Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously; for nobody’s toeses are posies or roses as Moses supposes his toeses to be.
Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously; for nobody’s toeses are posies or roses as Moses supposes his toeses to be.
Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously; for nobody’s toeses are posies or roses as Moses supposes his toeses to be.
Why Is It Hard?
The rhyming -oses and -oses words (Moses, supposes, toeses, roses, posies) all end in the same oz sound but shift consonants at the beginning. The s and z sounds alternate throughout the sentence. At speed, supposes and Moses start to sound identical, and toeses (a nonsense plural of toes) slips into roses. The repetition of Moses supposes makes the brain want to short-circuit the sentence.
History
Moses supposes his toeses are roses became famous as a tap dance number in the 1952 MGM film Singin’ in the Rain, performed by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. However the tongue twister predates the film and appears in British and American elocution manuals from the 19th century. It was already a standard speech drill by the time Hollywood discovered it.
Tips for Saying It
- Identify the rhyme scheme: Moses-supposes-toeses-roses-posies all rhyme.
- Practise the contrast: Moses (starts with m) and supposes (starts with s).
- The key difficulty is erroneously in the middle — slow down there, then speed up for the final clause.
More English Tongue Twisters
- She Sells Seashells — another classic s-sound twister
- Funny Tongue Twisters — more humorous twisters
- Tongue Twisters — full collection
Find hundreds more on alltonguetwisters.com.