, but not a sequel to the sequel of the originals."
282
283	[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
284	* In a gardening story from ''WesternAnimation/AlmasWay'', regarding a red bell pepper that resembles Chacho the papillon, Becca announces that they'll "pick the pretty puppy pepper when it's positively ready to be picked." Alma quips a challenge to say that three times fast, and the onlooking crowd attempts (not too successfully) to recite Becca's phrase in unison.
285	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'':
286	** One episode had the Warners encountering a pirate, who tells them "You're trespassing on my private pirate property!" Wakko challenges him to say that three times fast. He fails.
287	** Another episode has the Warners in an altercation with a JerkAss news anchor who was unfairly harsh over them getting his food order wrong, and calling him a "picky pickle picker". Then they try to get the Wolf Blitzer {{Expy}} to say it three times fast.
288	-->'''Dot''': You won't do very well on CNN.
289	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles'': George can't say "soothsayer to the stars" without getting his tongue twisted in "We Can Work It Out".
290	* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' is quite fond of these. It was once said that that was one of the things that drives Amy Sedaris, the voice of Princess Carolyn, insane about the series. It was evident in season four when Todd is paired with celebrity actress Courtney Portnoy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhbIXBdJxM8 Here's a compilation of all the tongue twisters from the first four seasons.]] Season six finally explained that Princess Carolyn constructs these a mnemonic device, [[spoiler:and it becomes a breakthrough with connecting to and soothing her adopted porcupine daughter]].
291	* A regular feature on ''Bosco''. Two animated characters would say the Tongue Twister more and more quickly as their necks expanded.
292	* In the Halloween special for ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge'', Bill rattles off multiple examples in a conversation about selecting suitable materials for jack-o-lanterns, boasting of how he's a "peppy expert proper pumpkin picker".
293	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had a CutawayGag mocking ''Series/TvsBloopersAndPracticalJokes'', with a blooper from ''Joanie Loves Chachi", with Chachi attempting to say "She sells seashells by the seashore", [[spoiler:and getting attacked by a bear]].
294	* The Spark Team on ''WesternAnimation/HeroElementary'' have a run-in with rapidly-growing violet-colored weeds, aka "super purple pop-up plants". Saying the plants' name poses as much of a problem as suppressing their spread, for everyone but AJ (who keeps correcting the others' flubbed pronunciation).
295	* In the "Martha's Got Talent" episode of ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'', the talking dog plans to demonstrate her ability to recite tongue twisters in a talent contest [[spoiler: that's really a set-up by some bumbling would-be dog-nappers]].
296	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the FreakyFridayFlip episode "She Talks to Angel", once Angel realises he can talk, he soon starts rattling off the tongue twisters "Rubber baby buggy bumpers" and "Toy boat", weirding out the ponies around him.
297	* ''WesternAnimation/NatureCat'':
298	** Lampshaded when the title character proposes a trip to the grocery store to buy birdseed for "the Fabulous Feast for our Fine Feathered Friends".
299	** Daisy tries asking an ''actual'' woodchuck the solution to the "How much wood" example (see above). The woodchuck, evidently sick and tired of being asked that, refuses to come out of his burrow, instead sticking out a "No Tongue Twisters" sign.
300	* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'':
301	** In one of the Harlem Globetrotters episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'', the normally ComicallySerious Velma challenges her friends to say, "Something's thumping," three times fast. Shaggy doesn't even want to say it once.
302	** In the telethon episode of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndGuessWho'', guest star Kenan Thompson recites "Rubber baby buggy bumpers" several times as a pre-show voice warm-up.
303	** Any voice actor portraying Scooby-Doo ''has'' to be good at enunciating these, given the Great Dane's VerbalTic of inserting R-sounds into words.
304	* 2d!Doofenshmirtz in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb Across The Second Dimension'':
305	-->''2D!Doof:'' Boy borg. Try saying that five times fast. Boyborg, Boyborg, Boyborg, Boyborg, Boyborg...I guess maybe [[SubvertedTrope it's not that hard to say]].
306	* There are numerous tongue twisters in the ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' episode "You Said a Mouseful", wherein Brain attempts to put helium into hacky-sack sack-kicker shoes in a Hackensack factory. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption It doesn't pan out]], thanks to Brain being unable to talk straight after suffering a blow to the head.
307	-->'''Brain:''' You must slit the sixth sick sheet slitter's son's sheet, secure it next to the toy boat from the Hackensack Socko Kicky-Sack Sack Kickers' picnic in Secaucus, stretch it past the sack pickers' station and the sock plucker's chute, and pick a sack, pluck a sock, and flick the plug, so I can put the pea in the plucked sock with the picked sack for ballast and bounce it off the rubber baby buggy bumper, into the Parker Packard purple pewter pressure pump.
308	* In one "Bullwinkle's Corner" episode of ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'', Bullwinkle interviews Peter Piper, who says he quit the pickled pepper business because even ''he'' had trouble saying the tongue twister. So now he helps his sister sell sea shells by the sea shore. ("That's better?" exclaims Bullwinkle.)
309	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once featured the Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper Babysitting Service. [[SubvertedTrope Strangely, no one seems to have a problem with saying the name.]]
310	* Used in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Money Talks".
311	-->'''Flying Dutchman:''' All sales are final from the Flying Dutchman, especially for a selfish shellfish like yourself! ''[[AsideComment (to the viewer)]]'' Try saying ''that'' three times fast.
312	* The announcer on ''[[WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle Tom Slick]]'' has a tough time when Tom kits the Thunderbolt Grease Slapper with rubber baby buggy bumpers.
313	* On ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'', Martin names a honey guide "Sweet Tweet", which Chris finds difficult to say.
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Context Main / TongueTwister