Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry
Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry
Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry
Why Is It Hard?
Lorry contains both an r and an l sound. Red has a leading r while yellow has a leading y sound that flows into the el of lorry. As you repeat the pair, your tongue must alternate between the r-position and l-position on the same word lorry, while the opening consonants keep switching. After four repetitions, red and yellow start to merge.
History
Red lorry yellow lorry is one of Britain’s best-known tongue twisters and a staple of British primary school classrooms. A lorry is the British English word for a truck. The twister likely emerged in the mid-20th century alongside widespread lorry use on British roads. It is the British equivalent of the American toy boat twister and uses the same principle of alternating liquid consonants.
Tips for Saying It
- Practise the r-l switch in lorry alone: say lorry ten times, feeling r and l each time.
- Red lorry: lead with r. Yellow lorry: lead with y, then let the el of lorry do the work.
- Keep the commas: a tiny natural pause between pairs prevents the sounds from fusing.
More English Tongue Twisters
- Truly Rural — the r and l liquid challenge
- Toy Boat — the American equivalent
- Hard Tongue Twisters — more challenges
Find hundreds more on alltonguetwisters.com.