Good blood, bad blood
Four words and a spelling trap. “Good” and “blood” look like they should rhyme, but they do not. Add a D at the end of every word, followed by BL at the start of the next, and you have a short line that trips even confident speakers.
Good blood, bad blood.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- 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.
- The quick goalkeeper got a glove to the ball and kept the game tied.
- The teacher counted twenty kids, checked their coats and called the driver.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- Good blood,
- bad blood.
The D before BL and a spelling trap
Every word ends in D. Two of them are followed by “blood”, which starts with BL. So the junction is D-BL: the tongue taps the ridge for D, the lips close for B, then the tongue goes up again for L. In fast speech the D is the first thing to drop: “goo' blood, ba' blood”.
The vowels are the second trap. “Good” has the short OO of “book”. “Blood” has the short U of “cup”. “Bad” has the short A of “cat”. Misled by the spelling, many learners say “blood” like “blued”.
And there is G versus B. The G in “good” is made at the back of the mouth, the B in “bad” at the lips. After a few rounds, people start saying “bood blood” or “gad blood”.
How to practice it
Practice the vowels first: “good, blood, bad”. Say them slowly and listen: three different sounds. Check them against “book”, “cup” and “cat” if you are unsure.
Then work on the junction: “good · blood”, with a short stop. Tap the D clearly, then close the lips for B. Make the stop shorter each time but keep the D.
Say the full line five times in a row, slowly, then faster. If “good” starts to sound like “bood”, go back to the start and feel the G at the back of your tongue.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Do good and blood rhyme?
- No. They are spelled with the same double O, but “good” sounds like “book” and “blood” sounds like “mud”. English spelling is full of such pairs, and tongue twisters like this one make them obvious.
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.