Peter Piper was a book published in the 1800s to help children learn the fundamentals of speech mechanics, but later became a popular tongue twister that inspired many of its kind.

In honour of today (November 13) being international Tongue Twister Day, let us recap the history of the day and the most popular tongue twister of them all, Peter Piper.

A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate. It is often used to improve a person’s speech, but can also be a fun game among friends.

John Harris published Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation, in 1813.

The book was created to help children articulate their words and had different tongue twisters for each letter of the alphabet.

The famous character, Peter Piper, was based on French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre, whose last name actually means ‘pepper’ in French. Pierre was said to be exploring the viability of growing American spices in the French Mediterranean. 

International Tongue Twister Day was first celebrated in November 2011. It is observed on the second Sunday in November.

To celebrate, here are 12 twisted tongue twisters that can twist and tie the tongue of a talented talker.

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

• Betty Botter bought some butter. But she said the butter’s bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.

• If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.

• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood

• She sells seashells by the seashore

• The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick

• You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York

• Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better

• Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

• A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk

• Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.

• Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons—balancing them badly.

How many of these tongue twisters could you say correctly?

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