Tongue Twisting Tale of the Day

Here's one that is a little more advanced...

Big words,
Big twists
and
BIG TROUBLE!!!

First, the words:

Tumultuous: This word is related to tumult, which is defined as confusion or disorder. Some synonyms are: chaotic, explosive, volatile, or (my favorite) tempestuous! It is pronounced in 4 syllables: tuh-mul-chew-us, with the accent on the second syllable of mul. Or, for those who can read this (I can't): t(y)o͞oˈməlCHo͞oəs

Torturous: This word is related to torture, which is the inflicting of terrible pain, but the adjective torturous usually means something twisting and turning, something long and complicated, something that makes you anxious and exhausted.
The pronunciation is in 3 syllables: tor-chur-us, with the accent on tor. 
If you like this kind of thing, it's also: ˈtôrCH(o͞o)əs

Next, the twists:

One day, my cousin told me a story about going shopping at IKEA here in California. I like IKEA, they have great, affordable furniture and you can buy Swedish meatballs at the end! BUT, according to my cousin, this one day was TORTUROUS and TUMULTUOUS...

The parking lot was full, and he had to drive around and around, following one-way signs, stop signs, avoiding people driving with their cars full of furniture and people walking with their arms full of meatballs...very annoying.

THEN, he finally got in the store, but was confused by all the towering items and comfortable living rooms. He just wanted a shelf, but found himself walking around and around, following one-way signs and stop signs, avoiding children running around and adults trying to run and sit in the comfy chairs. 'Where are the shelves?!' he thought to himself.

He finally found the shelves (after walking around and around for half an hour) and he found the perfect shelf! 
"BUT," they said, "we don't have any more of those shelves, we're sorry. This one over here is also an excellent shelf.."
"That shelf won't fit in my room." my cousin said, as politely as he could. 
"Oh, well...how about this one?" they said.
"That one's even bigger! How is that going to fit?" my cousin asked, a little frustrated now.
"Hmmm...well, have you thought about getting a bigger room?" 
"GrAhhh!..Thank you...Nevermind..." my cousin said, walking away with his shoulders low.

Now my cousin was getting hungry. He had skipped breakfast that morning, and now, after all the driving and walking around, he could hear his stomach grumbling. He was disappointed that they didn't have the shelf he needed, but at least he could get some food before leaving this giant box of a store. 

"May I have some meatballs, please?" my cousin asked the worker behind the food counter.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we're sold out of meatballs," the worker said.
"Out of meatballs?! Well...what else do you have to eat?"
"Oh, we have some lovely SYLT HJORTRON if you'd like to try some."
"Excuse me?"
"Some SYLT HJORTRON. It's really quite delicious." 
At that point, my cousin would have eaten anything he was so hungry.
"Sure...I can't pronounce it, but maybe I can eat it," my cousin said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Ok, here you are!" and the worker handed my cousin a jar.

My cousin stood there and blinked....twice.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.

"Whatever you want!" the worker said with a smile.

"No, I mean, HOW am I supposed to eat this?" 'I'm soooo hungry!' he thought. "Do you have a spoon or something back there?"

"Oh, if you'd like spoons, you can go back in the entrance, walk around and go up to the third level, and you'll find them right next to the bookshelves. You know, we have GREAT shelves here!" The worker's smile was now huge as he waited for my cousin's answer.

But there was no answer. My cousin was so tired and deliriously hungry by now that he couldn't even say goodbye. He just walked out, back through the parking lot, holding his jar of....his JAR, in his hand.

But of course, the parking lot was absolutely full of cars, trucks, motorcycles and vans, and it was getting dark. My cousin looked and looked and looked for his car, and only after an hour of back and forth searching did he FINALLY find it. 

But of course, when he climbed in his car and put the key in the ignition, he found that the motor wouldn't start!

No, I'm kidding...:) The car started, and he finally got home and made himself a giant sandwich!

But what a tumultuous trip, right?? It was torturous!!!

So, if my cousin could make it through such a tumultuous journey, such a torturous trip, surely YOU can make it through saying this tongue twister 3, 4, 5, or 50 times, right?!! ;)

So here is the Trouble: 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T'was a tumultuous, torturous journey

T'was a tumultuous, torturous journey. T'was a torturous, tumultuous trip.

t'was a torturous, tumultuous trip

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gooooooooood luck!

(By the way, "T'was = It was")

But, like all journeys and trips, there is an end.
May your journey towards mastery of English NOT be torturous or tumultuous!
May it be illuminating, incredible and interesting!!!
See you next time)

Tongue Twister of the Day

Here's a simple one for you...

//The Cat Sat on the Cop and Watched the Clock\\

English pronunciation can be difficult because sometimes the same letter can have a different sound!

For example:

The letter A in "Cat" 

has the same sound as these words:

At, Sat, Sad, Back, That and Cap

but

The letter A in "Watched"

has a different sound, like these words:

Wash, Walk, Talk, and yes, even

COP and CLOCK!

So,

When you say "Cat" and "At,"

Smile :) and feel it in your nose...

C-A-A-A-A-T

and

When you say "Cop," "Watched" and "Clock,"

Open your mouth, like you're at the Doctor's...

W-A-A-A-A-TCH-T

Have fun and good luck!!!!!

Tongue Twister of the Day

H    e    l     l     o  .  .  .  .  .

I    '    m          a           s   n    a    i      l  .   .   .    .   :  )

I         m      o      v       e
           
                            v       e      r      y
 
                            v       e      r       y

                            v       e      -       e      -      e      -      e       -      r        y

S         L       O       W 

Hello.

I'm a human.

I move fast and have

BI-I-I-I-I-I-G 

FEET

Sorry Snail

Sorry Snail, I Slipped

I Slipped

Note: (Say this one many times. Start S   L   O   W, thengofast!!!)