A popular tongue twister is:
“One One was a racehorse.
Two Two was one, too.
One One won one race, and
Two Two won one, too.”
The tongue twister was printed in Newsday (Long Island, NY) on December 17, 1978, has been printed on many images.
17 December 1978, Newsday (Long Island, NY), “Smiles,” Kidsday, pg. L9, col. 3:
Tongue twister: One, One was a racehorse,
Two, Two was one, too.
One, One won one race, and
Two, Two won one, too.
Denise Deutschman,
Port Jefferson Station
13 November 1980, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, “Our Towne” by Joe Browne, pg. 20, col. 6:
“One One was a racehorse…Two Two was one, too…One One won one race…Two Two won one, too.”
Google Groups: rec.games.trivia
Counting Songs
Robert Stanley
4/3/91
(...)
One-One was a race horse, 1 1 was a race horse,
Two-Two was one too; 2 2 was 1 2;
One-One won a race, 1 1 1 a race,
Two-Two won one too! 2 2 1 1 2!
Google Groups: alt.usage.english
Quadruple “is” achieved
Andrew Lewis
3/9/93
(...)
Reminds me of the old childhood rhyme:
One-one was a racehorse
Two-two was one too
One-one won one race
And Two-two won one too
Google Groups: alt.usage.english
TWO-TWO
Timothy G Wright
11/11/93
(...)
P.S. Just for fun (semi-related to the above) I heard a rhyme as follows:
one-one was a racehorse,
two-two was one too,
two-two won one race,
one-one won one too
Google Books
3 April 2001, Weekly World News, “Try These Top Tongue Twisters,” pg. 5, col. 2:
One-one was a race horse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too.
Google Books
Tongue Twister Patterns and Child Language
By Victoria Somoff
Thesis (M.A. in Folklore)—University of California, Berkeley, Spring 2002
Pg. 52:
One-One was a racehorse. Two-Two was one, too. When One-One won one race, Two-Two won one, too”. In this tongue twister “one” (number) and “one” (pronoun) are homonyms and “two” (number) and “too” (particle) are homophones.
Reddit—3amjokes
One one was a racehorse.. self.3amjokes
Submitted December 2, 2017 by JustinThePie
Two two was one too. One one won one race, Two two won one too!
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“Due to personal reasons, I’m still going to be fluffy this summer” (4/18)
•“Do not honk at me. My life is worthless. I will kill us both” (bumper sticker) (4/18)
•Entry in progress—BP16 (4/18)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik. These are the Cookies and Privacy Policies.