Max texts Tess's six best tests.
Six words, and several end with a pile of consonants. If you drop the last two sounds, tests turns into Tess.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- -ks /ks/, as in Max, six. The back of the tongue pops, then a hiss follows.
- -ksts /ksts/, as in texts. Four sounds in a row: K, S, T, S.
- -sts /sts/, as in tests. Three sounds in a row: S, T, S.
- -st /st/, as in best. A hiss, then a tiny stop.
Quick test: say text, then texts. The extra S at the end is the whole difference.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
Max texts
Tess's six
best tests.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
MAX TEXTS TESS'S SIX BEST TESTS.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Max texts Tess's six best tests.
If it falls apart, that is normal. Slow down and try again. Take the clusters one sound at a time, then speed up.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
Most of the trouble is at the end of words.
texts / tests
- English lets words end with many consonants together, and speakers often shorten them in fast speech. A twister makes you try to say every one.
- Texts and tests have an S, a T and another S with no vowel in between. The tongue has to hiss, stop and hiss again.
- The two words sound close but are not the same. Texts has a K sound, and tests does not.
- Max texts and Tess's six have lots of S sounds close together, which makes them blur.
👀 Words to Notice
These pairs change when the end of the word changes:
- text / texts
- test / tests
- rest / rests
- desk / desks
- test / Tess
Say each pair slowly. Make the final sounds clear.
🏆 OddLingo Challenge
- Round 1: say it slowly, one chunk at a time, with no mistakes.
- Round 2: say the whole twister once at normal speed.
- Round 3: say it three times fast without stopping.
Bonus round: if you survived all three, try this one:
Tess tests Max's six best desks.
🔗 Related Practice
- Strange Strategic Statistics: more S and T clusters.
- Thirty Thirsty Thrushes: another consonant-heavy twister.