A tutor who tooted the flute
A little verse by Carolyn Wells about a flute teacher and his two pupils. It is built on one vowel, the long OO, and one consonant, T, repeated in almost every word. The result is a line that sounds like a flute itself: toot, toot, toot.
A tutor who tooted the flute tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor, “Is it harder to toot or to tutor two tooters to toot?”
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- At the top of the tower, the tour guide told the group to take care, keep together and count the steps on the steep, dark stairway down.
- The cook took a good look at the cookbook.
- Doug's dog dug a deep ditch and decided to doze in the dirt.
- Good design takes time: draft it, test it, cut it, then decide.
- Tina tried to get the tiny kite to take off, but it kept dropping.
- Dina took the cake to the cottage, cut it and gave the kids a taste.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- A tutor who tooted the flute
- tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
- Said the two to the tutor,
- “Is it harder to toot
- or to tutor two tooters to toot?”
Tutors, tooters and two kinds of T
The words tutor, tooted, two, tooters, toot and to all start with T and continue with a long OO. The difference is in their endings and in the number of syllables. At speed the brain loses track: “tutor two tutors”, “tooter to toot to”, or an extra “to” where there should be none.
In American English, “tutor” is said “TOO-ter”, with the middle T as a light tap. “Tooted” and “tooters” have the same tap. So you need two kinds of T: a crisp T at the start of the word and a soft tap in the middle. If all of them are crisp, the line sounds stiff; if all are soft, it is a blur.
The question at the end is the real test. “Tutor two tooters to toot” comes twice, and the second time it is after “or to”. Many people lose a word here.
How to learn it
Learn the story first. A flute teacher tried to teach two students to play. They asked him which is harder: playing, or teaching two players to play. Once you know that, the words have a place.
Then say the key phrase on its own: “to tutor two tooters to toot”. Mark the stress: to TUtor TWO TOOters to TOOT. It has a march-like rhythm that helps you keep count.
Breathe at the end of the first sentence and before the question. Say the whole verse slowly, then at a normal pace. If you lose a word, go back to the key phrase.
Who wrote it
This tongue twister is by Carolyn Wells, an American writer of humor and verse for children. It opens her collection “The Jingle Book”, published in 1899, under the title “The Tutor”. Her second line reads “Tried to teach two young tooters to toot”; the version on this page, with “tutor” twice, is the one that spread later. The same book contains her rhyme about Betty Botta and the bitter butter.
Questions about this tongue twister
- What does toot mean?
- To make a short, sharp sound on a horn, whistle or wind instrument. A tooter is someone who toots. So the two tooters are learners of the flute.
Keep practicing
Practice with a timer
In DramaLab, the speed ladder is an exercise: it gives you tongue twisters one by one, walks you up the five steps and keeps time. No sign-up needed.