“Right tight, left loose” (screw/unscrew)
“Righty tighty, lefty loosey” is a popular meme for how to screw and unscrew (nuts, screws, jars, et al.).
“Right tight, left loose” was printed in The Western Mail (Perth, Western Australia) on June 18, 1936. “Left is loose, and right is tight” was printed in the Courier-Post (Camden, NJ) on August 18, 1942. “Righty tighty, lefty loosey” was printed in the “Funny Business” comic strip by Roger Bollen in the Chico (CA) Enterprise-Record on December 29, 1967. “Clockwise close” is a similar meme.
“‘Righty tighty, lefty loosey’ isn’t a statement about females and politics” is a political joke on the meme.
Wiktionary: righty tighty, lefty loosey
Alternative forms
lefty loosey, righty tighty
Phrase
righty tighty, lefty loosey
1. (mnemonic) Used to recall the direction a standard screw, bolt, or nut must be turned to either be tightened or loosened, or the direction a key must be turned to either lock or unlock something, right meaning clockwise and left meaning counterclockwise.
Newspapers.com
18 June 1936, The Western Mail (Perth, Western Australia), “Nut-screwing,” pg. 48, col. 1:
Although I have not handled a field gun in 20 years, I can still remember. “White is right” on their dial sight and to manipulate their wheel brakes, “Right tight, left loose” (this last also applies to gunners in their spare time).
Newspapers.com
18 August 1942, Courier-Post (Camden, NJ), “Women Will Learn of Sewing Machines in Suburban Class,” pg. 12, col. 2:
Before the day is over she’ll be proficient in wielding a screw driver, learning that “left is loose, and right is tight.”
Newspapers.com
18 December 1946, Minneapolis (MN) Star and Journal, “Clinic Teaches Women How to Sew Fine Seam,” pg. 25, col. 2:
Remember that “left is loose, and right is tight” on practically all screws, nuts, bolts.
Newspapers.com
18 March 1948, Worthington (MN) Daily Globe, “Seemstress’ Checkup Puts Machines in Tiptop Shape,” Globe Grocery Guide, pg. 1, col. 2:
To the slogan-wise chant of “left is loose, and right is tight,” remembering pressure goes on the push, not the twist, using a wrench on nuts and bolts and arranging parts in order of removal, the dsmantling began.
6 December 1949, Chicago (IL) Daily News, “Home Sewing: Thread Tension Easy to Solve” by Fern Carl, pg. 26, col. 3:
If it has no numerals, follow the old rule, “left is loose and right is tight.”
Newspapers.com
24 September 1950, Indianapolis (IN) Star, “Handy Ma’am” by Joseph K. SHepard, Magazine sec., pg. 7, col. 3:
You should watch one of thise girls clean and adjust a sewing machine, putting each pasrt carefully in a tin pie plate, and reciting to herself while using a screw driver: “Left is loose and right is tight.”
Newspapers.com
12 April 1953, Winston-Salem (NC) Journal and Sentinel, “Stag Lines” by Bert Bacharach, pg. 6B, col. 3:
Handy phrase to remember, “Left is loose and right is tight”—for virtually all screws and bolts.
Newspapers.com
29 December 1967, Chico (CA) Enterprise-Record, “Funny Business” comic strip by Roger Bollen, pg. 6B, col. 1:
(Panel one) NO, THAT’S WRONG!
(Panel two) JUST REMEMBER—IT’S ‘RIGHTY TIGHTY,’ ‘LEFTY LOOSEY.”
Newspapers.com
28 September 1976, The Evening Times-Globe (Saint John, NB), “Funny Business” comic strip by Roger Bollen, pg. 24, col. 1:
NO, RALPH! REMEMBER: IT’S “RIGHTY TIGHTY, LEFTY LOOSEY”!
10 April 1977, Sunday World-Herald (Omaha, NE), “Oil Change a Success for Amateur Mechanics” by Charlotte Slater (UPS), pg. 3-E, col. 3:
“Which way do you twist?” he tested us.
The answer was spontaneous.
“Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty. Twist it to the left.”
21 April 1986, Huntsville (AL) Times, “Heloise” (syndicated advice column), pg. B-8, col. 6:
DEAR HELOISE:
Several years ago my son Jeff made up a little rhyme to help us remember which way to turn the jar lid:
“Lefty, loosey,
Righty, tighty.”
It works great for things like jar lids, caps, nuts, screw, etc.—Kathy Doyle
Google Books
Creative Serging Illustrated:
The Complete Handbook for Decorative Overlock Sewing
By Pati Palmer
Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Company
1987
Pg. 38:
Gail’s favorite way of remembering which way to turn the dial is a saying: “RIGHTY, TIGHTY and LEFTY, LOOSEY”. Silly as it sounds, you won’t forget it.
Google Books
The Student’s Memory Book
By Bill Adler, Jr.
New York, NY: Doubleday
1988
Pg. 39:
Finally, how to turn a screw: Righty tighty, Lefty loosey.
22 July 1989, Toronto (ON) Star, “Diary of a rookie: Professional driving future a slip of paper away” by Mike Corcoran, pg. H6, col. 1:
Mike Corcoran Special to The Star. Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont] 22 July 1989: H6.
(1/4 turn with a slot screwdriver, righty tighty, lefty loosey).
ISUZU OIL PLUG WON’T COME OFF
Weekend All Things Considered; Washington, D.C. : 1. Washington, D.C.: NPR. (Nov 4, 1990)
4 November 1990, Weekend All Things Considered (NPR), “Isuzu Oil Plus Won’t Come Off”:
T. MAGLIOZZI: Well, it is not a left-hand thread; it is regular conventional right-hand thread. As we say in the trade, `Righty, tighty; lefty, loosey.’ So—isn’t that what it is?
Urban Dictionary
righty tighty lefty loosy
Refers to threads on a screw, nut, bolt, etc. To tighten, you turn to the right (clockwise). To loosen, you turn toward the left (counter clockwise). A few exceptions exist, notably old propane cylinders and some pipe fittings.
“How do I get this screw out?”
“Righty tighty lefty loosy!”
#bolts#threads#screws#rightie#tightie#leftie#loosie
by Okie Dokie December 08, 2005
Reddit—No Stupid Questions
Is “lefty loosey, tighty righty” a universal saying or a United States thing?
submitted May 12, 2014 by Samjerkface
I’m unable to Google currently. Please help.
Edit: I get it “righty tighty” I messed up. Thanks.
COMMENTS
BananaBork
I am British and I have heard and used this phrase (except it is “lefty loosey, righty tighty” because that order makes much more sense).
YouTube
Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey
Jason Slater
Published on Sep 22, 2014
When I was confused by the aphorism “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey,” my father taught me the phrase, “Time is always tight.” Learn why the linear idea of right and left makes no sense when dealing with a screw that turns in a circle. A better way to think about which way to turn a bolt is clockwise or counter-clockwise.
OCLC WorldCat record
Fred Flintstone’s adventures with screws : righty-tighty, lefty-loosey
Author: Mark Weakland; Loic Billiau
Publisher: North Mankato, Minnesota : Capstone Press, a Capstone imprint, 2016. ©2016
Edition/Format: Print book : Juvenile audience : English
Summary:
“Popular cartoon character Fred Flintstone explains how screws work and how he uses simple machines in his daily life”—
Subjects
Screws—Juvenile literature.
Simple machines—Juvenile literature.
Screws.