Clever Claire clicked a clean clock icon.
Five words start with the CL sound, and clicked ends in a /kt/ sound. Both start with a K, made at the back of the tongue, so the sounds can blur.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- CL /kl/, as in clever, Claire, clicked, clean and clock. Make the K, then move the tongue tip up for the L.
- The /kt/ ending in clicked. The -ed ending is said as a T here, so the word ends with two hard sounds.
Quick test: say cl-, cl-, cl- quickly. Then say click, clock, clean. Keep the K steady in each.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly. Keep the CL together, and say the T at the end of clicked clearly.
Clever Claire clicked
a clean clock icon.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
CLEVer CLAIRE CLICKED a CLEAN CLOCK ICON.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Clever Claire clicked a clean clock icon.
If the K sound slips out of clicked or clock, slow down for one round.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
- The same K starts five words. The back of the tongue makes a K sound at the start, which repeats.
- The -ed ending is a T. Clicked ends in a hard /kt/, which is the same hard sound as the start.
- Speed blurs the vowels. Clever and clean have different vowels, so at speed the words can blur together.
👀 Words to Notice
- climb /klaɪm/: the B is silent
- cloud /klaʊd/
- clue /kluː/ (pairs with glue from the GL twister)
- class / glass (CL against GL, a near-twin pair)
🏆 OddLingo Challenge
- Round 1: say it slowly, one chunk at a time, with no mistakes.
- Round 2: say the whole sentence once at normal speed.
- Round 3: say it three times fast without stopping.
Bonus round: try this one:
Clean cups clink, and clever Clive climbs the cliff.
🔗 Related Practice
- Crisp Crusts Crackle: a repeated K sound.
- Mixed Biscuits: K, S and X in one sentence.
- Glad Gloria's Glowing Glass Globe: the GL twister, a close partner.