Mixed Biscuits: A K, S and X Tongue Twister

Mixed biscuits is a twister built from K, S and T sounds, where the letter x secretly hides two sounds.

Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.

Two words, said three times. The key is the middle of mixed, where K, S and T pile up in a row.

👅 Sounds to Practise

K /k/, as in biscuits. The back of your tongue touches the soft roof of your mouth, then pops away.
S /s/, as in biscuits. A steady hiss.
T /t/, as in mixed and biscuits. A tiny stop with your tongue at the front.
X /ks/, as in mixed. A K sound followed straight away by an S sound.

Quick test: say six. Then say sick and add an S. They sound the same.

Say each chunk slowly.

Mixed biscuits,
mixed biscuits,
mixed biscuits.

Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:

MIXED BIScuits, MIXED BIScuits, MIXED BIScuits.

Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:

Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.

If mixed starts to sound like mist, slow down. Say the K clearly, then S, then T.

Mixed ends in a cluster: K, S and T, one after the other.

mixed / biscuits

The cluster is /kst/ at the end of mixed, and the next word starts with B straight away.
Biscuits has its own tight clusters: /sk/ in the middle and /ts/ at the end.
Your tongue has to jump from the back of the mouth (K) to the front (S, T) again and again.

Repeat it and the clusters land on top of each other.

These pairs differ by a small change:

Notice how the letter x sounds like ks. It is two sounds written with one letter.

Bonus round: if you survived all three, try this one:

Max mixes six sticky biscuits in six boxes.

The letter x often stands for two sounds at once: K plus S. It is a little shortcut: the single letter in mixed hides two sounds, K and S.