tongue twister

[ tuhng twis-ter ]

noun

1. a word or sequence of words difficult to pronounce, especially rapidly, because of alliteration or a slight variation of consonant sounds, as “She sells seashells by the seashore.”

tongue twister

noun

1. a sentence or phrase that is difficult to articulate clearly and quickly, such as Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper

Word History and Origins

Origin of tongue twister¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

“It sounds like a tongue twister. Introduce yourselves as one of the families, and get that name recognition.”

From Los Angeles Times

The hyper-compound words of the popular German tongue twister about Barbara, her “bombastic” rhubarb cake and her hirsute customers shot to inexplicable and extreme popularity this spring, a few months after a pair of comedic musical content creators from Berlin posted a rap version late last year.

From New York Times

It's like a tongue twister, almost, because you're working two sides of your body at once.

From BBC

Yeah, someone paid him $150 for that tongue twister.

From Slate

Even Dominic didn’t know who Justin Finch-Fletchley was, other than a tongue twister.

From Seattle Times